'What If' chapter 9: Bartholomew Bass: 'What if Bart had never "died" in the car crash?'
He didn't feel anything. Or at the very least, it was hard to feel something. It took him exceptionally long to realize where he was. A hospital.
He was in a hospital.
Why, for God's sake, would he be in a hospital bed?
Annoyed, he tried to open his eyes, but found he couldn't.
Whatever was going on here, he did not like it.
Bart Bass groaned, and tugged weakly at the strings that seemed to be connected to his wrists, hands, nose and legs. With a confusing noise, as if he was under water, he heard a man yelling something at another person, and he felt his eye lids rudely pushed open, followed by an even worse (and stinging) lamp.
"He's awake!" the man exclaimed, with a slightly disturbing level of happiness, "Call Mr Bass' wife and son, Theo, now!"
Bart scowled. He didn't have a wife, Lily hadn't been faithful to him at all. And his son? His son was a game-addicted disappointment who would never be able to face any of his potential. He opened his eyes (it went more easily, now) and pushed the young man who had hung over him away. Sitting up, he examined the room. At least it had been a private one.
"Mr Bass," the man (it wasn't even a doctor) started, "you have been in a coma for nearly a year! You must be excited to see your family after so long!"
He glared at the kid, coldly. His name tag read 'John'. John shut up, practically in shock, and Bart's lips tugged up in a smirk. He could still do it.
"How long did you say it has been?"
"Almost a year, nine months and twenty-three days."
"Why was in a coma?"
"You had a car crash, sir, I believe you were going to the Snowflake ball last December."
He nodded. He could remember that. Charles had called him.
"Your wife has been here every day, and your son came by at least once a week."
Lily and Charles had still visited him. Far from what he would ever expect from the both of them.
Another kid showed up, and eyed the two men shortly, before settling for the elder of the two.
"Mr Bass, your family has arrived. They are asking to be let it."
"Of course," he muttered, under his breath and unwillingly.
~o~o~o~o
"Bart! Darling, finally!"
Lily Bass was still a well-aged beauty, even as she strode in with a disheveled look. Serena followed, then Eric and at last Chuck… and Blair Waldorf. All looked rather shocked. At him. Not at the way the last two were holding hands. She walked over to her husband and kissed his cheek tenderly, unsure of what to do. Serena followed her mother's example, but the three brunettes stayed at the side and sat down in some chairs. The doctor had told them what happened, that Bart remembered all what happened, but hadn't expected them to visit him at all. Lily thought that was sweet. Chuck knew better. Where his stepmother thought Bart hadn't expected it because of him, he knew it was because of them. Bart didn't trust them.
"Lily, Serena, Eric, Charles… Blair," he acknowledged with a little nod at every name.
"Father."
"Mr. Bass."
"Welcome back," Blair added, folding her hands in her lap. Chuck was standing behind her, toying absentmindedly with her dark curls with one hand and settled his other on her shoulder. They looked handsome together. Perfect.
Surprisingly.
Bart nodded again, and turned to Lily.
"What have I missed?"
She sighed, and took a deep breath. "Well… When you didn't wake up, Charles and I took over Bass Industries. I visited every day, to see if you had woken up already, and… that's possibly it. Nothing important happen. The kids graduated from Constance and St. Jude's, Serena is taking a year off, Blair and Chuck got together-"
"What about Rufus Humphrey?"
She silenced. But it was short. "I haven't seen him in a while, I suppose. Serena is still dating his son, Dan. They make quite the adorable couple."
Lily glanced at her daughter, who smiled back, thinking of her long-time boyfriend.
"And you said someone was dumb enough to date my son?"
Lily pursed her lips and looked at Chuck and Blair, whose eyes both had darkened in a second. She shook her head slowly, waiting for one of the younger brunettes to answer. Blair drew her eyebrow up and stared at Bart, unfazed by his cold look.
"Just because you never had faith in him does not mean he is worthless," she said coolly, with a reserved expression on her face. Chuck's face didn't move. Nothing was shown. Until Blair continued.
"And I love him, so if that makes me dumb in your eyes, then I'll be an empty-headed idiot from the shore."
Eric had to stifle back a grin at Blair's face of disgust, and Chuck leaned forward to whisper something back in her ear. She turned her head slightly, and smiled. Softly, she said something back and he chuckled. And not just a humorless one Bart had seen many times before, but a real grin.
Few things had confused him as much as that.
The fact that Charles looked happy.
With one girl.
Just one.
"I'm impressed, miss Waldorf, you seemed to have changed my son for the better." He said, curious for her reply.
Blair shook her head. "I haven't changed him at all."
"Then why does he seem so very different?"
"No one took the liberty of seeing."
The people in the room felt more uncomfortable by the second. After yet another minute of silence, Blair stood up.
"I have classes to attend to. Good for you to be back, Mr Bass. You should be sure to attend the upcoming Bass Industries event. It's going to be grand."
