"My Evening Star" Chapter 9
Rating: T, just to be safe
Word Count: 3,034
TV Spoilers?: None. Just around second season during the time that Blair lost her throne and her friends.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Gossip Girl or really anything affiliated with it.
Other: Tehe, I so do not know anything about medical terms so I really fudged through this chapter with Wikipedia as my only guide. So if I'm totally off, please forgive me. Haha.
Thank you all for the reviews!
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Though Blair Waldorf was too proud to ever play the victim, she had undeniably suffered through some pretty tough times in the past. Her father had left her family, her boyfriend had slept with her best friend, and the man who finally made her happy had abandoned her before spending a whole summer whoring around.
Yet despite all the downs in her turbulent life, the worst moment of all had to be when she watched the paramedics pull up to her school in ambulances, strap Serena's limp body down, and haul her away before even bothering telling anyone if she was still alive.
Of course, Blair would not let them leave before she knew everything. Putting her slim, shorter frame to use, she slipped soundlessly into the ambulance they were loading Serena into and knelt by her side. When a few paramedics protested, she flashed them her darkest glare.
"I'm her best friend, and I will not leave her side."
Whether it was the desperation in her eyes or the determination in her voice when she made this declaration, they all seemed to accept it. No one complained.
Instead, as the ambulance ripped away from the curb with its alarms blaring, the paramedics began to pull out a long tube and pushed it down Serena's throat, much to Blair's horror. But before she could begin to tell them off, she noticed the way her friend's chest began to rise and fall once more. Finally, some relief.
"Is she going to be alright?" She asked the two paramedics who were moving around rapidly, tearing open packages and whipping out needles.
"She had an anaphylaxis." One told her briefly, not stopping his work even for a second. "And she has severe angioedema now which will require steroid treatment once we reach the hospital."
Blair blinked. "Do I look like a general practitioner to you?" She snapped. "Obviously not, so will you answer my question in plain terms?"
"The answer is we don't know." The other paramedic cut in. "It would appear she had an allergic reaction, which has caused the swelling and inflamation of her mouth and throat." Blair stared back in disbelief. An allergic reaction? How was that possible?
"Her condition is serious, but we will do whatever we can to save her." The paramedic added while Blair reached forward and took Serena's hand in her own.
"You better, or I will personally make sure your careers are over." She threatened, lashing out at them because their was no one else around.
"Seriously, if she dies here, I will make sure you won't even be able to find a job washing an ambulance, much less riding in one."
She ignored them and their stunned looks for the rest of the trip as she just sat at Serena's side, squeezing her hand every once in awhile, silently begging her to hold on just a little longer. When they finally did make it to the hospital and Serena's stretcher was hauled out, she tried to go with her but the doctors shooed her away.
Despite Blair's finest pleas and meanest threats, they rolled Serena away rapidly while she was forced to go to the waiting room. It was awful sitting there with nothing but her thoughts and worries to keep her company. Blair felt herself flooded with regret and confusion, and began to drown in both sensations.
How did this even happen? An allergic reaction? How was that possible?
Blair knew Serena was allergic to shellfish, but so did Serena, and she wasn't idiotic enough to eat it anyways. No, she always avoided it, just like she had the scallop and crab cakes earlier.
Come to think of it, the only thing Blair had seen her eat that morning was her crepe, but it was ham and egg. How could that possibly have shellfish in there? That wasn't a common mistake a chef would just make. It would be like finding mutton in an apple torte.
But, to her despair, it didn't really matter how it all happened, the point was that it did. And now Blair was helpless to fix it. Was the last conversation she ever had with Serena really going to be one were she had said the cruelest thing she possible could?
After years of sharing secrets, having sleep-overs, dancing around in their pajamas, and singing as loud as they could to the newest hit song…was this how their friendship was going to end? Serena would die, and Blair would never forgive herself knowing she could have just forgiven her, and allowed things to go back to the way they were.
Feeling overwhelmed by despair and helplessness, Blair sat forward in her chair with her head in her hands until she heard a familiar voice.
"Blair!" It was Lily, crossing the room quickly with Eric following close behind…both of them were wearing equally frightened expressions.
"Is everything alright? I tried speaking with the doctors but they wouldn't tell me anything. Finally they escorted us here!" Lily, complained before she gave Blair a short, but firm hug. When they pulled back, Blair could do nothing but shake her head.
"They did the same for me. No one has even bothered updating me on her condition and…" As she was speaking, Chuck suddenly walzed into the room, his expression dark and unreadable.
