Another Thursday, another chapter!
First off, thank you for all the lovely reviews, especially those of you who could review because apparently deleting a chapter now does not delete the reviews, and you couldn't review twice, so you submitted guest reviews or sent me PM messages to tell me you enjoyed the chapter. It was super sweet and made me feel wonderful! I didn't get a chance to respond the reviews personally this time, so I'm going to address some concerns in the Author's Note.
Some people have been asking for jealous!Chuck, you'll get a bit more jealous!Blair in this chapter, but don't worry, I'll definitely include some jealous!Chuck in the next few chapters. As for the way Serena was acting, I was trying in some ways to mimic her reaction to CB in the show, as we know she wasn't the biggest supporter of the two, so I tried to make it so that she wasn't as entirely on board when she saw it play out in front of her. She's worried about the two of them hurting each other, especially with so much on the line.
Many of you were worried that last week's kiss would send Chuck and Blair a step back, but never fear, it will take them forward. No, there won't be any kisses this chapter. But there will be something else, some realizations, some big, some small. The most important part right now, is getting Chuck and Blair to realize their feelings, and then to realize their feelings are mutual and then to be brave enough to act on them.
A disclaimer, I've been to family court and shadowed a family lawyer, but I'm still not as entirely familiar with family law, so as I introduce more elements of family law to this story, please realize I'm not an expert and certain elements may be dramatized for the purposes of well, making the story more dramatic.
Another sidenote, why did no one tell me the formating was so ugly for the last chapter? Sorry about that, I guess I forgot to put in the line breaks!
Anyway, please read the Author's note at the end of the chapter, it's super important, but that's enough of my rambling for now! Allons-y!
"I like my bed the bestest." Evelyn crowed as she jumped up and down on her bed, her nightgown flopping around her. "It's so soft and bouncy."
"Best, Evie, not bestest," Chuck corrected her, watching her with a fond smile. He knew he should probably stop her from jumping up and down; she could fall and break her neck. But there was something so carefree about her expression, and the fact that she wasn't asking him about Blair, so he continued to let her jump up and down.
"Daddy," Evelyn shouted down at him, "You should join me. It's so much fun."
He eyed the bed skeptically. He didn't think it could handle their combined weight. "Maybe another day," he said.
She simply shrugged and continued to jump up and down without concern.
After Serena had left, he had ushered Evelyn through her bedtime routine hours earlier than necessary, something she complained about. It was cowardly to avoid Blair again by using Evelyn, but he never claimed to be a good person.
His mind was swimming with possibilities. The most rational, of course, was to claim that the kiss was a fluke that they should simply go back to normal. But it was a lie, and ignoring the kiss increased the possibly of it occurring again.
Suggesting that they entire some sort of relationship was a risk he wasn't sure he was ready to take. He had never been in anything that could be considered a relationship. He didn't even know if he was capable of being in a relationship.
"You shouldn't let her do that," a voice interrupted his thoughts from the doorway. He turned around to face Blair, who was leaning against the doorway heavily, Her hair was damp, as if she had just gotten out of the shower, and she was wearing a dark silky robe that almost made him lose his resolve right there.
Evelyn slowed to a stop and plopped down on the bed with a giggle. "It's so much fun, B."
Blair smiled softly, walking towards the bed. "It's not safe though, you could fall and get really hurt. Promise me you won't ever jump on the bed without your Daddy or me here."
He watched the interaction with wide eyes, his eyes widening even further when Evelyn nodded. It was almost maternal.
Evelyn yawned mercifully and Chuck busied himself with tucking her in. "Goodnight Evie bug," he said softly, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. When her eyes fluttered close, he turned towards the door, and Blair began to follow him out when Evelyn interrupted them.
"Wait," her soft voice called out. "B needs to kiss me goodnight too."
Blair looked at Chuck questioningly. He felt his heart pang slightly, but he nodded at her, a stiff jerky gesture, but a nod nonetheless. Blair hastily plopped a kiss on Evelyn's forehead and almost ran out of the room.
"We should talk," Chuck said slowly, as soon as Evelyn's door was closed behind them. "We need to talk," he amended at her pleading look.
Her face stiffened. "Well then we should talk about boundaries, and how you can't respect them. You assaulted me."
"Don't be childish," he dismissed, "It's not a good look on you. Besides, you kissed me back."
