DEDICATION: This chapter is dedicated to Melanie, originally LittleDancer-123x but she's not on ffNET anymore! :bawl: Anyway, Happy Birthday Melanie! :hugs: Hope it's a great one!


REMINDER: This story takes place after Desperately Seeking Serena (SAT eppy!). Hence, no video has been delivered to Serena. The sex tape does not exist thus far in the world I'm writing in. Doesn't mean I couldn't add one, but for now, it's not there.


Chapter Nine


"And that's everything," Serena finished the story that she had already told twice today and hoped to never have to tell again.

Silence hung in the room while Nate absorbed everything he'd just learned.

"No," Chuck said. "It's not."

Serena gave him a warning glare. She had deliberately left out the part about Georgina having something on Blair. She didn't want to have to dodge that information with Nate as well. It was bad enough that she'd told Nate that Georgie had drugged both her and Blair; she wasn't telling him anything else.

"Yes," Serena said firmly. "It is."

"You two can't avoid me forever," Chuck threatened. He wanted to know why Blair had gotten so upset this morning. That was why he'd come to meet Serena here in the first place—it wasn't to give her any information on Georgina because he hadn't found any yet. He needed to know what G had on Blair. He couldn't help protect her if he wasn't clued in to everything.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nate muttered, still a little shell shocked about the whole situation. "But… tell me again why Vanessa can't know about any of this? And why she can't know that Sarah is Georgina? And why is Dan keeping up this farse? He just agreed to it?"

"Yes," Serena insisted, eyes warning Chuck once again before she turned her gaze back to Nate. "We want to find something against her to take her down first. So we're going to play along, make her think she's still playing us."

"She is!" Nate said harshly, still unable to believe how messed up the entire situation had become with Vanessa and Chuck.

"But you know what's happening now," Serena explained, wincing as she turned her ice pack and managed to find an even colder spot, if that were possible.

"Vanessa doesn't," he muttered, toning down his voice at the reminder that he'd managed to hurt her and was responsible for that ice pack.

"The more people who know, the more likely she is to figure out that we're trying to buy time," she continued.

"But why are we trying to buy time?" Nate asked, still not following this line of reasoning.

"Yes, Serena," Chuck said pointedly. "Why are we trying to buy time?"

Serena was saved from having to answer that question by the ring of her cell phone. She glanced at the caller ID.

"I have to take this," she murmured, throwing her ice pack down and going to the other side of the room.

"B," she whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Blair said. "What's with the whispering?"

"Nothing," she said, giving more firmness to her voice. "Where are you? I checked upstairs and you were—"

"Oh, I was feeling better so I left," Blair said. "You probably only missed me by a few minutes. Sorry I missed your call, I forgot I had it on vibrate while I was asleep at your place."

"So where are you now?" Serena asked.

"In la elevator," Blair said with a phony accent, trying to convey some joy that she wasn't feeling. Damn Georgina Sparks to hell.

"At the Palace?"

"At home," Blair said simply. Ding! "Ah, home at last. Seriously, Serena, I'm fine. I'm assuming Dan agreed?"

"Yes, he agreed," Serena said. "But, I—"

"Great," Blair said dismissively as she walked up to the hall table and saw a large package waiting, addressed to her. "And about that other thing, it was nothing; don't worry about it, S."

"I don't think that's entirely true," Serena said, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the guys hadn't moved. They were still right where she'd left them, though she could tell Chuck, at least, was straining his ears to overhear the conversation.

"Honestly, Serena, you're my best friend," Blair said as she pulled the bow tie and string off the package and began to open the box. "You, of all people, should believe me when…."

Serena frowned. "B?"

There was no sound. Nothing. Blair had just stopped talking. Serena checked her phone, but it was clear that the signal hadn't been lost.

"B?" Serena said louder, cursing because she knew it would draw Chuck and Nate's attention.

"What?" Chuck said, starting toward her.

