Names and Letters Chapter 6:

Chuck watched the sun rise over New York City through the window in his new bedroom. Bright shade of red, orange and yellow reminding him of thing he had thought he'd forgotten long ago.

He had bought the long, bright orange scarf during a sale and promptly thrown it in the bottom of one of his three scarf draws when he returned home that day. What possessed him to get it and wear it outside of 1812 today is a mystery, but he knows he isn't thinking great at the moment. His head is too far up in the clouds and he can barely hear over the sound of fluttering.

It was the day right after Graduation, but more importantly, tonight was his first official, full blown date with Blair Waldorf, the woman of his dreams. Literally.

He rang the bell once and expected Dorota to answer. He was prepared to wait the fifteen minutes on the coach, while Blair quickly finished getting ready. All of which was absurd, because Blair was already perfect, she just liked to make people wait. But he would do it, just for her.

What he didn't expect was Blair to actually answer the door, fully ready to go wherever the night would take them. Complete with a bright orange headband, the same shade as his scarf.

He remembered that whenever they would refer to that night, they never called it their first date, but would say something along the lines of it was the first time they accidentally matched while together.

She was wearing her old school uniform and the pair of red tights he knew so well when he walked in on her. It was summer break from Yale and she was home. Instead of being what seemed like an eternity to him away, she was only a few blocks. However, the look of dissatisfaction on her beautiful face was almost physically painful to him and he stopped in the doorway.

"B," he started slowly, making his presence known, "What are you doing?"

She turned around to face him and he could tell she was just barely able to hold back the tears. But she wouldn't want him to say anything, she he didn't. He just waited for a reply, his eyes glancing at her delicate hands press against her stomach, as if them being there could will it to be any tinier.

"Oh you know, going down memory lane," she says as if nothing is the matter, but the look in her eyes say otherwise, and she continues speaking. "Will you still like me when I'm old and fat?"

Walking towards her, he takes long strides, and finally when he reaches her, he picks her up as if she was the lightest feather in the world. "You could never be old and fat to me B, 'cause in my eyes you're the most beautiful thing alive."

Chuck says it softly and he means it. He doesn't like to show this side of himself often, but at times like these, there is nothing else he can do.

Chuck remembered seeing the uniform and the tights in the trash the next day when he wakes up, but he never mentions it, because she wakes up in his arms and offers to cook him breakfast for the first time.

He looks incredulously at Blair, who is sitting on the other side of the hot tub, with that thing. She is smiling happily, looking perfect in her white bikini, her hair messily put up in a way that makes it look flawless. But with that… monstrosity floating in his hot tub, he can hardly bask in the brilliance of her beauty.

"What…" He finally manages to say, "Is… That…"

"It's a devil rubber ducky." She almost squeals, she is so excited, "I saw it and thought of you instantly." Pausing only for a moment, her face hardens and she crosses her arms, which moves the water enough it forces the little yellow thing towards me.

"What, Don't you like it?"

"No Blair. It creeps me out." He says honestly, eyeing the thing like it was going to grow teeth and eat him.

He doesn't remember what she did with the creepy yellow duck, but he does remember being teased about it on more then occasion.

Chuck looked at the diary wearily; his mind too sleepy to process most of what his heart was trying to decide. Reading it has reminded Chuck of a part of himself he had locked away all those years ago and had only now rediscovered if seemed. Just remembering things about their relationship made him happy, whereas he hadn't been happy in years.

Until Alabaster had come, that is. Since the moment he heard about her, he had been happy, anxious, and angry all at once. He felt so overwhelmed; he didn't know where to put all this thoughts. But he at least had a plan for new day.

Firstly, he would stop re-reading the diary, because it only made him feel closer to Blair, and he didn't need that complication. Secondly, he would sleep for a few hours. Then he had reserved a table at the newest trendy restaurant to go to lunch with his daughter, their first real lunch! Then, he thought grumpily, he had to share her with the family tonight for a dinner.

Reaching for his cell phone to check what exactly the time was, he wondered if Blair's number was the same as it was all those years ago. Shaking his head, he thought about how foolish that would be. But the thought that she had kept her key all those years also went through his head.

Standing up to finally go to bed, he brushed his fingers gently over the cover of the diary, afraid it would break. He was about to get into his bed, when he turned around, and walked of his bedroom, through the spacious living room, and over to Alabasters door. Turning the knob slowly, he noiselessly goes into her room. She is sound asleep and doesn't wake as he pulls the covers up to her neck, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, before leaving to find the comfort of his own bed.


