Three hours they sat there, huddled in a heap of arms and legs, listening to the crews of workers buzzing around them. The paramedics buzzed right outside the door.

The workers had managed to get the door opened but the car was trapped between two floors, only a small shaft of light showed at the top of the elevator. The voices of workers and paramedics yelled to them from above.

When the elevator finally moved and the faces of her rescuers became visible, Blair didn't think she had ever seen a more wonderful sight. Relief flooded her as she stepped out of the box and onto stable flooring. A relief intensified by the feel of Chuck's arm securely around her waist. She had never felt so glad to be alive, so thankful for each new breath she dragged into her lungs.

Of course, the paramedics descended on her immediately, pulling her away from the safety and security of his embrace and into the back of an ambulance without giving either of them much of an opportunity to protest.

Her mother was there, sobbing and holding her hand throughout the uncomfortable ride. She hated that she wished it wasn't her mother riding with her. She hated the unbearable feeling of cold that wrapped itself around her the moment she was no longer at his side.

She wondered, as they progressed through the crowded city streets, where he was now. Were Lily and Serena crowded around him, imitating her mother with cries of gratefulness that he was safe, or was he standing alone in the street with no one there to tell God thank you for sparing his life ?

He wasn't alone. She knew that his family would be there to take care of him. Eric seemed genuinely fond of him. Lily had grown quite attached to him over the last few months as well. And Serena might not be his biggest fan, but she wouldn't have wanted to see him dead either.

It gave her a little comfort to think that he wasn't alone. Though she wished desperately that it was her there with him, her thanking God for his survival.

She closed her eyes and offered up a silent prayer at the thought. She didn't have to be by his side to be grateful.

" Blair, are you okay ? You haven't said a word since we left. Is your head okay ?" Her mother asked, clasping Blair's hand to her chest as if she thought she'd fade away without the contact.

" I'm fine. My head just needs a few stitches. Chuck said it wasn't even that bad really." She told her in the best patient voice she could muster.

" I just can't believe that the cables almost broke like that. I came so close to losing you."

" Chuck was there. He wasn't going to let anything happen to me." She gave her a smile. " Besides, its over now. I don't want to think about it anymore."

" Yes, Charles was there. Why was he half-dressed again ? You haven't really had a chance to explain that." Eleanor let her hand go and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at her daughter, with an entirely new look on her face. One of disapproval and judgment.

Blair sighed. At least, this was a look she was accustomed to. It was better than the sobbing and wailing at any rate. She supposed she knew her mother couldn't hold out any longer than she had.

" He took off his shirt to help stop the bleeding at the back of my head, Mother. He was half-dressed because he was concerned about me." Blair ground about between clenched teeth.

" You both just looked so disheveled." She muttered as she reached out to smooth a wayward curl from her daughter's shoulder.

" We were trapped in an elevator for four hours. Tossed like a couple of rag dolls. I'm sorry I wasn't looking my best when I stepped out of, what I was sure, was going to be my coffin. Next time I'll tell the rescuers to give me a moment before pulling me out of the rumble so I can fix my face." Blair spat, feeling the anger taking her. Aggression towards the woman beside her that had taken her years to cultivate and nurture were suddenly choosing that moment to rear up towards the surface.

She closed her eyes and tried to push the feelings away. It wasn't the time or place for her to deal with her Mommy issues. She just wanted to get to the hospital and get her head stitched up so she could go home.

A wave of exhaustion suddenly overcame her and she realized how long it had been since she actually slept. She knew she wouldn't have traded a moment of the night before spent in Chuck's arms for something as trivial as sleeping, but now that everything was all over, a nap seemed imminent and much called for.

" What were you doing in an elevator with Charles at three o'clock in the morning anyway ?" Her mother asked suddenly, bringing her out of her thoughts.

" I was staying with Serena and we had a disagreement. Chuck was seeing me home." She lied easily.

" Well, that was very thoughtful of him, but I'm not sure I like how much time you seem to be spending with him. Things like this happen quite often around him, don't they ?"

Blair suddenly sat up and regarded her mother with narrowed eyes, all tiredness instantly zapped from her.

