The Queen and her Dark Knight

by pLei4fun

What if C told B about S and N's night on top of the bar at the Shepherd's wedding after S left the UES for boarding school? What if this brought B and C closer much sooner than in the show? This is what would happen in my mind upon S's return. Eventual Chair, I just like to show them at their best :) COMPLETE SEQUEL TO COME IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Hey, Upper East Siders. It's Christmas in New York, and along with the season comes the Constance Billard/St. Jude's Bazaar, where the only thing bizarre are the donated items for sale.

Blair was a woman on a mission as she walked with a purpose through the school's hallways to get out and head home. Ever since Cotillion a couple of weeks ago everyone, besides Nate, had been surprising supportive of Chuck and Blair's new relationship. Everyone looked upon them with envy and Blair had to admit that she enjoyed the attention. Despite the scene that occurred at the Ball, it seemed that the announcement of their relationship went perfectly.

As for the relationship itself, Blair was quite happy. Despite the little hiccup at the Ball between them, it was as if Chuck had finally realized that Blair was with him and only him. Maybe all he needed was for them to come out of the darkness and for Blair to shout it out to the world for him to believe her. Blair only wished she figured that out sooner; she would have suggested they took their relationship public much sooner than Cotillion. Probation for Chuck didn't last more than a few hours, so the two were able to fully enjoy Chuck's surprise at his suite later that night. He had the room decked out with candles and peonies, dinner and dessert , and then a night filled with them making love until the early morning hours. It was perfect.

As Blair reflected more on that night and all that it came with, she smiled. Even though it seemed that everything went wrong, Chuck made it a point to make sure all that mattered went perfectly. That night was a night full of Blair comparing Nate to Chuck and how they handle different situations in regards to Blair herself. When Blair and Nate fought and Blair left, obviously upset, Nate would just do as she said and left her alone until she came to him; with Chuck, actually coming after her that night to actually fight for them made Blair's butterflies grow into something much more.

When he spoke of them ruling the Upper East Side together and how he would do anything to avoid hurting her the way he did with his omissions…it made Blair want to give him another chance because the alternative of being without him was worse than any time she was without Nate when they were dating. Chuck had already became so much more to her than what she thought Nate was, and the fact that he was showing how important she was to him by making amends with her before he even attempted to speak to Nate proved how deeply he felt for her.

When he looked into her eyes that night, Blair realized that, though she thought she loved Nate, it was nothing compared to the feelings she felt for Chuck Bass in that moment. Maybe she had always felt this way, but it suddenly became very clear to Blair that night that she was in love with Chuck Bass and he had the power to actually break her. She felt like a fool for even thinking that she loved Nate in the way that she loved Chuck. But like she had told Chuck several times, she wanted their relationship to be different; she was not going to be the one to tell him she loved him first, like she did with Nate. She'd wait for him to tell her his feelings first.

She wanted him to tell her because he wanted to, not out of obligation to spare her feelings and in order to do that, Blair would have to exercise some patience because she knew that he cared for her deeply. He proved that on a number of different occasions in the past. It was just a question of when he realized it and told her. Until then, Blair would simply enjoy the relationship as it stood now. Perfection.

Blair sighed to herself as she stopped by her locker to drop off her books for the winter break, so glad that she'd be free from school for a couple of weeks. Normally she would have waited for Chuck to give her a ride home, but today he had a meeting with Paulette involving the renovations for Victrola. So Blair, unfortunately, had to take a cab. She admitted that she had grown a bit spoiled with riding around in Chuck's limo by means of transportation.

After being sure that she had her two large candy canes in her arms, Blair was once again on the move to get out of the building as she checked her watch briefly at the time. The answer only caused Blair to quicken her pace and started going through her bag; it wasn't until she heard her name called by someone that she even looked up and smiled towards the voice. "Blair! Oh, Happy Holidays." Lily exclaimed as she gathered her into a brief hug.

Blair smiled happily as she returned the gesture and added a kiss on each cheek, glancing to the left to see Lily's companion. Imagine Blair's shock at finding Bart Bass standing there as well. Careful to shield her intrigue Blair greeted the two as was expected of her, "Happy Holidays, Ms. Van Der Woodsen. Mr. Bass, I didn't think that you were still in town."

Blair hadn't seen the elder Bass since that embarrassing official meeting last week, and Blair was still mortified over it. At least Chuck had the luxury of meeting Blair's parents while fully dressed! Blair's mind flashed to the event in question:

Chuck and Blair were in bed after spending the night together at his place. It was easier for them to stay there than at Blair's so they didn't have to worry about unwanted visitors bursting in on them or nagging them about something. Blair was laying in Chuck's arms happily as the two made out, passing time until their room service arrived with their breakfast. When there was a knock on the door, Chuck went to go answer it while Blair went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.

After some time had passed and Chuck was still nowhere in sight, Blair began to grow impatient. It wasn't long before she slipped on his silk, purple robe and left the bedroom area of the suite, calling out, "Bass, what's taking so long?"

What Blair saw in the sitting room area caused her to gasp. There, sitting on the couch was none other than Bart Bass, with Chuck standing beside him. To say that Blair was mortified was an understatement. "Mr. Bass! I had no idea that you were here…"

"Ms. Waldorf, I have to say the feeling is mutual," Bart stated as he stood from his seat and shook her hand in greeting. Blair forced a smile on her face as Chuck made his way over to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist. "So, what's all this about?" Bart asked with a look of disapproval obviously assuming that Blair was one of Chuck's flights of fancies.

Chuck nervously cleared his throat as he made the introductions, "Forgive me. You were out of town on business last week so I didn't have the opportunity to introduce you two properly. Father this is Blair Waldorf, my girlfriend."

The look on Bart's face more than made up for any uncomfortable feelings Blair felt at being just in a silk robe, but not for long. "Girlfriend?" Bart asked carefully, to which Blair nodded with a smile. "And how long has this been going on?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing the young couple.

Blair took this opportunity to answer, "A couple of months. We only just told everyone last week at Cotillion, Chuck escorted me," Blair smiled over at Chuck happily.

Blair's smile only grew more at the sight of Chuck smiling back at her as he held her even tighter as he continued to explain, "We wanted to go through the beginning stages of our relationship in private. I'm sure you're aware of my reputation father, and the last thing we wanted was for that to be a hindrance to us so soon."

