Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.

"Chuck, she needs to get used to sleeping in her crib," Blair scolded softly when she woke in the early morning hours to find Chuck sitting in the leather armchair in the corner of their room with their two month old angel in his arms. He was humming quietly to keep the little girl from fussing and waking up her mother.

"I couldn't help myself," Chuck admitted sheepishly as he marveled for the millionth time about how much he loved his time with his family, "I never tire of this."

"Chuck, we've talked about this," she responded sternly as she got out of bed and made her way towards the pair.

"I'm sorry, but I barely get to spend time with her. I work ten hours a day and when I get home she's already asleep. I'm going to miss out on this little one's life if I'm not careful," he insisted as he caressed her tiny hand with his fingers. Charlotte yawned as she began to doze off again.

"You're not missing anything yet," Blair tried to assure him as she bent forward to his lips and then her forehead.

"Yes, I am," he nodded as his inner turmoil began to resurface, "She's smiling and laughing already. She's reaching out to try grasping things. She gurgles and coos on command. She's going to start crawling, and then walking, and I'm going to miss it."

"You aren't going to miss it," Blair responded as she knelt down next to him, resting her head on his knee, "I will never let that happen."

"You can't guarantee that," he sighed, "She won't announce when she's going to start doing those things. It's just going to happen. Chances are, I'm going to miss it."

"What do you propose we do to ensure that doesn't happen?" Blair asked as he caressed her hair rhythmically. He was putting her to sleep with his motions.

"I'm going to take a leave of absence from the empire," he announced.

"Just like that, without any discussion," she snapped. She really hated how impulsive her husband could be from time to time.

"I'm going to take a few months to get things in order at the office, and then yes, I'm going to take some time off," he clarified, "I'll start with taking just a few months, but I'm seriously considering resigning as CEO. I'll keep my position as chairman of the board, but the demands on my time will be considerably less. An added bonus is that I'll be able to focus on the part of the business that I love most, R&D."

"You've given this some thought," she realized. She was originally upset that he was just throwing ideas out without any thought, but that wasn't the case. He was serious about this.

"You've already said that you're taking the first year off," he replied, "I was thinking that we could go away for awhile, just the three of us. We haven't really taken any time off since our honeymoon over two years ago. It's time."

"You know I'll support whatever decision you make, but don't rush into this," Blair stated as she reached out to take Charlotte from his arms and put her in her designer crib, "And she needs to start sleeping in her crib."

Chuck nodded in agreement as he allowed Blair to pull him back to bed. It was too early to think about getting ready for the office, but too late to really consider trying to go back to sleep. Instead he pulled Blair to him and held her in his arms as she continued to rest.

He marveled at what a wonderful mother she had become. Like him, she was determined to be a better mother than hers was to her. When Chuck had proposed that they hire a nanny, Blair flat out refused. She was not going to let someone else raise her child. He drifted off to sleep smiling at the determined look on her face as they had that discussion. She was so unbelievably sexy when she was so fired up.

"Eugenia, it's Blair Bass," Chuck heard as he fought the grogginess to try and make sense of what was going on around him. "Chuck won't be making it into the office today. He's feeling a little under the weather . . . Yes, I'll make sure he's well taken care of . . . Yes, of course, I'll make sure that he doesn't spread his germs to Charlotte. If he feels up to it, I'll have him call you later today . . . Thank you, Eugenia."

"Blair, what did you just do?" Chuck exclaimed as he got up from the bed to pull the phone out of her hand. He wanted to shout out a colorful string of curse words, but Charlotte was within earshot, and he was always very mindful of his language around her. No sense giving her a head start on the vulgar language he had learned from his father.

He was trying to hit redial the phone to undo the damage that she had done, but her reflexes were quicker and she snatched it away from him and slid it down the front of her nightgown.

"I hope you don't think that's going to stop me from retrieving it," he chuckled as he looked at the devilish grin on her face as he reached towards her as he moved to dive his hand down her gown.

"Not so fast, Bass," Blair responded as she backed away reaching out to catch his hand, "You were complaining just a few hours ago about not spending enough time with our daughter. I'm giving you the opportunity to make up for some of that. I called Serena, and she's going to take me shopping for a few hours."

"Are you serious?" Chuck laughed. She hadn't expected him to be as thrilled as he was about the prospect of spending several hours alone with his little angel.

"You sound excited about that," she responded in surprise.

"Well, I would rather spend the day with both of my favorite women, but one out of two isn't bad," he responded as he reached out for the belt of her robe to pull her towards him. Her arms went around his reflexively as he leaned in to kiss her. A moaned escaped her lips as he deepened the kiss. "How long until Serena gets here?"

"A couple of hours," she shrugged as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to their bed. They had just been given the okay by the doctor to resume sexual activity a few days earlier, and being Blair and Chuck they took full advantage of every moment available.

Chuck actions were interrupted by the gurgling sounds coming from the crib in the room. Charlotte was waking up.

"Give me five minutes," Blair responded as she nudged him away. Chuck rolled over her and onto his back, groaning as she slid out of bed. There was only one thing that could slow Chuck and Blair down in bed, and Charlotte was it.

Blair quickly picked her daughter up and left the room.

Chuck waited patiently for ten minutes before he decided to take a shower. He figured Blair was probably getting Charlotte ready for her day with daddy. He smiled just thinking about it.

"You couldn't wait five more minutes," Blair stated as she slipped into the shower with him.

"Charlotte?" Chuck asked as her arms came around his neck to pull him towards her.

"She fell back asleep, and we have about an hour before Serena comes by," Blair responded as she began nibbling his ear, "I'm open for suggestions on how we can fill that time." An audible groan escaped his lips as she found one of his vulnerable spots on his neck.

"You are an evil woman," Chuck whispered as he began returning the favor.

"Just the way you like me," she grinned as they made love in the shower.

TBC...