Disclaimer: All chapters of this story are for entertainment purposes only. I own none of the characters or dialogue from the movie or show. Props to the writers and creators of My Fair Lady and of course, GG.

Chapter 20: August & Everything After

Thanks to the Counting Crows for the title of this chapter.

Italics: Blair's dream

Bold italics: Gossip Girl

Once upon a time there was a poor girl from the wrong borough

who became an UES Queen as her plotting was thorough.

With help of a Humphrey, a fairy godmother and a Countess' scheme

Our Brooklyn Dodger was close to living the dream.

She was Yale bound and had millions in the bank

For that, she had her brain and young man to thank.

But could she really bag her prince like old Katie?

Plots don't always end like My Fair Lady.

Their plot had been twisted, epic and crass

But will this story end with a Waldorf and Bass?

August 1st

Blair boarded the plane leaving a sweltering Paris behind. It had been a cruel summer and she was anxious to get back to New York. Her dramatic build up had turned into a hot mess. What a fool she was to think the plot could possibly end without her and Chuck together. Damn the Humphreys of the world, damn the writers, and damn her own ignorant folly for ever having questioned her relationship with Chuck. Life was too short for playing it safe. She knew, deep down, that he would never hurt her intentionally. And even if he had, in the end, potential heartbreak trumps certain boredom. Come what may, Blair was determined to have her fair ending with a little bit of bloomin' Chuck.

Across the Atlantic, Chuck Bass stood on the rooftop of The Palace. The morning sun was already warming the city. He looked out over Manhattan as the fog slowly lifted revealing the Empire State Building in the distance. He thought about Blair and her dramatic build up. How could she have let it go so far? What a heartless, wicked, brainless thing to do. But truth be told, he was mad at himself. He had been a coward for running away…again. Maybe it was noble to let Blair go, but what did being noble have to do with Chuck Bass? Plus, how could he ever really let her go? She almost made the day begin. Her smiles, her frowns, her ups, her downs were a second nature to him now. He was grateful she was just a woman and so easy to forget, rather like a habit he could always break, and yet, he'd grown accustomed to the trace of something in the air, accustomed to her… face.

Blair took her seat in the first class cabin and thought of how exciting Yale was going to be. The classes, the Ivy League mixers, Chuck lurking around every corner. Yale was a given; now all she had to do was hook the Bass once and for all. Suddenly, her daydream was rudely interrupted by a flitty voice over the loud speaker, "We're sorry ladies and gentlemen, but we will be experiencing a slight delay due to mechanical problems. We appreciate your patience." Although anxious, Blair knew she would still have plenty of time. Even with a slight delay, she could make it to Park Avenue to change and still be at the Empire State Building by seven o' clock.

"Not enough," Chuck said looking at the first ring.

The jeweler presented him with another.

"A princess cut!" Chuck scowled, "Definitely not."

So the jeweler brought out yet another. And there it was in all its sparkling glory: THE RING. With eight dazzling carats and all that platinum, how could you go wrong? If he couldn't be her best friend, these diamonds would be. He sat in the limo looking down at the ring. Everything was falling into place. He closed the box and smirked as his car drove away leaving Harry Winston behind.

Just as she was getting comfortable, the flitty voice was back. Another delay; this time a bit more than slight. Now she was panicked. Poor Blair, looks like she was in for some dramatic irony. And while she was all about the dramatic build up, she didn't want it to come at the expense of looking good. She would have to improvise. Originally the plan was to get ready at the Countess' penthouse, but with this new delay there would be no time. She would have to change in the lavatory. Luckily, her dress was one of her carry on items.

An hour passed, and finally the flight was underway. She was feeling drowsy and the drone of the engines eventually rocked her to sleep.

Blair looked around to find that she was back in Luxembourg Gardens. She was holding Louis' hand as she watched Chuck call the blond. She had had enough of his nonsense.

"I want to smash your face. I could kill you, you selfish brute! Blair yelled. "Why did you even come to Paris?"

Chuck excused himself from his phone conversation, "Oh, so the creature's nervous after all? Claws in, you cat! How dare you show your temper to me?"

