Things are getting rather serious in this story… so I think we might need a chapter that's a little lighter. It pretty much continues where the previous one left off.

I know many of you want Chuck to find out the truth already but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer. The mess needs to get a little messier first… if that makes any sense lol.

Anyways, on to the chapter!


"Nobody's upstairs either" Serena said, coming down the stairs with a frown. "I don't get it. Where is everyone?"

Chuck shrugged a shoulder from his spot on the divan.

"Perhaps we're the first one's back."

"Maybe…" Serena said. "Still, I think I'm going to call Blair."

Chuck nodded. Most of all he just wanted to go home. To his own apartment, not Emmy's. This day had been confusing and a bit more emotional than he felt comfortable with. He hadn't been able to stop thinking of how he was probably the worst boyfriend in the whole city. When Blair had shown up that morning he had been more concerned with how she would feel running into Emmy than he had been over Emmy's feelings and reaction. He tried to excuse it by insisting that he had known Emmy wouldn't freak out or feel threatened but still his reaction was backwards. He really didn't feel like seeing either woman tonight and wanted some time alone to try and get his act together.

He looked over at Serena who was on the phone with Blair. He wondered how he could have missed the budding romance resurrection between her and Nate. Had he not been paying any attention these past few weeks, or months? He felt like a jerk for sending Nate after the bartender when Serena had feelings for him. He knew better than anyone what it was like to love someone and watch them give attention to someone else.

Serena hung up the phone and walked over.

"So guess where Blair is?" she said in a displeased tone.

"Coney Island?"

"She's in Brooklyn. At the loft." Serena made a face and put her phone away. "Am I crazy that this bothers me so much?"

"No" Chuck said, resisting the urge to throw in an insult about Dan. "I know I can't throw stones here but you are entitled to feeling upset and perhaps a bit betrayed. When Nate found out about Blair and me he ended our friendship."

"I don't want to end Blair's and my friendship" Serena said, sinking down on the couch. "Only I don't know if there's anything left to end."

"She will tell you why she's been away all these years" Chuck said. "She might not tell me or Nate but she'll tell you. And you guys can rebuild your friendship."

"Funny" Serena said with a joyless laugh. "I'm quite sure she'll tell you if you ask her but she won't tell Nate or me."

"So what did she say? Are we off duty for tonight?"

"No she wants us to come to the loft. We're having home cooked dinner."

"If it's waffles I'm going home" Chuck said, getting up from his seat.

"If it's waffles can we spike Dan's with laxatives?" Serena asked and chuckled.

"I like vindictive Serena" Chuck smirked. "Come on, let's go. We'll call Nate and pick him up on the way over."


Blair sat curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, looking out on the gloomy afternoon outside. It had started to rain and her mood seemed to get worse with the weather. She was barely aware of the cup of tea in her hand or of Dan who was walking around searching for something and talking almost non-stop. She had found a copy of Sebastian's birth certificate earlier in the day and it scared her a little. She hadn't even considered that there might be a copy somewhere in the US. She wondered who else might have seen it and if maybe Malcolm had a copy of it. She was even more concerned that Chuck might have sent a PI out to dig up her secret even though he had said he wouldn't, and that the PI would get a hold of the document. Chuck's name was not on it but he would only have to look at Sebastian's date of birth to be able to do the math and realize that he might be the father.

"Dan…" she said without taking her eyes from the window. "Tell me honestly. How do you think Chuck will react when he finds out?"

Dan stopped walking around and looked thoughtful.

"Probably not very well."

"I can't expect anything else, can I?" Blair sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"If he loves you he'll understand" Dan said absentmindedly, continuing his search. "Seriously, how does an iPod get lost?"

"I just hope he… I just hope he won't completely hate me."

"You're better off without him" Dan mumbled.

"Oh yeah? Then why have I felt incomplete for years now?"

"I don't know why but I'm fairly sure Chuck is not the answer" Dan said, lifting a pile of music magazines to see if his iPod was underneath it. "Honestly, where can the damn thing be? I had it this morning."

"It's not about needing a man to be complete" Blair said even though Dan had not insinuated that it was what she had meant. "One of the old Greeks, I think it was Plato, said that people were once creatures with four arms, four legs and two faces. The gods split them into two because they feared humans would get too powerful. So we spend our lives trying to find that other half of us. That's how I feel. Like I was only really whole with him. And I really believe he felt he was only whole when he was with me."

"Pretty bold assumption considering he's been with the same woman for four years now" Dan pointed out. "Maybe she's the other half of him?"

"Ugh" Blair said. "I don't know why I try to get any sensible advice out of you."

"I understand love" Dan said. "It's not that. I just don't think your soulmate is a guy like Chuck. You deserve better."

"I think I deserve to be happy" Blair objected. "Besides, I'm not convinced you get what real love is. What was that god awful thing you wrote in your book? When one character said to another something about how without them their life was like driving through the rain without windshield wipers?"

"That was supposed to be a modern-"

A knock on the door interrupted him. He walked over to answer it and Blair sipped on her tea, hoping one of her friends would have some valuable information. Dan opened the door and Nate, Serena and Chuck came walking in.

"Fine, but I don't really get it" Nate said, in the middle of a conversation with the other two. "It was a good idea Chuck and it's paid off today."

