Hello! I love crazy Blair. Crazy Blair was in full affect last week and I loved it. The INS line KILLED me. As for this chapter… Guess what?? Yep. A flashback!! I also want to say to those who are interested; I'm probably going to be doing a line of one shots. I have the one already posted, and I'll be changing it to post my GG one shots as a series. It will still be called I Will Show You Love, because I love that song by Kendall Payne, and think it really fits Chuck and Blair. OH! And how much does it suck that after this week, GG is off till MARCH? That TOTALLY sucks! Anyhoo… here we go…
Blair lay out on a lounger looking over the pool. Her sunglasses were down as she admired the perfect pedicure she'd gotten this morning. Taking a deep breath, she tried to let out all the tension from her body, and this wasn't easy, given that she usually embraced her highly strung nature, and that Serena had just gotten a call from Lars and was in the midst of an argument she'd moved to the far side of the lawn. Practically alone and in a place where she's spent so many summers as a child, it was easy to let her mind wonder back, and as annoying as it was, that usually meant she was thinking of Chuck.
Flashback
Blair was curled into herself on the lounger by the pool, her stomach cramping from the whole cheesecake that had gone quickly in and then out of it less that an hour ago. It was a hot day, but she was clammy so she'd wrapped herself in a soft toweling robe.
Pressing her face into the towel draped over the back of the chair, she stared at the play of sunlight on the pool. Sunshine sucked, she thought mutinously. It was the middle of the worst summer of her life. Her daddy had fled to Paris, her mother was in hiding recovering from an eye lift, Serena had fled to boarding school, and Nate… well, Nate had just fled period.
Alone wasn't really her thing; it brought out self-reflection, and who the hell needed that? It was all a moot point; given that none of the people she loved most had allowed her much say in the matter. She was alone.
"I hear it's easier to tan if you actually let the sun hit your skin… or is the rumour right that you'll burst into flames in the sun… Oh, wait… I think it's melt if you get wet…"
Blair snapped up in the lounger just as Chuck Bass slid into the one next to hers. She glared at him for a moment as she righted herself into a more sedate pose, and briefly wondered if the towel had left a crease pattern on her face.
"What do you want, Bass?" She asked coolly, pulling the sunglasses off the crown of her head to cover her eyes. The Mother Chucker could look a little to deeply into her eyes at times, and she was not up to it today.
"The Hamptons seem to have cleared out this week… nothing left but townies… and you. Nate told me he'd be out on the boat with the Captain all day, and I thought you and I could entertain ourselves…"
"I suggest you re-introduce yourself to your right hand."
"Easy, kitten." Chuck smiled at her. "I was thinking more along the lines of lunch… and for future reference, I'm partial to my left…"
Blair gave a slightly unladylike grunt as she rolled her eyes.
"Someone's bitter… I take it Nate didn't extend an invite?"
"He knows I hate sailing." She muttered defensively.
"Ah, yes… The open water… the unpredictability of the wind and waves… the lack of control you have in the situation… you really should try letting go a bit more…" Chuck neatly taunted.
"I'll pass, thank you." She scowled. "And as if you don't go because you hate the wind messing your hair."
Chuck held his hands out with a sly smile. "I have a look… Plus I could lose my scarf… think of the tragedy…"
Blair couldn't help but smile. Damn him, the boy could charm her out of a mood…
"So… Lunch?"
"I'm not hungry." Blair declined, but her traitorous stomach emitting a loud grumble ruined it.
Chuck merely raised a brow while not taking his eyes from her.
"I'm not going out." Blair reiterated with a sigh.
Chuck paused, as if contemplating her words, and then rolled his eyes, letting his head fall back on the lounger as he commented on one of her more recent scandals.
"So, your dad's gay… who cares…" He drawled.
"Couldn't he have been gay in New York? He didn't have to move to Paris." She snapped quickly.
"If I've ever seen a father dote on a daughter, it's Harold on you." He sized her up again, before leaning in slightly, and speaking softly, almost sincerely. "He loves you… Paris isn't Afghanistan. You could fly over for a visit…"
"It would kill my mother… Correction, my mother would kill me. Besides he's the one that left, he should be the one to work for it." She shrugged it off, for some reason getting slightly nervous around a sincere Chuck.
Snatching up an InStyle she started scanning through it, trying to ignore him. Chuck wasn't one to be ignored.
"What does Serena have to say…"
"It's hard to get an opinion when they don't call." Blair commented and nearly tore the magazine as she flipped a page.
"Hmmm… Once again, you could call her."
