Chapter 9
Blair stared down at the ring that Chuck Bass had just given her, sharing a poignant moment with herself and their son, just before he'd left only moments before. She could still feel the impact of everything he'd revealed to her even then, and was still pondering on it all, when she heard someone open the door to her room. Instinctively she shut the velvet ring box in her hand and slipped it under her blankets, as she tried to recompose herself for whoever her guest was, realizing she had done it just in time as she saw that her guest was none other than Nate.
"Ah there you are...I'd wondered what happened to you...and where you'd disappeared to..." she replied, moderately chipper.
"Oh...I just had to see someone about something...but its no big deal...Hm...something wrong? Or did you just miss me?" he mused, surprisingly mellow, seeming far less stressed.
"Oh its nothing...I just had a baby so I guess I'm easily emotional..." she replied, wiping a tear from the corner of one eye as she attempted to regain her composure, then switched it up and coyly pouted "But I could use a hug..."
"Aw...if that's all it takes to make you happy, that's easy enough..." Nate replied, pulling her into a friendly embrace against him. "And here I thought you'd probably want me to give you jewelry or something." he mused.
"Oh I like hugs...but I love jewelry too! You do know diamonds are a girl's best friend and all..." she replied, suddenly perking up. "Which is why if you have any to give, I'd be happy to receive it...and if that was why you were late, I'd totally forgive you..." she babbled on, "Although I have to ask, Natie poo, why does your shirt smell like reefer?"
"Eh...I don't have any jewelry...but I guess I could fix that...About my shirt...eh, nevermind...Anyway I came in here to see ya and tell ya that while I was outside I thought of the perfect name for our son. We could name him after my mentor Captain Chips! Chip Archibald has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?" Nate chortled happily, as he tried to divert her attention to his brilliant idea for a baby name.
"Chip? Chip Archibald?" Blair replied, thinking to herself instead "Yeah more like Chip BASS...CHIP BASS? Gah, that's about as crazy as 'Chuck Bass'...though it'd go right along with his name...He's a little chip off the old block." "That's an interesting name, Nate, but surely your dear Captain Chips had another, first name..." she inquired discretely.
"Yeah it was like Charles or something...I can't remember right now though." he replied nonchalantly.
"Charles? Interesting..." Blair replied, as she pondered "Charles?! Yeah that WOULD be perfect, Nate dear. More perfect than you even know..." "Yeah maybe that would work, Nate. Although I might have to think about it though."
"Oh no need...I already signed it on the birth certificate just before I came in..." he replied, giggling a little as he nearly stumbled, while whipping out the certificate from his pocket.
"WHAT? But Nate!..." she gasped incredulously as she glanced at the certificate in front of her, and as he'd said, on the name line he'd printed 'CHIP ARCHIBALD' in slightly wavy ink from a ball point pen. Interestingly enough, and ironically for Blair, Nate had forgotten to sign his own name on the 'Father' line, so based on the birth certificate, her son was without a father, officially anyway.
"All right, little Chip it is...although fortunately you left just enough room to write his real first name too" she replied, as Blair wrote 'Charles' in front of the Chip, and her own name afterward, so that technically her son was now named 'Charles Chip Archibald Waldorf'...which was already long enough, and would become even more convoluted if or when she chose Chuck. "'Charles Chip Archibald Waldorf-Bass'? I hope our son can forgive me..." Blair pondered as she glanced down at her son's name so far on the birth certificate and was tempted to fill in a bit more, but then decided to wait.
"So...Nate...you had to go 'run an errand' right after I'd given birth and left you holding the baby. And now, you return over an hour later with no gift in hand, and stinking of weed...and not even curious about our son..." Blair mused interrogatingly curious.
"Oh yeah...that's right...I was holding our son right when I stepped out...but I'd left him in safe hands though. Although...how did he get back to ya?" Nate replied, curiously bemused.
"Oh a little bird...or more like a big Bass, returned him to me, which was fortunate you didn't hand him over to a complete stranger, thank you very much. But never mind that at the moment, but I will get back to it, because I have a more pressing question..." she began, ready to interrogate him further, but he interrupted.
"Uh...before you throw me under the bus cos I didn't get ya a gift or jewelry...I just wanted to say that I didn't entirely come here without a little something..." he mused, slipping a Ziploc bag out of his jacket. "Premium Gold...all the way from L.A..." he replied, opening the bag to take a smell, then passed it to Blair.
