Chapter 4
Chuck stayed for a few days with Blair at the villa in Cabo, where they'd hang out poolside and chat or swim or take a walk on the beach to pick up sea shells and play in the waves. Once they even took the small speed boat that was there and went fishing, or at least Chuck did while Blair just relaxed on the bow of the boat.
As she was relaxing there one afternoon, Blair pondered a loud "Hmm...its such a beautiful day. Can you even believe its almost New Years?"
"Yeah it is quite different celebrating New Years down here, isn't it? Quite different than New York." he laughed.
"Yeah I wonder what everyone's doing up there? I heard S might be throwing a bash or something, but who knows? Do you think they can survive New Years without us?" she sighed.
"Perhaps...do you miss it?" he mused.
"Ah little...especially around the holidays...but I'd certainly take this weather over ice and snow. It's just the parties I miss...they were great!" she sighed.
"Well we could throw a party here...just tell me and its done. I could get fifty, a hundred people here easy." he suggested.
"I don't know...it'd be fun...but with being pregnant I'd like to be able to have my own bed to fall into at the end of the day without having to chase anyone out of it. I think I'd rather just go out somewhere..." she pondered.
"All right that's fine too. We can go to Pablo's Crab Shack and hang out for awhile. It'll be fun, you'll have a good time." he said.
"Sure that sounds fine." she replied.
"There is something in February though that I might need you to accompany me to though." he commented.
"Really? What is it?" she asked.
"Well my father wants to make a contract to the military and thus I'm supposed to host a party for the constituents at Camp LeJeune. You can be my plus one." he suggested.
"Why do you want me for your plus one? I'm pregnant and will be even more obviously so by the time February comes! Why would you want a pregnant girl for your plus one? You could pick any girl to go along with you." she replied.
"True, but you're more intelligent and well read than most of the women I've had, so most of those in attendance will be impressed by that and take me seriously...especially if they think I'm a family man." he replied.
"Family man?" she asked.
"Yeah...I'm hoping that most will think we're married and then assume that we're several years older than we are, so we can seal the deal." he said.
"Well that's quite the assumption, Bass, but I can see how it would work. Are your parents supposed to be there?" she asked.
"No, that's why I arranged to host it on my own, to impress my parents and make them believe I'm the son they raised me to be. A son to be proud of." he exclaimed.
"I think I understand you Chuck. Okay if your parents aren't going to be there, I'll attend." she agreed, noticing the genuine smile he gave her when he told her "Thanks."
"Ah...I'll be so glad when I can get back to Yale and my agenda for the future. Although I think I will miss Cabo in some ways." she sighed as she relaxed.
"Yale...yes...so what were you taking there? What was your major?" he asked.
"Hmm...I was thinking of majoring in Poli-Sci and minoring in Literature, but now I'm not sure." she sighed, then went on "So what are your future plans, Chuck? Any ideas?"
"Well...my father threatened to have me join the Marines...hence the contract with Camp LeJune...and I was considering it..." he began.
"The Marines? Oh my Chuck! Isn't it dangerous? What with the war and everything? I'd hate to have anything...happen...to...you..." she stammered, a bit surprised by her reaction to the thought of Chuck in a war zone.
"Well...yeah I suppose so...but now with a baby on the way, there'd be something of me left behind for future generations..." he admitted.
"Chuck! Don't talk like that!" she chided him.
"What? It's true! Aw would you miss me? I never knew you cared that much about my welfare, Blair..." he chuckled.
"I do...for the sake of the baby!" she scowled.
"Yeah 'the baby'..." he smirked as he started to reel in a fish.
"Don't be sarcastic Bass...Ooh did you catch something, fisherman?" she gasped.
"Yeah...and it feels like it might be a pretty big one..." he grunted as he reeled in the fish.
"Do you need any help?" she asked.
"Nah...unless...have you ever been fishing, Blair?" he asked.
"Not really."
"Okay...climb around here...and you can give me a hand..." he replied, the strain obvious in his voice.
"All right...here I come..." she replied as she climbed past the front of the boat and into the stern in the back where Chuck was. He let her stand in front of him and together they reeled in the fish. To Blair, being trapped between his arms as she helped him reel in the fish brought back the butterflies she'd felt earlier...but she just blamed that on her pregnancy hormones and/or their baby, and the excitement of catching a large ocean fish.
