Updated version!

Chuck walked into Blair's bedroom and casually threw his bag on the floor.

"Pick that up" Blair frowned from her spot on the bed.

Chuck ignored her and let his jacket join the bag on the floor. Blair was still lounging in bed, looking far more weary than he had ever known her to look before this summer, but he was starting to get used to her tired eyes and not-perfectly-styled hair. He could however not get used to seeing her with sweat pants.

"You have it good" he said, casting a glance at her. "Getting to lounge around here all day, not having to go to school."

"It's awesome" Blair said with little enthusiasm. "All I have to put up with instead is a baby sucking at my breasts every three hours, stitches and aches in a place where nobody ever wants to have either, and having everything around me smell like spit up and diapers."

"Minus the stitches and the baby that sounds like a place I visited in Monaco last winter" Chuck said. "I brought you homework, as ordered."

"Great" Blair said sullenly.

It was their new arrangement. Until Blair was able to return to school the idea was that she would study as much as she could at home. Having a baby was in no way something she would let change her plans to go to Yale, in fact she had decided it would work to her advantage. If she managed to keep up her perfect grades and at least some of her extracurricular activities while being a seventeen year-old mother then that would surely impress the Yale people.

She had insisted on going to school for the first day, in spite of everyone insisting otherwise. School started merely five days after she had given birth, and she was in no shape to go and attend classes. Chuck had asked if she planned on bringing the inflatable ring she sat on for the first couple of days, which had made her whack him with said ring. She knew it was too soon to go back to school, but she wanted to be there on the first day. If not else to show everyone that she was not gone for good and that she could still hold her head high.

She had indeed attended for the first couple of hours, before Dorota had called her from a cab outside telling her to come out and feed the baby. At that point Blair had realized she might as well go back home, and after that she had stayed in her mother's penthouse, deciding to give herself a full two weeks of proper rest before going outside again.

As if she was getting anything even resembling rest.

Since she would not be showing up at Constance Billard for a while Serena made sure to get all her homework and then hand it over to Chuck by the end of the day. He then brought it over to Blair, an arrangement his father had been adamant about for two reasons. For one he insisted that Chuck help Blair out as much as possible so that she didn't have to fall too far behind at school while she was on her maternity leave. For another he wanted Chuck to spend time with the baby.

"Where is the baby?" Chuck asked while he handed Blair her books.

"Take a wild guess."

He walked over to the crib and peaked down at his daughter, who was awake.

"Hey kid" he said. "Drool on anything new today?"

"Luckily she's been sleeping for much of the day" Blair said. "Yesterday she screamed all day long, to the point where I was giving serious consideration to adoption."

"This little angel?" Chuck asked, giving Blair a teasing grin.

"Angel/demon hybrid, I'm pretty sure."

He chuckled and gave the baby his left index finger. She grabbed a tight hold of it and he was amazed with how strong she was at only a week old. He looked up at Blair who had begun to look through the books he had given her.

"Did you want anything?" she asked without looking up.

"Just saying hi to the thing."

"Since you've done that you can go" Blair said. "I've got a lot of studying to do and I want to get it done while she's still quiet."

Chuck rolled his eyes but obediently retrieved his finger to get ready to go. Unfortunately that did not sit well with the baby, who began to scream. Blair tossed her book aside and as lithely as she was able to got off the bed.

"Now what did you do?"

"Nothing" Chuck said. "I was just going to leave, as ordered."

Blair lifted the baby up and made a face.

"Damn, I forgot, it's time to feed her. You're late, you were supposed to be here half an hour ago, so you could have left before feeding time."

"What's the big deal?"

"Just go, would you?" Blair sighed.

"Oh I'm not going anywhere" Chuck said and took a seat in the chair by her dresser. "I'm curious, how do those boobs of yours look by now?"

"How can you be such a creep when your daughter is in the room?" Blair asked and bounced the baby up and down. "Just go!"

"Relax Waldorf, I'm just yanking your chain."

"I prefer it un-yanked, thank you very much."

"Geez, sleep-deprived much?"