"It wasn't a good idea" Chuck argued. "It was a stupid risk to take. How do we know Malcolm doesn't keep tabs on Blair's old friends? He might be aware that we have a spy in place and that's not going to do us any favors."

"What are you talking about?" Blair frowned.

"Chuck wants me to stop seeing June and forget that whole angle" Nate said, taking off his wet jacket. "I don't follow the logic."

"That's just you being you" Chuck smirked.

"I'm telling you, it's paying off!" Nate insisted.

"Okay back up the train" Blair said. "Chuck what is all this about? If you're turning fifth column on me there will be repercussions."

"Chuck maybe all this can wait" Serena said in a low voice though not looking thrilled at the idea.

"For the record I thought this was a bad idea from the start" Dan said. "That poor girl deserves better than to be used this way."

"Who asked you to have an opinion?" Chuck said.

"I'm currently supporting yours" Dan pointed out.

"Frankly it's tainting my opinion."

"Why should I stop calling June when she's being of use to us?" Nate asked.

"Because she's not someone you're entitled to make use of?" Dan suggested.

"Romancing this girl was my plan when we had no other plan" Chuck said. "I never thought it would bring us much of interest and we need Nathaniel for other things. Besides with what Serena and I discovered today this might all be over tomorrow."

"Really?" Blair said excitedly and sat up straight.

"One thing at a time, alright?" Nate said, using his sleeve to wipe his wet beard.

"Forget it Archibald, bartender girl is irrelevant" Blair said, waving her hand dismissively. "What did Chuck and Serena discover?"

"As it turns out, your blackmailer has a drug problem" Serena said.

"That… does explain a whole lot" Blair said thoughtfully. "It would take someone on drugs to threaten an innocent…" She trailed off, realizing she had been about to mention her child. Quickly she harked and put her cup down on the coffee table. "Okay so he's a drug addict. Explains why he needs three million dollars I suppose, depending on which substance he uses or who he bought or stole from."

"There's your motivation right there" Chuck said.

"Really?" Dan said. "That's it? All of this because some guy has a drug problem?"

"People have done far crazier things to get a hold of the good stuff" Nate said, slumping down in an armchair.

"Okay, I'm going to go work on dinner" Dan said. "Whatever you guys plan on doing with this information, I'd probably rather not know about it."

"Geez you are soft, aren't you?" Chuck snorted.

Dan walked to the kitchen without comment. Blair put her feet down on the floor and leaned forward.

"Alright then so how do we nail this sucker?" she asked. "Any suggestions?"

"I don't know guys, doesn't this seem a little easy?" Nate said.

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked.

"A drug problem seems like such a simple answer. And there are a hundred other things he could have done to get money."

"I'm with you on that" Chuck said. "But he came across Blair's little secret and he saw an opportunity. When you hear hooves think horses."

"I don't know why you're bringing animals into this but seriously, I'm not so sure all of this comes from one guy needing drug money."

"Perhaps not" Blair nodded. "But it's still good enough leverage. The rest is secondary. If we get him to back off we can take our sweet time figuring out the rest."

"Which is where June might be relevant" Nate said.

"Enough with June already!" Chuck snarled.

"When I was visiting her at her office today I took the opportunity to bribe the janitor into letting me borrow his keys tonight" Nate said. "He'll call me when he gets off, which should be sometime past six, I'll go down and take his keys and then return them to him in the morning. We can snoop around that office all we want and see if we can find anything."

"You mean like whatever evidence Malcolm has against me?" Blair said with a worried face. "If that's the case then I alone handle that part, alright?"

"Whatever, I don't care who does what" Nate said with rolling eyes. "The point is we could find something useful and I think we should take the opportunity."

"So what about you Blair?" Serena asked. "Did you find anything out today?"

"I… Yeah I had a productive day."

"But none of Malcolm's college associates knew about the drug problem?"

Blair looked confused.

"College associates?"

"Yeah… Weren't you off trying to get a hold of them today?"

Blair blinked twice, trying to remember if she had ever claimed that or if Serena had just assumed.

"I was… busy with something else. It's a long story."

"Forget about his college associates for now" Nate said. Then he nodded his head to the tune that was stuck in his head and hummed a few notes. "He has a powerful weapon…"

"Nate please, enough with that song already" Serena said.

"We'll look into the college lead if we need to" Blair nodded. "For now let's focus on the drug part."

She made a nervous hand gesture and accidentally knocked over her tea cup. She quickly pulled her feet up on the couch to avoid getting any of the hot beverage on her and gasped when she saw that the mug was spilling tea all over her new Chanel bag.

"Are you okay?" Nate asked her. "You didn't burn yourself?"

"Forget Blair, she can heal!" Serena cried. "Is the bag alright?"

Blair looked over and saw that Chuck had come over and knelt by the couch to salvage what had been drenched in the pool of tea. With a touch of panic Blair realized she had Sebastian's birth certificate in her bag and Chuck was reaching for a bunch of papers that had fallen out of it. She tossed the quilt aside and dove down on the floor to get the bag and papers.

"Chuck!" she exclaimed. "Go tell Dan to come out here!"

Chuck frowned.

"Can't I just holler at him from here? Can't you just holler at him from here?"

"An assassin that's second to none…" Nate hummed unhelpfully, getting a glare from Chuck in return.

"Just go" Blair said. "Please."

