Author's Note: Next chapter, Chuck will actually make an appearance! So will Nate and Dan. I found it hard to write Blair's part because I don't feel very sympathetic towards her at the moment. Every time I wrote about how sad she was I wanted to strangle her. She's my favourite character, honest, just not right now. Nothing major is going to happen in the next few chapters. Chuck isn't going to find out right away. I really want to skip the padding chapters and jump to the part where Chuck finds out, but that would be bad writing. Stay tuned, people who might be reading this!

Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Gossip Girl. Hey, it's only been five days...

Chapter 2

Without even stopping to look at the vomit, Blair stood up and flushed the toilet. She felt disgusting. This wasn't how she was supposed to bring in the New Year. Instead of greeting 2009 with confetti, she created a scandal. She slept with Jack because she was unbearably lonely, but she became so much lonelier when she woke up beside him.

Chuck… Chuck couldn't find out about this. Ever. Nobody could ever find out about it. It would break him all over again. Blair felt a sharp pain in her heart at the thought of hurting Chuck. No, as far as she was concerned, last night never happened. As soon as Jack found Chuck, they could go back to the way it was before. Almost.

She washed her face and scrutinized her appearance in the mirror. After brushing her hair and applying foundation, mascara, and blush, she felt a little better. If she could, she would fill up the hollowness in her heart.

Blair decided to pay a visit to Serena. Her mother ran into Lily last night, and Lily said that Serena came back from her vacation early. Serena would make her forget. Her large brown eyes shone a tiny bit brighter as she thought of seeing her best friend again. She almost smiled to herself as she made her way downstairs. 2009 was a new year. It would allow everybody to overcome the mistakes of 2008. That's what Blair kept telling herself as she put on her winter coat and shoes and walked to the van der Woodsens'.

The van der Woodsen + Jack Bass New Years Brunch was awkward, to say the least. Serena sat across from Jack and ate her meal in stony silence. She stared at him the entire time, never once averting her gaze. It was getting on Eric and Lily's nerves. Jack was also perturbed, but he hid it with a cocky grin at the raging blonde.

Finally, Eric couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence. "I'm meeting Jonathan later today. We're going skating together. What are your plans?" he asked the group, hoping to lighten the mood.

Lily gave a grateful smile to Eric. "I'm going shopping in the afternoon. Now that I think about it, it has been a while since I did any shopping at all. It should be relaxing."

His sister didn't even spare a glance in his direction when she responded. "Hopefully I'm going far, far away. What about you, Jack? Are you going far, far away? I can help you pack your bags."

Jack let about a deep chuckle. "Thanks for the offer, but that won't be necessary. I'm going to be staying a while. There's still business to attend to." Serena snorted.

"Oh, don't they have any hookers in Australia? Or have you already slept with all the women over there? Luckily for you, there's no shortage of high class call girls in Manhattan." Her blue eyes met his as she pronounced every word with sheer contempt.

Lily was shocked. "Serena!" Meanwhile, Eric spit his orange juice back into his cup, shaking with laughter.

Even Jack was slightly taken aback. What was her problem? She wasn't this bitchy when he met her last night. Either way, it impressed him. "I'm not one to mix business with pleasure. The business comes first; the pleasure comes later." The look on his face infuriated the girl even more.

With a look of pure hatred directed at Jack, Serena jumped up from her seat. "I'm done." She left the table then, leaving the others in dead silence. Eric nervously picked at his eggs, not looking up at his mother or Jack. He didn't know why Serena was acting like this, but he had a bad feeling about it. Lily just pressed her fingertips against her forehead and but into a piece of toast. As for Jack, he was already finished eating. He stood up and straightened his tie.

"Thanks for having me over. Give my compliments to the chef. I'll meet with you sometime in the near future, Lily, to discuss Bass Industries and, of, course, Chuck." Lily nodded, distracted. Jack waved at them and headed for the front door. He was stopped when Serena came out of nowhere and stood in front of him, blocking his way. Her arms were crossed and she looked less than impressed.