"Marajuana?! Nathaniel Archibald...I can't believe you! Here I thought you were growing up to be responsible father material...and yet apparently some thing never change! Handing our son over to Chuck Bass...just so that you could go out and score some of that? I can't believe you!" Blair incredulously replied, scolding him in the process.
"God, B! When did you become such a Narc? I thought you were cool with it...and I swear I remember you and S used to indulge with me in it...and more." Nate sighed, rolling his eyes and raking his hands through his hair.
"Maybe...when we were sixteen! But we're not sixteen anymore Nate! We're twenty-seven...no twenty-eight years old...and parents as well!..." 'Or at least I am' she thought to herself. "...and I'm an attorney...or nearly so...It's time we grew up...and become the parents our parents never were..."
"Really? So...you're not planning on having a nanny...nor living in a townhouse in the Upper East Side, after all...hm?" Nate skeptically replied.
"No...I'm still planning to acquire a nanny and move to the Upper East Side...or a neighborhood of a similar taste and distinction." she replied resolutely. "No, that wasn't what I'd meant. What I'd meant was that we wouldn't be an embarrassment to our children. No substance abuse or stints in rehab centers...no matter how popular it might be...no indictments on the import and export, let alone possession of illegal substances. I want my only days in court to be when I wield my power as a barrister...uh...attorney righting other people's wrongs, not just bailing you out of jail and covering your drug charges!" she adamantly admonished him, much to his surprise.
"Jeez, B. I'm sorry! It's only a little pot...you don't have to be a total narc about it and scold me like my parents or nanny used to. I'm not a little kid anymore." he replied.
"Well maybe if you..." she sighed, scolding him further, until he interrupted her and said "All right that's enough...I'm outta here!" as he turned on his heel and left in a sulk. The second younger man to leave in such a manner from her room in suddenly in a day. Blair suddenly felt bad that she had berated Nate the way she had, but so far it had been an eventful, emotional day indeed...and so after that, she definitely needed a rest.
As she was resting, an employee from the hospital slipped in and left an envelope on her beside table.
xoxoxo
Blair rested for awhile, but when she was refreshed, but thirsty, as she contemplated her next move. First off, she'd get a drink of water, so she pushed the call button beside her be, fully expecting a nurse to come rushing in like a good servant...but when that didn't happen, she begrudgingly reached for the water pitcher to pour herself one. While doing that, she noticed the envelope on the table beside several cards and plucked it off the table after taking a sip of water. Gingerly she opened the envelope, knowing that the contents inside could determine her fate in the future...and would give her a definite answer to her son's paternity. Glancing at the contents, she sighed in relief, yet felt a bit of trepidation, learning that her suspicions had been correct after all.
Initially, she had woken up feeling sorry for how she'd treated Nate, harping on him about his drug use and all...even if he had been a self centered ass about it to her as well. Still...she had to state her case, present the issue, and see what the verdict would be. The next time she saw him, Blair mentally vowed to herself that she would reveal the truth about their, or more precisely her son's paternity...and let the chips fall where they may. If Nate really didn't mind, then they could proceed as planned and get married in a few months, followed by living in a townhouse in the city and so on. To her point of view it seemed the easiest choice, since it'd ruffle the fewest social feathers, and she wouldn't have to worry about uprooting herself again.
Still...would she really be happy? Choosing Chuck...or at least the offer from the London law firm would be the more risky choice...and would take a lot of gumption, nerve, or energy to accomplish...but would that reap the more satisfying reward? Perhaps. Still if she made that choice, she knew it would be because she wanted a better life for herself and her son. Not that she was going to London solely to chase after the elusive and infamous Chuck Bass.
"No, no...if I choose London it was to take the offer at the law firm...not just because I now know Chuck's there...and he proposed quite the offer too. But no I'm not going to London just for a man...although if I happen to make my way back into Chuck's pants...uh bed..he he...it would only be an added caveat..." Blair mused as she suddenly imagined what the Bass man's bedroom in his London home looked like and if it was anything like his apartment in New York, with it's elevator and all...which caused her mind to wander to foggy memories from earlier in the year, perhaps to when her son was likely conceived...possibly in the front seat of Chuck's Jaguar as they'd rode up the elevator for all she knew...when someone opened he door to her room and stepped inside.