"Semantics," Blair brushed off.
"No," Chuck said seriously, "It's really not."
Blair gulped softly, and felt the anger leave her suddenly. "Chuck," she said softly, "I don't think—."
"I know," he said quietly, completing her thought. "We can't."
"We shouldn't." She amended; she shot a look at Evelyn's door. "It makes everything complicated."
"Evelyn comes first," he said, reminding himself more than her.
"I think," she said slowly, "that maybe we shouldn't kiss anymore. It's too much temptation. We should keep the PDA strictly PG."
Although panic shot through him at the thought of never kissing Blair again, he forced himself to nod shortly. "Good idea."
She took a step towards him, looking only slightly dazed, as if she hadn't been meaning to. "It doesn't mean that I don't want to." She was standing almost chest to chest with him, looking up at him, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. It would be so easy, he thought, just to lean down at kiss her.
"Blair," he said huskily, growing warmer at their proximity. All thoughts of Evelyn left his mind, leaving only Blair behind.
Her eyes widened at the look on his face, and she took a startled step back, as if she had remembered herself. "I'm sorry," she squawked out. "I'll sleep in the guest bedroom tonight." She practically sprinted away from him, on breathing when the door was closed behind her.
"This is nice," Malika said thoughtfully, holding up a picture of Chuck wrapped around Blair, whispering something in her ear, Blair was smiling widely at something in the distance. It was a picture that depicted a happy couple, maybe even a couple in love.
"Fine," Chuck dismissed without even looking at it. The picture was a lie either way, he had purposely leaned down, knowing the cameras were on them. Blair had been tense in his arms the whole night they had been out for the Sotheby's auction. They had been steadily avoiding each other unless it was around other people. Blair had become a part of Evelyn's night time ritual, making Blair not entirely avoidable.
Malika shot him an irritated look. "I could have held up a picture of a monkey scratching his butt and you would have said it was fine."
"Malika if you want a better opinion," Chuck said, barely keeping his irritation under wrap. "You should talk to my father. He has plenty to say about Blair and I."
Chuck's head was still swimming from the thundering speech Bart had given him the moment he had stepped into the office. Serena had went and spoken to Bart, proving that Chuck could never trust her with anything ever again, and Bart had not been happy, to say the least.
Malika rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she dismissed. "Just remember I arranged an interview for you with a reporter from the Spectator. Nate says he's sending one over personally. Don't screw it up," her eyes narrowed.
"I can handle an interview," he said angrily, slamming down on his keyboard with unnecessary force.
"Okay," she said slowly, "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," she blew out a breath. "What's the problem?"
"It's not a problem that I can discuss with the help," he sneered angrily.
She recoiled, hurt flashing across her face. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bass." She said quietly, avoiding his eye. "I'll just see myself out."
He looked up at her, almost wanting to apologize, but he merely watched the way she slumped out of the room.
Sighing, he placed his hands on his face. Things had been tense between him and Blair. He had discovered that it was much easier to place physical distance between the two of them. But with all their recent public appearances, there was no immediate hope of distance between the two of them.
Despite her assurance and agreement that distance was the key, she still walked around the house looking at him like he had physically wounded her.
A phone call from Child Services about an appointment with a social worker had not helped much. It was a formality, his lawyer assured him, simply the court determining whether any allegations that Georgina had made against him were true.
And Nate was calling him repeatedly on the phone insisting that he forgive Serena, because the blonde was sulking around their apartment distraught. He insisted that he didn't owe Serena anything, and it had caused Nate to proceed to give him the cold shoulder until he mended things with Serena.
Serena's act of vengeance had been to tell Bart about the tumultuous relationships between Chuck and Blair which had resulted in Bart through every insult about irresponsibility in his vocabulary at Chuck. He had ended the speech questioning whether Chuck even deserved Bass Industries.
One day, his head was going to explode from the amount of disappointment and anger that was piling on top of him.
Sighing, he punched a few numbers into the phone. When the person on the other end picked up, he spoke quickly. "Hey, I think I need to talk."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Blair," Dorota wheezed over the phone. "But I very sick, and Mister Chuck not answer phone."
Blair sighed quietly. "It's quite alright, Dorota. I can pick up Evelyn."
"I already tell Miss. Evelyn school," Dorota coughed out. "They make Miss. Evelyn wait."
"Thank you, Dorota," she said quickly. "Get better soon."
She felt a pang of worry as she hung up the phone. Dorota had been nearly invaluable to Evelyn's care. Without her, Blair was at a loss. Chuck was little help. He left early in the morning, and came back late at night.
She quickly dialed Chuck's number. It went straight to voicemail.
"Bass," she barked into the phone, unable to keep the irritation out of her phone. "I'm on my way to pick up Evelyn. Dorota's sick and won't be able to take care of her for god knows how long. Look, if you want me to drop her off with you, I could. But she can stay with me." She finished, a bit more hesitant. She sighed, "Just call me back."
Stupid, she scolded herself as she hung up the phone, she shouldn't have let that pang of loneliness seep into her voice when she pleaded with him to call her back. Chuck hadn't been talking to her, and that wasn't entirely her fault, she had been avoiding him as well. But she missed him.
That wasn't entirely his fault, of course. She had been avoiding him, just as he was avoiding her. With the upcoming trial, Chuck was busy, and she, she trailed off at that thought. She had a lot to think about. Despite her idea of sleeping in the guest bedroom, she thought of little but Chuck's kiss.
She had snapped at him, insisted on boundaries as a defense mechanism. But there was a part of her that was disappointed with the way he had agreed to it so easily.
It made things even more confusing.
She couldn't like Chuck Bass? Could she?
She hadn't thought it possible to like anyone after Louis. He had broken her trust so thoroughly, that in a fit of childish resentment she had declared to herself that she would never love again.
And so soon after Louis, she was panting after Chuck like a dog in heat.
It had occurred to her as a possibility that she simply wanted Chuck to like her. She had always been a bit vain that way, and it wasn't far outside her personality to simply want Chuck to like her, without liking him back. But this didn't feel that way. The truth was, she liked him. She wanted him to kiss her, to touch her, to hold her. She wanted him.
Maybe it would easier if she didn't know he felt the same way. He had made his feelings clear when he kissed her, confused her a bit when he pushed her away, but she still believed that he felt the same way.
Was it worth the complication? She wasn't sure.
They both had a lot to lose. Chuck had his daughter and his company. She had her mother's company.
She had gone to visit her mother hoping that it would provide further illumination, but it had only made her more conflicted. Eleanor was bouncing around the house, giddy with success after Bart had saved her company from disaster. Her mother even confided plans to retire, passing on the company to Blair.
If she screwed things up with Chuck, it could mean the end of her mother's company.
It would mean more for him. She had come to care for Evelyn, and the thought of the little girl ending up in the hands of Georgina did pain her. She couldn't let Chuck risk his case.
They pulled up in front of the school. She schooled her thoughts, straightening her face into a gentle smile. It wouldn't do Evelyn any good to see her looking so conflicted.
She stepped out of the car and called out to Evelyn.
Evelyn's face lit up, and the girl hopped down from her spot on the stairs. "B," she crowed, running down the steps, two at a time. She came to a hasty stop, right in front of Blair. "I thought Dorota was coming?"
"She's not feeling well," Blair said, smiling down at her. "I thought I'd come and get you."
"Really?" Evelyn looked ecstatic, "That's great!" She hopped from foot to foot. "Can we go get ice cream?"
"Aren't we going home?" Blair asked her, a bit taken aback by the sudden change in subject.
"Dorota lets me get ice cream." Evelyn batted her eyelids up Blair.
Blair smirked, recognizing the expression well. It had been one she had used quite a lot when she wished to get her way. "If you look at her like that," Blair smiled, "then I don't doubt it."
"So ice cream?" Evelyn pushed.
"We'll see," Blair said, pushing Evelyn lightly towards the car.
"I'm glad you came," Chuck said gruffly, sitting down.
Eric grinned widely. "I haven't seen you since you got married, and then you call me saying you need to talk, of course, I was going to drop everything."
Chuck rolled his eyes. "You're on summer break, you have nothing to do."
Eric simply shrugged. "You never know, I could have." Eric paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing on Chuck's slightly slumped form. "Is everything okay?"
"My psycho Ex is suing me for custody of my daughter, my father arranged a marriage for me, my sister is a blabber mouth," Chuck listed off, "I don't think everything is okay."
Eric's eyes widened, "And somehow I don't think you listed the problem you actually want to talk to me about."
Chuck sighed. "It's Blair."