" Chuck saved me in that elevator. He wouldn't let me panic. He tried to call for help. He held his shirt over the back of my head because it was bleeding. Are you seriously blaming him for what happened ?" She demanded quickly.

Eleanor gave her an indulgent smile and pushed her gently back down to the stretcher. " This obviously isn't the time to discuss this. Of course I'm thankful that he was there with you. I wouldn't have wanted you to go through any of this alone. I just think that maybe, you're spending a little too much time with him. He isn't the kind of boy you want to get involved with."

" Well, guess what, Mother ?" Blair sneered. " I'm already involved and nothing you can say is going to change that. I love him and I'm going to spend as much time with him as I possibly can."

Her mother's eyes widened in shock, both at her tone and at her words. " You love him ? You're eighteen years old."

The paramedic sitting on the bench beside her mother raised his hand to adjust something over her head and they both realized that they weren't alone.

Eleanor looked away and began to fiddle with a strand of lace on her skirt. " We'll talk about this later."

Blair nodded and pursed her lips defiantly. " Okay, we can talk about it whenever you want, but the result will be the same."

Her mother's eyes snapped to her face and she looked as if she were about to say something else, but she took a deep breath instead.

They sat silently staring at each other for the rest of the ride.


Chuck was fidgeting. He wasn't a nervous person, but somehow the events of the evening had turned him into one. Sitting there in the back of his limo with Lily on one side of him and Eric on the other, he was clasping and unclasping his hands like a madman.

It had taken three burly paramedics to convince him that Blair was going to be alright and that her mother was the only other person that could ride in the ambulance with her.

It had taken three equally burly policemen to keep him from being true to his word and ripping the rail from the elevator with his bare hands.

It had only taken Lily and Eric a few moments to talk him into following the ambulance in his limo on the pretense that they wanted him to get checked out as well.

He tried to tell them he was fine. Other than a bruise or two, there was nothing wrong with him. The initial clatter around him was completely unfounded. But he supposed as he looked down at his blood streaked hands and chest, he couldn't blame everyone for being so worried.

He was a mess. His favorite shirt had been tossed in the garbage with no hope of salvation. His hair was a complete disaster. If it hadn't been for Eric's fast thinking in grabbing a clean shirt, he'd still be shirtless and shoe less, for that matter.

He hadn't been thinking about his clothes or his hair or his shoes. All his thoughts were on the ambulance and its contents as it pulled away from the curb leaving him staring after it like some love sick fool. The forlorn look on his face as the paramedics pulled her from his arms caused Lily to interceded before he really made a scene. She feared he wouldn't just let her go very easily and she was right. He had intended to put up a fight.

And a stern look from Eleanor Waldorf would not have been anything to him at all. Lily's hand on his shoulder had calmed him through. As she pulled him away from the stretcher where they were loading Blair into the back of the ambulance.

She whispered in his ear that it was alright. That they would just follow her to the hospital. There wasn't really an emergency, so the ambulance's siren remained silent and several times Chuck feared they might lose them in the crowd of traffic. Then he cursed himself for failing to ask what hospital they were taking her to.

If they lost her, he'd try them all. It was that simple. He didn't care how many hospital's there were in New York.

He was out of the limo and stalking towards the emergency room's sliding glass doors before the paramedics had the back door opened to unload their precious cargo.

He wanted to stand outside and wait until she was out, to make sure she knew he was there. But Lily and Eric urged him indoors.

The reception desk was crowded and the waiting room was worse. He wasn't patient enough to stand around and wait to be seen. He had doctors on call that would be at his apartment within a moment's notice if he gave them the word. This wasn't his place and he sneered at the huddled masses all around him. The bleeding, the injured, the pain-filled common people that were so beneath him at the moment it was taking everything inside him to stay in the same room. If it hadn't been for her, he would have fled. But he couldn't just leave her.

He also knew, as he took up one of the unoccupied, uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room with a man bleeding from his hand on one side of him and a woman that looked as if she were about to have a baby any moment on the other side, that Blair was the only person in the world that he would go through all this for.


He stared at his watch and huffed so many times that he'd lost count of them in the two hours that he sat there.

Not even the Waldorf name could move things along in this place apparently. All she had needed was a few stitches. The cut wasn't really that bad even. He had no idea why it was taking so fucking long, but he was getting tired.