"Hi Blair...I...just thought that I'd come back to say I'm sorry...Hey what was that expression you just had?" Nate replied, his voice changing from seeming as if he'd been giving a nervous, practiced speech to her, to sudden genuine curiosity.
"Oh...I was just...remembering the night our son might've been conceived...that's all..." Blair sheepishly replied, in all honesty.
"Really? You know and can still remember? Ha ha...so was I any good, huh?" he inquired, giving her a smug, cocky grin.
"Well let's just say...to me it was a memorable experience..." she replied, as she then tried to change subjects slightly. "Anyway...speaking of the baby there is something I need to speak with you about..."
"If you don't wanna name him after Captain Chips...we can always pick another one..." he began, but wass interrupted.
"No, no...That's not it. His name's fine...especially in light of..." she began, but was soon interrupted by him.
"Oh that's good. Anyway as long as it isn't the baby's name or his health...he is okay, isn't he?" he asked, pausing briefly.
"Why, yes, he's fine as far as I know..." she replied.
"Good, good...cos I want to say this before I forget. Uh after our fight, or argument I guess, I was talking with Ser-er someone...and they said that I should apologize to you and take what you said and think about it because you only have my best interests at heart...And so I should try to apologize to you and clean up my act. So that's what I decided to do. I'm sorry Blair for acting like an ass and treating you like dirt. I know scoring some outside of the hospital wasn't one of my brightest choices...but hey I'm only human. That said, for the sake of you and your career and our baby...I'll go to that rehab center I went to before...I'm sure you remember which one." he apologized, his heart on his sleeve, though a teasing lilt to his voice at the end at the mention of the rehab center.
"Oh do you mean the one where you met that Georgina Sparks and which I'd thought was the equivalent to a spa back in high school?" she coyly asked.
"Yeah that was the one! Ha ha...it was so funny back then that you thought that place was a spa! You should've known better!" he chortled.
"Yes I know. Still it was like a spa...until they made us go to those group meetings where we were supposed to talk about our feelings...and I just wasn't prepared to do that in public back then." she astutely replied.
"Ha ha...even if it might've helped you back then." he retorted.
"Perhaps...but that's in the past now. Anyway...thank you for the apology, it means a lot. And I'm glad you're going to rehab...but to be honest you should do it for yourself, not just for me and the baby. Speaking of the baby...there is something I need to talk with you about..." she began as she steeled herself for what she needed to confess.
"All right, what? you're not dying, are you?" he asked, suddenly more compassionate looking than he'd been before. Pulling out the green puppy dog eyes, the flop of dark, blonde hair, the soulful expression, everything that made Blair fall for him and just want to take care of him.
Sighing, she replied,"No, nothing like that..." as she brushed the hair out of his face. "No...its something else. I...did some thinking and...I think it would be best if we did spend some time apart. You should go to rehab...meanwhile, I might be switching jobs..."
"Are you taking that job in London? Gawd...Blair... Oh...all right...once I'm through with my rehab stint, maybe I'll come over there too...for a little while..." he sighed.
"Really? You wouldn't have to...but only if you want to..." she replied cautiously.
"What'd ya mean? You just had my son...I don't wanna shirk my duties and be a deadbeat dad or whatever people call them." he replied adamantly.
"That's great Nate. Though...I have to confess something. Do you remember how you reunited with me?" she asked.
"Yeah I think...Yeah I beat Chuck Bass at squash...and he paid for our date at the Plaza for Valentines Day...Ha ha...yeah I remember." Nate chuckled, remembering then trouncing Chuck at squash...then his night with Blair, even if that was a bit of a blur by then.
"Chuck used a date with me as the prize in a bet he had with you over a game of squash?" she inquired, thinking to herself 'Damn that motherchucker! Nevermind, I'll deal with that later.' "I...had forgotten about that...but that's the past. Although speaking of the past...I don't know if you know this, Nate...but uh...remember when we'd broken up earlier, last winter just before the holidays? Well...I had gone to Kati's New Year's Eve wedding without a date...and while at the reception I met up with someone from my past...Chuck Bass...and we..."
"Oh so you hooked up with Chuck Bass on New Years Eve? Ha ha...no wonder he was so sore when I beat him at squash!" he chuckled.