Rolling his eyes Chuck got up and walked over to the kitchen area.

"Hey Cinderella!" he said, leaning against the kitchen island. "Queen B needs you to come mop up after her."

"In a minute" Dan said, having observed the tea incident from the kitchen. "I'm just going to put dinner in the oven first."

"I can do that" Chuck offered, preferring kitchen duty to clean-up duty. "You go serve her highness. Maybe not in the way you'd most like to, but…"

Dan gave him a look and opened the oven to put a meatloaf in.

"Someone needs to get the potatoes ready" he said. "Maybe you and your privileged friends can help Blair while I attend to dinner?"

"I said I'll handle dinner" Chuck said, walking over to the stove.

"When has Chuck Bass ever cooked a meal?"

"It's boiling potatoes, Humphrey" Chuck said. "It's not rocket science."

"Okay fine" Dan said, leaving the kitchen area with two towels in his hands.


"Well what do I know about cooking?" Chuck shrugged later on when they were seated around the table eating the more than overly cooked potatoes. "It's always Nate or Emmy that cooks when we don't order in."

"What kind of an idiot cannot boil potatoes?" Dan wondered. "It's not like… rocket science."

"Some of us were born to boil potatoes, others were meant for grander things."

"Enough!" Serena moaned, slamming her glass down. "I can't take it anymore. Either shut up or have sex already."

"No can do, sis" Chuck said amicably. "Emmy will only agree to a threesome if the third person is another man."

Serena groaned and made an exasperated face. Nate pretended to be at his happy place and Blair frowned while swallowing a bite of food, wishing she could stab Chuck in the thigh with her fork every time he mentioned names that began with the letter E.

"Enough Chuck" she said.

"Yes, enough, please" Dan said, passing the gravy to Nate. "It would be nice to have some peace and quiet around here for a change."

"Oh give it a rest Humphrey, you're just as bad as he is" Blair snarled.

"Can we please just have some civilized conversation over dinner?" Serena pleaded.

"I'm sorry" Dan said. "I'll try to… not be goaded."

Chuck raised an eyebrow but said nothing, stabbing a potato with his fork and putting it in his mouth with a pensive expression.

"Okay then" Serena said.

They ate in silence. Blair and Serena were both feeling frustrated, Nate's mind had drifted off, Dan was annoyed that his dinner had gotten ruined by Chuck's attempts at cooking and Chuck was trying to decide whether or not he should got back to Emmy's place tonight. She probably wouldn't be home until late, nor would he, but in his current confused mindset he wasn't sure he wanted to act the supportive boyfriend when she got in exhausted from work. It would feel a little wrong when he knew his mind would be on Blair.

"Love is required whenever he's hired…" Nate hummed to himself, breaking the silence. "He comes just before the kill."

Serena and Chuck shared a look. Dan couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing and was immediately joined by the other two. Blair scoffed and rolled her eyes while Nate just looked confused.

"What?" he asked.

"Real mature guys" Blair commented dryly.

"Scaramanga's a dirty, dirty boy" Chuck said with an eyebrow raised, prompting more laughter from Dan and Serena.

Blair just shook her head and continued to eat her dinner. A smile slowly crept across her face after a minute. It was nice to have the mood lightened, even if it was just for a moment.


After they were done eating Blair, Serena, Chuck and Nate sat down to make plans for the next day, leaving Dan to clean up after dinner. It didn't take them long to agree on a strategy and Blair felt herself relax a bit. Finally it seemed like they had the upper hand and perhaps she could have her problem taken care of by tomorrow. It was also riveting to finally be plotting something with her favorite scheming minds again. The speed at which they concocted a plan together made her heart swell a little, as if the four of them were still in fine sync after all these years. For the first time since she had called them all together she felt like she was a real part of the group.

"Feeling a bit better now Blair?" Serena asked with a smile.

"I always enjoy being the one in control" Blair said, smiling back. "Ah, finally a good takedown. You know it's been years since my last one?"

"What, no farmer revolts to overthrow in France these days?" Nate smiled.

"Surprisingly few."

"So, do you guys have a plan in place?" Dan asked, walking in from the kitchen.

"By this time tomorrow Malcolm will be out of my hair and squashed under my heel like the creepy bug he is" Blair said.

"And if the plan you've hatched doesn't work?" Dan asked.

"Then we'll tie him up and force him to watch 'the Room' until he cracks" Chuck said.

"That would do the trick" Dan agreed.

"I'm so excited I'm practically vibrating" Blair grinned, clapping her hands together.

"That's more information than I needed" Nate noted.

"I'm glad to hear you're excited" Dan said. "Hope you'll be even more excited when I tell you what I've got planned for tonight."

"You've got something planned for tonight?" Blair asked.

"Yep" Dan said, walking over to a shelf and grabbing a box. "Board games."

Chuck gave him a look.

"Are you kidding? Aren't we a little… old for that? By at least a decade?"

"You're never too old to play 'Risk'" Dan said, placing the game on the table. "Now come on and gather around. Unless of course you'd rather leave, Chuck. Frankly I'd prefer that."

"Chuck out-ranks you in this operation so keep such thoughts to yourself" Blair said, taking a seat by the table.

"We're in my loft" Dan argued.

"We're in my scheme" Blair countered.