He hadn't seen her since the paramedics had dragged her away from him and strapped her down to a stretcher. He needed to see for himself that she was okay. He needed to let her know that he hadn't gone anywhere.

The receptionist eyed him warily as he stepped over to her yet again.

" Can you at least tell me what's taking so long ?" He asked at her steely expression. She had already told him several times that she didn't know anything about Blair's condition and even if she did, she couldn't relate the information to anyone that wasn't immediate family.

" We're really crowded and you said your friend's injuries were minor. That puts her on a low priority list. I'm sure it won't be much longer though." The woman told him, not looking up from the computer screen she was surveying.

" Charles ?" A voice called behind him and he turned to find Cyrus Rose striding towards him on his short, stumpy little legs.

Chuck turned back to the irritating woman and snapped his fingers in her face to catch her attention.

" This is Miss Waldorf's step father. That immediate enough for you ? Why don't you make yourself useful and find someone that can tell us what's going on now ?"

" Where is she ? Eleanor said there was an accident in an elevator." Cyrus jabbered the moment he was in earshot.

Chuck didn't turn to him until the woman huffed and got up from her chair, disappearing behind a set of double doors at the far corner of the reception area.

" She's fine. Just a little cut on the back of her head. I have no idea why its taking so long." Chuck muttered as he turned towards the little man that reminded him of a troll.

" I know what's taking so long." Cyrus told him wisely as he held up his cellphone. " I just got off the phone with Eleanor and she says the doctor's are having a hard time convincing Blair that she needs stitches at all."

" What ?" Chuck fumed quickly. " Of course she needs-" Then he stopped as he suddenly remembered who he was talking about and what the problem actually was. " She won't let them cut her hair." He muttered, under his breath.

" Exactly." Cyrus nodded in agreement.

" Get me back there. I'll make sure she does what needs to be done." He told the older man.

Cyrus nodded and cleared his throat in an attention-demanding gesture.

The woman who had been so obnoxious to Chuck was just returning and she came to the desk at hearing the noise. " Your step daughter is fine. They are trying to work on her now. The nurse tells me the doctor has been in there with her for nearly thirty minutes now."

" Can I see her, please ?" Cyrus asked.

" Of course. It's right this way." She said, glancing back at Chuck who was following right on Cyrus' heels.

" I'm sorry. We only allow immediate family in the back. Just like I've told you several times now."

Cyrus stopped her with a look on his face that surprised Chuck. It was so authoritative and commanding that it left no room for argument. " The young man is with me." He told the woman and she looked as if she were about to protest, but Cyrus handed her a card from his pocket. " Now, we are just going to go back here and check on my step daughter and I sincerely hope that everything is in order and I'll have no reason to look too closely at anything. Malpractice and negligence suits can really do damage to a hospitals' reputation."

The woman clamped her mouth shut and led them through he doors without another word.

He could hear her yelling all the way out in the hall. As they approached the closed, heavy oak door, Chuck grimaced inwardly and felt sorry for the poor doctor that was in there with her.

Cyrus just turned to him and gestured towards the door.

" You're on, young man. Good luck."

Chuck braced his shoulders, took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

As he entered the room, he fought against the urge to burst out laughing. Blair had two interns in the room with her and both of them looked as if they were scared beyond belief as they coward against the far wall.

A razor lay on the table to the side of the bed and Blair, hair now secured behind her and pulled up was lashing out at them with everything in her.

" You can't let them do this !" She shouted as soon as her eyes landed on him. " They want to shave my head !"

" Just a little spot at the nape of her neck." One of the interns piped up. " We've told her she wouldn't even be able to see it with her hair down."

Chuck narrowed his eyes at her. Then glanced back at the interns. " Have they told you this ?" he asked.

" They want to SHAVE my head !!!" She yelled.

" I've been sitting in the waiting room, thinking you were hurt far worse than you are for the last two hours because you wouldn't let them shave a tiny bit of your hair off ?" His voice was low and very controlled as he turned his gaze back to her.

He watched as her face fell and she looked down at the ground, clearly ashamed of herself. " I told them that I wanted to see you." She offered in way of an apology. " But they said I couldn't unless I let them do their jobs, which is apparently to maul me with a razor."

