Sorry it took me so long to update…I'm taking this a lot harder than I originally was expecting. Gossip Girl was such a big part of my life since I was twelve in middle school and struggling so much with bullying and so many other things. From going to set to meeting new friends, the show has really given me some great memories and I will never, ever forget it.
I had to laugh because I kept getting so many following emails for this story. I guess we are all pretty depressed…
Well, here I present to you the next chapter of Oh, Brother! This will probably be the last chapter before the epilogue, but there is going to be a sequel called "Henry and Brielle" I think. Unless I think of a more creative name haha. Anyways, here is the next chapter…
4 months later…
"Mommy!" Henry screeched from the living room. Blair darted to his side as fast as she possibly could. The babies were screaming on the blanket. She crouched down and picked up Brielle.
"What happened?" She asked, kissing Brielle on the head and bouncing her up and down. The other tiny baby continued to scream on the floor. Blair hopelessly sighed.
"I went to go get a toy for Brielle to chew on and then they started screaming!" He exclaimed. Blair crouched back down and transferred Brielle to Henry's arms. She picked up the other baby and rocked her back and forth.
"You just want your Mommy don't you Sawyer." Blair cooed, rubbing the baby's small tufts of dark hair that she knew her mother was secretly praying would fall out. At two months old, Sawyer Rosalind Humphrey was already in the spotlight. Being the daughter of a notorious writer and socialite mother put a great deal of the spotlight on her. Dan and Serena wanted to give her the most normal life possible. Blair knew Dan wanted them to move away from the Upper East Side and that it was constantly lingering in the air in their cozy condo right across the Brooklyn Bridge, but he knew his wife would never move. Although she had such a terrible time growing up on the UES, it made her stronger and well shaped in the end. He also knew he couldn't argue with her given he was involved in one of the biggest parts of her pain. They had named their daughter after Twain's character. Although Serena hated the book, she respected her husband's literary roots and loved the uniqueness of the name. She immediately fell in love with her daughter the moment she set eyes on her. Similar to Chuck needing to have a son, Serena needed a daughter. She hadn't known the gender until she was born. When the doctor announced that it was a girl, she knew it was all meant to be.
"Henry can you sit with Bree while I call your Aunt Serena? She was supposed to be here an hour ago! And we still have to pack!" Blair stood back up, bounding a tired and cranky Sawyer up and down.
"But how do I calm her down?" Henry asked nervously. Brielle was trying to wriggle her way out of his arms and screaming. She grabbed her purple pacifier off of the endtable and shoved it in. The screaming was muted, but she was still determined to wiggle her way out of her big brother's arms.
"That will do for now. Bounce her up and down a little and hum lowly. When your dad does that it usually works." Blair instructed. Henry took his duties as an older brother very seriously. She never had a problem leaving the baby with him. At first, he had a lot of animosity towards the baby, but quickly grew fond of being in the older brother position. He was more helpful than Blair could have asked for. She even missed his help while he was at school.
Blair padded into the kitchen and grabbed the house line. She tapped a couple quick times on the touch screen and was soon dialing her best friend's number. It went into messaging after a few rings.
"You have reached the phone of Serena Humphrey, formerly Van Der Woodsen. Sorry I missed your call. If you are calling for business reasons, please press one. If you are calling for personal reasons, please press two. Thank you and have a wonderful day."
She hit the two and rolled her eyes. She looked down at Sawyer on her shoulder, who was drooling down her dress. She picked up a blue cloth from the counter and balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder.
"Serena, it's Blair. Well you probably know that. Anyways, I have your daughter in case you've conveniently forgotten and she's getting extremely cranky. Also I would like to kindly remind you that I am due on a flight tonight and have two children to pack for-" Blair stopped abruptly and ran a finger over a scrape on Sawyer's forehead. She had not seen it before because the baby's head full of Humphrey-hair had been covering it. The baby started to scream again, causing her to remove her hand quickly.
"See? That's your daughter calling for you." She held the phone up to Sawyer's mouth and smirked.
