Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the continued detailed reviews, favorites, and alerts!

This chapter was half written when I posted the last one because ever since season three ended and then with the beginning of season four, I've been mulling over what I would have done differently and what I imagined would be said between Blair and Chuck if they ever did discuss where they went wrong. It took me longer to post though because I wanted to get their first meeting as perfect as I could. And by perfect I mean tense, awkward, and slightly painful.

I'm very surprised that nobody figured out where Blair asked Chuck to meet her. I dropped clues, but alas, we soon find out, LOL! Your guesses were very good though, I thought about some of them but settled on what you'll read about. The therapy sessions for Blair and Chuck start at the end of this chapter and will continue in the coming chapters. Things are going to get choppy but it's something they both want and need. This reconciliation will not happen quickly, it will build as they slowly start to heal.

If any of you are in the mood to read some smutty Chair, I've posted the latest chapter of The Way We Were. I'll be posting the next chapter for Of Course within the week. I'm also in the process of a new story going off the idea that the positive pregnancy test we saw at the end of 4x22 is Blair's, and that the baby is Chuck's. It will be different than the other stories posted on that idea so I hope you'll check it out when I post it.

Shop247 – Thank you! I try very hard to employ proper grammar and spell-check. I can't wait to read your thoughts on this chapter.

GGfan73104 – Thanks so much! I was getting antsy too so the time jump was definitely needed. I love when Blair is strong and put together, we all know she is anything but weak. Work is definitely going to be a solace for both Blair and Chuck in this story. Looking forward to your reaction of where Blair asked Chuck to meet her.

TriGemini – Thank you so much! I totally agree that things will get worse before they can get better for Blair and Chuck. As much as hashing out the past is going to hurt, it's the only thing that can let them move on to a healthy relationship. Many harsh words will be said and it will be difficult for them to keep it together. As always, I'm really looking forward to reading your next review.

Trosev – Thanks so much! I too love Blair's friendships with Eric, Nate, and Dan and am happy you do too. Can't wait to read your reaction to their first meeting and then their first therapy session.

ChairBass – Thank you!

Pty – Thank you so much! So happy you enjoyed the last chapter. I love when Nate gets called out for being man-bangs, it's very amusing and I like to write it ;) And I know, why can't Blair and Chuck finally get their acts together and be a normal couple on the show? You're right about the place Blair chose making Chuck uncomfortable but it isn't Victrola or the Empire. Please keep the spoilers coming, reading your reviews are the only way I get the dirt on season five as I'm too scared to look at them myself, LOL! I can't wait to read your next review and get your reaction to them being in the same room after so long.

MrChuck – Thanks! Looking forward to what you think of their meeting place.

Ellibells – Thank you! I'm a sucker for Dair friendship too! I can't wait to read you comments on where they meet and how their therapy session goes.

Tiff xoxo – Thanks! Let me know what you think of this chapter as they begin the reconciliation process.

88Mary88 – Thank you so much! We'll see more of Blair and Roman interacting later in the story so don't worry. I agree that it isn't fair how Chuck is coddled while Blair is made out to be the bad guy but I'm planning a scene with Lily running into Blair and gaining a little insight. And yes, Blair has made her share of mistakes but they pale in comparison to what Chuck has done, I plan on having Blair give Chuck something worse than hell, guilt. Her reaction to him won't be what he's expecting and it is going to eat him alive how sad he's made the only woman he's ever really loved. And I love Blair as a workaholic, that will definitely be a plot point in this story. I'm really looking forward to reading your review on where I took this chapter.

Layla Waldorf-Bass – Thank you! Their talk will be sad but it's also hopeful because they're working toward resolving their issues. Can't wait to read your comments on this chapter.

Chairfanforever – Thanks so much! Looking forward to your reaction on where they meet and how it goes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl, or Ed Westwick – sigh.