He stalked to the bed and took both of her hands in his. Then he looked down at her with hard eyes. "They aren't trying to maul you. They are trying to put a few simple stitches in your head. If you don't let them do that, do you have any idea what kind of scar you'll have ? Isn't that a bit worse then losing a tiny bit of hair that will grow back before you know it ?"

She looked away from him, clearly thinking over his words. " I hadn't thought about there being a scar." she muttered.

" Well, there certainly will be."

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. " Why can't they just do it around the hair ?"

Chuck fumed silently as he regarded her. Then he tightened his grip on her hands and gave her an unpleasant smile. " Okay, let me explain this, like this. They are going to go about doing their jobs so we can go home. Now they can do this the easy way with your cooperation. Or -" he tightened his grip even further. " They can do this the hard way, with my help. Either way, you decide."

" You think you can hold me down ?" She snapped as she tried to yank her hands away from him.

" If that's what it takes." He said simply, quietly and with all sincerity.

" I can't believe you. Let me go, you Neanderthal !" she demanded, still struggling.

" For Christ's sakes Blair, aren't you as tired as I am ? Don't you want to go home as badly as I do ? Just let them do their job. I'm right here. I'm not going to let them butcher your hair. They promise to make sure you won't even notice." Then he looked over at the interns. " Right ?"

Both men nodded enthusiastically.

" You'll stay here with me and watch them so they'll be careful ?" she asked in a small voice that sounded nothing like her own.

" The entire time. I can promise you that they will do the best job they can possibly do." He assured her as he cast his hard, narrowed eyes at the doctors.

" Okay." She said finally.

Her hands tighten in his, nearly cutting off his circulation as the razor moved over her neck. Her eyes were closed in concentration and he could see the battle raging inside her. Again, he fought the urge to laugh at her, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated at the moment.

" You said you'd tell me when we were safe." She mumbled, as she opened her eyes.

" Blair, is this really the time for this ? Can't this wait until we get home ?" He asked, tensing suddenly.

" I don't want to wait any longer to hear it. Now is the prefect time. Besides, it'll take my mind off my head."

He eyed her for a long time, watching the emotions play over her face. She was still scared. He could tell that from the slight trembling in her hands. It wasn't all about her hair. She had never had stitches before. Never had anything like this happen to her, in fact. The doctor's unnerved her. She was terrified of the pain that she assumed was coming and all this fuss over her hair was just a smoke screen to cover her real fear.

He leaned closer to her, brushing her lips softly with his and had never been more thankful to see her fighting so hard. He realized the relief he'd felt the minute he opened the door and saw her finally after so long a wait.

He really had begun thinking there was more wrong with her. As he sat in the waiting room, trying to image what was taking so long, images of her frail, little body hooked up to machines and tubes ran through his mind.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes for a long moment.

Then one of the interns made the noise of setting the razor aside as the other one opened a package with a loud rip.

Blair glanced to them, darting her eyes over her shoulder immediately.

" Miss Waldorf, we're going to need you to stay still and not move your head." He told her.

Chuck griped her fingers and urged her eyes back to his. " It won't take long. Just look at me. It'll be over before you know it."

" Did they do okay with my hair ?" She asked, still hanging on to her indignation.

He leaned closer and looked over her shoulder. " It's so small you can hardly see it." He answered with a smile.

" No one will be able to tell ?" She continued.

" No. But I do have to tell you that apparently Gossip Girl got the tip and there are a few unfaltering photos of you from right after the accident." He said, quietly.

Her eyes widened. " Who would have done that ? Who would have taken pictures of me while I was being carted away in an ambulance ?"

" I don't know." He sighed. "But I've already put out the word that you're fine."

" Is Serena here ? Did she come with you ?" She was babbling, trying to take her mind off of what the doctor's were doing behind her.

" No, she stayed home. Eric and Lily were here for a while. But I finally convinced them to go home, too. But Cyrus is here." He told her. " Where's your mother ?"

" I sent her to the cafeteria. She was driving me crazy, trying to insist I wait for a plastic surgeon friend of hers to do the stitches. I tried to tell her it was silly."

