AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Alright, I know it took awhile to update, but I've been kind of busy. But, Chapter 2 is here, so be happy. This chapter is pretty emotional. I don't really have much else to say, except for that I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you have any comments, questions, complaints, or whatever, simply send me a message or better yet... A REVIEW :D

LOVEPEACECHICKENGREASE,

-Eleni

Chapter 2

"Everything's Just Wonderful (When Your Life's A Lie)"

Caroline arrived to Constance Billiard like it was no one's business, but in her mind it was everyone's business. Everyone knew who she was, who her parents were, and no one was going to get in her way. However, on this day, this very particular cold February morning, things would change, and not for better, but for worse.

As Caroline walks up the steps of The Met, she sees her best friend, Effie Gianopoulos, a natural Grecian beauty. She's standing there with cellular device in hand, waiting for her best friend. Caroline and Effie met in pre-school prep, and have been in-separable ever since. Effie is the only one that has any idea what has been going on with Caroline and her family. As Caroline gets closer to the place her Mother once called her spot, she noticed Effie's face. She looked nervous, and then she looked around. Everyone was on there phones, talking to each other, whispering in each other's ear, staring at Caroline. It was obvious.

"Effie…" Caroline spoke, knowing something wasn't right.

"Yale… I'm sorry. I don't know how this could've happened."

Caroline took her phone out and went to gossip girl blog and started reading.

Good Morning, Upper East-Siders. Gossip Girl here.

It seems as though we have a liar in our midst. Looks like Waldorf-Bass isn't the poster child family we all thought we could look up to. There are pictures to prove it. Mr. Bass but not with his Misses? Who could this mystery woman be? Sorry, Caroline, you know we only want the best for you, lying just wasn't one of them.

You know you love me.

-Xoxo,

Gossip Girl.

Caroline had tears running down her face. She saw pictures of her father being intimate with a woman who wasn't her Mother. Not only were the pictures making her sick, but she was looking at her father kissing another woman. She couldn't stop thinking about the day she caught her Father in the act.

"Effie… how could this have happened? I'm ruined. Everyone knows." Caroline said in a state of shock.

"Caroline, I don't know. Lets just get out of here." Effie said, grabbing her bag.

"I'm gonna find out who did this. Effie, you promise me right now you didn't say anything to anyone? You were the only who knew other than my parents and Merritt…" Caroline said, all of the sudden thinking of her sister.

"No, I'm promise I didn't—" Effie couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Merritt." Caroline said under her teeth.

Caroline busted through the door. Making Dorota jump from relaxing on the couch to her feet.

"Miss Caroline, you're supposed to be in school, not home. Is everything okay?" Dorota asked, confused.

"NOT RIGHT NOW DOROTA!" Caroline yelled. She dropped her bags and stormed up the stairs to her Father's office.

She slammed the doors open, startling her Father, who was looking over some papers.

"Yale! God, you scared me. Why aren't you in school?" Chuck asked, nonchalantly.

"I don't know, Dad. Why don't you check Gossip Girl?" Caroline said in a frenzy. She was breathing heavily, she felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She could feel the veins in her forehead pulsating.

Chuck went to his lap top and brought up Gossip Girl Blog. He gazed over everything, not believing what he was seeing.

"See, Dad!? Do you see it!? You've ruined this family! We're ruined! How could you do this!?" Caroline screamed at her Father. Blair came running in from the other room, not knowing what Caroline was doing home from school, let alone what was going on.

"Caroline! What's the matter? Why are you screaming?" Blair asked, worried as she looked at her crying, hysterical child.

Chuck just stared at his miserable daughter. He knew what he did was wrong. It was a mistake. He didn't think it would affect her this much. But, he's an idiot. An idiot for ever thinking about touching another woman in the first place. What have I done? Chuck thought to himself.

Caroline dropped to the floor in the middle of her Dad's office. She couldn't take it anymore. She cried and cried and her Mother held her. Telling her over and over that it was okay.

