Never Let Me Go: 10
Even if Lilly hadn't told the doctor that Chuck could take her place in the hospital room, Chuck would have found a way to stay in the room with Blair. Being away from Blair was difficult, and even though Chuck was moments away from walking into her room, he felt like it wasn't soon enough. Chuck felt like lead as he walked and he knew that seeing her, alive and breathing, would be the only thing that could drown out the lead that was thickening his blood.
Blair's hospital room was tucked in the back corner of the hallway. Chuck led the group behind the doctor. Lilly was grasping Rufus's hand, and Serena was wrapped around Nate's arm. Nothing bad had ever happened to Blair Waldorf. Nothing ever seemed to seriously go wrong in her perfect life. Her parents get a divorce and she continues to throw parties and shop. She suffers bulimia but it goes unnoticed for so long because she was determined to not let her insecurities truly stop her. Nothing ever stopped Blair, except for this.
Everything and anything that has ever happened to Blair Cornelia Waldorf usually has been cleverly concealed and doesn't even falter her stance over top of the world. She was never in a position like this. Hooked up to machines, unable to cover up the damage to herself, Blair couldn't control her life from a hospital bed. God only knew what kind of injuries would leave scars on Blair. It would be proof that she had been knocked off of her feet.
Chuck could only think of that. Blair's helpless feeling that she would wake up with. That would be devastating to her, probably hurt worse inside than any of her injuries. He knew that Blair's life needed to seem perfect at all times or she didn't function well. It wasn't the perfect that everyone generalized, it was just her perfect. And Blair's perfect was her having control in every kind of situation.
The doctor opened the door slowly, and Chuck pushed himself inside quickly. Blair was sleeping like a baby, snuggled under the sterilized covers. Chuck breathed for the first time in the last half hour. Her hair was frizzy, and someone had tugged it out of the hair tie it had been held up in. Someone had also cleared Blair's face of makeup, removed her jewelry, and changed her out of her dress from earlier. Chuck could care less about Blair's Upper East Side appearance though. He was more concerned with every flaw that was going to affect his beautiful girlfriend.
Her face seemed remarkably unscathed. She had two large scratched on her left side, where her face and the window had originally collided. But even those were just mere scratches that would heal without scaring. Chuck wouldn't care if Blair had any scar on her face, but he knew Blair would never be able to live with herself. Her insecure voice would rip her every day. It was sad for Chuck to think about, Blair being unhappy with herself.
"I thought she was critically injured," Nate said.
Of course simple minded Nate would see only the small wounds and assume that those were her only issues. The doctor gave Nate a look and then shook his head.
"Well she gained a concussion from the window, and you can see the slight scratching, which is what usually happens," the doctor said, "glass wouldn't shatter in to tiny pieces, but large shards and that is what cut her.
Her injuries are more internal though. Being knocked around the inside of the cab of the car would jumble the inside of someone. Her spleen will be removed early tomorrow morning seeing that a small portion of it is damaged, she also had some head trauma because of the concussion, and she has some terribly bruised ribs."
It was hard for Chuck to hear all of it, but it was also comforting. Bruising would heal, the scratches on her face would heal, and the spleen was in an area that was constantly covered. She would be fine, Blair would be fine.
Lilly and Rufus visited for a short period of time before they left to go home and console Eleanor over Skype. Nate stayed for Serena's sake, and Chuck was proud of the boy. Even though Serena had come from Trip's house, Nate was playing the bigger man. Serena had finally calmed down, her hysterics gone away. Something must have been built up inside of her because she had been losing it every few minutes, but she was calm now.
When Chuck was alone, he almost broke down himself. It was had enough to deal with the fact that he had almost possibly lost the only person he had ever loved, and believed when she said that she loved him. His heart was aching, actual pain from the stress of dealing with all of this. On top of that though, Chuck was blaming himself for the accident. He couldn't stop thinking about what they would be doing right now if Chuck hadn't been such an ass to her. If he hadn't pushed her so far away.
Maybe they would be watching a movie, or snuggling up; him with a scotch and her with a Martini. They could be tangled in the sheets, happily sleeping in each other's arms after fooling around for the past few hours. Maybe they would be huddled in front of a laptop, Blair online shopping and reminding Chuck how much she loved him because she continually typed in his credit card number. That always something Chuck enjoyed.
Chuck also couldn't stop thinking about what life without her would have been like. He found himself in these dark spots without her. There truly seemed like there was no future without Waldorf in it. He had known that before tonight, but now it was more proclaimed in his mind. Chuck knew that one day he would propose to this beautiful girl, and that would terrify him. So would saying the words "I do", and so did the idea of being a father. But it scared Chuck more not have her, than to marry her, have children with her, and one day pull her closer instead of pushing her away.