Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
"Where's Luca?" Blair asked as she found Serena sitting in the rocking chair in Evie's room with tears tumbling down her cheeks.
"Monkey caught his attention. They're playing tug of war in his bedroom," Serena stated as she tried to be discreet about wiping away the tears as she got up from the rocking chair, knowing that was where Blair mostly breast fed her daughter.
"I thought you were spending some quality auntie time with him," Blair stated as she unbuttoned her blouse, thinking nothing of feeding her daughter in front of Serena.
"I needed a few minutes," Serena admitted.
"Do you want to talk?" Blair offered.
"I have awful taste in men," Serena sighed, "I thought Dan was one of good ones. How could I be so wrong about him?"
"You see the best in people. It's one of your greatest assets, and at times it can be your greatest weakness," Blair replied, "You can't beat yourself up over this. Dan fooled all of us."
"But he really fooled me, even when he showed his true colors just before your wedding. I swore I was done, and he weaseled his way back in. I felt bad for him. He said he was clinically depressed. Now I'm wondering if that was really true," Serena sniffled, "What if it was just another subplot in some stupid story he's writing?"
"So change the plot," Blair stated.
"I'm with you on taking him down," Serena assured her, "And I actually think I know the best way to do it. He's being published again under his real name this time. His book is an autobiography of sorts, about an outsider forced to fit into a high society school and endure the bullying at the hands of his snobbish classmates."
"Naturally he's painted himself as the hero," Blair scoffed.
"When in reality he was the biggest bully of them all," Serena stated, "I say we expose him for the fraud that he truly is."
"With an exposé in the Spectator," Blair gave her best friend a sinister grin, "Just as the celebrated author's book about the ultimate insider comes out. Nate might win a Pulitzer one of these days for these exclusive stories he's getting."
"He's really good at his job," Serena beamed with pride.
"And he's lucky to be at the center of both stories," Blair added.
"I don't think he'd agree with the lucky part," Serena chuckled lightly, "But he does have a knack for finding himself in the thick of the story. We're getting ahead of ourselves though. First we prove he's Gossip Girl. Then we take him down."
"Deal," Blair nodded.
"Hi, Mommy," Luca came running into Evie's bedroom with his puppy a step behind him, "Teach Monkey trick."
"Really, what did you teach him?" Blair inquired.
Luca suddenly lay down and rolled around on the floor until Monkey copied the trick.
"That's very good, Peanut," Blair bit her lip to keep from laughing out right as she tapped at his nose as he stood up again, beaming in pride, "You should go show Daddy."
Luca darted out of the room to find his father.
"Who trained whom, I wonder," Serena laughed as she watched Luca take off.
"Did you see the trick Luca taught Monkey?" Chuck asked his wife after Serena and Nate had left for the day. Serena had done her duty as an aunt very well as both children were worn out and down for naps.
"Serena wondered if Luca taught Monkey, or if Monkey taught Luca," Blair giggled, "It was so adorable to watch him roll around on the floor. There is just too much adorableness going on around here."
Chuck sighed as he and his wife curled up together on the sofa in his study. She was flipping through a magazine. Chuck was trying to focus on the book in his hands.
"What's wrong?" Blair looked up when she noticed that Chuck flipped a page every minute or so. She knew her husband was a relatively fast reader, but no one could read that fast.
"Nothing," he told her as he flipped another page.
"Not buying it," Blair challenged him, "Either you're speed reading or fake reading. I'm going to guess fake reading, so let's talk about what's bothering you."
"It's this entire situation with Dan and Gossip Girl. I know that he deserves what's coming to him. I want him to pay for how he has thoroughly embarrassed us all, but..."
"Lily," Blair interrupted him.
"He's her son, too," Chuck sighed.
"Yes, her stepson," Blair clarified. "The stepson who embarrassed her daughter by spreading a story that she might have an STD, wrecked Serena's relationship with Nate, and announced to everyone that I slept with Jack. You may have started out as her stepson too, but you became her son in every sense of the word. Dan is still just her stepson and that won't even be true much longer."
"I know all of that. He made our lives miserable. He deserves everything that he gets, but Lily..."
"Yes, Lily is a kind hearted soul that took you in, but she's no saint, Chuck. She's made mistakes in her life too."
"But-"
"No," Blair shook her head. "No buts about this. Dan holds himself up as this person we should admire or feel bad for because we picked on him, when he's the worst one of all."
"Lily took me in when everyone else turned their back on me," Chuck insisted, refusing to let this go.
