AN: I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to post anything since Sunday! I was really busy Monday and I still had to finish this chapter and then post it. To make up for it, get ready for an insanely long chapter. Well not insanely, but compared to last chapter it is. I hope you'll like it! Maybe thank me with a review?

Chapter 11

Dan

"Hey," Dan said weakly as he finally walked in to Blair's hospital room to see her.

"Hey," Blair, said, equally weak.

Dan sat down next to her bed. "I'm not even going to bother asking if you're okay, because I know you're not."

Blair breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I've gotten really tired of people asking that over the past couple of days."

"I heard you saw Chuck," Dan said slowly. "How did that go?"

Blair looked at him. "It went alright."

"I heard about….his condition, and I'm sorry."

"Me too." Blair looked down at her hands for a moment, then looked back at Dan. "Can I tell you something? Something I haven't told anyone?"

"Of course," Dan responded, surprised.

"I made a deal with God," Blair said. "For Chuck's life."

There was silence.

"You what?" Dan asked.

"I made a deal. I told Him that I made a mistake. I cheated on Chuck. I took Louis' child away from him. Maybe I deserved to be punished, but Chuck didn't. So I made a deal for his life. I promised to marry Louis in return for Chuck waking up."

Dan looked at her in disbelief. "That's ridiculous, Blair, and you know it. None of you deserve to be punished. You're just two people who love each other who have finally found your way to each other."

Blair shook her head.

"You're being unreasonable," Dan continued.

"You're being closed-minded," Blair retaliated. "You don't understand. But I didn't think you would. I just needed to talk to someone about it. What happened was fate, and this is the only way I can fix it."

"It wasn't fate, Blair. Someone-" But Dan stopped mid-sentence.

He wanted so badly to tell her that this was a mistake, and that the accident wasn't caused by fate at all but someone who had a grudge against her and Chuck and wanted them dead, but he realized just before he said it how bad it sounded. He didn't want to scare her, especially in her state. The doctors had warned all of them not to upset her, and Nate had insisted that he keep quiet about the murder plot around her. But Nate had also said that it wasn't true, and Dan didn't agree with him about that. But maybe he was right about this. He only wanted to Blair to recover and get better, and if telling her the truth would stop this, then he had to lie to her. He had protected her from the truth before, refraining from telling her his feelings for her because he knew it would further conflict her, and he would do it again now. She didn't need more worry. She didn't need the truth. She needed support. So Dan would stay quiet….for now. At least until she got better. He wasn't about to put her life or the life of her baby in jeopardy. Their lives and health, along with Chuck's, were top priority right now, and the truth could wait. Dan would just have to find some other way to protect her.

"Dan, it doesn't matter what you say," Blair said. "I've made up my mind, and it's done anyways."

Dan nodded absentmindedly, but he was still deep in thought. Maybe Blair couldn't protect herself when she didn't even know she needed protection, and maybe Dan couldn't completely protect her, since he was only one man, but Dan knew someone who could protect her completely…

Ivy

"Ivy Dickens?" Ivy heard, and her head whipped up. It was strange to hear herself called by her real name, but it was also a little bit of a relief.

"Yes?" Ivy answered.

"You're free to go," the police officer said, opening the door to the jail cell.

"What? Were the charges dropped?"

"You're out on bail until your trial," he explained.

"Oh," Ivy said, realizing what was going on as he led her to Georgina. "Thanks for coming," she said gratefully to her.

Georgina nodded.

"Ms. Dickens," the officer said. "We'd like to ask you a few questions before you go."

"What now?" Ivy asked, her heart sinking.

"They're about your friend, Mr. Archibald."

Ivy sighed. "Fine," she said, allowing him to lead her away to a table. She gestured for Georgina to follow. That way she could hear what was going on now without Ivy having to explain it.

"Mr. Archibald doesn't want to meet with us," he started. "And Mr. Bass and Ms. Waldorf aren't able to while they're in the hospital."

Georgina's eyebrows shot up. "Chuck and Blair are in the hospital?" she asked. "Why?"

"Someone took out the brake fluid in their limo, causing a possibly fatal crash," the officer explained before Ivy could.