"As much as I enjoy the two of you not getting along," Chuck said, pulling out a chair next to where Nate had sat down, "I'm going to avoid stirring issues, behave myself and play nice and join the… aimed-at-twelve-year-olds fun."

"Oh cut it out, you love strategy games" Nate snorted.

"Do we have to play 'Risk'?" Serena asked. "Chuck and Blair are evil masterminds who always kick my butt in these kind of games."

"I kick your butt in 'Uno'" Chuck smirked. "So does Nate's five year-old cousin."

Serena reached over the table to give him a playful smack but he ducked with a laugh.

"Okay no physical kicking of butts please" Dan said, beginning to lay out the game.

"I make no promises" Serena said with a laugh.

"I do admit," Chuck said while reaching for the black army figures, "this game has its charm. I suppose spending an hour playing it won't be so bad."

"An hour?" Dan snorted.

"It's unlikely to take much longer than that" Chuck said. "It's a game based on world domination and I only have one worthy adversary."

"Who says you get to be black?" Nate asked, slapping him on the hand.

"None of the units are purple and black is my fallback color" Chuck said jovially.

"I call yellow!" Serena said. "It fits my blonde, shiny hair."

"A reason as good as any" Chuck shrugged.

"I'll be red" Blair smiled and collected her units.

"Blue" Nate said.

"So I guess I'm green then" Dan said. "I'll be the environmentally friendly army."

"Prepare to be annihilated" Chuck said in a Darth Vader voice that caused Serena to laugh and Dan to roll his eyes.

"So does everyone know the rules of the game?" Dan asked.

"It's been over a decade but I think I can catch up fairly quickly" Nate said.

"The little cavalry tokens are really adorable" Serena said, studying one of her units.

"Right then, let's place our armies" Dan said and started handing out cards.

"What are you doing?" Blair asked.

"Handing out cards to see who gets what territories."

"Can't we just take turns picking?" Nate questioned.

"Just place them as your cards indicate, would you?"

"Isn't this going to be a treat?" Chuck said sarcastically, picking up the cards Dan had dealt him.

"Great, I start with Alaska" Serena mumbled. "Why do I get Alaska when Nate gets sunny Western Europe?"

"Forget about the vacation value of your territories" Dan said. "Alaska is not a bad territory to have."

"If you want to get rid of someone…" Nate hummed to himself.

"Seriously Nate" Blair moaned.

"I'm starting to regret getting you the complete James Bond DVD-set for Christmas" Chuck said and placed a unit on India.

"I didn't get it stuck in my head because of that; it's from the stupid club last night" Nate said. "Okay I've got Yakutsk, where the hell is that and how do you pronounce it?"

They placed their units and then argued for a few minutes over who should get the two territories that were left over before the dice decided in favor of Serena and Chuck. When they began to play Nate went first and set out to attack Dan whose Egypt was next to Nate's North Africa. He failed to take over the territory and it was then Blair's turn. She studied the board to conjure up a strategy. When she glanced up her eyes met Chuck's. He was smiling at her and glanced over towards Dan and then back at her. She smiled back and decided to attack Dan as well.

Before Dan knew it he was being subjected to the combined efforts of Blair and Chuck to eliminate him from the game. He watched with some confusion how Chuck practically gave away his only territory in South America to Blair by taking North Africa from Nate and then moving all but one troop from Brazil to his new territory allowing Blair, who had just taken Dan's one South American territory, to win the whole continent. Directly following that a similar thing happened over in Australia only this time Chuck was the one who ended up with the whole continent. Then they seemed to focus most of their energy into getting Dan wherever he was rather than seizing entire continents.

"What is going on here?" he asked after twenty minutes. "Why are you two so gung-ho on kicking me out of the game?"

"The weakest links must be removed first" Blair said in a serene voice.

"That makes no sense" Dan objected. "You'd want to get rid of the strongest player. Why aren't you battling each other?"

"Patience Humphrey…" Chuck said and rolled the dice to try and take Dan's only European territory.

"They always do this" Serena said. "Ever since we were little kids. They'd form an alliance to take the rest of us down and then battle it out amongst each other."

"Why the hell for?" Dan complained. "Again, why not start by taking each other out if you think you're each other's biggest threat?"

"Not as much of a challenge" Chuck said.

"It's way more fun to dish it out when it's just us two left" Blair said. "And it looks like you're now an ex-European, Humphrey."

"When did you even decide to start picking on me?" Dan wondered.

Neither Chuck nor Blair answered. Blair's smile was getting wider by the minute. She thoroughly enjoyed teaming up with Chuck against the others in a callback to the good old days. When the two of them worked together no one else stood a chance. Though Nate and Serena did put up a good fight. Since Chuck and Blair focused on Dan at first they tried to ally themselves against their more ruthless friends but didn't manage to get far.

"Okay, I'm out" Dan sighed when Blair took his last remaining territory.

"All your base are belong to us" Chuck smirked.

"If you guys will excuse me I'm going to go see if I can find my damn iPod."

"Bye now" Chuck said and studied the board.

"You're going to take Madagascar away from me now, aren't you?" Serena moped. "It's my favorite territory."

"Why?" Nate wondered.

"The penguins are cute. In the movie."

"The sooner you take it from her the better" Nate commented to Blair.

