Last time in the Bassverse: Chuck felt that he and Blair were growing closer after he spent the night at her place and was introduced to Dorota. When he invited her to a special dinner where he would receive the International Business Award, however, Blair turned him down flat. He kept trying to change her mind, and she finally decided to go…with someone else.

Chuck delivered the acceptance speech for his International Business Award on autopilot. The chilling numbness that had descended on him upon seeing Blair there with another man left him seemingly unaffected.

Of course he appeared cool under pressure; he was Chuck Bass.

But inwardly he seethed.

He'd thought the most damage Blair could do was refusing to be his date. And he'd been wrong: it was a thousand times worse to see that she had rejected him but accepted someone else.

His eyes flickered over the new guy. Late 20s. Tall, with a rangy, athletic body. Dark blond hair slicked back. His eyebrows were dark and dramatic and a bit overwide, but they brought attention to the vivid blue of his eyes and contrasted with the symmetry of his facial features. The grey suit was well tailored if not fashion forward. The distracted expression on his face indicated that he posed no competition for Einstein.

Great, Blair was dating an underwear model.

In fact, he looked familiar to Chuck somehow….

Unlike her escort, Blair was hanging on Chuck's every word. She laughed at his witticisms, gave him encouraging smiles and applauded with abandon at the conclusion of his remarks.

And every laugh, every smile, every clap made him that much more furious.

When an impromptu line formed to congratulate Chuck, there she was, with the mindless mannequin in tow. There was a lengthy wait, so Chuck set about charming his 'fans' while taking random glances at Blair and her date.

A blonde gave Chuck her phone number. Blair's smile faded a bit.

A brunette gave him her hotel key. Blair frowned.

A well-endowed redhead leaned over and 'accidentally' gave Chuck an excellent view of her assets. Blair's eyes narrowed and her mouth compressed in a firm line.

It appeared that being an award recipient was a powerful aphrodisiac. Chuck just smiled wider, even though this made him angriest of all. Blair had started this by turning him down and bringing her own date; she had no right to complain if other women did want to be with him.

And he was going to tell her so when she got to the front of line. He was going to show her just as how much he did not care about her date and whatever underwear he was modeling. He would…

And then there she was in front of him, slipping her hand into his to shake and smiling up at him.

The butterflies swarmed and there was a buzzing in his head and his stomach. He took her hand, kissed it and said, "Good evening," in his most seductive voice. The best laid plans…had just gone out the window.

"Oh, Chuck, congratulations on your award. I'm so proud of you. I want you to meet -." Her final words were obscured by a loud bray of laughter from the raucous redhead who'd been flirting with Chuck earlier and had evidently found new prey.

"I don't need to meet your date." The silk in his voice had turned to cold steel.

She frowned, confused. "He's not my date…," she tried to explain.

"Nice to finally meet you, man. Congratulations." Underwear Model thrust out his hand to Chuck.

Chuck simply stared at it for a second.

"Chuck, this is Nate…Nathaniel Archibald." Surely he had to know who Nate was from the dossier.

Recognition dawned. Nathaniel. Her first love, her first lover, now her best friend's husband. Chuck extended his own hand and the two shook.

"I'm not here as her date," Nate echoed Blair's claim. "I'm here because she begged me to take her so she could see you get your award," he grinned, then groaned as a glaring Blair jabbed him in the ribs. "I'm actually a very happily married man."

"Nate!" A heavily pregnant Cinderella came rushing into the ballroom and up to their party.

"Ah, here's my lovely wife now." A wide smile spread across his face, before a concerned look overshadowed it. "Serena, I thought you were supposed to be lying down this evening. We agreed you would rest."

The blonde blushed. "I know, but we always come to this event together, Natie. When I saw you and Blair all dressed up to go, I just couldn't stay home."

"Where's Cassie?" Blair asked. "She's their daughter. She's two," she explained to Chuck as an aside.

