Eight months, and what had once been an easy pregnancy was now driving her insane. They'd been surprised by how much Lily had softened. Everyone was prepared for her to be a nightmare, since that was a fairly common occurrence even without the influx of pregnancy hormones. Rufus loved her demanding side, but dealing with Lily's more hectic episodes had never been fun for Serena or Eric, and they weren't necessarily looking forward to more chaos. Yet this baby had made her remarkably maternal, checking in with her children at every opportunity. She was back to being the mom they had enjoyed during that period between Klauses, and they'd never been happier.
But something happened when she woke up today. When Rufus woke her up by singing to her swollen belly, she almost hit him with his guitar. When Serena shared a poem she'd written for her creative writing elective, it took remarkable self-restraint to keep her eyes from rolling into the back of her head. When Eric showed up for an unexpected visit, she was tempted to slam the door in his face. She'd been trying so hard to be good since the Ben drama and the Chuck revelation, but she simply wasn't built to be nice. Not every day, at any rate. Especially not when she had to pee constantly, and couldn't drink, and Rufus no longer wanted to have sex because "he didn't want to hurt the baby", and she felt hideous, deformed by giant ankles and a stomach so large that standing had become almost impossible. She was done with this pregnancy, beyond done. So when she felt her water break during dinner, she was so relieved she forgot to be terrified that her geriatric pregnancy was ending a month before her child was ready to be born.
He started simple. A bookstore in Dumbo, his favorite. He picked her up in a car provided by Lily, just to remind her he was, in some ways, wealthier than she was. He then told the driver to go home after he got them safely over the bridge, a declaration that made her contemplate stabbing him with her Jimmy Choos. But the weather was beautiful, and there was something about the way the sun reflected off the water that tempered her fury. She promised herself she'd give him at least an hour to prove himself, so she let herself get lost in the books, grateful she'd chosen at least mildly comfortable heels. He caught her leafing through first editions of 'The Second Sex' and 'The Feminine Mystique', copies he bought before she could protest, placing the paper bag in her hands as they left.
Seeing him for the first time in three months provided a hit of adrenaline she didn't know she was capable of feeling with anyone other than Chuck. It hit her like an arrow in the chest, the moment she walked down the stairs and saw him waiting in her foyer. He had even opted not to wear plaid, a decision that melted her occasionally icy heart. The first time she had dreaded their kiss, but she now found herself wondering what it would feel like for his lips to touch hers as they stopped for lunch in Tribeca after walking over the bridge, desire and Dan Humphrey somehow coexisting in her body. Their conversation was never dull, their banter as easy as breathing, and perhaps most importantly, she felt safe. Certain that no matter what she did or said, he would not punish her. He accepted her for who she was and considering he had tried to ruin her 20th birthday a little over a year ago, that acceptance was shocking. Perhaps even more shocking was her acceptance of him. When he talked about his writing, she was interested, probing until she was satisfied with his answers, certain he would take in her input rather than dismiss it. She had learned in the past year that she wanted her intelligence to be valued. She was skilled at more than scheming and plotting, though that was certainly her primary superpower. A superpower he had helped her channel for good purely by being her friend during perhaps the worst time in her trauma-filled life.
They went to an exhibit at the Whitney, one that was about to close but they hadn't yet attended because even though they hadn't discussed it, it felt wrong for one to go without the other. When the driver met them outside the museum, her blistered feet were so grateful she almost kissed Humphrey then and there. Instead, they got into the car, and she spent the entire ride wishing he would try to have limo sex with her, yet unspeakably grateful he didn't. This would have to go slow, they had wordlessly decided. For whatever this was to have a real chance, things would have to be different. A new playbook for a relationship the Upper East Side wasn't ready for, but was starting to feel inevitable.
He brought bread to feed the ducks, bread he had patiently allowed to go stale until it was just the right consistency. That's where they were when the sun set, their hands meeting as they tore crumbs to nourish her favorite creatures. She looked so lovely as the sky turned orange behind her raven hair that he couldn't help but inch closer, his lips agonizingly close to hers when the ring of his phone pierced the air. Jenny screeching that he had to get to the hospital now.
"Is she okay?" It was Serena who was the first to speak, after nearly an hour of silence. "Do we think… she's okay, right? Because Rufus hasn't given us an update and that's…"
"It's unlike him, yeah." Eric was biting his thumb, a habit he'd picked up as a baby after his father left. A habit that only returned in moments like these, when he was so scared he couldn't see straight.
"She's okay S." Blair locked eyes with her best friend. She was seated next to Dan, across from Serena, a configuration she could see herself getting used to. "Scary things have happened to Lily, but she's always okay in the end. It's just…"
"It's not going to be easy." Dan finished her sentence, and if this were a less tense moment, they all would have paused to take in what was occurring between them. A coupling that felt laughably natural considering how absurd it was in theory.
"It was an easy pregnancy. That's a good sign." Jenny's eyes betrayed her fear. Lily had become more of a mother to her than she could have anticipated. She brought her back to New York, advocated for her during her most difficult challenges with her father. Helping her stepmother raise her little sister meant everything to her – she had never anticipated that said stepmother or little sister might not make it through this.
"It's a good sign until you go into labor a month early and the doctors won't let your kids in to see you." Eric's thumb was starting to bleed and they all pretended not to notice.
"They aren't letting you in so they can do their jobs. She was close to fully dilated when she got here, right? That's what the doctor said? More people would lead to chaos. And this delivery can't be chaotic. The doctors aren't taking care of us right now, they're taking care of her. And that's why I know she's going to be okay." And with that, Blair Waldorf squeezed Dan Humphrey's hand, and everyone was so stressed they didn't even notice.