Blair giggled and looked over at Chuck. Their best strategy at present seemed to be to go after Nate which meant Serena could keep her Madagascar for a little while longer.

"I honestly don't know why I even bother" Nate sighed with exasperation ten minutes later when he was sure he was on the receiving end of a major Chuck and Blair attack. "Next time we're playing 'Trivial Pursuit'."

"Just sit back and relax Archibald" Chuck said while moving his units into the formerly Nate-owned China. "This will all be over in a second."

"Yeah and then you'll crush Serena and we'll have to sit here and watch World War Three between you and Blair."

"Alliances should be forbidden in this stupid game" Serena moped.

"I am getting tired of your attitude missy" Blair said and directed her next attack at Madagascar out of spite.

"No!" Serena complained. "Not Madagascar! Objection!"

"Overruled" Chuck said.

"Sustained" Nate said at the same time.

Serena moaned. Blair's smile faded a bit. This was the second time she had heard them throw out an objection that had either been overruled or sustained by one of the others. Clearly an inside joke between them which Blair knew nothing about. She thought of how Emmy probably knew all about it and probably was even the origin of the stupid joke and her good mood was gone for the moment. The fact that she failed to take Madagascar from Serena didn't help brighten her mood. Serena's joy was short-lived when Chuck's turn came around and he took over her favorite territory before taking the one Blair had left on that continent.

"Thank you for that sis" he grinned. "I now own all of Africa which gives me an additional three units per round."

"Good for you" Serena snarled. "Nate still holds all of North America though so perhaps you should go back to focusing on bullying him."

"Hey!" Nate objected.

"Take it up with Blair" Chuck said. "I don't own any territories adjacent to North America. Then again I could start working my way to Kamchatka and invade him from there."

Serena stuck out her tongue at him. Kamchatka was one of the few territories she had been able to take from Blair and at present she held about half of Asia and not much else. She had no plans on letting Chuck invade her and hoped he hadn't figured out she was intending on invading his Australian territories.

"No one can catch him, no hit-man can match him…" Nate hummed.

"Oh for God's sake I'm this close to clobbering you" Chuck groaned. "Enough with that ridiculous song!"

"If anybody sees my iPod…" Dan said, walking by.

"And enough from you about the damn iPod" Chuck said. "Just buy yourself a new one like normal people do when they misplace theirs."

"There are no normal people who do that" Dan objected.

"Focus Bass!" Blair said.

"Why does he need to focus?" Nate asked. "It's your turn."

"I do my best work with an audience" Blair said with a sly smile.

"Ew" Serena frowned.

The game continued for another forty-five minutes. Blair eventually managed to take North America from Nate and then she and Chuck took over his remaining territories as well as Serena's. They then fought each other over Asia and Nate got them to agree that whoever won that continent would win the game. Eventually Blair won the continent and with an excited victory cry looked up from the board to show off her win to the others. When she did she noticed that both Nate and Serena had left the table already and only she and Chuck were left.

"Where did everybody go?" she asked.

"Nate and Serena walked off ten minutes ago during the intense battle for Siam" Chuck said, beginning to gather the cards.

"They did?"

"You're just like a little girl when you get invested in a game" Chuck said in a friendly tone. "You're so engrossed in what you're doing you barely notice the world around you."

"I enjoy winning" Blair said. "Speaking of, the others should get in here and bow to the new ruler of the world. It's only fitting. I haven't won at a single game in ages, I deserve my due appreciation."

"You haven't won at a game in ages?" Chuck snorted, putting the deck of cards back in the game's box. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Blair thought back on the last twenty-or-so times she had played any games. 'Go Fish' with Sebastian, 'Memory' with Sebastian, 'Fish Pond' with Sebastian. He had quite the temper sometimes and he hated losing even more than Blair did so she always let him win when they played anything.

"Let's just say I appear to have met my match" she said with a little smile.

"Have you now?" Chuck replied, eyebrow raised.

"Are you guys done playing?" Nate asked, walking over. "That janitor I spoke of before just called. He got off a few hours ago but couldn't hand over the keys then for whatever reason. He wants me to come get them now so I'll be heading out."

"I'll go with you" Chuck said, getting up from his seat.

Blair got up as well and followed them to the door. Dan said something to her but she wasn't paying attention.

"Call me right away if you find anything out okay?" she said.

"Don't worry Blair" Nate smiled. "You'll know what we know when we know it."

"See you tomorrow" Chuck said and left together with Nate.

"So" Dan said, clapping his hands together. "Who's up for another board game? I'll go get 'Scrabble'."

"Forget it Humphrey" Blair said. "I'm board game bored. I think I'll just get my stuff and head back home."

"It's only like eight o'clock" Dan protested.

"I'll go with you B" Serena said, getting up from the couch. "We can share a cab."

"What, no one wants to stay?" Dan said, looking dejected.

"See you tomorrow Humphrey" Blair said, grabbing her ruined Chanel bag.

"Goodnight" Serena said, holding the door open for Blair before following her out in the hallway and closing the door behind her.

"It's not raining still, is it?" Blair asked as they walked towards the main entrance.

"I think it is" Serena said.

"I hate the damn rain" Blair mumbled. "It messes up your hair, ruins your makeup not to mention your clothing… There is not a single good thing about rain."