"So much so it's not even funny."

Chuck looked at the baby, whose cries were getting louder by the second.

"Does she always scream this loudly?"

"Uh, yeah."

"It begs the question, why don't you have a nursery and a nanny, like normal rich people?" Chuck said, fighting the temptation to cover his ears with his hands.

"Because I want her to bond with me, not some fat lady I've hired to look after her, and at least when she's in here I don't have to run to another room whenever she starts to scream."

"Funny, because running to another room seems like the most tempting thing to do right now" Chuck remarked.

Dorota came hurrying in with a tiny pillow in her hand.

"Miss Blair, time to feed baby."

"Yes I know that" Blair snarled. "I am serious Chuck, leave."

With an annoyed sigh Chuck left. Not that he cared about seeing Blair nurse, it was just annoying that he came over with her books almost every day after school and she treated him like a servant. He walked downstairs and was just about to get on the elevator when he realized he had forgotten his jacket and bag. He half expected Dorota to come rushing down the stairs to give them to him, but she was busy helping Blair.

With a sigh he walked back up the stairs, stopping outside Blair's bedroom for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should go in. But he needed his things before he could leave, and he figured Blair would like him gone the sooner the better.

The door was already open a little bit and he gently pushed it to open further. Without looking at the two women and the baby on the bed he knelt down and picked up his jacket and bag. Then he looked up as he rose, and froze for a moment. He wouldn't have thought the sight would be anything special, but he couldn't help looking.

The baby was nursing contently, holding Blair's finger with her left hand, her head resting on a pillow Dorota held up against the crook in Blair's arm. Chuck remembered hearing in those classes their parents had forced them to attend that it could be difficult to get babies to latch on to nurse, especially at first, but Blair didn't seem to have any trouble in that department. Their baby was eating like a pig.

The realization that this was the girl he was in love with, nursing his daughter, made him unable to just walk out again. He couldn't put words to the things he was feeling right now, but it was something quite unexpected.

Suddenly Blair looked up and saw him. He half expected her to start to yell, but apparently when the baby was in her arms like this she only spoke in soft tones.

"I thought you left" she said.

"Forgot my stuff."

"If I hear even one comment about how I look-"

"You look like a mother with a baby."

"She's almost done" Blair said. "Want to burp her?"

"That depends… Does she puke?"

"Yeah but that's not the best part" Blair said.

She gently lifted the baby up, quickly covering her nipple when she saw Chuck's eyes going there. She smiled at the baby and placed a kiss on her nose.

"What do you say, sweetie?" she said. "Think he can handle burping you? Do you want to give him the honor?"

Dorota shot Blair a look, then got up and left with the pillow while Chuck walked over and took the baby from Blair. He took the towel she handed him to place on his shoulder in case of spit up, and then tried to find a comfortable way to hold the baby. He wasn't used to holding her yet, and she was so fragile. He had no idea how firm a grip he should have.

He hadn't held her for long, and was about to make a comment to Blair, when suddenly a highly unpleasant smell filled the room. Blair grinned and moved back on the bed.

"That almost always happens" she chirped. "After input follows output."

"Disgusting" Chuck said, holding the baby further away from himself.

"Dorota!" Blair called.

A few seconds later Dorota returned and took the baby from Chuck. Like Blair had said, this obviously wasn't new. Apparently a diaper change was always needed immediately following a feeding. Dorota left to go change the baby but even with the baby out of the room it seemed like the smell lingered.

"That was vile" Chuck said with a disgusted look on his face. "It smelled like…"

"She's quite full of it" Blair smiled. "She gets that from you."

"No, I'm pretty sure she got the makings of that from you. Didn't you say she does that after nursing?"

He kept wrinkling his nose, unable to get the smell out of it. Blair seemed highly amused at her spot on the bed.

"First time you've smelled a dirty diaper?"

"I don't get why you're looking so entertained" Chuck said, taking a seat on the bed. "It's not like you've ever changed one. You're just as grossed out by it as I am."

She shrugged a shoulder and smiled.

"It's just fun to see you lose your cool" she said. "And over something so natural."

