Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.

"Blair, you're not going to be happy with me," Chuck announced as they stepped off the elevator into her doctor's office the following week.

Blair had returned to school Monday morning and tried to act as if nothing had happened. All of her NYU friends were talking about the fabulous spring break adventures that they had. Blair happily chimed in with Chuck's beach surprise in their living room to which all her friends squealed with envy.

Wednesday after the one class she had that day had finished, she quickly dashed toward Arthur and the awaiting limo instead of her normal coffee with friends. She made up some excuse about a business lunch with Chuck. Arthur greeted her warmly as he held the door for her. They swung by Bass Industries to pick up Chuck who was impatiently waiting for them at the curb as he flipped through his Blackberry for messages Eugenia was sending him. He turned off his phone as soon as he slid into the limo so that he wouldn't be distracted during her therapy session.

Blair was a little more than frisky on the short ride to the doctor's office, but Chuck was able to keep his hormones in check.

"Why?" Blair inquired, "Do you need to go back to the office? It's okay if you do. I can do my session without you."

"No, I have all the time in the world for your session," he assured her before nodding in the direction of Eleanor who was waiting patiently for them to arrive. "You're not going to be happy with me because I called your mother."

"Chuck Bass, you are sleeping in the guest room tonight," she snarled as her mother stood to greet her with a hug. Blair tensed as her mother's arms came around her shoulders which didn't go unnoticed by Chuck.

"Blair, are you okay?" her mother asked, her voice dripping with concern.

"I'm fine," Blair snapped angrily at her mother as she glared evilly at Chuck. How dare he go behind her back and do something like this.

Fortunate for both Chuck and Eleanor, Doctor Boyd was on schedule and his nurse was calling them into the office.

"How are you today, Blair?" Doctor Boyd asked as everyone took a seat. Blair was sitting in the middle of Chuck and Eleanor ready to act as referee if needed. There was no love lost between the pair. That was apparent to Doctor Boyd the moment they all stepped into the office together.

"Annoyed actually," Blair stated as she crossed her legs swiftly and accidentally on purposed kicked Chuck in the shin with her spiked heel. Chuck grimaced in pain as he glared at her.

"And why is that?" Doctor Boyd asked, trying to hide his amusement at the pair's interaction.

"Chuck went behind my back and called my mother," Blair snapped, "I told him that I didn't want her here, but he did it anyways."

Eleanor tried not to be hurt by Blair's admission. She wasn't surprised by the statement especially with the conversations that they had been having lately.

"And Mister Bass, why did you do that?" Doctor Boyd asked.

"It's Chuck," he clarified quickly, "And I called Eleanor because it's important to Blair's recovery that her mother be here."

"Blair, why do you not want your mother here?" Doctor Boyd inquired.

"What is the point?" Blair sighed, "None of this changes anything. We tried this mother-daughter therapy session thing when I was first treated for my bulimia. Nothing has changed. She doesn't make the effort. Nothing I do is ever good enough for her. How I look is never good enough for her. Nothing I wear is ever fashionable enough. Who I date is not enough for her."

"Eleanor," Doctor Boyd prompted.

"How can you say this?" Eleanor asked as she snapped at Blair, "I have tried to be the mother that you wanted, give you the best of everything, seen to it that all of your wishes have been met."

"What do you think of what I am wearing today, Mother?" Blair inquired as she stood up and spun around so that her mother could view her ensemble.

"It's different," Eleanor stated as she looked over the outfit, "It's not the style that I'm used to you wearing, but it's nice."

Everyone heard the hesitation in Eleanor's voice.

"What do you really think of it, Mother?" Blair snapped.

"The hem is too short. The fitting isn't quite right, and the stitching looks like amateur hour," Eleanor stated, "But I can't help my opinions. Fashion is what I do for a living. I'm paid to be critical."

"What if I said this was one of your designs?" Blair stated.

"That's impossible," Eleanor scoffed, "I would never make something like this."

"But you did," Blair assured her, "Sixteen years ago. Dorota was going through your closet one day and found this stuffed in the back. I liked it, so I kept it. I knew you'd never miss it. It is the one Eleanor Original left in my closet. I burned the rest if you must know, and now I think I'll be burning this as soon as I get home."

Eleanor's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ms. Waldorf, how is your relationship with your daughter's boyfriend?" Doctor Boyd asked. He wanted to shift the conversation away from Blair for a few moments as she needed to calm down.

"Charles and I get along fine," Eleanor snapped.

Blair laughed out sarcastically. Even Chuck smirked in disbelief.

"Fine, I tolerate him," Eleanor amended.

"What is it about Chuck that you don't like?" Doctor Boyd inquired.

"Don't answer that," Blair snapped at her mother. She wasn't going to let Chuck take a beating to further her recovery. He had his own issues that he was working through.

"Blair, why won't you let your mother answer?" the doctor asked.

"Chuck and I both have our own separate issues that we are working through. I dealt with mine by throwing up my meals. Chuck dealt with his by drinking and womanizing," Blair explained.

"Among other things," Chuck added dryly.

"I won't have my mother attacking him for his past mistakes. I've moved on from all of that. I forgave him just like he has forgiven me for mine," Blair stated as she took his hand. He kissed it lightly as she finished speaking.

Eleanor let out an exaggerated sigh of disgust.

"Ms. Waldorf, do you want your daughter to be happy?" Doctor Boyd inquired.

"Of course," Eleanor insisted, "But does it have to be with Chuck Bass, the womanizing, alcoholic, drug using, spoiled prince of the Upper East Side. You and Nate were so much better suited for each other."