Serena chuckled at Blair's view of the world. Neither of them said anything further until they were shivering in the backseat of a cab heading back to Manhattan.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the evening?" Serena asked. "Sit by the phone and wait for Nate to call?"

"Wouldn't that be a déjà vu from early high school?" Blair remarked, looking out the window.

"If you're not doing anything special… maybe I could come up for a while?"

Blair turned and looked at Serena.

"You… You want to?"

"Yeah. I mean… if you want me to."

Blair smiled slightly.

"Okay."


"So where is this janitor of yours?" Chuck asked, suppressing a yawn.

"He'll be here" Nate said patiently. "You didn't have to come along if you didn't want to."

"I can only spend so much time at that loft before I develop a skin rash."

He reached over to the mini-fridge which he always kept fully-stocked and grabbed a small bottle of wine. He offered it to Nate who shook his head. Chuck closed the refrigerator door and decided not to bother with a glass, opening the bottle and taking a chug.

"I love how you have your alcoholic binges with style" Nate commented. "You know most guys our age have a beer when they're hanging out with someone."

"I'm not most guys our age" Chuck said. "Thankfully."

"It's been quite a while since I last saw you drinking in your limo on a regular evening" Nate noted. "What's going on?"

"I'm bored" Chuck said. "I had crappy dinner in a rundown loft and was then forced to play board games. I need the alcohol, trust me."

"Uh-huh" Nate said. "Hey Blair's gotten really haggard over the years hasn't she? She looks closer to thirty-five than twenty-five."

Chuck shot him a dark glare.

"She doesn't look a day over twenty."

Nate smirked.

"Eagerly defending her" he noted.

"Now you're just being obnoxious" Chuck said. He looked out the window trying to see if the janitor had appeared yet but it was hard to see much of anything in the rain at this hour. "If this guy doesn't come within ten minutes I'm aborting the mission."

"Again, you didn't have to tag along."

"I'll admit to having an ulterior motive for joining you" Chuck said. He looked over at Nate with a thoughtful expression. "I've been observing you and my sister over the last month or so" he lied. "I was under the impression that something was… brewing. The whole thing slipped my mind the other day at the club or I wouldn't have asked you to pick up the bartender. I'm sorry if I ruined anything between you and Serena."

"There's no me and Serena" Nate said.

"You sure?"

"I would be stupid to give that another chance" Nate said. "I tried it once in high school and I got blown off. I tried it again in college and while she seemed really into me for a while eventually it turned out she preferred Dan. I'm done chasing Serena. It's never going to happen between she and I. Or if it does it will soon be over, like last time."

"Right" Chuck nodded. "Do you love her?"

"That is neither here nor there" Nate said.

"Because it seems to me that she's more sincere in her advances this time than she was back when we were teenagers" Chuck continued, taking another sip from his wine bottle. "If you still feel the same way about her as you did back then perhaps it's worth taking the risk?"

"Come on man, you know Serena" Nate said. "She's as fickle as they come."

"This coming from a guy who's had more girlfriends than a character on a soap opera" Chuck remarked.

"My feelings for Serena have been consistent since the Sheppard wedding" Nate said. "Hers for me on the other hand?"

"Wouldn't you rather look back on your life and regret the choices you made than regret the risks you never took?"

"Great advice man" Nate snorted. "Am I talking to Chuck Bass or Dan Humphrey?"

"Ouch. Like I said I believe Serena's feelings for you are stronger now than they were before. The two of you have seemed much more synched than you did before and it's been hard not noticing how bothered she's been since you hooked up with bartender girl."

"I'll think about it" Nate said. "What about yourself? You've been cool as a cucumber all week. Dare I hope that Blair's return on the scene changes nothing?"

"Can we not talk about Blair?" Chuck sighed.

"Chuck" Nate said firmly.

"No not much has changed" Chuck said. "Not much will change. Despite what she says I'm betting she will go back to France once this mess is over and done with." He gazed out the window and had some more wine. "Her return to the city has made me think though. It's been almost four years since we were last together, all of us. What the hell happened? I mean is this… all? I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere in those four years."

"Only you could say something like that" Nate replied. "You've expanded your business to three hotels, you're becoming a name in the business world, you've found a good relationship. In my book that seems like a lot."

"You're right about the business part."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I've been with Emmy for three and a half years. I don't even officially live with her. Doesn't that strike you as weird?"

"You spend what, twenty-five nights a month together? The rest one of you is usually out of town on a business trip. I think that constitutes as living together, no matter where your mail is delivered."

"I always saw myself as either being an eternal playboy or settling down fairly early" Chuck said, looking over at Nate. "I know that sounds hilarious coming from me. I always wanted a real family and if my father couldn't provide me with that I was going to create one for myself. When I was with Blair I was one hundred percent sure we would be married shortly after twenty and having at least three kids by thirty."

"So?"

"I've been with Emmy for over three years. I haven't proposed to her yet. Had she…" He trailed off and made a face knowing Nate wouldn't like hearing what came next. "Had she been Blair I would have asked her a long time ago. I know you don't approve of that but it's the truth Nathaniel."

"So then ask her."

"There's a reason I haven't gotten down on one knee yet. Unfortunately I can't put my finger to what it is. It just… doesn't feel like we're ready for that."

"Chuck you're twenty-four. Emmy's twenty-five. Did it occur to you that you might not be meant to feel ready at this age?"