"So get your little tush over here before I explode and Henry is left to take care of two infants. Kay thanks. Au revoir!" She clicked the phone off and placed it back in the receiver. She turned her attention back to the scrape on the baby's forehead. It looked like a scratch, no doubt. It looked like the kind of scratches Henry had given himself as a baby. Blair finally had to get onesies with gloves attached to them because he would scratch himself up so bad. She was not familiar with that being a first-time mom. With Brielle however, she had the onesies ready and the tricks down. Out of all of the places to scratch, Blair found it strange that she had knicked herself on this particular spot of her forehead. It was a little ways out of her reach. Especially for being a baby of her size and age. Plus she remembered Serena telling her that she had just cut her nails. She furrowed her brows in confusion and stroked Sawyer's head again. Then it hit her.
Brielle.
Blair laughed and shook her head. Brielle and Sawyer had their first catfight after only two months as friends. It could only go downhill from there.
"Get used to it Soy. You're going to have a lot more of those. Maybe even some Field Hockey stick dents." Sawyer grasped Blair's neckline tightly and closed her eyes.
"But in the end, Brielle is going to be your sister. And you'll love her until the end of time, no matter how many fights you get into. You're the next S and B." Blair smiled and kissed her forehead. They hadn't even realized the connection until Blair shared her revelation in the hospital room.
"Sawyer, S? Really? It sounds like something a bohemian couple living in Montana would name their kid. Or those celebs who think they have to name their child uniquely or else they won't have their candid shots at the playground in People." Serena smiled and looked at her daughter in her godmother's arms.
"I think it's pretty. It's the perfect mixture of Dan and me. It just fits." Blair scrunched her face.
"More like Dan. You were not one for the liberal arts." Serena rolled her eyes.
"Okay so naming your child after your husband's alter ego slash alias is the way to go? Mine as well have named her Sabrina then." Blair's head shot up from the baby in her arms.
"Hey it was creative. Chuck wants his son to be everything he wanted to be in life. Plus it is a good throwback to Audrey in Charade."
"Exactly. I want Sawyer to be the same. I want her to be exposed to both of her parent's worlds and be comfortable in each. Then she can make a decision of where she belongs. Her name is relaxing and free. And that's…what I wanted to be. In the most literal of senses." Blair shrugged and turned her attention back to the baby. Sawyer looked up at her with her deep brown eyes and moved her mouth slightly. Blair smiled.
"She is pretty damn cute though." Blair murmured. Serena threw her pink baby blanket at her friend's head.
"Language Auntie. Language." Blair threw the blanket back at Serena and sighed.
"Sawyer and Brielle, Brielle and Sawyer. I think it goes." Serena added. Blair gaped as her eyes widened.
"S and B." She breathed. The corners of Serena's mouth turned into a wide smile.
"I didn't even realize that…" Serena murmured. Blair smiled, bouncing the baby lightly up and down.
"The next generation." Blair remarked with a small smirk. Serena giggled and fell back into her pillows.
"We can only pray they don't turn out like us." Blair shook her head in response and looked back up at Serena. They smiled at each other for a moment before the door clicked open. Blair turned around to see her husband and daughter in her carrier, screaming her head off.
"I need to go pick up Henry from preschool and our precious little angel wants her mother. Sorry to interrupt this genuine moment." Chuck explained. Serena laughed and Blair sighed loudly. She handed Sawyer to Serena and clicked a 2-month-old Brielle out of her carrier.
"Shhh Brielle you don't want to scare your new friend off!" Blair held her up in the air and kissed her nose. Serena smiled at the interaction. Blair was such a good mother to her two kids. She made her so excited to finally become a mother. Brielle immediately calmed down when Blair got the bottle out and fed her. Chuck kissed his wife and daughters foreheads before moving over to his sister.
"She really is beautiful S. Congrats." Chuck kissed her cheek sweetly and Serena smiled.
"Thanks C. Now go get that handsome nephew of mine."
"Will do." Chuck said on his way out. Blair began humming something to Brielle as she fed her and rocked her slightly back and forth. Serena had to shake her head when she got a closer look at the baby. Chuck had dressed her in a purple ruffled outfit, purple socks, and to top it all off, a purple flower headband. She thought sometimes he probably had more fun dressing her than Blair did. Brielle had more purple in her closet than Serena could have ever imagined, ignoring the fact that the baby had a walk in closet all to herself.