As the two looked back at the elder Bass, they were surprised at the look of understanding and pride found in Bart's eyes along with a slight smile that one wouldn't notice if they weren't looking. "Well, I'm glad that you both were able to make the transition. One of the hardest things with secret relationships is actually taking the steps to going public. I have to admit that I'm impressed. Charles, I'll speak with you later about that meeting with Pauletta next week and let you two get back to your morning."

With that and a simple nod, Bart Bass left suite 1812 with ease, only pausing for the young couple to say their goodbyes and see him out. Blair and Chuck looked at each other briefly by the closed door and shared a smile at Bart's words, knowing that it was as close to a voiced approval as they were going to get at the time.

Blair shakes her head clean of the memory, the embarrassment returning from last week, and yet a genuine smile found itself on her face towards Bart as she shook his hand in greeting as she continued on, "Chuck mentioned something about a business meeting in Milan?"

Bart simply shook his head, "Fortunately no. My plans were changed at the last minute and I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in town and spend the holidays with Charles. I guess I have you to thank for that, Blair. Usually he would be off sunning himself in one of my hotels, so imagine my surprise to find out that he planned to stay in New York."

Blair smiled and simply waved off the thanks, "I assure you, Mr. Bass, it was entirely his decision. He surprisingly didn't want to miss out on our first Christmas, not to mention officially meeting my father. I have to admit he's a bit nervous, but I have no doubt that he'll rise to the occasion."

Bart smirked with pride, "All Bass men do."

Blair nodded, an idea forming in her head, "Speaking of which, since you're going to be in town, I insist that you come to my family's holiday party this weekend."

"I do recall receiving an invitation and I see no reason why I wouldn't be able to attend, plus it would allow me to meet your father as well. I haven't had the pleasure before, but his reputation in corporate law has been nothing if not impressive," Bart complimented, causing Blair to smile in pride for her father.

"Then it's settled. Lovely to see you two, and I'll see you again this weekend at mother's," Blair waved before heading pass them out toward the door, leading out into the courtyard to head home. Blair quickly took out her phone and sent a text message to Chuck: Two things, did you know that your father is staying in town for the holidays and did you also know that I just saw him with Lily VDW?

As Blair hit send, she heard someone else call her name from behind her causing her to quickly turn around, finding Serena, "Blair, there you are."

Blair sighed as her best friend came up to her, "I can't talk right now, Serena. I'm late, and I have-,"

"A huge sweet tooth?" Serena interrupted as she picked at one of the large candy canes in Blair's bag and smiled at the sight.

Blair smiled as she explained, "They're for my dad and me. We get them every year, and he landed from Paris," Blair paused and looked at her watch to check the time and gasped as she continued, "27 minutes ago."

"Oh, then vite, vite! I'll parle while you marche," Serena teased as she pulled Blair into her side and led the way towards the front gates of the school to get to the street. Blair went along as she took a deep breath, really not up for whatever it was that Serena needed her for today. She had her own plan to work into place. "Come on, I say vite!"

As the duo make it out to the side walk, Blair waved her hand in the air to catch a cab heading her way, outraged as the cab didn't even make an attempt to pause! "Hey! Nice holiday spirit, Scrooge!" Blair yelled after the cab as it drove on.

"Oh, gosh. So it's gonna be a real Waldorf Christmas?" Serena asked as she stood next to Blair on the sidewalk

"Well, a real Waldorf Christmas Eve," Blair said a bit disappointed as she turned towards her best friend, "Eleanor drew the line at Christmas day. That's only for me, her, and Dorota."

"Well, you still have a couple of days with your dad," Serena said as she took one of the smaller candy canes in Blair's hand and stuck it in her mouth without a second thought.

Blair smiled as she decided to tell Serena her plan, "No, it'll be more than just a couple of days. I'm going to convince him to stay in New York."

"What about Paris and Roman?" Serena asked.

Blair rolled her eyes as she began to state, what she viewed as, the obvious, "Roman is a phase. My father belongs here with me. He only left New York to ride out the scandal."

Serena started waving her hand in the air, spotting another cab, causing Blair to turn towards the street again and started waving as well, "Time to come home, don't you think?" Blair asked before realizing that she still didn't know the reason why Serena sought her out earlier and asked another question, "Hey, did you want to ask me something?"

Serena turned her back towards her as she remembered, "Yes, a gift idea for Dan now that Vanessa got him the most thoughtful Dan-like present ever."

Blair smirked as a car pulled up beside them, "Why don't you just buy him a new outfit for Cedric and call it a day?"

"Thank you for being totally not helpful at all!" Serena said with a laugh, "What about you? What are you getting for Chuck?"

Blair scoffed, "You seriously want to compare my gift for Chuck for something you'd get for Dan? I assure you Chuck and Dan are two very different people."

"I should hope so," said a voice behind Blair, causing her to pause before turning around with a smile.

"Chuck?" Blair asked and quickly walked over to him, giving him a hug and a light kiss first on his cheek and then his lips, "What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting with Pauletta?"

Chuck smirked as he held his girlfriend in his arms, "It ended early, so I figured that you could do with a lift home since you have a special guest waiting for you there."

Blair beamed and just kissed his lips again, "Thank you"

"I swear, even though you two have been "official" for two weeks, it's still strange for me to see you two like this on a regular basis," Serena called out to the couple, teasing. "See you at the party."

The couple smirked over at the blonde before heading towards the waiting limo, Blair waving at her best friend as she slid in first, calling out, "Bye!"

Blair leaned into Chuck's side as Arthur drove them away from the school with a smile on her face. "Are you excited?" Chuck asked as he held her hand in his, placing a soft kiss on the crown of her head.

"So excited," Blair beamed, "By the end of this trip, I will successfully have talked daddy into coming home. How about you, still nervous about the party?"

Chuck shrugged lightly, not wanting to admit that he was. He knew how important Harold Waldorf was to Blair and it was a huge deal to have his seal of approval of their relationship, especially if Blair was successful with getting him to stick around permanently. He looked down at his girlfriend as she squeezed his hand gently, "Don't be nervous, he's going to see how happy you make me, and he's going to accept you because of that. Not because of what you may have done in your past."