"Chuck!" Blair called out in disbelief. You're here?"
"Oh yes." Lily replied. "It was Charles who sent his limo driver to pick me up from my morning meeting when he heard the news at school."
Blair raised her brows at this. Chuck starred back at her intensely, his hands in his pocket while his eyes burned into her own. Finding it impossible to figure out what he was thinking, Blair looked away and focused once more on Lily.
"All I know is what the paramedics told me and they said she had an anaphylaxis." She told them, unable to resist using the fancy, medical terminology she had learned.
"That means an allergic reaction." She added. "And it caused her throat to swell up. We were outside when she suddenly started to gasp for breath and broke out into hives…. I tried calling for help, and had to interrupt the Scholarship Ceremony. The paramedics came soon after…"
She explained, leaving out some very key details to the story. She couldn't bare to reveal the whole truth.
"Thank God you were there." Lily told her as she affectionately stroked Blair's hair in a comforting, mom-like fashion. "I know you and Serena have had your problems lately, but she's so lucky to have a friend like you."
Blair wanted to sink into the ground at that moment and disappear, never having felt so low or guilty in her entire life.
"Really Blair. Thank you, for everything you have done for my daughter." Lily went on as tears began to well up in her pretty blue eyes. "I just…" She tried to continue, but could not and was forced to look away in order to stubbornly hide her tears. Eric, understanding, put his arm around her shoulder and embraced her, the two of them crying against one another.
Feeling her heart break at the sight, Blair excused herself and ran out of the waiting room and into a hallway nearby. When she was sure she was alone, she leaned up against the wall and began to sob, her feelings of guilt, regret, shame, and utter fear taking over completely.
She cried for at least a five minutes, unable to hold back her tears until she realized she should try to regain control of herself. That proved to be harder that she had imagined, and by the time she had reduced her weeping down to just a few sniffles, she turned her head only to see Chuck standing at the other side of the hall, looking at her, again, with that unreadable expression.
Mortified that he had seen her second breakdown in as many weeks, she snapped at him. "How long have you been there?!"
"Long enough." He told her quietly, hands in his pockets.
Blair rubbed furiously at her eyes, trying to hide the evidence of her tears but that only succeeded in smearing her mascara even more than it already was.
"You could have said something! You didn't just have to stand there watching. My life isn't some sitcom for you to enjoy." She hissed.
Chuck looked at her for a moment before he began to walk towards her. "Blair…"
"Seriously, what are you even doing here?" She spat as she glared at him. He stopped in his tracks.
"Do you even have to ask?" He asked, sounding a bit stung as his dark eyes burned into hers. Blair was taken aback by this.
"Obviously." She retorted. She watched him carefully, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
He began to walk towards her once again, stopping now only when he was directly in front of her. "You're best friend in the entire world.. who you happened to be fighting with recently… is now in the hospital in critical condition." He said softly, as he looked into her eyes, emotion clearly swirling in his own.
"I knew you couldn't be taking that very well."
Blair's eyes widened in wonder, but she was unable to tear her gaze away. "You came here for me?" She breathed out in disbelief.
"Of course." He slowly reached up and stroked her cheek with such gentleness she almost collapsed against him. "You really that surprised?"
Blair stared at him for a moment in incredulity but when she saw how sincere he truly was, she stepped closer and wordlessly wrapped her arms around his neck before burying her face against his chest.
He seemed stunned for a second, but he quickly enfolded his arms around her in return, placing one around her waist, while he dug his other hand deep into her hair, keeping her close against him.
Blair was instantly amazed to find that her and Chuck could just hold each other like this and for it not to be sexual. For this embrace was not sensual, nor did it inspire thoughts of ripping his clothes off like it usually did whenever they touched.
No, instead, it made her feel warm, protected, and cherished. Just moments ago she had been so terrified, and utterly and completely lost. But now that Chuck had his arms wrapped around her, she felt safer than ever, and confident everything would work out. It was a emotion she hadn't felt since the last time they were together, and one she relished in.
After several long and silent minutes of soaking up his warmth passed, she pulled away and looked up at him with her large doe eyes.
"Thank you." She whispered, while he once again stroked her cheek gently.
Her eyes fluttered closed in response, and she leaned into his touch for a moment before she began to straighten herself out. Reaching down, she smoothed out her shirt and skirt and made sure everyone of her hairs was perfectly in place.
She then stepped back and held her hands out. "How do I look? Hopefully not like I just had a complete meltdown…"
Chuck gave her a small, half smile before he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "You look beautiful, as always." He told her sincerely before he cupped her face and gently ran his thumbs under her eyes. "Except for just a little bit of smeared makeup."
