Part 2

She watched her husband's golden head lower and his moist lips move near her best friend's ear, whispering something Blair knew he would not repeat to her that night in their bedroom. Serena threw back her head and gave a hearty laugh. Blair smiled. At least Nate still had a sense of humor.

Serena must have felt Blair's eyes on her, because the blonde turned and raised her glass towards Blair in greeting. At Blair's nod, Serena turned back to Nate and said something back that caused Nate to return the laughter.

"I'm disappointed," came a smooth voice in her ear. Blair relaxed pose immediately turned stiff. Of course. She was in the Palace. He was bound to show up. She'd been far too used to coming and going here while Chuck was away that she hadn't even put up her defenses. "You're using him as an excuse to not get back with me. You tell me it's because he loves you. Does that look like love?"

She watched Nate and Serena merely inches apart, grinning at each other, nodding to show they are following the other's narration. Serena reached up and placed a hand on Nate's shoulder, then slapped his chest playfully. Blair had watched the same scene play out in front of her a thousand times before, several times of which was before she married Nate Archibald. At the end of the night, Nate always came home with her. They had had three scandal-free, respectful years of marriage. She never heard a word of regret from Nate, not during the cold nights that they lay together sleepless, staring at the ceiling, not on the odd night when Blair frantically woke him up because she needed to run to the hospital with the baby, not even during the days when a stray text from Gossip Girl would arrive that showed Serena on a date with one man after the other.

"Looks a lot like love to me," she answered simply.

"Then you've grown into a ridiculous, pathetic excuse for a wife." He spat out the last word like it was a curse.

She didn't rise to the bait. Blair turned around to face him, and saw the extra flute on his hand. "Is that for me?" He handed the champagne to her silently. Blair took the drink and sipped. "Glad to see you made it."

"I wouldn't miss this wedding anniversary for all the hot women lining up for me in Monaco," he answered. "Where is the happy couple?" he asked, indicating that he had only just arrived, for which she was grateful.

At that moment, she heard Lily's giggle and Bart's deep laugh. Blair turned to see the older couple walking towards them.

"Lily, you look stunning," Chuck greeted. He turned to his father and said, "Dad."

Bart nodded in return. He then turned to Blair. "Sleeping peacefully, as always, Blair."

"Glad she didn't give you any trouble this time," was her response. She felt Chuck's inquiring look, and she understood it. Blair had once upon a time wondered why Bart so willingly took over the care of a child when his first try turned out to be so problematic.

"I'm concerned about something," Bart started. Before he could continue, Blair grabbed his arm tightly, slightly shaking his head. Bart nodded when he remembered his son's presence, and Blair's preference. "Why don't we discuss this in my office?"

Blair had been holding her breath from the time Bart had referred to her daughter. When he offered the privacy, she released a sigh. She made her way to Bart's home office.

Chuck followed the two with his eyes. When the door closed behind them, he frowned at his stepmother. "My father's taken an interest on the Archibalds," he commented, fishing for clues.

"Oh yes," Lily agreed eagerly. "He and Blair discuss things a lot, and it's always very urgent."

Chuck raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me he's allowing Nate Archibald to move funds around for him."

"Oh no!" Lily exclaimed. "Not after what happened with the Captain. He's been doing a lot of business with Blair though."

"Fashion," Chuck emphasized wryly.

"I know it sounds ridiculous," Lily pointed out. "But I've seen the checks that he's signed to Blair." Lily waved it off. "Probably expanding his portfolio or something."

Chuck highly doubted that Eleanor or Blair needed Bart Bass' money as investment. Even more, he doubted that Bart would place a fortune on fashion lines. Still, there must be a good reason for Bart to be giving money to Blair, and for Blair to accept it.

Another thought occurred to him, which was what raised his suspicion in the first place. "Blair brings her daughter to parties like this?"

"Oh that." Lily shook her head. "She'd really rather not, but Bart likes to have the baby around. He's taken a real liking to her."

She was about to expound when the door to the office opened and both Bart and Blair walked out. Chuck noticed the way that Bart had squeezed Blair's shoulder, which was as affectionate he had ever seen Bart be with anyone apart from his stepmother. A movement in the periphery of his vision caught his attention. He watched Nate step away from Serena and walk towards the bathroom.

Chuck moved to follow him. He walked into the bathroom as Nate was washing his hands. They met each other's eyes in the mirror.

