AN: I know this took a little longer than usual, but I've had a lot going on and not as much time to write. I hope you're all enjoying :)

The nine block limo ride was pure torture. Even though traffic was virtually non-existent at the late hour, Chuck and Blair both felt like it was taking forever to get to Cornelia's side. When they arrived at the emergency room entrance for Lenox Hill, they barely let the limo come to a stop before Chuck opened the door himself and helped his wife out as they rushed into the building.

A nurse was waiting just inside the entrance for the couple and briskly escorted them to their daughter's room. As Chuck and Blair practically burst into the room, Blair was at her daughter's bedside in five seconds flat with tears streaming down her face as she cupped Cornelia's face and looked her over.

"Oh my baby!," Blair cried. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm okay, I promise," Cornelia responded tentatively.

Chuck was standing beside his wife, silently taking in the scene as he allowed them to have a moment before speaking up.

"Cornelia, what happened?"

Before she could answer, there was a curt knock on the door and two NYPD detectives entered the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bass, I'm Detective Adams and this is my partner, Detective Curcio. We've been assigned to your daughter's case, but we were waiting for her guardians to arrive before we interviewed her," the tall, lanky officer announced as he reached out a hand to shake both of the elder Basses. He didn't look to be a day over 30, and this made both Chuck and Blair skeptical of his credentials and capability to help them.

"Gentlemen," Chuck greeted as he returned the handshake. "We appreciate you waiting for our arrival and your prompt response to the incident, but we only just arrived. If you would allow us some time to meet with the doctor first and find out what actually happened, we'd be happy to speak with you after."

"The sooner we speak to the victim, the better," Detective Curcio butted in, earning him a glare from his partner.

"What my partner means is that the sooner we speak to a victim, the more accurate their details are likely to be; however, we respect your request and will be waiting just outside whenever you're ready," Detective Adams covered. He knew his partner, an older man close to retirement who was born and raised in the Bronx, wasn't aware of the clout the Bass family touted and the repercussions that could result in denying such a request.

"Thank you both," Blair quietly responded before turning her attention back to their daughter.

"Cor, sweetheart," Chuck began as he moved in to take his daughter's hand in his when he noticed her slight wince of pain. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"It's okay, Daddy. I just scraped my hands. Really, I'm okay," she reassured her father. "I was -"

The family was interrupted yet again, this time by the doctor who had been tending to Cornelia.

"One of the nurses told me you two had arrived," the doctor greeted. "Mr. Bass, Ms. Waldorf, I'm Doctor Schilling. I've been treating your daughter tonight."

"Doctor Schilling, thank you for your help," Blair began.

"Can you fill us in on what you've been treating our daughter for?," Chuck requested.

"Of course, of course. Let me start by assuring you all that Cornelia is going to be absolutely fine," Dr. Schilling explained. "She suffered a bit of a laceration to her right temple and needed 5 stitches. It should heal up over the next few weeks and the stitches will dissolve on their own. Other than that, she scraped up her hands and knees, and may have stepped on some glass. If you're alright with it, I'd like to administer a tetanus shot just to be safe."

Chuck and Blair looked from their daughter to one another, engaging in a silent conversation through their eyes.

"Of course, if you recommend a shot then I think it's best to err on the side of caution," Chuck affirmed with a curt nod.

"I'm going to text Dr. Moody. I'd like to have a plastic surgeon assess the stitches, especially since they are on her face and in such a sensitive area," Blair continued. "Not that I'm doubting your abilities, Dr. Schilling."

"Of course, no offense taken at all," he chuckled in response. "I'm going to have a nurse prepare the shot and I'll be back in just a moment to administer it."

"Thank you, doctor," both Chuck and Blair responded simultaneously as he headed out before turning their attention back to their daughter.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to need you to tell us what exactly happened," Chuck gently prodded. "It's best we know before you speak to the cops, especially if you're going to need a lawyer."

"Daddy, it's not like that," Cornelia started. "I… I was walking home from the party at Andrew Carson's apartment on the Upper Westside. It was so nice out, so I decided to walk through the park, across the 72nd Street Transverse. I saw a couple people here and there - late night runners or dog walkers, but that was it really until I passed these four boys who were walking the opposite direction. I didn't think much of it until a few minutes later when two of them came up behind me with bandanas over their noses and mouths.

"I was so shocked, I really didn't know what to do and then one of them…," her voice faltered for a moment before she continued. "One of them hit me in the head, Daddy. He had a gun and he hit me with it and I fell, and they stole my purse. They were distracted, so I started running but they kept chasing me. With the gun! I was so scared and then all of a sudden, Greg caught me and -"

"Who is Greg?," Chuck managed to cut in as Blair covered her gaping mouth in shock at her daughter's story.

"He saved me, Daddy. He was on a run and he grabbed me and told them to leave us alone and then he brought me to his building so the doorman could call me an ambulance."

Nodding in understanding, Chuck quickly pulled his phone out and shot a text to Andrew Tyler to get him more information on this Greg character - if he really did save his daughter, he wanted to make sure he was compensated handsomely.

"Cornelia, are you - are you sure they didn't do anything else to you? You could tell us," Blair cautiously inquired, needing to make sure that nothing worse than the already awful ordeal had occurred.

"I swear, Mom," she assuaged Blair's fears. "After they got his phone and my jewelry, they ran off. I had lost my shoes when I was running because it was raining, so Greg carried me to his building on 74th. And now here we are."

As she finished, Chuck and Blair both moved to hug their daughter tightly, still in slight disbelief of the entire thing.

"Are you comfortable sharing this with the detectives?," Chuck asked.

"I am. I just want to get it over with so we can get out of here. The fluorescent lighting and decor are downright offensive in this place," Cornelia assessed. "Daddy, are you not donating enough to Lenox Hill?"