Blair looked down, "What's to become of me?"

"How do I know what's to become of you?" Chuck asked sounding annoyed. "What does it matter?"

Blair pulled away from Louis and was now looking Chuck in the eyes, "You don't care. I know you don't care. You wouldn't care if I was dead. I'm nothing to you."

"Hold on dear, will you please," Chuck said to the blond. He moved closer to Blair, "well, it's only natural that you should be anxious, but it's all over now. I'm going back to New York. Nothing more to worry about."

Blair sighed, "No, nothing more for you to worry about. Oh, God, I wish I was dead."

"Why? In heaven's name, why?" Chuck asked sounding perplexed. "Now listen to me Waldorf. All this irritation is purely subjective."

"I don't understand. I'm just a common girl from Brooklyn," Blair said beginning to cry.

Chuck frowned, "It's just imagination. Nothing's wrong. Nobody's hurting you. Don't you thank God we're over? Now you're free, and you can do what you like." Chuck looked at her and then over at Louis, "I'm sure you won't have any difficulty in settling yourself somewhere or other. You two might marry."

Blair blushed but remained silent.

Chuck continued, "I'm sure Louis would be thrilled to have you. You're not bad-looking. You're really quite a pleasure to look at sometimes. Not now, when you've been crying. You look like the very devil, but…when you're all right and quite yourself you're what I would call attractive."

As he went on, she grew angrier by the moment. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Harry Winston necklace he had given her.

"Here is the necklace you gave me at my party," she said "I don't want it anymore."

Chuck saw this and lunged toward her.

"Don't you hit me!" Blair yelled.

"Hit you? You infamous creature!" Chuck raised his voice. "How dare you suggest such a thing! It's you who've hit me. You've wounded me to the heart. You've caused me to lose my temper. That's hardly happened to me before…"

Blair awoke suddenly. What a vile dream. Perhaps, she was still slightly angry with him. Ah well, isn't that half the fun? She shook it off and looked out the window. The cabin lights were low as the flight attendants came around with cocktails.

"Champagne?" Stephen the blond steward asked.

Michael the dark brooding type, followed close behind, "Strawberries?"

Blair thought about her bad dream, "I'll just take the champ, thanks."

She took the glass and downed the contents.

"Another?" Stephen asked attentively.

"Please," Blair said gratefully as she turned back to the window and her thoughts. Slowly, the sun began dipping on the horizon as they made their way East.

The sun was getting lower over the Manhattan skyline as Nate and Chuck rekindled their bromance at the penthouse.

"How can you not need a hit at a time like this?" Nate asked passing Chuck the joint.

Chuck stood firm, "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf."

Nate laughed, "A new marijuana leaf, maybe."

Chuck refrained from laughing at Nate's stupid pun. He wanted to be presentable for Blair. They had not seen each other since June and he had been slightly intoxicated at the time. He looked out the window to see shadows being cast by the buildings. It wouldn't be long now. What if she didn't come?

That was a question he had never had to ask himself before.

"Nathaniel," Chuck said reaching for the joint, "Maybe I'll have just one more hit for old time's sake."

As the plane made its final descent into JFK, Blair fumbled around in the lavatory. Everything looked good; except for the zipper. Her arms weren't long enough to reach the back of her dress. She would need some assistance for the final touches. She took one last look in the mirror-she was a vision in pink. She adjusted the large rose below her cleavage and smiled as she turned to make her exit. The door was stuck, and after some fiddling she managed to break free from the confined space. Blair tumbled out of the lavatory to find herself in the middle of the two flight attendants debating over Kate's dress. Michael and Stephen were all ablaze.

"She should have gone with Valentino!" Michael complained.

Stephen sighed, "Clearly the McQueen was a stunner."

Blair chimed in, "I agree. Her dress was very Princess Grace."

Michael and Stephen looked at Blair.

"OMFG!" They yelled in unison. "That's the dress from the ending of My Fair Lady!"

Blair laughed, "Well, it's not the dress but I did the best I could without the help of my fairy godmother. Do you think you could help zip me up?"

Michael and Stephen blushed, "Of course!" They jumped up and down with excitement.

