Chapter 3
Author's Note: I want to thank all of you who have reviewed. And I would love to hear from those of you who have story alerts but have yet to review =) I also want to give a big shout out to my friend Christine for brainstorming with me, you're awesome!
Ziah – Thank you! I'm trying to recreate Chair in a way that doesn't make me sad, hehe!
KelGGBel – Yay, no tears! When I'm done with this fanfic I have another one that I'm working on about the finale of season 3, I think you'll like it =)
AMxoxo – Thank you so much!
Ladyforga72 – Thank you, Chair on the show is getting really depressing, lol!
Ellibells – I'm so glad you liked it, honest and sweet was what I was going for ;) I'm adding Thanksgiving to the next chapter. I'm planning to write another fanfic about Blair and Chuck before he leaves for New Zealand, you'll have to check it out! Thanks for the nice words!
Chaval – Merci beaucoup!
QueenBee10 – Thank you so much!
Disclaimer: I still do not own Gossip Girl – sigh.
Chuck and Blair decided to wait several days before going public with their relationship. They wanted to tell their friends and family before word got out. However, Gossip Girl had other plans. She outed them as soon as Chuck was seen leaving Blair's penthouse.
Good morning, Upper East Siders, an especially good morning to Chuck Bass. Just look at the smile on his face as he is seen leaving the penthouse of none other than our very own Queen B. Is that a new bowtie we see? I wonder how long this power couple will last before they destroy each other once again. As always, as soon as I know anything you will too. You know you love me, XOXO, Gossip Girl.
Chuck and Blair were both incredibly rattled by the blast. 'She's not ready for this,' he thought, 'Blair wanted to control this announcement.' Before he could call her to make sure she was all right, Chuck spotted Lily waiting for him outside his suite at the Empire.
"Lily," Chuck said politely to his stepmother as he walked towards her. "Is something wrong?" he asked while unlocking the door to his suite before stepping aside to allow Lily to enter first.
"We need to talk, Charles," Lily said with a foreboding tone, "Bass Industries in is serious trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Chuck asked trying to remain calm as he kept thinking, 'You have Blair, she's all you need. Remember that.'
He sat on the couch taking a deep breath as Lily sat next to him, "The kind that only Jack Bass could stir up," she looked so torn as she struggled to finish, "I thought I could fix this but it has gotten out of control. He has been slowly buying up shares using shell companies that he's linked to me. It appears he's desperate and is attempting to turn us against each other. This just recently came to my attention. I don't want you to think I'm trying to sell your father's company out from under you, Charles."
"Of course not, Lily," he said, "I know you would never do that to me."
He had more to say but Lily spoke first, "When I heard about you and Blair," now it was Chuck's turn to cut her off.
"What?" Chuck couldn't understand how Lily could know about him and Blair.
"Charles, with my children showing up on Gossip Girl as frequently as they do, I make sure I get the blasts just like you do."
"I see your point," Chuck conceded with a shrug, "But what does Blair have to do with Bass Industries?" He was afraid of where this conversation was going. No one could ever be sure where Lily was going with her cool and collected demeanor.
"I'm tired of being CEO, I want to sign over my shares to you. But the Board has been refusing to allow it after you disappeared over the summer and showed up back in the city with that Eva girl. They viewed you as too unpredictable to trust you at the helm, and I agreed with them until this morning. I need to know if what you have with Blair is serious. We all remember how good an influence she is for you and how she was there for you when Bart first trusted you with his company. They know she can anchor you."
Chuck smiled, "She does make me want to be a better man, the kind she deserves. She is it for me, Lily. I know that I've had my ups and downs with her but I'm planning on giving her my mother's ring."
Lily gasped, she was so happy, "You're proposing? When?" She could hardly contain her excitement, Lily van der Woodsen Bass Humphrey loved herself a wedding.
"I haven't decided when I'm going to do it but I'm getting the ring out of the bank tomorrow," he said with a smile. "I never did thank you for putting it aside for me. Thank you, so much."
"It was nothing, Charles. I know your father, and your mother, would have wanted you to have it," she told him.
Before they got too off topic, Chuck asked, "Am I really being trusted with the company or is this just to get rid of Jack?"
"This is it, Charles. The moment we've been waiting for. You are ready and more than capable to take over. I only have to put the rest of my plan into effect and then I will no longer be a part of Bass Industries. And if all goes to plan, you will have more than you started with," Lily added with a glint of victory in her eyes.
