I know I have lots of other stories that I should be updating… and I can't promise this one will get frequent updates, though it might not need them either. I just really felt like I needed to write something Chair-positive (or semi-positive at least… it won't seem so positive at the start, heh) after seeing 510 and 511 (I have yet to see 512 and I'm avoiding spoilers but I'm not betting on it being Chair-tastic). Anyway, I wanted to write something happier for a change and this is the result. Not that it's going to be all fluff and rainbows but at least I can guarantee you that it won't be a will they/won't they story.

I based this around a one-shot I wrote some time ago, called "Lifetime". You don't have to read that story to understand this one and if you haven't read it you might want to avoid it for now or you'll get spoilers for this fic. I'm not sure if this is going to be a long-running story or if I'll lose interest in it real soon. It doesn't have one ongoing, coherent plot and will be more like glimpses of Chuck and Blair's life together and if I stop updating it you can always find the "conclusion" in the one-shot.

Anyway, hope you'll enjoy it and here's hoping the writers of the show will give them an even better future than anything I can come up with.

Blair closed the door behind her as gently as she could. She didn't want to do anything to wake him up now that he was finally asleep. It reminded her of when the children had been little and another fresh stab of pain ran through her. In a lot of ways having a husband with Alzheimer's was a lot like having a child. It was far more difficult than she had anticipated and it surprised her how there was so much more to it than just the loss of memory. She could live with not getting a moment to herself, she could live with him misplacing things and failing to remember things they had been talking about mere minutes before and she could even live with how it sometimes took him a second to recognize that she was Blair, his wife, when he was expecting someone much younger. What she couldn't live with was her Chuck losing dignity this way. He had always been able to rely on himself, from a very young age, and now he needed other people to help him. His pride and his dignity had always been very important to him and now he had neither left. It seemed so cruel that life always had to take the things that were the most important to him.

She walked slowly through the Hamptons house they had bought when their youngest was a senior in high school. The house was full of memories, both of things that had taken place within these walls and through the pictures that were up all over the place. They never let strangers come visit them here, it was their own private haven where they had gathered memorabilia from their life together and only the people they knew and trusted were privy to it. When Chuck had first gotten his diagnosis Blair had thought it would be helpful that they had so many pictures up to help him remember but instead they often felt like torture devices. Having to see him study a picture of one of their children or of a cherished memory and be able to tell from the look on his face that he had no idea what he was looking at was heartbreaking. It was completely ridiculous that they had been able to cure countless deadly diseases but still no one knew how to cure Alzheimer's.

She walked down the steps without her normal vigor. She was seventy-seven but you would never know it when you looked at her. Most people would guess she was ten years younger than her actual age, which was partly the result of cosmetic surgery and partly the result of a strict diet and a lot of exercise. Chuck had aged more than she had, in part thanks to the alcohol habits of his youth but Blair had always suspected that part of it was the hardships life had brought him that took their toll. Then he had gotten sick and the disease which Blair had thought affected just the ability to remember had turned out to have a great effect on him physically as well. He looked more like eighty-six than seventy-six.

There was a part of her that just wanted it to be over. She knew where this road was heading and she knew he never wanted to be in the state he had been in for the past few years. She had had more than her share of watching the people she loved the most suffer through a slow death and just like the previous time she was torn between wishing he would hold on forever and wishing it could all just be over already. When her child had been dying it had been a much more desperate feeling than what she was experiencing right now but it was unbearably painful nonetheless. She didn't want to lose her husband and become a widow but she couldn't stand watching him in this state much longer.

That was why she had refused to take him to the hospital when he had gotten the flu. She knew it would most likely kill him either way. He was weak and sickly and even without the underlying Alzheimer's he was at an age where the flu could be fatal. She would much rather keep him home and let him die in their own bed than take him to a hospital where he would be poked and prodded with needles and hooked up to machines and spend his last days in a sterile, impersonal hospital bed surrounded by doctors and nurses who only saw him as yet another patient. She had gone through that with her child and refused to do it once more with her husband. This was where he had lived and this was where he should die.