"No it's not, Mom. It's not. He hurt you. He hurt us. Everyone knows. I hate him, I hate him." Caroline said in between sobs. It was hard for Blair to understand what she was saying, but she heard 'I hate him' loud in clear and thought it was best that she take Caroline to her room. Chuck was speechless. He made his daughter hate him. What has he done? He really has ruined the family.

"Come on, honey, let me take you to your room. Come on, get up, baby." Blair said, trying to raise her daughter up from the floor. She walked her to her room, still crying. She was making Blair tear up. Blair understood what Chuck did was wrong, but she only pretended so her family would stay together. She didn't want to split up. She didn't want her family to break apart. Her family is what kept her from breaking into a thousand pieces, whether or not Chuck was in the picture. But, she couldn't keep her children from seeing their Father. Maybe Caroline, but the other three children are young and don't understand what's going on. Merritt knew, but she didn't know like Caroline did. It hurt Blair deeply to see her daughter so shattered.

They reached Caroline's room and Blair sat her on her bed.

"Rest, sweetie. Just close your eyes. I know you're sad. Mama's sad too. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't leave your Father, I can't break this family apart." Blair said, rubbing her daughter's back in a circular motion. Her voice was cracking, she didn't want her daughter to see her crying.

"Will you lay with me?" Caroline said, her head turned opposite Blair. She was sniffling and still crying.

"Of course I will." Blair lay down next to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her as tight as tight could be. She didn't want to see her daughter like this. It hurt her more than anything in this world. It hurt her more than it did when she found out her husband had had an affair.

"I love you so much." Blair said, kissing the back of Caroline's head.

"I love you too." Caroline quietly spoke back.

In a matter of ten minutes, Caroline was asleep and Blair didn't have the heart to leave her, but she had to talk to Chuck.

She got out of the bed quietly and kissed her daughter's forehead and walked out of the room. She made her way down the hall to Chuck's office. She walked in and Chuck was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.

"Chuck..." Blair said in a frustrated tone. He looked up at her, he was crying.

"You wanna tell me why that just happened?" Blair asked pointing in the direction of Caroline's room.

Chuck was quiet for a few seconds and then began to speak.

"They uhh... there's pictures up... on gossip girl. Everyone knows. It's out." Chuck said, rubbing his temples.

"There's pictures? God dammit, Chuck! Why did you do this to us?" Blair said, with her hands on her face, they traveled from her forehead all the way to the back of her head where they rested.

"Blair, I don't know anything about pictures. I don't know how it was even possible. It must be some sort of blackmail." Chuck said, nervous and confused.

"It doesn't matter, Chuck. It just doesn't matter whether or not there were pictures! Our daughter was so humiliated today, she ran away from school!" Blair shouted.

"I know. I know, Blair. I know I can't apologize for what I've done. I've ruined us. She was right, I've ruined the whole family. My daughter hates me. My little girl hates her Daddy. What have I done?" Chuck said, looking at the palms of his hands.

Blair couldn't say anything to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. What he did was not okay and she came to realize she would have to do what she never wanted to do.

"Chuck... I think that maybe we should spend some time apart..." Blair said, nervous to his reaction.

"Blair... I'll do whatever I have to do. I just don't want my children to hate their Father." Chuck pathetically spoke.

"Yeah, well... maybe you should have thought about that first before you went and snapped your secretary's bra off." Blair said with not a care in the world of how it would make Chuck feel.

"I'll go pack my things." Chuck said walking out of the room, leaving Blair standing there with too many things on her mind. She couldn't take it anymore.

She began to cry. She tried to be silent, she tried holding it in. She was crying so badly that she had to grab hold of the wall to keep her balance so she wouldn't fall. It didn't help. Nothing helped. Nothing could help Blair Bass right now. She eventually slid her back down the wall like a mental person in an insane asylum would do. She came to stop when her rear hit the ground. She had her legs in an indian style, put her face in her hands, and began crying harder than she had before. Her family is being torn apart. What will she tell her youngest ones?