"B!" Serena said again, not liking the overwhelming feeling of dread that was seeping into her at the sudden silence. "What's wrong?"

And then Serena heard the most heart wrenching scream rip through the air waves. It was so loud, both Chuck and Nate heard it from across the room.

"Jesus," Chuck whispered. He'd never heard that sound coming from anyone ever before, and he really didn't want to hear it ever again.

"Blair? Can you hear me? I'm on my way," Serena said into the phone as she ran for the front door. "I'll be right there!"

"Where is she?" Chuck said as he followed her out the door, Nate right behind them.

"At her house," she said, still holding the phone to her ear. She directed her attention back to it. "Blair? Talk to me sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Is she saying anything?" Chuck asked.

Serena shook her head as they all got onto the elevator.

"Damn it, Serena," Chuck cursed. "If you had told me what Georgina had on her to begin with, I could have done something to prevent whatever the hell is going on."

"I don't even know what's really going on," she exclaimed. "I don't know why she screamed, I don't know why she won't respond, all I know is that she did scream and now she's not talking, but she hasn't hung up her phone. I'm worried, and I'm going over there and I don't care what you want to know! I just want to make sure she's okay!"

"She's not okay," Chuck griped. "An eff-ing psychopath is after her. Who knows what the hell Georgina did now?"

"But she already went after Blair!" Serena said. "It doesn't make any sense! Why would she do something else to her?"

"Because she's the best friend," he spat out. "Georgina wants to have Blair's position in your esteem. She doesn't have it. She's jealous of Blair. She's going to go after her the worst."

"That I know," Serena muttered just as the doors to the elevator opened.

"There's a limo waiting," Chuck said, nodding toward the front doors.

"Wait," Nate said, trying to follow the conversation and still a little unhinged by everything that he had learned and everything that was happening now. "Georgina has something on Blair? What?"

"An excellent question," Chuck muttered, not wanting to talk to Nate at the moment. Nate had yet to apologize for bashing his face in over one of Georgina's lies. And even though they hadn't made up or anything, Chuck didn't take kindly to having his face bashed in.

"Shut up, Chuck," Serena ordered before running for the car, not caring if the other two were following at the same speed or not.

Once all three were in the car and Serena had yelled at the driver to step on it, Chuck looked at Serena and said softly, "Sooner or later, you're going to tell me."

"Just leave it alone, Chuck," Serena pleaded, her eyes actually begging. "Just leave it alone."

Chuck just looked away. He was going to find out one way or another. They just had to get to Blair first.


Ding!

"Blair?" Serena called as soon as the doors opened to the penthouse. She looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and she didn't see Blair.

Then she noticed two things.

First, the cell phone was lying on the floor, still on the call to Serena's. She picked it up and ended the call, then she closed her own phone.

"I'll check upstairs," Chuck said, breezing past Serena for the stairs.

Then she noticed the hall table. There was some sort of cloth on the edge that looked to be lying over something. It wasn't something she would normally see at the Waldorf's.

"No, wait," Serena managed to say to Chuck. She didn't want him going upstairs if she didn't know what was wrong with Blair. She had a feeling that whatever was going on had something to do with Georgina, and if it did… she needed to help Blair keep this secret, whatever it was, from Chuck and Nate.

She didn't pull the cloth off, instead she wrapped her arms around the edges, wrapping the cloth around the box at the same time. Then she went for the stairs. She passed Chuck who had paused on the steps at her insistence.

"If she's up there, I'll let you know," she said in passing. "Just stay here for now."

"Serena…" he didn't like any of this at all, and he was especially curious about whatever Serena was holding in her arms. Was that responsible for making Blair scream the way she had?

"Don't argue with me!" she snapped, leaving no room for argument. "Please, Chuck, just let me do this."

He bristled but gave a sweeping gesture with his hand for her to proceed.

She went up the stairs, pausing at the top to make sure he wasn't following her.

