Fitz was sitting in the hospital room he had been set up in, looking around with a hint of interest and disdain. There had been some sort of a mix up at the hospital and he had been placed in a regular room. Meaning it was not private. Meaning there was someone else staying in it.
Obviously, this was not acceptable.
The other occupant of the room was not currently there, so Fitz was taking in his surroundings while his mother berated whatever nurses or administrators that were necessary in order to get the situation corrected.
All of a sudden there was a knock in the doorway and he looked over to see a bald-headed girl who appeared to be around his age standing there with a wide grin, "Hi!" She said cheerfully, walking into the room and sitting down in the chair next to his bed, "You must be the new kid. I'm Rainer."
She stuck out her hand for Fitz to shake, but he just blinked at her before sighing, "Can I help you?" He asked with a note of condescension in his voice.
She looked confused and taken aback by his rudeness, "I just came to welcome you." She brightened up, determined not to be defused by his bad attitude, "I know it can be kind of frightening here. Is this your first round of treatment?"
Fitz looked her up and down for a moment before shaking his head ever so slightly. She shrugged, "Oh, well anyway, Dr. Scott is the best. He'll take care of you." She waved her hand absent-mindedly, "Apparently some billionaire brought him to this hospital when his son got sick and is paying for him to stay here until the kid has been in remission for five years," She shrugged, "I'm not sure how soon those five years will be up, but when it is, he is free to leave and then I don't know what it will mean for us."
"It would have been in less than a year," Fitz said quietly, "But lucky for you, he was just re-diagnosed."
"Really?" She asked, "How do you know that?"
He looked over at her with his lips quirked in a slight smirk, "My name is Sebastian Bass. Chuck Bass, one of the world's richest men, is my father."
Rainer's eyes widen, "You're the kid."
Fitz's smirk increased as he nodded his head, "I am."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Sebastian." She smiled back, offering her hand for him to shake.
He took it and said, "You can call me Fitz. Everyone else does."
"Okay, Fitz," She said, "Now that introductions are finally out of the way, I hope we can be friends, even if my family can't compare with the prestige that comes with being the son of Chuck Bass."
Fitz laughed and the two of them continued talking until the nurses came in to move Fitz into his private room.
…
Blair was walking down the hall at the hospital, heading towards Fitz's room to visit him. He had been in the hospital for a few days and she had been coming every day to spend time with him and keep him company. However, today she was a bit late because a committee meeting had run late and Chuck was already there with Lexie and Ricky.
She turned the corner and stopped dead in her tracks when she came face to face with Vanessa Abrams.
Vanessa immediately scowled, "What are you doing here?"
"I think I should be the one asking you that question," Blair said, "I actually live in this city. Was Hollywood as unresponsive to your pathetic little documentaries as New York was?"
"My daughter is here getting treatment," Vanessa said, causing Blair to take a step back and feel a sense of guilt for being so harsh, but it quickly disappeared as Vanessa continued, "And just because you and your legacy husband donate millions of dollars to this hospital, that doesn't give you the right to walk around here insulting the family of actual patients."
"Excuse me?" Blair reeled back in outrage, "You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."
Right at that moment the sound of footsteps could be heard followed by a little girl's voice, "Mommy!"
Both women turned and looked in the direction that the voice had come from and saw Lexie running down the hall with a grin on her face. She didn't stop until she reached her mother, "Mommy, you're here! Fitz just woke up and is talking to Ricky about boy stuff so Daddy and I are going to get something from the cafeteria."
Blair scrunched up her nose in disgust, "Ew, why?" She said quietly to herself. She happened to glance over at Vanessa and noticed the wide-eyed shock on her face.
"You-, you're son is here, in the hospital?" She asked, clearly realizing her previous judgment had been a bit hasty.
Blair sighed, "Yes, he is being treated here, just like your daughter."
"Is he-, does he have the same father as her?" Vanessa asked, looking pointedly at Lexie before back at Blair.
Blair looked confused for a moment before her face cleared in understanding and she couldn't help but laugh, "Oh, you think-, you think I'm remarried? You think Chuck and I got divorced?"
