Author's Note: This started out as the epilogue to "And Other Dangerous Pursuits" but was scrapped following the introduction of Jack Bass to the story. I kept mulling over the idea but set it aside until I was discussing the actual epilogue of AODP with Temp02. It has been retool it to fit a canon post-finale timeframe and was greatly inspired by a behind the scenes photograph of Ed Westwick with Alex Bento.
With an exaggerated sigh of annoyance and suffering from a complete lack of patience, Henry flops down on the blue armchair and splays out his entire body across the cushion. He swings his feet, slams his black loafers against the clothed bottom of the chair in a tantrum.
"Henry."
His name is spoken in a deep voice, in a warning that his current behavior is displeasing. The little boy rolls his head until his cheek is pressed against the soft cushion, until he can see his father sitting on the couch on the other side of the long and narrow room. He watches his father for a moment, watches as Chuck intently scrolls through the emails on his phone without looking up.
"But, Daddy," Henry whines in reply. He kicks his feet against the chair in exasperation once more for good measure. "She's taking forever!"
He drags out the last word and makes it sound as long as he possibly can in order to stress how he feels time has passed. His father's lips quirk for just a moment before he sets his phone aside and looks at his son with unreadable features.
"Come here, Henry," Chuck instructs with a sharp gesture to the spot on the carpet just in front of him.
Henry slides off the chair slowly with a sigh and drags his feet as he walks across the room to stand in front of his father. He stumbles over his abandoned toys lying in the middle of the room, causing the wooden car to go flying across the floor before skittering to a stop just below the final step of the staircase.
He stops in front of his father, juts out his lip in a pout to try and ward off any consequences his actions might earn. He drops his chin, looks at his father through sad hooded eyes. Chuck reaches out, playfully tugs on Henry's bottom lip with his thumb and pointer finger.
"Nice try, buddy," Chuck says with a teasing smile. "But not even Mommy can get away with this."
Henry falls back on Plan B, begins to snake his arms around his father's neck in the offer of a hug. Chuck catches his arms, moves them gently back to Henry's side before placing his hands around Henry's waist in order to make the little boy stand still and listen.
"Henry," Chuck says firmly. "What did Mommy and I say about kicking the furniture?"
"Not to," Henry answers softly. He adverts his gaze, refuses to look Chuck in the eye as he scuffs the toe of his shoe against the floor. Chuck reaches out, tips Henry's head so the little boy has no choice but to look his father in the eye.
"I couldn't hear you."
"Not to," Henry repeats louder this time before adding an exaggerated sniffle at the end.
"Not even when we're angry or frustrated, right?"
Henry nods his head in agreement, verbally responds when Chuck raises one eyebrow and requests an audible confirmation that Henry understands the rules.
"Sorry, Daddy," Henry says softly as he wraps his arms about Chuck's neck and squeezes tightly. "I love you."
"I love you, too, and thank you for the apology," Chuck replies as he returns the hug and pats Henry's back reassuringly. "Now, can you please pick up your toys?"
Henry slides out of his father's arm, moves away to clean up the trucks and cars he left scattered about the room. He picks up the blue car and the green truck, looks around to find the red one and spies it resting by the stairs to the third floor.
"Excuse me, Monkey," Henry says as he steps over the sleeping dog.
The aging mutt has sprawled himself out by the second floor landing of the staircase intent on catching a post-walk nap without being too far from his master and best friend. Monkey opens one eye in order to watch as the little boy steps over him and closes it in relief when the boy has cleared his tail.
(The two had hit a rough patch when Henry was a toddler because the little boy delighted in pulling on Monkey's tail and slamming toys into Monkey for sport. All had been forgiven, but Monkey is still slightly skittish when it comes to Henry's proximity to his tail.)
Henry picks up the red car and returns to the living room with a burgeoning armful. He deposits the cars in the basket for his toys in the corner of the room, pats his stuffed giraffe's head in affection when he is done. Henry then scampers onto the couch, moves the throw pillow out of his way so he can take a seat beside his father. Chuck has returned his attention to his phone during Henry's clean up, and Henry peers over his arm to watch what he is doing.
"Whatcha doing, Daddy?"
"I'm trying to put this graph into another email," Chuck replies assuming his statement has gone over his young son's head. He sighs in frustration as yet another error message flashes on the screen of his phone.
"I can do it," Henry replies confidently. He sticks out his hand and tries to compel his father into handing over his phone while Chuck eyes his son in surprise. Henry offers him a confident smile and, figuring it couldn't hurt, Chuck passes along the phone. Henry holds the phone in his small hands, taps against the screen with tiny, nimble fingers as his father watches on in amazement.
