Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
My apologies. I intended to get this published before my vacation, but I'm back now.
Enjoy.
Breakfast was interrupted by the ringing of Blair's cellphone.
"You know the rule, Beautiful, no phones at the breakfast table," Chuck gave her an amused smile while she glanced at her caller identification.
"It's Serena," Blair replied, "I have to take this."
"I want to say hi to Aunt Serena," Aiden chimed in.
"Eat your breakfast first, Peanut," Blair told him before she stepped out of the dining room to take the call from her best friend.
Aiden gave his father a pout in reply.
"Eat up, Buddy," Chuck encouraged his youngest, "We're going to the park today."
"We are?" Aiden perked right up.
"Yep, we're going to the zoo and then the carousel and then to race boats," Chuck explained.
All three children seemed excited for the day as they scarfed down their breakfast quickly.
"Serena couldn't talk for too long, but she says hi and she wants me to give each of you hugs and kisses," Blair returned to the dining room and went around the table, hugging and kissing each of her children and then her husband.
"How's she doing?" Chuck grasped his wife's hand before she was out of reach and brought it to his lips.
"She's hanging in," Blair gave him a smile, trying to hide the sadness she was feeling. She should have known her husband would see through it immediately.
"Are you okay?" he tugged on her arm affectionately.
"Nothing a day with our children won't cure," Blair caressed his chin.
"I just spilled the beans about our day in the park," Chuck replied, "They sound pretty excited."
"Mommy, I done," Aiden tugged at her skirt.
"Can you get yourself dressed or do you need Mommy's help?" Blair asked her youngest.
"I do it myself," Aiden stated before darting off.
"He's not going to match, is he?" Blair chuckled.
"Probably not," Chuck laughed.
"How about you two?" Blair turned to address Charlotte and Brice.
"I'll help Aiden," Charlotte hopped off her chair.
"Thank you, Sweetheart," Blair smiled while her daughter went about her self appointed task.
"Can we take Barty too?" Brice asked after swallowing his last bite.
"Of course," Blair kissed the top of his head, "We can't have a day at the park without him."
"Go get dressed," Chuck told his son.
Brice darted out of the room, calling out for his dog to follow.
"Are you really okay?" Chuck pulled his wife into his lap the moment they were alone. She must have anticipated his move as her arms were around his neck instantly.
"She sounds so sad and lonely," Blair wiped at the tears welling in her eyes, "I haven't heard her like that in such a long time. Chuck, what if this is only the start? What if she doesn't get better?"
"Then we'll do the intervention over again," he replied, "We'll never give up on Serena because she is too important to all of us."
"She wants to come home," Blair admitted, "She wants you to send the jet. She's trying to check herself out of treatment."
"What did you tell her?" he asked.
"I told her to think about it for twenty-four hours. If she still feels the same way tomorrow, we'd come get her," Blair replied, "What else could I say? We can't force her to stay. She's only going to get better if she does the work."
"She's only going to get better if she's willing to address what really sent her on this spiral in the first place," Chuck rubbed circles into his wife's back in an effort to soothe her turbulent soul.
"God, I wish she never had to go through any of it," fresh tears began to tumble down her cheeks, "I feel so guilty. We have three beautiful and healthy children. My pregnancy with Aiden was difficult, and we had that moment where we thought we were going to lose him. It scared me like nothing else in my life ever has, but Serena miscarried twice. We'll never know how painful it was for her. How can we just tell her to deal with it and move on? I don't know if I could have."
Chuck choked on his memories. He remembered the frantic few hours when they thought they would lose Aiden. It still haunted his dreams at times, but he was always able to walk into Aiden's room to see the boy sleeping peacefully to calm himself. He didn't know how he would have handled actually losing the baby.
"It would have been difficult," Chuck began, "I'm sure there would always be a piece of my heart missing, but I believe we would have found a way through it together, for each other and for the children we were blessed with. I don't know how we're going to help Serena, but I do know we're never going to stop trying."
Blair's head came to rest against his shoulder. She soaked in his love and comfort and in return she gave him her own.
"I love you, Chuck," Blair stated.
"I love you, Blair," he stroked her chin.
"We'd better get ourselves ready for our day in the park. A day of family fun is exactly what we need."
"I couldn't agree more," Chuck kissed her lips tenderly.
"Hey, no phone calls during family time," it was Blair's turn to give her husband a good natured scolding when his phone rang while the children ran around the playground. Actually Brice was playing with his dog just at the edge of the playground, and Aiden were running around. Charlotte was playing the big sister card and watching over Aiden.
Chuck fished his phone from his pocket and glanced at the caller identification, knowing Blair would be looking over his shoulder.
"Your P.I., you better take that," Blair stated.
Chuck gave her an apologetic look for his business intruding on family time before stepping away to have his conversation.
"Where Daddy go?" Aiden darted over upon discovering one parent was no longer watching his every move.
"He had to take a phone call," Blair handed him a bottle of water. The little boy was panting slightly from the physical exertion. "Are you having fun, Peanut?"
Aiden bobbed his head while Charlotte parked herself next to her mother and took the other offered bottle.
"Charlee, push me," Aiden tugged at her skirt after taking a large gulp from his bottle and practically throwing it back at his mother.