She barely paid any attention to Nate who was waiting at the bottom of the steps, not entirely sure what to do with himself. He was pissed at Blair, for sure, but she was still his ex-girlfriend and, well, former friend of many years. He'd heard that scream too and the shiver that went down his spine told him that he needed to put all this crap aside because Blair needed them all right now.

Chuck didn't look back at Nate; he just kept shifting on the stairs, facing the top, waiting for that moment of confirmation from Serena.

It was a long time coming.


"B?" Serena said softly as she entered Blair's room. "Are you in here?"

She looked around and didn't see anyone, so she went into the bathroom, dreading what she might find… but Blair wasn't in there either.

She went back out into the room and looked around again. She was about to leave, thinking Blair wasn't there, when she heard a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a hiccup.

It was coming from the floor on the other side of the bed.

Serena quickly went around the bed, tossing the package on the comforter, before kneeling next to Blair who was curled into a ball with her back against the wall.

"B?" she said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "It's okay. I'm here. She can't hurt you."

Serena became even more worried when it seemed as though Blair was just continuing to stare into space, rocking slightly in her little ball, and wasn't going to respond… she seemed to be in shock.

She slid her hand up and down Blair's back, trying to comfort her. "Everything will be okay."

Blair finally turned her head. "Why is she doing this?"

"I'm sorry, B" Serena whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Blair whispered back. "It's mine."

"You didn't do anything, B," Serena said. "It was all Georgina, okay? Not you. She's just trying to hurt you. Don't let her get to you. You can do this. We can do this. We can get through anything together, remember?"

Blair turned her head back to the position it was in when Serena first arrived and stared off into space again.

"I saw the box downstairs," Serena began, broaching the subject.

Blair jerked and stared at Serena in horror. "Where is it? Did you open it?"

"No, and it's on the bed, but I can—"

"Get rid of it! Get rid of it! Get rid of it! Get rid of it!" Blair started demanding repeatedly, clearly distressed.

"Okay, okay!" Serena got up quickly and went to the bed. She grabbed it and went for the door, but paused.

"Blair, I don't think—" she started to explain that it wasn't a good idea to bring it back downstairs because Chuck and Nate were there, but Blair didn't let her get that far.

Blair covered her head with her arms and curled into a ball again. "Getridofit! Getridofit! Getridofit!" she cried, her words jumbled and muffled.

Serena hesitated before going out the door. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She didn't know what was in the box, but if she went downstairs, the guys would want to see it. She wanted to look inside the box herself, but she didn't want to do it in front of them. She decided to go down the hall to Eleanor's room.

"She's here. She's fine," she remembered to call down the steps as she passed. She'd told Chuck she'd tell him if she found Blair, now was as good a time as ever.

"Just stay there. We'll be down in a few minutes." She kept walking by and thought for a second before backing up. "Get Dorota."

Chuck, who was still standing in the middle of the stairs, looked at Nate, who was still standing at the bottom.

They'd been standing in silence, not speaking to one another while they waited. Chuck was still pissed at Nate for attacking him, and Nate was still pissed at Chuck for sleeping with Blair.

But both of them had heard Blair's scream and both were not leaving.

Nate nodded and went to find the housekeeper.

Chuck watched him go, momentarily startled that even though all this bad crap had happened between them, they could still understand each other without words.

He looked back up the stairs, grimacing. He was chafing at the bit to go up there. He didn't like this at all.

He'd wait, though, but Serena had better involve him soon.


Silently thanking God that Eleanor was away on a business trip, Serena ran into her room. She put the box on the bed and ran for the bathroom.

She found a trash bag that was big enough and, fortunately, dark enough, so that she could put the box in the bag and have Dorota get rid of it.

She went back over to the bed and hesitated.

She only had a matter of minutes before Dorota came up the stairs. If she was going to look at it, it was now or never.

She rested her hand on top of the box, still debating in her head.