"Who?" Georgina asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Ivy responded.

"Is Charlie a suspect?" Georgina asked, and Ivy felt her heart drop again as she realized that maybe Georgina was right, and this questioning wasn't as innocent as it seemed.

"No, we just have a few questions to ask your friend Ivy. And we've already confirmed that she was either at the party or at the Van der Woodsen penthouse when the car was tampered with."

"Ivy?" Georgina asked. "I'm confused."

"I'll explain later," Ivy muttered. "So, what are your questions?"

"Do you know anyone who may have had a grudge against Mr. Bass and Ms. Waldorf? Or anyone with a history of violent thoughts or actions who knew them?"

Ivy shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Did you see anyone suspicious beforehand?"

"Maybe."

"Ms. Dickens, please take this seriously," the police officer said, exasperated. "I'm trying to solve a murder investigation here. Your friends and family are in danger."

"Well, they're not really my friends and family, according to you," Ivy said bitterly. She did care about these people, but she wasn't in the mood to help the man who had put her behind bars.

"Ms. Dickens, if there's anything you know, it's your responsibility to tell us," the cop insisted.

Ivy shrugged again. "I might remember more if I didn't have all these charges against me to worry about."

The officer stared at her for a moment. "Very well," he said finally. "You may go. We'll be in touch with the date of your trial."

Ivy and Georgina stood up.

"Did you reach the Van der Woodsens yet?" Ivy couldn't help but ask.

"Not yet, but it won't be long before they do. I wouldn't recommend going back there to stay."

"This investigation, it's important, isn't it?" Ivy asked, thinking quickly.

"Very."

"That trust fund belonged to the Rhodes family, which includes Carol Rhodes. Carol gave me access to the trust fund. What I did isn't all that bad. I'll relinquish control of the trust and return or sell anything I've bought with the money."

The police officer was shaking his head. "Save it for the trial," he said.

"Once I've done that," Ivy continued, "my head may be a little clearer, and maybe I'll remember something about that night."

The cop looked up. "Do you know something?"

"I'm an actress. I know how to lie and hot to deceive people. And I'm very highly regarded on the Upper East Side. People trust me. I can find out more than you can. People will always be hiding things from you. But what they'll never tell you I can easily get them to tell me. I may have a lead on who tried to hurt them, and if I'm wrong, it won't be hard to figure out who did. I can be very persuasive. But none of this will work if they don't trust me. If they find out who I am. None of this will work if you call the Van der Woodsens."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm assuming you're in charge of this investigation. No one's dead yet, but there's a killer on the loose. If you fail to catch this killer in time when you've been looking for him for a while, that's not going to look great for you. The Bass, Van der Woodsen, and Waldorf names are very prominent in this city, and if you don't solve this, you could lose your job and your whole reputation. Let me help you, and you won't have to worry about that."

The policeman looked conflicted.

"You wouldn't have to do anything illegal," Ivy added quickly. "You're not setting me free. I'm only out on bail. Just don't release my story or call the Van der Woodsens until after my trial, when it's decided whether I really deserve it or not. You're just hiring me as a sort of volunteer undercover cop until then."

The cop thought for a moment. "I won't call the Van der Woodsens or sell your story for the time being," he said. "I wasn't going to release the story yet anyways, and I've been having trouble reaching the Van der Woodsens anyways. Otherwise I wouldn't agree to this. But I can't let you handle a murderer on your own. Who is your lead? If you're right, maybe I'll consider keeping your story private for longer."

Ivy smiled and quickly explained who Max was and why he may have tried to kill them. "I hope that helps," she said when she was done. "Meanwhile, I'll question their friends and family and see if I can get anything out of them."

The cop nodded, seeming unsure whether he was making the right decision or not.

"Relax," Ivy smiled. "Nothing's changed. You just decided a call you were going to make can wait. It's no big deal."

She turned and left, walking out of the building with Georgina by her side.

"That….was…amazing!" Georgina exclaimed. "I guess you're not as much of an amateur as I thought you were. Now, tell me about this Ivy thing. Who are you really? What, did you pretend to be Charlie Rhodes so you could get her trust fund?"