"Wait a minute, Aiden," Charlotte demanded.
It was while Blair watched her daughter take several drinks, she noticed her daughter was panting slightly too, likely from having to keep up with such an active little boy.
"Did Brice have this much energy too?" Charlotte asked her mother.
"Yes," Blair snickered, "So did you at Aiden's age. You used to run me and Daddy ragged when we brought you to the park. Why do you think we had more children? We needed someone to slow you down a bit."
"Funny, Mom," Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"Charlee," Aiden moaned impatiently, "Swing time."
Charlotte capped her bottle and returned it to her mother before Aiden tugged on her hand. "Let's go."
"She's a much better big sister with Aiden than she first was to Brice," Chuck noted when he returned to the bench.
"What's the latest? William or Jack?" Blair asked.
"A bit of both actually," Chuck replied, "Jack is quivering in his prison shoes. Apparently he was roughed up a bit more than we were led to believe. He might be singing like a canary when I sit down with him."
"Don't say things like that to me," Blair groaned, "I don't want to expend any energy feeling sorry for that sorry excuse of a human being. He's brought everything on himself."
"I'm not disagreeing with you," Chuck assured her, "I'll see him tomorrow. Hear him out and then hopefully we'll never have to think of him ever again."
"With any luck," Blair stated, "What did you find out about William? Are his intentions honorable?"
"More so than Jack," Chuck replied, "He's a bit trickier to figure out."
"He's not into anything illegal, is he?" Blair asked.
"Certainly nothing like Uncle Jack," Chuck assured her, "Do you know what led to William leaving New York all those years ago?"
"Yeah, he and Lily were getting a divorce," Blair replied.
"He could have stayed in New York and kept in touch with his children if that were the case," Chuck replied.
"What do you know I don't?" Blair raised a curious eyebrow in his direction.
"William was sued for medical malpractice. It wasn't the final nail in the coffin as far as he and Lily were concerned. Their relationship was pretty much over by then. His being unfaithful was the particular nail in that coffin. He also appeared to like the New York nightlife a bit too much. The malpractice case accused him of reporting to work while either hung over or strung out or still under the influence of whatever his vice was at the time. Lil agreed to bail him out but under the condition of him getting treatment and not to be around the children until he straightened himself out," Chuck explained.
"You got all this information from one two minute phone call?" Blair asked.
"I've known some of it of awhile," he admitted, "Bart kept tabs on William. He had a file in his desk at Bass."
"Why is now the first time I'm hearing any of this?" Blair asked.
"Until now it hasn't been anything I thought was relevant," Chuck replied.
"Why is it all relevant now?" Blair scowled at him, "He's been back in New York for over five years, competently practicing medicine once more."
"Near as I can tell, you're correct, but his malpractice case has hung over him, even after all these years," Chuck stated, "He's been keeping himself out of trouble. He's clean and sober, regularly attending AA and NA meetings."
"But," Blair sensed a hiccup coming along.
"He tried to reach out to Serena when her episodes began splashing the pages of the New York papers. She rebuffed him," Chuck stated, "He fell off the wagon."
"Drugs or alcohol or both?" Blair asked.
"As far as I can tell, just alcohol," Chuck replied, "He went to work the next day, and a patient he treated died. It doesn't appear there was any medical malpractice or neglect on his part, but some ambulance chasing lawyer who knew William's past pounced on the bereaved family."
"That's horrible!" Blair gasped. "If he didn't do anything wrong, the case is going to be dismissed, right?"
"It's too soon to know for sure," Chuck stated, "William's track record is not going to help matters, nor are the credit card receipts for alcohol he consumed the night prior to the incident."
"I had no idea he even had a problem," Blair replied.
"We were pretty young when he left," Chuck reminded her.
"True," she leaned into him, "Does any of this have anything to do with his sudden reappearance into his children's lives?"
"It may have nothing to do with his appearance," Chuck wrapped his arm around her shoulder, stroking her bare arm gently with his finger, "But we have to be prepared. Lil paid to get him out of trouble last time. It's not much of a leap to think he could be asking again."
"No, it's not," Blair agreed.
"Mommy, watch," Aiden called out just before he rocketed himself off the swing and flew through the air until he landed with a thud, much to his mother's horror.
Blair and Chuck ran towards the young boy. By the time they got there, Aiden's face was twisted into a mix of shock and tears.
"Are you okay, Peanut?" Blair knelt before him, immediately inspecting his body for any obvious injuries. Tears were tumbling down the boy's cheeks. He didn't yet know whether to laugh off his stunt or burst into hysterical sobs. When the shock wore off, he shook his head slightly and then released a mischievous giggle. Blair released a relieved sigh. "Don't do that again. You scared Mommy."
Aiden picked himself off the ground, dusted himself off and climbed back onto the swing, imploring his sister to resume her pushing.
"Oh no," Blair halted any further swing, "That's enough excitement for today. Brice, sweetheart, it's time to get back to the penthouse."
All three children moaned in reply.
"Aren't you getting hungry?" Blair asked.
"I want hot dogs," Aiden hopped off the swing.
"I bet Chef is making something just as tasty," Blair tried to tempt her youngest, and easily her most stubborn child.
Aiden didn't look too convinced, but he went along without a fuss.
TBC…