She sat down by the large oak kitchen table and grabbed a cookie from an open jar. Chuck had never had much of a sweet tooth but with the disease he had grown much more fond of candy and cookies and pastries. One of the nurses had explained to her that with dementia came loss of sense of taste, and that sweet was the taste that remained the longest. Blair could care less why he suddenly preferred sweets to any other food, she just instructed her staff to keep the house full of the things Chuck liked and ignored the doctors' lectures on healthy eating. Since her first successful pregnancy Blair had been all about healthy eating and knew very well what one should eat and what one shouldn't. She didn't care if Chuck ate a healthy diet or not, it wouldn't prolong his life and health by several years anyway so he might as well get to eat the things he wanted to eat.

Her eyes drifted to the antique shelf next to the window. It was full of figurines but one shelf had family photos. One of herself, taken a year before her wedding. One of Chuck, taken at his thirtieth birthday. In-between their pictures sat one of their children, taken by a professional photographer when their youngest had been five, their eldest had been twelve and the middle-child had been nine. It was one of her favorite pictures. The three children were lying in a bundle on the floor, grinning at the camera, looking like a trio of siblings who never argued and who always had a great time together. The truth had of course been a whole other story, they had fought and bickered and teased each other as much as any group of siblings, but the picture was still adorable.

She looked away. Right now she didn't like looking at pictures of her dead child. Chuck's illness brought back far too many of her most painful memories. Though it wouldn't be long now until her child wasn't alone anymore.

Grabbing another cookie she pulled one leg up on the chair and wrapped an arm around her knee. When she closed her eyes she could see old memories clearly, almost as if she was there again. She remembered Chuck's proposal down to every detail, could see the exact look on his face as he knelt before her holding up the engagement ring. She could hear the words he had said, each syllable committed to memory. She remembered every step in planning their wedding and almost every detail from the ceremony and reception, not to mention the wedding night. They had decided together that when her birth control pills ran out she wouldn't get new ones and they would wait and see. They wouldn't actively try to get pregnant just yet but if a child decided to come along they would welcome him or her with open arms.

They would let life, and fate, plan it for them.

"Welcome" Chuck said with a big smile and walked around his desk to give her a kiss.

Blair smiled and felt both excited and a touch nervous. She had graduated from Columbia three days ago and this was her first official day at Bass Industries. She wasn't entirely sure what her job would be within the company but she and Chuck had talked a lot about it the past few months and both liked the idea of her coming to work for the company, at least for a while. The only thing they hadn't discussed was precisely what her job would be. The last thing she was willing to do was get coffee and sharpen pencils and other things that were more suited for interns and blue-collars than for a Waldorf, especially a Waldorf who was living with the CEO. Not that she expected Chuck to bench her with intern duties but it was still a bit nervous to find out what he had in mind.

"Have a good morning so far?" he asked and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"A productive morning" she smiled. "I'm all warmed up and ready to put my days as a college student behind me and start my new life as a proper working woman."

"I think you'll like what I have in mind for you" Chuck said and walked back to sit down by his desk. "Have a seat."

She walked over and pondered for a second if she should take a more comfortable seat on his lap but decided that the best way to start off her new career was to take the businesslike approach and have a seat across from his desk like the other people on the pay roll.

"So let's hear it Bass" she said, smoothening her skirt with her palm. "Where do you think I will be the most productive? I've been thinking hotel management myself. Not the boring stuff that involves running around in a uniform but more along the lines of cracking the whip and making sure your hotels are the best ones in the city."

"Having you around at the office all day is going to be a distraction" Chuck smirked. "Let's save the whip-cracking for the bedroom, shall we? I can't run a company if I can't concentrate, now can I?"

"I'm sure you could somehow manage" Blair replied. "You don't fool me. When you've got your mind on work there's nothing that's able to distract you. Not that I won't pull out every trick in my book to tempt you, of course."