Finally she took a deep breath and decided.

She opened the box.

Oh

My

God

She slammed the lid shut at the same time that she clamped her eyes closed, but no matter how hard she pressed her lids together it wouldn't erase the memory of what she'd just seen.

The plastic real life baby doll that Georgina had posed Blair with in her sleep the night before, the one with short dark hair and pale white skin, the one that opened and closed its eyes when you picked it up and laid it down… it was in the box… but it had been pulled apart… just pieces of doll on top of each other.

And written on the bottom of the lid in dark red marker was 'Mommy!'

She grabbed the trash bag and opened it as quickly as her shaking fingers would allow. She put the box in the bag and nearly broke a nail trying to tie the top of the bag into a knot.

She finished at the same time that she saw Dorota come up the stairs through Eleanor's bedroom door. She called, "Here!" her voice nearly croaking. She didn't need the woman going into Blair's room just now.

Fortunately, Dorota heard her and came down the hall, frowning in concern.

"I-I need you to throw this away," Serena whispered hoarsely.

"Miss Serena, there is trash can in bathroom," Dorota said, nodding toward the room, wondering why Serena was in this room to begin with.

Serena shook her head. "Take the service entrance. Go outside, take a cab. Go to the other side of the city, and find a trashcan to throw this into." She shoved the bag toward the woman. "Tell no one where you are going or where you went."

"But…" Dorota was very confused by this request, especially since it hadn't come from Miss Blair.

"Blair said to do this," Serena said quickly but firmly. "Take it!"

Dorota reached out for the bag, but uncertainty was still on her face.

"Don't look in it, and don't keep it. Throw it away. And when you go downstairs, do not let the guys near this bag, do you understand?" Serena said, using a tone of voice she'd never used before but had heard Eleanor Waldorf use on many occasions.

"Understood, miss," Dorota said demurely, agreeing.

"Don't even look at them on the way down. Don't hesitate and don't speak to them. Just walk by and go straight for the service entrance," Serena reiterated. She didn't know if Chuck would let Dorota go by without asking her questions. She knew that Chuck would probably take the first opportunity to search for that bag and it needed to be far away when he decided to.

Dorota's eyes furrowed suspiciously. "This isn't girls up to no good?"

"Of course not," Serena snapped. "Nothing illegal at all. You mean too much to Blair for her to involve you in anything like that. Now, go! Please, go now."

Dorota nodded, appeased by Serena's words.

"Now, quickly," Serena said, motioning Dorota toward the hall.

She watched the woman scamper down the hall and the steps. She sighed with relief when she heard the patter of her feet go down the hall toward the kitchen and the service entrance.

Then she took a deep breath.

It was time to talk to Blair.


"Blair?" Serena said softly on entering the room and closing the door, pausing to lock it. "I got rid of it." She grimaced at the phrase. Blair had used it earlier, so there shouldn't be any problem with it…

But between the package and Blair's reaction to it, plus everything she'd seen and heard throughout the day, she had come to the conclusion that Blair really had an abortion.

She didn't think it would be possible for Blair to do something like that without telling her, her best friend. But it looked like she'd done it and there was nothing to do but ask Blair for the truth...

And then figure out how to get the guys downstairs to leave without hearing that truth.

During the time she was out of the room, Blair had risen to a sitting position. Her back was still against the wall and she had her knees drawn up to her chest, crouched over them miserably.

Serena walked around the bed again and stood silently by before sinking to the floor in front of her. "B… I opened it."

She winced in preparation, thinking Blair might start another tirade, but instead of her earlier fit, Blair just took a deep breath.

Then she began to talk.

"First day back to school, Gossip Girl wondered where the dethroned royalty vacationed these days," she began, the bitterness and irony heavy in her voice.

"You were home," Serena said softly, questioning. She'd been to see Blair a couple of times during spring break. She would have known if Blair wasn't at home.

Blair shook her head. "Not the entire time."