"Well, look how young she is," Vanessa explained, "I assumed-"
"You assumed that she must have been the product of a second husband," Blair laughed again, "I hate to break it too you, Abrams, but Chuck and I never self-destructed like you hoped. We are still together and not that it is any of your business, but Alexandria here is the youngest of seven."
"But I'm not the baby anymore!" Lexie piped up.
Vanessa looked shocked at both the idea of seven children and Lexie's statement and turned to Blair for further explanation. Blair smiled condescendingly, "We just welcomed our first grandchild a few weeks ago."
"Oh, congratulations-" Vanessa's reply was cut off by the approach of someone else.
"Look Mom, its Daddy." Lexie said, tugging on Blair's hand so she would look behind her.
Blair turned and a big grin crossed her face before she kissed her husband, "Hi."
"Hello," He said before glancing over at Vanessa, "What is Brooklyn doing here?"
"Her daughter is here receiving treatment, like Sebastian."
Chuck looked over at Vanessa for a second than back at his wife, "Come on, Blair," He said, putting an arm around her waist, "He is waiting for us."
"Okay," Blair said, quickly following her husband, "Lexie, come here, sweetie."
"Bye!" Lexie said to Vanessa with a little wave before she rushed to catch up to her parents, leaving Vanessa standing there dumbfounded by the seemingly happy couple she had just witnessed in Chuck and Blair Bass.
…
Later that night, Blair was getting ready to turn in for the night when Chuck walked into their bedroom.
"So are you best friends with all the Humphreys now?" He asked with false disinterest as he loosened the buttons on his shirt sleeves.
Blair turned from her vanity to face him, "What?"
He looked up with a heated glare, "You were talking to Vanessa today. I can only assume her husband was also around somewhere."
Blair let out a biting laugh, "Is that what this is about? You're jealous, even after twenty four years of marriage and seven children you can't stop being a possessive ass."
"I am not jealous of Daniel Humphrey," Chuck growled, approaching her slowly, "Even I am not irrational enough to consider him a real threat."
"Good," Blair huffed, "Because, like I've told you multiple times, I never had any romantic feelings for Dan. We were friends, he developed a bit of a crush, and I made it clear that those feelings were completely one-sided."
"Then you will have no problem avoiding him at all costs."
Blair's eyes narrowed, "What is this about? Do you really hate him that much?"
Chuck clenched his jaw, "I am protecting my family."
"From a wash-up, mediocre writer born and raised in Brooklyn?" Blair asked in confusion.
"He has done nothing but use my family in order to further his own career." Chuck explained, "He used me, he used my father, he even used you. I will not let him exploit my son for one of his pathetic little stories."
"Chuck," Blair sighed, standing up and approaching her husband, "He wouldn't-"
"Yes, he would," Chuck said, refusing to back down, "You know he would. Dan Humphrey has always been nothing if not self-righteous and proud."
"What's your point?"
"The only reason their daughter is able to get treatment here is because Jenny and Nate are footing the bill." Seeing Blair's shocked expression at this little tidbit of information, Chuck explained, "I did some investigating after your little run-in with Vanessa." He looked into Blair's eyes with complete seriousness and sincerity, "You know that if someone approached offering him money to pay their hospital bills in exchange for a story on the poor, sick Bass boy he would do it in a heartbeat so he didn't have to depend on his sister. You know he would."
Blair continued to stare at him silently and finally Chuck shook his head, "Look, you can do what you want. I know better than to try and give you orders. But I am going to tell the boys not to speak with him under any circumstances."
"Okay." Blair said quietly.
"What?"
"You're right," She admitted, "It is in Sebastian's best interests to keep Dan, and Vanessa, as far away from him as possible."
Chuck stepped forward and placed his hands on her arms, "I'm sorry, Blair."
Blair looked up at him, "Why?"
"I know you two used to be close-"
"Yes, there was a time when Dan provided the kind of easy, drama-free friendship I needed, but that was in the past. I haven't spoken to him since his book came out, and I haven't missed him. Some writer from Brooklyn was never going to be a permanent fixture in my life."
Chuck leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I love you."
She smiled softly, "I love you too. And our family, and this world that we've built for ourselves. We don't need any Humphreys invading it and causing trouble."