He laughed a little and twirled a pencil around with his fingers. Then he put the pencil down and looked at her with a new glint in his eyes. He had almost seamlessly slipped from boyfriend to boss and she knew that the banter part of the program was over. She didn't mind much. They both knew they needed to be professional at the office, at least most of the time, and she had to admit that she found it rather arousing to see him take his work so seriously.

"I'm not going to place you in charge of one of the hotels" he said.

"Pity."

"Perhaps. Perhaps you'll feel different once you hear what I do have in mind."

"Then what is it?" Blair asked with a smile.

He leaned over his desk, elbows together, hands clasped, and looked at her with a different kind of intensity than she was used to.

"Blair" he said. "I want to make you the face of Bass Industries."

Three emotions ran through her in quick succession. The first was disbelief. Making her the face of the company was absurd. The second was exhilaration. Bass Industries was at its heart a family affair and if she were to be the face of it she would need to be an official member of the Bass family. The third was disappointment. Was this how he planned on proposing?

"I… uh…" she began to stutter. "I…"

"It's perfect" Chuck said with a smile and leaned back in his chair. "I've given it a lot of thought. You are exactly what this company needs for the public eye. A well-educated, classy woman of quality birth and gorgeous to boot. You'll have people wrapped around your little finger with ease."

"Chuck I'm not even working for the company yet and I never have" Blair protested. "How can I be the face of the company? I don't know the first thing about Bass Industries."

"Nonsense. You know plenty."

"The name" Blair said. "I'm a Waldorf, not a Bass."

"Exactly."

Blair held her breath for what he would say next, going wildly back and forth between wanting to hear him say those words and hating how he had chosen to do so.

"The Bass name is perhaps respected but it's not highly regarded" Chuck continued, producing a confused frown on her face. "You are associated with the family, the fact that you are my girlfriend is public knowledge, yet you don't carry the Bass name. You're a Waldorf, a name associated with dignity and grace. That's where I want to take this company. Away from the scandals and the image that I helped build, that my father and my uncle helped build… Your name and above all your personality and your many strengths are exactly what this company needs."

"I don't get it" Blair frowned.

He chuckled.

"I'm saying you are everything I need the face of Bass Industries to be."

"Why can't you be the face?" Blair asked, wrinkling her nose. "You've been the face for years now."

"Like I said, it's time to change the image."

"But what exactly would I do?"

"Represent the company on various events… Talk to the press, that sort of thing. You know you have a gift for it."

"It's not exactly what I had in mind" Blair said, feeling more disappointed by the second. She hadn't wanted him to propose this way but the way he was carrying on it seemed like he didn't think they ought to get married anytime soon.

"You are of course free to decline" Chuck said, picking up the pencil again and twirling it. "I can consider putting you in charge of hotel management. Though I think it would be a waste of a very valuable resource. You belong in the spotlight."

"I'd have the whole company on my shoulders" Blair protested. "Not to mention it's a huge gamble for you." She made a face and decided to tackle her latest concern head on. Was he really saying she shouldn't become a Bass and therefore that they shouldn't get married? "What if we were to break up? You don't want me to be what people mainly associate your company with if we split up."

"I trust you completely" he said. "I know you'd never do anything to mess with the company, no matter what went down between the two of us."

Blair couldn't contain her disappointment and irritation. He hadn't even said that he couldn't imagine them breaking up. Things were taking a very odd turn and she didn't like it one bit.

"I can tell this came a bit sudden" he said.

"Putting it mildly" Blair muttered.

"Tell you what, why don't you give it some thought for the rest of the day? Then tonight we can go out to dinner and celebrate."

"Celebrate what, you don't even know if I'll agree."

"Whether or not you become the face you're still going to be working here with me from now on" he said and put the pencil down, getting up from his chair to walk around the desk. "I'd say that's cause enough for celebration. I get to see my amazing girlfriend every day at work, as well as at home."

"Careful, you'll get sick of me" Blair muttered sullenly.