"Chuck, these are two separate issues," Blair insisted.
"She-"
"She chose you," Blair reminded him. "She could have cast you out after Bart 'died', but she didn't. You're more her son than Dan is."
"And how do I repay her? I disappeared on her for months and got myself shot. She thought I was dead. I came back and then went crazy. I've caused her one heartache after another."
"And she's still there," Blair swung her legs into his lap and took his hands in hers. "She still loves you. You're her son as much as Eric."
"I will never forgive myself if I do something to permanently damage my relationship with her," he replied, "She's my mother, Blair, in every way that is important."
"I know," Blair nodded as she rested her forehead against his temple.
"I'm still in on this plan," Chuck assured her, "I want Dan to pay for what he did."
"You sure? We can do it without you."
"I'm in this," Chuck insisted, "I've always been in this. He made my life just as difficult as everyone else."
"Something bothers me about all of this," Blair replied, "When Dan showed up at our rehearsal dinner, that was when I put together that he was the one that tipped Georgina off to us going to the Ostroff Center for your therapy session. He said that the tip was supposed to go to Gossip Girl. Then why didn't it?"
"If he wanted it to come from Gossip Girl, it would have," Chuck told her, "That's just Dan covering for himself when he was busted."
"I wonder if she knows," Blair mused.
"Georgina?" he asked.
"Yeah. Think about it. If they're doing the nasty, it could be pillow talk."
"The nasty is definitely what I'd call it," Chuck winced slightly as he spoke.
"Seriously though, when Dan thought he was her kid's father, they lived together. Georgina is pathologically nosy."
"I think the secret would have been out by now if she'd known," Chuck replied, "There was a time when she was as disgusted with him as the rest of us."
"Not necessarily," Blair shook her head. "He could have something on her."
"It would have to be something very dirty, dirtier than what I have on her," Chuck thought.
"I'm just thinking out loud, but I'm willing to bet that if Dan is Gossip Girl, Vanessa doesn't know or she would've blown the whistle after she was outed for sleeping with you."
"Where are you going with this?" he asked, "Are you wanting to pull Vanessa into our plan?"
"No, but there are a lot of people whose secrets were exposed over the years who could be wanting to see Gossip Girl get hers or his as the case may be. I think the Spectator needs to throw a party."
"To celebrate Dan's big accomplishment," Chuck theorized as he elaborated on the thought she was having, "Serena would insist upon it."
"And we should invite everyone who ever appeared on Gossip Girl for something heinous."
"And lock the doors when everything goes down so he can't escape the mob surely ready to tar and feather him."
"It should be quite the event," Blair raised her eyebrows.
"One for the ages," Chuck agreed as he kissed her lips.
"We really are bitches when we need to be, aren't we?" Blair smirked.
"I've still got the scars on my back to prove it," Chuck grinned as Blair kissed him.
"Is your crisis of conscience over?"
"Mostly," Chuck nodded.
"Good," she smiled, "We should go check on the children, and then maybe if they're still asleep we could..."
"Looking to add to your scars?"
"I believe those are your scars," she smirked.
"You like marking me, don't you?"
"Just letting other women know you're taken."
Luca stumbled into the study with a tired pout on his face, dashing any hopes his parents had to have a little 'nap time' for themselves.
"Luca, you're supposed to be in bed," Blair said as she let herself go down on her back so she was at eye level with her son.
"Not tired no more," he advanced towards them, "No Auntie Rena?"
"Sorry, Peanut, she went home with Uncle Nate."
Luca made a noise of frustration, "No like Unca Nate."
"Why not?" Blair bit her lip to keep from laughing, "He bought you your favorite fire truck."
"Took Auntie Rena," Luca pouted.
"Awe," Blair replied, "He'll bring her back."
"Pwomise?"
"Promise," Blair nodded.
"Come here, Buddy," Chuck held out his arms to his son.
Luca ran straight for him, leaping when he got close enough.
"Oomph," Chuck let out as Blair groaned as Luca landed right on her shins.
"You okay?" Chuck looked at Blair.
"Yeah," Blair winced as she removed her legs from Chuck's lap.
"Ouchie, Mommy?" Luca looked towards his mother as he settled in his father's lap.
"Just a tiny one, Luca," Blair smiled as she raised herself up on her elbows. "I'm okay."
Luca smiled, "Love you, Mommy."
"Love you too, Peanut."
TBC…
Kinda short, but I wanted to get this out there.
I hope you enjoyed it.