All Chuck could do was smile and hope that she was right. He knew that he had Blair, Bart, Dorota and Eleanor on his side, so maybe they would be able to sway Mr. Waldorf to at least giving him a chance to prove that he was worthy of his daughter. The car ride was quiet after that, the couple in the back seat both lost in their thoughts on the events that were going to occur that weekend with their families and both hoping for the best.

xoxo

After leaving Chuck in the limo, Blair found her smile slowly grow as she made her way inside her building. She was practically bouncing with joy as she stepped onto the elevator and pushed the appropriate button to get her to her penthouse apartment. Today was the beginning of the start of Blair's plan. She'd welcome her father home with the candy cane and they'd go ice skating as was tradition, while mother went off to work, and then they would go have tea at the Carlyle and then Blair would bring up the subject of her father moving back to New York for good. She felt that with Roman away, her father would be more easily swayed.

With her plan confirmed and set, the elevator dinged, informing Blair that she had arrived at her destination. She felt herself beam in elation as she quickly left the elevator and looked through her foyer and into the sitting room looking for her father. "Hi!" she beamed happily as she made her way over to him eagerly.

"Blair-Bear!" Harold smiled as he opened his arms to his daughter, using her childhood nickname which made Blair instantly feel as if she was finally home as she wrapped her arms around her father tightly. "Oh, look at you. Mmm more beautiful than ever," Blair's father exclaimed as he pulled back and looked Blair over happily.

Blair laughs lightly, still coming to terms with the fact that her father was actually here with her finally after so much time a part. In fact she was so wrapped up in her joy, she didn't even notice the other person in the room until her father started to motion over to them. "Uh, sweetheart, you remember Roman?"

As Blair forced herself to continue to smile as she took in the sight of the man that took her father away from her, she was screaming internally. "This was supposed to be my alone time with daddy!" she mentally screamed in outrage. As Roman gave Blair a hug as if they were ever close, Blair couldn't hold the smile any longer and just let the shock show on her face briefly as she politely patted Roman's back in return.

"You are still perfection," Roman said with a smile as he finally pulled away, "Delicate, yet full with flavor, like a macaron." Roman handed Blair a wrapped gift as Blair just stood there with another forced smile, taking the gift as was expected.

"Imagine my surprise when the elevator door opened and out popped both of them," Eleanor stated as she came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hand and a light laugh that only Blair would recognize as sarcastic as the two Waldorf women shared a look.

"Well, I didn't think you'd mind," Harold Waldorf said gently, "It's the perfect opportunity for you two to get to know each other better."

Blair felt her eyes widen as her father motioned to both her and Roman, deciding to just go with this new development and come up with a plan to get rid of Roman later, "Absolutely. It's for you," Blair smiled as she handed one of the large candy canes from her bag.

"Oh, sweetheart, you remembered," Harold smiled as he took the candy cane, turning towards Roman to explain, "It's, uh, our tradition."

Blair sighed as she looked down at what was supposed to be her own candy cane before making a decision and hands it over to Roman with a smile, "That's for you." She didn't get the reputation of being the perfect daughter from nowhere, and until she came up with a plan to get rid of Roman, she'd be a sweet as a turtledove.

"Merci Blair," Roman said with a smile as he took Blair's candy cane.

Blair just smiled, "My pleasure," before sharing another look with her mother at the new turn of events. It was definitely going to be a weekend to never be forgotten.

After Blair said goodnight to her father and Roman, she quickly took out her phone and called Chuck to vent and figure out a game plan. Chuck, as was expected of him, was properly outraged that Harold didn't think to warn Blair of Roman coming along and was always up for a game plan. They agreed that there was a chance that Roman would give Blair and her father time alone so that she could still work her magic on persuading him to move back to New York, but Blair Waldorf was nothing if not prepared so they came up with a few small scale schemes to get rid of Roman gracefully.

When she hung up the phone, Blair sighed in contentment and began to get ready for bed. It was going to be a long weekend and she needed her rest. At least she didn't have to worry too much on her father's perception of Chuck when they finally met tomorrow night. Despite Chuck's nervousness, Blair had every confidence that because Chuck made her so happy, her father would more than welcome him with open arms. Out of either of her parents, it was Eleanor who was the hard sell, and the fact that Chuck had her seal of approval practically from the start, meant that he was practically in the clear. Meeting her father was simply to make it official. Everything will work out perfectly.

xoxo

The next morning, Blair found herself walking arm and arm with her mother while Roman and her father lagged behind, laughing and talking as if they didn't have a care in the world, and Blair was not happy about it. She couldn't believe that Roman actually wanted to go with them to go ice skating when he's never gone before! And since Blair's mother had an emergency at the atelier, which Blair wasn't so sure that it was just a front to leave Blair in her time of need, she's stuck vying for her father's attention. Blair found herself sighing in frustration for the third time in five minutes before glancing over her shoulder to look at Roman and Harold still talking and laughing in French.

"So," Eleanor started speaking, gaining Blair's attention, "Are you ready for the big introduction tonight?"

Blair felt herself subconsciously smiling at the prospect and nodded, "I am. Chuck's nervous, but I have every faith that he'll do fine once daddy sees how happy he makes me."

Blair looked down at the ground as she continued to smile, tucking her hair behind her ear gently. At the sound of her mother's gasp, she paused and looked up at her mother in concern, "What?"

"I don't think I've ever seen that look on your face before…," Eleanor explained as she held Blair's shoulders as she looked closer, gasping again, "I had no idea your feelings were that far along."

Blair frowned in confusion, "What are you talking about, mother?"

"You're in love with him," Eleanor stated bluntly.

Blair scoffed and freed herself of her mother's grasp, "Don't be ridiculous."

"Are you telling me you aren't?" Eleanor asked with a knowing smile.

Blair pressed her lips together in a nervous gesture as she looked to the side at the trees, unable to answer negatively, she responded with a shrug, "Maybe I am…."

Eleanor just continued to smirk when Blair looked back at her mother as they continued to walk, "Alright. I am."

"And…have you told him?" Eleanor asked as she wrapped Blair's arm around her own as the two continue to walk, obviously enjoying herself, causing Blair to smile at the unexpected mother/daughter talk.

"No, I haven't. I've decided to be patient and wait for him to tell me," Blair explained softly.

"Dear, you're a Waldorf, we do not wait," Eleanor explained as if it were fact.