"And what plan would that be?" Chuck asked with a smirk as he leaned forward to hear more.
"Well," Lily began, "your uncle is not the only one with tricks up his sleeve. He's linked these shares to my name, and I intend on transferring all of them to me. My people are working on it now."
Chuck remained silent as he sat opposite her, taking it all in. "Will any of this make Jack come back to the city? Because I can't have him anywhere near Blair," he said anxiously. "We are finally in a good place and what happened with Jack over the Empire," Chuck couldn't finish as he got all choked up.
"What is it, dear?" Lily asked her stepson gently, "I'm sure it can't be that bad."
"Oh, but it is, it is the worst thing I've ever done. And I've done a lot of bad things in my life," Chuck said wryly.
He told Lily what he did and she just rested her hand on his arm, not passing judgment and assuring him that Jack would not be getting anywhere near him, Blair, or her city.
"Lily," he called to her as she was leaving, "Can you keep quiet about the proposal? I want it to be a surprise."
"Of course," and with that she left.
XOXO
Meanwhile, Blair was nervous about how Chuck would react to the blast. Just as she was getting ready to call him, Serena called her.
"Explain yourself, B," Serena said as soon as Blair answered the phone.
"Nice to hear from you too, S. And remind me again why I have to explain myself to you?"
"Is this why you were so eager for me to go away with Colin?" Serena asked suspiciously.
"No," Blair sighed, "It all happened so fast that I didn't plan any of it. And I do have a lot to tell you, but when you get home."
"That shouldn't be long, I'm walking into the elevator now."
"But what happened to Colin?" Blair was genuinely concerned when she heard the elevator ding.
"B," Serena squealed as she ran to Blair for a hug. "Tell me everything!"
"First you," Blair said looking at her best friend, "You were supposed to be gone for more than the weekend."
"Oh, you know," Serena shrugged, "he freaked out because I was still technically his student so he quit his job and broke up with me. No worries, I was thinking of getting back together with Dan anyway. Now spill about Chuck," she giggled.
'It's a good thing I love you, S,' Blair thought as she led Serena to the kitchen, 'I would never put up with such flippant behavior from anyone else.'
"Well," Blair started, "he came over after his Parisian hooker left him. He blamed me for running her out of town, which wasn't entirely true. But you know us, one thing led to another. He asked me if I still loved him, I said no, he declared war, I threw my stiletto at him, and we wound up having sex against the wall, and then twice more on the bed for good measure," she recounted, very blasé about the whole ordeal.
"Ew, the wall," Serena shrieked. "I'm not touching anything in this place until it's been scrubbed down. But tell me what happened after the sex."
The blonde could be a ditz but she loved her friend, and Chuck for that matter. She always hoped that they would find their way back to each other, sooner rather than later.
"We talked," Blair told her, "about everything. It was hard but I could see he was trying. I really do love him, S. It feels so good knowing I have him back for good this time."
"How can you know that, B? I don't want to be a downer but what makes this time different?"
"Maybe because he told me was planning to propose," Blair said.
Serena let out a yelp before Blair could add, "Sometime in the future, he said he wanted it to be perfect."
"And I saw that you gave him the bowtie," she said sneakily, "How did that happen?"
Blair laughed as she told Serena about the drawer of his things. They spent the rest of the day catching up and talking about the boys in their lives; it was like they were in high school again.
XOXO
Chuck had a lot to do after Lily's revelation about Bass Industries but that could all wait until tomorrow. For now, he needed to call Dorota.
"Mr. Chuck, is Miss Blair all right?" Blair's dutiful maid asked when she saw Chuck's number flash on her BlackBerry, "I just see Gossip Girl blast. Are you two back together for good?"
"We are," Chuck told her, "Dorota, I need your help."
"Anything, Mr. Chuck," she said, happy that her mistress had finally come to her senses.
And with that, their plotting began.
Dorota entered the penthouse quietly and could hear voices coming from the kitchen. She hurried upstairs to get what Chuck needed from Blair's bedroom. She had everything in the bag she brought with her when Blair spotted her.
"Dorota," she said casually, "What were you doing in my room, while you are supposed to be on vacation?"
"Nothing, I just forget something and now I leave," she said trying to hurry down the hall.
"What exactly did you forget, in my room no less?" Blair asked as her eyes narrowed and she eyed the bag in her trusty maid's hand.
"KGB no get me to talk, you have no chance, Miss Blair," Dorota said conspiratorially as she rushed down the stairs to the elevator.
