Chapter 10 of Castaways
Author: Isabelle
Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl, its characters, or anything.
Summary: Before they kissed, before the night at Victrola, they were going to meet Nate at St. Croix. That is, before their plane crashed, and they were left the only two survivors on an island with no other inhabitants. Chuck/Blair, of course.
Rating: Mostly PG-13, maybe R at one point
A/N – Always thanking my BETA, Tati, because she totally deserves a medal.
--
"They are in love; they have always been in love, although sometimes they would have denied it. And because they have been in love they have survived everything that life could throw at them."
Ernest Havemann
Maximus was not adapting well to the situation at all. He was fussy, whiny, and clingy. She figured he was adjusting. There were people all around them - Bart's people - that Maximus couldn't stop studying and hiding from. He also wouldn't let go of the blanket they'd placed over him. Blair had tried to take it, and he had pitched a fit. So he now carried it no matter what.
"Miss Waldorf?" The door to the bathroom knocked, and a friendly female voice sounded on the other side.
Blair opened the door slightly, and a tall blonde was holding a bag in her hand. A Lord & Taylor bag.
Blair eyed it.
"Mr. Bass sent this over." Blair took the bag and nodded, closing the door behind her. She sighed, staring at herself in the mirror once more. She didn't recognize herself. The closest she'd had to a mirror for 3 years was the river… When the waters were calm. Which was once in a very long while. Her hair was sun-bleached and long. Dry-ends, completely tanned into a permanent honey tone, flushed cheeks, and dry lips. She couldn't face her mother this way.
She quickly opened the door.
"Excuse me!" She called to the girl, who quickly turned around and came to her.
"Yes, Miss Waldorf."
"Scissors. Do you have any? I need some."
--
Chuck finally got Maximus to sleep in his arms when Blair went to the restroom.
The worst had been when Chuck had shaved, and Maximus hadn't recognized him. He'd thrown a fit. Chuck had to talk to him for the little boy to recognize him.
The feel of jeans against Chuck's skin made him itchy, and he shifted slightly trying to wake Max.
It had been a traumatic ordeal putting a shirt on Maximus. He was now finally in a men's small t-shirt, which was the only thing that he let them put on him. The shirt hit his ankles, and he looked like a little ghost in it. The problem? Maximus was not potty trained yet. In the island they usually had him in his little loincloth that he wet all the time, and when they didn't have a chance to wash it and dry it, they would just dip him quickly in the river. So he was used to running around naked. When Bart's assistant had given Blair a bag of pull-ups… Well… At least they were on now. After they had to throw away half the bag because he had ripped them off.
Bart had starred at him as he tried to control Maximus, who was acting far from the child in the island.
"He's not usually this fussy," Chuck explained to Bart, who was sitting across from him, still staring at a sleeping Maximus. "He's usually happy and running around."
Bart nodded. "It's like trying to get a civilized person to become a nudist overnight."
Chuck sighed, holding Maximus closer as his drool wet Chuck's own t-shirt, clutching his brand new blankie in his little fist.
"Have you called Eleanor?" Chuck asked. Bart nodded.
"She'll meet us at the airport," he said. "Harold is on the next flight from Paris."
"Did you mention Maximus?" Chuck asked.
"I thought it better for Blair to take care of that," Bart told him, nodding when he saw Blair walking to them.
Chuck stared at Blair and smiled slightly. She was in jeans and a shirt, but her hair… It was cut to her mid-back and she had tied it into a ponytail. She looked refreshed and happy. She even had on gloss and a necklace. And she smelled good.
"Thank you for everything, Bart," she said, taking a seat next to Chuck.
"Of course, it's my pleasure," he assured her.
Maximus sensed his mother and opened his eyes.
"Mommy," he turned, reaching for her. Blair quickly took him, pulling him against her chest as he cuddled, smelling his blankie and quickly going to sleep.
"Eleanor will be meeting us at the airport, and your father is on his way to the states," Bart told her. Blair quickly looked at Chuck, who reached out and took her hand. He paused. Her hand was smooth. She'd put lotion on it.
They all fell silent.
"How did you make it?" Bart finally asked the one question he'd been dying to know the answer to.
Chuck shifted and turned to his father.
"We… Ah… We were the only ones who survived when the plane landed on the water." He explained slowly.
Bart nodded, knowing this so far.
"So I sent the call out…"
Bart nodded. "We got it."
"We jumped into the water before the plane sunk," Blair put in. "Well… Chuck made me."