Blair nodded, "I know, but this time I'm willing to. I told Nate I loved him first and now, looking back, I feel as if he only said it back out of obligation, not because he genuinely felt that way for me at that point. I want me and Chuck to be different, better. And if that means that I'll have to wait until he comes to his own conclusions about his feelings then, for him, I will."

Eleanor smiled and hugged her daughter to her side, "He does you know. I see it."

Blair sighed and shook her head at her mother, "Enough. There's no rush, and I just want to enjoy where we are now." Blair smiled softly before the sound of Roman's laughter behind them caught her attention and her smile was wiped clean. "I can't believe you're okay with this," Blair hissed at her mother in outrage as she motioned discreetly behind them.

"Who said I am okay with this?" Eleanor asked bluntly, "What am I supposed to do, make a scene? Behave like some pathetic, scorned wife? No."

Blair knew her mother was right, and that a scene is the last thing the current situation needed, "Roman does not even know how to ice skate. Can't you escort him out of the park on your way to your meeting?" Blair suggested, feeling desperate, "Maybe drop him at a nail salon?"

"I cannot bother myself trying to wrestle Roman away from you," Eleanor sighed as she adjusted her fur hat as she continued on, "I have to mentally prepare. I am meeting with the C.E.O. of Victoria's Secret, after all."

Before Blair could respond, the two were interrupted by Roman, "Victoria's Secret?"

Eleanor reluctantly responded with a smile and a sigh, "Yes, I'm- I'm designing a line of retro-chic sleepwear and lingerie and I-,"

Sensing an opportunity, Blair jumped on the wagon with a sweet smile, "I'm looking forward to the samples. We're all very proud. In fact, mom, why don't you tell Roman all about it? I'm sure he'd be fascinated."

Blair smiled as her mother sighed and dragged Roman away, obviously not happy about the way things ended up. Blair took it as a victory and sighed contently as she stood at her father's side, "It's so good to have you here."

"Well, it's good to be here," Harold responded with a smile as he hugged Blair to his side as they slowly began to walk down the path together. "Now where is the great Chuck Bass? Am I going to meet officially tonight?"

Blair smiled as she nodded, "Yes, and he is very much looking forward to it. He knows how important you are to me. But I know you'll love him."

"I have no doubt. After seeing how happy you are at the mere mention of him, how could I not like the guy that has brought my daughter such joy. I don't think I've seen you this happy even while you dated Nate." Harold smiled as he looked after Roman and Eleanor in the distance.

"I am happy, and I'm so glad that you get to meet him tonight at the party," Blair continued to smile.

"Yeah, well, an Eleanor Waldorf soiree- another New York Institution that I miss," Harold stated with a chuckle.

Blair saw this as the perfect opening to her original plan and said softly, "You know, you don't have to miss any of it."

"Yeah, well, I wish that I could be in two places at once, my dear, but it's impossible. Sorry," Harold tried to explain before changing the subject, "You know that Chateau near Lyon that I told you about, with the vineyard?"

Blair let her disappointment show as she nodded softly, "Mm-hmm."

Harold stopped and turned towards Blair with an excited smile, "Roman and I bought it."

Blair was shocked, "You bought that place?"

"Yes," Harold said easily.

"And with Roman?" Blair clarified, quickly making her face blank of emotion as she was taught by her mother.

Harold nodded excitedly as he went on, "The house is flooded with light. The fireplaces are big enough. I mean, you can walk into them. The gardens are incroyable." As he continued on about how wonderful the house was, Blair just felt her stomach slowly drop, it did sound wonderful, but all she could understand was that her father wasn't coming back and he was setting up a new life without her in France.

Blair put on a happy smile as she continued walking down the path with her father, still not giving up that she could find a way to persuade her father that staying with Roman was a huge mistake and that he would be better off here in New York with her. As the group arrived at the skating rink, Blair found herself once again beside her mother as Roman and her father were looking out onto the rink and people watching for a bit.

"Roman, it is going to be so dull for you to sit and watch them skate," Eleanor said as her and Blair stood beside them.

Blair, liking where this was going, agreed as she turned towards Roman with her mother in between them, "Yes. Why don't you go to the petting zoo, feed the sheep."

"Or why don't I join you on the rink? It looks fun," Roman exclaimed as if it were a brilliant idea.

"Wonderful," Harold agreed easily, obliviously to Blair and Eleanor sharing a look and Eleanor shrugged slightly as if to say that she tried. "I'll get you skates. See you there," Harold said as he and Roman left to go to the renting shop.

Blair forced a smile as she said with enthusiasm, "Super." Blair gave her mother a firm look as Eleanor quickly made her exit, leaving Blair standing there completely alone.

As Blair quickly tied on her skates and waited beside the wall for her father and Roman, she felt her anger grow rapidly and quickly took out her cell phone, texting the first person who came to mind, Chuck: Roman invited himself to go ice skating!

Fortunately for Blair she didn't have to wait too long for a response: Does he even know how?

Of course not! And to make matters worse, daddy said that he and Roman have bought that chateau and that vineyard he told me about!

I'm sorry, B. But knowing you, you're not ready to throw in the towel just yet. ;) so what's the new plan?

Blair smiled as she looked as his message. She loved that he knew her so well. "Blair will you help us here? We need you!" Blair looked up as she saw her father hold Roman up as he repeatedly almost lost his balance on the ice.

"Just a second. My laces came undone," Blair lied with a sweet smile, silently hoping that Roman would fall. Hard.

She quickly diverted her attention back to her phone with an eye roll to respond to Chuck: Daddy wants me to help him teach Roman how to skate. I think I'll do just that…

Well I wish you luck, while you do that I'll most likely still be in this closet, tossing everything out.

I'm sure whatever you wear would be impressive. It's not as if you don't have great fashion sense. Relax. Daddy will love you for you.

Blair smiled as she hit send on her phone, thoroughly engrossed in her phone as she heard her name being called again, "Blair! Come give us a lesson."

Blair looked up and forced herself to keep her smile in place as Roman attempted to skate, rather poorly towards her. Getting a rather genius idea, Blair opened her arms and waved him over with a bright smile. As Roman came closer to her, Blair slipped her skate out to catch his, causing him to fall hard on the ice. Blair gasped in concern, aware of her audience as her father came over and helped Roman up from the ice.

"Poor Roman," he said in French, "Are you okay?"