Ivy looked down.

"You did? Wow, I was kidding," Georgina said.

"I was hired by Carol, Charlie's mom," Ivy explained. "She was in on the whole thing too. She was the one who wanted the trust fund, not me. Last spring, she wanted it to look like I had gone crazy by going off my meds so that I would have a reason to leave the city and never come back."

"But you're back," Georgina pointed out.

"Serena ran into me in L.A. this summer and basically forced me to go back with her. Now I live at the Van der Woodsen penthouse. I know I can leave anytime I want, but I like it too much here. I didn't think I'd ever be found out."

"And how did you get found out?" Georgina asked curiously.

"I don't know," Ivy answered slowly, realizing that she hadn't thought about this as much as she should of. Max had said he wasn't going to say anything, and she didn't think he had enough proof anyways. "That's something else we have to find out. In addition to the murder plot."

"I can't believe there's actually a murder plot against Chuck and Blair," Georgina said, shaking her head, "but why do you want to find out so badly? I mean, besides of the fact that it will keep your secret safe, for now at least."

"Because I care about these people," Charlie explained. "And anyways, my secret won't stay a secret forever. When it's found out, and I have to go back, there'll be a least one good thing for the Van der Woodsens to remember about me-that I saved their friends. And same for you. Maybe they won't hate you so much then, like they seem to now." Georgina wasn't mentioned much, but Ivy had heard a few things said about her, and none of them had seemed nice.

"What do I care if they hate me?" Georgina responded. "I just want to be involved in a scheme again, and maybe cause some trouble along the way."

"So you're in?" Charlie asked hopefully. "You'll help me figure this out?"

Georgina grinned. "I'm in," she said.

Louis

Louis was nervously gathering his things together. He still hadn't left for the hospital, and he wasn't positive why. It had taken a while to get to Blair's penthouse, but he had been there for an hour now and still hadn't left. He had meant to gather some of her things to make her more comfortable, but now he worried that might be strange. He knew Blair probably didn't want to see him, and she might be unhappy that he went to her penthouse, even if it was to get her things to make her more comfortable.

He heard the elevator ping and looked up, sure it must be Serena coming home, but instead saw someone else.

"Dan?" Louis asked.

"Hey," Dan responded, stepping out of the elevator. "Uh, I have something to talk to you about. It's about Blair."

"What about her? Is she alright?" Louis asked worriedly.

"She's fine," Dan said quickly. "Well, no, actually, she isn't. But she's not going to die….well, she might, but not from this."

"What are you talking about?" Louis asked.

"There's a plot," Dan started. "A plot against Blair, and….and Chuck."

At the mention of Chuck's name, Louis had to suppress a groan. So Chuck was involved in this too. That was never good.

"Someone is trying to hurt them. Someone did try to hurt them. The brake fluid was taken out of their car in an effort to kill them."

"To kill them?" Louis asked incredulously. They were in the same car together? he thought at the same time.

Dan nodded. "Nate seems to think there's been a misunderstanding and that's not what happened, but I get the feeling he's lying to me. I think that Blair needs to be protected, just in case."

"Of course," Louis agreed.

"But I can't give her much protection. Not like you can. You're her fiancée."

"I'm not sure if I am anymore," Louis sighed.

"You are," Dan assured him. "The point is, she needs royal level protection. I need you to keep a close eye on her. Escort her places. Don't let her go out alone, especially at night. Keep your security watching her and looking out for her. And make sure that she doesn't notice. Just tell her you want to make sure she's okay, if she asks why you've been going with her everywhere. But she can't know about this plot. She'll freak out, which would be bad for her condition and recovery."

Louis nodded, worried about what her condition was exactly and deciding that it was definitely time to go to the hospital.

"I should go," Dan said. "But…thanks."

"For what?"

"For understanding how important this is," Dan said quietly, and got back into the elevator.

