Blair goes home.
It takes a few days before they'll discharge her, and even then the doctors don't want her to go. They want to watch her for more bleeding, want to monitor the baby. In the end she convinces them by hiring a full-time OBGYN nurse, an on-call doctor and renting equipment so the baby can be monitored several times a day.
Dan can't stop staring at her. She catches him at the oddest moments, glancing up to find him studying her, his eyes taking in her every feature.
"I'm still here," Blair says, smiling.
"I know," Dan sighs, looking a little sheepish. "It was just too close. It's going to take me a little while to recover from almost losing you and our baby."
He never leaves, sleeping in a chair next to her bed, only stepping out to freshen up, get a snack from the machine down the hall, laughing about a steady diet of corn chips and canned tuna salad. When Dorota shows up with a basket full of food, Blair watches as Dan devours it and she wonders if she'll ever really understand the toll this has taken on him.
Dan holds her hand every night as she falls asleep, his other resting on her belly, feeling the baby roll back and forth. The room quiet except for the beeping of the monitor, the quiet whir of the air conditioning, some voices down the hallway speaking in hushed tones, and Blair lets her eyes drift closed and gives herself over to the stillness of sleep. He's there when she wakes up, brushing a strand of hair off her brow, her hand still in his.
When they finally arrive home after the doctors have checked her out, after she's been instructed about bed rest and all her precautions, Blair is greeted by the foyer filled with flowers, Serena with her signature smile, Grace babbling in her arms and twisting to be let down so she can run around, and Dorota bearing a plate full of her favorite foods. One of the downstairs guest rooms have been converted into what Dan calls her convalescent cave, a comfortable bed, an entertainment center, the monitor that she'll strap around her belly three times a day to see how their baby girl is faring.
The nurse is there as well. Her name is Andrea and she is all business, listening to the baby's heartbeat, telling Blair what to expect next. They'll have her during the day and another nurse at night until the baby is born, someone around at all times in case something goes wrong.
Nine weeks to go. It sounds better to say nine weeks instead of two months.
Her mom calls, her voice crackling over the distance, telling Blair that she and Cyrus have been worried and they're so glad she's home and okay.
Natasha stops by, and Blair is happy that her assistant took her up on her offer to move to New York City. She tells her that the people in the office are worried about her, updates Blair on the low-cost Waldorf Designs line that's about to be released to mid-range department stores, says that the V.P. has everything running smoothly.
Finally the whirlwind of phone calls and visitors ends and Dorota stops in to tell Blair goodnight.
"I feel like I'm getting a granddaughter." Dorota confesses. "You will always be my first child in so many ways, Miss Blair."
There are tears in Dorota's eyes and Blair almost apologizes for making her worried. Dorota sits on the edge of the bed, holding Blair's hands in hers. Blair is struck by how priceless and invaluable her maid is to her. She'd be nowhere in this world without her strong, supportive presence.
"You should be her godmother." Blair says suddenly.
"No, Miss Serena."
Blair won't be swayed. Dorota should have a role to play in this child's life. Godmother seems appropriate since she's always been Blair's fairy godmother, making things right, kissing scraped knees, always knowing what to say. She would not take 'no' for an answer.
Dorota has tears in her eyes as she hugs Blair tightly.
"Sleep well, Miss Blair."
Then she's gone and Dan and Blair are finally left alone. Well, not entirely. The night nurse has just arrived and is sitting quietly in her room. Other than that, the penthouse is deserted. Blair scoots over and Dan climbs onto the bed, sitting next to her, his legs stretched out, his back leaning on the headboard.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Waldorf-Humphrey." He leans toward her and touches his lips to hers and the absolute sweetness of it tangles Blair's inside as well as sends sparks shooting up her spine, and now that there is no one to interrupt them and they're in their own home Blair is gripped with a primal desire to connect with her husband on a physical level that almost knocks the breath out of her. She deepens the kiss and Dan groans against her mouth, his hand caressing her arm, doing nothing to slake her sudden thirst for him. He breaks away from the kiss but doesn't move his face away from hers and Blair knows if she just leans forward a little she can have his lips on hers again.
"We can't," he pants. "The doctor..."
Blair wants to say something very thirteen, like 'doctor schmocter' but she knows Dan is right. There were words thrown at her, like bedrest, premature labor, and part of agreeing to go home was agreeing to follow the rules. The rules included no sex.
"Just because I can't," Blair says mischievously, "doesn't mean you can't."
Dan's eyes widen at her words.
"Are you suggesting..."
Blair nods.
"Just imagine that you're fucking me. I especially like being on top, and I love to see how turned on I make you. It makes me really wet."
She licks her lips. Dan gasps her name.
"My love, my Blair."