Blair put on a sweet smile and a look of innocents on her face as Roman looked at her and she looked back. It almost seemed as if he understood that the trip was a warning and he genuinely looked scared. Blair had to admit that she enjoyed the look as she held onto Roman's arm as if to help him keep standing.

"I'm so clumsy. My foot got caught behind the skate," Roman lied.

"Oh," Blair said softly as if she sympathized, "Here. Let me help you." Blair only pouted a little when he quickly moved away from her touch as he hobbled with her and Harold off the ice rink to check on Roman's leg and foot. "This turned out better than I originally thought," Blair thought silently to herself as the trio moved to the edge.

Spotted spinning at the Wollman rink: the Blair capades. All the grace of Nancy Kerrigan, but packing the punch of Tonya Harding.

xoxo

Chuck found himself standing in his walk-in closet and for the first time that for as long as he could remember…he didn't have any idea what to wear! It wasn't as if he was short of a number of suits, he was Chuck Bass after all, but because of the events that were to occur tonight, Chuck found himself finding everything in his closet not worthy of the occasion. And it was too late to have something made. Chuck sighed as he ran his hands through his hair rapidly and repeatedly as he heard his phone go off, indicating that he had a message. Figuring it was Blair with an update, he picked it up as he, once again, flipped through his many suits in search of what he deemed perfect for his first impression of his girlfriend's father.

As he glanced at the message on his phone, he paused and reread it. Apparently Blair, with a little footwork, managed to send Roman to the hospital while the Waldorfs were ice skating. Chuck had to chuckle a little at the image of Blair with a sweet, innocent face after tripping Roman purposely. Yes, that was his girlfriend; sweet and perfect on the outside, devilish on the inside. Chuck liked to think that was what made them so great together; their insides just matched.

Figuring that with Roman out of commission for the rest of the afternoon Blair would be spending the rest of the afternoon bonding with her father and trying to persuade him to change his mind about this whole having a vineyard in Lyons with Roman, Chuck put his phone on his charger in his bedroom as he continued his search for what he was going to wear.

As Chuck flipped through his options, he felt his mind drift back to the past two weeks since he and Blair came out of the shadows with their relationship. He reflected on the night of Cotillion when he realized how deep his feelings went for his girlfriend and he had to admit, if only to himself, that those feelings scared him. The only example Chuck ever had in regards to love always ended with someone hurting someone else, and after what he did to Blair and witnessed how much he hurt her, Chuck never wanted to do that to her again.

Besides he wasn't sure if Blair even felt that way about him anyway. Sure she cared for him, he saw it in the way she smiled and held his hand without any regards to what anyone else may think. How she instinctively stood by him while he made the introductions between her and his father, giving him her support and showing a united front against the elder Bass. She understood him better than anyone else and it seemed as if she knew, whether he voiced it or not, when he either needed her physically or if he just needed some space. Always reminding him that he didn't have to go through whatever that was bothering him alone if he didn't wish to.

He found himself smiling a bit at the thought and nodded to himself. Yes, he could always count on her in the direst of situations and she never made him feel inadequate. What drew him to her were all those things and so much more. His mind flashed to the night that he confessed to those butterflies; how she at first denied him, only to end up revealing more of herself than she ever had with anyone when she danced on that stage, setting herself free.

He always knew that the vixen that debuted that night was always hidden away. Throughout their friendship Chuck was fortunate enough to see little sparks and glimpses of the woman hidden within her, but it seemed that after that night on the stage of Victrola, that woman was let loose, and she continued to come out on a regular basis. But she only came out for him. Chuck smirked to himself; yes, the vixen only came out to play with him and he found it intriguing that he was the only one who could bring out Blair's true self and he had to admit that it made him feel even more important to her.

She deserved to feel free. To be who she truly was and not have to hide, and with the revelation of Blair's true self, made Chuck's feelings for her increase ten-fold because he finally got to meet the real Blair Waldorf. The woman completely free of pretense and masks and he loved her. Maybe he had always loved her, but after that night and the thought of how close he almost lost her at Cotillion forever…it hammered his feelings for her home. He loved every aspect of Blair Waldorf from her Queen persona to her sexy vixen, from her vulnerable soft side to her strong, ferocity.

Only someone so complicated could make Chuck consider offering her all that he had to offer in the hopes that she would just accept it and maybe offer a small part of herself in return. Chuck shook his head clear of his thoughts and checked his watch, startled that so much time had passed while he stood in his closet thinking. Figuring that he could never go wrong with Armani, Chuck picked his suit and quickly decided on a red bow tie, figuring it would go with the Holiday theme of the party and set them out before jumping in the shower. The good news was that he was so wrapped up in his thoughts about his feelings for Blair that he didn't even have time now to be nervous about meeting Blair's father in a couple of hours.

xoxo

Blair sighed as she stepped into the elevator of her building after the long silent ride in the car with her mother after the two Waldorf women had tea together after Eleanor finished with her meeting with the C.E.O. of Victoria's secret. Unable to suffer in silence any longer, Blair began to voice her displeasure at the events of the afternoon. "I cannot believe that daddy decided to stay with Roman instead of having tea at the Carlyle with me." She crossed her arms after pushing the button to go to their apartment. "The E.R. doctor said he would make a full recovery," she carried on, "Everything is ruined."

Blair frowned down at her shoes with a soft shake of her head as Eleanor spoke with a soft smile, "Why would you say that? You and I had a marvelous time."

Blair had to admit that she did enjoy the uninterrupted time with her mother; it seemed as if after their heart to heart on Thanksgiving Eleanor was actually putting an effort into them having actual quality time. "Well, I'm sorry, mother. It's just not the same. I was hoping to spend at least some time with daddy alone, you know? I don't understand how that French fox stole my father and your husband and always seems to come off like a- an innocent lamb."

Eleanor brushed back some of Blair's hair from her shoulder as she listened to Blair rave without scolding, almost as if she knew Blair needed to get this off her chest now or it'd come out at a later, less appropriate, time. "Roman was not always so innocent, you know." Eleanor spoke softly as she looked up at the numbers above the elevator doors.

Blair felt her eyebrows rise up, intrigued, but not wanting to give herself away she asked innocently, "Really? What's his story?"

"Mm, well, when I first met him," Eleanor began, giving into her weakness for gossiping, "He was going out with this model named Freddy, and Freddy was a horrible scoundrel."