"She's with Nate's mother. I thought I was never going to get here." She seemed to notice Chuck for the first time and held out her hand. "You must be Blair's friend. I'm so sorry I missed you receiving your award."

He took her outstretched hand. "Thank you, Mrs. Archibald."

"Please, call me Serena. Any friend of Blair's is a friend of mine." She laughed and it sounded like a little girl's giggle.

"I am indeed fortunate to call Blair my friend," Chuck smiled at Blair.

"Perhaps more than a friend," Serena suggested coyly, "judging by the way you two are looking at each other?"

"Serena!" Blair scolded, forcing herself to look away from Chuck.

"Uh-oh, I'm in trouble," her friend sing-songed. "Nate, take me to the dance floor and save me from the wrath of Blair."

"Careful, she got me in the ribs earlier," Nate warned.

"Well, she'd have to find mine first," Serena ran a protective hand over her ample baby bump and she and her husband wandered off to share a slow dance.

Now it was just Blair and Chuck.

"So those are your friends?"

"Mm-hmm." Blair couldn't subdue her proud smile.

Chuck cut to the chase. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I had made up my mind that I wasn't."

"What changed it?"

"This is important to you. If it's important to you, it's important to me. 3 words, 8 letters."

"I'm glad you came, though I didn't particularly like seeing you on Archibald's arm." That was the understatement of the decade.

"I didn't particularly like seeing Jenny on yours," she reminded him. "Besides, my arm is free now."

"Then maybe I should take it and we should have a dance. Would a dance be permissible?"

"One dance wouldn't hurt." She linked her arm with his.

"Mr. Bass, Mr. Bass!" The excitable photographer for the event needed Chuck for some official photos.

"Will you excuse me?"

"Perhaps the lady…?"

Blair was being invited to join in the photos, but she shook her head.

Chuck understood, but he couldn't help but press his luck a bit further. "Just one? Just for us?"

He was looking at her again, and she couldn't resist. "Just for us," she relented.

He told the photographer to snap one of them together, not to be published, and the woman complied, somewhat sad that she would not be able to share what she was sure would be an excellent shot of such an attractive couple against the romantic backdrop of the ballroom.

After a couple of photos with the awards committee, Chuck was free for his dance with Blair. Finally, for the first time that evening, everything felt right.

At least it did until Blair whispered in his ear: "Chuck, you need to go dance with Serena."

"What? Our dance isn't over yet. Besides," he looked over at Serena and Nate dancing and giggling over some private joke, "she looks perfectly happy with her dance partner, as I am with mine." His arms tightened around her waist.

Blair's eyes fluttered closed and she sighed. "Chuck, you know I would love to dance with you all night. And hold your hand. And be your date." She took a breath and steeled herself for her next words. "But that can't happen until the case is resolved."

Chuck didn't say anything. He merely let her go and went to dance with Serena.

Nate immediately came over to be her partner, but Blair felt uncomfortable. Had he always been this tall? And why did she feel cold now? She looked over at Chuck with Serena. He was smiling at something she'd said.

Blair saw red…and green. How dare Serena stand there making him smile at her? She was probably casting her Serena spell on him. No man could resist that. Blair had thought her powers might be dimmed by not being able to see her feet, but apparently not. Of all the men her best friend could effortlessly enchant, why did it have to be Chuck? Without thinking, she glared.

As if he could feel her eyes, Chuck looked back…and the Basstard winked at her.

She couldn't control it. She couldn't control her eyes lighting up. She couldn't control her lips curving into a little smile. Worst of all, she couldn't control the fluttery feeling that started in her stomach and seemed to go all through her.

Nate said something that Blair couldn't quite make out. She returned her eyes to her own partner. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said," Nate repeated patiently, "that you really like this guy, don't you?"

Blair's anger came back in a surge. "What if I do? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." He gave her an indulgent grin. "It's just nice to see you happy for once."