They exchanged a glance, and Bart looked slightly taken aback.
"Then we swam out as it sunk… Almost got eaten by a shark," Chuck continued.
"Oh! The shark!" Blair smiled.
Chuck chuckled. Bart blanched.
"And then we swam until we found the island," Chuck finished.
Blair looked at Bart. "We've been there ever since."
Bart nodded. "Quite an adventure."
"We didn't realize it was deserted until the next morning," Chuck explained.
"How did you manage to survive?" Bart asked them, taking them in.
"We did what we had to do," Chuck finished, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
Bart studied them; he was sure they must've gone through hell, almost dying on many occasions; he could see why they had ended up together after all they went through. It wouldn't be easy for them; it would be damn hard getting adjusted once more to the city life.
"I've set up a suite for you," he explained. "Should be comfortable for all three."
Blair shifted and chuckled slightly. "We've shared the same bed for so long, I'm sure Maximus will throw a fit."
Bart looked at his grandchild, sleeping restfully on Blair.
"Was everything… Ok… When he was born?" he asked quietly.
Chuck looked on at his father and swallowed. "Y-yes… He was born healthy."
"Granted, we didn't really know what we were doing –"
"You were great," Chuck put in.
"But we figured it out…" Blair smiled at Chuck.
Bart let out a small chuckle, looking on at them. "Amazing… Just amazing. Well… From now on, you will have everything you need. I promise."
Blair smiled gratefully at Bart as Chuck stared at his dad.
"Mr. Bass," Bart's assistant interrupted them. "The money has been transferred, sir… But a bulletin has been put out… One of the men in the boat called The Sun, and they're intending on publishing the story."
Bart glanced at the small family before him, Blair's eyes were wide and she held Maximus closer, while Chuck's nostrils flared, instinctively leaning forward in protector mode.
"Call our contacts, hack the story, and give Harry a call. Tell him I will retract the funds for breach of contact if he can't control his crew," Bart barked. The assistant nodded and scampered off. He turned to his son. "We can only control the story for so long; I suggest we call your friends the moment you arrive."
Blair swallowed and nodded, running her hands over Maximus' tangled hair.
--
She shifted nervously as the plane landed, watching it through her sunglasses. The sun was softly setting when the doors opened and down the plane came some assistants, Bart Bass and…
Her breath caught in her throat. She'd always resented Bart for his endless pursuit of his son when she firmly believed Blair to be dead. Because Blair dead was better than Blair lost, and she hadn't known how to get her daughter back.
She felt tears prickle her eyes as her daughter looked at her, halfway down the steps. She quickly stepped forward, her heart beating and her nerves shot.
Blair quickly descended the steps and, before she knew it, she had thrown herself on her. Eleanor was a stiff, cold woman. She'd learned to be so in order to survive in this business world she lived in. But feeling her daughter in her arms once more made her crumble.
She pulled her back to stare at her – to make sure she was real. Same eyes, same lips, same button nose, she let out a laugh and kissed her. Her baby was just fine. Just fine.
"Mom," Blair said, teary-eyed.
"Oh, Blair…." She held her closer. "I thought you were dead…"
She looked so… grown…
Blair sighed, pulling back and looking behind her. Eleanor noticed the once young Chuck Bass… Now a man. He'd saved her daughter; she felt an overwhelming need to hug him. If it hadn't been for Bart's incessant search, they would've stayed lost.
She turned to Bart. "Thank you. Thank you for never giving up."
Bart nodded, stiff as always as he stood by.
"Mom…" Blair said carefully. Eleanor studied the child in Chuck's arm. The child was slowly waking from his plane name and was looking around, curious, and never letting go of his blanket.
Eleanor paused…
"This is my son… our son… Maximus." Blair stood by Chuck.
Chuck studied her unabashed.
"Your…" Eleanor was at loss for words, staring at the small child who seemed to have noticed her.
"… Son… Your grandson." Blair reiterated.
"But… you were on an island…" Eleanor couldn't wrap her mind around it.
"Mommy," Maximus reached out for Blair, and Blair took him from Chuck, hefting him up on her hip.
Eleanor stared at Chuck, then back at Blair.
"But…You're not married!" She cried.
Bart tried not to laugh while Blair's face went pink red, and Chuck ducked his head, clearly smiling.
"What married?" Maximus asked innocently.
--
Bart suggested that Blair, Chuck, and Maximus ride in a separate car while Eleanor and himself rode in another. Mostly because Eleanor was making no sense.
