White Christmas

Like the Ones I Used to Know

"Dorota! Do you have my new Burberry down coat?" Blair called out from her room as she checked her handbag one last time.

"Yes, Miss Blair." The maid handed Blair the red quilted coat. "Miss Serena should only be a few more minutes. The car is already here, all your luggage has been loaded."

"Thank you, Dorota." Despite her unladylike yelling, she hugged the maid, "We'll be back well before Christmas, but try not to be too bored without us?"

Serena stood in the doorway; "I don't think Dorota thinks of it as a week of boredom ahead of her, especially since she is so far along- any day now!"

"Yes, it will be nice to have some time with Vanya before the little one joins us." Dorota smiled, placing her hand on her round stomach a moment. "But you two can't be late!"

"It's just a drive, Dorota..." Blair mumbled, picking up her handbag and workbag. She missed Serena glaring at the maid.

The girls left the van der Woodsen penthouse with one last wave to the maid. Dorota was, in all honesty, more than just a maid. She was family, especially to Blair, whose definition of family had evolved since her parents died in an accident when she was only thirteen. She and Serena had been as good as sisters, even before Lily became Blair's ward. However, Lily was hardly much of a mother; Blair and Serena may technically be sisters, but Blair was fiercely protective of Serena. Blair's dominance had always been there, but it grew vastly when Serena truly became her family. While Dorota cared for the well being of both girls, it was Blair who was the mother hen to Serena's chick.

So when the town car took them to a helicopter launch pad instead of across the bridge, Blair had her motherly scowl on her face. "Serena, what is this?"

"Better, faster, more comfortable means of getting to Vermont?" Serena beamed one of her best smiles.

Blair continued to scowl at Serena while the car was unloaded into the helicopter, as they took their seats, and even more so when the pilot said it would only be a few more minutes until takeoff.


That morning Nate hurriedly helped Chuck pack, much to the latter's dismay and confusion. "I still don't understand what we're doing."

"I got an urge to get out of the city. I'm missing the quiet of the country- the fresh crisp air, no city lights, and snow... It must be wonderful in Vermont this time of year, all that snow..." Nate affected an air of nostalgia as he spoke. Chuck looked at him curiously, but went along with his friend anyway. It would feel good to get away for the weekend. He began to relax a little during the journey to the helipad, letting some of the exhaustion he felt deep inside bubble to the surface. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, recalling a flash of brown eyes and the feel of her small hand under his. An unexpected occurrence, Chuck furrowed his brow at the thought. He did not have the time or energy for females beyond the calendar of required society events, in spite of all of Nate's very transparent efforts. He sighed, "Nate, when do you suppose you'll just let me be, and stop trying to entangle me with some female?"

"Well, it's for your own good. You can't work all the time- there's more to life than running a corporation! You haven't properly dated a girl in years and I fear you might never find a girl to settle down with."

"And you expect me to settle down with the kinds of girls you've been introducing me to?" Chuck glowered at his friend, "The last time I let you take me out..."

"Fine, she didn't go to college. She didn't go to Vassar!" Nate grumbled.

"Vassar? She couldn't even spell it," Chuck retorted snidely, "Look, even if I was thinking about that aspect of my life, the family oriented ones are well married by now, and the others have careers and don't want to sacrifice that for a penthouse and children. So, maybe I'll get around to it someday, but it's just not in the cards right now."

"By the time you get around to getting what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left." Nate countered.

"When I figure out what that means, I'll come up with a crushing reply. What's behind all of this, anyway? You can't tell me there isn't some little angle behind for you?" Chuck defended.

Nate sighed, "I want you to be happy. When you're sad, I'm sad. When you're happy, I'm happy. And you won't be happy until you have the most important thing- a girl. Right now you're all work and no play, so I'm all work and no play. But just think... if you got married, and had nine kids, and spent just five minutes with each one, that's forty-five minutes. Forty-five minutes everyday! I could go and get a massage or something..."