Chuck had packed his things, said goodbye to Blair, kissed a sleeping Caroline on the cheek while apologizing a thousand times quietly on her bedside, but she didn't hear, and hugged a crying baby Evie, which seemed to last for hours. Blair finally took Evie in her arms and soothed her youngest daughter while watching her husband walk out the door. He said he would call her and let her know where he was staying and that he would like the kids to come and visit. Chuck wanted so badly to say goodbye to his other little girl and only boy, but he didn't have the heart. They would see or at least talk to him soon. Merritt was certainly a daddy's girl and god only knows her reaction to the news. Grayer always asked his father for help with his math homework every day he came home from school. Blair was awful at math, what is she going to do?

An hour had passed and Blair had just carried Evie up to her room to lay her down. As she came down the stairs, Merritt and Grayer came running through the foyer in a race.

"I WON! Hahahaha!" Grayer said in an evil voice.

"Whatever, Jerk, by like... a millisecond!" Merritt said rolling her eyes. Then she saw her Mother.

"Hi, Mommy." Merritt spoke.

"Hey, Mom." Grayer said. Apparently now that he's 8, he doesn't have to say "Mommy" anymore because none of the other boys at school say it.

"Hey you beautiful kids, how was school?" Blair said, trying to hide her pain and agony. She didn't want her kids to see her sad.

"I told Lewis Sinclair that if he didn't give me 10 dollars I would tell everyone how he still wet's the bed. SO HE GAVE ME 10 DOLLARS! HOW COOL IS THAT, MOM!?" Grayer said, extremely excited, Blair however didn't look too pleased.

"Grayer Charles Bass. What have I told you about blackmailing? It's wrong. You're only 8 years old! You better give that boys money back tomorrow, that's just not nice, sweetheart, we don't do things like that in this house." Blair warned her son.

"Whatever, Daddy does." Grayer said. Ouch. Probably not the best time to bring up there Father.

"Daddy used to, Gray. He doesn't anymore because Mommy and his friends told him it was bad." Blair stated.

"Where is Daddy?" Merritt chimed in. Uh-oh, Blair thought to herself. She paused for a minute, trying to figure out what she would say. She couldn't lie to her 13 year old daughter. She's not an idiot, but she didn't want to say anything to Grayer yet.

"Grayer will you check on Evie for Mommy and then go pick up your clothes off your bedroom floor, please?" Blair said in a very sweet, motherly tone.

"Alright." Grayer said, not sounding too pleased. He traveled up the stairs like molasses, Blair watching him, waiting until she couldn't see or hear him anymore.

"Mom, what's... going on? I can tell something is wrong just by the expression on your face. Is Daddy okay?" Merritt said, starting to get worried.

"Sweetheart, Daddy is fine. I'm gonna need you to sit down, though. I have some things to explain to you that I didn't want to explain in front of your brother." Blair said, still in her sweet, motherly tone.

"This is about Daddy and that other lady isn't it?" Merritt said in a very quiet, saddened voice.

"Yes." Blair said, quiet and saddened as well, but this time not for herself, but for her daughter.

"Mommy and Daddy are taking a break for a little bit, so he won't be living here. In fact, he left today, but don't worry this doesn't mean you're not going to be able to spend time with him. Just not here." Blair said, trying as hard as possible not to hurt her daughter, but she can already tell that she did.

Merritt's head was down and her shoulder length, straight hair was in her face, so Blair couldn't tell what was going on in her daughter's mind except for sadness.

Merritt took her black framed, D&G glasses off and through them across the room, leaving them to shatter everywhere. This made Blair jump a little bit, she wasn't expecting that to happen.

Merritt's eyes widened. She couldn't believe she had just done that. She looked up at her Mom and began to cry.

"I'm sorry..." Merritt pathetically spoke.