"Hey good job darling! You caught your first fish...and its a beauty too, just like you!" he teased as he gave her a peck on the cheek and held the fish up.
"Wow that is a pretty big fish, Chuck! I wonder what it weighs?" she pondered.
"Oh maybe 13 pounds...not bad for your first catch..." he said as he started to clean it with a knife.
"Can you take a picture of me with it, with my cell phone?" she asked as she whipped out her cell phone from her purse and handed it to Chuck.
"All right...as long as you don't mind a little blood..." he said.
"Oh I can handle it...I'm a strong woman...give me the fish, Chuck..." she said as she reached out for the fish and he handed it to her, while he took her cell phone and aimed it to take a photograph.
"Blair's first catch of the day...but I'm not sure if you were telling me the truth about never fishing before...If memory serves me, I think you may have been fishing recently..." he teased.
"What do you mean? I've never caught a fish before." she asked.
"Oh yes you did...the other day...when we were poolside...you caught yourself a Bass and obviously had fun toying with it for awhile..." he teased as he grabbed himself.
"CHUCK?! That...was...never mind! You're insufferable!" she scolded him as she became embarrassed and blushed, while he just laughed. "Here's your fish, Bass man! I'm going to sit on the bow of the boat!" she growled as she threw the fish at Chuck, grabbed her cell phone, and moved back to the bow to sulk.
"Sorry Blair...but I couldn't let that one get away! You know any time you feel the urge to catch yourself a Bass, my drawers are always open!" he teased.
"Shut up, Bass!" she pouted as she stuck out her tongue at him and he continued to laugh.
That evening, their cook grilled the fish Blair had caught, and together they ate dinner on the patio as the sun set. Chuck tried to apologize for his quips in the boat about catching her toying with him, and Blair accepted the apology, even if she tried to stay on guard for any more crazy comments he'd make. After dinner, they took a walk along the beach and picked up sea shells and talked a bit more, until he noticed she was getting tired, so he walked her back to her bedroom.
"Interesting touches you've made to my usual room here...its more airy..." he mentioned.
"Yeah I thought that it was too dark and closed in...especially with your cologne and everything. Thanks for letting me continue to stay in here while you're visiting." she replied.
"Ah it was no problem since you're so settled in...still where are some of my things?" he asked.
"Your cologne is in the closet, as well as your porn, and your stash of cannabis and other pharmacudicals I found under your bed..." she sighed.
"Good...so you didn't flush them down the toilet or anything?" he asked.
"No but I was tempted to...you know you shouldn't..." she chided him.
"Yeah yeah...heard it all beforehand..." he sighed, then went on "Anyway have a good night. I'm going out tonight..."
"Aw...you always go out by yourself, Chuck...and I never get to go out anywhere!" she whined.
"Well if you want to come along, you can...at least tonight. You might be surprised." he said as he took her along with him
Where they ended up going was off the beaten tourist track, where they saw various religious icons to the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, set up especially for the Christmas Season. The Chapel was a beautiful place with all of the candles lit, and Blair was surprised that Chuck would go to such a place.
"Chuck I'm surprised you'd even step inside of a church, especially with your reputation." she commented.
"Well...my mother's Catholic, or at least she was raised that, and so I like to visit a chapel around the Christmas Season at least, especially when my family's down here in Mexico. Yeah when I was a boy, my family would often come down here for a few days around the holidays and celebrate Christmas every other year, and that's one of the few times we'd visit church. The Nativity plays and the Passion Plays are the best because the people walked the streets reenacting the route of the Nativity or way to the cross. They even have animals and everything, so its pretty cool." he shyly said.
"Really? That sounds great! Are they doing it again tonight?" she asked.
"I'm not sure? We may have missed it. I guess if you're still here around Easter, you'll be able to see the guys reenacting the way to the cross, and that's awesome because a few of the guys actually let themselves get nailed to the crosses, too really feel the pain of Christ. Real blood...its pretty cool..." he mentioned enthusiastically.
"Real blood? Ew...that sounds kinda gross! The guys don't actually get...uh...crucified...do they?" she gasped.
"Ha ha...no...they don't hang up there that long! Anyway, I might as well light my candles so we can go on..." he chuckled, then grew more serious as he went to light his candles while Blair followed him.