Maximus was now fully awake with his small face pressed to the window, his eyes wide as he studied the city around him. Blair and Chuck were sitting as close as two people could, watching Maximus' reactions.
"Look! Look!" He would say, pointing at all types of things.
The young couple held hands tightly; taking in the city they had once considered their home.
"I feel like I've just woken up from a dream," she told him as he held on to Maximus' waist. Chuck nodded, kissing his son's head as Maximus turned to them and sat on Chuck's lap, throwing the blanket over himself.
"Maximus, give me the blanket," Blair suggested.
He screamed when she tried to take it.
"Or keep it."
"Let him keep it."
"Mine!"
--
They discretely made it into the building, Maximus' wide eyes taking in the grandeur of the lobby as they made it to the elevator. Chuck had wanted to carry him, but he insisted on walking and tripped a few times on his overly large shirt.
Eleanor kept glancing at him as he held onto Blair's hand.
When they all entered the elevator, all Maximus said was 'Wow, daddy – look!' at the buttons… Then he pressed all of them, much to Eleanor's annoyance.
Chuck thought it was hilarious. It took them almost fifteen minutes to make it to the top.
"So… You gave birth in the island?" Eleanor asked Blair quietly when floor 11 closed.
"Y-yes," Blair replied, glancing at her.
Eleanor nodded, looking at her. "I don't remember when you were born. It was a cesarean, and I was out…"
"Oh… I remember, alright," Blair deadpanned, running her hands over Maximus' hair.
"What did you do for food?" Eleanor asked, slightly horrified.
"We had a garden," Chuck put in. Eleanor stared at him.
"And Chuck fished… And caught shrimp, crabs, eels… Whatever we found."
"Shrimp!" Maximus smiled up at them.
Bart stared at him. "He likes shrimp?"
"He loves shrimp," Blair clarified.
"Shrimp! I hungry, daddy…" Maximus complained, tugging at Chuck's pants.
Bart quickly pulled his cell. "Have some shrimp delivered to the apartment."
"Just boiled," Blair told him. "No condiments."
Bart nodded, passing the instructions to his staff.
"Soon," Chuck told Maximus when he picked him up and finally opened to the Bass suite.
"We moved into this place right after the wedding," Bart explained. The small family entered and looked around. Fancy paintings, plush carpet, chandeliers, A-line furniture.
"Lily did a wonderful job," Eleanor nodded, approving. She took Blair to the side as Bart showed Chuck around.
"My dear," she started. "Wonderful choice," she complimented Blair, smiling.
Blair blinked at her. "What?"
"A Bass?" Eleanor smiled discretely. "The Archibalds have completely gone under, not a penny left. The Basses' fortune has increased to almost twice the amount they had less than two years ago. Granted, they're new money, but still…"
Blair sighed, pressing her fingers to her forehead.
"Mom, I was in a plane crash," Blair snapped. "I swam to shore, ate things I never wanted to even consider, killed for food, survived almost drowning, a hurricane, and childbirth au natural – the last thing on my mind was Chuck's billions."
Eleanor was wide-eyed. "Y-you killed for food?"
Blair let out a breath. "Yes, mom! I wasn't at a resort!"
Eleanor stared at her, wide-eyed. "That explains the hair and eyebrows."
"Mother!" Blair hissed exasperatedly.
"Don't worry, I will have Donato and his staff come over in the morning, he's extremely discreet – How about 9:30am?" Eleanor was already pulling her blackberry out.
"I'll let you know," Blair nodded when the elevator opened and out rushed a mane of long blonde hair.
Before Blair had a chance to react, to recognize or to hide, Serena was on top of her, sobbing, crying, hugging, kissing – her.
Blair, of course hugged right back, holding her friend. She'd seriously missed female companionship. Chuck never understood her PMS moods.
"B!" Serena was babbling. "We all thought you were dead, and Bart kept believing Chuck was – Oh, my God, where's Chuck?"
Blair smiled at Serena, touching her face.
"Hello, dear sister." Out walked Chuck with Maximus in his arms, falling asleep.
Serena let out a high-pitched cry and flung her arms around him.
"I can't believe you made it, you bastard!"
This startled Maximus, who burst out crying, and Blair quickly took him, leaving Serena stunned. She stared at Chuck.
"You have a baby?" She asked Chuck. More like poked him, glaring at him.
Chuck smirked because Serena was dim sometimes.
"I can't believe you impregnated a native!"
"Uhmm…" Blair cleared her throat. "S… This is Maximus… Our son."