Louis wasn't so sure Dan was right about Blair still wanting to marry him, but he was definitely right about Blair needing protection. And even if he didn't know what was going on with their relationship, or even what to say to her when he saw her, he knew he had to protect her no matter what. He loved her, and he wasn't ever going to let anything bad happen to her. He would protect her. He just hoped it would be enough.

Blair

"Blair bear!" Harold exclaimed as he rushed into the room with Roman, Cyrus, and Eleanor right behind him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Blair said, trying to hide how upset she was from her family.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Eleanor told her daughter, sitting down next to her. "Of course you're not."

"You don't have to put on a brave face for us, Blair bear," Harold said gently, sitting down on the other side of her. Cyrus and Roman went to stand next to Eleanor and Harold, respectively.

"I'm not," Blair insisted. "I'm okay."

"What about the b-" Harold started, but Eleanor shushed him.

"I don't know. There's been no news since they said they were monitoring it," Blair said, knowing what he father was going to say.

"Well, no news is good news, right?" Harold said encouragingly, but Blair didn't agree.

"I'm so sorry," Cyrus said, "that you have to go through this. You and your baby are in all of our prayers."

Blair could only nod. She was reminded of her own prayer. She didn't need to be in their prayers; Chuck and her baby were the ones who needed prayers.

"Where is Louis?" Roman asked.

"Right here," came a voice from the doorway, and they all turned to see Louis walking in. "I'm sorry it took so long to get here."

"It's okay," Blair answered. Blair's family stared at Louis for a moment.

"I'm going to go get some coffee," Cyrus said, "and leave you two alone for a bit."

"I'll go with you," Eleanor said quickly.

"We'll be back soon, sweetheart," Harold said, following Eleanor and Cyrus out with Roman.

Blair watched them go and hardly noticed as Louis sat down next to her.

"How are you?" he asked.

Blair thought for a moment. She definitely wasn't fine, but she didn't want to say that. "I'm alive," she settled for saying.

"And the baby?"

"They don't know yet…but the odds aren't great…" She looked away before she could see his reaction. She didn't want to have to see his pain. Her own pain was too much to bear already. And besides, she had been planning on taking this baby from him not too long ago. She was too ashamed. She couldn't even look her own fiancée in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Blair."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Blair said. "It's me who should be sorry. It was my responsibility to take care of our baby, and I failed it. I failed you."

"The car accident was not your fault, Blair," Louis said so gently that Blair felt her heart clench with guilt again. "I don't blame you for it. No one does."

"I do," Blair whispered. "It's all my fault. Everything is."

"Of course it isn't. Don't beat yourself up about it. I hate to see you upset. And you're not going to get any better if you continue to blame yourself."

"I can't help it."

"Please, Blair. I love you. I only want you to get better."

Blair felt so awful that she wanted to cry. Why did he have to be so sweet? Why couldn't he be angry and blame her for everything? It would all be so much easier if he did. She would feel that at least someone was being honest with her, then. And she wouldn't feel so guilty for everything. How could she have cheated on a man who was so caring and who loved her, who was the father of her child? How could she have been so awful to him?

"Are you angry with me, for what I did before your party?" Louis asked. "I'm very sorry, Blair."

"I know, and I'm not still mad," Blair said. "I'm over it. Recent events have showed me how important our relationship is. Something as trivial as Gossip Girl blasts aren't important compared to our baby, and our love."

Louis let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear it. You're not getting cold feet, then?"

"No, of course not," Blair assured him.

Louis smiled. "Then all we need to worry about is getting you and our baby healthy again."

Blair tried to smile back. "Looks like it," she said.

How could he be so clueless? How could he be forgetting about the other cause for worry? Did he even know that Chuck was in a coma? Did he know that someone could die? He didn't understand the fear she felt at losing Chuck. Even if he didn't think she was in love with Chuck, he must know that he meant something to her. How could he be so insensitive about that?

All she needed to worry about was everything. Her whole world was falling apart. Without Chuck, everything seemed dark and dreary. She was lost without him. She could survive without him if he woke up, but with him gone from the world forever, Blair wasn't sure how she could ever recover.

