A/N: Thanks again for all of your reviews/alerts/favorites! Here's the next chapter...enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl.
"Chuck! I'm so glad you answered. Where should we meet?"
"Who isss thiss?" Chuck slurred on the other end.
Blair's heart dropped. She could practically smell the alcohol through the phone.
"Chuck where are you?" Blair demanded.
"Who isss thiss?" He asked again.
Blair leaned her head back against the seat and shut her eyes. Slowly, she said, "Chuck, it's Blair. Where. Are. You."
"The Emmpire," he slurred.
"Don't leave. I'm coming there, okay?" she said.
"I'mm at the Emmpire."
"Okay. Chuck, do you understand me? Don't leave," she said seriously. He was in absolutely no condition to go anywhere, let alone take care of himself.
"Okay. Okay. Oka-" Blair shut the phone to cut off his rambling. She picked up the phone again and immediately dialed Arthur. She sighed in relief when he answered.
"Ms. Waldorf, is everything alright?" Came the driver's voice.
"Yes, everything's fine Arthur. I apologize for calling so late." She looked at the clock on the taxi's dashboard. She nearly cried when she saw it was just after two in the morning.
"It's absolutely fine, Ms. Waldorf," Arthur replied. "What can I do for you?"
"Listen, something happened with Chuck and I'm on my way to see him. I need you to promise me that no matter how much money he offers you, or whatever other bribe he can come up with, that you will not drive him anywhere."
"Of course," Arthur agreed.
"No, I need you to promise."
The man chuckled. "I promise."
Blair said goodbye, feeling a little more relieved that there wasn't a possibility of an intoxicated Chuck running away.
During the quick ride to the Empire, she practically held her eyes open she was so tired. When she got there, she swiftly took the elevator up and entered the suite. It didn't take long to find Chuck. He looked awful; lying lazily on the couch, drink in hand. Even three feet away he reeked of alcohol.
"Blair! You came," he said in a sing-song voice.
Instead of responding, Blair tried to take the drink out of his hand. He kept a firm grip on it, however, and wouldn't let go. "Chuck, let go please." His fingers still wouldn't loosen, and when she tried to take it again, some spilled out, splashing on her dress. Blair closed her eyes and tried to will away the tears that were threatening to fall. She took a deep breath. "Chuck, let me have the glass so I can get you a refill."
He gave a tired smile and finally let go of it. She sighed and placed it on the bar. "Come on, Chuck. Let's go in your room." She tried to pull him up, but he felt like dead weight. "Please help me, Chuck. Stand up."
"Yeahhh, let's go on my bed Blair." He stood up, albeit wobbly, and leaned in to kiss her neck. She pulled away from him.
"Chuck, stop." She slowly guided him into his room and laid him down on the bed. When she walked away to get him a glass of water, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the bed.
"Commme here, B."
She sighed, completely frustrated. But she gave in, knowing it was useless trying to fight with him. She sat down at his feet.
Slowly, she asked, "Chuck, what happened?"
He closed his eyes, "The fire."
"What fire?" Blair asked, incredibly confused.
"It...wasss...an accident." He sounded like he was drifting off to sleep. As much as he needed to sleep this off, she needed more information out of him.
"What was an accident?" She snapped her fingers in front of his face to keep him awake.
"Shhhe died," he slurred.
This made Blair's heart stop.
What is he talking about?
"Who died? Chuck, who died?" She asked him frantically.
He didn't answer; he was out cold.
Blair ran into the bathroom and grabbed the trashcan. She put it beside the bed on the floor just in case he got sick. Then, she practically ran into the other room to grab her purse. She picked up her phone and dialed Dan.
"Hello?" Dan answered, voice thick with sleep.
"Dan! It's me."
"Who?"
Blair nearly cried. "Stop, Humphrey. You know who it is."
He gave a sleepy laugh. "I'm kidding. What's up?"
She was on the verge of tears. "What's up? What's up is Chuck is so drunk he would probably blow up a breathalyzer, you are joking around with me at three in the morning like it's no big deal, I haven't slept in what must be twenty hours at this point, and I think Chuck killed someone."
"Woah. Slooow down, Waldorf. First off, I'm sorry for joking with you. Not cool. Second, we kind of knew Chuck was going to be drunk. Three, you're the crazy girl who never sleeps because she's so busy. And four, why do you think Chuck killed someone?"