When Jack attempted to move around her, Serena moved to block him again. The man gave a short laugh and opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it. "My mother may believe you're exhausting all of your resources to find your nephew, but I know better. You have no intention of bringing Chuck home. What kind of a person are you? Extorting your own family for personal gain? You should be ashamed of yourself." she told him, somehow showing a calm exterior.

Jack glanced at her cockily. "Hold it right there, Miss van der Woodsen. I'm going to find Chuck. Don't get your panties in a bunch." Again, he moved to get around Serena. This time she let him past. As she reached the door, Serena spoke to him again.

"Stay away from us, Jack. We don't want you here. Just leave us alone." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I mean it."

Unaffected by the teenager's words, Jack grinned and waved, closing the door behind him. The second he left, Serena let out a cry of rage. She flew down the hall towards her room and slammed her door shut. Getting dressed and going outside for a walk in Central Park sounded like a good idea. She quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and a purple blouse to change her clothes. Just then, Lily knocked on the door.

"Honey, Blair's here." she called. Her daughter opened the door. She was extremely distressed. Concerned, Lily walked into Serena's bedroom and sat on her bed. "What's the matter? Is everything okay?"

Serena ran a hand through her hair, paced around the room. "Great. Blair's here. Just about the last person I want to see." Lily was surprised.

"Did you and Blair get into another fight? Maybe she's coming here to apologize." Lily reasoned.

Serena sighed. "No, mom, we're not fighting. I just don't want to talk to anybody right now. I'm going out for a walk by myself. It's not a big deal."

"Just make sure you're home by six."

Suddenly Serena remembered something. She turned around to face her mother. "Just tell me one thing, mom. Is the half-sibling that Dan and I share a boy or a girl?" Lily gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh, honey, I wanted to tell you, but it never seemed like a good time. When you were little I didn't think you would understand. Then you got involved in parties and alcohol, and you wouldn't even talk to me. When you met Dan, I thought it would be best if maybe you didn't know, at least for the time being…" Lily began to ramble, playing with her necklace nervously.

The younger blonde only shook her head. "You know what, that's not good enough. Eric and I had a right to know, not to mention Rufus. I can't believe you kept something this important from us for all these years. I don't even want to know what else you've been lying about. At least Rufus was honest with his own kids." With that, Serena left her room. Lily still sat on the bed, trying to figure out what just happened. She was upset, but she didn't know what to say. She watched her daughter walk away from her. When she was gone, Lily put her head in her hands and tried her hardest not to cry.

In the front hall, Serena came face to face with Blair. She had forgotten that Blair was waiting for her. Wait, how had Blair even known that Serena was back? Once Blair saw her best friend, she smiled. "What took you so long? I've been waiting here for five minutes! I was thinking that we could spend the day at Bendels, then-"

Serena cut her off. "Actually, I was just going out. I'm sorry, but I've already made plans. Maybe we could hang out some other time. See you later, B!" A second later Serena was out the door, giving her best friend a short wave. Blair blinked. She was hurt by how quickly Serena had left. She wondered what she did wrong to make Serena so abrupt with her. Slowly, she gathered up her things and left the building.

When Blair got outside, she breathed in the winter air. So far, this was the worst New Year's ever. She was completely alone. Chuck was away somewhere, Serena was busy, Nate was spending all of his time with Vanessa, and her mother was being herself. Letting out a shaky breath, Blair looked up at the sky. She didn't know what to do anymore. Everything felt wrong, and she had no idea how to make it right again.

Her ring-tone signaled an incoming text. Blair took her phone out of her pocket and checked the caller I.D. It was Jack. She read the message.

last night was wonderful. we should do that again sometime.

Blair glared at the message and texted a reply as fast as she could.

Keep dreaming, Jack. Last night was a mistake that will never be repeated.

As she sent the message, she thought back to similar words she told Chuck after the night in the limo. From this moment forward, the events of last night will never be mentioned again, is that clear? At the memory, she squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't think of Chuck right now. Blair immediately felt ashamed for comparing the night in the back of Chuck's limo and New Years Eve with Jack. They weren't the same at all. Just as the memory of the limo came into her mind, Blair forced it out. Stop thinking about him! There are other things to think about! She scolded herself. Jack's reply came in just then.

oh, really? you didn't seem so sure a few hours ago.