Serena stood back, staring at them, and then staring at Maximus, who was rubbing his eyes with his blankie and hiccupping slightly.
"Maximus," Max informed Serena before leaning his head on Blair's shoulder.
Serena stared at the little boy, then at Chuck, and then back at Blair.
"You…" She pointed at Chuck. "You knocked her up?!" She hit him with her clutch, which Chuck reflexively grabbed from her in a swift move acquired from grabbing fish from the kiddie pool.
Serena gasped, and Chuck looked sorry. "I'm sorry." He handed her the purse back.
Serena breathed in and out, staring at them. They looked so… different. Sun-bleached hair, tanned skin, lean and long, closer and more intimate.
Chuck and Blair always had an unusual understanding. They enjoyed a lot of the same things, and that meant plotting, destroying, deceiving, and various types of social annihilation. They collected secrets and sold them to the highest bidder or for their own personal agenda. But she'd never seen them this way.
She looked at Maximus and Blair's hand as she held his head… And Chuck's stance of… Protector… It was too much.
"Oh, my God!"
"Get her a drink," Chuck smiled.
"Maybe two," Serena cried, sitting down.
--
The girls sat across from each other, Serena holding a glass of Frangelico and still staring at Blair wide-eyed.
"So… We landed on the beach… And we were in the island ever since…" Blair finished, rubbing her eyes. She was exhausted and ready for bed.
Serena gulped the rest of her glass.
"And what about Chuck?" She asked.
"What about him?" Blair asked, confused.
"Hello!" Serena waived her hand. "You have his son!"
Blair nodded. "Oh…"
"Yeah…"
"… We were just trying to survive one moment, and the next…" Blair looked down. "… Serena... there are things that we did and saw that only we would understand."
Serena reached out and took Blair's hands, and the girls stared at each other.
"He's more than a friend, or a boyfriend… Lover and… Husband…" Blair swallowed. "… He's my partner… My mate…"
Serena's eyes watered as she nodded, getting up and sitting next to Blair.
"He and Max are my everything… so…" Blair stared at her.
"You're so grown up, Blair…" Serena pulled her into a hug.
They were interrupted by Chuck, who was carrying Maximus wrapped in a towel and wet.
"Well… He loves baths," Chuck nodded. Maximus instantly spotted his mom and reached out for her. Serena watched as Blair stood and took him from Chuck. The small little family stood close by, sharing an intimacy Serena had never witnessed.
"He's been fussy…" Blair said, touching Maximus' forehead.
"Nah… He's just tired and confused," Chuck replied. "He won't put on his diaper."
"Nooo…" Maximus complained.
"Yes," Blair insisted and took the pull-up from Chuck. She set him on the bed, and between them, they slipped it on, leaving Max upset and needing his brand new toy – the blankie. Next Chuck handed her another white t-shirt, the only thing he'd wear, and after a struggle they slipped it past his head.
Serena felt uncomfortable so she stood. "I'm going tot head out… I have an apartment in Soho…"
Chuck picked Max up and turned to her. "Soho?" He smirked. She rolled her eyes.
"I was going to attend Brown, but I got a modeling contract…" She confessed. "… So I've stayed in the city."
Blair smiled at her. "You look good, S. You really do."
Serena stared at her, because despite their friendship throughout the years, Blair was never one to throw out a compliment, a genuine compliment. Most especially to her. Blair threw compliments as a mercy. She would throw them at people she considered below her. Never to Serena.
The Chuck leaned in and kissed Blair's head, making her smile at him.
Serena felt a warm sensation in her stomach. They looked happy, content and at peace together.
"You guys have a beautiful little family… I'm happy, Blair. It's what you always wanted," Serena confessed, and Max stared at her with his wide eyes.
"Kiss," he told her and reached out a hand to her, flexing his fingers.
Serena looked at Blair questioningly. Blair and Chuck looked surprised. Maximus hadn't really taken to anyone at all. Her stared at Bart from behind his hand, and he simply studied Eleanor. Now he was asking for the customary goodnight kiss he always got from his parents.
"He… He wants a goodnight kiss," Blair explained to Serena, still confused.
"Oh!" Serena looked nervous. She walked slowly to them. "Well, he is my nephew…"
She smiled a little at Chuck, who was still registering that Serena was his step-sister. She leaned in, and Maximus kissed her cheek then smiled shyly and pressed his face against Chuck's neck.
"Oh, my God, he's so cute!" Serena's heart melted. "Oh, let me buy him things."