"That's my girl," Chuck laughed. "You are certainly your mother's daughter. And to answer your question, Lenox Hill is one of my largest beneficiaries, both through the Bass Foundation and my personal donations, thank you very much."

A few minutes later, Dr. Schilling returned with the tetanus shot, which definitely hurt more than Cornelia expected, but she handled it in stride.

Once that was out of the way, Dr. Schilling excused himself and the detectives returned to interview Cornelia.

"Ms. Bass, we need you to give us your account of tonight's events with as much detail as possible," Detective Adams began.

"The more detail, the better," Detective Curcio emphasized.

"Yes, exactly, but it's okay if you can't remember it all. I'll give you my card so if any other details come to you, you can call me," Adams explained.

"You can call me Cornelia," Cornelia offered with a smile. "I think I can remember it all."

As she took them all through the story, they listened with rapt fascination. Blair felt her eyes tearing up again as she listened to her daughter detail her ordeal. Chuck, though to most people appeared to be impassive, had rage rolling through his entire body and could hear his angry heart thumping in his ears. Sensing this, his wife reassuringly squeezed his hands. Both detectives let her get through the story without interrupting, taking thorough notes the entire time.

When she reached the end of the story, everyone paused for a moment, processing what the young girl had experienced that night before Detective Adams spoke up.

"Thank you for all of that, Cornelia. That will all be very helpful," he started. "You mentioned that the boys were wearing bandanas when they approached you, can you remember anything else about their appearances?"

She paused thoughtfully as she tried to remember before speaking up, "I really can't remember much. They weren't much taller than me, maybe 5'9 or 5'10? Not big muscular guys, either. Slim build, I'd say."

Both men scribbled some additional notes before continuing with their questioning.

"And you mentioned that they stole some items from you. Can you give us a detailed description of those items?," Detective Curcio inquired.

"They stole my purse - it was a vintage Gucci Dionysus bag, blue leather," Cornelia described before bashfully looking to her mother. "Mom, I'm so sorry I lost your bag - I'll replace it, I promise."

"Sweetheart, you can't be serious. I don't care about some old bag. I'd give up all my vintage Gucci if it meant you were safe," Blair reassured her daughter as she ran a hand through her hair.

"And my jewelry - they stole my two-toned Cartier Love Ring. It had pave detailing and a custom engraving of a crown in place of one of the motifs. They also took my matching set of Van Cleef & Arpels rose gold Alhambra necklace and bracelet."

"You mentioned they took your phone too - what kind did you have?"

"iPhone Zenith Pro in Space Grey."

"And your shoes?"

"My shoes? I… I doubt they took those."

"You can never be sure. Like I said before, the more details, the better," Detective Curcio pressed.

"Okay… They were black Manolo Bozena slingbacks in size 8."

"Thank you. Can you think of anything else we should be aware of? Any other items of value that were in the purse?"

She mentally debated whether or not to mention something that was a little more sentimental than anything else that had been in there, but decided to just tell them anyway.

"There was an Elsa Peretti sterling silver Bean lighter from Tiffany's. It's engraved with Nelia in script," she relented.

What she didn't mention was that the lighter had been a gift from Liam and it was one that she only used when they would smoke together.

"Alright, Cornelia, that'll be all for tonight. Here's my card like I mentioned - feel free to call me if anything comes to you at any time, day or night. Thank you for all your help and we'll be in touch," Detective Adams stated as he extended his hand to shake hers and was followed by Detective Curcio.

With the detectives done and Cornelia officially discharged, Chuck removed his suit jacket and draped it over his daughter's shoulders before he scooped her up in his arms.

"Daddy, you don't have to carry me," Cornelia responded to the action.

"Oh and you plan to walk barefoot through the hospital halls and out onto the sidewalk?," he teased and was met with silence. "That's what I thought."

As the three Basses made their way out to the limo, they stuck close together.

#

As they arrived at the penthouse, Chuck carried Cornelia once again as they made their way to the front door. When they got to the door, however, they bumped into Henry who was just arriving home.

"Late night, son?," Chuck questioned as he cleared his throat.

Clearly caught off guard, Henry jumped a little and looked up from his hands that had been fumbling for the key.

"Dad," he greeted as he turned to take in the scene. "And Mom, and Cor. What're you guys still doing out? And why can't princess walk on her own?"

"Henry, dear, let's go inside first," Blair suggested in a tone that was clearly more of an instruction.

Righting the keys in his hand, Henry opened the door for the family and they went into the family room.

"Cor, I thought you went home hours ago?"

"I did… or at least I tried to. I was walking through the park and some guys mugged me, it's really no big deal," Cornelia attempted to shrug off.

"Some guys did what?," Henry practically shouted.

"Henry, lower your voice. Your sisters are sleeping upstairs and I really don't want you to wake either of them," Chuck quickly shut down his sons reaction.

"Really, Hen. I'm fine. Just a couple of scrapes and some stitches but I'm none worse for the wear."

Henry took in his sister's appearance with intensity before looking to both his parents for their reactions.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I promise. I'm just really tired. Is it okay if I go to bed now?"

Her parents nodded in agreement and Blair reminded her that they would be visiting Dr. Moody in the morning to check on her stitches before Cornelia made her way upstairs.

#

As she tried to sleep, Cornelia found the muggers' eyes staring back at her every time she closed her eyes. The few times she managed to doze off, she dreamt about the events of the night and jolted awake, often panting for breath and feeling like her heart might beat out of her chest. Shortly after 7am, she abandoned her efforts of sleeping and decided to take a long soak in her ensuite's tub to unwind and hopefully relax.

However, no matter what she did or how much she relaxed, the anxious heaviness would return to her chest and she'd be reminded of what happened.