"Why are you lighting so many, Chuck?" she asked curiously.
"One for everyone in my family...my parents, my brother, myself, and...uh...Small Fry..." he chuckled, slightly embarrassed.
"Really? You're lighting one for the baby? Aw that's sweet..." she sighed, suddenly feeling a bit happily nervous around Chuck.
"Yeah...well he or she is a Bass..." he admitted nervously, also keenly aware of Blair, feeling those same butterflies he'd felt in his gut one other time when he'd felt his child swimming inside of Blair.
"Aw...uh...can I light a candle...even if I'm not Catholic?" she asked.
"Yeah sure...I won't tell..." he winked at her as he handed her a candle.
Blair lit the little votive with the taper Chuck had passed to her and watched it burn for a few seconds, keenly aware that Chuck was still watching her, when she nervously turned to him and laughed "So Chuck are you going to go to confessional now or something?"
That broke the moment and he laughed, saying "Nah...not right now. I have so many sins to confess, we'd likely be here all night! Ha ha! Nah...let's go on and get a night cap before I take you home." as he took her hand and they left the church, only to head to a cantina down the road.
At the Cantina, Chuck had a couple of Dos XXs while Blair had a virgin margarita and a taco, while they listened to the live mariachi trio play Christmas songs. Eventually Chuck went over to the bar and talked to a few people, as Blair started getting sleepy again, although she was keenly aware of the people who tried to hit on Chuck, especially the girls who sidled up to him and begged him for a dance and maybe more.
Blair sighed and sulked a little when Chuck did give in and dance with a few of the girls. She figured that whatever she'd thought she was feeling for him, or he was feeling for her in the church, must've just been her imagination...or perhaps wishful thinking of a lonely heart on her part. 'Oh if only Nate were here...He wouldn't abandon me for some spicy senorita...or maybe he would, but he'd at least know what his place SHOULD be...unlike some men who are apparently still Bassholes...' she thought, as she tried to keep up the appearance of nonchalance.
Chuck meanwhile enjoyed himself with the senoritas, but he'd still glance toward Blair to make sure she wasn't being accosted by any of the hombres in the Cantina. There were a few guys who were eying Blair, that looked like they could be trouble, whether she noticed them or not. He'd also played up to the senoritas' flirtations in an effort to make Blair jealous, but based on the smile on her face, it didn't seem to be working. 'Ah....maybe I'd just imagined that she'd fallen under my spell at the chapel...I know I was feeling something...though maybe it was just that fish we caught? Ah it was probably just my imagination...but still I'll get her to at least fall for me like I do everyone else...Blair Waldorf is obviously a tough nut to crack, but definitely not impossible...our Independence Day cruise was evidence of that...' Chuck thought as he remembered the fun times they'd had on his family's yacht the previous summer.
After awhile, Blair got up to leave, and to her surprise, Chuck was soon at her side. He escorted her home, where they said goodnight. Blair helped a slightly drunk Chuck into his parents' room and soon fell asleep on the king sized bed in there, sleeping soundly, while Blair fell asleep in Chuck's original bedroom.
The next morning, Blair got up and yawned as she walked into the kitchen, surprised to see Chuck already up and awake, making an iced drink and something for breakfast.
"Good morning B, good to see that you're finally up." he commented.
"Yeah..mwaah...Good morning to you Chuckles...though I don't know how you do it?" she yawned.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Ooh get wake up before me...despite going to bed half drunk." she replied.
"I don't know? I guess I have a high tolerance for alcohol." he replied.
Suddenly there was a screeching noise, and Chuck's pet monkey Sweetie came scampering across the kitchen, jumped over Blair narrowly missing her hair, and landed on Chuck's shoulder, eating a peanut out of his hand.
"What the heck? You've been here for two...three days, and I just realized you brought your pet monkey here too?" Blair asked, a bit surprised.
"Oh yeah...but he just came back from visiting Uncle Bonzo...didn't you Sweetie?" Chuck replied, turning his attention to his pet.
"You have an Uncle Bonzo?" she asked.
"No, Sweetie does."
"Your monkey has an uncle?" she asked skeptically, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Sure...don't we all?" he retorted.
"Well yeah but..." she started.