"Chuck, good to see you, man."

"I cannot believe you'd do this to her again," Chuck said softly.

"What are you talking about?" Nate turned around and learned against the sink.

Chuck stalked over to Nate until he was close enough that Nate could feel Chuck's harsh breathing. "I'm talking about your wife, Nathaniel. You're cheating on her. Again. With Serena. Again."

Nate placed a firm hand on Chuck's chest and pushed ever so slowly. "Oh no you don't." Chuck's eyes narrowed. "You don't get to talk to me about my wife, or Serena. Everything I've done for the past three years has been for Blair and for that baby."

"Isn't that convenient?" Chuck said. "You can claim you've been a saint since I left. That way I can't deny it because I wouldn't know better." He got up close to Nate, pushing him back against the sink. "Wasn't that just the perfect time, Nate? Well it's over. You're not going to treat Blair like crap anymore. I'm going to be watching every single thing you do from now on." Chuck turned his back on him and pushed through the bathroom door and to the dinner party.

Nate powered through the door and launched himself into Chuck's back. Chuck staggered forward. He bared his teeth and drew back his arm, then threw a punch at Nate. Nate fell down on his back. Blair watched the whole attack in horror. She ran towards the two, and saw the blood on her husband's nose. She knelt beside him and drew Nate's handkerchief out of his pants pocket. She started wiping Nate's nose with it.

Chuck grimaced at the sight and stalked towards the elevator. He got off the family suite, where he had to stay since his return the day before. He walked towards the bar and poured himself a scotch. After taking a gulp, he smashed the glass against the wall in frustration.

A door opened to reveal a familiar woman shaking her head at him. Chuck didn't even realize that there was a room there. "Who are you?" Chuck rasped.

"Lucy. The Archibalds' nanny. Please, sir, Mr Bass, keep it down. You're going to wake the baby."

Intrigued at the concept of the hidden room and his father's fascination with Blair Waldorf's daughter, Chuck walked towards the nanny. He pushed the door open and stepped into a pink and yellow pastel explosion. And there she was, sleeping quietly on the bed, the toddler that Blair had briefly allowed him to hold. Chuck stepped forward and took in the room. Obviously, Lottie was not a casual visitor in the Bass household. It wasn't a guestroom he had stumbled into. It was the baby's room. There were stuffed toys all around that Chuck knew for an absolute certainty was not his, Serena's or Eric's. The picture frames hanging from the wall showed Serena—obviously the godmother—playing with the baby. There were a couple of family photos 

of Blair, Nate and the baby. What struck Chuck the most was that one picture of Bart holding the child in his arms.

Chuck looked down at the baby again. He noticed the blue bear beside her pillow that stood out against the girly colors surrounding her. He picked it up and saw that it was hugging a pillow heart. On the heart were printed words. Adopted by Charlotte.

"Charlotte," he said in a whisper, his heart thundering in his ears. "Lottie." His gaze again landed on the happy, grinning face of Bart Bass in the framed picture. And then the room made sense. Bart's easy laugh made sense. "When's her birthday?" was his soft question.

"December 23rd." The voice who answered him was not the nanny's as he had expected, but it was the voice that needed to answer much more than that simple question. He turned around and met Blair's teary eyes. "I'm so sorry," she choked out. "I didn't—"

Chuck closed his eyes, the confirmation washing over him until he felt like he was drowning. "You didn't want me to find out this way," he finished for her.

"No," she corrected him. "I didn't want you to find out at all." Blair stepped into the room and bent over the bed, collecting her daughter quietly, as unobtrusively as she could.

Nate stepped inside after her, collecting the bear and a milk bottle by the bed. Watching the easy manner that Nate enumerated to the nanny what items she had to ensure were in the baby's travel bag, Chuck despised him. Nate didn't deserve to be the one who needed a spit-up towel folded and placed on his shoulder. He didn't deserve to be the one who could recite from the top of his head how many spoons of formula was left in their carrier. The nanny hurried out with the bag. Nate stopped at the door, then said quietly, "It's not all that it seems, Chuck."

"Tell me then. Tell me how it is, Nathaniel."

"I want to."

And then he was gone; Chuck was alone.

He sat on the pink bed and looked down at the carpet. And then he was exhausted, he lay down on the bed which could only fit his upper body. Chuck threw his arm over his pulsing eyes. If Nate wanted to tell him, then there was only one reason why he would not. Blair.