Brielle finished her bottle and Blair moved her to her shoulder to burp her. Serena suddenly had an idea.
"B, we have to take their picture together!" Serena exclaimed. Blair cocked her head.
"How are we going to get them to sit up in here?" She asked, rubbing her daughter's back soothingly. Serena's eyes darted around the room.
"Let's just be in the picture with them. Then we can show the new generation!" Serena offered. Blair shook her head.
"Absolutely not. I look like Lindsay Lohan right now after being by your side through labor at the crack of dawn. By the way, just going to thank you now for being with me during labor because I never realized how boring and awful it is until I was in that position." Serena smirked.
"B please? Then we can show this to them when they're older." Serena begged. Blair scoffed.
"Like they'll even appreciate it. They'll be too busy courting Archibalds and getting their eyebrows waxed." Serena retorted.
"Blair, my daughter isn't even a day old yet and yours isn't even a year. It's far too early to be thinking about that stuff. Just please come over here." Blair sighed and wiggled over to be beside her friend.
"Wait, who is even taking this picture?" Blair asked, turning to face her best friend. Serena shrugged.
"I can ask one of the nurses!" She suggested.
"Or you could ask me." Dan said, coming into the room with a tray of coffees. He walked over to Serena and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Vanilla frappe?" She asked, grinning. He smiled.
"Of course." He kissed her again. Blair cleared her throat loudly.
"Brielle and I don't have all day to sit here and watch the Derena love fest. Get on with it Humphrey. And don't even think you're going to use Serena's iPhone. Our wedding pictures were so low-def I could barely stand to put them in picture frames. I only did after they were digitally remastered, of course." Dan rolled his eyes and pulled out his Nikon.
"Alright girls, smile for the camera." He crouched down and snapped numerous shots of them. After he was done, Blair outstretched her hand and wiggled her fingers.
"Let me approve of them before they get published on either of your darling blogs or worse, page six." Dan sighed and handed Blair his camera. She clicked through the pictures.
"No I'm ugly here. And here. And here. Oh my god I look like you after a bar crawl in this one." Serena ripped the camera out of Blair's hands to prevent her from deleting any more pictures.
"Don't worry, we'll have them digitally remastered." Serena said snarkily. Blair scoffed and sat back up.
"I have to go. The smell of coffee and Brooklyn is making me sick. Have a nice day." With that, the brunette and her spawn were out of there in record time. Serena and Dan both shook their heads and turned their attention back to their daughter.
"You're just going to adore your Aunty Blair." Serena murmured.
The elevator doors opened and Blair turned her attention towards the doorframe. Sure enough, Serena came dashing through it in the most Serena-like manner she could: blonde hair flying, boots clicking, eyeshadow smeared, and panting like she just ran a marathon. She leaned on Blair's counter and began to cough.
"Jesus S what happened here." Blair asked with concern. Serena looked back up at her and sighed.
"I was just chased by crazy Inside fans." Blair started hysterically laughing.
"Don't you laugh at me! It was scary!" Serena defended. Blair looked down at Sawyer in her arms, still laughing.
"Your mother is insane Sawyer." Serena extended her arms for her daughter. Blair held her closer.
"You may want to shower first. It looks like you just ran a 5k."
"I think that might actually be pretty accurate. I mean, from Dan's office to here isn't much shorter than that." Blair reluctantly handed Sawyer back to her mother. Serena went from completely exhausted to all smiles.
"Hi sunshine! Did you have fun with your Aunty? I'm sorry I took so long. Your Daddy has a lot of cooky teenage fans." Blair rolled her eyes and walked around the counter.
"Explains why you didn't answer your cell." Blair remarked, opening the refrigerator. She got out leftover fruit salad and two forks. She handed Serena a fork and they both began digging in. Serena hopped up on a stool and held Sawyer on her shoulder with her other hand.
"You know, I've never gotten chased like this! Ever since the rumor about there being a second movie came out on TMZ, he's had people lining up outside of his Brooklyn loft office like they're waiting for the Queen!"
"More like waiting for the pauper." Serena plopped a strawberry in her mouth.