As much as she tried not to, she was now crying. "Because he kept saying something about a fire and an accident. And that a girl died."
"Can you wake him up and ask him? Sometimes people can think clearly even when they're drunk."
"What? No they can't. Have you ever even been drunk?" Before Dan could even answer, she added, "Of course you have. You slept with Georgina."
"Hey now. The only reason why I slept with her was because I was drunk."
"That's precisely my point Humphrey! People do stupid things when their drunk!" Blair nearly shouted.
He chuckled. "Okay, you're right. But I still don't think he killed someone. That's seem too crazy, even for him."
Blair lied down on the couch, phone still pressed to her ear. After about thirty seconds, Dan asked, "Are you still there?"
"Yes," Blair said quietly, hoping it wasn't totally obvious that she was still crying.
"What's wrong?" came his calming voice, prompting new tears to form in her eyes.
She inhaled slowly, her breath hitching the whole way. "I'm so tired and I wanted this conversation with Chuck to be short." She took another breath. "And I don't want to be here all night, but I don't want to leave just in case he wakes up."
"Is that all?" He asked, knowing it wasn't.
"No." She wiped her eyes. "I can't go home because Serena's there. And she hates me. I just want to go back to the Loft and climb into your scratchy sheets and fall asleep," she said, not even caring how pathetic she sounded.
She could practically hear him smirking through the phone. "So I have nothing to do with it?"
"No," she said with a sleepy smile. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Even just having him on the phone made her feel better.
"What?" he said, pretending to be offended. "Waldorf, you call me at three AM and wake me up, and you aren't even going to admit you miss me?"
"Okay, okay, I admit it," she said smiling. "Just stop talking Humphrey. I'm trying to fall asleep."
"Alright, sorry. Want me to call you tomorrow?"
"No!" She sat up, panicked. "Don't hang up!"
Confused, he asked, "But I thought you just said-"
"I know what I said," Blair said quickly. She lied down again and closed her eyes. "Just...keep talking to me."
He laughed. "Okay. Want a story?"
"Umm...it doesn't matter," she answered, sounding increasingly tired.
"Well, once upon a time, there was this girl who sucked at Solitaire, but managed to do everything else right...even if she didn't think so herself. A girl who was willing to give up something she wanted, in exchange for her friend's happiness. A girl who kissed the most amazing guy in the world...seriously, this guy is at like rock-star status...and even though she should probably be spending the entire night kissing him, she is instead sleeping on the couch of a friend who really needs her. Because she is awesome like that."
"You make me sound like some hero," Blair said, barely awake.
"Have you ever thought to yourself that maybe you are?"
"Thanks, Humphrey," she whispered.
"Goodnight Supergirl."
And then, she finally slept.
::
At nine, Blair woke up to the sound of retching. She sighed, knowing exactly what was going on, and got up to find Chuck. He was leaning off the bed, throwing up in the trashcan she had placed there. She cringed watching him, the sound of it sending chills through her body.
Why did I do that to myself?
When he finished, he looked up at Blair. He actually seemed surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?" he asked, not entirely kindly.
Blair rolled her eyes at his tone. "You're welcome for the bringing you to the bed and putting the trashcan there."
He stared at her blankly.
She sighed. "I called you last night and you told me to come here. Serena told me you were upset about something and that you needed to talk."
"Where were you? Serena and I were looking for you all night. We were actually worried," he frowned.
"That's not important," she brushed past it. "Why did you need to talk to me? Is everything okay? You were pretty wasted last night." She crossed her arms.
"No, everything's not okay," he growled. He got off the bed and walked past her.
She followed him out of the room. "Where are you going?"
"I need a drink," he said, going over to the bar.
"Nooo you don't," Blair said, catching up to him before he could pour himself a glass. He glared at her; she could care less. "We are having this conversation sober."
Infuriated, he walked over to the couch and sat down, elbows on his knees. He wrung his hands nervously together.
Blair studied him, unsure of what to make of his behavior. "Chuck, what is going on? Last night you said something about a fire...and something about a girl dying? You weren't making any sense."
He shook his head. "I thought when my dad died that we were in a good place; no secrets, just the truth."
"Right..." Blair said, prompting him to continue.
He laughed, but no humor was in it. "I should have known it was too good to be true." He shifted in his seat, too aggravated to keep still.