Serena's throat started to clog with the tears that she'd been holding on to ever since she'd opened that box.

"B, were you pregnant?" she didn't know how to ask her best friend if she'd had an abortion. It wasn't something she could force herself to come out and say.

Blair's eyes were wide, unseeing. "I didn't know." She started to rock forward as the story fell out. "I mean, I'd taken the test and everything was supposed to be fine. And then my period, it still wasn't coming, but I put it out of my head and finally… it came." Blair's back stiffened when she said the last two words.

Serena's eyes widened in realization, "Oh, B…"

"I didn't even know, Serena," Blair said, clamping her eyes shut. "I didn't even get the chance to decide anything. The cramps, everything was just so horrible. I had to go to the hospital. That's when I found out."

Serena couldn't lie to herself. The relief she was feeling nearly brought tears to her eyes again. Blair hadn't aborted the baby. She'd lost it.

"How did I not know about this?" she finally asked.

Blair gasped around a sob and laughter. "You were too busy moving in with the Bass'. No one noticed."

Serena felt a pang of guilt. She knew that Blair would be alone during spring break with her not around, but she'd had to get her things together and try to adjust to living with Chuck and Bart. It was her mother's dictate.

"But someone did," Serena finally said. "Otherwise, how did Georgina know?"

Blair laughed bitterly. "She doesn't. All she saw was that argument I had last week. She must have decided that a picture like that would be great ammunition even if it wasn't the truth."

"What happened last week? Why were you outside an abortion clinic, arguing with that woman?" Serena asked, still confused by everything.

"That's just it!" Blair exclaimed. "I wasn't even near a place like that!"

"Then how—" Serena started.

"These people were just randomly picketing! I was going to meet Is and Nelly Yuki in the city, and there they were!" she said. "I don't know why they were there, and I tried to avoid them, I really did."

"So, what happened?" Serena remembered Dan talking about people forming groups in different cities, like Philadelphia, and randomly picketing. What else had he said about it?

"The signs, they were just so… horrible," Blair said, her voice catching in her throat.

That's when Serena remembered, and she shuddered. Dead babies. Dan said those people would put these sick pictures on those posters. They did it to make a point, that abortion was killing innocent babies.

They never took into account the fact that seeing something like that could be traumatizing for other people, ones who hadn't had an abortion and never considered it.

"I tried to ignore it and keep going," Blair breathed. "I'd been doing a good job of forgetting about it—that was all I could do, you know? But then the women kept approaching people, and one woman came to me and… I just couldn't stop thinking about everything. I remember having this one moment of relief that the decision had been taken away from me. And it just made me feel so guilty, S. So I lashed out at that woman. I don't even remember what I said, but… as you can see, it wasn't pretty."

"Georgina lucked out in the worst way possible," she continued. "She can't possibly know the truth. No one knows. She probably sent that package as a warning for both of us to keep silent. She wanted to remind us that she's the one in control," she finished bitterly.

"I'm so sorry, B," Serena whispered again, not knowing what else to say.

Blair just shrugged, but she laid her head back down on her knees.

"We need to do something," Serena said. "Find something on her and use it against her. We need to get back in control. We cannot allow those pictures to be released."

"You said Chuck was looking into it," Blair mumbled. "Did he find anything yet?"

"No… and, speaking of Chuck…," Serena said, her eyes going to the bedroom door, she needed to tell Blair, "and Nate…"

"What about them?" Blair asked, tight lipped, stiffening her back at their names.

"They're downstairs, waiting," Serena explained.

Blair turned her head to look at Serena in horror. "What?"

"Don't worry, they don't know anything, B," Serena was quick to reassure. "I had Dorota dispose of the box, and the guys don't know anything that's going on. They heard the scream through my cell phone and wanted to come with me to make sure you were okay."

"They—they did?" Blair asked in a small voice. Her vulnerable side was showing, but she didn't care. This was Serena. And she could say or do anything she wanted around her.