"Nate didn't make me happy," Blair groaned. She desperately wanted her mother to get over the idea of her and Nate reunited. It was not going to happen. "He tried, but in the end it wasn't right. He doesn't make me feel what Chuck does. Nate would never have called you to let you know I relapsed and that I had gone back into therapy. Nate would not have broken down the bathroom door when I began to throw up. Nate would not have even known something was wrong. Even if he had, he would have been happy to bury it under the rug so he wouldn't have to deal with it."

"You broke down the bathroom door," Eleanor repeated in surprise. Chuck merely nodded. She almost sounded impressed by his rash action.

"I would do anything for your daughter," he stated simply, "Break down a door, level a building, demolish an entire city . . . whatever it takes to make her happy."

"And he makes me happy, Mother," Blair added, "Why can't you see that and accept that we are together?"

"What happens when he hurts you once again," Eleanor snapped, "I've watched him destroy you once. I refuse to watch that again."

Chuck was going to speak up, but Blair was quicker, "He won't hurt me. This relationship that we have is going to last."

"How can you be certain of that?" Doctor Boyd inquired.

"Because we're Blair and Chuck," she stated simply as she took his hand once again and smiled happily at him. "We fought each other and our feelings long enough. We're done fighting. We're both ready to be happy."

"You are only nineteen years old," Eleanor snapped, "The things I wanted when I was nineteen are totally different than what I want now."

"One thing will always remain consistent for me, Mother," Blair assured her, "I love Chuck. He's it for me. Either you accept that or . . ."

"Don't you dare give me an ultimatum," her mother hissed.

"It's not an ultimatum," Blair assured her, "Either you accept that I love Chuck and that I've chosen to live with him and plan a life with him or you no longer have a daughter."

"Blair," Chuck gasped, "Don't do this."

Eleanor's eyes went wide at Chuck's request. He was the last person she expected to come to her aid in this situation.

"Can Blair and I have a few minutes alone?" Chuck requested as he looked at Doctor Boyd. The doctor nodded as he escorted Eleanor from the room. Eleanor wanted to argue but something told her to trust Chuck just this once.

"What do you think you're doing?" Chuck hissed as soon as they were alone, "You cannot cut your mother out of your life. What's more important is that I won't let you do that. I've lost both of my parents, Blair, and that hurts more than I hope you'll ever have to know. I won't let you cut your mother out of your life, especially voluntarily."

"I want her to accept what we are," Blair insisted as her arms went around his neck.

"Cutting her out isn't the way to do it," he stated as he rubbed her arms gently, "We'll figure this out . . . all of us. Your mother and I will find a way to co-exist in your world. I promise."

"Okay," she nodded as she leaned in and kissed him. He had a sneaky suspicion that there was more to their kiss and pulled away before she could act upon any desires she may have had. Chuck went to the door and told Doctor Boyd that he and Eleanor could return.

"Ms. Waldorf, I love your daughter," Chuck stated as everyone returned to their seats, Chuck and Blair trading places so that he could speak directly to Eleanor. "I'm not going to go anywhere, so you have to get used to that. We have to find some way to co-exist. I cannot take what this is doing to Blair."

"You may be right," Eleanor admitted reluctantly, "Cyrus returns from his business trip in a few days. Why don't we all have dinner, in neutral territory this time."

"Perhaps we should start with something a little smaller," Chuck offered, "Dinners haven't been our strong suit. Perhaps we should start with afternoon tea, say at the Palace on Saturday afternoon around three. Blair and I are staying there for a few days."

"What's wrong with your penthouse?" Eleanor asked in surprised.

"I'm having it cleaned," Chuck stated, "I surprised Blair by bringing the beach to her last week to make up for missing out on her tropical spring break trip. We ended up tracking sand throughout the house. We certainly do not want to live with that the rest of our lives."

"That was actually very sweet of you, Chuck," Eleanor stated, her eyes softening.

"Chuck does a lot of sweet things for me," Blair spoke up as she laced her fingers with his. Chuck smiled warmly at Blair as he caressed the knuckle of her thumb gently back and forth.

"I'd say we made some progress here," Doctor Boyd announced, "Perhaps another session all together in a few weeks to give a progress report."

"We'll see about that," Blair stated as she gathered her coat and purse as everyone stood from their seats upon realizing that their hour was up.

"Blair, I'd like you to continue on with therapy for at least the next couple of months to ensure that you are still on track," Doctor Boyd stated, "Just once a week for now."

"Okay," Blair agreed as she nodded her head, "But Chuck has a very busy schedule these next few months. Even today was difficult for him to get off."

"Blair, if you need me here, I'll find the time," Chuck assured her, "I don't care how busy I am."

"We'll see," Blair repeated.

"That went surprisingly well," Chuck stated tentatively as they got into his limo after watching Eleanor get into her awaiting town car.

"You're just hoping that I won't make you sleep in one of the guest bedrooms," she stated sarcastically.

"I'm sorry for ambushing you," he responded sincerely, "You have every right to be upset with me for calling your mother, but I only did it because I want you to get better."

"I know," she sighed dramatically, "And I think today did help. As much as I hate it that you snuck around behind my back, I do need to resolve these issues with my mother. I can't have this much turmoil in my life and expect to get better."

"Agreed," he nodded, "Where would you like to have lunch? Wherever you'd like, my treat."

"Do you have time for lunch?" she inquired as she reached into his pocket for his Blackberry and turned it on for him.

He quickly snatched the phone from her hand and turned it back off before it began chirping out of control with the massive amount of messages he was sure to have missed during their therapy session

"Work can wait another hour," he assured her as he capture her lips into the kiss he'd been longing to give her since she'd first picked him up for their therapy session.

"I knew you were holding back on me," she mumbled against his lips as a smile formed.

TBC. . .