She smiled at the others, and gave Chuck a peck on his lips before leaving the room.
"I'm impressed," Bart repeated, before turning back to Lily and Chuck to discuss Bass Industries.
~o~o~o~o
EPILOGUE
~o~o~o~o
My, my, miracles haven't left the world yet, indeed. Redeeming Chuck Bass, Blair Waldorf not as Queen, what's next? Bart Bass coming back from the dead? Uh-oh, it seems we're already there. My inside sources tell me he has woken up from coma after nearly a year, and wasn't happy so see any of his 'beloved' family-members. Not even his own son and his girlfriend, who apparently stood up for herself to big bad Bart Bass. Now, we can't wait to see what happens tonight. First day back, and an event at the same day?
Good luck…
Xoxo Gossip Girl
~o~o~o~o
"You… look amazing," he whispered as he started kissing the nape of his girlfriend's neck. Blair smiled and tried to swat him away, but was unsuccessful. Instead, she turned around to face him, and threw her arms around his broad shoulders. His hands immediately found their way to her waist.
"Thank you," she said, as her lips were merely inches away from his, teasing breaths transferred between them, "You look very handsome yourself, too."
He smirked, and closed the distance between them. They still had at least half an hour before the start of the BI-event anyway. Softly muttering protests, the petite brunette in his arms tried to push him away.
"No… Chuck…" she sounded slightly smothered. "Chuck… We have to go, we have to be the first to arrive, it's our event."
He pulled away, and sighed. She was right.
"I'm always right, remember?" she whispered, as if she had read his mind. She walked away, hips swaying slightly in her long black Roberto Cavalli gown. Elegantly, Blair picked up a necklace from her vanity. Walking back to him, she turned around so he could fasten the jewelry around her neck. Chuck smiled when he realized it was the Erickson Beamon he had given her on her seventeenth birthday.
"I'm surprised you still have it," he said softly, and Blair tugged at his black bow-tie.
She smirked. "Always."
"I thought you would have Dorota broken it by now."
"Why would I do that?"
His stare became serious. "You know why."
Blair rolled her eyes. She knew what this was about. "What did he say?"
"Who?"
"Bart. What did he say?"
He didn't answer, so she answered for him. Placing her hand gently on his jaw, she looked him in the eye. "Chuck, whatever he said, it's not going to change a thing. You are not worthless, or not good enough for me. I love you. So just accept the fact you're stuck with me and show that man how amazing you can be."
Chuck smiled, and grasped her hand tightly. She was right. She always was.
~o~o~o~o
"I must say, Charles, you have outdone yourself on this one."
One of the Bass Industries board members shook his hand firmly as he glanced around the room. They had used the Empire's ballroom, and as the man said, they had outdone themselves.
"No need," he said with a small smile, "It was all Blair."
The man smiled wildly as Chuck wrapped his arm around the girl's waist.
"You make a beautiful couple together."
"Thank you," Blair answered, instead of Chuck, with a perfect dose of society charm. They did make a great couple, and an even greater team. They had conquered at least half of the people in the room already.
Before anyone could react to anything, another presence took over and everyone softened their voices.
Because Bart Bass had arrived.
~o~o~o~o
He was going to see him, talk to him or acknowledge him if it wasn't necessary. But he knew it was. So Chuck straightened his posture and walked over to his father.
"Father, glad you could come."
Bart nodded, and glanced around the ballroom. It was impressive indeed. Not that he was going to say that, the boy wasn't in need of any more boasting. He had always done better without.
"This is your hotel?"
The younger of the nodded. "Yes, it's mine. Not for very long, though, but it has been doing better than ever since I took over."
Bart nodded, again. It looked good. The Waldorf-girl must have helped him.
"I'm impressed," he said, for the third time that day.
A loaded silence fell, and neither made any attempt to say something or walk away. Both looked like they were still waiting for something. After a minute or so, Bart had made his decision. Charles had done well without him, and he…
"Charles?"
"Father."
"I must say… I'm proud of you. Your mother was right; you have so much potential in you. And so was that lovely girlfriend of yours. Even though I may have watched her grow up with that Archibald-boy you seemed so very fond of, but she looks like she loves you. Good luck. Keep her around."
Chuck was shocked. Astonished. Surprised. All of the above.
He could hardly believe that the old man had actually said that. Chuck could hardly mutter a 'thank you'.
A/N
At first I wrote something in which the crash never happened, but it wasn't fun to write, to I switched to this one. If Bart didn't "die"/leave/whatever he did, Chuck still would have been with Blair (and everything really happened, etc), Lily wouldn't have been with Rufus, Serena would have stayed with Dan, etc. But there still would have been a chance where Bart would have waked up and when he did, he would have been confronted with Blair Waldorf as his son's girlfriend ^.^
Next: Eleanor Waldorf (last chapter before hiatus of at least a week!)