"Ha ha...actually Uncle Bonzo is my grandpa's chimp, who's been living at a nature preserve nearby since my grandpa passed on a few years ago. He's getting up there in years, I think he's about 80, so that was one of Sweetie's last time visiting Uncle Bonzo. Still I made arrangements for Uncle Bonzo to visit here one last time, today." he mused.
"What? No no no...I'm not going to be left babysitting an octogenarian chimpanzee, plus your pet spider monkey, while you go fishing again for another sea bass!" she argued.
"Well I was going to see if I could catch a delgado or mahi-mahi this time...but if you insist...I'll take both of the primates along...as well as you..." he suggested.
"WHAT?! As well as my ass, Bass!..." she started, until the doorbell rang and the housekeeper escorted a zoo keeper who was carrying a graying chimpanzee in a diaper and a Hawaiian shirt.
"Ah there's Uncle Bonzo! Good boy!" Chuck said as he took the chimp and then turned to the keeper and said "Thanks for bringing the chimpanzee. Do I owe you anything?"
"No sir. Delivery is free of charge. Adios!" he said as he left.
"Hasta Manana!" Chuck replied as he carried the chimpanzee over to Blair. "Here he is B, meet Uncle Bonzo!" he said as he introduced the chimp.
"Hello...Oh he is kinda cute. I didn't know he'd be wearing clothes." she pondered.
"Oh yeah. Did you know he's a celebrity? He has a twin brother who starred in many films in the 1930s & 40s, and Bonzo himself starred in one in the 1950s opposite a former US President." Chuck said proudly.
"Former US President? What...do you mean to say that your chimpanzee was in Bedtime For Bonzo opposite Ronald Regan?" Blair laughed.
"Yes...and Bonzo's twin brother played Cheeta in all of the Tarzan films opposite Johnny Weismueller!" Chuck laughed.
"Wow...that's surprising..." she replied.
"Yeah my grandfather and his cousin were animal trainers in Los Angeles back in the day. My grandfather on my mother's side though." he replied.
"That's interesting..." she said as Chuck went on to share more about his family with her.
Eventually they decided to go out in the mini catamaran speed boat they'd taken the previous day, with the primates sitting on the bow, and Chuck & Blair at the stern. When Chuck dropped anchor and bit out, Blair moved to the bow to read a book, while Chuck sat back and fished and Uncle Bonzo and Sweetie hung out. Sweetie became a very convenient pet when he'd bring bottles of water to Blair, so that she or Chuck didn't have to climb around to reach one out of the cooler.
A Spanish radio station was playing on the radio in Chuck's boat, when Blair glanced up to notice that he'd apparently fallen asleep under his straw hat, and the fishing rod in his hand was twitching with a catch. Blair started to yell for him to wake up, but apparently he didn't hear her past the radio, so she threw her water bottle at him, and that woke him up. As Chuck chuckled and started to reel in his fish, Blair noticed that Uncle Bonzo was wearing the captain's hat from the boat, causing her to chuckle.
"So did you catch your fish, Bass?" she asked teasingly.
"Yes...and yes! Another sea bass, probably near 20 pounds." he laughed. "I should have Gordon Ramsey come and make us his specialty Blackened Chilean Sea Bass...I had it once in one of his restaurants, and it was delicious...you'd love it Blair!"
"Really? You've been to one Chef Ramsey's restaurants? Which one?" she mused.
"LA...I'll have to take you there sometime..." he suggested.
"Okay, you do that..." she replied, although she pondered the likelihood of that ever happening. "Hmm...so I see Uncle Bonzo's the Skipper of this ship...so does that make you 'Gilligan' Bass?" she teased.
"Ha ha, no...well I don't know. I guess if I'm 'Gilligan,' you're 'Maryanne'!" he teased.
"Not the Movie Star?" she asked.
"No...that would go to Serena! Most definitely!" he retorted.
"Yeah...I love Audrey Hepburn...but S has actually been in a few films, or something." Blair sighed.
"True...but if I'd had a choice, I'd take the girl next door over the movie star for my girlfriend...because the 'girl next door' might actually marry you one day." he admitted.
"Unless she's one of those girls from the TV show who live with Hef..." she sighed.
"Hmm...that's true. Maybe I should look to see if there is any property available near the Playboy Mansion." he amusedly pondered.
"Bass...you're quite the guy...tsk tsk!" she teasedly chided him.