When he was done, he dropped his hands and Blair was very near ready to take them and put them right back on her face, feeling a violent need for that sense of peace and assurance he had just given to her… Feeling a violent need for him in general...
Unfortunately, she was disappointed as he turned away from her and began to walk down the hall. "You coming?" He asked cockily before he lifted his brows.
She instantly became annoyed at the way he was trying to herd her off, until she saw him put his hand out for her to take.
She stared at it for a moment in surprise, and then watched his expression carefully as she took it and laced her fingers in his own. Though the look of his face became unreadable once again, she felt a strong flutter in her stomach when he squeezed her hand gently. They then made their way back to the waiting room, and sat down next to each other.
Never once did he let go.
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The next few hours were painful ones for Blair, but she was well aware they'd be even worse if she hadn't had Chuck by her side. She was still terrified, but knowing that he was there…for her, made everything a little easier to bear.
Nonetheless, time seemed to pass incredibly slow until a nurse finally came into the waiting room.
"Mrs. Van der Woodsen?" She called out. Lily had been in her own world up until that point, her chin resting.
"Yes?" She asked, snapping back to reality.
"May I speak to you?"
Lily nodded and walked after her, causing Blair to stir restlessly in her chair.
"Oh god." She breathed out nervously, while Chuck looked over at her.
"It's going to be ok, Waldorf."
She shook her head. "No Chuck, you don't understand. Before she went unconscious, I said some cruel things to her."
She paused, and shook her head. "Some really cruel things. Things involving the reason why she left for boarding school..."
Blair couldn't look at him as she admitted this, feeling so ashamed.
"What if she dies, Chuck? And those were the last things I said to her?" She asked, fighting back tears. She didn't want to have yet another breakdown before she even heard the potentially bad news.
Sensing this, Chuck let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Blair let out a shaky breath before she rested her head against him.
"Blair, look. You and Serena have been best friends forever. And no matter what happened between you two, she always loved you and you always loved her. That's all that matters."
Blair swallowed, and let his words wash over her. She then reached over and grabbed his free hand in both of hers and began to play with his fingers. "You honestly believe that?"
He pulled her closer. "You're a good friend, Blair.. and Serena has always known that. Trust me. Everything will be alright."
She looked up at him finally, as he said this, drawn in completely by his dark eyes…. practically hypnotized by their depths. She knew she loved him. She loved him so much.
And it was so easy to remember why she had fallen in love with him in the first place when he was like this. She hadn't meant to do it, but it had been inevitable from the day he had first shown her this side of him. This good and thoughtful side that was always her light in the dark…her rock to lean against…her shoulder to cry on.
She swallowed, overwhelmed by the emotions flooding her. "Chuck…." She began, the two of them staring deep into each others eyes.. .
"Eric, Blair, Charles!" Lily's voice suddenly called out, jolting Blair out of that moment where time had seemed to stop.
Remembering once again why they were here (and the fact that they weren't the only two people in the world) Blair sprang up out of her followed by a slower moving Chuck. They, along with Eric, headed across the room.
"Lily, is she alright?" Blair asked nervous doe eyes.
Lily answered with a small smile. "The nurse assured me she was going to be just fine."
Blair let out a loud breathe of relief and could feel Chuck slipped his arm across her back.
"Can we see her?" Eric cut in happily.
"Apparently she's still sleeping, but family is allowed to visit. And oh, she did suffer from an allergic reaction and the nurse told me the name of every drug they needed to use to revitalize her…." Lily shook her head in annoyance. "But all that matters is she's expected to awake very soon and make a quick and full recovery."
"Can we go see her now?" Eric asked eagerly.
"Yes of course…" Lily and him became to walk away until they noticed neither Blair nor Chuck had took a step forward.
"Come on you two." She waved them over. "You both are family, despite the results a blood test may give me."
While she walked away, obviously expecting them to follow Blair looked up to see Chuck staring down at her with concern in his eye.
"Are you ready for this?"
Blair look at him closely, once again feeling that wave of assurance and comfort he, and he alone, gave her. Taking a deep breathe, she lifted her chin proudly and nodded. "I'm ready."
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Ok, well…I think it's pretty safe to say that from now on there will be a Chuck and Blair scene in basically every chapter since things are finally picking up between them.
This story has proven to be just so much longer than I thought it would be so thank you all who have been sticking by it and reading it faithfully…especially those who have been reviewing. I love you guys so much!