She stayed silent, hoping he would continue talking.
"One of my father's hotels had a fire in it years ago. It killed one security guard; I even confronted him about it. Tonight, I found out that it also killed Raina's mother. And apparently, my father did it deliberately. He deliberately killed a person, Blair," Chuck said, each word paining him.
This was just as every bit of shock to Blair as it was to Chuck. Figuring it out in her mind, she said, "So...that's why Thorpe is trying to take over Bass Enterprises? Because he is holding a grudge?"
"Yes. But all he really cared about was wrecking that last good memory I have of my father and I. He went back to Chicago last night thrilled that he demolished that."
Realizing why he needed to talk to her, she walked over and sat beside him on the couch. "Chuck, you shouldn't let this ruin your view of your father. He had no idea Thorpe would come back and hold this over your head. Just remember where your relationship was when he died."
"He lied to me Blair. We had finally gotten to good place of honesty, and now none of that matters anymore." He stood up and walked over to the bar.
"Chuck, you should really eat something before you drink any more."
He gave her a stern look, one that showed she would not win this fight.
"So...what will you do now?" Blair asked as he poured himself some scotch.
He downed the liquid and immediately poured some more. "I need to get out of here." He looked up at her. "Come with me. We'll just leave and take a break for a while. Just us."
Blair looked at him like he was crazy.
Quite honestly, right now, he is.
"What? That's ridiculous. I can't do that Chuck, and neither should you."
He downed the second glass too. "Why not? You're the only person that understands."
"Okay, it may feel like that now...but we can't just run off together. For starters, we both have responsibilities. I have school, you have the company, we have lives here Chuck. And most importantly, we're not together anymore."
He looked as if he had been slapped in the face. "We can be though. Just come with me."
"No, Chuck." She stood up. "I'm not going with you and you shouldn't go either. Thorpe is gone now. You are your father's legacy. That's what's important now."
He watched her put on her coat. Before she left, she turned around once more. "Chuck, you have the potential to be an incredible CEO. Better than Bart. Even so, he would still be proud of you."
And with that, she left.
::
Blair was still exhausted as she left the Empire; so tired that the thought of going home and facing Serena made her want to roll up in a ball and die. So, she went to the only place that felt good at the moment.
She practically crawled her way up the stairs, each step sucking more energy out of her. When she went to open the door, it didn't move.
Of course he would listen to me and lock it.
After knocking obnoxiously loud for an upwards of ten minutes, she gave up. She sat against the wall across from the door not caring how dirty or germ-filled the floor was, and closed her eyes. She didn't know if she had fallen asleep or not, but not long after she finally heard footsteps climbing the stairs.
He could have made some sly remark, or teased her for coming right back to the Loft. But instead, Dan gave her a warm, understanding smile and held out his hand. She took it and stood up, waiting patiently for him to open the door. Once inside, he dropped the shopping bags he had in his hands and hugged her. Very rarely did Blair Waldorf get hugged, and somehow it was the exact thing she needed in that moment.
When she glanced down at what was in the shopping bags, her knees went weak. The sight of very expensive looking 1200-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets nearly made her cry.
"How much did they cost?" Blair asked him, her heart melting way more than was probably healthy.
"It doesn't matter," he answered simply, kissing her head.
She buried her face in his chest, tightening her hold of him. "Thanks for keeping drama out of everything you do. I'm tired of dealing with it."
"You're welcome."
She pulled away from his chest and looked up at him. She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips to hers. He deepened it, prompting Blair to sigh into his mouth and a warm feeling to spread through her veins. He pulled away and brought both hands up to cup her face. He softly ran both thumbs down her cheeks and smiled. "Waffles or pancakes?"
She scrunched her nose. "Mmm...pancakes."
He kissed her softly again and guided her into the kitchen. She took the same spot she had at dinner the night before and propped her elbows on the counter, resting her chin in her hand. As she watched him make breakfast, she realized how Dan Humphrey couldn't have come into her life at a better time.
A/N: How was that? Much more to come with Chuck and Serena. And, of course, our favorite couple. Sorry for the lack of Dan & Blair in this chapter. I promise to have more of them together next chapter. Even in this sunny beach weather, this story is always on my mind. I'm glad I've been able to update! Reviews make me happy :)