"Impossible" he said, stopping in front of her and reaching out his hands. She took them and he pulled her up to standing, wrapping his arms around her. "You, my love, are sure to be an asset to this place. Just like you enrich my life by just being in it."

"Easy on the sweet talk" Blair said, not feeling very lovey-dovey at the moment.

"If you really have your heart set on hotel management then we'll work something out" he said sweetly.

She frowned at him. All these office hours had apparently made him dense. Did he really think she was upset because she might not get to be in hotel management? Had he no idea how upsetting it was to hear that she should be the face of his company because she wasn't an official family member? If he wasn't ready for marriage then she could understand it but she at least wanted to know that it was on his mind.

"Why don't you take a tour of the office and then have a long lunch?" he suggested and kissed her on the cheek. "Think about my offer. I really don't think you could help me out in any better way than by accepting this position. I think you'd really enjoy it, too. It's right up your alley. You can tell me your decision over dinner. I'm thinking… five star establishment. I'll make reservations."

He kissed her forehead and released his embrace, walking back around his desk to sit down again. Now his demeanor had turned back into business man and the loving boyfriend part of the program had passed. If you could call it that to begin with given the things that had just happened.

With a pout and a frown she turned on her heel and headed for the door. The moment she had closed his office door behind her she grabbed her phone and sent a text to Serena.

"He wants to make me the face of Bass Industries!" Blair exclaimed about two seconds after meeting up with Serena.

"Oh my God!" Serena gasped. "That's huge! B you must be so excited!"

"Excited?" Blair echoed, making a disgusted face as she side-stepped a hamburger someone had dropped on the street. "There's nothing to be excited about. If things go bad for the company I'll be the one people chew out."

"Yeah but if things go good you'll be, like, one of the most powerful women on Manhattan" Serena countered.

"I don't know the first thing about being in such a position" Blair argued. "I don't know what he expects of me."

"Then ask him to clarify it. B come on, think of what he's asking you to do here. He's making you the front and center of his father's company. That's huge!"

"Oh did I mention that he wants me in that position because I'm a Waldorf, not a Bass?"

"Huh?"

"Apparently this isn't so much about making me feel like part of the family and all about him needing a fresh, non-Bass face to steer the image in another direction. He probably thinks he's throwing me some kind of bone. Maybe he doesn't even think I could be of any actual use for anything so he sticks me as the figurehead."

"B" Serena said with a come-on look. "Chuck thinks the world of your capabilities or he wouldn't offer you such a position. I think it's romantic."

"Romantic?"

"Billionaire makes his girlfriend the company face. What bigger token of his devotion to you could you get?"

"How about a promise of a life together, preferably in the shape of a diamond ring from Harry Winston or Tiffany's?"

"That's sure to follow" Serena said. "He wouldn't ask you to do this job if he wasn't planning on spending the rest of his life with you."

"Au contraire. It's precisely because I don't share his last name that he thinks I'm right for this."

"B, you're being paranoid."

"Actually I'm quoting. Well, paraphrasing. He gave this big speech on how he wanted someone who was associated with the family but not part of the family."

"On the other hand he turned twenty-three less than a month ago and guys tend to not be thinking about marriage at that age" Serena countered. "I'm sure he's thinking that once you've been established in your role and the image has started to change then it would be a great time to get married. Company CEO marries-"

"That is awful!" Blair cut her off. "So now us getting married is just some PR-show? We are not Kardashians, we are Basses and Waldorfs! And probably will remain Basses and Waldorfs until we're in our forties."

"Oh ye of little faith" Serena smiled and put her arm around Blair's shoulders. "Stop worrying. Chuck loves you and if you have any doubt about that then you're a moron. With amnesia. I think you should seriously consider taking this job. You're a natural!"

"I really don't know, S" Blair said, setting aside her relationship worries for the moment. "It's a huge responsibility. I'm not even sure exactly what he's asking of me. Plus it can't be a full-time position. What am I supposed to do when I'm not making public appearances for the good of the company?"