October 8, 2011

Blair spent the better part of the morning fretting over what to wear. After trying on a dozen different skirt and blouse combinations and just as many dresses, she finally decided on a classic taupe sheath dress. After slipping on a pair of brown pumps and fixing her hair, she decided to add a navy cardigan because she felt too exposed and didn't want to send the wrong impression with what she was wearing. She would rather err on the side of looking like she was going to work rather than going on a date and was as comfortable as she could be with what she had on.

Dan met her limo at when she pulled up in front of the loft and got the door for her. He could see how nervous she was and had espresso and macaroons waiting for her upstairs.

"Thanks for letting me meet with him here," Blair told him as she paced back and forth with the espresso in hand. "I really don't need this splashed all over Gossip Girl and this was the only place I could think of that would be safe."

"I'm glad to hear that and be able to help," Dan smiled. "Do you want me to go now or should I wait until Chuck gets here?"

"You don't have to wait until he's here," she said, "I know you don't like him."

He shrugged as he pulled back the door to the loft only to come face to face with Chuck. Chuck stood stock-still as Dan turned back to Blair, "I'll be back in half an hour. Call me if you need me sooner."

"Thank you, Dan," Blair said as he nodded and brushed past Chuck, who stepped inside before Dan closed the door behind him.

He looked so different than when she last saw him. To start with, he was clean-shaven and sober. But even though he looked well rested, he still seemed unhappy.

"How are you?" he asked as he nervously looked at her, wanting to give her a hug but not wanting to upset her.

"I've been better," she told him as she motioned for him to sit. "And you?"

"The same," he said. "You look good."

"Thank you," she said as she felt herself losing some of the control she built up over the summer. Being in such close proximity to him again was making it difficult for her to focus on why she contacted him but she forced herself to remain on-task.

"I was surprised when you asked me to meet you here," he said, bringing her back to the present situation.

"It was about time we talked, and I wanted our first meeting to be on my terms," she told him. "I don't want everyone knowing my business."

"That, and I know you hate Dan," she added. "I knew if you showed up here in Brooklyn that you were serious about making us work this time."

"I am," he said as he reached for her hand.

"No touching," she told him. "I need this to be on my terms, and that's one of them."

"Like last year's treaty?" he asked with a slight smirk at the memory of them breaking it.

"No, this is nothing like that," she said. "This is just a verbal agreement based on trust. If this gets broken, I'm afraid there's nothing either of us will be able to do to pick up those pieces."

Blair was trying to think of this in terms of black and white but when it came to Chuck her emotions always tended to get the better of her. As she was gathering her thoughts again, Chuck spoke once more.

"I need to apologize in person for my actions that night," he said. "I had no right to judge you, I'm sorry."

"You had absolutely no right to judge me," she told him. "But we're not going to talk about that now."

"What are we here to talk about then?" he asked, assuming she was going to ream into him for all that he'd done.

"How we're supposed to move forward," she said. "I still see a future with you, Chuck, but it's a distant future."

He could feel the oxygen slowly leaving his airways as she looked at him. He was waiting for her to erupt and start screaming but it didn't look like it was coming. She remained emotionless as she sat with perfect posture and her hands clasped in her lap.

"Where does that leave us then, Blair?" he asked uncertainly.

"It leaves us in a mess, that's where," she said wryly. "No matter my feelings for you I need to be on my own for the time being. And I really need to wait for me, as much as I may want to, I will not go back to you if you're with anyone else from here on out."

"I know this probably means nothing to you, but that last bender of mine didn't involve any women, just alcohol and drugs," he told her. "You were the only one I could think of. I don't want to be with anyone other than you, Blair. I've always loved you."

"And those three words aren't a magic fix for us anymore," she told him. "The only thing that might have the potential to fix us is therapy, which is why I've set up weekly sessions for us every Monday with your therapist."

"Wait, you already set them up? How?" he asked, shocked that she was not only willing to go to therapy with him but also that she set them up already.

"I have my ways," she said with a small smirk, not about to give away Eric for helping her. "While I may not be ready to be with you right now, I know I don't want to be with anyone else either."

"Thank you," he said as he reached for her hand only to have her shake her head.