"You act like I've never been happy before."

"Have you really? Deep down?"

Blair didn't say anything.

"You know, they say that someone will eventually come along who will make you see why it didn't work with anyone else."

Blair rolled her eyes and looked away. "Get out of my head, Archibald!"

"Hey, I'll be happy to go back and dance with my wife. Bass is over there trying to charm her."

Blair laughed at that. "Poor Nate, are you feeling outBassed?"

They looked over at the other couple just in time to see Serena cry out and double over in pain. Nate and Blair were at her side in an instant.

"I—I think I need to go to the hospital now," Serena announced. "I think I may be having our baby tonight," she turned worried eyes to Nate.

"Serena, you can't be! The baby's not due for another three weeks."

Serena winced.

"I don't think the baby cares about your timetable, Nate," Blair interjected. "Serena, did you take your town car?"

The blonde shook her head. "I was in a hurry. I just hailed a cab."

Chuck already had his phone. "I'll call Arthur to bring the limo around."

Blair and Serena beamed at him gratefully.

"Are you sure, man? I don't want to leave you stranded; this is your award dinner."

"It's fine. I'll come with you. Serena, do you feel you can make it to the door?"

"I'll help her." Nate put an arm around his wife.

"I'll take her other arm." Despite the incongruity of the situation, Chuck managed to make it look like he was escorting a debutante to her debut.

"I'll get your award." There was really nothing else for Blair to do.

Cameras started clicking as the quartet exited the building.

"Oh, great," Nate muttered, "This will be all over the eleven o'clock news."

"Please, your grandfather will love it. It's good press," Blair pointed out.

"True," he sighed.

"Nate's grandfather expects him to run for Congress in a couple of years," she explained to Chuck.

After a bit of maneuvering, they managed to get Serena into the back seat of the limo.

"I can't believe this is happening." Nate was still in shock.

"I can't believe you left her alone tonight," Chuck scolded. "What if she'd gone into labor in the cab on the way here, by herself?"

"I didn't want to!" Nate tried to defend myself. "But Blair just had to see you get your award. Have you ever tried saying no to her?"

"Point taken." Chuck had to concede the argument to Nate. "Can I get you some water, Serena?" He was already reaching into the mini-fridge.

"Seriously, thanks for all your help." Nate was grateful. "We'll have to go out for drinks or have you over for dinner."

"It was my pleasure," Chuck said automatically.

"I'm sure there must be more pleasurable things Mr. Bass, er, Chuck could be doing right now," Serena said between sips of water.

Chuck's eyes met Blair's and held. "Believe me, right now I'm exactly where I want to be."

The limo pulled up to the curb at Lenox Hill Hospital. Nate leaped out to get an orderly with a wheelchair for Serena, who was busy thanking Chuck again for the use of his limo.

"It is a sacred space," he admitted with a glance at Blair, "but I'm glad to be of service." He and Blair remained in the limo while Serena was transported to the admissions area.

When they entered the admissions waiting area a few minutes later, they were shocked to see Serena doubled over in pain and Nate practically pulling his hair out in frustration.

"What's going on?" Blair demanded.

"Apparently it's a very busy night for babies, because there are currently no available beds in the maternity ward and we don't know when one will free up. In the meantime, her contractions are getting worse."

As if on cue, Serena cried out in pain.

"Well, I'll call Arthur and we'll go to another hospital." Chuck was nothing if not practical.

"No!" Serena protested. "I was born here. So was Blair. Beyonce gave birth here." She said it as if that explained everything.

Chuck resisted the urge to smile. "I'll go talk to someone. Excuse me."

Within minutes, he was back, along with an orderly to push Serena to a private room.

Blair raised her eyebrows at Chuck. "What did you do?"

"Funded a new floor of birthing suites and a lab for it. It won't help today, but in the future…."

"Chuck, you didn't have to do that." She squeezed his arm.