"He'll probably have you chained to the stove, giving birth to a child every other year, so don't you worry about your relationship" Serena teased.

Blair made a face and elbowed her best friend, which only made Serena laugh.

"What would you like?" Chuck asked that evening at the restaurant, eyeing through his menu. "Should I order for both of us? Or do you want to do that? Or should we just each order separately?"

"What is it with you and us doing things separately?" Blair complained, eyeing through her own menu with little interest.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. I'll order. Last time you ordered those oysters and they were terrible!"

"They're an aphrodisiac" Chuck pointed out with a smirk, putting his menu down.

"Not when they taste like that they're not."

She eyed through the menu, regretting that she said she'd order for them both. She didn't have a shred of an appetite and nothing seemed interesting on the menu. They were at one of the finest restaurants in New York and everything was top notch but for all she cared they might as well have gotten hot dogs from an outdoor vendor.

"You look lovely" Chuck said as the waiter approached.

"Yes, I know" Blair said with a disingenuous smile. "You've told me. Twice."

"You look lovelier now than you did when I said it last."

"Enough with the needless compliments, Bass."

"Don't be silly, I'll always give them and you'll always love hearing them" he said and gave the waiter a friendly nod. "And they'll never be needless."

Blair gave the menu one more glance and then ordered food at random. Chuck offered no objections but made one addition to the order, asking for a bottle of her favorite champagne. As the waiter took their menus and walked away Blair gave Chuck a puzzled look.

"Not that I'm complaining, but -95 Dom? I like a night out as much as anyone but this seems a bit much to just celebrate us starting to work together."

"I'm hoping we'll have something more to celebrate" he said.

She gasped a little when he leaned forward and reached out his hands, placing them on top of hers and giving them a loving squeeze. Suddenly she felt anticipation building inside her. He had taken her to one of the best restaurants, ordered her favorite champagne and said he hoped they'd have more cause for celebration. Perhaps she had been wrong earlier. Maybe the job proposal had come first and now a marriage proposal would follow. This setting was much more like him than his office would have been. It made sense. He had to offer her a job today so he did, but he wanted to save the special moment for when they were out to dinner.

"You really do look lovely tonight" he said, his fingers caressing hers. "I really couldn't be more blessed to be the man you're with."

"Don't forget it" she somehow managed to say, even though her mouth was completely dry and her thoughts a whirlwind.

"I have no intention to" he smiled. "You're what matters most. Always."

She realized she was looking at him like a complete idiot, eyes wide open and mouth slightly ajar. She formed her features into a smile, hoping it was a pretty one. Right now she was so nervous and excited she barely knew what her face was doing.

"Which is why I really hope… you'll take my job offer."

"W… what?"

"I know you better than anyone. I know you'd be perfect for this job. Together we can bring Bass Industries into a whole new era. Everything you are is everything I want people to perceive the company to be. Strong, driven, ambitious. Spirited and vivacious and beautiful."

"That's… endearing" she managed, so taken aback by the fact that he wasn't proposing that she wasn't sure how to respond.

"I hope you gave it a lot of thought today and that you are as excited about the idea as I am" he smiled.

She swallowed her disappointment and tried to force herself not to think about it. Running to the bathroom and crying felt like a tempting option right about now but she had to keep it together. It was obvious that the future of their relationship was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment and if she threw an emotional fit he would only be confused. She would have to deal with that later and be reasonable in the moment. He hadn't said or done anything to actually let her believe this night was about a proposal. Serena was probably right, that would come along further down the line. At the moment she had to focus on the actual question he had asked and everything it would mean.

"Chuck I'm not sure you've thought this through" she said. "I can't be the face of Bass Industries. It's not even a full-time job. It's something the CEO does along with the rest of his work. You don't have one face and one…."

"I know and I've been thinking about that" he said. "I disagree that the CEO has to be the public face, obviously, but you're right about it not being a full-time job. I think you should explore the company more and get to know all the various sides of it. Not only will that be a help to you in your public position but you could get a feel for all the other jobs that need to be done. Find the place you're most comfortable at and make it your place of work. Whether it be in marketing or in financial or even in hotel management."