"Not so pauper anymore." She said with a smirk. Blair looked over at the clock as she gnawed on an orange.
"Ugh I still have to pack for Henry and Brielle for our flight at seven. Thank god I'm the boss' wife and we can make it later. I really regret letting Dorota go to Disney World this week now."
"I wish I could help you, but I'm sure I wouldn't pick out the right clothes or pack the right amount of underwear." Blair gave her a look and returned to picking at the bowl.
"Where's Chuck?"
"Work. He has to tie up things before we leave." Henry came dashing in the room with a worried expression.
"Momma, Brielle spit up everywhere." Blair groaned and dropped her fork on the counter.
"Be right back." She hurried out of the kitchen to retrieve her daughter. Serena's eyes widened when she saw Chuck sneak into the kitchen.
"What are you-" She started. He put a finger up to his lips and crouched behind the counter. Henry giggled and went to join him. Blair padded back into the kitchen.
"Henry I don't see where she sp-"
"Surprise!" Henry screamed, popping up alongside Chuck. She jumped up in the air. Serena laughed at the scene. Typical Bass family.
"Oh my god Hen you know better than to scare me like that. Especially when I'm holding Brielle." Blair scolded. Chuck made his way to his wife and wrapped his arms around her.
"Calm down beautiful it was just a practical joke." He met her lips with a gentle kiss. She deepened the kiss and hummed contently into his lips. Serena started to cough loudly and Henry joined in happily. They pulled away reluctantly and smiled.
"How long have you been here?" She asked.
"Enough time to hear you stressing about packing. I would like to inform you that I took care of that late last night when you were passed out on the couch watching Four Weddings." Blair shook her head and grinned.
"You're too good." She said. He kissed her again. Serena clapped shortly two times and stood up.
"As much as I love you two together, I think I've had enough for today. Thanks for watching my daughter this morning and have fun in the city of love!" Serena said. She swung her bag over the opposite shoulder and kissed her now-asleep daughter on the head before heading out the door. Henry walked over to his parents and hugged their legs.
"Can we go now?" He begged, swinging back and forth. Chuck picked him up and positioned him on his hip.
"You and I are going to go on a mission real quick while your mother makes sure I packed everything correctly." Blair raised an eyebrow questionably.
"We will be quick I promise. The Bass jet is already ready for an early departure to Parie." Blair kissed both of her boys on the cheek.
"Well don't be too long." Chuck gave her a quick peck on the lips and headed out the door with Henry.
"Are you going to tell me what you did on your mission?" Blair asked sweetly, sitting up on the limo seat. They were on their way to the runway to depart for Blair's favorite city. Chuck shook his head.
"No Mommy. It's a surprise!" Henry piped up from his booster seat.
"I'll get you that new Wii game you want if you tell me." Blair bargained. Chuck rolled his eyes.
"Really Blair?" She shrugged. Henry shook his head.
"Never. It's a Bass Boys secret." He said seriously. Blair laughed.
"What on earth is a 'Bass Boys' secret?" She asked. Henry smiled.
"It's a deep secret that only the Bass' can keep."
"Well I'm a Bass." He smiled.
"No you're not. You're a Waldorf." Henry responded. Blair furrowed her brow.
"But I married a Bass." She said, holding her ring finger up to show her Harry Winston ring set.
"But you're not a boy." Chuck said smoothly. He was really amused by the whole situation. She shot him a death glare.
"I am going to expose your mission if it's the last thing I do." She said with a huff. Chuck smirked.
"Well, you can plot a scheme while we get settled in the jet." Chuck proposed. He hopped out of the limo and picked up Brielle's car seat. Blair followed out, taking Henry's hand. She flattened her dress and hopped up the stairs. Once everyone was settled, Blair whipped out a People magazine and snuggled in her pink blanket. Chuck took a seat next to her and extended the blanket over himself. She held her hand up to his face, her eyes still transfixed on the magazine.
"Can't a man snuggle with his wife?" Chuck asked, nuzzling his nose in her shoulder.
"Not when he's keeping secrets from me." She shot, flipping a page noisily. She didn't have the energy nor willpower to push him away.