He wriggles out of his pants and his hand is on his dick, and Blair rolls onto her side facing him, still talking, telling him how dirty and sexy he is, what she wants him to do to her, and she watches him as his face grows tense, his eyes close and then he is arching, pushing into the bed, grunting as he comes.
She's annoyingly turned on.
Dan rolls to face her and smiles that same lopsided sleepy grin he always does after sex. He reaches out and smoothes her brow.
"Thank you." he says quietly.
"You're welcome," Blair says, "but now I'm kind of stuck." She's tingly and throbbing and wants that same release, and Dan looks at her with empathy.
"I'd suggest a cold shower, but that would be violating your terms of confinement."
"Well, you pulling your pants up is a start. And put on something decent, with lots of coverage. I can't handle all the skin you're flaunting."
Dan laughs. It's going to be a long nine weeks without any of the joys of pregnancy sex. Blair sighs. At least he's happy, even if she's not.
They decide to watch something decidedly unsexy and find a bad reality TV show. The nurse comes in and puts the monitoring belt on Blair's belly, watches the strip for a few minutes then tells her that the baby looks fine. Then she's gone and Blair leans her head on Dan's shoulder and falls asleep with the TV on.
The days go by, Blair in bed, Dorota clucking her disapproval of the new hired help, Dan refusing to leave her side. One day he actually drags the bed into his study so he can work and Blair can read next to him. He's working on a new novel, resurrecting Claire Carlyle and Dylan Hunter one last time. He tells Blair that their final chapter hasn't been told, that he can't just leave it at Outside. She shrugs. It's his craft, his world that he's created. It's their story and she understand not wanting to leave it at the angry diatribe that was Outside. Not after all they've been through, not after all the joy and love they've found all these years later. She reads her latest novel and Dan's fingers fly across the keyboard of his laptop, and she tells him that she's glad she could come to work with him today.
Their anniversary arrives and Dan orders dinner from their favorite restaurant and lights candles all around the bedroom. When they are done eating and Dan has cleared the dishes, he sits on the bed with her, holding her hands in his.
"I can't believe we're married." Dan says as he gazes into her eyes. "You don't know how long I dreamed about this. I thought it wasn't possible and here we are."
Blair should feel happy but his words make her feel a deep sadness. Dan has always loved her, never stopped, never been confused. He has lived with the pain losing her for too long. She wants to take him into her arms, to kiss him, to touch him and make him gasp, to help him forget that time. But she can't, she can't make love to her husband on their anniversary.
"I love you," Blair says, trying to put everything into those words, trying to take away that time. They get ready for bed and Blair holds Dan in her arms, smoothing the curls of his increasing unruly hair, stroking the bridge of his nose, until she sees his eyes slip shut and her hands soothe him into sleep.
Day become weeks. The weather warms up, sunshine streaming in the window and Blair would give anything for a walk in the park, feel the heat of the sun on her face, the smell of warm asphalt and dirt that always makes her think of summer in New York. She mentions this one night as she lies in Dan's arms, longs for her freedom. Then one day Dan breaks all the rules and shows up next to her bed with a contraband wheelchair.
"If you feel anything strange, even something small." he says, mock lecturing her in a way that tells Blair he's actually entirely serious. She nods, staring at the chair, at her ticket to a few moments of fresh air, green grass, children running and laughing, the real world! They only spend an hour out, Dan pushing her in silence, Blair thinking that everything looks muted and beautiful in the sunlight. Then they return to the penthouse, to her tower prison, and the gatekeepers, Andrea and Dorota who have found common ground in scolding their two charges, are standing in the foyer looking not impressed. Dorota lectures her as Andrea straps on the monitor, and the baby's heartbeat springs up, a quick, steady thumpity thump, and Blair looks at both of them triumphantly. She escaped and nothing went wrong.
Dorota brings Andrea cookies the next day and Blair knows she now faces a united front.
Weeks turn into a month and nine weeks is halfway over.
Serena comes over every few days, arms full of parenting magazines and baby books, Grace toddling by her side. Blair accepts happy hugs and kisses from her goddaughter, and spends many afternoons with Serena curled at the end of her bed, engrossed in some article, telling her about her latest writing gig, and it feels like the old days when they were best friends having slumber parties and giggling about boys. They'd already become friends again, but now they rediscover being best friends, and Blair often puts her magazine down and looks at Serena, with all her careless golden beauty that covers up all her pain and scars, and tells her friend that she loves her and she is so happy life has brought them back together.
Waldorf Designs survives not having her at its head. She keeps up on email and her trusted VP has everything in control. Natasha calls every few days and employee and employer start to slip towards being friends. Blair finds she likes being away from the pressure of her successful woman lifestyle, and realizes that being on bedrest may have been good because it has forced her to slow down.
