Howdy! Okay, I had a whole witty author's note written, but then I kept not finishing the chapter and it got more and more out of date… so here is this one… It will be as time neutral as I can make it… Oh, and just to be clear, I think this chapter is total crap, but it's set up for the next. Please bear with me! Here we go…

Chuck glanced down with distain at the creature at the end of the leash he held. Handsome. Chuck had never liked animals, he had never pretended to like animals, and this animal in particular had been a thorn in his side for years ever since Blair had insisted Handsome be a groomsmen at their wedding. Chuck had agreed in exchanged for certain honeymoon promises from her… He had thought he had come out on top from that arrangement until the end of the ceremony when he had leaned in to kiss his bride and Handsome had taken a chunk out of his calf. By the time their plane had landed in Istanbul, Handsome had been in a crate to France. He'd vowed the mongrel would never darken his door again… now he hoped it would serve to placate his wife.

"You lift one leg near my closet and you earn yourself a one way trip to Korea Town." Chuck threatened, and the bog merely panted in response.

The elevator doors slid open and he walked out, but had to leap forward to stop the door from shutting with Handsome still on the inside. Pressing his back to the door, he held it open, signaling Handsome to come in with a condescending wave.

"Mr. Handsome!" Dorota said as she crossed the hallway to take Chuck's coat. "Mr. Handsome?"

"For future reference… I'd prefer it if you greet me before the canine… I do pay your salary after all…"

Dorota rolled her eyes, not commenting that it was Mrs. Blair who paid her wages like she had since she was fourteen, and instead of listening to her parents when they said she was too old for a caregiver and were letting Dorota go, had turned around and hired Dorota herself paying her out of the interest from her trust fund. She'd been all Blair's ever since. Suddenly Dorota looked at Chuck with suspicion in her eyes. "Mr. Chuck… You leave Mrs. Blair?"

"What?" Chuck looked at her incredulously.

"You run away like a little boy?" She asked with derision.

"Is this where I'm supposed to pretend like I know what you're talking about out of respect for the fact that if it came down to it, my wife would most likely pick you over me if we were standing in front of a firing squad?" Chuck drawled.

Dorota thought that out of the two of them he was probably the one who would have deserved it, but she kept that to herself.

"You say 'Mr. Handsome comes into house, you go out'." Dorota reminded him.

"Perhaps I spoke in haste…" He looked down at the dog again, and tried not to picture the fur it would leave on his suits or how Handsome's favourite place to sleep was also Chuck's; right next to Blair. Hence the reason they had issues. "If Blair wants to hear the pitter patter of little feet, who am I to keep them from her…"

"You think Mrs. Blair give up baby for dog?"

"Well, you needn't say it like that." He tossed out, angry at the thought that Dorota was right, and that Handsome's return might not put the baby situation to rest.

Let off his leash Handsome trotted into the living room and Chuck smiled hearing Blair's excitement.

"Handsome!"

Walking into the room the first thing Chuck saw was Blair with Handsome cuddled tight in her arms, his head against her chest, and Chuck would have bet his last billion that the dog was gloating.

"What's this?" She asked with happy eyes.

It was then Chuck scanned the rest of the room. "I could ask you the same thing."

Like a wave had washed over it, a look of consternation flittered across her face and was gone, replaced by the smile that always had him on edge. It seemed Blair had some tricks of her own up her sleeve for tonight.

Putting down Handsome, Blair walked over to Chuck and took his arm. "Darling, did you forget? My friend Paige from college and her husband Troy were coming into town, and I invited them for dinner. You know how much I hate to lose touch with old friends…"

More like old minions. Chuck knew Blair kept a Rolodex in her head of everyone she ever met, everyone who owed her a favour, and especially everyone who she had dirt on. She knew where more bodies were buried on the Upper East Side then anyone else, with the possible exception of Chuck himself. Chuck looked over at the couple sitting on his couch looking uncomfortable.

"Funny… I can't seem to remember meeting Sage. I thought I knew everything about you…"

"Paige." Blair corrected, before smiling again. "And no one can know everything…"

"Maybe it would be a good time to remind you about how well you know me… You might recall how I don't respond well to manipulation."

"Hm!" Blair scoffed. "Show's what you know." Her voice dropped to a seductive purr. "Are you trying to tell me that you don't like it when I… Manipulate you?"

Just then a cry broke out from the side of the room. Chuck's head snapped around. "What is that?"

"A floppy eared bunny named Chester." She mocked. "It's their precious baby."