"He doesn't need things," Blair laughed.
"He does! Toys, Dan and I will go toy shopping; it'll be so much fun!" Serena looked extremely excited.
Chuck looked leery. "He's not used to them, we… We made his own rattles."
Serena stared at him, unsure if to believe him and be impressed, or to be sorry for the entire situation. Maybe if they had all joined Bart in his search, then they would've found them sooner. Maybe the baby wouldn't have needed to grow up with home-made rattles.
"Oh…"
"Toys," Maximus repeated.
"You see? He wants some. I'm so going to spoil him!" She smiled at them happily.
Blair shifted. "Ok. But not a lot. Just a few. I don't want to overwhelm him."
Serena nodded enthusiastically. "Only a few."
When Serena left (after Maximus insisted that she kiss him again), Blair went to look for the clothes her mother left her. Chuck went to attempt to put Maximus to sleep in the bed they all shared.
She was going through a couple of bags from Bergdorf, feeling that everything was too over the top. Did she really used to wear all this? She found lace dresses, stockings, headbands, La Perla bras, silk shirts… She couldn't decide what to wear. It was overwhelming. When the door to the room opened she thought it was Chuck, having accomplished the mission of getting Maximus to bed.
"My mother is crazy. She sent me all these bags… Look at this…" She held up a beautiful pair of panties and showed it to him.
That's when she realized it was not Chuck at all, but Nate.
Nate was standing there in all of this golden glory, tousled hair, bright blue eyes, tall and built, and as handsome as ever.
"Blair…" he whispered.
She quickly put down the panties and gulped. "I'm sorry. I thought you were…"
"You're alive. You're really alive," he whispered, eyes still wide and unbelieving.
Blair gulped again and looked down.
"Nate," she greeted him.
She knew this was going to come; she knew they would eventually have to face Nate. Make him understand. Assure him of the circumstance. She knew Chuck had always loved his best friend, and it would kill her to know that he would lose Nate because of her.
"Oh, my God, Blair…" And in three steps, he had grabbed her and hugged her.
She stood there, stock-still, not knowing what to do and trying to resist pushing him clear off her body – no man had held her like this in three years, except for Chuck. He felt wrong. Too tall, too big… He wasn't Chuck.
She breathed in sharply and patted his back.
He pulled back and looked down at her, studying her.
"You look so different… Your hair… Your eyes…" He was shaking his head.
"It's still me, Nate." She gave him a tight smile.
"I'm so sorry. I've been sorry since the day it happened." He looked choked up.
Blair's brows furrowed. "Sorry for what?"
"I missed the flight… And it was something stupid…" he confessed. "I wanted a break… I didn't want to be near you for a while, and I figured I could have a few hours without you, and then meet you both there…"
Blair pulled back, stung.
"You were just being so clingy and needy, and I didn't… I was stupid and young, and I have regretted it every day since, Blair. You have to believe me."
Blair stared at him.
"I don't regret, it" she confessed.
He blinked.
"I'm not mad. Slightly hurt, yes – because you were supposed to protect me. You were supposed to save me. And you didn't. Someone else did," she said, taking a deep breath.
"I thought you were dead… All these years," he whispered. "I thought you and Chuck were dead and I… I regretted it every day."
"Nate…"
"I can't imagine the things you went through…" he continued.
"No. You cant," she said, cutting him short.
"I was depressed for years… Until…Until…" He didn't know how to say it.
She stared at his eyes. They were slightly shiny.
"Are you with someone?" She ventured.
He ducked his head. "Yes."
She thought about this. Yeah. She didn't care. It would be easier, she hoped. It would be easier this way.
"What's her name?" She asked him quietly.
"Vanessa."
Blair nodded. "Do you love her?"
Nate seemed taken aback by her question. "Yes."
"Good for you, Archibald. Treat her right. Don't threat her like you treated me." He looked stunned.
"Blair…"
But his thoughts were interrupted when Chuck walked in, holding a very unhappy Maximus. He came up behind Blair, closing the door behind him and not noticing Nate.
"I think he's got a fever, he refuses to sleep…" And he spotted Nate. "…Without you."
Nate stared at Chuck. Stared at the child. Stared at Blair.
Maximus, however, saw Blair. "Mommy!" He wriggled out of Chuck's limp arms and ran to Blair.
Nate stared at Blair and the boy. Then back at Chuck.
--
To be continued
A/N - Just one more chapter left after this one - I hope you are all enjoying their track back to New York.