"Hey, come here, Crick. It's okay. We'll buy you new ones. It's okay for you to be mad. You can scream, cry, throw things, kick things, but not your Mommy, of course." Blair whispered into her daughters ear as she held Merritt in her arms. Merritt made a small smirk as did Blair referring to the last comment Blair had made.

"Will Dad ever come home?" Merritt asked, looking into her Mother's eyes, hoping for a good answer.

"Hopefully, baby. Dad just did some things that were wrong and it hurt Mommy's feelings. Caroline isn't dealing with it too well." Blair stated, warning Merritt of her big sister.

"Really? She never even would talk about it. Does she know Dad moved out?" Merritt asked curiously.

"Well, your sister tried to protect you all. She didn't want anyone to find out, let alone anything else to happen, but it got leaked on gossip girl so apparently one of Caroline's classmates knows. It happened today. She doesn't know Dads' left. She came home early today and has been sleeping since, so try not to bother her. You don't happen to know anyone that would leak this to gossip girl, do you?" Blair asked as she brushed the hair out of her daughter's face.

Merritt tried thinking, but nothing really came to mind.

Crap, I did say something to Nadia McKinley. Maybe she told Ariel? Merritt thought back on the other day at school when she had mentioned something to one of her classmates, Nadia McKinley who has a sister, Ariel that attends Constance Billiard.

"No, I don't know anything about it." Merritt said swallowing the giant lump in her throat.

"Kay." Blair said, smiling. She gave her daughter a big kiss on the cheek and then tackled her in bear hug.

"Mom!" Merritt shouted while laughing.

"You know I love you no matter what, right? Same goes for Daddy. I don't want you to blame any of this on yourself." Blair reassured her daughter, while still wrapped in each others arms.

"I know you do. I love you too. And Dad. And I'm sorry about my glasses." Merritt said, with a guilty smirk on her face.

"Hey, it's no big deal. You looked like you were growing out of those anyways. I think it's because that brain of yours is over growing with knowledge, my little genius." Blair said, giving her daughter a pat on the head. They sat back up on the couch. Merritt fixed her hair.

"Well, I guess I get that from Dad." Merritt said, knowing that her Mother would disagree.

"I object, Merritt Finley Blair Bass! You so get your brain smarts from your Mama. You just get your little deceiving, conniving, and negotiating ways from your Dad." Blair said with a slight smirk on her face. Merritt smiled back, but looked at her Mom and could tell that the thought of Chuck made her want to cry.

" Yeah, I guess you're right. And I'm sorry. If you don't want me to talk about Daddy, I won't. I know it makes you sad." Merritt said in all honesty.

"Honey, I don't want you to think that my feelings are gonna be hurt if you talk about your Dad. He's your Dad. I'm not gonna tell you to stop talking about him." Blair said to her daughter.

"Well, I'll at least try and not talk about him in front you." Merritt said. She had always had a kind heart.

"Whatever, dork." Blair said, nudging her daughter.

"Hey. So, how are you gonna tell Caroline?" Merritt asked.

Just as Merritt had spoken those words, Caroline came walking down the stairs.

"Tell me what?"

Blair just stared up at Caroline, wishing it were a year ago when everything was perfect.

To Be Continued...

HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED! Of course I have to do a "To Be Continued..." Why wouldn't I? Ha. Well, please tell me what you guys thought about this chapter. I thought it wasn't too bad. I really love the Merritt and Blair scene. Probably my favorite. I like make Blair close to her children because a lot of the fan fic i read about Blair with children, she just seems so cold and proper and I wanted my Blair to eventually chillax as she grew older and not be like her Mother was with her. :) Anyways. I thought the Chuck leaving part was sad, but it had to happen. Will crazy Caroline be mad or happy that her Dad has moved out? And how will Blair explain to her son? All will be explained in chapter 3. Keep on readin!

AND PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS! I Love REVIEWS! I don't care if they're mean, happy, funny, sad, depressing, opinionated, blah blah blah, TELL ME THINGS PLEASE!

THANKS!

-ELENI