Liking what she was hearing so far, Blair asked scandalized, "Roman would actually be into somebody like that?"

"Into him? He was- he was absolutely infatuate with him," Eleanor explained softly, "Freddy had him under some kind of spell. I was the one who got him to break out of it and turn his life around."

Blair smiled faintly, but quickly covered it as Eleanor spoke firmly, "Don't mention Freddy to your father. It is a sore subject."

Blair couldn't believe her good her fortune was turning out to be and said sincerely, "Okay…so, what was Freddy's last name?"

Blair batted her lashes innocently and waited patiently for her mother to give her the final piece of the puzzle that she needed to cement a plan. It was not a moment too soon that this information fell into her lap. The party was tonight and Daddy was going to be flying back to Paris in the morning. So time was of the essence if Blair had any hope that she could talk her father in staying in New York. It was bad enough that he had set up a life with Roman in France without her, but it wasn't as if plans could change. And nothing screamed change more than a break up because of an ex.

xoxo

As Eleanor busied herself with overseeing the set for the party for the night, Blair went upstairs to start putting her plan into action. After sending a text message to Serena to come over immediately, all that was left for Blair was to run through the plan a few times with someone trustworthy. And there was only one person who she could trust with something like this and was more than willing to give proper feedback. Everyone knew that a Waldorf taken down was basically an instant classic, but a Waldorf-Bass was a guaranteed success. And that's what Blair needed.

After calling his cell phone a total of three times and still getting his voice mail Blair decided to try one more time before actually leaving a message for him.

"Leave a message, and I might listen." At the sound of the beep, Blair sighed in irritation before she spoke, "Chuck, you are not answering my calls, to torture me, I am sure. I have formed a plan to get rid of Roman, but I want to bounce the idea off of you to make sure that I have all my bases covered. You know you're my partner in crime and it seems only right that I have the best at my disposal. Hopefully you'll get this soon, if not I'll see you in a few hours at the party."

Blair hung up the phone, deciding that she'd just have to continue on without him. She looked up as she heard the sounds of heels walking down the hallway and smirked as Serena breezed in, "Hey. You told me to come right away. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," Blair answered as Serena sat down beside her on her bed as Blair went to the website that she needed to show Serena.

"Why aren't you with your dad?" Serena asked as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear gently as she looked over Blair's shoulder at the screen.

"Uh, I need your log-in for your agency's site from your modeling days," Blair explained not answering Serena's question.

"My modeling days?" Serena chuckled a bit, "I did one print ad for GAP when I was 12."

Finally finding the site she was looking for, Blair rolled her eyes and looked at Serena pointedly at her remark before clicking on the log in page. Serena sighed and pulled the laptop closer as she asked, "What, are you holding an open call or something?"

Blair smirked, knowing that Serena wouldn't ask questions, "I have one specific look in mind."

"Uh, okay, well I don't know if it'll still even be in here, but…" Serena reached around Blair and typed in her log in for the agency site and smiled as it showed that it still worked. "Well, look at that."

Blair felt her smile grow as she quickly flipped through the pages for the specific model that she needed for the night. "Addresses and phone numbers. Perfect," Blair spoke out loud to herself as she wrote down the needed information to put the plan in motion. "You know, I called you an hour ago, B.T.W., you're late." Blair said offhandedly.

"Um, you're lucky I'm even here at all," Serena answered back, "It's Christmas Eve, and I still haven't found a gift for Dan. Now all the stores are closing, and I'm totally screwed." Blair found herself rolling her eyes at Serena's dilemma as the blonde got better situated on her bed as Serena continued on forlornly, "Do you have any idea what you can buy for under $50 these days?"

Blair frowned as she answered, not impressed that there's an actual limit on a Christmas gift, "I don't know. A single entrée at a mid-priced restaurant?" she shrugged, obviously not taking the conversation seriously as she gave other options, "Three-quarters of a DVD box set? Maybe a pair of Wolford stockings."

Blair smirked at the last one, which was more a gift for her than for Serena's favorite Brooklynite. Almost as if reading her mind, Serena exclaimed sarcastically, "Oh, stockings. Yes, a great idea for Dan."

At the sight of Blair chuckling to herself Serena began to beg, "Blair, please, this is serious."

"I don't know. Why don't you buy him a gold money clip from Cartier, say it's 49.99? He won't know the difference," Blair said as she saw from the corner of her eye Serena throw herself back onto the bed dramatically. There was a reason why Blair didn't date below her station, and Serena's situation was one of them. She couldn't even imagine having a spending limit on Chuck's present; in order to have the best, one has to be willing and able to afford it.

Blair picked up her cell phone and began dialing the number that she needed as Serena rested her chin on Blair's shoulder as Serena asked, "What are you doing anyway?"

As the phone began to ring, Blair smirked as she answered coyly as she stared at the webpage loaded on her laptop, "I'm booking me a model." On the webpage was none other than Freddy Paine with his information highlighted along with his face shots. Blair knew that he looked exactly how she needed him to in order to make this plan work.

xoxo

After sending Serena off to go home and get dressed, Blair quickly jumped in the shower and got dressed for the party. She still hadn't heard back from Chuck and hoped that he wasn't drowning his nerves with a bottle of scotch. She had to admit that if he was, it would have been surprising. Ever since Bart gave his approval of Victrola and their relationship got started, Chuck had been going very easy on the alcohol. Don't get Blair wrong he still had his nights of fun with her by his side, but he seemed to be cutting back a great deal. Almost as if he was becoming a better version of his self.

Blair smiled to herself as she put on her lipstick for the night as she thought of her boyfriend. She was honestly proud that he seemed to have found his niche. He always came off to Blair as someone who was trying to find something and in that regards they were similar because Blair was searching for everyone else's idea of perfection.

As Blair finished up with her make-up she stood up from her vanity and gave herself a once over in her gold brocade party dress along with a red, roped headband to finish off the look and smiled at herself. She honestly felt great with the look and she knew that Chuck would love it. She sent up a quick prayer that at the very least Chuck's introduction would go off seamlessly. Blair learned to not hope for everything to be perfect after her birthday party and Cotillion and just wished for what was less selfish. It was Christmas after all.