"It being natural doesn't make it any less gross."

She was still smiling, and looked a bit more relaxed now than he had seen her be since the birth.

"How is everything at school?" she asked. "Are we being gossiped about?"

"Not so much now as we were at the start of the week. Once they realized you wouldn't show up again for a few days they seemed to forget what they were saying about us to begin with. It's like going to high school in a geriatric ward."

She laughed a little.

"And what about Gossip Girl?"

"You haven't checked?"

"I haven't been able to decide whether I really need to know what she's saying, or if I really don't want to know" Blair said. "Honestly though, I only sleep for two or three hours at a time and I'm exhausted. Checking Gossip Girl is far down on my list of things I can muster up energy for right now."

"She hasn't said all that much" Chuck said. "She was kind enough to congratulate us when the baby was born, though whether it was sincere or not is up for debate, and she's made a few comments here and there. But mostly there's not a lot of coverage. You're staying cooped up in here and I'm on my best behavior at present, so she doesn't have any good source to get gossip on us from."

Blair looked relieved. Chuck was about to say something further when Dorota came back in with the baby.

"All nice and changed" Dorota said.

"Thank you" Blair said and stood up.

She walked over to Dorota and took the baby from her. She gave the little girl a kiss on the nose and then nearly got a baby fist in the eye.

"She seems to be a pretty good baby" Chuck offered, realizing he didn't know that much about the baby's habits. "I've only really heard her cry like twice."

Blair gave him a tired look.

"You should try being here 24/7" she said. "Sure right now she's quiet, and she does sleep a lot, but never for more than a couple of hours at a time. And she probably spends around five to eight hours every day crying. Or at least it feels like it."

"Just be glad baby does not have colic" Dorota said. "Then you will hear crying."

Chuck walked over and stopped next to Blair. He felt like a real jerk for barely knowing anything about his daughter. He realized he didn't even know if she had a favorite stuffed animal or not. Aside from the day after she was born he had only really seen her for about ten minutes a day. He had wanted to give Blair some privacy, since she had expressed a desire for just that. She had just given birth to his baby so whatever requests she made it seemed like he should acquiesce.

He reached out his hand and gently caressed the baby's cheek. Her skin was so soft, and she looked up at him with eyes that were dark blue. He wondered what color they would end up being. The little girl yawned big and closed her eyes. Chuck continued stroking her as she drifted off to sleep. His hand ran across her forehead and almost on autopilot caressed her head. Then he realized where he was applying pressure.

"Shit!" Chuck exclaimed and pulled back his hand. "I just touched that soft spot on her head. That's not good."

"If the baby can survive being born I think it can survive your hands on its head" Blair sighed. "Although maybe not your hands. They're probably infested with germs. Did you wash properly before touching her?"

"I… can see her pulse" Chuck said, sounding disgusted. "On her head. At that soft spot I just touched."

"Relax Mister Chuck" Dorota said and took the baby from Blair. "You did not break baby. Pulse usually visible on fontanel."

"You should see the look on your face" Blair chuckled.

"Oh yeah, Chuck squashes the baby's brain and hilarity ensues" Chuck said dryly, trying to hide how freaked out he had just been.

Blair continued to chuckle as Dorota put the baby down in the crib for a nap. Chuck stared down at his hand and made a disgusted face. Touching the soft spot on the baby's head had been weird, and felt completely wrong. Why Blair seemed to be entertained by it was beyond his comprehension.

"I would have thought the pulse thing was scary too" Blair admitted with a smile. "If I hadn't read about it before I delivered. Relax Chuck, she is fine."

"There's an awful lot of disgusting things that comes with such a small person" Chuck said, still looking dismayed.

"You shouldn't say such things about baby" Dorota objected.

"It's fine Dorota" Blair said. "I know Chuck well enough to know that just because he talks smack about someone that doesn't mean he doesn't care."

"You truly make me sound like a wonderful person" Chuck remarked.