"And you could mind your own business! But, since you brought it up, calling her would involve backing down. And I don't know if you've heard, but that's not my strong point." She pointed out before snapping. "And besides, she's the one that took off, she's the one who should call me!"
Chuck flinched at the pitch of her voice. Just then they were interrupted by Dorota approaching.
"Miss Blair… you say you want me to tell you when pie is ready…" Dorota said hesitantly.
"Thank you, Dorota!" Blair waved her away and once again avoided Chuck's eye contact.
Slamming her magazine closed she swung her legs over the side. "Let me change. Oh, and we're not going anywhere where we'll end up on 'Spotted'."
Chuck smiled with a little nod as he folded his hands across his chest, signaling he would be waiting for her. Chuck never seemed to have a problem waiting for her.
End of flashback.
Chuck sat at his desk in his home office, if his hands weren't busy holding Charlie upright as he sat on his desk, he would have been able to stop his son from shoving his very expensive tie into his mouth and ruining the silk.
"That's coming out of your inheritance…" Chuck chided with a smile.
At his father's voice Charlie looked up at Chuck. Chuck smiled and leaned in, smelling his son's hair, and gently kissing his head. Hearing a throat clear, Chuck looked up to see his butler standing in the doorway.
"Sir, Mr. Humphrey is here."
Chuck nodded, his smile turning quickly to a frown, and he looked intensely at Charlie.
"It won't be much longer." He promised. "Your mother may be the most stubborn woman on the planet, but I'm probably the most stubborn man… We'll be a family again soon."
Minutes later he walked into the foyer where Dan was waiting.
"Humphrey." Chuck greeted coolly.
Dan nodded, slightly thrown off by Charlie… or to be more precise, Charlie's outfit. It was silk. It was purple. It had a matching cap and cape. And it probably cost more that Dan's loft.
"What?" Chuck scowled.
"Nothing." Dan quickly said, reminding himself he shouldn't be surprised about any outfit a Bass or Waldorf wore, let alone a Waldorf-Bass.
Taking Charlie from his father, and the stroller and a diaper bag from a maid, Dan made a break for the elevator, and ended up wishing he'd missed the look of pain he saw on Chuck's face as he left with his son. Dan was still thinking about it when he exited the building and hit the sidewalk, however he put it behind him on the subway to Brooklyn, and awkwardly smiled at people who pointed at the baby in the cape. He wished he could tell them the look was ironic. Coming up out of the station, he spotted Vanessa and waved. Dan raised a brow at the conspirator's smile she wore.
"What?"
She held up a bag and nodded towards Charlie. "Old Navy." She smiled. "Sales rack."
"Brilliant." Dan laughed already pulling the cap off the baby.
An hour later they were pushing through the crowd at the fair, talking and laughing at different things they saw. Charlie, less than impressed, had fallen asleep. Grabbing Dan's arm, Vanessa dragged him towards a giant cutout stand of an Endless Nights poster, where you put your head in the holes and the picture looks like you're the characters.
"How much?" Vanessa asked the guy manning the booth.
"10 bucks."
"We're doing it!" Vanessa laughed.
"Didn't we already 'do it' with her already?" Dan joked, referring to the movie's star.
"Shut up, and let's go!" Vanessa said as she headed behind the cut out.
When Dan tried to follow he was stopped by the fact that the stroller didn't fit behind the board. He frowned and peeked under the hood, figuring if Charlie was awake he could take him out and carry him back there, but no such luck.
"Come on!" Vanessa yelled.
And after a quick look around, Dan put the hood back down and headed behind the cutout. Vanessa was waiting and they spent a second messing each other's hair before putting their faces through the holes for the picture. They came around laughing and Dan paid the man as Vanessa went to the stroller. She had just started to push it when she froze.
"What's wrong?" Dan asked, coming over to her.
"I really hope I'm wrong or that Charlie lost weight in the last three minutes…"
For a second Dan didn't know what she was talking about, but with dread he threw back the hood of the stroller. Charlie was gone.
TahDaH! I know, I know, there are probably more than a few of you saying this twist was lame and predictable. To those of you who REALLY want to tell me… I'll remind you I work for free. Be gentle. Side note…two things… Remember back last season when Blair and Serena were bickering, and Chuck came up and was like "Kittens, please…", and prior to that the whispered "what names does he call you when you're making love…" and the couple of references he's made to her purring or scratches on his back. I'm saying that Chuck's pet name for Blair is Kitten. Okay, maybe it's only in my head… but I like it!