When Blair reaches 37 weeks, and she's been cooped up for over two months. The doctor checks her out and tells her that everything looks good. Their baby girl now can arrive whenever she wants. The doctor officially takes her off bedrest and Blair enjoys the simple pleasure of walking around her own house.
Serena surprises her with a demure baby shower. There is cake and sparkling cranberry juice, and Eleanore flies in for the event. Dorota makes a beautiful cake and Serena invites Blair's assistant, Natasha, and even Andrea peeks her head in to say hello and ends up sitting with a piece of cake. There are a few presents and one silly game, and Blair is happy because her friend has done something to make a time that's so abnormal feel very normal.
That night she curls up next to Dan, lying on her side, her knees pulled up protectively around her abdomen. She is huge, her belly pushing up her lungs, she can't breathe, she has heartburn and she feels decidedly unattractive. Still, as she tilts her head up to look at her husband, to gaze into his eyes, the way he looks at her makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the entire world.
"We're almost there, Waldorf." he says, stroking her hair. Blair smiles at how he still uses her maiden name and remembers all the times they bantered and snarked at each other. With time and perspective, she realizes that she and Dan were engaging in verbal foreplay long before they even realized they liked each other as more than friends.
"Almost." she says. A near miscarriage, almost bleeding to death, and here they are, about to become parents.
Dorota comes in and helps Blair get ready for bed. Dan climbs in next to her wearing his same ratty old t-shirt and boxer shorts, his usual nightly attire, and Blair rolls into his arms, enjoying the feel of him holding her, relaxing into his embrace. She tilts her head up and kisses him, at first a sweetly, perfunctory, brief, but then something takes hold of her, a heat deep inside, and she kisses him again, lingering, hungry and she feels Dan startle. He knows what she wants.
"Blair?" he asks, voice concerned. She smiles at him.
"No more bed rest." she says playfully. "Our baby can come at any time, and you know what starts labor?"
She kisses him again, this time slipping her tongue across his, and it feels so good to kiss her husband knowing that this is just the beginning. It's been too long since they fucked. The heat keeps building, fast and furious, and he's kissing her back now, devouring her. It's the most delicious, amazing feeling, and it reminds Blair of the first time they made love, Blair pinned against the kitchen counter, so hungry for him because they'd been waiting, Dan's hands everywhere on her skin.
He eases off her pajamas, Blair arching her back to help him as much as she can, her body heavy and clumsy feeling. She laughs a little at her own awkwardness. Then she is naked, her pregnant body on display, and Dan is looking at her with new eyes, drinking in her voluptuousness, her darkened nipples, her burgeoning belly. She can tell that he wants her, and Blair manages to arch her back up, moans a little because just his gaze is making the heat build even more.
She turns on her side, not able to lie on her back without feeling short of breath and a little dizzy. Dan slides next to her and he is stroking her arms, her belly, finding her breasts, kissing her neck, her jaw, finally back to her mouth and Blair moans again because she wants him. She begs, hissing his name, telling him to fuck her, and finally Dan pulls off his t-shirt and boxers then helps her climb on top of him, her legs straddling her hips, his hands holding her up as she slide down onto him, and as he starts to move, Blair's eyes close in complete and utter ecstasy. Finally after weeks of chaste kisses she can make love to her husband.
She bursts apart, shuddering, not sure how she is able to stay upright, feeling Dan's arms holding her steady as she gasps and jerks, and it feels so good. He follows her and she watches him through heavy lidded eyes, watches him throw back his head and utter her name through clenched teeth. Blair rolls of him and settles into the bed feeling entirely made of liquid, not able to move. She curls into Dan's side, her hand slung over his belly, his hand stroking her shoulder in a soothing, rhythm, and slowly her eyes flutter shut. She is happy. So happy. Ever since Dan came back into her life, Blair has been happy more often than not.
She's having a nice dream when Blair is jerked awake by a strange sensation, a tightness across her stomach, and her muscles clench. The sensation takes her breath away and Blair's hands fly to her belly, then her muscles loosen a little. She starts to roll over to poke Dan with a nicely manicured finger when they tighten again and this time Blair lets out a moan.
Contractions.
Another one hits her and this time she manages to say Dan's name. He lifts his head from where he's been softly snoring away and looks at her with bleary eyes.
"Blair?"
"Um..."
"Honey, are you okay?"
"Well..." another contraction hits her and she can't finish what she's trying to tell Dan. She moans again.
"Blair!"
His voice is becoming concerned. Blair smiles because what's happening isn't scary, it's beautiful. It's time. Their baby is coming, but she can't manage to tell Dan everything that's running through her mind because another contraction hits her. The only thing she can manage to spit out is,
"Um, I think I'm in labor."
TBC