Disclaimer: All chapters of this story are for entertainment purposes only. I own none of the characters. Props to the writers and creators of My Fair Lady and of course, GG.

A/N: Happy Friday everyone! Much love to the readers, reviewers, and supporters of this story. I want to take us into the weekend with a little bit of whimsy and a slight cliffhanger. Hope you enjoy!

Italics: Blair's dream/thoughts

Chapter 10: Park Avenue Princess

Dan sat there looking dumbfounded. This was truly astonishing. Never had he witnessed anything like the scene that was playing out before him. Unless, of course, you count the masquerade ball and the hostile takeover of Constance Billard.

"So you mean to tell me, you had the gumption to say such a thing to Mister Bass," the Countess asked wide eyed.

Blair blushed and continued, "In my station, you have to act as if…" she hesitated for a moment.

"As if what, my dear?"

"As if, I were a Queen. As if, I had been living on the Upper East Side my whole life. As if, I did belong in the realm of the Basses," she explained in a collected manner.

"As if, you were a conman," Dan interjected.

"It's called confidence Humphrey," she fired back.

"Well, I like it," the Countess exclaimed.

Blair was overjoyed, "That's wonderful Countess Balfor because I told Charles you were my grandmother."

The Countess was back earlier than expected from her European holiday. She had grown tired of the Swiss Alps, and really, how much skiing can a person do? She had grown bored with Bordeaux, because truly, how much exceptional wine can a person drink? She had grown weary of Monte Carlo; after all, how much money can a person win? It had all been done to death. She had seen it all, heard it all, read all about it, and now was hoping for the plot to thicken.

Dan sat on the couch as the ladies sipped afternoon tea. Maybe his boss would be okay with Blair being in her apartment, but she was certainly not going to get sucked into "the plot." She was a wise old woman, Dan thought, while watching the two converse, and surely she would talk some sense into Blair.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that," the Countess went on.

"I know, it's so awfully low," Blair hung her head.

"I can't imagine a girl like you in Brooklyn," said the old woman shaking her head.

"Gross, right?" Blair sighed.

"Indeed," the Countess concurred.

"So, what do you think?" Blair asked stepping out of the walk-in closet.

The Countess admired her from across the room, "Charming, simply charming."

The black Givenchy gown looked stunning on Blair and fit her perfectly. Long ago, the Countess had worn the dress to many a society party. It was rather distasteful to be seen twice in the same gown, but she could care less for convention, and it was her favorite. The full skirt made her feel like she had come from a different era. It was very Age of Innocence.

"It's lovely", Blair said looking into the full length mirror. "It is so kind of you to do this for me."

"Well, on the contrary Blair, I shall say it's kind of you to let me come to your party."

"Of course, you are 'my grandmother' and what is family for?" Blair winked.

First there was that fabulous old woman at Bergdorf's, and now the Countess! Maybe fairy godmothers really do exist. It's pretty to think so, even if they only appear on the Upper East Side.

There were a great many things to attend to before her seventeenth birthday party. There were the invites and the caterer and the cake and the entertainment. While there may be fairy dust in the streets, no one ever said being an Upper East Sider was easy. Luckily, the Countess had her maid flying in this evening to help with the planning. Plus, the minions could do some of the heavy lifting. With those exhausting details out of the way, Blair thought it best to take a nap.

The Countess left Blair alone in one of her large bedrooms so that she may get some rest. It had been a long day relaying the details of "the plot" to her fairy godmother. While the bed was very comfortable and the down pillows felt like heaven, she couldn't get to sleep. She just couldn't seem to get the picture of Chuck and the blond out of her mind. Why did he have to go and kiss her like that? Right in front of everyone! Has he no class? Sure, the blond is perfect, but that's no reason to rub it in. After all, Blair had only kissed Nate on the cheek. She wasn't trying to recreate porn like Bass and that stupid blond girl. The nerve. She continued to toss and turn until her mind managed to roam to more pleasant pastures. She thought of THE KISS. This calmed her a bit, and after a while, the memory of it lulled her into a deep sleep.

"It's rather dull in town, I think I'll take me to Paree. Mmmm-mmm… …"

Blair looked around to find she was in the middle of Covent Garden. She was dressed in tattered clothes and was holding a small bunch of violets.

"The missus wants to open up the castle in Capri. Mmmm-mmm…"

A straw basket was hanging from her arm and a few brass farthings lay inside.

"…Wouldn't it be loverly…"

"Evenin' Miss Blair, will you be needing a butler?" Asked a man in a dirty shirt.

"Well, you won't do" Blair responded.

Up the lane came a gentleman dressed in tweed. He was speaking with a man in a top hat. Blair knew an opportunity when she saw one.