"Well yes...but it was more than just a one night stand. We dated...all through the month of January and nearly up to my Valentine's Day date with you..."
"Really?" he skeptically replied.
"Yes...so much so that..." she continued, glancing down the envelope she clutched in her hands.
"The baby is his? I'd thought he looked familiar..." Nate replied, grabbing the envelope from her hands and tearing the letter out from inside.
"What?! He's just a baby! And why'd you take that from me...Nate!" she tried to scramble for it, but missed.
"Eh...this doesn't say anything. It just says that 'Specimen A' is the father...and that could anyone, even me. Ha my last name begins with A, so..." he retorted, glancing at the letter.
"Yes, I know...and his begins with 'B' and herein lies the irony...but Chuck initiated the paternity test, behind my back I might add, while you'd handed him the baby, after people were apparently commenting over the family resemblance. Thus, for that reason, Chuck was 'Specimen A'...and is the father. Anyway, I wasn't just about to confess my son's paternity...but also to admit that I think I've fallen in love with him..." she replied adamantly at first, yet shying bit at the end.
"Really? Oh this is...really great Blair. So you strung me along for months...telling me you're pregnant...pushing for a wedding...and everything...and instead you love Chuck Bass and the child isn't even mine..." Nate replied, sarcastically at first, shaking his head as he seemed to process the information right in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Nate. I know it was stupid of me...but I didn't realize I actually loved him, until I'd admitted it. I'd chosen you at first because...you were the one I'd fantasized marrying back in high school...but I realize now that was foolish...I hope you can forgive me." she replied, tearfully apologizing in hopes that she hadn't ruined her relationship with Nate, even on a friendship level, forever.
"Actually...funny enough...I think I'll be able to. In fact...to tell you the truth...I'm glad the baby is Chuck's and isn't mine..." he laughed a little, seemingly in relief.
"What? Really?" she skeptically replied.
"Yeah...I mean, I'm only 28 years old...I'd rather just sail my new Catamaran to Fiji, than be a father just yet, if I'm perfectly honest. And this couldn't happen at a more perfect time!" he replied, suddenly bemused.
"What? So you're breaking up with me? I thought I was breaking up with you? Anyway, you couldn't even love someone else's baby? How rude!" she replied, slightly flabbergasted.
"Isn't that what you were already doing? You admitted that the baby was Chuck's...no wonder you agreed to name him after Cap'n Chips...and that you love him...so it's pretty obvious where the conversation was going. As far as the baby, it's not a matter of 'couldn't', it's just that I don't have to anymore. Your admissions let me off the hook...so thanks a lot B...I'll see you." Nate replied, as he kissed the top of her head and sauntered out, seemingly no worse for wear...much to her utter surprise.
xoxoxo
Life after that was very much a case of life changing, but still staying the same. Upon leaving the hospital, Blair planned to return to her apartment, still perplexed over Nate's sudden change in attitude over the baby and their relationship. Blair didn't know what to think, other than a strange mixture of apprehension and relief. Relief because she'd finally confessed the truth behind her son's paternity, and admitted to Nate...as well as even herself,...where her real feelings lay, and that was with Chuck Bass. Still though she was apprehensive because of how easily her relationship with Nate had fallen apart...and she was still a bit pissed at him that he hadn't put up much of a fight in the end after all (No major drama? Where's the fun in that?)...and that with that, she really would have to push forward with her plans for London and make them a reality.
To take the initiative to deal with that and raise a child alone in her apartment was not something Blair was anticipating as she left the hospital with the aide of a personal assistant her mother had hired for the day, but fortunately she didn't have to entirely, because instead of putting her in a cab, she escorted her to a waiting town car. The car, instead of whisking her and her son away to her apartment in Chelsea, it drove them to the Tribeca Star Hotel, where they were whisked upstairs to a luxury suite, prepped and ready to go with a masseuse and porters ready to pamper Blair, and even a nanny hired to help her care for her son and give her extra help to learn to care for him herself.
