A/N: I don't own GG or Mumford and Sons.

So break my step
And relent
Well you forgave and I won't forget
Know what we've seen
And him with less
Now in some way shake the excess

And I will wait I will wait for you
And I will wait I will wait for you
And I will wait I will wait for you
And I will wait I will wait for you

Now I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes
A tethered mind freed from the lies

And I'll kneel down
Wait for now
I'll kneel down
Know my ground

Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
And bow my head
Feel my heart slow

"I Will Wait"

Mumford and Sons

Chuck stepped off the now familiar elevator into the even more familiar hospital hall. With a wink and a slight wave, he greeted the nurse at the station as he made his way down the hall to Will's room.

"Mr. Bass! Mr. Bass!" Chuck heard, as he rounded the corner toward his destination.

Pausing his step, Chuck turned in the direction of the voice and found himself staring down into the eyes of a gap-toothed, curly-headed brunette in a wheelchair.

"How many times do I have to tell you," Chuck began. And despite his stern voice, he finished with a wink, "Call me Chuck, not Mr. Bass."

The younger brunette blushed at this, "Sorry, Mister-I mean, Chuck."

"Just try to remember next time, Liv," he said with a slow smile, as he tousled her curls causing her blush to deepen.

"I will," she said, lifting her brown eyes to meet his, " I promise."

"Good," he said with a chuckle, "Mr. Bass makes me sound much older than I am."

"I don't think you're old at all," Liv whispered shyly, "I think you're perfect."

"Well, I think you're pretty perfect, too," he said with a laugh.

Liv's cheeks turned even redder at this compliment and Chuck just shook his head and waved at the young girl as he headed back towards Will's room.

He had only made it two steps when he heard, "Chuck!"

He turned with a grin on his face, "Yes, Liv."

"I-I just wanted to thank you, " she stuttered as she reached up to her head and fingered the delicate band that rested upon her curls, "for the headband. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome, but you should really thank Will," he said. "I'll see you later."

"Later," she agreed.

He smiled to himself as he made his way down the hall to Will's room. It had actually been Will's idea to give Liv the headband. He had been harboring a crush on the girl for a few months and had only recently opened up to Chuck about it. They had been out after a baseball game and Will had seen the sparkly headband in the display case. He had wistfully declared that it would look beautiful on Liv's curls. Chuck's first instinct had been to roll his eyes, but holding it back, he convinced to Will to go into the store and, with Chuck's help, purchased the diamond encrusted band. Of course, when it had come time to give the actual gift to Liv, Will had chickened out, insisting that he couldn't do it. He had shoved the box into Chuck's hand and had stubbornly declared that Chuck should deliver the trinket. Chuck begrudgingly obliged and the girl had been thrilled. He had tried to emphasize that the gift was from Will but the words had seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

He had laughed at the irony of giving such a gift to the girl. He wondered if that was how Blair would have been at that age. He wondered if that was how he would have been if he had known Blair at that age. And as he came on that thought, he found himself directly outside of Will's room.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he entered the room with a smirk.

"I just saw your girlfriend," he said with a sly smirk.

"She's not my girlfriend," Will retorted from his place on the bed, throwing down the Xbox controller.

"Sorry, your wannabe girlfriend," Chuck amended.

"She doesn't want to be my girlfriend," Will mutters as he launches his pillow across the room at Chuck.

Chuck ducks just in time to miss the projectile and straightens his tie as he rights himself.

"Maybe," he agrees, "Maybe not. But you want her to be your girlfriend, so that still counts as a wannabe."

"Shut up," Will groans as he buries himself under the remaining pillows on his bed.

"Somebody's in a chipper mood," Chuck mocks as he pushes Will to the side to take a seat on the bed and resumes Will's game.

"Somebody's in a chipper mood," Will mimics from under the covers.

"What was that?" Chuck jests as he keeps his eyes focused on the screen. "Can't hear you over how awesome I am at this game. You really suck."