Death had spared Chuck before. He had come close to death, many times, but people had always pulled him back. Why couldn't he be pulled back now? Death had played a twisted game with him, pushing him away at bad times and letting him think he was safe and then finally pulling him in when all his dreams had come true. Why couldn't he just let Chuck go?

She was terrified of losing him. She had gone through this fear before, but it didn't make it any easier now. She could remember clearly him standing on the edge of a building not long after his father had died. She remembered him almost falling when she had gotten there with Jack. She remembered holding out her hand and fearing that he wouldn't take it. And she remembered holding him and promising herself that she would never let him go. She remembered hearing Serena and the French policeman tell her that Chuck had been shot. She remembered clutching Chuck in front of Russell, worrying that they were all going to be killed. And she certainly remembered Serena telling her that Chuck had lost a lot of blood and that it wasn't looking good.

And she remembered a time long ago…

"Let's jump," Chuck said, a grin growing on his face.

"Are you kidding me? We'll drown!"

"It's not that high," Chuck smirked.

"I'll ruin my dress," Blair said prissily. "And it's from my mother."

Chuck rolled his eyes. "You're such a chicken."

"Am not," Blair insisted. "I'm just enjoying a nice day with my friends. I don't want to ruin it by getting all wet and gross for now reason."

"It'll be fun!"

Blair shook her head vigorously. "It's dangerous. Didn't your father tell you just yesterday to be careful on the bridge? You're not a very good swimmer."

"Shut up," Chuck said as she giggled. "I can swim fine. And I don't care what my father says."

"Oh, really?" Blair asked, raising her eyebrows. "Yes, father. Of course, your majesty. Anything for you, your highness," she mimicked, bowing.

Chuck glared at her. "I do not sound like that," he said. "And I don't say that, either."

"Close enough," Blair shrugged.

"You're trying to change the subject," Chuck said.

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea to jump. I agree with your father."

"I already told you, I don't care what he thinks. And I don't care what you think, either."

"Fine," Blair shrugged, getting annoyed with him. "Then jump. See if I care."

"You're missing out," Chuck taunted her, climbing over the side of the bridge to be on the outside.

"I'm only missing out on getting mud on my dress," Blair said, but she was growing increasingly nervous. "Chuck, don't jump," she said suddenly.

He looked up. "Why?"

"Because, I…I don't want you to get hurt."

"Relax, I'll be fine," Chuck said. "Anyways, how're you gonna stop me? Are you going to tell on me?"

"I'm not a tattletale." Blair said, offended.

"I didn't think so. Last chance to join me."

"Why should I?"

"I bet it will impress Nate," Chuck pointed out. Blair followed his gaze to where Nate and Serena were chasing each other on the grass. "Then maybe he'll finally like you better than Serena."

Blair stared at him for a moment. "You don't know what you're talking about," she said quietly.

"Of course I do. I've seen the way you look at him. But I've also seen the way he looks at Serena. She just loves taking what's yours, doesn't she?"

Blair glared at him. "Go, then," she said. "And leave me alone. Just remember, when you're drowning, and you realize I was right, I won't be there to save you."

"Like I would need saving from a girl," Chuck scoffed. "It's just a river. It's not a field of knives."

"It may as well be, for someone who can't swim."

"I told you, I can swim fine!" Chuck said, getting angry.

"Then prove it," Blair said. "Go ahead and jump. You're not going to do it, are you? You're the one who's too scared. You're a coward. You-Chuck!" she shouted as he jumped off.

She hadn't thought he was actually going to do it. Chuck was reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He knew it was dangerous. And she knew, no matter how much he tried to deny it, that he cared about what his father thought. And his father had told him not to do this.

Blair watched the water anxiously after Chuck fell in. Her eyes searched the surface for any sign of someone swimming towards the surface, but she couldn't see any.

Her heart beating fast, she ran down the bridge and down the path leading up to it.

"Mr. Bass!" she shouted. "MR. BASS?"

Nate stopped his chase and started to walk towards her. Blair didn't see where Serena was. She ran to Chuck's father and began tugging at his arm.

"Mr. Bass, please, it's Chuck, he jumped in the water, and-"

"He what?" Bart finally looked away from his conversation to say, then looked at the water.