"It's not a little thing you're asking of me" she said. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it. It's a family business at its core. Bart's business. Why would you want everyone to focus on someone who isn't a family member?"

"I told you, a change in the image" Chuck said.

"Yes but it's still going to be Bass Industries."

"You can do this job" Chuck said, leaning back as the waiter approached with a bottle of champagne.

Blair looked unsure while the expensive liquid was being poured into a pair of crystal flutes. Once they were alone again Chuck picked up his flute and let his fingers play with the brim, smiling at her with confidence.

"What do you say, my love?" he asked. "Shall we toast to you and I working at the same office? Or toast to you being the face everyone thinks of when they hear the name Bass Industries?"

"You're the only human being on the planet who can somehow make that sound romantic" she noted. "Chuck I'm afraid I'd just disappoint you if I did this."

"You could never disappoint me. If you don't enjoy it or feel comfortable with it you can always step back in a few months."

"Won't that look bad?"

"We've tackled worse."

"Alright then…" she tentatively said, not really knowing how else to respond. "Alright… I guess…"

His face lit up in a wide smile and he clinked his flute to hers. She drank with far less excitement than he, worrying that she had bit off more than she could chew.

They arrived back home a few hours later. Home these days was a two bedroom apartment overlooking the park, a large and spacious place they had picked out a few months after getting back together. Just to the left when you walked inside there was a walk-in coat closet and Blair walked inside it to hang up her light summer jacket as soon as they arrived home, exhausted and ready for bed. Chuck was in a good mood though not entirely at ease either, probably well aware that she didn't share his enthusiasm for her new job and perhaps a bit disappointed by her reaction.

She walked out of the coat closet and into the living room where Chuck was pouring himself a scotch. He offered her a drink but she declined, stopping in front of a large mirror to examine her reflection while she removed the silver earrings she had worn to dinner. He came up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, kissing her cheek and nuzzling against her, gently rocking them back and forth for a second.

"I'm so excited for you to come to work with me tomorrow" he mumbled against her neck.

"Please Chuck, don't expect too much" she said. "It's too much pressure."

"My girlfriend thrives under pressure" he smirked and kissed her cheek again before letting go of her and walking over to get his drink. He emptied the tumbler in three large gulps and set it down on a coaster on the coffee table. "Did you enjoy dinner? You didn't say much on the way back home."

"Dinner was lovely" Blair said. "I think I'm going to head to bed now."

"Not too tired, I hope" he smiled. "I wasn't quite done celebrating."

She didn't answer, not really in the mood for celebratory sex. She walked towards their bedroom with him at her heels, wondering if she should yawn demonstratively. She opened the door and walked inside, stopping a few feet in with eyebrows raised. He had really gone all out to celebrate this occasion. Candles were lit all around the room and peonies were strewn on the bed forming the shape of two entwined hearts. She wasn't sure how he had been able to arrange this, seeing as she had been with him every minute since they left the apartment to go to dinner, but he was Chuck Bass and he had a way of making things happen.

"You're really excited about this whole face of the company thing" she noted.

"Blair."

He said her name softly and she turned to look at him. When their eyes met he let out a breath and then sank down on one knee, a nervous smile spreading across his face. In his hand he held something she recognized more than well and had been longing to get from him for quite some time – a ring box. She stared at him, unable to utter a word at first, and he took his time speaking as well.

"Now?" she finally managed to blurt out, shocked by his timing.

"I wanted to surprise you" he answered with a smile.

Later that night she was wide awake, reliving every second of what had happened since he dropped to one knee. It was funny, she could recall every single detail about those minutes when he had asked her to be his wife but she had absolutely no recollection of how they had gotten from the middle of the room to the bed. Flashes of the things they had said to one another echoed in her mind. This was so completely different from the first proposal she had been on the receiving end of. She had never felt anything like this, the kind of happiness and fulfillment which ought to come with becoming betrothed to the person you were meant to spend your life with. The happiness that had been missing the first time she got engaged.