Frustrated, Will throws the covers from his body, knocking the controller out of Chuck's hand and onto the floor.

Unfazed, Chuck smoothly moves from the bed to the chair, picks up the remote and resumes play.

Will continues to stew on the bed until he notices the date on the calendar and a sly smile crosses his face.

"Want to talk about wannabe girlfriends, Chuck," Will asked devilishly as he puts extra emphasis on Chuck's name.

Removing his gaze from the television momentarily, Chuck's gaze meets Will's questioningly.

Will only raises his eyebrows in response so Chuck turns back to the game at hand.

"It's Friday," Will states simply.

"Thanks for the update, Einstein," Chuck replied, eyes never leaving the screen.

"It's Friday night," Will continues, "And you're playing video games in a hospital with a kid."

Chuck's eyes remain on the screen but his fingers cease to move on the controllers.

"Your point?" He questions, though he knows where the kid is going and he dreads it.

"You're not out on a date," Will states simply. "So if you want to talk about wannabe girlfriends," Will emphasizes, "Then maybe we should start with yours."

Chuck finally drops the controller and turns to meet Will's gaze.

"She's not my girlfriend," he says, almost sadly.

"No crap," Will returns. "Why?"

"Why?"

"Why isn't she your girlfriend?"

Will's question lays heavy in the air between them.

It was a question he had started asking himself recently. In the beginning, it had made sense to him for them to be apart. He was still hurt from what had happened with Humphrey and he knew that she needed time to deal with the loss of her baby. Over the past few months, though, things had been going well. Really well. She called him after her doctor appointments and they would spend hours on the phone talking and laughing. Their relationship had never been this good.

It was after one of these particular conversations that Chuck had started to ask himself why she wasn't his girlfriend yet. She seemed to be doing well with the counseling. So well, in fact, that Chuck was afraid to push her.

What if them getting back together pushed her into another spiral? What if she pushed him away again? And while his heart screamed that this wouldn't happen, his head kept trying to be logical.

Chuck shrugged, "I guess, I'm just waiting."

"Waiting for what," Will asked, "Your hair to fall out? Hell to freeze over?"

"No," Chuck shot back indignantly.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, Chuck lost in thoughts and Will trying to figure out how to help his friend.

"I guess I'm just waiting for her to be sure," Chuck said.

"She is sure, Chuck," Will reassures, "She loves you."

"I know," Chuck replied, meeting his eyes. "I know she loves me."

"Then what?"

"I'm waiting for her to be sure that she's ready and I'm not sure she is," he replied.

"How will you know?"

"I have no clue…"

The silence overtakes the room again and Will searches for a way to change the subject.

He leans down and picks up the fallen retriever from the floor and then retrieves one from the nightstand.

He hands the controller to Chuck with a smile and Chuck gratefully accepts the change in topic.

"You're not that awesome," Will taunts as he furiously punches the keys on his controller in an effort to kill Chuck's player.

"Yes, I am," Chuck replies with a smirk, "I'm Chuck Bass."

Her heels snap against the tile as she makes her way down the familiar hall to Will's room. She hadn't been to see him in awhile and her social calendar had surprisingly come up empty for that Saturday afternoon so she had decided to pay him a visit.

She walks into the room but finds the room empty and strangely quiet.

"Will," she questions into the darkened room.

She slowly flips on the light switch as she glances around the room taking in her surroundings. Her more recent visits had been announced and perhaps Will had always cleaned up before she arrived because this was clearly the room of a young boy. The white sheets are rumpled and half falling off of the bed. The chair beside the bed contains an Xbox controller as well as several empty candy wrappers. The drawer on the bedside table is opened and she can clearly see where he keeps his candy stash. But something else on the nightstand caught her eye. A frame.

Moving forward, she gently picked the frame up from the table to examine it more closely. Blair guessed that the picture was from one of the baseball games the pair had gone to. Compared to Will's cheesy mug, Chuck probably looked slightly, if not completely disinterested in the picture. But Blair knew Chuck and a smile grew on her face as she could see the happiness dancing in his eyes. Slowly she brought her finger up to trace the outline of his jaw, wishing, for just a moment that it wasn't a photo she was touching.