He shrugged. "It's all taken care of now. Do you want to go home?"

She shook her head. "I want to be sure the baby's delivered safely first, but you can go." She flashed him a concerned look. "I know you're not comfortable here."

He was startled. He thought he'd kept it well hidden. "How…?"

"I know you, Bass. I could you feel tensing up on the ride over here, and right now your jaw is so tight…." She reached up to caress the jawline in question.

He sighed. "My mother…." He didn't even know how to explain.

But he didn't have to.

"I know," she said softly. His mother had died giving birth and his father had died in the hospital following a car accident. "So I understand. I'll be fine, really."

"I want to stay."

God, he could be stubborn. "Why? You only met Serena and Nate tonight."

"True, but they are important to you. And what's important to you is important to me," he echoed her words from earlier in the evening.

She just looked up at him with those enormous eyes. "Thank you."

"We should get comfortable; we may be here a while." He sat on a small sofa and made room for her.

Blair shivered a bit as she settled in against him.

"Are you cold?" He took off his tuxedo jacket and wrapped it around her. "Better?"

"Mm hmm." The warmth of the garment surrounded her. It smelled like him: fine quality fabric and his own natural musk. She found it reassuring. Her eyelids drifted closed.

Chuck could feel her becoming relaxed and drowsy in his arms. He pulled her closer. He should just let her fall asleep, but a burning question demanded to be answered: "Blair, how are you doing with this? I know plenty of women are friends with their exes, but to see another woman, your best friend even, living the life you once pictured…?"

She was wide awake then. "The keyword in that sentence is 'once,' Chuck. A long time ago. It was always a better dream than a reality. I was never truly happy with Nate, and he wasn't with me. I'm glad he could recognize that and admit it. I was so stubbornly clinging to my fairy tale fantasy, I don't know that I could've been smart enough to let him go otherwise."

"He was a fool to let you go."

"You've seen Serena."

"My opinion remains unchanged, charming though Mrs. Archibald may be."

She smiled then and gave him a light kiss.

"I'm glad I'm not upstairs having Nate's baby or in a palace in Monaco. Because then I wouldn't be here right now with you."

The kiss was deeper this time.

"Blair," he rested his forehead against hers, "I'm not going to let you go."

"No?" She opened her eyes and searched his face.

"Not for all the naked goddesses in Greek mythology."

"Mr. Bass? Miss Waldorf? The Archibalds are asking for you."

They came awake with a start, separating entwined fingers and uncurling from each other.

"Has the baby been born?" Blair had to know.

"Yes, miss."

"Boy or girl?" She turned to Chuck and confided, "They didn't want to find out early this time. They did with Cassie, and Nate's grandfather was very disappointed she wasn't a boy."

"I'm not allowed to say, miss." The hospital staffer was a stickler for protocol. "But you can go up and see the child yourself."

Even after being in labor for most of the night, Serena still looked radiant as she held the baby up for Blair to take in her arms.

"Meet our son, Christopher Fitzwilliam Archibald," she announced proudly.

"Topher for short," a frazzled looking Nate added.

Blair beamed down at the baby in her arms. "Hello, Topher. I'm your Auntie Blair." She held the swaddled baby up for Chuck to see. "And this is Chuck Bass."

Blair had not exaggerated: Nate and Serena did indeed make blond, beautiful babies. But Chuck couldn't take his eyes off the blissful expression on Blair's face as she cuddled and cooed at the baby before handing him back to his father.

A nurse came in to check on Serena and the baby, indicating that Chuck and Blair's visit should end.

"It feels like we ought to go smoke a cigar in celebration, but that just feels wrong at…," Chuck looked at his watch, "4:37 a.m. We'll have to save that for a later date." He shook Nate's hand and nodded to Serena before he and Blair took their leave.

Blair collapsed into the rear seat of the limo. "What a night!"

"An apt description. Thank you again for coming to the dinner."