Chuck was fast asleep next to her, their bodies still in a bit of a tangle. He had fallen asleep almost instantly after rolling off her and she couldn't blame him. She had nodded off as well but woken up again after a few minutes due to the not entirely comfortable sleeping position they were in and it seemed like those few minutes of sleep had been enough to recharge her batteries for a while. She kept holding up her hand to admire the engagement ring now adorning her left ring finger. The lights from the few candles still burning reflected on the surface of the ring and she couldn't remember ever seeing jewelry look so beautiful. The ring was perfect.

She lay there in silence for some time, admiring her engagement ring, knowing there was no way she would be able to fall asleep anytime soon. Her heart was ready to burst with happiness and that alone made it impossible to sleep. In addition her mind was already dreaming about the future, about their wedding and their life together and their future children. She couldn't wait for it all to start.

Ten months later she wore another ring on her left hand, one with a perfectly matched mate on Chuck's finger. She was in his arms, waltzing to music played by a live band, surrounded by all their closest friends and family as well as a few prominent guests. It wasn't the grand wedding she had imagined when she was little but she had had that wedding once before and felt no need to do it one more time. She had told Chuck this shortly after getting engaged. She wanted a marriage, not a wedding.

"Everything is so perfect" she sighed contently and wished she could lean her head against his shoulder but it was impossible to do while waltzing.

"For me it would have been perfect no matter what" he said. "Okay, actually that's a lie. I don't think a cheap wedding would have suited us very well."

"It's the perfect mix" she said. "It's lavish yet not so big that it's impersonal. I always thought I wanted the biggest, most expensive wedding ever seen in Manhattan. You have a way of tweaking my childhood ideas of the perfect milestone events and making them different yet so much better."

"I gladly accept any gratitude you wish to send my way but you're actually the one tweaking your own plans" he commented. "You know I would have given you the biggest wedding this country has ever seen if you wished it. It wouldn't have been my own preference but what matters most to me is that you're happy."

"I am" she said and gave him a light kiss. "What I really mean is that with you I find myself not needing everything to be as huge and overblown as I wanted it to be when I was younger. Like how I didn't scream 'yes' when you proposed to me. I think I just whispered it at first. I wasn't sure I could trust my voice."

"Actually you did scream 'yes'" Chuck replied. "Though granted that was a little later that same evening and not in direct reply to my question."

She couldn't help but laugh a little and leaned in to give him another kiss. The dance was over just moments later and she found herself being whiskered away to dance with her father, her stepfathers, and what felt like every other male guest at the wedding. Not until later that evening did she get another chance to dance with her new husband. This time they weren't waltzing. Instead they enjoyed a slow, soft dance with their arms wrapped around each other.

"Was today everything you wanted?" Chuck asked, looking at her tenderly.

"Better than I ever dreamt it. What is everything you wanted?"

He nodded and leaned closer to kiss her. He rested his forehead against hers for a second before pulling back to look at her.

"I'm glad to hear you're happy with the wedding. I wanted every part of it to live up to your expectations and desires."

"Today was everything I hoped for" she answered with a smile. "You gave me everything I needed. You gave me you."

"That doesn't count; you already had me."

"Not like this."

"And now you're stuck with me. Until death do us part."

"I do hope so. You know, you really had me fooled there for a while the day you proposed" she said. "I was really upset for a few hours; you made it sound like you didn't want us to get married."

"I apologize" he smirked.

"No you don't. It was your plan all along."

"You'll never be able to completely take the schemer out of me" he chuckled. "I never expected you to actually fall for it though. I thought you knew beyond any doubt that I wanted to build my future with you. That you, that us, is far more important than work, even if work is the company my father built."

"A company that now finally has a Bass as the public figure again" Blair smiled.

"One day it will belong to our children and then to their children and to theirs…"

"My God, you have a dynasty in mind, don't you?"