"Looking for Will," a small voice came from the doorway.

Startled, Blair slowly placed the picture down on nightstand and turned to face the intruder, a young girl with a gorgeous, Blair noted, headband on top of her shiny curls.

Before Blair could answer, though, the girl had wheeled over to where Blair was standing and picked up the frame that Blair had been holding before staring at the older girl suspiciously.

"Do you know Mr. Ba-I mean Chuck?" the girl said inquisitively, seemingly taking stock of the slender brunette in front of her.

"I do," Blair replied, "How do you know him,…"

"Liv," the young girl replied with a forced smile as she stretched out her hand.

"Blair," she answered, surprised at the girl's strong handshake.

"Will's not here," Liv said, with an air of superiority to her voice.

"I can see that," Blair returned, "Do you know where he is?"

"Maybe," the girl replied, "What's it to you?"

"You're seriously not going to tell me where he is?" Blair said in disbelief.

The girl remained unmoved staring down Blair as if she were a lion stalking her prey.

For a moment Blair stared at the young girl. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," Liv replied, never batting an eyelash.

"Whatever," Blair said, rolling her eyes, "The nurses will tell me where he is."

"The nurses aren't going to tell a strange lady where one of the patients' is," Liv snapped.

"Fine," Blair sighed, figuring the girl was right. What could it hurt to answer her questions anyway?

"What do you want?"

"What's he to you?"

"Will?" Blair asked in confusion.

"Chuck."

"Chuck?" Blair said as realization dawned on her.

"What's he to you?"

"Do you like Chuck?" Blair asked, a slight giggle in her voice as her eyes widened.

"Maybe," the girl replied as her mask of stone slipped momentarily from her face at the thought of Chuck. "But the question is, do you like Chuck?"

For a moment, Blair stared at the young girl and tried not to giggle at being interrogated by a pre-teen about her…Chuck.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Liv asked tersely.

"No," Blair answered carefully.

"Good."

"Excuse me," Blair asked, clearly affronted.

"Don't act offended," Liv snapped. "He's too good for you."

Liv looked at Blair for a moment, a triumphant smile on her face at having put the older girl in her place.

"I think so too," Blair said with a wink, "But luckily for me, he doesn't see it that way."

"So he is your boyfriend," Liv said, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. "You're a liar."

"I didn't lie," Blair answered. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Then what is he?" Liv challenged.

"He's my…Chuck," Blair said as she glanced at his picture on the table.

"And you're Blair," Liv rolled her eyes, "I got that already. But he's not your boyfriend?"

"No," Blair said, her tone clearly exasperated.

"Do you want him to be?" the young girl pressed.

"Yes," Blair sanpped as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Does he want to be your boyfriend?"

"Yes," Blair replied, unable to keep the smile off her face.

"Then why isn't he?"

"Huh?"

"Why isn't he your boyfriend?"

"We're just…waiting?"

"For what?" Liv said with a smirk. "Your hair to fall out? Hell to freeze over?"

"No," Blair replied indignantly.

"Do you think you can do better? Because you can't. Chuck Bass is the best there is."

"I know," Blair said with a small smile. "He's amazing. He's always been amazing."

"Then what?"

"I guess I'm just waiting for him to ask," she said simply. "He's what I want. So I guess I'll wait until he asks."

"What if it's forever?" the girl insisted.

"Then I'll wait forever."

"That's dumb," Liv answered, disdain filling her voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Stop waiting," Liv replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Go and get what you want, that's what I'd do."

"What would who do," Will replied as he appeared at the doorway, shirt half on and hair in disarray with a basketball tucked under one arm.

As both girls turned to face the man of the hour, Will's face began to turn a deep shade of crimson as he tried to pull down his shirt and straighten his unruly hair.

