Juicyxoxocharm16: Thanks for the advice, I'll try and make future chapters longer :)

Chapter Twenty-One

After ten minutes of lying in one another's arms, Chuck nudged her shoulder and Blair sat up.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Can you do something for me?" he asked.

"Anything," she replied easily.

"Go home."

"What? No, I'm not leaving you," she argued.

"Go to my place, take a shower and sleep on my side of the bed," he said as she smiled wryly at him. "You're exhausted and I'm going to be busy with all the tests anyway."

"I'm fine," she lied, trying her best to maintain her smile.

"Please? I'll be here when you get back, I promise."

Sighing at his request, she reluctantly rose to her feet.

"I know," she suddenly said.

"Know what?" he asked with a frown.

"About my dad."

Sighing softly, he ran his free hand through his hair.

"My mom explained everything to me," she added.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want you to find out like this."

"Don't apologize, you have nothing to be sorry for," she said firmly. "I'm the one who's sorry for giving you such a hard time the past couple weeks. You were just trying to find my father."

"I wanted to tell you, Blair, but your mom wanted to wait. She was just trying to put it off as long as she could," he explained.

"I know," she said with a sad smile before looking down. "Did you find him?"

Seeing how hurt she was, he hesitated before answering.

"No," he replied and she looked up at him in confusion.

"But that girl said you did."

Before he could respond, a knock came on the door and they both turned to see a police officer walking in.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but my name's Officer Tom Wilkins and I need to ask you a few questions about the other night."

When no one objected, the man moved to stand at the foot of the bed before removing a pen and notepad from his pocket.

"Ma'am, would you mind waiting outside?" he asked, facing Blair.

"No, I want her here," Chuck cut him off and took Blair's hand in his.

"Alright, then why don't you start from the beginning," he began. "Mrs. Waldorf said that you were meeting her ex-husband, is that correct?"

"Yeah," Chuck replied, a hint of anger in his voice. "Eleanor told me last week that Harold Waldorf had become a drug addict and that no one had heard from him in weeks."

Blair looked down as he spoke, her move not going unnoticed by Chuck.

"My P.I found him and we managed to set up a meeting through…a friend," he explained.

"Is this 'friend' Jane Martin, the pretty red-head who accompanied you to the hospital with your blood all over her hands and clothes?"

"I guess so, yeah," Chuck said with a nod.

"So what happened next? Was Mr. Waldorf there?"

"Yeah, but he wanted to speak with me alone," he explained as the officer began scribbling notes onto the pad. "My driver and Jane went back to the car and Harold and I started talking. He got spooked and ran off and I chased him down the alley."

He paused briefly to gaze at Blair, who kept her eyes glued to the floor as waves of sadness came off her.

"Then what happened?" Officer Wilkins asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothing, I ran into a clearing and I think there was a fight or something happening. I'm not really sure. It all happened so fast and the next thing I knew, I was shot."

Blair looked away at the words, the reminder of how close she was to losing Chuck breaking her heart once more.

"Was Mr. Waldorf there?"

Chuck hesitated again and stole another glance at Blair.

"Was Harold Waldorf there?" the officer repeated.

"No," he finally said and Blair looked up at him in surprise.

"Did you recognize the person holding the gun?"

"No."

"How many people were there?"

"Two."

"And Mr. Waldorf wasn't one of them?"

"No," Chuck repeated.

"So you're telling me that your shooting was random and accidental by two people you had never met before?" he asked skeptically.

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he replied with a shrug.

"Can you give me a description of what the two people looked like?"

"It was dark and everything happened so fast."

"Well, the problem here, Mr. Bass, is that I don't believe you," the officer began as Blair faced him in confusion. "There are too many holes in your story."

"Well, that's what happened," Chuck replied, staring straight into the other man's eyes.

"You expect me to believe that you went in search of a heroin addict," he began and Blair bit back her tears, "on the corner of East 116th and Third Avenue in Harlem and you were accidentally shot for something completely unrelated?"

"It's the truth."

"Look, I get that he's your girlfriend's father and you want to protect her and maybe him too," he said and glanced at a silent Blair. "But you have to tell me the truth. What really happened?"

"I already told you what happened. Harold ran off, I chased him, lost him and ran into the wrong alley," he repeated, his voice even and strong.

When the cop stood unconvinced, Chuck let out an angry groan.

"Look, I almost died and I could damn well be paralyzed for the rest of my life," he snapped before swatting his legs. "Do you really think that I want to protect the son of a bitch who did this to me, family or not? If you do, then you don't know me very well."

The officer hesitated briefly before shutting his notepad.