"You always try to ruin my surprises and never succeed Waldorf. If you would just learn from the past, you would know that you're going to be that much happier with it in the end when you don't know what it is." He murmured into her shoulder, shutting his eyes. Blair huffed loudly.
"How do I know you didn't go see your stripper for a quicky?" Chuck gave her a quizzical look.
"…because I brought my son?" Blair sighed and threw her magazine down.
"I'm tired. Turn off the cabin lights." Chuck clicked the remote and the lights dimmed down. She snuggled into her husband's arms, silently thanked god that Brielle was fast asleep, and drifted comfortably off into sleep.
2 Days Later…
"Mommy Mommy there it is!" Henry squealed. Chuck threw him over his shoulder and he screamed with glee. Blair, Roman, and Harold came up behind them.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Blair marveled, looking up at her favorite landmark. She peered down at her bundle in the stroller. Brielle's eyes were wide open and darted around.
"Welcome to Paris fille." Blair cooed. Brielle was clad in a ruby red outfit, including a red headband of course. She ran a hand against her pink cheeks and smiled. She knew it was going to be hell getting the stroller up to the top, so she was going to have to carry her. She groaned at the prospect.
"Let's go!" Henry cheered, pointing towards the elevators.
"At your service, Captain Bass." Chuck said, making his way towards the line. Henry giggled and wrapped his arms around his father's neck.
Once they had made their way to the top, Henry dashed out and looked at the view. Blair and Chuck followed hand in hand as well as Roman holding Brielle and Harold. Chuck wrapped his arm around Blair's waist and kissed the side of her head. They made their way to their son and lifted him up. They both kissed his face in unison and Henry began to laugh.
"Let's get a family picture!" Harold suggested. Roman handed Brielle to Blair and Chuck positioned Henry on his hip. Just as Harold was getting ready to take the picture, Brielle began to cry.
"Oh Bree." Blair moaned, bouncing her daughter up and down. Henry turned to face his sister.
"Ree Ree, look!" He began to make funny faces. Brielle's cries died down as she looked at her big brother quizzically. He started to make noises which totally quieted her down. Blair wiped the tears off of her face and laughed.
"You're such a good big brother Hen." She said. He smiled. Chuck could have sworn Brielle was smiling too.
"Look Blair, she's smiling." Blair looked down and sure enough, she was. Henry laughed and kissed her on the cheek. Luckily for them, Harold was getting this moment on camera and Roman on video. Blair snuggled closer to her family and looked back at Harold.
"1…2…3!" Harold cheered. He snapped numerous photos of the family. When he set his camera down, Blair noticed Henry looking a little down. She knew exactly why.
"Roman, can you take Brielle back and we'll take some pictures of just the three of us?"
"Of course. J'aime ma petite-fille (I love my little granddaughter)." He cooed. Blair wrapped her arms around her husband and son. Henry had the biggest grin on his face that warmed both of his parents' hearts. They both kissed the sides of his head like the previous picture as Harold snapped photos. They all giggled after the third shot and fell apart. Blair smiled.
"Peu importe ce que je fais, je t'aimerai toujours mon petit garçon." Blair said happily, looking down at her firstborn. Henry smiled.
(No matter what I do, I will always love my little boy.)
"I don't know all of that French yet Mommy!" Henry complained. She patted his back.
"You'll get there." She comforted. He walked over to Roman.
"Can we have a picture? Just me and my sister?" He asked. Everyone smiled.
"Bien sûr!" Roman said, carefully handing Brielle to Henry.
"Of course!" Henry translated.
"See Hen? You're on your way." Blair marveled. He got a good grip on the baby and carefully walked towards the fence.
"Smile!" Harold said. Sure enough, both siblings had grins on their faces. Chuck knew this one was going on his desk.
"I love you sissy." Henry said, kissing her on the head. Brielle gurgled in response. The product from the mission, a Tiffany necklace with a small Paris charm, hung securely from the baby's neck. Blair had a similar one as well. It read:
Ensemble pour toujours dans l'éternité.
Together forever into eternity.
Hope you enjoyed this chap! I thought the last chap before the epilogue should be in Paris to refer to one of the previous chapters :) Please R&R! It makes me happy!
XOXO, Becca