"I want to have children" Chuck said. "I want a family. I can't explain to myself why I haven't begun to build one with Emmy."

"Again, you're in your mid-twenties."

"But shouldn't I be wanting to have children with my girlfriend?" Chuck asked. "I'm not saying that I don't want us to have any but I'm not hoping she will get pregnant. I keep hesitating about taking the big steps with Emmy and I can't figure out why."

"If you ask me it sounds healthy to not move so fast" Nate said. "Why rush? Look man, I know there's still a part of you that hangs on to the memory of Blair. Maybe it's a good thing that she's back in our lives. You can finally find closure from her and move on."

"There will always be a part of me that wonders what could have been with Blair and me if things hadn't gotten so screwed up."

"I know you loved her" Nate said. "You're better off with Emmy though."

"I was happy with Blair" Chuck pointed out. "Very happy."

"I know. For less than a year. Seems like there's been an awful amount of hurt for only a short period of happiness. I think you and Blair were great together for a while but you got to a point where all you did was cut each other deeper. It wasn't healthy. I know your love for Emmy is not as intense as what you felt for Blair. That doesn't mean Blair is the woman who will make you the happiest in the long run." He looked out the window and spotted the janitor. "There he is. Come on, let's go."


"So be honest Blair" Serena said, sitting down on Blair's bed with a mug of cappuccino. "Will you be staying? Or are you gone as soon as this whole thing is over?"

"I would like to stay" Blair said, taking a sip from her own coffee.

"Would like to? What would be stopping you?"

"Not much I guess" Blair said. "I will admit though that it's strange to be back. I guess I never realized just how much I would miss out on being over in France."

"That sounds like you" Serena giggled. "It probably never crossed your mind that life goes on without Blair Waldorf."

"I missed you, you know" Blair said.

Serena was surprised at the sudden confession. She slowly put her mug down on Blair's nightstand and hugged her knees.

"I missed you too" she said. "Once I got over being mad at you for disappearing like that. Well, I guess you know where my mind was at. Ironic how we've now both run off without telling our best friend where we were going or why we were going."

"I will explain it all one day" Blair said. "I promise. I just have to do it in my own time."

"I've longed to talk to you so many times" Serena said. "About all kinds of things. You changed your phone number."

"Not so much by choice" Blair said. "It was just easier to get a French number after a while. I was going to call you several times but after a while it just got weird and I was worried you wouldn't want to talk to me. I wouldn't blame you if that were the case."

"You were wrong."

Blair smiled behind her coffee mug.

"Maybe we can… start to talk to each other again? About the kind of stuff we used to?"

"I would like that" Serena said. "I'm really curious to know more about what you've been doing in France all this time. Is there a man in your life? Did you finish school in France?"

"There's not much of interest to tell" Blair said, cringing inwardly at the half-lie. There was lots of interest only she couldn't tell Serena yet. "Hearing what you've been up to is probably ten times more interesting. There's no ring on your finger yet. Don't tell me Lily van der Woodsen's daughter hasn't even been engaged yet?"

"Sadly not yet" Serena giggled.

"And no man you would like to pop your engagement cherry with?" Blair asked with eyebrows raised and took another sip of coffee.

Serena giggled again and felt a little nervous. This was a golden opportunity to talk to Blair about the Nate thing. Yet it felt weird to open up to her about something like that so long past when they had been close.

"I think I'm in love with Nate…" she said tentatively.

Blair was silent for a moment, taking it in.

"Okay."

"I don't know how he feels about me."

"To Nate you've been the one that got away" Blair said. "His feelings for you were very genuine in the past. Trust me I know. I tried everything in my power to make him forget about you and love me instead."

"That was years ago. Things change."

"Not everything does. Have you told him how you feel?"

"I'm afraid to" Serena said. "Nate has been someone I felt safe admitting feelings to. I knew he liked me more than I liked him so I wouldn't get shot down. Now I just don't know and it's scaring me."

"You guys were good together" Blair said. "Nate hasn't forgotten that."

"I also don't think he's forgotten how we ended."

"I have to ask you Serena" Blair said. "Are you sure about your feelings for him? If you are then you need to tell him. However if you're not sure then you shouldn't say anything. You don't want to lose his friendship."

"I don't know that I've ever really been sure…" Serena said. "Not like you were about Chuck or Louis."

Blair cringed. She had been sure about Chuck but Louis was a different story. She had been sure she wanted the fairytale but the man was less important.

"Being with Nate back when we were teenagers…" Serena said in a musing tone. "It was… completely different than anything I'd experienced up to that point. He was so… Well I don't have to tell you what it's like to be with Nate."

"The Lily Allen song 'Not Fair' comes to mind."

"Nate's a really good guy" Serena said, ignoring the comment. "I wanted to love him more than I actually did. You just can't will yourself to feel more for someone than you do."

Blair nodded, knowing far too well from experience what Serena meant.

"Part of me worries that maybe I'm right back where I was back then. Maybe I just want to be with Nate because he's this sweet, caring guy who's also one of my best friends?"

"Well is that all you feel?" Blair asked gently. "If you're in love with someone you usually know it."

"Do you?"

"I think with your history with Nate you would" Blair said. "I think the two of you would be great together. But you have to be sure you want it."

Serena nodded.

"Yeah…" She smiled slightly. "Thanks B."