"Is that good?" Henry questions as he glances up from the phone at his father.
"That's perfect," Chuck replies with an encouraging smile. He reaches over his son's arm and taps the send button on the email. "You're so smart, Henry."
The little boy beams at his father's praise. He pushes the small button on the bottom of the phone to return to the home screen and scrolls through the list of apps to see if his father's phone has his favorite.
"What are you looking for?"
"Aunt Serena showed me a game on her phone last week when me and Mommy had lunch with her," Henry says before sadly adding that Chuck does not have the game. Chuck plucks the phone out of Henry's hands, asks for the name of the game, and immediately begins to download the application for his son's enjoyment.
"Thank you, Daddy!" Henry squeals excitedly as he accepts the offered phone. He lunches the game and concentrates intensely whilst Chuck marvels at how quickly the little boy moves through the task and onto the next level.
"Mister Chuck," Dorota calls out as she reaches the second floor and walks into the living room. "Miss Blair almost ready. I call Arthur now."
Chuck opens his mouth to reply, but is cutoff by the sight of his wife descending the stairs. He moves to stand to his feet as Dorota slips away with a smile. Chuck strides across the room, reaches Blair, and places a gentle kiss against her cheek as Henry continues to play with the game.
"You look sharp," Blair informs him as she adjusts the lapel of his suit jacket. He smiles at her comment, and she offers him a teasing smile in return. "Almost as handsome as Henry."
"Well, we can't all have been as lucky as him in the gene pool," Chuck informs her with a smirk. "You look ravishing. Maybe we should stay in tonight and –"
"No!" Henry protests as he pushes his way in between his parents. Both Chuck and Blair glance down at the little boy; offer him bemused smiles over his insistence in separating them. "This is mine and Mommy's date."
"It's alright, baby," Blair replies gently as she runs her fingers through Henry's brown hair affectionately. "We're still going to have our date. But remember? We said Daddy could come so he won't be lonely?"
Henry ponders his mother's reminder for a brief moment before accepting it with a huff and a roll of his eyes. He still does not buy Daddy's reasoning for why he must tag along on their date. Dorota and Monkey will both be here tonight, and Henry is never lonely when he spends time with them. Blair laughs softly, thanks Henry for being so agreeable before jabbing Chuck in the side in a demand that he too thank their son for allowing him to crash their date.
"Miss Blair, Mister Chuck" Dorota interrupts, holding up three coats she fetched from the closet downstairs. "Arthur waiting out front."
"Thank you, Dorota," Chuck replies as he grabs Blair's coat from the maid and holds it open to his wife so she can slip her arms through. Dorota tucks Chuck's coat under her arm, holds open Henry's coat for him, and tries to encourage the youngest member of the Waldorf-Bass family to put it on.
"Wait," Henry shouts as he remembers the present he hid from the view of his mother. He runs over to the art easel near the window of the living room, returns in a flash with the present outstretched in his hand.
"Thank you, Henry," Blair replies as she slowly bends her knees and sinks down to his level. She wraps her arm about his waist, pulls him close so she can give him a short hug and place a kiss against his cheek in appreciation. She takes the bouquet of pink peonies in her hand, holds them to her nose as she moves to stand back up. Chuck's hand slides under her arm in order to help steady her as she moves to the upright position.
"These are lovely. Did you select them all by yourself?"
"Uh huh," Henry eagerly replies. "Daddy and Monkey and I went to the flowers store when we took Monkey for a walk."
"Well, aren't you two sneaky?"
Henry allows Dorota to finally help assist him into his coat, although he insists upon putting his scarf on himself. He slips his small hand into his mother's and curls his fingers around hers so he can tug her out of the house and towards the waiting limo.
"Let's go!" He instructs eagerly, and the three adults in the room laugh at his enthusiasm. He clambers down the stairs, letting go of Blair's hand when she moves too slowly, and races out of the house.
Arthur greets him jovially and opens the back door for the young Mister Bass. Henry begins to climb in, but freezes with one foot in the car and one foot on the sidewalk as he remembers what his daddy and Uncle Nate told him about dating. He backs out of the car, moves to stand next to Arthur, and tries to wait patiently for his parents to follow his lead, although he cannot help but bounce excitedly while he waits.
"You first, Mommy," Henry says. "You're a lady and ladies go first."
Blair smiles at him for his politeness, smiles proudly at her husband over the gentleman their son is becoming. She slides into the limo, moves to sit in the middle seat so she can have both the Bass men sitting next to her during the ride. Henry climbs in after her, claiming the seat closest to the curb and forcing Chuck to walk around the vehicle to claim the other seat.