Nate grumbled a little more as the car came to a stop. Chuck did not want to think about what his friend had said, for at the heart of it, what he said made perfect sense. His father... his father had been a different person when his mother was alive. There had been a fullness to life- there had been happiness in their lives.

Arriving at the helipad, Nate walked quickly ahead of him towards the aircraft. Climbing in the large, plush helicopter second, it dawned on Chuck quite abruptly that they had guests. And he faltered a moment as he took his seat when those brown eyes he had imagined minutes ago locked with his. Both brunettes instantly turned to their blond counterpart and simultaneously asked:

"What is s/he doing here?"

"Blair-"

"Chuck-"

"This was a much quicker, more comfortable way to travel to Vermont. You shouldn't be rude in front of our kind hosts." Serena lightly berated Blair.

"You needed to get out of the city. And I thought to offer the girls a better way to get to their destination. If anything, for an old friend." Nate gave Chuck the big eyes and touched his arm.

Both brunettes huffed and crossed their arms before looking back at one another. Blair frowned and looked out the window, mumbling to Serena, "I can't believe you stuck me in here with the poor little cynical rich boy!"

Chuck narrowed his eyes at her, "Well, I'm sorry my life experience has been so drastically different from yours. Let me guess, perfect little Upper East Side Princess, with your perfect life, and your perfect parents, and your perfect upbringing?"

Blair snapped back from gazing out on the city. Her eyes were black and cold as they gazed at him. He heard Serena whisper his name and his eyes registered the awful look on the blonde girl's face. Blair looked at him, indignant, and pulled out her phone, shoving in her earphones before completely turning away from everyone to stare out the window. Clearly he had said something wrong.

Nate watched the whole scene in complete confusion. What had happened since last night? And what on Earth had Chuck said now?

Serena shook her head at Chuck, "You don't know what you're talking about. Blair's more than my friend, Chuck. She's my sister."

Nate furrowed his brow, even more confused, "But you two..."

"I'll let her tell you if she wants, but just so you know where you stand. She's my sister, and it goes beyond hair color and blood." Serena ended the conversation there, pulling out a magazine to read.

So Chuck, feeling a mix of guilt and curiosity, shifted his attention to work as Nate made pouty faces at Serena to pay attention to him. After awhile, Serena gave in, and in no time they were chatting away. Chuck could hardly focus on his work, not because of the funshine twins, but because he kept glancing at Blair. She was curled up in her seat, her arms wrapped around herself as she gazed out the window. He remembered how sharp and fiery she had been the night before and his guilt sat in his stomach. He reached across the great expanse between them and touched her arm. She turned to look at him and pulled the headphones from her ears. He spoke hastily, "I didn't know..."

"I know you didn't. That doesn't make it any less painful, especially given your precise accusations." Blair coolly replied; her life really had felt quite perfect- before her parents' death.

She shifted in her seat, watching her hands as she smoothed the fabric of her skirt. Chuck witnessed the polite facade she had used last night slip back into place. He watched the tip of her pink tongue wet her lips, pondering what it was about her that mesmerized him, when she spoke again, "What do you plan to do when we reach Vermont?"

"Relax. I haven't really paused for a long time, and I've pushed even harder since my father..." Chuck glanced at the window, unable to complete the sentence.

"I'm sorry," Blair offered, pausing a moment to consider the son of the great Bart Bass sitting before her. Her interactions with him up to this point had satisfied all reports of his character, but in this small point in time, she saw tenderness- a human heart behind the calculating eyes of a Bass. So she softened in turn, offering kindness through distraction, "Do you know where you expect to stay for the weekend?"

Nate interjected here with a cough, "We're uh... actually staying at the same place as you, at the Columbia Inn."

The blonds smiled innocently, Blair tried not to sigh, and Chuck took a drink from his glass of water, mumbling so only Nate could hear, "Pushing... pushing..."