Stephen smiled, "We'll be your fairy gaymothers now."

"So, who's your precious professor?" Michael asked double checking B's make-up.

Blair sighed, "Chuck Bass."

"THE CHUCK BASS!" S & M yelled.

"You've landed yourself the big fish," S said giddy as could be.

M laughed, "Cha-ching!"

It was seven o'clock and Chuck was standing tall atop the Empire State Building. The sky was turning orange and pink as the sun set over the city. His nerves were only slightly settled by the scotch and smoke he had with Nate. Any moment now, she would be walking through the elevator doors…he was sure of it.

The plane was just touching down in New York...five hours late. S & M popped more champagne to try to calm Blair's nerves.

"It's already nine o' clock!" Blair said on the verge of a break down. She was panicked. Would he still be there?

"Don't worry B!" M said trying to console her, "if two people are meant to be together, eventually they'll find their way back."

"Do you really believe that?" Blair asked.

"I do" said S looking longingly at M.

"So do I," Blair said smiling.

The city lights glimmered from the top of the Empire State Building. He had waited for two hours, and now his worst fear was coming true. He had tried texting her at 7:30pm, and had not received a response. Blair wasn't kidding; she never had any intention of meeting him. He had been fooling himself. For Chuck, the plot had reached its tragic ending. He threw the flowers in the trash and departed into the night.

In the middle of Brooklyn, somewhere in the confines of the loft, lay Blair's dead cell phone.

As the taxi got closer, she could see the lights of the Empire State Building; it was a shining beacon of hope. It looked regal in the silvery light, sparkling like a Harry Winston diamond. Slowly, they crawled through the traffic with every city block feeling like it took an hour to pass. There were couples walking arm in arm along the sidewalk, and she hoped that soon this would be her and Chuck. Her stomach was in knots and the butterflies raged on. Finally, she had reached her destination. Blair jumped out of the cab and raced to the elevator. She hopped in and pressed the button for the observation deck. As the elevator climbed, her nerves gnawed at her. The anticipation was too much. In just a few seconds, she'd be at the top of the world with him…she was sure of it.

Chuck sulked through the city headed for the dark place he called his second home.

The elevators doors opened, and there he wasn't. Blair burst into tears realizing her worst fear had come true. He had no intention of meeting her. She had been fooling herself. For Blair, her plot had reached its tragic ending. And then, through her tears, she spotted something familiar. There in the trash lay a beautiful bouquet of gardenias with a few peonies thrown in for good measure.

He took off his bow tie and slouched down in the booth at Victrola. He let the chaos wash over him, hoping that with enough distraction she would disappear forever.

Blair knew where she could find him. She hopped in a taxi and headed for Victrola. The plot was back on, and it was going to end just the way it should. When she arrived, there was a long line at the door as usual. She pushed her way to the front and unlashed the red velvet rope that separated her from the unwashed masses. The doorman was about to give her a dirty look when, "Well, if it isn't Miss Blair Waldorf!" Clyde exclaimed.

"Hello Clyde," Blair said victoriously. "Remember me?"

"Sure do," he returned. "But I don't think Mr. Bass is expecting you this time around."

Blair grinned slyly, "Well, I've got to keep Mr. Bass on his toes," she said slipping into the club.

B could still hear the sound of Clyde's laughter as she made her way to Chuck's booth.

She could see him slouching now. Even in his lowest state, he looked nothing less than legendary.

"I know I'm just a poor girl from Brooklyn and you're an Upper East Side gentleman, but I've got moves you know." Blair said with a smile moving closer to him.

"Blair!" Chuck perked up.

Suddenly the jazz faded into a sweeping overture from an old familiar movie. And once more, the world was awash in Technicolor.

"Blair," he said again, this time in a tone entirely more sedate. Chuck slouched, and as he did a smirk began to form, "Where the devil is my scotch?"

Spotted: Chuck and Blair leaving Victrola arm in arm, and slipping into a limo. Who says true love can't conquer all? And if a poor girl from Brooklyn can catch a Bass, attend Yale, and become Queen, well then, there may even be hope for you. You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl