Chapter 8

Blair cautiously knocked on the door to Chuck's office and pushed the door open. The whole room had been smashed up, there were books and papers covering the floor, the desk had been upturned and a pane of glass looking out across the city had been cracked. Chuck was stood at the far end of the room with his hands against the wall, Blair could see blood on his knuckles from something he must have punched.

"Chuck." Blair spoke in barely more than a whisper. Chuck looked up from the floor but didn't turn around.

"You shouldn't be here." Chuck's voice was cold.

"I'm not leaving." Blair replied.

"Suit yourself." Chuck opened a near-by cabinet and helped himself to a large glass of scotch then gulped it back in one go before pouring himself another. Blair watched him as he picked up the chair he'd thrown across the room and positioned it so he could sit down and look out at the city lights.

"You can't go after Steve, Chuck." Blair said as she crossed the room and poured herself a scotch. It wasn't her usual choice of liquor, but she needed something to calm her emotions of the last day.

"He hurt you." Chuck stated simply.

"I don't know what he did. I have no memory." Blair could feel a lump forming in her throat as she spoke. The brief flashback that she'd had earlier that evening had been fleeting, all she could remember was Steve leaning over her, his hand grabbing at her hip, and it was painful. There were still no other memories from the previous night.

"He hurt you." Chuck repeated. The harshness of his voice had softened slightly, and he gulped back another large mouthful of scotch.

"Chuck, I need to know what happened but if you go after him I'll never be able to find out." Blair tried to explain.

"So, you're just going to let him get away with it?! Have you seen those bruises Blair? You've got his fucking hand print on your chest!" Chuck shouted, louder than he was intending to and Blair winced at his words.

"I never said that. But right now, I don't even know what he did." Blair had tried to hold it together, but the reality of the situation hit home and she began to cry. "I need to know, and I need your help. You going to prison for killing the only person that can give me those answers will just make this worse." Blair wiped away her tears furiously and composed herself. She'd cried more in the last 24 hours than she had since leaving college and she was exhausted.

Chuck continued to stare out of the window, sipping his scotch, and contemplating Blair's request. Various images were flashing through his mind on a constant loop, the bruises on Blair's body, the state she was in when he found her in Steve's apartment, the way she flinched at his touch, the fear in her eyes when he ran from her apartment. It was a like watching a horror movie that he couldn't turn off.

"I told Nate. I didn't give any details, but he'll ask questions." Chuck was now regretting his phone call to Nate. He wasn't sure why he'd chosen to call him; he may have been his best friend but he was never going to agree to assist him in attacking someone, especially when Chuck refused to tell him the reason why.

"I know." Blair replied. Chuck turned to look at her with a confused expression. "He's downstairs with Serena." Chuck's frown deepened further. "It would appear we both decided Nate was first choice for tracking down missing people. Not sure I'd use his services again though, he was useless." Blair concluded with a smile, although it didn't quite meet her eyes.

"So, what next?" Chuck smiled at Blair's remark, but he could tell she was still hurting.

"Right now, I need sleep. But I agreed to your earlier conditions, and I always follow through with my promises. We can talk tomorrow." Blair hadn't forgotten Chuck's previous request to tell him everything.

Chuck nodded, finished his drink, and took Blair by the hand to lead her out of the trashed office. He would have to ask the cleaners to tidy it up tomorrow and made a mental note to tip them generously to maintain his discretion. It would not reflect well if his antics became common knowledge within the company. As they stepped into the elevator, Chuck placed his arm around Blair's shoulders and pulled her into his side, kissing her gently on the temple.

As they exited the building, they were greeted by Nate, Serena, and Andrew Tyler. Chuck quickly dismissed Andrew after informing him that his earlier outburst had been an overreaction and reminded him that he still had an active investigation that Chuck wanted an update on within the week. Nate and Serena began to quiz the pair, Blair tried to brush it off as one of their usual games, but they weren't buying it and, in the end, Chuck persuaded them to leave it until the morning.

After dropping Serena and Nate off at their respective buildings, the car pulled up outside Blair's apartment.

"Can you stay?" Blair asked tentatively. Her request had two motives, she didn't want to be alone, and she would know where Chuck was if he stayed with her.

"In your spare room." It was a statement rather than a question.

"Chuck Bass, a gentleman, who knew." Blair chuckled and Chuck smirked in response.

Chuck helped Blair out of the car and followed her into the elevator. Once they reached her apartment, Blair offered Chuck a drink, but he declined and encouraged her to go to bed. He selfishly wanted to spend more time with her, but her eyes were tired and she looked pale, she desperately needed a decent night's sleep. Blair showed him to the spare room, it was a pointless exercise because he knew where it was, he'd once slept in there after they'd had an argument many years ago, but he followed her without saying a word.

"Help yourself to anything you want in the morning. And thanks for today." Blair smiled gratefully.

"Any time." Chuck took hold of Blair's hand and brought it to his lips. He then stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek before saying, "Goodnight, Waldorf."

"Goodnight, Bass." Blair replied.