Blair smiled and made her rounds for the party. Her mother decided to make the party a Victoria's Secret theme, in honor of her new deal. The wait staff was wearing the tasteful lounge outfits from the company, walking around with festive drinks and Eleanor held court in front of the Victoria Secret tree at the center of what usually was their sitting room. After circling the room a few times and mingling, Blair didn't see her boyfriend and felt her worry grow; it wasn't like him to be late lately.

Blair quickly took out her phone and sent him a text: I already set the plan in motion for the night that I know you'll approve. Hope to see you in time for the fireworks.

Figuring that it was a light enough message to show that she was aware that he wasn't there yet and didn't come off as if she were mad at him, she hit send with a soft sigh. Hoping that they could do the introduction before Freddy arrived and made the rest of the night awkward for her family. She smiled at Lily as she passed by, noticing that she hadn't seen Serena and Eric for a while since they arrived, Blair figured that maybe they were both hiding out upstairs in Blair's room.

Needing a bit of downtime herself, Blair walked up the stairs to see what the siblings were up to. What she wasn't expecting was to see Vanessa sitting on the foot of her bed with a laptop and Serena and Eric on Blair's bed as they worked on some sort of arts and crafts project. Blair frowned as she took in the scene in front of her, "Dorota's going to kill you if you get glue on that comforter."

Eric laughed a bit at Blair's warning as Serena continued on with her work, "Sorry we've turned your room into an art studio, B., but the clock is ticking."

"I'm done," Vanessa said softly and lifted up the laptop on her lap to reveal what she apparently had been working on. Blair made her way over closer to see what was going on.

Eric and Serena gasped as they looked, "Wow. That's amazing," Serena complimented as she and Vanessa smiled at each other, "Thank you so much, Vanessa. This is going to be…incredible."

Blair smiled and nodded in agreement as she continued to look at the screen for a moment longer before standing up straight. She had to admit that it was a pretty good idea for a gift on a budget.

"Good. I'm glad I could help," Vanessa smiled before continuing on, "I think he'll really love it."

Blair frowned as she heard the undertone in Vanessa's words and the look on her face, putting two and two together and knew that she needed to nip this in the bud. As she glanced briefly at her oblivious blonde friend she made a snap decision that it needed to be handled, like now. "Vanessa? I think I'd like to help with this little project," Blair put on a smile as she shrugged lightly and looked over at her best friend before looking back at the outsider, "Would you come and help me find another pair of scissors?"

Without waiting for Vanessa to respond, Blair led the way into her bathroom, knowing that the girl would follow her. After the two were both in the room, Blair shut the bathroom door to give them some privacy so she could speak as frankly as she needed to. She continued to smile as she walked over to her bathroom sink where a pair of scissors sat and picked them up before turning towards Vanessa, making it obvious that she had something to say to the girl.

Vanessa crossed her arms as she waited and Blair leaned back against her sink before she began, "It's so nice what you're doing for your friend Dan, helping his girlfriend make his Christmas present. Serena is so grateful because she likes to see the best in people." Blair gave Vanessa a once over as she played with the scissors in her hands, "I like to see the truth."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Vanessa asked, giving off the persona that she wasn't intimidated by Blair, but Blair could smell a defensive move from a mile away and knew that she was doing the right thing.

Blair sighed as she stood up straight slowly made her way over to this peasant, "I think you like Dan a little too much. Just thought I should let you know someone's watching." Blair put on a light smile, making her point very clear without having to say anything else. "Merry Christmas," Blair added with a bright smile and a light pat on Vanessa's shoulder.

Vanessa took that as her cue and quickly opened the bathroom door and began making her excuses as she started packing up her stuff, "I'm taking off. Call me when you're done?"

Blair set her scissor back where she found them as she came out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorway as she watched Vanessa scurry off as Serena asked in confusion, "Okay. Where are you going?"

Vanessa didn't answer as she walked out the door, just giving the blonde a smile and almost bumping into someone who was coming in. Blair walked further into the room to see who her next visitor was and beamed at who it was.

Chuck walked into the room, ignoring whoever it was that almost ran over him in her quest to leave, figuring that she was fleeing the scene for a reason. He smirked as he went over to Blair, giving her a kiss, "Sorry that I'm late and I missed your phone call. I just hope I made it in time."

Blair kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck, just glad that he was finally here. An unexpected takedown was only going to keep her occupied for so long before she started to worry about him again, "I was getting worried, but you're here now and you're just in time."

Blair straightened his red bowtie before nodding her approval over his final decision for his attire, knowing that he had spent a great deal of time trying to decide on what he was wearing tonight and the fact that he put so much effort made Blair appreciate it even more. "You look great, and he's going to love you. You ready?"

"Whenever you are," Chuck smirked as he laced their hands together.

"Great," Blair smiled at the Van Der Woodsens still on her bed as let Chuck lead the way out, "I'm going to go introduce Chuck to daddy."

"I thought you were going to help," Eric stated as he frowned in confusion.

Blair smirked over her shoulder at him and shrugged, "I think my work's done here."

The couple passed by Lily and said their hellos as they continued on to the staircase leading downstairs. Chuck leaned towards Blair and whispered, "Are you going to share the reason why that girl version of Dan was fleeing the scene as if the hounds of hell were chasing her?"

Blair smiled as she held onto his arm as they walked down the stairs together, "I'll tell you later, but allow me to wet your appetite, it was an unplanned takedown."

Chuck smirked, figuring as much, as Blair led him over to where Harold Waldorf was standing with, who Chuck assumed was, Roman. "Daddy, I'd like to introduce you to Chuck Bass, my boyfriend. Chuck, you know my father, Harold Waldorf."

Chuck offered his hand, doing well with masking his nervousness, "Mr. Waldorf, it's a pleasure."

Harold smiled and shook Chuck's hand, "Chuck. I've heard good things about you from my Blair. You make sure you keep that up because I honestly can say I haven't seen her as happy as she has been."

Chuck nodded as he smiled as Mr. Waldorf released his hand, "I'll do my very best, sir."

"Blair mentioned that you recently acquired a club?" Harold asked, watching the two carefully on how they interact.

Chuck glanced at his girlfriend beside him as she smiled up at him with obvious pride at his accomplishment, giving him a push in his self-confidence, "Yes, sir. It's still in the beginning stages, but I have faith and the support of my father and Blair, so I have no doubts that it'll succeed."

"And as my son would be the first to tell you, I'm not an easy sell," Bart added as he, unexpectedly joined the conversation, patting Chuck on the back in pride. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I couldn't help myself."