"Buy some flowers off a poor girl," she asked the men.

"Nathaniel, will you look at this guttersnipe!" cried the man in tweed. "She's so deliciously low, so horribly dirty!"

"Chuck, be reasonable," Nate said. "I'm sorry Miss, I don't have any change."

Chuck ignored him and carried on. "Do you see this wretch? Why, in six months I could pass her off as a duchess at the Embassy Ball."

"Garn…" Blair shook her head.

"You see Nathaniel, it is words like 'Garn' that will keep this girl in Brooklyn…"

BROOKYN! BROOKYN! BROOKYN!

Chuck's words echoed and stung. Blair found herself back at the Humphrey's loft.

"Quick Blair, get to the roof," Dan whispered, "He's coming!"

"Oh no, I thought I had more time!" She shook with fright, "I just need a little more time. I can make him believe I'm from…"

Dan cut her off, "Go now, he's at the door!"

Blair slipped out of the window and onto the fire escape. She raced up to the roof as fast as she could.

She took a moment to catch her breath. Relieved, she sat down on the fraying lawn chair.

"Good evening Waldorf," Chuck began "My spies told me I might find you here."

She let out a blood curdling scream. He had found her. The jig was up. The plot, finished!

"It's so naïve that it's almost cute. Did you really think I wouldn't know about your little plot?" Chuck said coming closer to her as he sipped his scotch casually.

The blond was hanging on him, caressing the back of his neck.

"Chuck, I'm so sorry." Blair started to tear up. "I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to go to Yale. That's all."

"Yale would never take you," he smirked. "Nor will the Upper East Side ever accept you. What kind of imbeciles do you take us for?"

"I…, I didn't mean to insult you or Nate or Serena…I've come to care for all of you." Blair pleaded. "Chuck, I love you!"

"What! You love me!" He said laughing as he smacked the blonde's ass. "That's your misfortune. I could never love a girl from Brooklyn! Never…"

NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!

Chuck's words echoed and stung.

Blair woke up in a cold sweat and screamed. Frightened, the Countess ran to her side.

"Why, whatever is the matter, my dear?"

Blair sat up, shook her head and crossed her arms, "Chuck Bass will not be invited to my party!" She said firmly breathing a deep sigh of relief.

Chuck straightened his bowtie in preparation for Blair's party. He wanted to look dashing, and was terribly excited for the event. After all, Chuck Bass firmly believed that the best parties were the ones he was not invited to. He thought the purple tie would complement the black suit nicely. He was sure to make a favorable impression on Blair with this ensemble, and if that didn't work, the Harry Winston might. He was tired of playing games. He was crazy about Blair and no matter what she said, she didn't belong with Nate. She never had, and she never will.

"Dorota!" Blair yelled from "her" bedroom. "I need the dress."

Dorota had only been in town for 24 hours, but Blair had already claimed her as her own. She was tasked to handle the catering, dry cleaning, and security.

"Here you are Miss Blair," fresh from the cleaners.

"Good. Now, what about security?" Blair asked examining the dress.

"We have doorman and hired men." Dorota explained calmly.

"Hired men? As in SAS, Black Water, Force Recon?" Blair amped up.

Dorota looked confused, "Uh, I'm not sure. I think they what you call 'rent a cops.' "

B shook her head, "Well, don't just stand there, I need operators!"

"Operators?"

"Seals, Delta Force, the Israeli Mossad!" B was getting agitated. There was clearly something getting lost in translation.

"Don't you see Dorota, I need to keep Chuck Bass out of this party."

The party was a hit. Once word got out that Serena Van der Woodsen was attending, everyone wanted to go. Joe Zee mingled with Rachel Zoe, Nate brought the lacrosse team, there were designers and artists and the hottest socialites. All the cool kids were there, as was Dan Humphrey. As a special treat, the Countess made a few phone calls and was able to book Lady Gaga to do an acoustic set for an hour during the party. The night was brilliant and Blair looked beautiful. The Givenchy flowed so nicely, her hair was curled to perfection, and there wasn't a trace of egg on her face. Meadowbrook was a distant memory.

"Blair darling, what song would you like Miss Germanotta to do first?" The Countess asked. Apparently, she was on a last name basis with Lady Gaga.

"Oh, I don't know," she said pretending to be coy "How about Poker Face," B winked.

The Countess grinned slyly, "As you wish."

Well, this was going smoothly. A few more hours of THIS and Blair would be the UES IT girl, the toast of the town.

"Miss Blair, Miss Blair," Dorota called frantically, "I'm so sorry Miss Blair."

