If there was ever a point in his life where Chuck felt that a drink was something that he would die without, it would be this one. A small, salivated-on finger was pointing at him and had repeated the word that she had said earlier. But why was she looking at him? Weren't babies supposed to call their daddy's "dada?" He was fairly certain that this wasn't his child.

But at that thought he had to stop. Before Blair had fled to Paris, the rumor had floated around that she was pregnant. Yet, she had squashed that sooner than a freshman girl wearing last years Jimmy Choo's. There was this nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him that maybe there was a bigger reason that Blair was M.I.A. for a while, but he pushed the idea aside.

Swallowing he looked up at the brunette, "um, I should be going. I uh, I have to," he stuttered.

Blair watched him, almost feeling her heart break, because she knew that Chuck never fumbled this much with his words and the only thing that she could think of that would make him do it now would be the terrifying possibility that Holly could be his daughter.

"Of course," she said, starting to bounce the little girl so that her attention would be drawn away from Chuck.

And no sooner had she forced a goodbye grimace of a smile he was back in the elevator and headed down. Taking a few deep breaths, the girl tried to compose herself as she went and fed her daughter as quickly as she could before taking Holly upstairs and tucking her in for the night. As badly as she wanted to call Nate and tell him what happened, she needed someone else, she needed someone that knew her better than anyone. She needed Serena.

The two best friends were seated on her bed, the brunette looking down at her hands guiltily and the blonde staring at her as if she were an alien from outer space. Hearing her take a collective breath, Blair looked up as Serena started to speak, "so, let me get this straight; you really were pregnant, but lied to me, and everyone else, and claimed that you took off to Paris to start a new life and to escape the fact that Chuck basically called you a whore, when really it was so that you could have your daughter and not have to deal with the scandal of Gossip Girl?"

Blair simply nodded.

The blonde frowned, deep in thought.

And when Serena finally spoke again she broke out into a teasing grin, "and you waited this long to tell me that Holly is my goddaughter?"

The brunette broke into a smile of relief and let a comfortable laugh fall from her lips before the two girls embraced in a slightly awkward, but yet, long delayed hug. And when they broke away, Blair bit her lip, "that's not exactly why I called you over here though."

"Wait…then why?"

"Well, Holly said her first word," she responded, earning a small squeal from her best friend, "but there's a catch…" she continued, before spilling out all of the details of the evening.

Across town, Chuck, who had been in his limo since the moment that he had left Blair's had gone through several of the tiny bottles of scotch that were conveniently tucked away inside. Normally the leather of the seats comforted him, the memories of what had happened over a year ago, but tonight, they were unsettling. Everything was unsettling. With a sigh, he tugged his phone from his pocket and pressed the fifth speed dial on his phone.

"Alex," he said when the voice on the other end answer, "I need you to look into something for me; I need you to find me anything you can on Blair Waldorf's time in Paris. I want to know everything; down to what she had for breakfast on her birthday," he said sternly.

Days passed. Blair didn't talk to Chuck. She caught glimpses of him at school, but between her time with Serena and Nate and Holly, she rarely was able to think about him. Not to mention, Jenny was continuing with her façade of wanting to be friends with the former Queen Bee. In fact, the blonde had managed to convince Blair to go to her party on Saturday night. It would be Blair's first party back on the Upper East Side and as much as she hated pawning her daughter off on her mother for the night, especially since Holly had contracted a small flu bug, but people would start to get suspicious if she didn't start trying to take her title back.

So, Saturday night came, and with Serena and Nate beside her, she headed to the party. Every drink that was offered was turned down, since she had never really gotten back into the habit after being off of it for so long during the pregnancy. She danced with Nate and Serena and even spent time gossiping with her own minions. The night seemed almost too perfect…

He couldn't even bring himself to bring the glass to his lips. Chuck's eyes were still glued to the manila folder in front of him, reading the three words over and over again. There was no way. It couldn't possibly be true. But his P.I. had dropped this off hours ago when he had been getting ready for the party. He had even called the hospital in France to confirm it. The paper wasn't lying.

Full Name: HollySabrina Waldorf-Bass

Date of Birth: August 27th 2008

Mother: Blair Cornelia Waldorf

Father: Charles Bartholomew Bass

It was well into the night, and Blair couldn't recall the last time she had this much fun. It was almost as if she was back to being Queen and it was just another night out with her friends. But there was something missing. And she wasn't sure why, but a part of her was disappointed that Chuck hadn't shown up. Yet, she knew that she couldn't let it show because she knew how closely both Serena and Nate were watching her…but no one more so than Jenny. The blonde had rarely let her eyes wander from the brunette the whole night, as if staring at her would make the answers magically appear.

The three best friends were currently stationed at the bar, and only two of them had drinks, when Blair's phone went off. Digging it from her purse, Blair stared at it curiously for a moment, "it's my mom," she told them, a look of worry instantly crossing over her face before she answered it.

Nate and Serena started anxiously at her, both wondering what the call was about and each growing more nervous as they saw Blair's expressions continuously change before promptly hanging up and standing.

"It's Holly," was all she said before taking off with them close in pursuit, leaving behind a very confused Jenny Humphrey.

Chuck had just mustered up the courage to go to the party to confront Blair when his cell phone rang.

"Mr. Bass," Alex said on the other end when he answered, "you told me that you wanted to be kept up to date on all the going-on's of Miss Waldorf. Well, her daughter was just admitted to the hospital."

This private investigator didn't even get a chance to say goodbye when he heard the dial tone on the other end, for Chuck had hung up quickly, dialed his chauffeur and insisted that he get to the hospital as soon as he possibly could.

My oh my, it seems that distance does make the heart grow fonder for while our dear B. had departed it tested the bonds of her friendship which seem to be stronger than ever. And just when I thought she was going to make her big come back at Little J.'s party, she disappeared faster than the dresses at Bendel's during a sale. Something tells me that we're missing a part of this story, and I'm dying to find out what it is. But the biggest question I have now is: who in the world is Holly?

You Know You Love Me,

XoXo

Gossip Girl