"It's Charlotte Cornelia Archibald," he heard his father say. Chuck did not sit up or look at him. "I will have you know that I did everything in my power short of sending the lawyers after her to get her to use Bass in the birth certificate. And she told me that I'd just lost the entire purpose of her wedding."

When Chuck did not respond, Bart sighed.



"We tried to find you, Charles. We exhausted all possible means to track you down before she married Nate." Bart moistened his lips. "Your best friend stood up and took your responsibility like a man. He didn't deserve a sock in the eye. He's put his life on hold for Blair."

Chuck finally took away the arm cover his eyes and raised himself up on the bed by his elbows. His eyes fell on his father, who was now seated on a pale yellow beanbag. Bart Bass looked ridiculous, but he sat with such comfort that Chuck suspected he'd sat on that beanbag countless times before. "Blair Waldorf doesn't need a man."

"She was going to do everything in her power to keep you from finding out about Charlotte," Bart shared.

He curled his lips in hurt and disgust. "Why?" he demanded. "She afraid I'm going to ruin her precious marriage to Nate Archibald? Well she doesn't have to worry. Now all I want is my daughter." The term felt odd on his tongue. He had a daughter.

Bart stood and glared sharply at his son. "Leave that family alone, Charles."

Chuck smiled bitterly. "That family is mine," he reminded his father.

"Go back to Monaco; explore Egypt; run the hotels in Asia," Bart rattled off. "The world is yours, Charles."

"This is the only place I need to be." There was dead silence as Chuck met the challenge in his father's eyes. "I'm staying."

Bart nodded. "Then do something productive. The hotel has a blood drive tomorrow for the Red Cross. Get some sleep; don't drink; then donate."

In the Archibald towncar, Blair watched Nate speaking on his phone. New York City lights lit up his face, and Blair could read the hope that kept him holding his breath as he spoke softly on the phone. With Lottie asleep and heavy in her arms, she reached up a hand and held Nate's. When he felt her touch, he turned his gaze on her and smiled, then placed a kiss on her head.

Despite the tension that he saw in her face, she did not interrupt his call. They both knew the importance of this particular conversation, and Blair's heart thundered in her chest.

"Please do," he said into the phone. He placed the phone on mute, then updated his wife. "We're on hold. They said Lottie's name isn't there." Blair frowned. "I'm sure my aunt took care of it." When Blair looked doubtful, Nate placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm sure," he stressed.

"Of course," she answered, because Nate always did what he promised when it came to her daughter. "I hope Bart can get us that blood sample. If we get this, we're going to need it."

"It would be easier if we can just tell him. Then Bart doesn't have to go under the table for all this."

Blair frowned, and turned to Nate with plea in her eyes.

He sighed, because that was all he could do when she pleaded. "Yes, I'm still here," Nate answered into the phone. "You did? That's wonderful!"

He hung up the phone and looked down at Blair's smiling eyes. She tightened her arms around Lottie. "We got it?" she whispered, trying not to expect too much and be disappointed all over again.

Nate grinned. "We got it!"

"Oh my God! Nate," she exclaimed tearfully, "we got it."

Nate nodded, laughed happily, but softly so that Lottie would not wake up. He placed a kiss on Lottie's forehead and whispered, "We got it, baby girl." Then to Blair, he said, "We were due for a break sooner or later." Blair smiled and nodded. The hospital was funded seventy percent on Vanderbilt money, and that should have ensured them of a slot on any grant. But years of disappointment had crushed her hopes. This was a welcome respite from sleepless tearful nights. "Do me a favor."

And at this moment, she would have done anything for Nate Archibald, because he was the one who made this possible. "What is it?"

"Tell Chuck."

Blair pulled away from Nate. "We've been over this," she said wearily.

He closed his hand over hers. "We both know you're still in love with my best friend," he told his wife, but the gentle tone belied the meaning of his words.

"I don't want him getting close to my daughter."

"You call that love?"

Blair looked down at the beautiful little girl whose cheeks were a little too pale, whose lips a little too dry, and whose eyes a little too dark-rimmed. She remembered that little boy, once upon a time, who would not leave his mother side as she slowly diminished like a melting candle. It was a little boy who was devastated, agonized beyond words, all because he had adored his mother beyond reason.

She set her jaw and leaned back in the seat. Yes. She called this love.

tbc