All the clothes that Charlotte had meticulously put away only two hours ago, were now strewn all over her room. Usually she was tidy, believing like her mother that everything had its place, but place wasn't the problem. What to wear for lunch was the bigger problem.

Suddenly, she heard her muffled ring tone go off, and she quickly throw many discarded tops off her bed, onto the cluttered floor, finding the cell phone. She answered it without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello." Charlotte said as pleasantly as she could.

"You look fine Bass."

"What?"

"Stop changing clothes, it's unhealthy. And girly."

"Well, if you haven't noticed I am a girl."

"Oh, believe me, I've noticed." She could almost see his smarmy grin, even though they were on the phone.

"Uck, go bother someone else." She said, hanging up and looking at her reflection in the mirror. Finally after a moment or so, she decided her outfit was presentable enough and found a matching scarf, carefully tying it on her head as a makeshift headband.

A knock came at the door, her father's voice sounding through the thick wood. "Are you ready to go Alabaster?"

"Almost, sorry, I just need another fifteen minutes." She replies, even though she is ready. She just wants some time to think, still slightly embarrassed since her little talk last night. She meant ever word of it, but still.

When she finally appeared out of her room, she saw him look at the scarf on her head, and smile. Suddenly, her fashion statement she ma

During the entire ride to the restaurant, was spent on polite, meaningless conversation, which included the usual 'how are you's' and then some talk on the weather, as well as a small portion on some random sporting event before both realized the other didn't much care for sports.

When they arrived at the restaurant, she was slightly uncomfortable at the fact that not only the hostess, but two of the waitresses knew her father. Probably intimately, from the looks they were giving him. And it didn't make her feel better that he was smiling back at them. She had know he was a short of, man whore as Sebastian put it so delicately once, but to actually see it before her eyes. All she wanted to do was scream at them, at him, for being so dumb. He was suppose to be with her mother, not with half of New York's employed help.

That thought shocked her a bit, coming out of no where as she sat down in the chair her father pulled out for her. She had never really thought about her parents being together before, because they just weren't, but…

The other Chuck must have saw the look of confusion on her face, "Is something wrong Alabaster?"

"No," Charlotte covers with a smile, the name he calls her reminding her that she misses her mother still. She wonders if she will even call or bother to send something tomorrow. Not that is was a big deal, but still. "Have you been here before?"

"Oh, every now and then. They have exceptional service" His voice trailed off as he eyed the waitress coming up to us.

It took everything in her not to puke right then and there. On that skank.

"What will you and your guest be having today, Mr Bass?" she said sweetly, not even bothering to look over in Charlottes direction. That didn't bother her much, what bothered her was when the other Chuck took the waitress/skank's hand lightly in his own and ordered for the both of them.

Discreetly taking out her phone under the table while all this was transpiring, she texted Sparks quickly.

"SOS, I'm at Studio and going to kill someone."

Her phone received his reply a minute later, "They have exceptional service there."

She stared at the text in disbelief, then at her father, never relieving anything of her inner most feelings. Thoughts that went along the lines of men are pigs. When the waitress left, the other Chuck turned his full attention on her. She supposed she should be fidgeting right now, but since her display last night, she didn't feel quiet as awkward around him.

"So…" he began, his head tilted slightly.

"My favorite color is green, I don't really have a favorite band, I'm top in my class, I will be a senior next year, and I stole a pack of gum once when I was seven on a dare. That about sums up my existence."

His face grew brighter, and he laughed softly, "That's it?"

"Pretty much."

"Hmm, I thought you'd be more of a trouble maker." He paused for a moment, his thoughts obviously else where. "Blair and I use to do a lot a stuff when we were teenagers."

At the mention of my mother, everything grew tense between us. Even the water that the waitress had brought us seemed to be icy, or it could just be the ice in it. Either way, there was silence, and not the nice kind. She could tell his thoughts were in the past, while hers were stuck in the wonderfully annoying land of what if.

What if her mother hadn't left. What if Chuck had come to find them. What if they were just like any other normal family, who sat around the table at breakfast. What if her parents were married. What if…

She was actually glad when the waitress/skank came back and placed their food in front of them. When the other Chuck didn't so much as give her a first glance, she quickly left, obviously to go pout somewhere. Picking up her fork, Charlotte pushed her food around the plate absentmindedly. She stole a quick glance at the other Chuck, but no luck, he was still off in his own head.

Tentatively, she put down the fork, "Did you read the diary?"

