There was only darkness, the nothingness of all the electronic devises around them instantly stilling, and a helpless feeling of being trapped several stories above the ground with nothing to hold them in the air save for a few cables.

His first thought at regaining his footing was panic. Then everything faded besides her.

" Blair !" His voice resounded off the walls that were far too close together for his comfort.

But the silence that met his voice was even louder and much more horrible.

He tried again. " Blair ! Are you okay ?"

Still his seeking question was met with nothing. That huge nothingness that stretch way beyond the walls.

Then finally, he heard her groan and his senses suddenly flared into life. He needed to find her, to feel her. To make sure she was okay. The darkness was closing in on him, but he fought against the panic. "Blair, where are you ? Are you okay ?"

His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to break free of the tight restraint of his ribcage.

" Blair, Damn it ! Answer me." He demanded, trying to feel his way over to her.

At last, his searching hand found a foot and he followed it up until he was kneeling by her waist.

His fingers brushed up the side of her neck, pausing only briefly to feel her pulse hammering away almost in time with his.

As he reached her lips, they opened and a gush of warm air escaped them. " Chuck," She groaned into the blackness.

" I'm here. Are you okay ?" He moved his hands frantically over her now, searching for injuries, for any mars in her perfection.

" I'm okay." She answered, struggling to a sitting position. He helped her quickly, sliding her until her back was resting against the wall.

" Why didn't you answer me ? God, I thought....." His voice trailed off as images too ghastly to fathom came unbidden to his mind.

" No, I'm fine I think." Her small hand was clutching at him now, her panic adding to his as the events of the last few moments caught up to her. " What happened ? Are you okay ?"

" Yeah," He covered her hand, which was pulling at his shirt, with his own and held to it tightly. " I'm fine. I think we lost power. But we'll be okay."

He sounded much more confident than he felt.

" Have you tried the emergency phone ?" She asked, struggling again, this time to stand.

He held her still with a hand on her shoulder. " Stay still. Let me do it."

She didn't protest or try to fight against him. And he was grateful for that.

He felt his way around the wall until his fingers bumped the control panel. Then he pried it opened and grabbed the receiver inside.

Holding it to his ear, he waited, waited for the voice of their salvation to answer his plea. But nothing came. He heard nothing on the other end.

" What's wrong ?" Blair asked, a touch shrilly. " Did you find the phone ?"

" Yeah," He muttered. " It's dead."

She gave a startled cry and he was back beside her before she could move. " What ? What is it ?"

" My head." she answered, around a sob. " My hair's all wet."

" Wet ?" He was confused, not thinking clearly. Then it occurred to him what the source of the wetness must be and he pulled her into him.

" It's okay, Blair. Someone will be along any minute. They'll have the power back and we can get a look at you head." He told her.

" Chuck, it's really wet." Her voice was terrified and he held her tighter.

Raising his hand slowly, he gingerly touched her hair. He found a wet, sticky mess of tangles that were nearly saturated at the back of her head.

The railing, he thought. She must have hit her head on the damn railing. He determined right then that as soon as they were back on the ground, he would rip it out with his bare hands.

She shifted against him and as she pulled away he felt the blood permeating his shirt, over his shoulder where her head had been.

His rational mind began to take over and he grabbed his shirt off and wadded it into a ball in his hand.

" You need to hold this over the back of you head. Try to stop the bleeding." He explained as he handed her the bundle.

" I can't." She whined. " Don't make me touch it."

He pulled her into him and tucked her tightly into his side. After getting her settled, he placed the shirt over the back of her head and held it steady. She jerked as soon as he started to apply pressure, but he held her firmly.

" Be still. We have to stop the bleeding. You've already lost a lot of blood."

" It's starting to hurt." She cried, her voice muffled by his chest.

" I'm sorry. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to." He told her, not budging his hold.

" I was trying to find my purse when I sat up." She announced, wiggling still.

" I'm sure your precious Prada is fine." He muttered.

She punched his shoulder weakly. " I'm not worried about my bag, you idiot. It's got my cell in it. We need to call for help."

" Lily and Serena know where we are. They've probably already called. Your head is more important right now."

" What do you care about my head ?" She asked, suddenly pouting and trying to pull away again.

" Oh no." He held her tighter. " We aren't doing this right now. You're hurt and we are suspended in a box no bigger than my bed, hovering very far above the ground. That superseded you being pissed at me at the moment. So just shut up and deal with it."

She jerked away this time, slipping out of his grasp. " Shut up ! " She shrieked. " Did you just tell me to shut up !"

" Yes," He hissed. " I did. Do I need to say it louder ?"

" How dare you !" She shouted.

He grabbed for her, yanking her into his chest and pressing his lips to hers to quiet her. " I dare because I care. You need to be still and quiet. Getting angry is only going to cause your pulse and blood pressure to rise and that will make the bleeding worse." He told her when he finally broke free.