"What is it doing here?"

"Well, they couldn't very well leave 'it' in a hotel room alone, now could they?"

Just then, Dorota came in and Blair seized the opportunity to move the night along. "Dinner! Dorota will watch the baby while we eat."

Dinner passed with Chuck not saying a word, merely staring at his wife and picturing the various methods of torture he could inflict on her that would even come close to how painful this meal was for him. The couple would not stop talking about their son, and Chuck was tuning in and out because of that.

"… yeah, so being a dad is great! He's my little buddy! He's—"

Blair coughed slightly into her napkin and managed an almost indiscernible shake of her head at Troy.

"I mean… Passing on the family name… Knowing that my legacy is assured…" Troy stammered trying to please his hostess.

Blair's eyebrows shut up in approval for a fraction of an instant, before her head swung towards Chuck, cocking to the side as she gave him cat with a canary smile. She also knew that Dorota was keeping the baby entertained directly in Chuck's eye line. Perfect.

"Oh, you are so right, Troy. Legacies are so important—" Blair began.

"I'm done." Chuck said, placing his napkin on the table.

"But we haven't even had dessert!" Blair said, trying to keep Chuck from making a break for it.

"I know. And like I said, I'm done." He emphasized pointedly.

Chuck walked over to her and placed a kiss on her frozen cheek before walking out of the room. Minutes passed and without moving she addressed them. "You can go. Dorota will pay you on the way out."

Leaving the table she walked down the hall to her office, seeing light from under the one adjacent to hers, she knew where Chuck was, and so following his lead she entered hers and shut the door. Hours later she sat at her desk going over going over court documents, when she heard the soft click of her door opening. She didn't look up, and he came and perched on her desk, a glass of Scotch in his hand.

"Blair…"

"Did you see that baby tonight?" She finally looked up at him.

Chuck's lip curled in disdain.

"Exactly. That child was disgusting. I saw it lick the dog at one point… and before I forget we need to make sure it's up on its shots."

"The dog?"

"No the child. Who knows where it's been? My point is that that child, much like many children, is pedestrian, dull and in many ways utterly unremarkable."

"I'm glad you've come around to my way of thinking…" Chuck smiled leaning in to kiss the side of her neck.

"Not so fast. What I'm trying to say to you is that our child wouldn't be." She smiled, running her hand up his leg. "Imagine what our child will be like…"

Chuck pulled away from her, rapidly growing tense, and poured the last of his drink down his throat, standing and turning away from her. She followed him and pressed her body to his back, and ran her hands up it to his shoulders.

"… Dark hair… Dark eyes. …Our two intellects, genes and style, blended into one perfect creature… Just picture it…"

"I said no." He said forcefully, moving away from her.

"Why are you being like this?" Her voice rose with emotion.

"Why are you pretending we haven't already had this discussion?" His going up as well as his frustration grew with this pointless argument.

Both of them just looked at each other, battle lines drawn, neither conceding an inch.

"I'm going to bed. I have meetings all day tomorrow, as do you." He said not moving, not taking his eyes from hers.

She knew what he was implying, that they were both incredibly busy, and that their free time was best used on each other. She wouldn't answer, and he didn't expect her to. He left and she was alone.

Minutes passed in silence before Blair moved to window, looking out at nothing. She didn't even notice Dorota coming into the room and looking worriedly at her mistress's stiff back. Her eavesdropping had told her things had not gone the way Blair had planned.

"Mrs. Blair?" She asked softly, but got no response so she continued trying to reach her. "Sometimes you cannot change the direction of the wind."

Dorota was just about to leave the room having not gotten a response, when Blair spoke.

"Everything works out the way it's supposed to." Blair insisted.

"You mean the way you want it to." Dorota said, trying without success to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"That too. This was meant to be. You'll see."

Once Dorota was gone, Blair headed up to their room, and ignored Chuck sprawled on the bed as she headed into her bathroom. She shut the door. Looking at her reflection, she couldn't believe how withdrawn she looked. She was betting everything on this. She filled a glass with water from the decanter, and took her pills out from the drawer like she did every night and took one out. Tonight however, she looked at the pill and dropped it down the drain.

BlahBLAH!! Okay, that was the end of the chapter. Like I said this was the hardest chapter I've had to write in a while, and I'm not happy with it. It even ruined my popsicle (don't ask, but trust me it did). This chapter is however dedicated to the lovely Maryam for her birthday! Happy Birthday Maryam! Enjoy Crapmate!