Soon after catching that fish and a few other small fry that Chuck let Blair reel in, they headed back to shore and the villa. They went shopping in the town a bit, then came home where Chuck told her to get ready because he was having a few friends over, and true to his word, about 15 people arrived for an impromptu dinner party. The hospitality staff took care of all of the food, so hosting duties were all up to Chuck & Blair, and as a team they worked pretty well. The party continued into music and dancing, drinks and fun, with the limbo game being the most fun, even if Blair's ability to limbo was greatly affected by her state of pregnancy. At the end of the party, some people shot off fireworks to cap off the evening, before leaving.
Blair put the primates to bed in her bedroom, and to her dismay, Uncle Bonzo and Sweetie had nearly wrecked the place, so she ended up spending the night in another bedroom, after checking up on Chuck and seeing, to her dismay, him leaving her with a bunch of his friends. She went to sleep then with Chuck on her mind...even if she did have good memories of the party otherwise.
The next day was New Years Eve and most of the day was spent relaxing, swimming, and getting ready for the night. Blair wore her red bikini again, and this time when she laid out, she happily agreed to let Chuck rub her with sunscreen. She couldn't lay flat on her stomach on the lounge chair, so she sat backward on it. When Chuck rubbed her back, she moaned at how good it felt, and languished under his touch. She even felt him kiss his way down her spine and didn't flinch, whatever he within certain unspoken limits.
That night, Blair dressed in a gown that she had purchased in a little boutique in town. A gown she thought Chuck hadn't seen yet, and for some unknown reason she wanted to dress up for him and their night out. When he saw her, the effect wasn't lost on him and he complimented her on how she looked in her new dress, while she complimented him on how he looked as well. They went out to dinner at Fenicia, where the two of them enjoyed a Mediterranean themed dinner with pasta, mussels, clams, salad, wine, and so forth. Afterwards, they took a stroll on the beach, and talked, as they watched the sunset and the boats off shore.
"Chuck...do you think I'm pretty?" she sighed as she sat in the sand.
"Of course. You're a damn fine woman with no begotten nonsense!" Chuck laughed.
"Ha ha...Chuck that is a silly compliment. Where did you come up with that one?" she laughed.
"I heard it in a movie once and always wanted to say it to my girlfriends, but you were the first I thought it truly applied to." he commented.
"Oh really? Then if it's true...why didn't more guys...ask me out?" she asked.
"Oh I don't know? Because you were Nate Archibald's girlfriend?" he said.
"Maybe...but you know how the boundaries of couples were always broken in school. We had some wild times in school, didn't we Chuck? From S posing in fashion mags that turned out to be tabloid and skin rags, to Nate meeting that Georgina chick in rehab...she was a wild one!" she laughed.
"Yes indeed! She was certainly interesting in bed too." he laughed.
"You slept with her? Geez! I guess I should've known. Speaking of unique...whatever happened to Tiffany with the black and purple hair and the pet ferret? I still remember seeing you two walking through the park all weird matchy-matchy in purple pushing your pets in a baby carriage. Now what was that all about?" Blair questioned him skeptically.
"Ha ha ha...well...Tiff was a bit obsessed with her ferret and when she learned about Sweetie, she insisted that we take them for walks through the park to give them exercise, and somewhere she found this huge baby buggy to push them around in, I think it was a Silver Cross Pram or something, and she used that. The matching aspect was just something she liked, so I just went along with it because it was fun. With Tiffany I remembered having to help her lift the carriage over the curbs a lot, a lot of matching clothes, and having to listen to her plans to someday buy the Tiffanys jewelry store and turn part of it into a cafe, so you could eat breakfast there just like in the movie." he laughed.
"Wow she was a visionary! Was she a Hepburn fan too?" she gasped.
"Eh...no I don't think so. She was just obsessed with certain things, though it didn't necessarily include Audrey Hepburn, like you." he commented, then went on. "Ha ha speaking of Tiffany and her carriage, I remembered one time she convinced me to try to do her in the baby buggy while we were in the park. She claimed that the carriage was big enough to hold her at least, and being always up for a challenge I agreed, so she climbed in, wrapped her legs around my waist, and I started to give it to her...but then when I tried to climb in to get more leverage, the carriage started to roll down a hill and we crashed against a tree ending up in a big heap at the bottom. I nearly broke my leg, Tiff got furious that I ruined her baby carriage, then her ferret bit me and I had to get a tetanus shot, so in the end we broke up." he laughed.
