So here it is….Chuck and Blair's first proper interaction. I hope you enjoy it. This really is a short chapter...I'll update soon though.
Please take a minute to review if you like it! Even if you don't like it, actually…all criticism is welcomed!
"Hey, you made it!"
Serena held her arms open as Nate threw his jacket on the sofa and made his way over to her with a smile.
"Yeah, sorry it took so long…you know what my mom's like when she gets going. I've been arguing with her since I got up this morning and we're still getting nowhere. Thank God you called when you did. Thank you."
He planted a kiss on Serena's cheek as he clutched her waist from the side.
"So…Blair finally waved the white flag?"
Serena placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.
"Sort of. But you have to be super nice; we don't want to scare her off. So no pregnancy talk unless she initiates it, and definitely no mention of anything royal."
Chuck looked up from his phone.
"It's Arthur. She's on her way up in the elevator now."
Serena let go of Nate's hands and cautiously walked towards the elevator doors, where she waited impatiently for the next thirty seconds or so, watching the electronic display show just how close her best friend was.
The bell sounded and both she and Chuck took in an involuntary deep breath. The doors opened, and there she was.
Blair's hair was freshly washed and blown out, and her face almost sparkled as the penthouse's morning light enveloped her. That morning she had opted for a loose-fitting sundress she'd bought for her Paris vacation last year (one of only several items of clothing she owned that still fitted without highlighting her bump), with an old Mulberry tote held firmly in the crook of her left arm over her stomach as an extra safety measure.
Serena couldn't help herself; tears welled up in her eyes and she instinctively squealed and reached out for her best friend. Blair found herself quickly engulfed by the warmth of the embrace, sinking into Serena as her own eyes became wet with tears.
"Blair it's so good to see you! I missed you so much."
They both stepped back and laughed excitedly. Any anxiety Blair had had about this reunion had almost immediately vanished.
"Serena, you look incredible. How many months are you now? That's a pretty big bump!"
Serena giggled.
"I'm around 22 weeks. God I've missed you! I can't wait to catch you up on all this boring pregnancy stuff…Nate and Chuck could care less."
They both smiled. Blair looked past Serena nervously as she realised they were not alone. Catching Chuck's eye, she bit her lip and decided to turn her attention to Nate.
"Nate! Congratulations! Who would have thought, huh?"
She embraced him warmly, although conscious that in this hug unlike the last there was no other baby bump to shield her own from discovery, and made sure she kept at least a small gap in between their bodies.
"I know, it's been insane. But, a good insane."
Serena gave him a stern glance.
"Okay, it's been a great kind of insane. How's that, happy now?"
He wandered over to his girlfriend to softly kiss the top of her head and place his hands on her stomach, leaving Blair to face the only person left in the room who she had yet to greet.
"Chuck."
"Blair, how are you?" She opened her mouth to answer but before she could he couldn't stop himself continuing: "You look so beautiful."
She couldn't help the tears collecting again, but managed to compose herself enough to utter the words: "Nate, Serena….could we have a minute?"
Serena raised her eyebrows suggestively.
"Um, okay….as long as when I get back you help me go through the baby name book…"
Blair rolled her eyes with a grateful smile as Serena grabbed Nate's hand.
"Come on, let's go for a walk."
As soon as the elevator doors shut with a metallic clunk, Blair turned back to Chuck. He hadn't taken his eyes from her the whole time.
"Something's…different about you, Blair."
He knew he had made her nervous just with these words as a slight blush crept into her cheeks.
"Different? Well, I'm more tan than I've ever been…those Monaco beaches…"
She trailed off with embarrassment in acknowledgement of the failed engagement which lay behind her and more pertinently, the specific reasons for that failure.
Chuck smirked.
"That's not what I meant…and you know it. I knew something was off as soon as you walked into the apartment. That is last year's Dior, is it not?"
Blair cursed herself silently. Trust Chuck to trip her up on fashion of all things.
"Hmm, is it?" She slid her hand into her tote to grab her cellphone. "Just texting Dorota her punishment. She's the one who laid it out on my bed for me this morning. Serves me right for trusting her judgement I guess."
She shrugged with a slight smirk.
Chuck shook his head and laughed under his breath, knowing she'd bested him on this one. But he was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"Well, I suppose now it's just the two of us there's nothing wrong with a mimosa between friends at brunch?"
Blair felt her stomach flutter but her calm expression did not betray her.
"There certainly isn't. But don't you think we should save the celebrating for when our friends rejoin us?"
Chuck raised his eyebrow.
"Look Blair, if you're not going to tell me what happened with Louis this summer, that's fine…but I don't understand why you made Serena and Nate leave if all you really wanted was to have a simple friendly brunch."
He looked expectantly at her and she held his gaze for a few seconds before defeatedly slumping down onto the sofa. He stayed standing and persisted with his questioning.
"What do you want to tell me, Blair. I know there's something."
She attempted to regain her composure, running her hands through the ends of her hair briefly before standing shakily and walking towards him.
But with each step she took, Blair felt the fluttering in her stomach grow stronger. Like a butterfly, its wings growing in size with every beat. As she stood face to face with Chuck, the beating became too much. Before she knew it, the fluttering had reached her head and her eyes rolled back as she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
Chuck's reflexes meant he caught her upper body before her head hit the hardwood, but there was still a sickening thud as she collapsed, her heels bending underneath her.
"God, BLAIR! Blair? Oh my god."
He dialled for an ambulance straight away, picking Blair up in his arms and laying her down on the sofa. Her eyelids began to blink and she groaned a little.
"Blair, what happened? It's okay, we're going to the hospital… I'm just gonna try and get hold of Nate and Serena."
Even in her dazed state Blair knew what a hospital visit would mean for her and her secret, and she wasn't quite prepared for it to come out that way.
She clutched his arm.
"No, please…just us, for now. Call them later. Please, Chuck."
He couldn't stop himself bending down to kiss her forehead and reaching out to grasp her hand, his own palms sweaty with anxiety.
The front desk called to alert him to the ambulance crew ascending to the penthouse; as he waited for them the seconds seemed to turn into hours, the minutes into the longest days of his life. His eyes focused so intently on both the elevator entrance and Blair's face he didn't see the delicate trickle of blood creeping down Blair's legs from under her dress, staining her creamy skin.
Suddenly the doors sprang open and two men with a stretcher came pushing through the apartment towards the sofa.
"Blair, they're here." Chuck held her hand even more tightly now. "Everything's going to be alright."
Blair's voice cracked with fear as they lifted her gently onto the stretcher.
"You sure?"
Chuck answered swiftly and assertively, never moving his eyes from her own.
"Just fine. You'll see."