Nate gazed at Chuck and rubbed the long ago injured arm.

"Just think of all the snow..." Serena said dreamily, completely rerouting the conversation.

"Snow ball fights!" Nate laughed.

"Hot chocolate by the fire." Blair smiled.

"Hot toddies by the fire," Chuck corrected as he smiled, too.

The quartet fantasized about playing in the snow, the crisp winter air, blue skies, white mountain tops, and tall green pine trees. Before they knew it the helicopter was touching down.

Serena was the first to notice, "Is this Vermont?"

"Of course it is..." Chuck began to say, before he looked out the window. The trees were green... as well as the grass. When the pilot opened the door, they were greeted with a burst of warm air.

"Feels more like North Carolina than Vermont!" Serena said as Nate helped her down from the helicopter. Chuck felt a rush of adrenaline as watched Nate wrap his hands around Serena's waist. Quickly climbing out of the helicopter, Chuck was anxious for the opportunity to touch Blair. He did not question why- what it was that made him want to be near her, all he felt was eager excitement as he looked into her eyes and lifted his arms up to her.

Blair looked down at him, taking a moment to swallow hard as he gazed up at her. She wanted nothing from him, lest he try to accuse her of working an angle. Even allowing him to lift her down from the helicopter required a certain level of trust; did she trust him even that much? But he was being polite, and a gentleman, what was she supposed to do? Say no? So she leaned down, placing her hands on his broad shoulders as his hands curled around her waist.

It lasted only a few seconds, but Nate and Serena grinned as they watched Blair sink into Chuck's arms. Her cheeks were tinged pink as she said thank you and pulled away, an action that left Chuck looking regretful when he watched her walk towards the waiting limo.

Serena shook her head a little, "She's already starting to fight it."

"Well, he's hardly going to be easy," Nate murmured.

"Then they are so lucky to have us as friends!" she replied, slipping her arm through his as they walked to the car.

The drive to the inn was relatively quiet as Serena and Blair went over some business and Nate went on about how nice it was to be out of the city. Internally, Chuck was at odds with himself. He should be in the city working, holiday season or not, the idea of leaving Bass Industries for more than a weekend was uncomfortable. How could he go so long without working? It was an alien concept and he already felt lost in the realization of it. Nate had brought his interfering to a new level; though, looking at Blair Chuck did not seem to mind as much as he usually did. Counting the weeks in his head, he became aware of the fact that it had been awhile since he had... spent time with a woman. In the back of his mind, for a small second, he also thought of his father, and his mother, and the joy of family.

Soon, the limo pulled up in front of a large old country house; it looked like it could be straight out of a Currier and Ives print- well, if the snow were not missing. Stepping inside, the foyer was large and a woman stood guard behind the concierge desk. She smiled at them and greeted them, "Welcome to the Columbia Inn."

As room keys were put in order, Nate charismatically inquired, "So where is all the snow?"

"We haven't had snow since Thanksgiving," the woman looked dejected, "It was 68℉ yesterday."

"Is this really Vermont, America's winter playground?" Serena pondered.

"Maybe it's the wrong Vermont?" Nate's blue eyes twinkled.

"Oh, no, this must be Southern Vermont." Chuck laughed a little.

Blair pulled out her little list and frowned at it, "So much for skiing..."

Serena smiled as she took the keys for their cabin, "There's still plenty to do, B!"

Nate was passing Chuck his key to their cabin when the door opened and a gentleman and a young girl came in carrying firewood. Chuck promptly dropped his key, "Professor Waverly!"


AN: Thanks, as always, to my dear wonderful Georgia for editing. It's amazing the silly things you can still do after writing for almost a year!

Fair warning! I started working a good 20 hours a week last week, and there's a chance it will only go up from there. But I'm still working when I can to get this story done and up so it can finish on Christmas/Christmas Eve. So please, leave a review and help me keep writing no matter how tired I am, lol.