He chuckled quietly. " It really is. I'm sure these fine doctor with do a great job."

Then he leaned forward and kissed her softly, lingeringly. She jerked in surprise at first, but finally let herself indulge in the feel of his lips against hers.

" We'll be back in about fifteen minutes. We just need to let it numb up before we finish." One of the doctors announced suddenly.

Blair jerked around and eyed them both with disbelief. " I thought you said you were going to put needles in my head ?"

He nodded with a smile. " I just did."

" I told you it would be okay." Chuck smiled down at her.

" That was sneaky, Bass, even for you." she accused him.

" It worked. You didn't even notice what they were doing."

The doctors both mouthed a silent thank you to him from behind her before quickly retreating from the room.

" You shouldn't have given them such a hard time. They were just trying to take care of you." Chuck reprimanded her as the door closed.

" I told you they were trying to shave my head, right ?" She asked as she made a spot for him beside where she was sitting.

" I think you might have mentioned it." He laughed as he sat and pulled her into him.

She let her head rest on his chest as she snuggled into his side. " What took you so long to get here ? I thought you didn't come."

" The wretched, soulless witch at the reception wouldn't let me back here. I followed the ambulance the entire way. Of course I came." He explained.

" There is a wretched soulless witch at the reception ? You must be losing your touch. I'm surprised you didn't have her eating out of your hand within moments of meeting you."

He laughed again. " Maybe I am. But the thought of seducing her never crossed my mind. Not that it would have worked. I'm guessing you'd have had a better chance with her." He admitted.

" Oh, wow, they found a wretched, soulless, same-sex oriented, witch to man the front desk. That's impressive. Those are hard to find." She teased.

" You nearly scared me to death, you know. I couldn't image what was taking so long and my mind was coming up with all sorts of things I don't ever want to think about again." He told her truthfully.

" I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Did you have something to say to me ? Don't even image that I forgot about it." She pulled back a little and blinked up at him.

" I am well aware that you haven't forgotten." He smiled. " I just don't think this is the right time or place for this discussion."

" Why not ? We're alone. We're safe and I just had my head examined so I know I'm sane." She answered.

" I think you've needed to do that for a very long time now." He teased." The fact that you want me to say it so badly means that their equipment is faulty. I would sue if I were you."

" Quit stalling and just say it." She smiled, refusing to let him escape.

" I.." he hesitated and her face fell instantly.

" Why is this so hard ? I just want to know how you feel about me." She protested.

" You do know how I feel. Why can't that be enough for you ?" He countered.

" It has been enough for me. But you started this trust game, not me. I've shown you how much I trust you. Now I need to know that you trust me, too."

" It isn't the same and you know it."

" No, it isn't. Mine means so much more." She quipped.

" You haven't said it to me either, you know. I'm not the only one that doesn't share their feelings. You are just as bad."

" No, I'm not." She huffed, sitting up completely and moving out of his arms. " I've told you before. Or were you too drunk to remember ?"

He looked away, completely ashamed of himself at the memory. She had told him. She had laid herself out for him and yet again, he had stomped on her like an insect.

" That's too bad." Those were his exact words at hearing her confession. As if it meant nothing to him. When in reality, it meant everything.

" No, I wasn't too drunk. I remember it very clearly." He answered finally. " And I can't tell you how sorry I am for the way I acted."

" I don't want you to be sorry. We've already dealt with all that. I never blamed you. You just lost your father. Jack was there screwing up your life. I understood. I forgave you. It's over." She told him, taking his hand.

" Don't you see ? That's exactly why I think you need to move on. To find someone that won't hurt you like that." He said, reverting back to his earlier argument.

" I will never find anyone that fits me like you do." She told him, leveling him with her gaze.

" Neither will I." He whispered as he pulled her back to him and brushed her lips with his.

" Then let's stop playing games and just admit it. Can't we just be done now ?" She pleaded with him.

" Okay. You're right. I lo-"

The door opened abruptly and Eleanor burst through it like a whirlwind. She stopped as her eyes landed on Chuck sitting on the bed with Blair in his arms.

Blair glared as her mother crossed her arms over her chest. " Am I interrupting ?" She asked, icily.