Ha! I got this update out so much quicker! It was a job too – We have 4 computers in the house and 2 of them, including my laptop, are broken at the moment. There will be a short hiatus of 2 or 3 weeks after this update – I'm moving to a new city for my first 'big girl' job and need some time to get settled in, learn to navigate without my GPS, and pick up a brand new laptop. Busy, busy but so exciting! This one is a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to get something out before I hit the road this weekend.

Since the laptop is broke and I'm sharing computers, it's taking me longer to get to reviews, but I have read them all and I love you all dearly! Thank you for still reading! You will all get a reply from me soon enough, promise!

THINGS I OWN: A cocker spaniel who thinks she's human. THINGS I DON'T OWN: Gossip Girl

"Charles."

Chuck stopped in his tracks, his quest to get to the kitchen and find something acceptable for breakfast on the run interrupted by his father's surprise greeting. They had a well-oiled routine of not going out of their way to speak with one another.

"Father," he said formerly. He had rarely called Bart anything else, except maybe 'daddy' when he was a toddler. They weren't close enough to warrant an affectionate 'dad' like he heard Nate exchange with his father, let alone the adoring 'daddy' Blair still called her father.

"The papers say your opening last night was a success," Bart told him, flipping to the next page of his business journal from his spot on a living room sofa. It was barely 8am on a Saturday but he was dressed in a business suit, luggage by the door. Apparently he had a business trip. Chuck had long ago given up on keeping track of his father's comings and goings.

"Judging by the number of people the bouncers had to turn away, I'd say it was." Chuck waited for further comment from his father to feel out how this conversation was going to go. Either Bart was quietly impressed or building up to blasting him for something Chuck hadn't realized he'd done yet. Since Bart was never impressed with him, he braced himself for a lecture.

"I had the cook send up breakfast for two," Bart replied. He nodded at the empty sofa across from him, indicating that Chuck should fix himself a plate and sit down. He did as instructed, but apprehensively. He took it as a good sign that Bart had invited him to join him.

"Are you done with the Wall Street Journal?" he asked. Bart absentmindedly picked up a discarded paper and passed it to his son. Chuck took it and started reading the headline story in between bites of toast and bacon.

"I'm leaving shortly for a meeting in Shanghai, but when I return, I will be stopping by Victrola. I've already told you I'll be keeping a close eye on this strip club of yours," Bart said, peering at Chuck over his paper.

"Burlesque," Chuck automatically corrected.

"A rose is still a rose," Bart quipped, flipping the page again as he raised the paper once more. "My reasons for being observant over your little venture should not need explaining."

"No, sir," Chuck agreed, because it seemed like it was the thing he was supposed to say.

"Page Six has photos of you leaving with the Waldorf girl. You are awake and dressed before lunchtime on a Saturday – not that the day of the week for your exploits has ever mattered – so I'm going to take a leap of faith and believe you merely saw her home."

"I offered her a ride home," Chuck confirmed. "I didn't think she needed to be traveling the streets of New York by herself late at night."

"Where was her boyfriend – you friend Nathaniel, right?" Chuck raised a discrete eyebrow at his father, wondering where this sudden interest in his life was coming from.

"She and Nathaniel broke up. Nate decided to skip the opening to hang out in Brooklyn. I make it my business not to judge his taste in boroughs."

"So Miss Waldorf is single," Bart mused. Chuck squirmed uncomfortably. He couldn't tell his father that he was awake so early because he hadn't slept a wink as he worried about Blair and how he would apologize to her. He certainly couldn't tell him he had turned down sex with her after pursuing her practically since the moment their private jet landed in New York.

"So it seems," he answered.

"Perhaps now you can stop following her around like a sad puppy dog and interfering with her relationship and do something about your obvious crush on her." Bart had yet to take his eyes off of his paper, but Chuck stared at him. He knew his father had a PI on him, but they had never spoke of anything outside of his worst behaviors.

"I don't follow her around," Chuck heard himself saying. To his surprise, Bart cracked a smile.

"You followed her into the ladies' room."

"That was different. There was – stuff going on that night."

"Yes, yes, Serena crashed the party. Lily told me the whole sordid tale," Bart said dismissively. "She's a respectable girl, comes from a good family."

"Your point?" Chuck asked warily.

"That was it." Bart folded his paper and stood. "I'll be in Shanghai until Wednesday. Lily will be accompanying. Do try to stay out of trouble, Charles." The moment was gone as a knock sounded on the door and a concierge came in to pick up Bart's bags. Without a backwards glance for his son, the elder Bass was gone. Chuck stared at the door.

"What just happened?" he asked the empty room. When there was no answer, he returned to his breakfast, agonizing more now than before on how he would get Blair to understand his decision the night before without revealing too much.

As the elevator rose to the top of the Waldorf's building, Chuck pondered the idea that this could very well be his last moments. He had a gut feeling Blair wasn't going to take kindly to his appearance this morning, but he was determined to meet his fate standing up. All the same, Waldorf was a petite force of nature.

"Hello, Mr. Chuck," Dorota greeted as he stepped off the elevator. She was arranging a floral display in the foyer. She smiled at him. "You here for Miss Blair?"

"If she'll see me," Chuck confirmed.

"She will," Dorota said with determination. She stuck in a last flower and then hurried up the stairs. Chuck listened to her fading footsteps, then heard their muffled voices, obviously raised but not enough for him to make out what they were saying. He nervously stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting. Several minutes passed before Dorota appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Miss Blair see you now," she said, looking worse for the wear. Chuck smirked as he realized he had Dorota in his corner.

"Thank you, Dorota," he said as he passed her at the top of the stairs.

"You may rethink that," Dorota quipped. "I suggest bullet proof vest before opening door."