"You've only been for a couple of weeks," Eric raised an eyebrow. "Are you fighting already?"
"Worse," Chuck shook his head.
"Okay, you're going to have to clarify, because right now I can only think that you've escalated to physical violence." Eric said a bit worriedly.
"No, no," Chuck assured him. "It's just that," he trailed off. "I think I'm attracted to Blair."
"You think, or you are?"
"I am," Chuck sighed, as if he was revealing a great weakness.
"That's not a surprise." Eric admitted with a soft smile.
"Really?" Chuck looked up curiously.
"Blair's an attractive woman, and she holds her own against you. Are you really that surprised that you like her?" Eric's smile grew in size
"Like is such a juvenile word," Chuck murmured, his expression growing stony.
"Well you're acting like a kid with a crush. It's okay to like Blair, Chuck. She's your wife." Eric said slowly, as if explaining it to a two year old.
"You all keep saying that, but she's not my wife, not the one I chose." Chuck said angrily.
Eric merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you know that arranged marriages happen all around the world to this day?"
"Yeah, of course." He dismissed almost instantly.
"The idea is that the parents pair two people together that they think have the potential to lead a happy life together." Eric explained thoughtfully. "After the marriage is over, the parents back off and it's up to the couple to decide how their marriage will work. Some people don't work out, and some people compromise, but some people," Eric said earnestly, "Some people, Chuck, they're really happy together."
"And you think Blair and I," Chuck trailed off.
"I think you guys could be really happy together." Eric said simply. "Just imagine if you met Blair before all of this, back when you were in high school. Don't you think you would have went out with her?"
"I might have slept with her," Chuck admitted slowly, reveling in the mental image of Blair prancing around in a Constance uniform.
Eric rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm just saying it's not so crazy that you'd like to make this marriage real. And the way I see it, there's nothing wrong with that."
"But what about Evelyn?" Chuck said hesitantly.
"What about her?" Eric asked with a knowing smile. "Chuck, Evelyn wants you to be happy. Take things slow with Blair, get to know her. Then if things get serious, then worry about Evelyn."
"Blair's my wife, things are already serious," Chuck groaned.
"That's my point," Eric stressed. "Either you treat Blair like your wife or you don't. It's up to you."
"But Georgina," Chuck said weakly.
"Don't you think it would make your case stronger if you actually cared about Blair. The longer you only pretend to care about her, or hide your feelings, the longer you risk the truth coming out." Eric explained, his expression growing smugger.
"So you think I should?" Chuck trailed off thoughtfully.
"I think you should." Eric nodded, "If you want to, of course."
Chuck mused on that for a moment. He hadn't had much relationship experience. Before Evelyn, he had only been interested in instant gratification, one night stands and such. After Evelyn, he didn't care much for anything long term. He had Evelyn to take care of, and that was the only thing he could focus on. His only relationship had been with Raina Thrope. And that had been a mistake. Evelyn hated her and Raina was not good with children. It had ended poorly.
Chuck could only hope that Blair was different.
His phone buzzed once, and Dorota's name flashed across the screen.
"One moment," he held up his hand towards Eric, who nodded happily. "Dorota," he said into the phone. "How can I help you?"
"Oh Mr. Chuck," Dorota said into the phone, sounding flustered and congested. "I call you about Miss. Evelyn. I very sick, won't be able to pick up Miss. Evelyn from school."
Chuck frowned into the phone, "Don't worry about it, Dorota. I'll pick her up."
"Thank you Mr. Chuck," Dorota wheezed into the receiver with gratitude.
"I gotta go," he said to Eric, hanging up the phone. "I need to pick Evelyn up from school."
"Oh," Eric said, sitting up straighter. "Want me to do it? I know you have to probably go back to work, and I haven't seen the little angel in a while."
Chuck pondered on that, "No, I need to spend some time with her anyway."
Eric simply shrugged. "Think about what I said," he said before clapping Chuck on the back and walking away towards his town car.
Chuck mused on Eric's words as he rode towards Evelyn's school. Maybe this was the only option, seeing where things went with Blair. There were risks, but maybe, he thought, he was willing to take them. That surprised him more than anything.
"We're here," Arthur said, rolling down the partition.
Chuck looked up suddenly at the looming gray building that was Evelyn's school. He looked around quickly, looking for any sign of Evelyn. When he caught sight of her, her back was to him and she was walking towards a car with a petite brown haired woman that Chuck thought for a split second that he recognized her before he strode out of the car calling out to both of them, "Hey!"