"Yes," Serena gave a small smile. "They were worried."

"But… why were they together? Have they settled things then?" she asked, glad to deflect the subject of discussion away from her for the moment.

"No," Serena shook her head. "Georgina caused some trouble between Nate and Vanessa and involved Chuck. Nate attacked Chuck again. I got them to cool off and found out that it was Georgie. I also had to tell Nate the truth."

Slightly disquieted upon hearing more about how the brief glimpse she'd had of Nate with Michael Moore was playing out, Blair swallowed and managed to spit out the next words. "What did you tell him?"

"Everything that Chuck knows," Serena clarified quickly.

Blair just rolled her eyes and nodded. That meant Nate knew she'd been drugged. Great.

"B… they're going to want to know something," Serena said.

"Well what do you want me to do, Serena?" Blair snapped. "I can't tell them the truth. Just send them on their merry way. Tell them I'm fine. Tell them I saw sneak peeks for the new Valentino fall line. Tell them anything, I don't care. Just don't tell them about any of this… stuff!" She finished, having lack of a better word.

"Chuck won't buy any of that," Serena insisted. "We need something better to tell him. Maybe we should just tell him—,"

"No! Neither of them can ever know," Blair raised her hand and held it pushed toward Serena. "Don't even think about it!"

"Blair… whose…?" Serena tried to ask the other question that had been shooting through her head since this conversation began.

Blair looked away and shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know!" She looked back at Serena with beseeching eyes. "That's why you can't tell them. I don't want both of them thinking that their…" she couldn't say it. She tried, but she couldn't. "It hurts too much to think about it."

Serena agreed, nodding. She understood completely. Nate and Chuck, for all their faults, were still human beings. They may not have wanted to be fathers, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have any feelings on the matter.

"They can never know," Serena agreed. "We'll come up with something to tell them."

"Thanks, S," Blair said.

"I love you, B," Serena said. "We'll get through this somehow. And everything that you just told me? It will never be mentioned again."

"Never," Blair agreed, but her eyes looked a little dim.

"We'll take it to the grave," Serena finished, wondering if that was a little over dramatic. But, no, it was the truth.

"To the grave," Blair finished.


"She what?" Chuck said, startled. Then he tried to stop it, but he couldn't.

He smirked.

"I'm sure you find it all very fascinating," Serena said, rolling her eyes. "But this is very traumatic for Blair. It's not everyday—"

"That you make out with a girl?" Chuck said, giving a short laugh. He was relieved that it wasn't something more serious. "I do it all the time."

"Shut up," Serena said, smacking him on the arm. "This is Blair. It was bad enough when everyone found out she slept with you. Can you imagine if everyone found out about this?"

Chuck guffawed. Leave it to Blair to act all melodramatic over some lesbian action. Actually, as much as he hated Georgina, he couldn't help but be a little turned on by the imagery.

Serena was secretly pleased at Chuck's reaction. Blair had shown Serena the pictures Georgina had originally sent Blair, the ones when she kissed her cheek and posed with her. That's when they decided to make the boys think that Georgina had made out with a passed out Blair. Blair would definitely have been horrified by something like that, though not nearly as traumatized.

"So, where's the money shot?" Chuck managed to ask through his amusement.

"The what?" Serena asked, totally confused.

"The one that was so horrible it made Blair cry?" Chuck asked. He was dying to see this one. "This little cheek bit is nothing. Where's the real action?"

Serena glowered at him; she knew exactly why he wanted to see that supposed picture. "If you needed to see that one, I would show it to you."

"It will be very crucial to the investigation," Chuck said, nodding and smirking.

Nate wanted to butt in with an 'is that all you think about?' but realized that really was all Chuck thought about. So he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Chuck Bass, could you for once think about someone other than yourself?" Serena snapped. "We need your help. Are you going to help or not?"