"I'm not finished with the conditions," she started. "We are to meet every Monday at one. It's the only time I have free. Second, that is the only time I want to see or talk with you. And third, you need to get Serena to leave me alone. More importantly, you need to get her to leave Dorota alone. I can be dangerous but Dorota is lethal."

"No touching, Mondays at one, and reign in the blonde," he reiterated the conditions, "I can do that."

"I'll see you on Monday, Chuck," Blair said as she stood up and looked at her watch. "We have a long, difficult road ahead of us. You ready for it?"

"I'm not going anywhere if that's what you're getting at," he told her with a small smirk.

"Good, good," she said as she checked the time again. "Dan should be back soon and."

Blair wasn't able to finish when Nate opened the door slowly to find his two friends standing awkwardly in the middle of the loft.

"You're both alive, that's good," he smiled as he pushed back his hair.

"What are you doing here?" Chuck asked, not expecting to see Nate.

"To get you," Nate said cheerfully. "I thought we could hang out."

"Go," Blair told Chuck when he looked at her. "I'll see you Monday."

"Will you be okay?" Chuck asked, not wanting to leave her alone.

"I'll be fine, Dan will be back any minute," she told him.

October 9, 2011

Chuck spent the last half hour trying to get Serena to stop pestering him about Blair.

"Leave her alone, S," he told his stepsister as they sat in the living room of his new apartment. "She needs her space."

"But it's not fair, you get to see her," Serena pouted. "She met with you to start patching your relationship and she won't even take my calls or answer my texts."

"Our relationship is non-existent for the time being. And she only met with me to tell me she'll join me in therapy for an hour each week," he told her, "Lots of nasty things are going to resurface and it will be months, maybe even years before we get back what we had. Be glad it's not you two doing that."

"At least she wants to work things out with you," she said sadly as she curled into the corner of the couch, hugging a pillow in her lap. "Blair doesn't even want to see me."

"What did you expect when you tried to ambush her at the penthouse?" Chuck asked her. "You know she hates surprises like that."

"You would have done the same," she fired back, getting more and more upset that he was actually making sense.

"Not this time," he said. "I told her I'd wait for her to make the first move and I respected that. You wouldn't leave until Dorota threatened you. Blair likes to have control over everything, you'll know when she wants to talk to you."

"What else did she say to you?" Serena asked.

"That's between us," he told her. "All I'll say is that she wants to try, I can't ask for more."

"Are you happy with that?" she inquired. "Therapy with her was what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah," he said, "If she'll willing spend an hour a week with me, I can't object."

"Talk about something different," Chuck said. "How are Eric and Lily?"

"Eric's good," Serena smiled, "He loves college so far and sounds really happy whenever I talk to him. As for mom, she's busy trying to rebuild her social standing. But you should know that, she's at Bass Industries a lot."

They continued talking about Lily and Eric until Chuck finally kicked his stepsister out, blaming it on having to wake up early for work. After some prodding and actual pushing, she was out and he was finally able to go to bed. He tossed and turned all night, not able to sleep a wink in anticipation of seeing Blair the next day.

October 10, 2011

"Why am I here?" Blair reiterated the therapist's question. "I'm here because for some reason that I have yet to understand, I still love Chuck. And I want us to work through everything that's happened in a controlled environment."

"A controlled environment?" the doctor inquired. Never in all his years of practice had he heard a patient use that phrase before.

"Yes," Blair said. "We tried this on our own last year and it blew up in our faces. I won't let that happen again."

"Can you expand on that for me?" the doctor asked as he scribbled something down. "What exactly did you try on your own?"

"A truce," she told him. "Our friends arranged it and we even had a notary make it official. It didn't last long before we agreed it was broken and Chuck tore it in half. We then proceeded to have sex."

Chuck smirked at the memory when Blair said, "As much as I'd like to rip his clothes off and have sex with him right now, I refuse. I won't let it happen like that again."

He choked before coughing furiously and it was her turn to smirk. "The next time we're together, if we ever get to that place, it won't be just sex," she said softly with seriousness in her tone. "I need more than that. I also don't know how long it will be before I feel ready for that next step with you."

