Special thanks to Annerl, Pty, Kels, Maribells, and anyone else who reviewed this story. It really is the force that helps me write this fic, which is sometimes very difficult.


Blair's eyes fluttered open as the sun peeked through the windows. Chuck's eyes met hers as she looked up at him. His arm draped around her waist pulled her in closer to him.

"Morning beautiful." He murmured into her hair. He kissed her chestnut curls lightly. She hummed lightly into his chest.

"Last night was so nice." Blair whispered into his chest. He smiled.

"Glad you liked it." Blair glanced over at her violet dress lying over on the floor and laughed.

"I think that dress looks so much better off." Chuck said, tracing her bare thigh with his finger. She shivered at his touch. She put her head in her hand so she was at eye level with him.

"What are we going to do today?" She asked, cocking her head. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Whatever you want." He said into her lips. She smiled and kissed him back with full force, knocking him into the pillows. She wrapped her leg around him and inched up to his face.

"I want to stay in bed." Blair mused, stroking his hair. He smiled.

"That can be easily accomplished." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"But we need to eat breakfast my love." Chuck said, drawing small circles on her bare arm. She pouted.

"I think I'd rather have desert first." She murmured, giving him the sexy eye. He smirked. She felt his hands slowly moving down from her waist. She closed her eyes and moaned. She grabbed his head and pulled him up to her, smashing her lips on his. Chuck pulled her in tight and flipped over, not realizing that they were on the edge of the bed. They hit the tan carpeted floor with a great thump, bringing the white sheets with them. The sheets pulled them even closer together, wrapping them in a tight cocoon. They laughed, their foreheads pressed together. Blair didn't know why, but she couldn't stop laughing. Falling on the floor with Chuck wasn't the only thing that was making her laugh. It was the fact that she felt so free and happy. All of the weight had been lifted off of her. She felt like she was fifteen again and head over heels in love. It was simple love, pure and simple. She never thought her and Chuck could have this kind of love, but as he lied beneath her being strangled by her and the sheets, she looked into his eyes and saw it. He was looking at her with full adoration. His smile made her heart race. He loved her for her, even though she had no makeup on and her hair was a complete mess. The outside world wasn't there to ruin it. It was just Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck. And their unconditional love for each other. Nothing could change it or affect it. They were both like clueless teenagers, head over heels in love.

Chuck closed his eyes and dimmed his laughing. He continued drawing circles on Blair's arm.

"Maybe we should start with breakfast…" He said, opening his eyes. Blair bit her lip to restrain her from laughing. She nodded in agreement. Blair pushed up trying to get out of the cocoon the sheets wrapped her in, but she realized she was stuck. She tried again. Chuck started to laugh and Blair joined in.

"What if we're stuck in this knot forever?" Blair complained jokingly, trying to roll her way out. Chuck smirked.

"I wouldn't mind." Blair smiled and pressed her nose to his.

"I love you." She said simply. Five years ago, that would have taken all the willpower for her to say. Now, she could say it without hesitation. She loved him with all of her heart, and he loved her with all of his soul. Nothing could ever step in between that.

"I love you too Blair." He responded, kissing her lightly on the lips. He reached over and pulled the edge of the sheets, releasing him and Blair from the restraint of them. Blair sucked in a huge breath and sat up. She threw him his silk pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He sat up and watched her pad over to the bathroom door to retrieve her blue robe.

"This should be interesting…us making breakfast." Blair mused, brushing her hair. Chuck let out a small laugh.

"Oh it will be like an episode of Hell's Kitchen." He said, taking her hand and pulling her away from the mirror. She threw her brush on the bed and leaned into him.

"Promise you won't go Ramsey on me?" She asked, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"I have a feeling you will be the one going Ramsey on me." She laughed.

"Probably." She responded, turning towards the door. He watched as her chestnut hair bobbed behind her as she bounded down the steps. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He stood entranced at the top of the stairs?

"Are you coming Bass?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. He smiled and bounded down the steps after her.


Serena woke up and looked at the clock. 11:15. She sighed and looked at the endless amounts of magazines and books strewn across her bed. The Beautiful and Damned lied open to her favorite chapter next to her. She must have fallen asleep reading it for the millionth time. She looked in her mirror and gasped. She had a huge zit on her forehead. Groaning, she flipped back into her pillow. She couldn't admit it to herself, but she was a complete mess. She had now watched No Strings Attached three times. She had to finally buy it on DVD when she was tired of renting it on OnDemand. It was the only thing that could make her smile and laugh. Blair was still in the Hamptons with Chuck, her family was busy, and Nate was not calling her. Deep down inside, the movie also made her closer to Nate. She missed him so much, but she couldn't admit it to herself. She didn't want to feel so weak over him. She had a sturdy job, good family, and a strong best friend. She didn't need him, but at the same time she did. Serena waited by her phone everyday for him to call, but he never did. She felt as though it was him who should be calling. He was the one who had messed up, not her. She was going to stay firm until then.