They whirled around to face him. Evelyn's face lit up with joy at the sight of him. "Daddy," she screamed, before running towards him. He caught her in his arms as he looked at Blair questioningly.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her, lifting Evelyn in his arms.
"What are you doing here?" She turned the question back on him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I asked you first," he said childishly, taking a couple steps towards her.
She didn't move forward. "I was picking up Evelyn, Dorota asked me to."
"Dorota called you?" Chuck questioned skeptically. It didn't make sense for Dorota to call Blair and then call Chuck, unless—
"Are you calling me a liar, Bass? Because Dorota only called me because she couldn't reach you," Blair began heatedly.
"Dorota just called me a few minutes ago for the first time," he cut her off, catching on to Dorota's game. He sighed; nearly everyone in his life was interested in meddling in his love life now. He longed for the days when things were simpler.
Blair raised an eyebrow, "Then why would she?"
"It doesn't matter," Chuck cut her off. He looked back towards his limo. "I'll drop both of you off at the house before I head back to Bass Industries."
Blair looked back at her town car before looking at him. "Alright," she said slowly.
He placed a light hand on the curve of her back, steering her towards the limo. She stiffened under his touch, and looked at him questioningly. He ignored her look and helped her in the limo, closing the door behind them.
By the time they were walking up the doorway to their new house, there was an older, pressed woman standing in front of their doorway, scribbling madly on legal pad. She looked up at Chuck, Blair and Evelyn approaching her, her brown eyes looking comically owlish under her thick glasses.
"Mr. and Mrs. Bass?" She asked in a shrill voice that contrasted sharply with her large appearance. When Chuck nodded, she continued. "I'm Greta, the social worker. I spoke on the phone with your assistant." She struggled for a moment to shift all her papers to her other hand, and stuck out of her right hand when it was free.
Chuck hesitated for a moment, before lightly taking the woman's hand, dropping it quickly. "Nice to meet you," he said as politely as he could manage. "I'm Chuck Bass." He turned towards Blair, "This is my wife Blair, and my daughter Evelyn." The words burned on his tongue, and he could hear Blair's sharp intake of breath at the word wife.
"Nice to meet you," Blair sniffed, but she didn't offer her hand to the woman.
"Pleasure," Greta said dryly.
"I hope you haven't been waiting long," Chuck said in a syrupy sweet voice. "My wife and I went to pick up my daughter from school."
Evelyn smiled up at the woman angelically.
Greta's face softened a bit. "Not long, Mr. Bass. Just a couple minutes."
Chuck smirked slightly, "Please call me Chuck." He heard Blair snort softly at the way Greta's eyes widened at Chuck's charm. "Shall we head inside?"
"Of course," Greta said, her cheeks beginning to tinge with pink. "Chuck," she muttered shyly.
They headed into the formal living room. "Does Evelyn need to be present?" Chuck asked Greta politely.
Greta looked at the little girl for a split moment. "Not necessarily. I would like to speak to her before I leave."
"Blair," he turned towards Blair, who was looking at Greta with slightly narrowed eyes. "Why don't you get Evelyn settled in upstairs with a snack, while I help Greta get settled in?"
Greta flushed a deeper red, while Blair turned her narrowed upset expression on Chuck, who widened his eyes purposefully at Greta, trying to make Blair understand.
"Alright," Blair said, glancing between the two of them meaningfully. "Make yourself at home." She directed at Greta before guiding Evelyn up the stairs.
Chuck turned towards her and led the older woman in the formal living room. She sat down on of the harder couches and placed a form in front of you. She tried to school her expression into a harder face, but Chuck saw through the lines.
"Now Chuck, this discussion will be as easy as you and your partner making it. I have a few questions that I need to ask you about Evelyn's upbringing to let the judge know more about the way Evelyn's being brought up in your household."
"Of course," Chuck nodded. "I can assure you that I love my daughter and I have her best interests at heart." He tried to pour as much sincerity into his voice and expression as he could.
It must work, because Greta's face softened and she smiled widely at Chuck, "Let's get started then."
"I made a new friend today," Evelyn announced as Blair and her walked up the stairs together. Evelyn's eyes were focused on the ground as she skipped from step to step, walking to some rhythm only she could understand.