The five of them waited in their stiff chairs without moving for what could have been minutes or days until Rufus Humphrey came out with a smile so big they all leapt out of their seats. And it was then, as everyone hugged and cried tears of joy, that they had their first real kiss. And maybe it was the exhilaration of the moment, of fearing life would be lost only to watch it be born, but it was a kiss that told her this man had been worth waiting a year for.
Evelyn Rose Humphrey. A middle name that sounded like her maiden name but wouldn't allow Cece a smidge of satisfaction. Rufus had already taken to calling her Evie for short, and she didn't say a word. Nicknames were used by others, but never by her, although technically she still refused to be called by her full name. Just the sound of Lillian made her entire body shudder. Evelyn, her perfect pink baby who flew out so quickly she couldn't remember the labor component. All she remembered was the lack of a cry, that wail every bone in her body had spent eight months waiting for. And for one dreadful minute, time slowed to a halt. She sobbed as Rufus watched, their hands gripping so tightly it was hard to tell who was squeezing who. And then it came: the most beautiful sound in the world. And a child that was theirs, who he got to watch be born, who wasn't swooped away the second she came out, ready to be taken to another family. This one they would get to keep, and love, a promise she was cooing over and over into her precious baby's head when her children entered the room. Serena was a mess of snot and hair and Jenny was all grins and puffy eyes and Eric had torn his poor thumb to bits and Dan had a glow that told him his date with Blair, a date she had of course helped plan, had gone even better than expected.
"Meet your sister, Evelyn Rose Humphrey." Lily knew she was supposed to hold out her baby daughter for them to see, but she couldn't, not after she had come so close to losing her. She was tiny, so tiny that the doctors had whisked her away to the NICU for the first hour of her life without so much as letting her hold her. Torture. Torture that was worth it when they brought Evelyn back to her and she could feel the love of her life's child wriggling in her arms.
Serena made a beeline for her mother, hugging her so fiercely Lily had to hand Evelyn off to Rufus, because she could sense that in this moment, her eldest daughter needed to be hugged back. "I'm okay. It's all okay. Eric, my darling, come here." She held her hand out for Eric to grip onto, smoothing her fingers over his wounded thumb. "I suppose we should have known better than to expect this child not to make a dramatic entrance into the world." And everyone laughed at that, the tension officially broken. Even after enduring a trauma, it was on Lily to reassure everyone. All that house arrest had prepared her to play her role well; her family needed her to.
They took their turns holding Evie, a process Rufus helped guide as Lily looked away, too scared to let anyone hold her miracle child. It was when she was in Daniel's arms that she finally looked up, because it was hard to deny that he was the most responsible of their children. And he looked so natural, standing there with his baby sister, gently cradling her head and cooing down at her, that she found herself overwhelmingly grateful that this assortment of individuals were her family. Evelyn had Lily's eyes and Serena's lips and Dan's chin and Jenny's nose and Eric's eyebrows and Rufus' good nature as she went from sibling to sibling without complaint. She never imagined this would become her life when she had walked into Rufus' gallery five years ago. Had someone told her, she probably would have turned around and carried on with as before, certain she could not want what she had now. Yet she knew in this moment, as Dan gently placed her daughter back in her arms, that she had never been happier.
When he came out to meet Blair, he was radiant. She almost made a joke about him inheriting Lily's pregnancy glow, but figured it might be too soon. Serena had decided to spend the night with her mom, Eric and Jenny were still installed at their sister's side, but even during this life-changing moment, he could not forget about the brunette sitting in the waiting room, holding his coat in her lap without so much as mocking the shoddy fabric.
"Hi big brother." He beamed, remembering the small creature who he'd spent the past half hour cradling.
"You were right. They're both… they're doing amazing."
"I'm always right. I thought you'd learned that by now." She was standing right in front of him, leaning in with a smirk he'd come to treasure. "What's her name?"
"Evelyn."
"Rufus was okay with naming his daughter Evelyn?"
"Evie for short. I think after a delivery that dramatic, he was willing to agree to anything."
"Some women are worth it."
"Indeed they are." And with that, her smirk grew to a grin. For the first time in years, she hadn't thought of Chuck Bass once. He took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers as they walked down the hospital hallway. "How'd I do on the date front? Worth waiting a year for?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Though you do get extra points for involving the miracle of life in your plans."
"Well, Lily really wanted this to work out, so she figured she'd do us a favor." And with that, Blair let out a giggle, a giggle he was certain was the most precious sound he had ever heard.
"You do owe me dinner, though. You can't have a perfect first date where the ducks get more nourishment than I do."
And so they ended up at Veselka, the only place that was still open and willing to feed them. Dan begged her to try a pierogi, but she wrinkled her nose, opting for latkes instead – Cyrus' taste buds had started to rub off on her. She had been with him for twelve hours and she wasn't even slightly tired of him, content as they debated the merits of Agnes Varda versus Chantal Akerman. They closed out the restaurant, and Blair wasn't even upset to be stuck in the East Village at 2am.
His driver was waiting to take her home. Dan was going to spend the night at the penthouse with Jenny and Eric, so when Blair asked him to join her in the car, he didn't hesitate. She toed off her heels and rested her head on his shoulder, falling asleep before they got on the FDR. At some point, his eyes fluttered shut, exhausted by a day he was sure would count among the best of his life. The driver cleared his throat when they arrived, and a lethargic Dan helped a half-asleep Blair out of his stepmother's town car.
They stood outside her building as she let out the daintiest of yawns, desperate to burrow under the covers but hesitant to leave his side. "Tomorrow morning. Bring me a croissant before you take me to the hospital. I'd like to make the acquaintance of the latest Humphrey." He didn't attempt to hide his grin, and when he leaned in to kiss her goodnight, this time it was life changing in a completely different way.