She heard at a knock at the door. Lily peeked through the door and sighed at the sight of her daughter and her room.

"No work today?" Lily asked.

"No, Chuck had given me the days off when he went to the Hamptons to give me some time with Nate." She said, running her fingers through her tangled hair.

"Why are you staying over here? Why not at Blair's?" She questioned, sitting at the end of Serena's bed.

"It's sort of lonely over there without Blair. I know you and Rufus aren't here a lot, but its nice knowing people are here. And I miss my old room." Serena replied. Lily looked at her and sighed.

"What?" Serena shot, sitting up in her bed. Lily closed her eyes.

"I know about you and Nate." Serena looked at the wall.

"Mom, that is none of your business…"

"Yes it is Serena. Because I don't think you get what he did to protect you and this family." Serena looked at her mom questioningly. Lily sighed.

"Nathanial called me the day he was coming back. He said he had gotten an email from Gossip Girl while he was at work. She had some information regarding your cousin Charlie…" Lily said, trailing off at the mention of Charlie. Lily had been so hurt when they found out that Ivy had been posing as Charlie. She had really loved having Ivy around and had developed a strong bond with her. Serena took her mom's hand.

"…and she told him what she knew. Or what she thought she knew." Serena looked at her mom with nervous eyes.

"Nate immediately knew the information was false because he is the only person who knew the truth about Charlie. He came looking here for you when I got the news about what had happened to her from Ivy. She thought I deserved to know." Lily continued, her eyes getting watery.

"I was very upset and he wanted to make sure I was okay, so he took me out for coffee. Rufus was at a rock convention that day and you were at work, so I was alone. We both agreed that we wouldn't tell you the news until we found a good time to do so. We were going to tell you over breakfast when Nate got back." Serena closed her eyes and egged her mom to continue.

"In these emails, Gossip Girl had threatened Nate to let her post the news on his blog. Probably the main reason was so she put a wedge between you two, which happened. She also knew Nate had a bigger audience, which would make her big again. She said if Nate wouldn't allow her to post it, she was going to release even more information about it. He didn't know what she had. He knew by having this false information on his blog and letting Gossip Girl freely post on it he would lose his deal with E! Online, which was very exciting for him. But protecting you and our family was more important to him, he said. He didn't want you to be hurt." A tear ran down Lily's cheek. Serena couldn't believe it. He did that for her? She gulped back tears and asked the burning question.

"What happened to Charlie mom." Lily sucked in a breath and looked at her daughter. She didn't know how to tell her, but she knew she couldn't keep it from her any further.

"She's dead."


"Chuck!" Blair scolded, slapping him with her free arm. "You need to stop kissing my neck while I make the eggs. It's distracting!"

"I can't help it. Your neck is very kissable." He said, wrapping his arms around her. She whisked around the eggs in the pan, making them fluffy. Chuck rested his head on her shoulder. She shrugged him off.

"Pour us some orange juice." She commanded, nodding her head towards the refrigerator. He obediently followed her demand. She smiled at her eggs. It was probably the only thing she knew how to make besides deserts. She had watched Dorota do it so many times that she got the hang of it herself. She put the eggs on two plates and laughed.

"This time we didn't make a mess. Or need help from Dorota!" She said as she put two Eggo waffles in the toaster oven. Chuck smirked.

"We are getting better." He walked over to Blair and wrapped his arms around her. She hoisted herself up on the granite counter and wrapped her legs around him. He moaned. Slowly, he moved his hands up her thigh, drawing circles as they climbed. Blair smashed her lips on his, grabbing his hair in a strong grasp. She completely lost track of time as the two found themselves feeding each other the fruit amidst heated kisses. Whipped cream was smeared all over Blair's face as well as Chuck's. She felt like such a teenager, doing what they were doing. But she liked feeling free and young again. A beeping noise erupted from the toaster. Blair gasped. She hopped off the counter and ran over to the toaster oven. Smoke poured out of the it as she opened the lid. She turned the vent on and sighed.

"I really was looking forward to that waffle." Blair complained, retying her robe belt. Chuck kissed her neck.

"But we had such a nice desert." Blair giggled and smacked him lightly.

"I think we both need a shower." Blair stated, wrinkling her face. Chuck smiled devilishly.