...

Blair fell against the side of the car as she tried to reach for the door handle. Her vision was blurry, and she was seeing double. She tried to steady herself against the cold metal and shook her head slightly, hoping it would help her see more clearly. As she reached out again for the door, another hand appeared and beat her to it. She could feel the owner of the mystery hand guiding her into the car and then they joined her in the back of the vehicle.

She lunged forward, more forcefully that she was anticipating and told the driver to take her home. He said something but she couldn't hear him and then the mystery man next to her pulled her back into her seat and began talking to the driver. Blair wanted to inform him that she was perfectly capable of directing a cab driver through New York to her apartment, but they suddenly turned a sharp corner and her stomach lurched. She couldn't let herself be sick in the back of a cab, that was simply not something Blair Waldorf did. The mystery hand was grabbing hold of her leg and she could feel their breath on her face, it smelt of beer and it made her stomach churn even more. She tried to push the man away, but he tightened his grip on her thigh and kissed her.

The mystery man had now been joined by another person and they were walking somewhere. Or at least the two unknown people were walking, Blair struggled to co-ordinate her body, she tried to place one foot in front of the other, but they seemed to drift off course and she kept stumbling from side to side. If it hadn't been for the two people holding her up on either side, she would have fallen over by now.

Blair turned onto her side, she was grateful to finally be in bed, but everything was spinning, and she couldn't decide if it was better or worse when she closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt the bed sink next to her and a hand grabbed her hip and pulled her roughly onto her back. She tried to shout out, but she struggled to form actual words and groaned instead. When she opened her eyes she could see him leering over her, it was Steve. His eyes bore into her, he looked possessed and angry. His lips met hers, but it was aggressive and painful. Blair tried to push him off her, but he continued to kiss her and grabbed more forcefully at her bare skin.

"No, stop." Blair finally shouted. "Stop, please stop. No. Steve. No!" Blair continued to shout as she pushed against Steve's body. She could feel her breathing become shallower and her chest tightening, she tried to take a deep breath, but she couldn't, it was like she was suffocating.

...

"Blair. Blair!" Blair sat up in bed as her eyes flew open and she saw Chuck rushing across to her. She clutched her chest as she hyperventilated and looked around trying to work out where Steve had gone. Chuck sat down in front of her and took hold of her hands, Blair flinched slightly but didn't pull away.

"Breathe, Blair. You're safe, he's not here. Breathe." Chuck reassured her.

Blair looked around the room again, checking that Chuck was telling the truth. Her chest constricted further, and she was beginning to feel light-headed.

"Blair, look at me." Chuck squeezed her hand to get her attention. "It's okay, breathe with me." Blair stared at Chuck as he began to take deep, slow breaths. He continued to hold onto her hands as he encouraged her to follow him. Slowly, the tightness in her chest eased and she felt able to breathe more easily. Chuck kept breathing with her, praising her every so often and reassuring her that she was safe.

Blair finally calmed down and leaned forward to rest her head against Chuck's chest.

"Did I wake you up?" Blair asked.

"I heard you shouting." Chuck explained as he ran his hand up and down her back.

Chuck struggled to sleep after Blair left him in her spare room. He lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. He was dozing off when he heard Blair shouting. At first it was just groans but when he heard her shouting for Steve to stop, he rushed to her room.

"I'm sorry. I had a nightmare. I think it was more flashbacks."

Blair took a deep breath then started to describe her dream. Chuck had offered to wait until the morning, but Blair insisted on telling him now, in case she forgot any of the details. When she finished, Chuck tried to encourage Blair to go back to sleep but she refused, insisting she was ready to start the day, despite it being 4:30am.

"Let's watch a film then." Chuck suggested. She still looked exhausted, and he had not yet managed to get any sleep. The morning was only going to bring more difficult conversations and they both needed to refuel before they faced that.

"Good idea. I'm picking the film though; I can't stand those ridiculous action films you and Nate are always watching." Blair walked over to her dressing table to collect her laptop then joined Chuck back in her bed. He'd shifted himself so that he was now sitting against the headboard. Blair set up the laptop and curled into Chuck's side. Chuck wrapped his arms around her protectively and chuckled at the choice of film; he should have guessed it would be an Audrey Hepburn classic.

Blair finally fell asleep halfway through the film. Chuck's eyes felt heavy, but he continued to watch her sleeping, lightly tracing his fingers across her arm that was resting on his chest.

Dorota cautiously entered Blair's bedroom the following morning to check that Blair had made it home safely. The sight that greeted her made her smile widely. Both Blair and Chuck were sound asleep, wrapped in each other's arms, with the film credits rolling on the laptop. Dorota quietly closed the laptop and pulled a blanket up to cover the sleeping pair, before tiptoeing out of the room and closing the door.

To be continued...

A/N: thanks again for the reviews and favourites! I'm so pleased there's still people out there that are reading GG fiction. A few people have mentioned wanting to see Chuck go after Steve - I can confirm they will meet each other again!

Reviews welcomed and encouraged, as always :)