Reading this, Blair turned off her phone. She didn't bother to reply. She wanted to go home. Dorota would support her no matter what. The curly haired brunette slung her Valentino handbag over her shoulder and headed to the one place where she would always be welcome.

"Miss Blair!" The Polish maid watched Blair as she entered the penthouse and ran towards her. "Why did you come home early this morning? I saw you. What is the matter?" A frown appeared on Dorota's face. Seeing her, Blair's own face crumpled and she started to cry.

"I m-made a mistake." She stammered, letting out heaving sobs. "I-I didn't mean to. This wasn't how it was supposed to be." Dorota hugged her and patted her back reassuringly. She didn't know what happened, but that didn't matter right now. Miss Blair was upset, and the important thing was to comfort her.

"It is okay, Miss Blair. Everything will be okay." Blair only sobbed harder. "We can go feed ducks later. You always like feeding ducks. Sound good?" The maid felt Blair's head move and assumed it was a nod. Later, they would feed the ducks together in Central Park and Blair wouldn't be sad anymore. Things would be better tomorrow. Dorota wished with all her heart that this was true, but somehow she knew it wouldn't be okay this time.

At 5:50 PM, Serena came home. She had spent the entire day in Central Park doing a whole lot of nothing. It was peaceful, and it had calmed her down and let her consider her problems without any distractions. She felt so much better than she did eight hours ago. As she stepped inside, she saw Lily and Eric sitting quietly at the kitchen table. The table was set for a fancy New Years supper, but they were waiting for Serena to come home before they started eating.

Serena smiled weakly at them and sat down in her seat at the table. Lily took a deep breath and reached out for both her children's hands. "Serena, Eric, there's something I need to tell you. I'm sorry it's nineteen years too late. You have a half-brother. Rufus is the father. In a few days, Rufus and I are going away to look for him." Serena and Eric smiled at her. This wasn't a surprise to either of them, but they were proud of their mother for finally telling the truth.

For the next half-hour, the three of them ate and talked about the family member they had never known. The two teenagers asked questions about their half-brother, and Lily answered them to the best of her ability. For the second year in a row, the van der Woodsens ate their New Years supper as a family. Just the three of them.

A week and a half later, Blair was sitting in her room alone. She'd been spending a lot of time alone lately. She had hung out with Serena once, and that was so awkward it was almost unbearable. Serena was jumpy and distracted the entire time. Every time Blair asked her what was wrong, the blonde only laughed and said everything was fine. She didn't want to talk about Chuck or Dan, and she mentioned Jack a few too many times. Blair had no idea what was going on with her best friend, but whatever it was, Serena seemed to be avoiding her. Other than that one time, Serena had claimed to be busy every time Blair wanted to spend time with her. Oh well. It was probably nothing. Blair had a habit of over-reacting.

Blair jerked when she heard her phone signal a new message. It was Jack. Ever since New Years Eve, he had been calling and texting her repeatedly. Blair wished Jack would just go back to Australia and stop bothering her. He served as a constant reminder of things she would rather forget. Sighing, she read the message. She was expecting another perverted comment, but it was something else.

Jack had found Chuck!

He was bringing him home right at that moment. Blair called for Dorota immediately. She was feeling excited and a little scared. She couldn't help but remember their last encounter. The encounter where she had told him she loved him and he didn't say it back. His father just died. He didn't say it because his father just died and he was left broken.

His father had just died, and she… Blair used all of her willpower to shut out that horrible, disgusting, filthy, thing she had done. It was in the past. It was over. She would ever have to think about it again. Chuck had been found. That was all that mattered.

She hoped Chuck was okay. Ever since he left, images of his half-dead body lying in a ditch thousands of miles away had haunted her. She yanked on her coat. She couldn't stand to wait a second longer to see Chuck. He's completely fine. Blair thought to herself frantically. He has to be!