"As long as you're willing."

They resumed the conversation later that night in bed. Blair was slowly placing a trail of kisses down Chuck's jaw line while he tried to catch his breath. When she had gotten halfway to his chin she suddenly stopped and lifted herself up a little to look at him.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"At the altar?" he teased.

"At the reception. When we were dancing. You were willing to raise my baby who died but we've never talked about whether or not we want to start a real family of our own."

"I suppose we haven't. I never saw it as a necessary conversation. We both want children, don't we?"

She smiled warmly at him.

"I would like that very much" she said. "Only question is when? We've only been married a few hours. We're both young. There's no actual rush."

"And yet…" he began, knowing she had another side to the argument as well.

"And yet… we're both completely sure that we're with the person we're going to want for the rest of our lives, we've already been through so much together, there doesn't seem to be any real reason for us to wait. I just picked up a new batch of birth control pills last week but we could just throw them out."

"Here's the thing…" Chuck said. "I don't like the idea of making the conception of our child a project. Not at this point. Part of me would love to start a family with you while another part of me selfishly wants to have you all to myself for a while before I share you with a baby. I propose that we keep up with birth control until you run out of pills and then we let nature and fate decide after that. If we get pregnant then that's great. If we don't then there's no rush. We can start actively trying for a baby when we feel like we definitely want it to happen. Until then I like the idea of it being a happy surprise."

"Once I'm off the pill it might take a few months before anything can happen" Blair mused. "I suppose your idea makes sense. So we just… keep on having sex and if a baby comes along then we welcome it with open arms?"

"Right" Chuck said. "If nothing has happened in twelve months' time we can reevaluate on our wedding anniversary."

"Mr. Bass I think we have an agreement" Blair said and leaned down to kiss him. "For tonight… it's just you and me. Let's make the most of it."

He grinned and kissed her hungrily, rolling them over to place him on top. When his hands travelled over her body she could feel the wedding band on his left ring finger and it brought a whole new sensation to his touch. She knew what he had meant just now. As much as she longed to have children with him there was a part of her who really enjoyed having him all to herself. No interruptions, just the two of them. From this point on they would never have to lose each other again.

Blair looked down at her hands. Her right index finger was slowly pushing the engagement ring on her left hand back and forth. She loved the ring as much today as she had when Chuck first slid it on her finger all those years ago. She wore it often, though not always. She had had to have it resized in her old age as it seemed her fingers had shrunk and she was deathly afraid of the ring falling off her finger. Now she felt she needed the ring more than ever. It had been a promise from Chuck to her, a promise of a lifetime together. He had made good on that promise but he had only been able to promise her the rest of his life. Hers would have to go on without him. It might not happen just yet but she didn't expect it to be much longer now.

"Mrs. Bass?" Paquita, one of their live-in nurses, said, walking into the room.

"What is it, Paquita?" Blair asked, looking up at her but letting her fingers keep playing with the ring.

"It's time for Mr. Bass' antibiotics. I thought you might like to try and give them to him. He responds better to you."

Blair got up slowly, keeping in a heavy sigh. She wasn't sure the antibiotics had any effect at all and she wasn't even sure it was for the better if they did. Still she would continue to try and give them to him. He should at least have the tools to try and fight this infection if he wanted to. When it all came down to it she wasn't strong enough to just let him go, not yet. She wasn't ready to lose him.

Before you yell at me for including neither the actual proposal nor any of the wedding planning – I have reasons! Maybe not the best reasons, but reasons all the same =) I chose not to write the proposal since I think many of us have our own ideas of what he should say in that moment and I felt it worked best if the reader got to "fill in the blanks". As for jumping to the wedding reception and barely including much of that, I've already done an entire fic covering a Chair engagement and I've pretty much emptied out all of my ideas on that topic. That, and the story would get way too long if I included the whole thing.

So those were my reasons why. If you still feel you want to yell at me then go ahead, I guess =) Thank you for reading!