Chuck felt his stomach turn over as he lifted his hand to knock. He had never apologized to a girl before, but he figured there was a first time for everything. He was running through what he intended to say when the door flew open.

"Go away, Bass," a formidable Blair Waldorf greeted him.

"Good morning to you too, Waldorf," he replied, breezing past her.

"What part of 'go away' didn't you understand?" But even as she declared how much she wanted him gone, she shut the door, enclosing them in her room.

"We need to talk," was Chuck reply.

"There is nothing to talk about."

"So we're adding last night to the list of things we're going to pretend never happened?" Chuck asked.

"You're catching on, Bass." Blair sat at her vanity and reached for a shade of lipstick.

"Except maybe I don't want to play along." Blair's eyes met his in the mirror. He was gazing at her with an intensity that made her shiver.

"You have no choice."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm Blair Waldorf."

"I'm Chuck Bass."

"I went to Confession this morning," Blair said, turning on her chair to face him. Chuck frowned. That was the last thing he expected to hear out of her mouth. "I've been given orders practically from God himself to avoid you."

"Would you consider avoiding me over lunch?" Chuck asked, testing his luck.

"Absolutely not. Even if I didn't loathe you entirely, I'm about to leave. My birthday is tomorrow. I'm headed to the jeweler to put select pieces on hold for Eleanor and…"

"Nate?" Chuck interrupted. "You broke up, remember? I'd be surprised if you get even a Hallmark card from your dear ex-boyfriend." He could tell he hit a nerve.

"Speaking of my birthday, you are now uninvited." Blair turned away from him again and resumed touching up her makeup. It was an intimate act that was having an effect on Chuck. He forced himself to focus on the situation at hand rather than how badly he wanted to take her against her vanity.

"Never stopped me before," he quipped.

"I'll have security throw you out."

"They won't throw out Chuck Bass." Blair snorted but didn't reply. Chuck came to stand right behind her, gazing into the mirror. He waited for her eyes to meet his again, appreciating her beauty in the mean time.

"What, Bass?" Blair finally sighed, catching his eye.

"I want you to understand about last night," he said with determination. "It wasn't that I didn't want you, Blair. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth."

"I've already told you, last night didn't happen," Blair replied. She made to stand and cross the room to her closet, but Chuck stopped her.

"You have to know that I stopped for you," he told her, more serious than he had ever been. "Don't tell me you're not happy that you woke up this morning, still a virgin. I know you, Waldorf. You've got some big idea in your head about how your first time will be. It probably involves overstuffed beds, candles, and rose petals. Can you really tell me that you wanted to give it up in the back of a moving vehicle?"

Blair looked up at him then, her doe eyes clouding with tears. Chuck shifted uncomfortably. The few times a girl had cried in front of him, he had thrown them out or left. He couldn't leave or throw Blair out though. He had to fumble his way through this.

"What I wanted, was to be wanted," she told him softly. "But once again, I wasn't."

It started to make sense then. Nate had chosen Serena over her. In her mind, her father had chosen Roman over her. And to her, it seemed like he didn't want her either. He had to make her see reason.

"Blair, I have wanted you since the moment I saw you. You're beautiful, smart. You're the only person I know who can go toe to toe with me. Do you know how much of a turn on that is?" Chuck paused and took a deep breath, summoning his courage. "Do you know how big of a deal it was that I didn't take advantage of you? I have never – never – stopped sex. But I did for you."

Blair looked at him again, searching his eyes. She saw his honesty, realized the way he was looking at her that she had once deemed predatory was actually full of lust. It hit her then.

"Do you… Like me?" she asked. Chuck broke their gaze to take another deep breath.

"I do," he admitted softly. "And that scares the hell out of me."

Blair stepped away from him to sit on her bed. He took a few steps closer, but didn't dare sit beside her.

"Why?" she asked. "Why does that scare you." He gave her a crooked grin.

"Because I'm Chuck Bass," he told her. It was the only answer either of them needed. She sighed.

"I think I like you too," Blair admitted. Chuck raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You do?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Blair retorted.

"Sorry," Chuck said quickly. "It's just… I'm Chuck Bass. There's not a lot to like." Blair looked at him with something like disbelief.

"You remembered my favorite flower from a passing conversation," she told him. "You followed me into the bathroom because you knew – knew that I would be…" she was struggling to get the words out. Chuck nodded to show he understood. "And even if I didn't want to admit it last night, you did the right thing by stopping us from going too far. This conversation would be going a lot differently had we actually had sex. To be honest, I probably would have joined a convent instead of just confessing to a priest that I nearly sinned in the back of a moving vehicle." Chuck carefully sat down on the bed beside her.

"What do we do now?" he asked. Blair shook her head.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I just broke up with Nate. I don't want to jump into another relationship."

"I don't know how to be in a relationship," Chuck replied. "And there's the small matter of the fact that Nate is my only friend. Consider it a moment of weakness, but I'd rather not lose him.a"

"How about we take it slow?" Blair suggested. "See what happens?" Chuck nodded in agreement.

"Does this mean I'm back on the guest list for your party?" he asked. Blair laughed.

"It does," she agreed. "But I really do need to get going. The jeweler is expecting me." They stood together and Chuck turned to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," he said. And then, almost hesitantly, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He grinned at the faint blush that spread across Blair's cheeks.

"See you tomorrow," she replied.

He traded a conspirator smile with Dorota on his way out of the penthouse. Once back in his limo, he called his favorite PI.

"Mike, it's Chuck Bass. I need a favor. I need you find out which jeweler Blair Waldorf is headed to. When you do, call and give me the name. I have a birthday present to buy."

If anyone is interested, I've started a new story, Kings, Queens and Pawns. It's my take on season 4 from where 4X11 left off. You can find it on my profile. I think there are just a few chapters left on this one.