It was pure luxury, the type that Blair Waldorf relished in, so wasn't until she'd had her massage and was relaxing in the ensuite Jacuzzi, and her baby was sleeping in a bassinet either the hotel had provided or her mother had purchased, that she realized which suite she was in. It had been redecorated slightly since the last time she'd been there, but overall it was still very much the same. A suite she'd partied in many times as a teenager...posing in her underwear with a magnum of champagne as someone took a picture...and remembered using once during a holiday break in college after a nasty row with Nate and her ex fiance Pete or Paul...something or other. At that time, the usually cheeky male member of the family who 'owned' this suite offered it to her out of sympathy, along with music, chocolates, and a bubble bath...which she immediately interpreted as his ploy to get her in bed...or at least join her in the bubble bath...but he'd surprisingly been a perfect gentleman that night. (Even if months later the joint bubble bath did happen...and my did he know his way around a tub!)
"I'm in the Bass family's suite at the Tribeca Star Hotel? Thanks mother...but good gawd, do they know? If Chuck knows...it'll spoil the surprise. I wanted to tell him myself...before the rest of the world knows, thank you very much. Oh my mother..." Blair sighed to herself as she mentally berated her mother, until she was satisfied, then began to relax as she tried to mentally regroup. For the moment at least she was back in the lap of luxury and she definitely wasn't going to let one moment of her stay in this suite go to waste.
Thus, Blair spent the next two weeks in the hotel suite, letting herself get pampered, polished, an spoiled, like she had as a child. Ah now this was he life she'd missed or so long, it was a shame to think about doing anything else for awhile. Still though, the fact that she was allowed to use the Bass family's suite so freely had her wondering what was up, so she made a few calls and finally contacted her mother to get some answers.
"Mother...I'm glad I could finally get in touch with you...because I wanted to ask you about something." she inquired, the phone to her ear.
"Sure darling...but if you want to know which direction to put the diaper on.."
"No, not that...I'm fine there, plus I have the nanny, so thank yo for her...And the suite...its simply divine...and speaking of the suite.."
"Oh I knew yo'd love it darling. Misty suggested it. She told me it' be just the thing...and I'm so glad she was right!" Eleanor gushed, until Blair interrupted her.
"Misty suggested it? You told Muff-Misty Bass about my 'situation'? Mother, how much did you tell her about it? How much does she know? You don't happen to know if she's told her son, do you?" she asked, becoming anxious to the point of almost being livid.
"Not..much darling. I just told her about how I was finally a grandmother...and she mentioned how she couldn't wait until it happened for herself, then I might've hinted that it may happen sooner than she knows...the I might've mentioned how you and Nate were on the outs at the moment...and there might be the slightest chance of you rekindling something with her son, Charles...even with a baby now...and she was suddenly offering her family's suite at the Tribeca Star, for as long as you need it..." Eleanor confessed to her daughter.
"Oh okay...but you didn't happen to mention anything about his paternity or anything, did you?" she cautiously inquired.
"Paternity? Did you say paternity or maternity? I think my phone is breaking up. You don't need to wear maternity gowns anymore, unless you want to...or are you in doubt of your son's paternity? Seriously, darling.." she started until Blair interrupted her.
"Ha ha...it was nothing...Never mind, mother...It appears that Misty didn't call Chuck after all..."
"Oh did you say something about Chuck? Well darling, the next time I talk to Misty, I'll be sure to tell her you asked about him. I always knew you'd get back together someday..."
"Uh thanks mother but..."
"Oh I think I've got to go...my Dogo instructor is here now and I knew Rocky needed an extra stretch lately...just like his mommy...Oh and give my grandson, little Chip my love...Aw I can't believe you named him Charles too...how fortuitous!" Eleanor replied, as her dog could be heard in the background.
"Yes...fortuitous indeed. Well I'll talk to you later, mother. Thanks again.." Blair replied as she ended the call while contemplating her mother and her need to participate in every trend, including yoga with her dogs.
Soon after her discussion with her mother, she began to think about the future, realizing that despite what she'd heard from her mother about Misty telling her to take "All the time she needed" in reality that usually only meant a few weeks at most...which also meant that it was most likely time to move on...which meant moving back to her apartment and planning her next move in life. That would be the big move to London for her job and no doubt more...when it came to it.
Her next move after her stay at the hotel was to go back to her apartment in the Chelsea area of New York and attempt to put her life in order, making arrangements to move to the UK and procure a flat there of some sort. In the mean time she spent the rest of he time learning how to take care of her baby son with as minimal help from a nanny as possible, which wasn't easy because she still liked to go out shopping and for lunches at her favorite cafes and restaurants.