"Chuck Bass that is one of the most ridiculous fish tales I think I've ever heard! Sex in a baby carriage...yeah right! I can just imagine, suddenly wheeling down a hill in a baby carriage when you probably made her believe it was you making the earth move! Ha ha ha!" she laughed as she tried to imagine Chuck's misadventure with Tiffany in the baby carriage at Central Park. "Serves you right that you two crashed it in the park for trying something like that! Next thing you'll tell me you had sex skydiving or bungee jumping or something!" she sarcastically said.
"True, true, and true." he laughed.
"What?" she gasped.
"Baby carriage, bungee jumping, and skydiving...the places where you'd asked if I'd had sex and I said 'true, true, and true!'" he laughed.
"Oh you're just telling stories! I don't know how you'd even have sex bungee jumping or sky diving..." she gasped.
"Well it's actually not that difficult if you really want to know..." he laughed.
"I don't want to know, thanks, Bass." she scolded.
"Aw where's your sense of adventure, Waldorf? Ha, you should try having sex while scuba diving...talk about a way to use up your oxygen supply fast!" he teased.
"Ha ha ha...I bet." she sarcastically laughed.
"It's true! Anyway once you have the baby, I'll have to take you sky diving or bungee jumping or scuba diving some time...the Chuck Bass way!" he laughed then went on "Or I know I'll buy you a baby buggy and we can take our baby for a walk...and I'll make sure we don't stop on a hill if you wanna test the buggy springs..." he teased.
"Argh! Chuck!" she exasperatedly sighed.
He continued to tease her until he suggested that they go to Cabo Wabo for the New Years Eve party being held there. They went to the restaurant/club then and had a fun time. Chuck even coaxed Blair to dance with him a bit, until she thought she was tired so she sat a few out while he chatted with some other people. After a while, Blair started becoming a little jealous when she saw Chuck chatting and flirting with all of the girls, so when a somewhat suave guy named Diego started to chat her up and asked her to dance, she went with it. As Blair was trying to let Diego teach her how to cha-cha, Chuck looked over and saw that someone was actually dancing with Blair and he suddenly became jealous despite the girls fawning around him, so he cut across the restaurant and cut into Blair's little dance lesson.
"Why hello Chuck...I didn't know you know how to cha-cha?"
"Well dancing is like making love, sometimes you have to make up your own moves. Anyway if you wanted to learn the cha-cha, I'll be glad to teach you." he said as they danced away.
Later, Blair was sitting at a table where Chuck had deposited her to rest, while he went to the bar for a refill on his drink. It was nearing midnight by this point, and as Blair looked up at Chuck, she noticed that the girls were fawning all over him again as he was getting more drunk. Feeling suddenly possessive herself, Blair sidled over to the bar and shooed the other girls away to Chuck's seeming dismay.
"Aw why'd ya break the party up, baby?" he laughed.
"Because I was tired of seeing you with all of the senoritas...Charles...anyway I want to go home and I think you should too." she sighed.
"Ooh 'Charles' am I in trouble now? So you want to go home, but the night is still young. What's your reason that I should go home with you and not just put you on a cab and send you home by yourself?" he asked slyly.
"Mmm...because I'm concerned about you and I care about you...and...oh this..." Blair said as she heard people start to count down at the end of the year, and not one to break tradition, she reached up and pulled Chuck into a kiss as the fireworks went off overhead.
After their sensuous kiss, Chuck pulled back and stared down at her with seduction and perhaps something more, shining in his dark brown eyes as he asked. "Hmm...that was...quite the New Years kiss...or do you have something else in mind?"
"Mmm...perhaps...if we get back to the villa before I change my mind..." she coyly said to him.
"That sounds like a yes to me..." he grinned as he called a cab.
They soon made it back to the villa in record time, kissing the whole way, until they made it to the master suite, where they stripped off each other's clothes and had a night of passion like they'd had together on Independence Day, although this time Blair knew she'd remember every touch and every kiss because she wasn't drunk. It was wild and gentle, fast and slow, and Blair was amazed at Chuck's stamina and skills at being a lover. All in all both were well satisfied by the end of the night, falling asleep in each other's arms afterwards.