"Any time S." She finished her coffee and put the mug down on the floor. "So. Tell me about this Emmy person."

Serena raised an eyebrow. Blair made a face and grabbed a pillow to hug.

"No sense pretending she doesn't exist. If I'm going to stay in New York I suppose I ought to know more about her. She makes Chuck happy?"

"They've been together for over three years now" Serena said. "Chuck wouldn't stay that long with someone who didn't make him happy. She's not really who I expected him to fall for but she does seem to placate him and I think he needs that."

"What do you mean?" Blair said. "About not expecting him to fall for her, I mean."

"Well… You remember Eva right?"

"Much as I try not to."

"She reminds me of Eva to a degree. Mild mannered, sweet, docile… She's more fun than Eva was though. She can really go crazy at times, especially when you get some alcohol in her. When she's like that, more spirited you know, then I see why Chuck lo…"

"Why Chuck loves her" Blair finished the sentence.

"I'm sorry Blair. You still have feelings for him, right? The way you look at him sometimes… I know it's not easy hearing about your ex whom you're not completely over being in love with someone else."

Blair swallowed hard and hugged the pillow tighter. It wasn't easy. She wanted to believe it wasn't true. But if it was she had to start accepting it. If not else so that she knew to which extent Emmy was a rival.

"So she's fun on occasion" she summed Emmy up. "And wild in bed."

"What makes you think that?" Serena asked, looking puzzled.

"Chuck may find some enjoyment in being with a docile woman out in public but trust me, if she's not spunky in the bedroom he wouldn't stay with her for a month."

"He seems to really care for her" Serena said. "But if you still love him…"

"If I still love him then what?"

"I don't expect Blair Waldorf to sit back and not fight for the one she loves" Serena said. "I like Emmy. I do. I know Nate thinks Chuck is better off with her because things have been smooth with them and there's hardly been any drama to speak of. Me, I don't think he should settle. If Emmy is his true love then I'll support him and I'll welcome her to the family as my sister. But honestly I don't see Chuck being truly happy with what he's currently got. At least not in the long run. I saw him with you and I saw you with him and neither of you ever seemed happier than you did when you were together. Not by a long shot. He very rarely talks about you and I don't know if that's because he loves you or because he's over you. If he does still love you then I think he would have a much greater shot at happiness with you than with Emmy. If you still love him I think you should go get your man. As long as you guys still love each other I think you need one another to be truly happy."

Blair smiled, trying to hide how she was beaming inside. Serena's words were exactly the encouragement she needed but she didn't want to seem too eager. Not until she knew how Chuck felt. Serena was right though. Chuck remained her best shot at happiness and she should be entitled to pursue him. If he didn't love her back it was up to him to turn her down. If Emmy was his great love then she had nothing to worry about no matter what Blair said or did. Judging by Emmy's reactions this morning she did feel completely safe but she had never gone up against Blair Waldorf.

"I think Chuck and me… is a story that has yet to come to an end."

"Then you should let him know that" Serena grinned. "Perhaps you will find another reason to stay."

Blair giggled. It felt amazing to be having talks like this with her best friend again. She wanted to ask Serena to stay for the night but Sebastian would be calling tomorrow morning again. No amount of re-bonding with her best friend was worth missing even a minute on the phone with her son over. Besides, once the truth was out she could have all the sleepovers with Serena that she wanted.


"What a lovely waste of time that was" Chuck sighed as they stepped back out into the rain outside Malcolm's office building.

"At least now we know there's nothing there of interest" Nate pointed out.

"Fabulous. Let's go home. And park you in front of a Bond movie with a better theme song. I'm thinking 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. It's fitting for our current situation, I like the music and the worst thing that can happen is you whistling the melody all day tomorrow." Nate stopped him with a hand on the arm. "What?"

"See that other limo parked over there?" Nate said. "It must be the same one Dan and I saw yesterday."

"I would comment on the lack of discretion in parking out in a limo but that would be Humphrey levels of hypocrisy" Chuck said.

"What do we do?" Nate asked.

"You go wait in the car" Chuck said. "I'm going over to check the license plate."

He nudged Nate towards their car and picked up his phone from his coat pocket. He had been meaning to call Emmy anyway and let her know he would be spending the night at his own apartment. He might as well make good use of the call and use it as a cover.

While talking to his girlfriend he strolled casually down the street. As he got closer to the other limo he made a mental note of the license plate and hoped he would be able to remember it. He walked past the limo and continued to walk for another hundred meters before turning. On his way back he noticed that there was no one in the driver's seat. Emmy was in the middle of a rant about how nothing was going as she wanted it to at work but he had stopped listening. The window on the passenger seat was slightly rolled down and it gave him an idea.

He let Emmy continue to talk without making any comments himself and slowly approached the limo. He reached inside his pocket and found the other cellphone he was carrying. Blair had had Dorota buy phones for all of them in case they needed to go stealth and not contact each other on their listed phone numbers. They hadn't had any use for them yet but now it came in handy. As discreetly as possible Chuck slipped the phone through the open window and let it fall down on the floor of the limo. Then he wrapped up his conversation and hurried back to his own car.

Shivering he opened the door and slid into his seat.

"So?" Nate asked.

"And he strikes" Chuck replied in song. "Pa-da-ba-da-bow! Like thunderball."


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