Eventually, albeit sooner than she realized, Blair was able to get all of the necessary paperwork so that she and her son Chip could move to Britain, even if it had only been a few weeks since she'd given birth. Thinking that events had been progressing on their own, Blair was surprised when her mother came to visit her, seemingly bearing gifts and advice (or perhaps just to mettle) just days before she and her son were to leave.
"Mother...its so good to see you! Quite the surprise...indeed. You do know I'm moving in a day or so, don't you?" she commented as she opened the door to her mother, who strode in carrying shopping bags from Bergdorfs, Bendels, and Bonpont.
"Indeed I do, darling...which is why I'm here! I wanted to visit my oldest daughter and my new grandson one last time before they leave their family behind and move to Britain to...reunite with the man who's apparently my grandson's biological father, Charles Bass." Eleanor sighed, dramatically.
"Mother! I'm moving to London because of a job offer...and maybe to avoid the scandal surrounding my son's birth, and Nate...but NOT just to reunite with Chuck...if that even happens! I'm a stronger woman than that anyway...to move across the globe just to chase a man!" she gasped incredulously.
"Oh you say that now...but you two will be in the same city again, and now with a baby to consider...and Chuck's considerable wealth..."
"MOTHER?!"
"Well let's just say...I wouldn't be surprised if things might happen for you...It would warm this mother's heart to know that her daughter didn't abandon her family just to live alone with a baby in a foreign city..." Eleanor sighed.
"I abandoned you? From my perspective, you abandoned me, mother, when you married Cyrus, had my sister Yale, then decided to sell your penthouse apartment in the City to move to California, while I was attending Yale, Oxford, and so on. You're the one who left me high and dry to make my way in the world after Law School...and be forced to rent an apartment here in Chelsea...rather than in the Upper East Side." she replied.
"Well...I apologize for that...although we'd thought it'd be a good learning experience for you on how to make something of yourself...which you have, quite beautifully in fact. Still, I do apologize for that, and have come bearing gifts. A new dress from Bendels for you, my dear, and of course lots of lovely new clothes from Bergdorfs and Bonpont for my adorable grandson..." she cooed as she indicated the desire to see her new grandson, Chip, whom Blair had just laid down for a nap. Eleanor picked up her sleepy grandson and gently held him, while Blair glanced through the shopping bags, noticing the new Diane von Furstenberg dress her mother had purchased from Bendels, and the variety of baby clothes she'd also bought.
Suddenly, Eleanor added "And that's not all, darling. I had some people helping me sort through the storage areas and attic at our house in Rhode Island, when we came across some items you purchased years ago that might suit you now more than ever. They are right out there in the hall...unless someone in your building has absconded with them already...you never can tell, especially in certain other neighborhoods." with a sigh.
"Huh? Well I hope not! I'll go see." Blair sighed as she stood up from her sofa and opened her front door to see if whatever else her mother had brought was still in the hall. To her surprise there in the hall outside her door set the Silver Cross pram Blair had bought a decade earlier, when she had thought Lord Marcus was going to propose. Even the St. Pucchi wedding gown she'd also purchased was tucked inside the carriage, like a fluffy passenger that could barely fit. She wheeled it into her apartment, recalling the time when she'd spontaneously purchased both items after believing that the minor British aristocrat she'd briefly dated during her senior year of high school was about to propose to her...not to his second or third cousin, which was what he'd done in the end. Bringing those items home with her on her parents' G5 did cause a bit of minor scandal to erupt at the time...although it soon blew over when it was revealed that she wasn't pregnant after all, but instead her mother had been...so it all worked out in the end.
"So you brought my old carriage and wedding gown, I see. Thank you...for reminding me of my past...But one question...why does the carriage still look new? I thought you'd used it with my sister when she was born? I distinctly remember taking a walk with her in the park with the nanny or maybe Nate pushing the carriage at least once." Blair replied, suddenly also recalling witnessing Chuck Bass pushing a similar carriage for his somewhat goth, emo, or at least 'artistic' then-girlfriend, 'Tiffany with the purple streaked hair', walking along side him, as his monkey and her ferret rode inside. Blair remembered she'd passed them once, at first feeling superior...then passed them a second time, where the carriage had apparently crashed at the bottom of a hill and the two were arguing, which caused Blair to laugh at their misfortune, yet be slightly jealous because they'd apparently had unsuccessfully attempted sex in their Silver Cross pram. 'Okay why am I now remembering that story Chuck had told me about himself & Tiffany and her old Silver Cross pram, back when they were sixteen? Did I actually witness it? Or am I just imagining it because of how often he's told me the story? And why am I even remembering it now? Argh!' Blair mentally chided herself as she pushed the carriage through her apartment.