Chuck met her in his limo outside and thanked her; she offered to help but he had to do this on his own, for Blair. Chuck worked all night on Blair's surprise, finishing it in the early morning. He showered before he wrapped her presents and then left to wake up his girlfriend.
XOXO
He arrived at the penthouse early, gifts in hand. He quietly climbed the stairs and opened her door.
'She is beautiful,' he thought as he watched her sleep. He took off his shoes before climbing into bed with her. She started to stir but settled back to sleep. He took the bouquet of pink peonies and sidled up behind her, wrapping his arm around her with the flowers.
She smelled the flowers and opened her eyes, "Mmm, good morning Chuck," she said sleepily as she put her hand over his to take the flowers.
"I have something for you," he whispered into her ear before kissing her neck.
She turned for a kiss only to find him leaning over the bed, "What are you doing?" she pouted, "I want my good morning kiss."
He placed two wrapped boxes on the bed before leaning over to give his girlfriend a proper kiss, "Better?" he asked with a smirk.
"Much," she responded cheerfully as she went for the big box.
"Open the smaller one first," he said as he guided her hand to it. She happily agreed knowing that they would both be opened shortly.
"What are these for?" she asked, not really caring as she loved presents but was curious.
"Well," he started, "you did give me that lovely bowtie for no reason. Come to think of it, you never did tell me when you bought it."
"Oh," she said wistfully, "Serena and I had just arrived in Paris and decided to do some shopping. I saw it and had to buy it for you, knowing that sooner or later I would be able to give it to you."
That admission filled Chuck with so much happiness, "I can't believe it; you never did hate me."
"Of course not, as I told you, I was never able to stop loving you," Blair did not want to go down this road again so she changed the subject when she saw what was in the box, "Macaroons!"
She hastily opened the box and popped one in her mouth. Chuck couldn't help but laugh when he saw how carefree she was, "What?" she asked nervously, "Do you want one?"
He kissed her and was able to taste the macaroon, "I'd rather do it this way," he raised his eyebrows and kissed her deeply, taking the last bit of macaroon from her.
"Ew, Chuck!" she squealed as she tried to look mad but just looked at him before pulling him to her for another kiss.
After a few moments, Chuck prompted her to open the big box. Inside was a scrapbook with the words "Chuck and Blair" written across the top in his distinctive handwriting.
She choked back a sob when she saw the first page. It was a photo of them when they were six; she and Chuck were sharing an umbrella and laughing.
"This was after our first scheme together," she said with a smile, "Even back then we were the perfect pair." She nestled closer to him as she turned the pages to see the photos and tokens she had saved to document their friendship and relationship.
"Chuck," she gasped when she saw the napkin she took from Victrola that fateful night, "How do you have this?" Blair was truly touched at the effort he put in to creating this scrapbook but was curious as to when Chuck found her box of remembrances of them.
"I had some help," he said with a sly grin. "Dorota," Blair reasoned as her face softened, "She always did have a weak spot for you."
"You've got to love Dorota," he chuckled. "I thought she would read me the riot act when I called her, but she was more than happy to help. And her stealth is unsurpassed; it seems you were surprised."
"I did catch her leaving my room but was too distracted by Serena to think twice about it. She practically flew out of the penthouse," she laughed as she turned the page that had a photo of them from Dorota's wedding.
"It's blank, so is the rest of the book," she frowned as he kissed the top of her head.
"It's blank so that we can fill in the pages as we go. I intend to have many of these books lining our walls," he went to kiss her when his phone rang.
"Ughh," Chuck looked at his phone before silencing it.
"Who was it?" Blair asked, "Shouldn't you answer it?"
"No," he told her, "It's KC, probably to tell me off for making her job harder. I'll call her tomorrow. But this does remind me, Lily came to see me yesterday."
He explained to Blair what Lily was planning to do with Bass Industries, how happy she was for them, and how she would personally see to it that Jack didn't come near any of them.
"Well, Bass," she said as she looked up at him, "Tomorrow we really face the music; the Gossip Girl blast was just the tip of the iceberg."
"We've been through worse," Chuck looked at her seriously, "This is nothing, we just tell the world how it is and move on together."
I hope you liked it and all have a very Merry Christmas! Please make my Christmas wish come true by filling my inbox with lots of reviews detailing the parts you liked best, i.e. bringing in the other characters. Please bolster my delicate writing ego; I really love positive (and critical) reinforcement!