"I noticed you didn't say we both need showers…are you implying one shower?" Chuck asked sexily. Blair slapped him lightly and rolled her eyes. Taking his hand, she lead him up the stairs and into the bathroom, forgetting about the two plates of eggs and orange juice they had set out.


Serena didn't know what to think anymore. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Charlie was dead let alone what Nate did for her. She needed to breathe, so she told her mom she was going for a walk. After covering up her zit and brushing her hair, she headed to Central Park. She sat down by the fountain. She always went there when something was bothering her. Resting her head against the wall, she remembered a time when she and Charlie were little.

"Serena!" Charlie yelled, running across the putting green. Serena smiled and ran towards her. The cousins embraced in a tight hug.

"I'm so happy to see you!" Serena yelled, smiling brightly. The party had been so boring without anyone to hang out with. Charlie took her hand.

"Follow me." Charlie whispered, taking Serena towards the Men's Grille. The duo climbed up the hill and behind the Country Club's Men's Grille, where there was a garden. Serena gasped. There were roses, pansies, and other gorgeous flowers all lined up.

"When I come here, I like to hang back here. It's quiet, Mom can't yell at me, and I can focus on all of the pretty nature." Charlie murmured, fingering one of the plants. Serena stared in wonder as her cousin picked up a ladybug.

"It's so tiny!" Serena marveled, looking at the tiny bug in her cousin's hand.

"Wanna hold it?" Charlie asked, offering it to Serena.

"No, I'm okay." Serena replied, backing off. Serena hated bugs, although she was too proud to admit it to anyone. Charlie's smile faded. She put the ladybug back on the leaf.

"Serena, I might be going away for a little while. But I'll be back." Charlie said. Confused, Serena just nodded. Charlie put on a fake smile.

"Serena darling, it's time to go!" Lily said, coming through the gate of the garden, Eric whining about something behind her. Serena pouted. Charlie hugged her tight. Their hug seemed to last longer than usual.

"See you Charlie!" Serena said, kissing her on the cheek. She took her brother's hand and followed their mother up the pathway. She turned around and looked at Charlie. She smiled back and waved.

That was the last time Serena had ever seen Charlie. The memory haunted her as she remembered it. I might be going away for a while. Serena had asked her mom not to tell her how she died until after she cleared her head. Her mom agreed that it was wise to do that, so take it in little parts. She didn't know what Charlie really meant by that at the time. She didn't know if it was even related to her disappearance. It still haunted her. A tear ran down her cheek. She closed her eyes and fought back tears. Then, she felt someone wrap his arms around her. She immediately knew who it was. Without opening her eyes, she fell into him and started hysterically crying. Nate stroked her hair and held her close as she cried her heart out.


Blair and Chuck lied on their bed, wrapped in towels, Blair's wet hair dripped onto Chuck's chest as he held her in close to him. She flipped over so she was facing him.

"Chuck, I'm scared. I'm scared that once we go back to New York, we won't be like this anymore."

"Of course we will Blair." He murmured, stroking her hair.

"I'm afraid that everything else will catch up to us. Audrey, Bass Industries, the paparazzi…"

"Blair. Look at me." Chuck commanded. Blair looked at him with teary eyes.

"None of those things will ever be able to push me away from you. I love you so much. We're going to have to deal with those things, but we're strong enough to pull through if we go through it together." Chuck assured her, rubbing her back.

"I'm going to start to come to your therapy sessions. I think that will help a little bit." Blair smiled and nodded in agreement. Chuck brought her wet body close to him.

"Nothing will ever break us apart."


Please leave a review. As I said, they help me write this. This chapter was very hard for me to write because I wanted to get the Charlie situation straightened out and revealed, so Chair was a little on the bacburner this chapter. I'm sorry if the Charlie/Ivy thing is way unbelievable or weird, but it is the first complex storyline I've done. TBH…I spent an hour trying to make it sound right. It was very hard to do because I wanted to make it believable and fit with the other chapters. So I hope you like it, but I'm always up for constructive criticism! I won't be mad ;) I try to update this ASAP because I know how annoying it is waiting for chapters BELIEVE ME (I am waiting for so many right now…) ! With school coming back though it may be harder. The next chapter will be Chuck and Blair's last day in the Hamptons and Serena and Nate's situation will be worked out. I think next chapter will be a better balance of the two. Oh, and two chapters from now I am planning to bring Dan in the story. I sort of neglected him and left him out =P So yeah leave a review and I hope you are excited for the chapters to come! I have so much fun writing this fic! XOXO, Becca