" Don't do that." She said, though quieter this time.

" Don't do what ?" He pulled her back to his side and grabbed the shirt again, pressing it back to her wound.

" Don't lie to me."

" What am I lying about now, Blair ?" He asked, exasperated by the fact that she really wanted to continue this argument even under the circumstances.

" Telling me you care. That isn't fair. Just quit." She answered, resigning herself to being held against his chest.

" I do care." He answered quickly. " I'm not lying. Of course I care."

" No, you don't."

It sounded so childish and petty that, if her blood hadn't been soaking his hand and they weren't in such a position, he would have laughed out loud. Instead he brought her eyes up to his with his free hand on her cheek and kissed her gently.

" I do care." He whispered against her cheek when he let her go. " I care more than I want to."

" Why ?" She asked into the darkness. " Why is it so terrible to care about someone ?"

He shifted and realized that if he had to have this conversation, if she really insisted that he say things to her that he didn't want to admit out loud, this is how he wanted to do it. In the dark, where she wouldn't be able to see his face. Wouldn't be able to read how much it cost him to admit his feeling in his eyes.

Leave it to Blair to want to have this conversation now, when they were in imminent danger and definite peril.

" I know I don't say it." He started, his voice shakier than he wanted it to be. " It isn't easy for me. But I thought you knew. I always assumed you knew how I felt about you."

" I don't want to just know. I want to hear it, Bass. It's time. I know I've said it before, but I mean it this time. Just tell me and everything else is unimportant. We can work out the details later." Her voice sounded drowsy and he wondered about that. It wasn't a time when she normally would have been getting sleepy.

" Are you alright ?" He asked, shifting her against him, trying not to jar her too much, but enough to wake her up.

" I'm okay." She murmured. " I just need to hear you say it."

He bent his hand to her shoulder and brushed the tangle of hair over it so he could nuzzle her neck. He swallowed the large lump in his throat and cleared it, making sure that she would be able to hear him and understand him. He wasn't sure he could do it twice. " I lo-"

The elevator car jolted suddenly, sending them both tumbling sideways and making them land in a jumble against the far wall. He tried to right himself again, to sit up, but the car was now sitting at a very precarious angle with one side decidedly higher than the other.

He waited, expecting to hear the buzz and whirl of machinery starting up again, but nothing came except a long, pained groan from directly above them.

" Oh God !" Blair squealed. " We're going to die."

He grabbed her against him, holding her protectively to his chest. " We aren't going to die."

" One of the cables just snapped." She insisted. " We are going to fall."

" No, we aren't." He snapped.

She shifted and the groaning started again. The sound of metal grating against metal raking down his spine like nails down a chalkboard.

" Don't move." He warned her. " Just stay very still."

" You wouldn't be telling me not to move if you really didn't think we were going to fall." She was panicking. He could hear it in her tone, could almost see the tears rolling down her cheeks. Her entire body shook, trembling so hard it was causing his to shake as well, or maybe it was the knowledge that she was probably right that made him shake.

" Blair, listen to me. I need you to just take some deep breaths and try to calm down." He told her firmly. " We are going to be fine. We just need to hold on a little longer. Someone will come around any minute and get us out of here. But you have to get a hold of yourself. Can you do that ? Can you calm down for me ?"

Her face was buried in his bare chest. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as if were a lifeline. Finally, she sniffled and raised her face upward. He could feel her lashes brushing over his collarbone as she blinked. " Tell me." She whispered.

" Blair, -" he began, trying to tell her that this wasn't the time for this conversation. But she stopped him.

" NO!" she insisted, grabbing him harder, digging her nails into his flesh. " If I'm going to die, I want to hear you say it first."

" We aren't going to die." He repeated, taking her hand in his in an attempt to save his shoulder from her claws.

" Chuck, quit saying that when you know very well that it's entirely possible." She continued, her whole body still quivering so hard it was shaking the car.

" I'm not going to say it until we are safe and on the ground." He said finally. " That way you know that I didn't say it just because I thought we were going to die. I am telling you this though," He swallowed again. " If you're right, if we are going to die. This is how I want to go."

" What ?" She asked, raising her head. " You want to die in an elevator ?"

" No," He whispered. " I want to die with you in my arms so both of us go at the same time, Because there is no way I could live through losing you."

She went very silent and very still suddenly, no longer shaking, no longer trembling. His stomach dropped to his toes. " Blair," He nudged her as gently as possible. " Are you still okay ?"

A soft sob escaped from her and he relaxed instantly.

" I thought you said you couldn't be a romantic hero." She whispered as her lips found his.

The moment they connected, the lights above them flared to life just like fireworks in one of her movies.