"I'd wanted to go since you first asked me. I hated saying no. I knew it was important to you."

"Yes, but you don't fully understand why…and I want to show you. I want to take you to my first business venture. I want you to see it."

"Victrola?"

"Yes, have you ever been there?"

"I haven't had the pleasure."

"I hope you'll find it a pleasure. It's meant to be an escape, a place to be free. Will you escape with me?"

"Of course."

Chuck sent the limo for Blair the following evening, but to her surprise, he wasn't in it.

Blair pressed a button and the partition rolled down. "Arthur, where is Chuck?"

"Mr. Charles said he'd meet you at Victrola, Ms. Waldorf."

"I see. Thank you." The partition went back up.

She was even more surprised when they pulled up to the club on the Lower East Side and it appeared deserted.

Chuck met her on the sidewalk.

"What's going on?"

"We're closed temporarily for renovations, but I wanted you to see it while it still looks like it did back then."

"Refresh my memory, how old were you when you got the club?"

"I was sixteen when I pitched it to my father."

Most kids were just beginning to drive while Chuck was pursuing his dreams of an empire. Naturally.

"So pitch it to me. Impress me, Bass."

"I imagine that, like my father, you would be a tough critic."

"Only one way to find out."

He took her arm and led her inside the club.

"Imagine we're both sixteen," Chuck suggested. "What would you say to me about the place?"

She looked around the dim lobby. "I'd probably make some crack about a strip joint being very Midtown."

"And I'd have to school you on the finer points of a burlesque establishment, how it's meant to be a classy escape."

"I'd probably be here to escape," Blair mused.

"Escape? From your perfect boyfriend?"

"Who has always dreamt about my best friend. Maybe we'd broken up that night."

"And you came straight to me."

"Well, we're friends, right? But maybe Nate is your friend too? Your best friend?"

"Wouldn't stop me. I'd tell you he was an idiot for letting you go."

They walked into the main bar area.

"It's got atmosphere," she observed, looking around at the dimmed lighting, the vintage wallpaper and the lush draperies.

They moved up towards the front of the bar and took their seats next to the stage on an old-fashioned sofa in the VIP area. A small table in front of them had a bucket filled with champagne and two glasses.

Chuck did the honors. "We're supposed to be celebrating that my father said yes. I was never more surprised. Of course he didn't say yes at first. I had to wait for him to change his mind, but I knew it was a winning plan." He handed Blair a glass, then took one for himself.

Their glasses clinked in a toast.

"What changed his mind?"

"Oh, not any special faith in me. Actually, it was my stepmother. She thought it was good to see me interested in a…," his lips twisted in a wry smile, "legitimate pursuit and that I should be given a chance."

"And look at you fourteen years later, winning awards for your business acumen." She raised her glass again.

"I was just so grateful to be given a chance. I was obsessed with this club when it opened. It gave me some necessary focus."

"You're the most focused man I know. I wish your father were here to see it."

"He probably still wouldn't believe it."

There was an awkward silence before he returned to their roleplay.

"You know, as a good friend, I'd have to ask you if you want to talk about the breakup."

"I'd say I felt relieved."

"Did you?"

"Eventually." She took another sip of champagne. "I'd want a distraction. What music is playing? What's going on, on the stage?"

"Something sultry and jazzy is playing, just like now. There was a line of dancers dressed in vintage costumes then. They have moves."

"Hey, I have moves too!"

"There's my little green-eyed monster," he grinned. "I'd be intrigued by this claim of moves from you. I'd tell you to go up there and show me."

"I'd backpedal then."

"I'd dare you. I'd say you're ten times hotter than anyone on the stage."

"You think I'd believe that?!" she scoffed.

"You should; it's true."

"I'd secretly be pleased by the compliment," she admitted in a whisper.

"Well, it's not getting you onstage, so I'll try something else. I'll say I knew you wouldn't do it."