"Hey, Will," Blair said with a smile, noting the bright-red stain to his cheeks.

"Hey, Liv," Will said stammering, giving no notice to the other girl's presence.

"Hey," Liv said quietly as she began to wheel herself to the door. Just as she reached the threshold, Liv turned the chair to smile sweetly at Will, "I'll see you later." She then turned a pointed glare in Blair's direction. "Blair, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Blair replied. "Oh, and Liv."

"Yes."

"I love your headband," Blair said truthfully.

"Thanks," the younger girl replied a slight blush shading her cheeks. "It was a gift."

"Well, they have excellent taste."

"Yes, they do," Liv agreed as she wheeled out the door.

The room was quiet for a few moments after Liv's exit.

"She sure is something," Blair pried.

"She sure is," Will agreed with a dreamy smile.

"Whatever," Blair muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"So," Blair said, perching daintily on the edge of the bed. "How have you been?"

"Fine," answered as he climbed onto the bed beside her.

"Fine?"

"That's what I said."

"So tell me about Liv," Blair prodded.

"Nothing to tell."

"So she's not your girlfriend?"

"No," Will replied through clenched teeth. What was it with people these days?

He waited a beat and then couldn't stop himself from asking, "What was that about, by the way? You and Liv?"

"Girl talk," Blair said, purposefully giving nothing away.

"About?"

"Girl stuff," she answered simply.

He gave her one of those looks that told her she could do better and he knew it.

Blair huffed.

"Fine, we were talking about Chuck," Blair offered.

"What about Chuck?"

"She asked why he wasn't my boyfriend."

"Valid question," Will mused.

"Yeah, well, I told her I was waiting for him to ask me."

"That's dumb," and Blair found herself rolling her eyes at his reaction, the same that she had received from his non-girlfriend.

"That's what she said."

"Smart girl."

"Whatever."

Slowly, Will reached around Blair's slender figure to grab a package of Twizzler's out of his drawer. Pulling one out, he bit into it and offered the bag to Blair.

"That was it?"

"No," Blair replied, slipping out one candy.

She placed the red licorice in her mouth and slowly nibbled on the end as she contemplated Liv's parting piece of advice-something she had already vowed to do this year.

"She told me to quit waiting and get what I want."

"Good advice," Will replied, using his Twizzler to emphasize his agreement before popping the rest of it in his mouth and grabbing another.

"Yeah," Blair sighed as she thoughtfully chewed the rest of her candy. "It was."

"So what are going to do?" Will said carefully as he offered the bag to Blair.

"Quit waiting, I guess," she said with a smile as she met his eyes and took another candy.

He returned her smile and followed her eyes as they drifted towards the frame.

They both chewed in silence, staring into the frame at the man who had changed both their lives so drastically.

"I should get going," Blair said, popping the last bit of candy in her mouth. "Waiting ends today."

"Go get 'em tiger!" Will quipped with a mouthful of candy.

"So funny," Blair snarked.

"I thought so," Will said with a shrug as Blair turned and stopped at the door.

"Will."

"Yes," Will sing-songed, awaiting the next barb.

Blair smiled, "She's right."

"Liv," she clarified as she noted the confusion on his face.

"You do have great taste. The headband is beautiful."

Will stared for a moment, "How did you-"

Blair waved it off, "Maybe it wouldn't hurt you to take her advice and go after what you wanted, too."

And with that, Blair walked out the door, heels clicking across the floor like a woman on a mission. Her wait was over.

A/N: I'm dreadfully sorry for the horrible wait. I could give about a million excuses but that's all they'd be. I had the summer off and wasn't feeling very inspired. I thought my trip to NYC would help pull the story out of me. All it did was convince me that I needed to move to the city and that Ed Westwick is too hot for words... Now my summer is over-who would have thought it would take going back to work for me to get some inspiration and make time to write? I think there will be at least two more chapters, if not three. If you're still reading, thank you, thank you, thank you! You are amazing!