"What is it? Can't you see everything's going so well…" But before she could finish, there he was.

The elevator doors opened and he walked in like he owned the place. (He walked in like Blair had a few days earlier.)

Brandishing a bottle of scotch, a bouquet of gardenias and a black velvet box, Chuck Bass had never looked better.

"Motherchucker!" Blair yelled. "How did you manage to oil your way in here?"

Chuck stood there looking amused.

"How did you get past the doorman?" She demanded. "And the twelve man security team?" Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. There were more like three guys working for a little over minimum wage.

The security force kept getting inflated, "And the Dobermans and the cameras…", she was even impressing herself at this point.

Chuck stood there looking amused.

"And the lasers…" Okay, she was spent.

Calmly, shaking his head ever so slightly, delicately raising one eye brow, he responded in a dignified manner, the only manner he knew how, "I'm Chuck Bass."

Blair tried to ignore him for the remainder of the evening. She mingled with Serena, the Countess and even Humphrey. But everywhere she went, she felt his stare. The party was winding down now and the guests were saying their goodbyes. Blair was exhausted; it was hard dancing around Chuck all night.

"Grandmother," Blair said to the Countess in front of a few remaining guests, "Would you mind terribly if I called it a night? I'm awfully tired."

"Of course not dear," She smiled, "sleep well, and happy birthday, my darling."

"Thank you ever so much." Blair was really playing this whole "Blue Blood" thing up. She waved to her guests as she made her way up the stairs, "Good evening everyone, and thanks a million for coming."

Blair entered the large room and sat on the bed looking into the full length mirror. So this is what being a Blue Blood looks like, she thought as she took her hair down. What a party, what a life,

"What the Chuck!"

Chuck stood behind Blair looking at her through the mirror.

"You are not possibly going to ask me how I got in here," he said with a smirk.

For once, B was at a loss for words.

"Blair, you look stunning tonight." He said moving closer to the bed. "And you looked stunning the night of the ball. However, I couldn't help but notice something was missing."

Something missing? Yes! The Black Amex, a few thousand shares of Qualcomm, a Park Avenue address, and a couple million in cash. And if we're being completely honest, the opportunity to say, "Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it."

He took out the velvet box; the Holy Grail of all boxes.

She felt weak.

He opened it slowly.

She got a glimpse of the first bit of sparkle as the diamonds shown in the low light of the chandelier.

Talk to me Harry Winston, tell me all about it! Can Chuck Bass read minds? I'm in bigger trouble than I thought.

Chuck pulled back her hair and closed the clasp. It was a magnificent piece. There was an elegant ring of smaller diamonds around the entire work of art. And lying on her chest now were three of the most brilliant diamonds she had ever seen. They were like the ones she had gawked at through the storefront windows. They looked like teardrops; really large, mutli-carat, glimmering teardrops. They admired it together looking at each other through the mirror.

Blair couldn't believe her eyes.

He's got a sense of humor dryer than vermouth, he's elitist, arrogant, and comes bearing Harry Winston. This is too good to be true.

After some time, she had recovered from the shock and was finally able to speak.

"Chuck, I adore it," she couldn't believe what she was about to say, "But, it's really too much."

"Nonsense", he said running his hands over the piece, "Something this beautiful deserves to be seen on someone worthy of its beauty."

"Well, when you put it that way," she laughed. She was so giddy.

He made her nervous, "Best birthday, ever." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

He smirked, she was such a clever girl, he thought.

If I let him get too close, he's going to find out about the plot…and then he'll never love me, and I'll never get into Yale. Then again, one kiss never hurt anyone...

He put his hand on her cheek and felt her soft skin. She closed her eyes and fell back on the bed.

No, seriously, best birthday ever.

Downstairs the Countess and Dorota were enjoying a nightcap, toasting to a successful party.

"I've missed New York," the Countess sighed, "there's nothing quite like the energy here. It's truly a city where anything is possible."

Just then, the elevator doors opened and out walked Jack Bass.

"Ladies," I'm sorry to bother you, but I believe my nephew Chuck is here and I need to speak with him immediately. It's about his father; he's been in an accident."

"Oh Dear God! Yes, he's upstairs; I will get him at once." The Countess said rushing to fetch Chuck.

In the moments before the storm, the world was a beautiful place for Chuck and Blair.

They kissed passionately and admired the Harry Winston.

"Blair, I, adore you." He wanted to say "love", but held back. He thought that perhaps it was just a bit too soon.

She blushed, "Oh, Chuck, I adore you too." She wanted to say "love", but held back. Perhaps it was just a bit too soon.

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend. Better cuddle up to your ice B, looks like we're in for a cold winter. XOXO, Gossip Girl