"Really?" Blair asked, watching the younger girl. "Who is that?"
"Her name is Georgie." Evelyn said so nonchalantly, that Blair almost didn't understand who Evelyn was referring to at first.
Blair froze, one foot planted on the step in front of her. She swayed, clutching the banister. "Georgie? As in Georgina."
"Yeah," Evelyn paused, turning back towards Blair, looking curious. "She said I could call her Georgie, cause that's what all her friends call her. Do you know her?"
Blair stuttered for a moment, unsure what to say. "Where did you meet her?"
Evelyn shrugged. "She said she was outside waiting for her daughter. She started talking to me. It was so sad, B. She said she couldn't see her daughter, not yet at least, because they were keeping her from her." Evelyn sighed unhappily.
"Oh god," Blair mumbled, feeling sick to her stomach.
"I told her not to worry," Evelyn said proudly, raising her chin a degree. "She'd see her little girl soon. She was so happy." Evelyn smiled contentedly. "I should ask Daddy to help Georgie, shouldn't I? Daddy can help anyone."
"I don't think you should tell your Dad just yet," Blair mumbled numbly. "I'll tell him."
"Oh thanks, B!" Evelyn crowed, hugging Blair tightly around the knees.
Blair froze at Evelyn's touch and then relaxed at the little girl's warm hands. She pulled back from the hug and stared at Evelyn intently. "Evie, you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers right, I'm sure your Daddy told you that."
Evelyn looked down at the carpet, instantly chagrined. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Blair resisted the urge to instantly assure the girl that it was okay, "It's not safe, okay? You need to be careful."
"I will," Evelyn nodded, still focused on the ground.
Blair patted her on the head, "Go to your room and start your homework. I'll have someone bring you up a snack, okay?"
Evelyn nodded before skipping off to her room. As she walked down the stairs towards Chuck and that wretched child services social worker, Blair's thoughts spun out of control. She hadn't realized that Georgina would be so bold to approach Evelyn without Chuck's supervision. It meant that she was willing to break the rules to get what she wanted.
When she reached the bottom step, Chuck and Greta were looking up at her, expectantly.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Bass?" Greta asked, a note of false concern coloring her voice.
Chuck's concerned face came into view, and his hands gripped her shoulders, holding her in place. "You okay?" He asked in a low tone.
She shook her head quickly. "I'm fine," she assured him, quickly pulling herself together. "Fine," she assured him again, when he didn't look completely convinced. She turned towards Greta, trying to steer the conversation back to the social worker. "How can we help you?"
"I've discussed most of the issues with Chuck. It seems that you're more unfamiliar with the child because of the short duration of your relationship." Greta said off-handedly. Blair stiffened, but didn't say anything, Greta continued. "What's left is to prep both of you on what to expect in a custody trial."
Chuck's hands tightened, and Blair placed her hands lightly over his in attempt to soothe him. He shot her a quick look of gratitude before he glanced back at Greta.
"Custody trials are a bit unique, most people often defend themselves, but both you and Ms. Sparks have decided to have representation." Greta explained. "The judge will hear your case and evidence you have to present forward supporting your position. The judge will ask me to present my professional opinion, and then the judge will make his decision."
"Evelyn won't have to be involved, right?" Chuck clarified.
Greta's eyes softened a bit. "Unless the judge believes her opinion is necessary to make his judgment. But it's very rare. Even then, he'll conduct the interview in his chambers."
Chuck nodded. "Is it possible for either parent to get full custody?" He tried to keep the fear out of his voice, attempting to remain curious rather than desperate.
Greta pondered on this for a moment. "As you know Chuck, most mothers do get the benefit of the doubt and receive at least partial custody in these kinds of trials, unless it is proven without reasonable doubt that Ms. Sparks cannot provide a nurturing environment for Evelyn. It is unlikely that she will receive full custody immediately as well. It is more likely that the judge will order that she receive supervised visitation rights until she establishes a relationship with the child, then it will be revaluated in a few months."
Chuck's hands tightened, but he forced a smile on his face. "Thank you, Greta."
Greta smiled kindly. "It was a pleasure to meet both of you," she nodded, even bestowing Blair with a smile.
Chuck gestured for the door, "I'll walk you out." He stood up and showed Greta to the door, while Blair sagged into the couch.