Dorota gave them both a look that didn't seem too praising and then left the room. Chuck sat down by Blair's dresser and noticed that her room looked pretty much the same as it always had, save for a crib and a few other baby related things. But the room was still neat and tidy, which he realized he had not expected. Someone, Dorota probably, must be working overtime to make sure things didn't look messy and too I-have-an-infant in here.

"So how are you now Blair?" he asked, turning his focus over to the girl who had just had his baby.

"I'll live" she said, shrugging a shoulder.

"I feel like I haven't really talked to you since she arrived" Chuck continued. "Which I now realize is pretty rude. You go have a baby, my baby, and I don't even think to check up on you and see how you're doing."

"I asked you to give me some time alone" Blair reminded him. "So it's not all your fault. I've needed these past couple of days to adjust. You know, when you're still pregnant you can't wait for it to be over, so you can finally meet the baby, and stop feeling like a bloated rhino. Then once the baby comes you're aching all over, you forget that you ever knew what it felt like to not be tired, and it's like the whole world around you disappears. It was more difficult than I had imagined to get used to having a small person who depends on me all day all night. Even if it is the most adorable little girl there ever was."

"All the more reason why I should have checked up on you sooner."

She smiled softly.

"It's only been a few days. We both have a lot of adjusting to do. It's going to take a while probably before we figure things out. But we'll get the hang of it."

"One can only hope."

"I'm sorry if you feel I've been keeping you from the baby" Blair said, and gave him an apologetic smile he found absolutely adorable. "I feel bad about that actually. I can't imagine not getting to be near her when she's so little and so much important bonding takes place, and here I've basically been denying you the chance to do that."

"Don't apologize" he said. "You were the one who had the baby. Take all the time you need to feel better."

"We both had the baby."

"Fine, rephrasing. I'm not the one the baby came out of." Then he made a thoughtful face. "Actually, I guess she kind of did, nine months ago, if you-"

"Try not talking for a while" Blair said, raising her hands to stop him from completing the sentence.

"Well, maybe I should get going" he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Blair nodded.

"Okay."

He hesitated. Truth was he didn't want to leave.

"Actually, you know what, you're right" he said. "I would like a chance to bond with the baby. Is it okay if I stay for a while?"

"The baby went to sleep" Blair pointed out. "And I was planning on taking a nap too. Remember what they said in parenting class, that I should sleep when she sleeps."

"Maybe I can wait here until she wakes up?" Chuck suggested, mainly just to get to stay near Blair for a while longer.

"You want to sit around and wait for three hours?" Blair asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I could do my homework while I wait."

Blair gave a scoffing laugh.

"Chuck Bass doing homework? Please. Look, I meant what I said, if you want to spend more time with her then I think that's great. Just… not right when she's been put down for a nap, okay? Perhaps tomorrow?"

He smiled crookedly, knowing that it was no use to insist right now.

"Alright. I'll see you both tomorrow." He stopped in the doorway and took a second to let his eyes run over her. "Hey just so you know… Motherhood agrees with you. You look incredible. Bye now."

He gave her a little wave and then he was off. She smiled, pleased with the compliment. She didn't feel too incredible at the moment, but when he had just said it she had felt it. She cast a glance at herself in the mirror and her smile turned into a slightly horrified face at the sight. Good God, she looked nothing like Blair Waldorf. She was a complete mess! There was no way Chuck thought this sight was amazing. Clearly he was just kidding with her. That, or he was taking pity.

She got up on her bed and with a moan pulled a blanket over her head, determined not to show her face outside for at least another couple of weeks. She looked completely hideous, and she had barely lost any of her pregnancy weight. Granted it had only been a few days, but now that there was no longer a little person inside her belly she hated the fact that it was big.

She yawned and pulled the blanket back down so that it went up to her shoulders. Somewhere at the back of her mind she was vaguely aware that under normal circumstances she would have been mortified to have been seen by Chuck while looking like this. For some reason it didn't matter so much right now that he saw her at her most unattractive. Strange as it seemed, Chuck Bass out of all people seemed to be the one most understanding of a new mother's less-than-perfect appearance. Strangely enough, he had seemed like he meant it when he told her she looked good.