"Alright," he said with a nod. "If that's the story you're going with, there's not much I can do to change your mind. We're still canvassing the area. If we find something or have any more questions, I guess I know where to find you."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room as they watched him go.

"Chuck," Blair exclaimed the moment the officer was gone. "Tell me the truth."

"I just did," he replied, his anger still visible.

"Chuck…"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore, alright?" he snapped at her. "Just go home and get some rest. I need to be alone for a while."

Hurt by his words, she nodded and quickly left the room as he watched her go with a sigh. Releasing a frustrated groan, he slammed his fists onto the bed before gritting his teeth from the pain. Shutting his eyes, he gripped the blanket between his fingers as a wave of pain shot through his chest. Breathing unevenly, he opened his eyes just in time to see Jane walking in.

"You don't look too good," she said, moving to stand beside the bed. "Do you want me to get your doctor?"

"No!" he exclaimed and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

She watched him for a long minute as he slowly relaxed before clearing her throat.

"Why did you lie?"

"I didn't tell the truth about you…"

"No, not that," she cut him off. "I mean, about Harold being there. You and I both know that he was."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said and rubbed his eyes.

"I saw him running off and leaving you there, bleeding," she explained. "So why did you lie?"

Chuck sat in complete stillness for a couple minutes, as a memory floated into his mind. He remembered the feeling of getting shot, the pain shooting through his body as he fell to the ground. He remembered the gang members running away before he looked up at Harold and asked him for help. What he remembered most clearly was Harold turning around and running away.

"Chuck?" she asked, getting his attention.

"There were five guys, gang members judging from their tattoos, waiting for me," he explained quietly. "Harold owed them thirty grand and he had told them that I could pay off his debt."

"What went wrong?" she asked as he faced her.

"You're not surprised that he set me up?"

"I told you…never trust an addict, even if you've known him your whole life or he's family," she reminded as he scoffed.

"Yeah, I realize that now," he said before his eyes focused on the white ceiling overhead. "I don't carry that kind of cash with me so I gave them my watch. The guy wanted more and then he pulled a gun on me. They heard my driver calling out my name and the guy pointed the gun at Harold. I don't know what the hell was going through my mind but I leapt forward to grab the gun from him."

Looking down, she took a seat on the chair beside his bed.

"The gun went off and they ran away."

"And Harold just left you there? You tried to save his life and he just ran off?" she asked and his silence was enough of a response for her. "So why'd you lie?"

"If I told the truth, then he'd be in even more shit than he already is."

"You have the rare gift of forgiveness," she commented.

"Who says I forgive him?" he said, the anger returning to his voice. "Even if I ever walk again, I got shot because of him and almost died because of him. As far as I'm concerned, he's as good as dead to me."

Turning his gaze back to the ceiling, he let out a quiet sigh.

"I did it for Blair."

Smiling wryly, she pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Why did you lie about me?" she asked after a minute. "You could have easily told that cop who I was."

"I told you," he said and faced her. "Just because my bank account has more money than yours, it doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to grow up alone, without a family."

"I thought you said your father died last year?"

"My relationship with my father ended the moment my mother died giving birth to me," he replied as she watched him in silence. "Good or bad, I want Blair to be able to have a relationship with hers."

"But it's based on a lie."

"I never said it was perfect," he replied. "But it's better for her to think the man she's loved and admired all these years is only an addict rather than an addict and a coward who left me bleeding on the ground."

Understanding his train of thought, she nodded absently just as an elderly nurse walked into the room.

"Hi honey," she said with a sweet smile. "My name's Ellen and I'm here to take you upstairs to the fifth floor for your tests."

Nodding, he turned towards Jane for a final time.

"Stick to what I said," he whispered.

Nodding in agreement, she stepped back and watched as the nurse wheeled him into the hallway.

Walking into Chuck's suite, Blair closed the door and made her way towards the bedroom. Once she was inside, she slowly began removing the dress off her body. Placing it on the bed, she removed her earrings and jewelry before walking into the bathroom. Turning on the hot water, she stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain to the end. Moving under the shower head, she allowed the hot water to cover her body before clasping her hand over her mouth. Her knees suddenly gave way beneath her and she shrank to her feet. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she pressed the side of her face against the cold tiles and shut her eyes to hold back her tears.

After thirty minutes, Blair eventually made her way back to the bedroom and dried her body off. Walking to one of Chuck's dressers, she pulled open a drawer and removed his silk pajama top and bottom. Lifting the cloth to her nose, she inhaled his scent before lowering her hands and wearing the clothes. Walking towards the bed, she stood on the left side where he normally occupied and slowly sat down. Leaning down on the bed, she curled her legs beneath her and clutched her hands at her chest. Unable to hold back her tears any longer, she shut her eyes and let out a painful cry.