An expression of complete panic overtook his face and he shook Blair off and raced towards to river. Blair had never seen Bart Bass look that that, or run like that, and was pretty sure she never would again.

Blair watched him worriedly until she noticed Nate behind her.

"Natie," she said, hugging him as she cried. What was going to happen to Chuck? Serena watched the river open-mouthed behind them.

They all watched the river for a few tense moments, until finally they saw the surface break and Bart help Chuck ashore.

Bart helped Chuck up and then started to yell at him. Blair couldn't hear what they were saying, but Bart looked scary. Chuck looked down and didn't say a word. Finally, he nodded, and Bart walked away.

Chuck marched up to Blair.

"Are you okay?" Blair asked, concerned.

"Did you tell him?" he demanded.

"What?" Blair asked, confused.

"Were you the one who told my father?"

Blair nodded. Chuck glared at her, turned around and started walking away.

"Chuck, wait!" Blair called, running after him. By the time she caught up with him, they were far away from Nate and Serena.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly as she reached him.

"Leave me alone," Chuck said.

"But-"

"Did you have to go tell my father?" Chuck said, whipping around. "I thought you said you weren't a tattletale."

"I was worried," Blair said. Was he actually angry at her for saving his life?

"I wasn't going to drown, I was fine. It takes more than two seconds to swim up from the bottom."

"I was only trying to-"

"I don't need you to take care of me. I can take care of myself."

"It didn't look like it," Blair said.

"Well, I can!"

"I'm sorry," Blair said, in tears again. "I was just worried about you! I care about you, and-"

"You don't care about me," Chuck said angrily. "Not the way you care about Nate."

Blair was left speechless as he stormed off. What had he meant by that?

"Chuck, wait!" she called and ran after him. "What does that mean?" she asked, grabbing his arm.

"Nothing. Just don't act like you care about me."

"We're friends, of course I do!"

"Real friends don't rat their friends out."

"They do when they think their friends are in trouble! If I hadn't told your father, we wouldn't be having this conversation now, because you'd still be in the river."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. And in case you didn't notice, I chose to hang out with you on the bridge today instead of with Nate and Serena in the grass. So don't you dare say I don't care about you."

Chuck didn't say anything. He looked embarrassed. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. Finally, he nodded and walked away.

Blair let him go. When she saw him again that night he acted like the whole thing had never happened, and Blair did too.

She had never mentioned it to him again, and had never really thought about it again until now. It seemed he might have had a crush on her all the way back then, though she doubted it had lasted long.

Who would have thought, then, that this would all become so tragic someday? Who would have thought that crush and that moment of danger would transform into love and death?

All the times Chuck had been near death made her feel sick. She had come close to losing him far too many times for her liking.

He had grown so much-why did he need to be knocked down now? He had so much to live for….why should he have to fight for that when he had spent his whole life fighting; fighting for Blair, fighting Nate, fighting his father's disappointment?

Blair was tired of fighting, and she hadn't fought nearly as hard as Chuck had in his life. Would he still have energy to fight for his own life?

"What are you thinking about?" Louis asked, and Blair jumped. She had forgotten he was there.

"Nothing," Blair said. "I'm just tired."

"I'm sure you are," Louis said. "Why don't you get some rest?"

Blair knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, but she had to pretend to if she wanted Louis to believe that she was okay. And she couldn't stand to talk to him any more for the day. It made her feel too guilty. So she closed her eyes and hoped that by the time she opened her eyes again, Chuck would have opened his too.

AN: Sorry if it didn't seem like they were 8 in the memory, I had trouble with that…so let's just say they were young and not a set age.

Did anyone think the episode last night was kinda weird? The writing at times felt a little awkward. But the scene at the end with Chuck and Blair was so sad! The whole episode was sad.

Thanks for…

Reviewing: Liya, jenny (to respond to your review: haha I guess not, I haven't seen it either), Rosie, Immortalrunes, and Italiapen112

Story Alert: theghostqueen, Italiapen112, and lovingmealways

Please review! Let me know what you thought about this chapter and last night's episode.