"Oh...well, funny story. Just before you brought your pram home, along with your wedding gown, after that debacle with Lord Marcus, your aunt learned of my pregnancy and sent one to me as well...interestingly identical to the one you'd purchased...so I decided to use that one instead and keep your's for you until the time came. As you know, Silver Cross prams are classic, so I knew it would never go out of style." she replied smugly.
"Okay...but what about the wedding gown? You know that is seasons and seasons old now..."
"True...but that only makes it a vintage piece, which makes it all the more collectible."
"Perhaps...but its St. Pucchi, not Valentino..."
"I know! And more's the pity..." Eleanor sighed. "But its such a lovely style...it'd make you look just like the fairytale princess you always wanted...Plus I brought it along because you never know what'll happen once you get to London...you know what I mean?"
"Yes I do...but Oh mother!" Blair sighed as she looked nostalgically at the gown and remembered how it had made he model in the photograph, if not her teenage self at the time, look like a fairytale princess, with its lace belled sleeves, long train, and so on. A beautiful gown indeed...but somehow Blair felt that she wasn't ready for the gown again...and for her mother to have included it with the pram was presumptuous indeed.
"Mother...I don't know how I'm going to be able to fit the pram along myself and my son on our flight in a few days. Which is why I think that I should propose a compromise. Send the pram later by itself...without the dress. If you could do that for me mother, I'd greatly appreciate it.
"All right darling, if you insist. Still I'll send it to you as you wish...although know that it is with all of my greatest love, hopes, and wishes for you and you future. I do love you, Blair...no matter what you might believe." Eleanor poignantly sighed, as Blair sympathized a bit and was indeed touched by this moment with her mother.
xoxoxoxo
Blair's move came then two days later, and thus before she knew it, she was on a plane to London...and then suddenly there, in London, unpacking her items in her flat in Fullham, as she and her son acclimated themselves to life in London. After her flat, Blair was able to arrange other parts of her life in order as well. Joining the staff as a young barrister at the law practice which had hired her, hiring a nanny from Norland College to care for her son, and purchasing things to make herself feel complete. Blair's new position paid well, indeed, but she was soon loathe to discover that the cost of living was slightly more than New York, so thus she couldn't outfit her son in as many of the angel winged sleepers and pajamas from Mare Chantal, nor purchased the adorable baby boy's nursery décor from Dragon's Of Walton Street or items from Blue Almonds baby, as she had wished. To Blair, her son Chip was a little prince...and thus he only deserved the best...just like the royal babies had in the past and present...and thus he deserved items purchased at the same shops where the royal baby's shopping was done.
This crimp in her lifestyle was not one that settled well with Blair. She was doing better financially than she had on her own in New York...but that just made her want that much more. Plus she was beginning to feel a little lonely and slightly melancholy after awhile, just like her mother had said she might, and this was made even more so when the Silver Cross Pram was delivered to her flat...along with the St Pucchi wedding gown, she was soon to learn.
That and everything else, including some post-partum emotion, suddenly dredged up some old emotions and memories...such that when she was taking her son for a walk one crisp, late autumn day, Blair suddenly found herself walking along the street, The Figurines' - 'The Air We Breathe' playing on her iPod, as she pushed her son along in his pram, suddenly remember her past relationships. The familiarity she'd had with Nate, the passion she'd had with Chuck...especially the night they'd had sex in his car, which was probably the night their son had been created. A conflict of emotion that welled up inside of her in such a way that she had to sit down on a bench and catch her breath. It was then that her son made a little fuss that caused her to gingerly lift him from his carriage and hold him a bit, and it was in that moment as she held her precious infant son, who was very much the image of his father, that Blair knew what she had to do...so thus she planned what to do next as she held her son and checked a certain website on her phone.