"I can't let you say that. I'd have to prove you wrong. I'd tell you to guard my drink." She sat her champagne flute down and headed for the stage.

And then she danced for him.

First, she removed the pins from her upswept hair.

Then she began to sway in time with the music, never taking her eyes from his, even as she lowered the side zipper on her flapper-style dress. She shimmied out of the dress, wriggling her hips and letting the fringed skirt slide down her legs like a waterfall.

She stepped out of the dress and then there she was, standing on stage in front him, stripped down to a silky little slip.

And she danced for him. True, the bar was empty, but it could've been a full house and they still would've still felt like the only people in the room.

He was completely captivated.

He got to his feet.

He raised his glass in a silent toast to her.

Because she was more than beautiful, more than sexy. She was…amazing.

When she came off the stage, they did not speak. It wasn't until they were in the limo and had pulled away from the curb that she ventured a soft, "Thanks for the lift home."

He turned his head her way. "You were…amazing up there."

"Really? That's all you've got?" She rolled her eyes. "No lines, no witticisms from the great Chuck Bass?"

"I'm under your spell; I can speak only the truth."

She scooted her way across the leather seat, until her face was level with his.

And then she gave him a kiss…that was eagerly returned.

The kiss was brief, but a game changer nonetheless.

"Are you sure?"

"Aren't you making a lot of assumptions from one little kiss? Maybe it's just a kiss?"

"It's you and me—how could it just be one kiss? Besides, I'm not asking how far you want to go. I'm acknowledging that this will change everything and asking if you're prepared for that."

"Who could truly be prepared for that?!"

There were too many questions, but not enough answers. So again he repeated: "Are you sure?"

She answered with a kiss this time. It was deep and sweet. Hungry and pliant. Carnal and innocent. Sinful and sacred.

It was everything.

Because she was everything.

He realized it wasn't about wanting to be Blair's first. What he really wanted was to be her last, the love of her life.

Because she was the love of his life.

He froze as the unbidden thought flashed through his mind.

For a moment, he stopped and stared at her in awe.

He didn't even bother trying to deny it. There was no denying it: he was in love with Blair Waldorf.

Suddenly, it all made sense. There was a name for this crazy cocktail of emotions she elicited from him.

Those doe eyes staring back at him fluttered closed and her lips closed around his full lower one, drawing it into her mouth, teasing it with her tongue and coaxing his own tongue out to play.

Those three words—the ones he hadn't said yet—threatened to spill out. He had no control.

Somehow, in between his stealing a kiss on the sidewalk in front of her building on their first date and now, Blair Waldorf had found and stolen what no one else (least of all himself) believed he had: his heart.

It was the greatest heist of all time.

To Be Continued in Chapter 12

Author's Note:

My apologies this update is a few days late. I broke a tooth and will need a root canal. I'm not looking forward to it. Anyway, mouth pain is not exactly conducive to writing.

Was your guess about Blair's mystery date correct? I hope you were pleased by the reveal.

Beyonce did indeed give birth at Lenox Hill. So did Sarah Jessica Parker. It's a UES thing. Although I don't specify it, I would imagine Chuck and Nate were born there as well.

The NJBC: Well, I got the band back together! Or, in this universe, together for the first time. You can't have a GG universe without the NJBC. True story.

I hope you enjoyed the limo roleplay scene. I wanted to do a new twist on that—and what is more twisty than the discovery that our Chuck is in love. I suspect we are all less shocked than he is about it.

The term "mindless mannequin" was shamelessly stolen from Shrk22 to replace my "dumb jock." She thought Chuck would say/think something more biting, and I had to agree.

Special thanks to my loyal reader-reviewers: Chrys1130, Almaloney33, pianogirl1, vale1103, Kananox, purplebowties, DirekFrancis (I have missed you!), ChuckBlair8 and Klarobass.

To all my readers, thanks for coming on this crazy journey with me and I would love to hear from you.

Xoxo