His eyes snapped to her admittedly, and he sighed, his eyes looking thoughtful, though still somewhat day dreamy.

"Well?" Charlotte presses, feeling mildly irritated, "Do you forgive her?"

"I don't think its an appropriate subject for us to discuss."

"Well, too bad, because I don't want it to be the big elephant in the room all summer," she said sternly, her eyes never leaving her gaze, and she added in a mutter almost to herself, "Its not like we're talking about anything else anyways."

Hunching back in his chair, the other Chuck crossed his arms in front of him, silently accessing her with his eyes, before continuing. "My relationship with Blair has always been… complicated."

She didn't figure complicated always meant a secret child, but she didn't really know about there high school relationship and assumed that that was what he was talking about.

"We have always," He paused for a moment, his eyes darting around the room as if the right word would just be on the back of a passing bus boy, or hanging on the ceiling. Finally, his gaze returned to Charlotte. "We have always hurt each other. We don't mean to, but that's just who we are."

"But you also always forgave each other." She pointed out quickly.

"I suppose, but some things are unforgivable."

"Do you still love her?"

Charlotte could tell her direct question shocked him, but it didn't matter. If she was ever going to have a real relationship with him, she needed to know where he stood on some subjects. And the closest subject to her heart would always be her mother.

"Between you and me, I have, and will always be insanely in love with your mother. But sometimes, love just can't make everything okay between two people."

We ate the rest of the meal in silence, not the tense silence like before, but a nicer silence, bother of us wanting to be alone with our thoughts. It was odd to think we were both probably thinking about the same thing; Blair. Finally, when dessert rolled around, the conversation picked up again, each of us taking turns saying something about ourselves. In the end, Charlotte admitted that her idol with Scarlet O'Hare and the other Chuck admitted that he once disguised himself and got a McDonalds burger, just to see what they were like.

The limo ride back to the Palace Motel was much the same. Though all they told were insignificant little stories or facts about themselves, Charlotte was engrossed, always ready to hear what Chuck would say after her. Maybe they didn't mean much on the surface, but it was a start. She finally was getting to know her father.


Chuck checked his appearance in the mirrored elevator wall once more, making sure he looked presentable enough to be in his father's presence. He chuckled quietly to himself, he always thought his quest for his father's unattainable approval was absurd, but he also knew that he would always try to gain it.

He didn't bother to check how Alabaster looked, knowing full well that she would always look perfect, no matter the occasion. After all, she had inherited both Blair and his fashion sense. And even if that hadn't been enough, she had been raise by Blair, who had probably taught her how to accessorize the minute after she said her first word. He felt his heart give a pang of hurt at the thought that he had missed that moment, and so many more in his daughters life. However, thanks to the diary, he knew what her first word had been; daddy.

Looking over his shoulder, he stole a quick glance at his daughter, who was busy checking her nails. Looking forward again, he wondered how different she might be if he had been there. Not that he wanted to change anything about her, because in his eyes she was perfect. But that one what-if had been haunting him since the moment he had brought her breakfast yesterday, joining the company of the what-if he had found Blair after he walked out on her alls those years ago.

Finally, the elevator stopped on the appropriate floor, giving a little ding as the doors opened. Chuck led his daughter into his father's suite, taking her straight into the dining room, where everybody was no doubt waiting.

His father was seated at one head of the massive rectangular table, Lily at the other. Serena, Dan and much to Chuck's immediate reproach, Eric, were all seated on one side of the table. Two empty seats were waiting to be utilized on the other side. Chuck took the seat closest to his father.

Serena was of course the first to talk, her bubbly personality focusing in on Alabaster. "Hi!" She said, giving a big goofy smile. "I'm Serena, but you can just call me Auntie, and this is my husband, Dan. And you already know my mother, and Eric, and Chuck, of course."

His step sister was talking so fast, practically tripping over her words, Chuck was amazed that Alabaster remained completely composed, taking it all in. Alabaster gave a polite smile to everyone that Serena mentioned before giving her attention back to the chatterbox.

At the head of the table, Bart cleared his throat and stood up, quieting everybody. Chuck saw Lily give his father an encouraging smile, before giving his own attention to his father.

"Well Charlotte Bass-Waldorf, I would just like to welcome you to my family. I think Serena forgot to mention me in her spiel . I'm Bart, but you will call me grandfather most likely. Although you came into this family a little later then we all would have liked, I hope you know that your presence will always be wanted in this house." And with that, his father smiled benevolently down at his daughter and sat down.