Henry narrates their drive, reiterates to Blair what he already told Chuck on their walk earlier this afternoon. He tells her about the playground dynamics and eagerly answers her series of questions about what he learned in school today even after the limo pulls up in front of their destination and the family exits the vehicle. He holds his mother's hand through the crowd, but immediately releases her hand when his father moves in front of them to reach the ticket window first.
"No," Henry protests as he moves in front of Chuck. "It's my date. I'm paying!"
"Okay," Chuck agrees, backing off as he watches his son pull his wallet out of the pocket of his coat.
The leather wallet is miniaturized replica of Chuck's, although the credit card slots are filled with business cards from his parents, aunt, uncles, and grandparents because even for a Waldorf-Bass five is still too young for a credit card. Henry pulls out a few dollar bills, steps up to the window, and stands on his tippy toes in order to be able to tell the attendant that he wants two tickets.
The employee looks to Chuck and Blair, only fulfills Henry's order when his parents nod their heads in approval. He accepts the money from the little boy, slides Henry's change back under the glass partition along with two orange tickets in completion of the transaction. Henry hurries over to his mother waving the tickets in his hand.
"But what about Daddy's ticket?"
Henry frowns, shakes his head no as he informs her that Uncle Nate said you're only supposed to buy a ticket for you and your date. Blair begins to tell him to buy one for Daddy too, but Chuck interrupts to tell his son that he is right – you never buy a ticket for the competition. He steps up to the window, gestures for Blair and Henry to head inside as he purchases a ticket for himself.
A departing patron holds the door to the establishment open for them, and Henry takes the opportunity to hold his mother's hand as he leads her into the building and directly to his favorite part.
"Can I have the big one?" Henry asks pointing to the largest size on display. The bucket is almost as large as his head, a fact that Blair points out to him. She tells him to order to kiddie size for himself and declines his offer to purchase something for her with a thank you.
"Are you sure?" Chuck asks as he loops his arm about her waist. Blair declines again, wrinkles her nose at the idea of chowing down on such a buttery carb-filled snack.
"Blair," her husband says softly, but she waves away his concern and focuses on watching their son purchase his treats all by himself.
"I'm sorry I can't hold your hand, Mommy," he apologizes with a sad smile as the Bass family walks down the long hallway. Henry walks slowly, carefully clutching the cardboard box with two hands so he doesn't spill all over his clothes or on the ground.
His mother assures him that it is perfectly alright with a smile; holds open the door for them both when he cannot. Henry leads the way, selects seats in the middle of the auditorium, and gratefully accepts his father's help so he can peel off his coat and climb into the seat next to his mother. His feet dangle far off the ground and he looks as though he has been engulfed in red velvet as his mother helps him drape his coat across the back of his chair.
Chuck places the box on Henry's lap before taking the empty seat between Henry and the aisle just as the lights begin to dim. He drapes his arm across the back of Henry's chair, lovingly runs the back of his fingers up and down Blair's shoulder as previews begin to play across the large, white screen. His gaze, however, is focused on Henry and Blair, focused on the way Henry munches happily on his small serving of popcorn while still holding tightly onto his mother's hand.
Blair feels the weight of his eyes upon her, turns to give Chuck a questioning smile over their son's head. She glances down at how her fingers are entwined with Henry's smaller ones atop the armrest before leaning over and whispering a question into Henry's ear. The little boy tears his eyes away from the previews, looks up at his mother in confusion.
"But you're supposed to hold your date's hand at the movies," he replies with just a trace of a whine in his voice. "Daddy said so! And you're my date. Not his."
"Can I hold Daddy's hand? I can be both of your dates," Blair assures him. Henry shakes his head at the idea and rejects it immediately as he informs his mother that Daddy already has a date.
"He does? Who's Daddy date if it's not me or you?"
Henry twists his body and jostles his box of popcorn and his cup of soda as he reaches across the armrest and gently places his hand against the swell of his mother's stomach.
"Daddy's date can be the baby," Henry replies. He smiles up at her, grins when she moves his buttery hand to a different spot against her belly and the baby kicks against his palm. "See! She wants to be Daddy's date."
"I think you're right, Henry," Blair says with a smile. "Daddy and your sister will hold hands, Daddy and your sister will go to the movies just like you and I do."
"And just like Mommy and Daddy did before you were born," Chuck adds with a smile.
Henry looks from his mother to his father, raises a single finger to his lips as he shushes them before turning back to watch the next movie preview playing across the screen. Chuck strokes his fingers against Blair's shoulder again as their eyes connect over the top of Henry's head. With words unspoken but with the sentiment still as strong as ever, Blair mouths three words, eight letters.
"I love you, too, Blair."