"I told you I'd wait," he said anxiously. "I meant it, I don't want anyone but you."

"You say that now," she told him, "But how long can you last before your base needs kick in? I will not be some itch you need scratched and I sure as hell won't be with you if you're with some whore again."

"Blair," the doctor cut in, "I think I can see where you're going with this but can you spell out exactly what it is you want."

"Fine," she said. "I want to know that he will not have sex with anyone but me, ever again if he wants us to work. And he needs to know that sex with me won't happen for quite some time. Getting back what we had will be difficult, and I need to know he's not going to run at the first sign of discomfort."

"I'm glad you bring this up," the doctor told her. "What I'd like to do before we begin is set up goals that you both hope to achieve from our sessions. Let's start with you, Blair."

"I want Chuck, I do," she said as she avoided making eye contact with the one man she found herself inextricably drawn back to time after time. "But too much has happened for us to just ignore it all like we've done in the past. We have to talk about everything and I need to know he won't abandon this when it gets difficult. You need to fight for me this time."

Chuck was staring intently at her when she turned to look at him with his last statement. It hurt him that she didn't trust him but he finally understood that it was his turn to fight for her. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her. "Whatever happens, from here on out, you're it for me."

She nodded as she bit her lip and looked away from him. That's when the doctor asked, "What do you hope to gain from our sessions?"

"Blair's trust," he replied, surprising her with his candor. "What's transpired this past year broke us. I know we can fix it, and if we're both willing to work towards that, I don't see why we can't."

"Good, good," the doctor said as he wrote down what they just said. "Now that we have that squared away, where should we begin?"

"Where should we begin?" Blair repeated as her anger bubbled back to the surface. "How about when he threw away everything we had to make a deal to trade me, his girlfriend he claimed to love, to his disgusting uncle for one night in exchange for his beloved hotel?"

"I no longer own the Empire," he said quietly. "The sale went through last week."

"You should have said goodbye to that place when Jack wanted it," she fired back. "But no, you had to hold on to it because of all the hard work you put into it. Never mind the hard work that went into our relationship."

She was throwing his words back at him and she knew it. Usually quick with a nasty retort, Chuck was rendered virtually speechless at the anger radiating from her. That didn't stop him from his voicing his next comment though.

"But you were willing to go through with it," he said, regretting it as soon as he saw the fire in her eyes.

"Because I loved you, you bastard," she seethed. "I thought it was the only option. I didn't realize that you were playing me, too."

"I've made my share of mistakes when it's come to us and we'll discuss those in time," she said as she looked at the therapist. "But it will always go back to him screwing the first thing in a skirt when he doesn't get what he wants from me. Relationships must have give and take, from both parties."

"That's true, Blair," the doctor said, trying to calm the tone in the room. "But try to express your feelings over the Empire in a lower voice."

"As much as that hurt, it was nothing compared to the heartbreak I felt when I found out you slept with Jenny," she told him. "That was a knife in my heart I still feel."

"I thought you were done with me," he exclaimed. "Nothing mattered at that point."

"How long did you even wait for me?" she cried. "It wasn't even dark when I got there to find the peonies in the trash. You didn't even wait there and then you had sex with the one person you knew I wouldn't be able to move past. I had forgiven you for your indecent proposal only to have you betray me once again."

"I'm sorry," he said exasperatedly. "I can't change it, what more can I do?"

"You can tell me how you were able to move on so suddenly with Eva?" she said. "You went from breaking my heart and having sex with a girl in high school to blissfully playing house with some reformed hooker in Paris."

"Did you forget I got shot?" he countered. "I only met Eva because she found me bleeding to death in a back alley in Prague."

"And that never would have happened if you didn't run away again," she exclaimed. "You have never tried to fight for me, instead you choose to run and look at what happened because of it."

Chuck was rendered speechless at her words. "Blair," he said as he felt his mouth go dry.