Chuck almost let his jaw drop, but years of self control prevailed. He couldn't believe his father had written a very business like speech to welcome his daughter. It was almost like he was acquiring a new asset or something.

"Thank you so much grandfather. I'm very happy to be here." He saw her give a really sweet smile to his father, then addressing the whole table she continued to say, "I will enjoy getting to know each of you very much."

"Same here Charlotte. You're very much like your mother, but I'm sure you've heard that a thousand times." Dan said, his hand rubbing Serena back.

"Oh, don't let her fool you Dan, she may look like Blair, but she's more like Chuck then anything else." Eric spoke up for the first time that night, and Chuck eyes quickly narrowed towards him. His hands clenched in fists under the table, while he quickly thought with anger that his step brother, who was suppose to trust, knew more about his own daughter then him.

Dan and Serena laughed at his comment, but his father only gave Chuck a disapproving smile, like he had done something wrong.

"So, lil C," Serena started again, giving Chuck a wink, "What fun things have you done since coming to the city?"

"Well, I have of course been spending some quality time getting to know my father, and the other day I spent a few hours shopping with Sparks."

At her last word, Chuck swiveled his head to look severely at his daughter. Sparks? A thousands memories were going through his head of G, and the time Blair and him had to take her down. He obviously wasn't the only one who was troubled by this. Serena basically choked on her water, and Dan had the most pained expression on his face. Both Lily and Bart seemed oblivious to the obvious tension in the room, as did Alabaster.

"Sebastian Sparks. He is better then his mother was." Eric spoke once again, getting every bodies attention. "He and Charlotte have been best friends since before even they can remember I'm sure. I think Blair has a few embarrassing albums of baby pictures of them together that they tried to steal once."

"We weren't stealing Eric," Alabaster says, getting a pained look on her angelic face, "We were just borrowing."

"Right, and the matches were for…?" Eric quickly retorted, grinning at Charlotte and ignoring Chucks glares completely.


Dinner had been almost worst then the Spanish Inquisition, in Charlottes opinion. She knew her 'family' meant well, and was just trying to be friend, especially Serena. But all they had really managed to do was make her feel like some alien they were trying to figure out. The only good part had been Eric's comments, because they made her feel some sense of normalcy.

They were now all seated in pairs in the living room. Dan and Serena both on a recliner, the other Chuck and her on the sofa, Lily and Bart on the love seat; the only person without someone was Eric, which made her sad. If her mother had been here, she would have sat by Eric. The thought of her mother brought a slight frown to her face and she checked her phone again for any missed calls. But there were none.

Serena was talking, again, which Charlotte was now getting use to. It was awkward to be at a dinner were so much talking went on. It was being like in the twilight zone or something. You could practically say anything you wanted. Quietly beside her Chuck leaned in towards her.

"So, do you preferred to be called Charlotte?"

"What? Oh, its just my first name. Only you and mother are allowed to call me Alabaster." Charlotte whispers back, giving her father a small smile.

He frowned for a second, thinking about something, before replying, "Not even Eric?"

"Nope, just you two." She says cheerily, seeing the satisfaction in the other Chucks face. She hadn't been to dense to notice the animosity flowing from his father towards Eric. She would have to clear that up to.

"So Charlotte, do you want to come then?"

Blushing suddenly, she looked at Serena, giving an apologetic laugh, "I'm sorry?""

Serena just smiled back, "Oh, don't be sorry! You must be overwhelmed, so many people trying to get your attention. I was just asking you if you wanted to come and get Tommy from the airport with me after we all have breakfast."

"Sis, I'm sure Chuck has something special planned for tomorrow already."

Charlottes eyes went wide and she glared at Eric, hoping he would read the look in her eyes.

"Why would that be?" Chuck said suddenly, looking at Eric.

"Oh… I don't know. Just. You two are getting to know each other." Eric stammered, giving Charlotte the most confused look.

"Well, we have all summer, and the rest of our lives. If she wants to go pick up her cousin with Serena, she is more then welcome to." Chuck said almost defensively towards Eric.

Giving Eric a small smile, she went back to discussing the plans for tomorrow with Serena. She was happy that he covered for her though. No way did she want her father to feel the guilt of not knowing her birthday was tomorrow.


AN: Okay, so here is yet another chapter! I hope I redeemed myself with this one, cause I'm actually pretty happy about it :) I just want to thank all the reviewers first, you guys seriously inspire me to write faster! And I would like to also thank all those silent people who read the story, I hope you guys are enjoying it. :)