He rolled his head to the side, contemplating. "It's not like I have anything better to do. Plus, ruining someone? I'm in. Let the games begin."

Serena looked to Nate. "I know you probably—"

"I'm in," he said quickly.

Serena opened and closed her mouth, frankly surprised. "You are?"

"If I leave now, who knows when anyone will fill me in again? After what happened today? I don't need any more bombs being dropped," Nate said.

He didn't want to admit that he'd also missed hanging with them all. He'd been hanging with them so long that he couldn't remember when it didn't feel natural. It felt good to be with them, even though he was on very shaky ground with Chuck. He had thought about apologizing for that bit earlier, but hadn't found the words yet.

Serena just nodded. "Well, as you can see, everything's taken care of. So, you can go now. See you in school tomorrow."

"Wait, so what made her scream?" Chuck asked, wondering what else Georgina might have concocted for this plan.

"Special delivery," Serena said. "A box of pictures from last night. They made Blair… slightly distressed."

Chuck perked up. "Pictures, hmm?"

"Gross," Serena rolled her eyes at Chuck's obvious enthusiasm. "Besides, they have been disposed of."

"Shame," he said. "Well, give her my regards."

"I will," Serena said.


Eenie meenie mineie moe

Catch a tiger by its toe

If it hollers, let it go

Eenie meenie mineie moe

Georgina grinned.

Well, the rest of her list wasn't that long, and there was one other person she might have chosen first, but this might actually work out in her favor.

She could hardly wait.


Dan sighed as he entered the loft early in the evening Monday night.

He was tired. He'd just spent most of the afternoon doing everything around the city to keep from going home.

Home. Where he left his cell phone on purpose just so he didn't have to lie to Sarah later when he told her he had left his phone home.

After his lovely evening with Vanessa and the person otherwise known as Sarah the night before, he'd gone straight home, relieved to escape. He knew he'd been a little weird with Vanessa. He hoped she forgave him for acting the way he had been. He couldn't tell her what was really going on, he'd promised Serena.

He just hoped that Satan, er, Sarah person hadn't realized something was up considering his behavior last evening. He's gone to dinner, but he hadn't been able to keep still for long.

How do you avoid someone when you're supposed to be out with them? Simple. Bathroom breaks. Cell phone breaks, "Yeah, it's too loud in here and I've got to make a call!" Food situations, "I said no onions in this salad, behold the onions! Let me go get a new one."

He'd never made so many excuses in his life.

But… he was doing this for Serena… well, more so for Blair. He needed to try to keep up pretenses. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't devious though. But he was trying. He guessed that was all he could do really.

He just hoped this was over sooner rather than—

"Dan! Finally! You didn't answer your phone, and I was worried about you so I stopped by!" The-person-formerly-known-as-Sarah exclaimed from her seat at the table.

"Sarah," Dan said, remembering to call her by her alias while trying to infuse some sort of enthusiasm in his voice. "Yeah, the phone, I, yeah. Accident. Forgot it."

"It happens to me all the time," Georgina said, shrugging it off. "But this totally worked out!"

"Hey, Dan," Jenny said as she left her room and returned to her seat at the table.

"Jenny," Dan acknowledged her, a sick feeling spreading through his stomach.

"I never knew you had such an awesome little sister," Georgina exclaimed, grinning knowingly at Jenny. "Where have you been keeping her all this time?"

Dan was speechless.

He looked back and forth between the two of them, fighting the urge to look upwards and pray for deliverance from this situation.

It was time to call Serena.

Houston, we have a problem.


To be continued…

NOTE: The story about the rallies against abortion in Philadelphia was actually from two years ago (2006). I know that in Maryland right now, University of Maryland Medical Systems are gearing up to do the same thing. I am unaware—haven't done that much research—if it has happened in New York yet, but for this story, I decided to write that it had. I wanted to let you know that this is actually something that can and could happen, just so the story doesn't seem so far fetched. :)