"Don't," she said as she felt her eyes welling up with tears and she breathed a sigh of relief when the alarm on her phone went off. "Our first session is over," she told him as she stood up and put her phone back in her purse after silencing it. "I have to get back to school but I'll see you next week."

"We'll pick up right where we left off next week," the doctor said as she stopped at the door and nodded before she left.

Even though the session was over, Chuck stayed where he was on the couch, still in shock with how she viewed him getting shot.

"Tell me how you're feeling," the doctor said to him.

"It makes sense," Chuck said. "I could have prevented all of this if I didn't run away again. But it's what I do, I've always run when things got too tough."

"You didn't run just now," the doctor told him. "You checked yourself into a treatment facility instead of running. Why do you think you did that?"

"It was about time," Chuck said as he looked at his hands. "Maybe I'd finally had enough."

"And what does that tell you?" the doctor asked.

"That maybe I finally see running away solves nothing," Chuck told him.

October 16, 2011

Blair's week went by quickly but was exhausting for her at the same time. Eighteen hours were spent in class and she had at least six hours of homework each night. And, on top of everything, she was at work all-day Saturday. She caught an abnormality in one of the briefs she was filing and when she brought it to the attention of the associate she was working for, he told her if she wrote it up properly that he would let her sit in on the deposition.

Knowing that she scored her in, she began working on it immediately, going in on the weekend to make use of their legal library and leave it for him on his desk when he got in on Monday.

By the time Sunday rolled around, she allowed herself to sleep until nine o'clock before taking a leisurely bath. Her plan was to engage in some retail therapy and then return home ready to study for the LSATs. Three pencil skirts, a blazer, and a pair of Louboutin pumps later, she was walking out of Bendel's with a smile on her face, until she saw Serena walking towards her.

"What do you want?" Blair asked her when she literally ran into her as she was leaving the store.

"To talk, then I'll leave you alone, I promise," the blonde said. "Five minutes, please?"

"You have five minutes," Blair told her as she looked at her watch and stepped back inside, moving to a corner so they would have some modicum of privacy.

"I'm sorry I sided with Chuck," Serena said. "I never wanted to choose, I thought we'd be able to talk it out in the morning but you were gone."

"I needed a change of scenery," Blair said. "A place where I wasn't reminded of everything that happened with Gossip Girl lurking around every corner."

"Did you have a good time with your dad?" Serena asked.

"Yes, I always have a good time when I visit daddy and Roman," Blair said, looking at her watch and picking up her bags once more.

"I'm glad you and Chuck are working things out," Serena said as Blair went to turn around, stopping in her tracks.

"What did he tell you?" Blair asked tensely, growing livid at the thought of Chuck sharing what she said at therapy to anyone.

"Nothing, all he told me was that he's happy you're going to therapy with him," Serena told her with confusion. "Did something happen?"

"Yes," Blair said, "But nothing bad. I have to go."

"We'll talk soon," she told Serena as she made her way back onto Fifth Avenue.

As upset and angry as Blair still was with Chuck, a small part of her couldn't help but be happy that he didn't tell anyone about what really happened at their therapy session. That knowledge would make it easier for her to face him the next day and pick up where they left off. Blair knew it would get ugly with where they left off but had greater faith that everything would pan out eventually. They just needed to get through talking about their painful past.

Please review if you'd like me to continue. And if I haven't heard from you yet, leave a review. Lots of you have favorited or alerted this story but have yet to leave a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts and it's very easy to do, not to mention it would really make me smile =D

Were you expecting Blair to ask Chuck to meet her at Dan's? And did you see her accusation about him getting shot? Well, that's how I would have played it if I wrote for Gossip Girl.

It is an uphill battle for our favorite couple that is only going to get worse before it can get better. This is just the start of many more sessions to come where events will be relived, secrets will be revealed, and the waterworks will flow.

What did you think of how Blair and Chuck behaved in therapy? Believable? I don't think I need to tell you what I think of the events discussed as I had Blair say them for me.

Remember, more reviews = more love = faster update =) And I love detailed reviews, the longer the better.