Georgina was already making her first few moves towards Evelyn, and unless they struck back, she would keep hitting them over and over until she got them.
Chuck's footsteps announced his arrival back into the room. "What happened?"
She didn't bother trying to hide the worry that filled her face. "Georgina met with Evelyn."
"What?" Chuck's voice was hard with anger.
"I guess she managed to corner Evelyn outside of Constance." Blair explained quietly, feeling a bit of anger toward herself for running so late to pick up Evelyn. If she had been just a few moments early, maybe she could have caught Georgina.
"Did Georgina say anything about?" Chuck started, feeling a bit sick to his stomach.
"No, no," Blair assured him quickly, taking a few steps towards Chuck. "Evelyn thinks she's just a friend, but Chuck, if Evelyn likes her even a little bit."
"I know," he says harshly, running his fingers through his hair. "God, every time I think I could catch a break." He swore angrily.
"We need to figure out a way to get her back," Blair immediately launched at him. "We've been playing on the defensive too long. We need to attack her."
"This isn't a battle, Blair," Chuck mocked, eager to turn his anger on her.
"But this is a war," Blair finished. "You need to do something, find out something about her that would ruin her in court. You have to have some PI on speed dial, take a page out of Georgina's books and find out what she's up to."
It was true, Chuck had called Andrew quickly after Georgina's reappearance to find out more about what Gerogina was doing in town, but Andrew hadn't gotten back to him, and Blair's appearance in his life had disrupted that train of thought.
"That's," Chuck said slowly, "a really good idea. I'll call Andrew tomorrow."
Blair smirked, satisfied with that. "We need to gather evidence to take that bitch down."
Chuck nodded determinedly. "We will," he assured her. He hesitated for a moment, Eric's words ringing in his ears. "Blair I—."
She looked up at him with wide eyes, and for a moment he was struck by her beauty. She was gorgeous, in an unassuming. Wide brown doe eyes, curly dark brown hair that framed her face, plump rose red lips that he couldn't get out of his head. There was something utterly unique about her, the way she seemed to simply radiate. He had never seen any girl that matched up to her in his entire life, and he highly doubted he ever would.
And she was his wife.
And he wanted her to be his wife, for a very long time.
That thought startled him enough to shake the thoughts out of his head. Tonight was not the night. He needed to think about this more, needed things with Georgina to settle down, needed to know that Blair felt the same way before he bared his heart to her in a way he never had before.
"Nothing," he assured her quickly, "I just wanted to say thanks."
Her face relaxed a fraction. "It's no matter," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I love a good takedown."
Chuck smiled a bit at that, that he could imagine. She turned towards the door and he stopped her again. "Blait uh—." When she turned around, he continued, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "If you want, you don't have to sleep in the guest bedroom."
It's an invitation, one he usually wouldn't have any issue voicing, but asking Blair to sleep with him, without sleeping with him, makes him strangely uncomfortable.
She stares at him for a long uncomfortable moment, before her face broke out into a large smile. "Okay," she said. "Goodnight, Chuck." Her voice washed over him, making him warm.
"Goodnight, Blair."
Tbc.
Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Chuck came to be a big realization in this chapter. If you're wondering, the reason that Chuck came to this realization earlier than Blair is because in the show, Chuck did come around to the idea of something more with Blair pretty quickly, before Blair at least. Blair will take some time, baby steps, but we're getting somewhere.
Sidenote, this is the longest chapter yet, but that might be because of the AN.
So, I'm going to say something that might irritate a few of you, but I'm not going to be updating next week. I know this is annoying, but next week is my first week back at uni and I'll be busy moving into my apartment, and I spent too much time writing this chapter, so I don't have next week's chapter written so I can't guarantee that I'll be done with it by Thursday. I don't want to rush the chapter too much, because then I can't guarantee the quality or length of the chapter.
I'll be taking the week to catch up on the story, hopefully getting ahead. Being back at school means I have a lot more time to write, so that's a good thing!
I'm really sorry about that, and I really hope you all aren't too disappointed.
In the meantime, however, if you'd like to see drabbles from the story, I'll be accepting prompts on my tumblr, I can't guarantee I'll write all of them, cause this story comes first, but I'll definitely try! My tumblr is weasleyspotter . tumblr . com (remove the spaces).
As always, please review and favorite if you enjoyed, and please follow if you want to see more, because there's definitely more to come!