"No apologies necessary," Harold explained as he offered his hand to the new comer, "Harold Waldorf and I assume that you are Bart Bass, Chuck's father?"

"That I am. We haven't had the pleasure, but I assure you, Mr. Waldorf, that your reputation in corporate law precedes you," Bart complimented as she shook Harold's hand.

"Oh," Harold chuckles a bit, "Please, call me Harold."

Bart nodded, "I was surprised when I heard that you left the city, what are you up to nowadays?"

Blair and Chuck at this point just stood there watching the unexpected development occur right before their eyes.

"I recently bought a vineyard out in Lyons; I found that I grew bored with law, and was ready for a change," Harold answered with a shrug, unaware that Roman had hobbled off to speak with someone else.

"Interesting. You know, I've thought about expanding into wine myself. You think you'd be up for an investor?" Bart asked out of the blue, shocking the group except for Chuck. Bart Bass was a shark. When he noticed something had the potential to grow big, he bought or invested in it quickly; it was how he got Bass Industries to the billion dollar mark at such a young age.

"Really? You want to invest in our winery?" Harold asked to confirm what he just heard. "Without even seeing it for yourself?"

Bart smirked as he took a sip from his drink, "Like I said, Harold, your reputation precedes you. You're smart and your determination is renowned; if you say that it's a good investment, I want in."

Figuring that it was best to let the two father's continue on with their talk of business, Blair spoke up, "And on that note, we'll just leave you two to hammer out the details. It was good to see you again, Mr. Bass."

Bart nodded at Blair as Chuck nodded towards Blair's father with, "It was a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Waldorf."

Harold smiled at Chuck, "Please, call me Harold. Something tells me you're going to be around for quite a while."

As he turned back to Bart, the couple went over to a couch after picking up a glass of champagne and toasted each other. "I told you he was going to love you, Bass," Blair stated a little smugly before taking a sip from her glass.

"Yes you did, but who would have thought that those two," he nods over to their fathers as they continued to talk, looking as if they were actually enjoying the conversation, "would have hit it off so well?"

Blair smiled as she watched them for a moment before looking up at her boyfriend. He was finally fully relaxed after the introductions were finally over. "Seems like you and me are moving along quite well."

Chuck smirked at her, "Are you happy?"

"With you? Of course. The rest of it, I'm sure it'll work itself out," Blair smirked right back as she took a sip from her glass. As if on cue, the sound of the elevator door opened, revealing the last guest of the night.

Chuck smirked over at Eleanor and nodded over to her as she was talking intimately with some guy that Chuck had never seen before, gaining Blair's attention, "Looks like love is in the air."

Blair frowned before turning her attention to where Chuck was looking. She was surprised to see that her mother was smiling as she spoke to the man. She didn't know who he was, but she hadn't seen her mother smile like that before either, "That's weird, but under the circumstances of her support of us, I have no choice but be happy for her…"

Chuck and Blair shared a look; the irony of Blair's acceptance of one parent's potential over the other's solid relationship not lost on either of them. But Chuck said nothing and simply kissed his girlfriend, knowing that whatever the real reason behind Blair's reluctance of accepting Roman would come to light.

Neither one saw Eleanor make her way to the foyer until Roman made his way to stand beside her as if to greet the newcomer. While Chuck watched from his spot, Blair became enthralled with her phone, watching the show covertly so as not to draw attention to herself. It wasn't until Harold joined the group and there were slightly raised voices that Blair could no longer put up the front of not being unaware and looked from her spot on the couch.

Blair felt a devilish smile grow on her face as she saw Roman storm away, hiding her face in Chuck's shoulder so as not to give herself away. Chuck rested his head on top of Blair's as he watched the show, not liking the look on Eleanor's face. "Waldorf?"

Blair lifted her head at the sound of Chuck's voice, "Bass?"

"Brace yourself," was all he said. Blair frowned and looked over at the group, trying to figure out why Chuck would warn her when everything was going perfectly. Then Eleanor and Harold Waldorf turned almost in unison and looked at her and she knew that somehow the pieces were being put together.

Blair put on her best confused face as the parents turned back towards Freddy, hoping that she was reading the situation wrong. "I think you've been had," Chuck whispered as they stood up together as Freddy left the party and the Waldorfs once again turned and looked at them, Harold had a look of disappointment in his eyes while Eleanor's held a look of understanding as she ushered Harold in the direction of the kitchen.

Looks like Daddy's little girl isn't all sugar and spice and everything nice after all…

xoxo

After Blair's parents disappeared into the kitchen, she fled upstairs to her room carefully as to not draw attention to herself with Chuck right behind her. As she arrived in her room, Blair felt relief to see that Serena and Eric were gone and she was able to process what just happened in private. She threw herself onto her bed, just wanting the world to go away. Chuck sat beside her and pulled her into his arms gently.

"I can't believe that plan was unraveled so easily and so quickly. What am I an amateur?!" Blair vented into Chuck's chest.

Chuck chuckled a bit before answering as he rubbed her back in comfort, "You are far from it. You just didn't have all the angles covered to pull this off."

Blair sighed and pulled away slightly from him, "Now daddy is going to go back to France in the morning to start his brand new life with Roman and just forget all about me. I've been replaced."

"I dare anyone to think that they could replace Blair Waldorf, because they wouldn't even come close," Chuck stated firmly, causing Blair to roll her eyes with a scoff, "Your father loves you, Blair, and I don't think you could ever be replaced to him."

"I'm not so sure about that…" Blair said softly as she looked down at her comforter.

The pair looked up in unison at the sound of a knock and looked towards the door, seeing Harold walk in hesitantly, "Can I come in?"

Chuck and Blair sat up on the bed together, neither saying anything for a moment before Blair nodded. Chuck smiled, sensing that she needed this time alone with her father and kissed her cheek briefly before whispering, "I'll call you later, and I'll come by tomorrow so we can exchange gifts okay?"

Blair nodded again, smiling faintly as she gave Chuck's hand a gentle squeeze before he left the room and headed downstairs with a nod of respect to her father as he passed by. The sight alone amazed Blair at how good he was being at this whole being a boyfriend thing. If someone told her that he had it in him about a year ago she'd have laughed in their face and had them banished to public school.

As Harold walked further into the room, gaining Blair's attention fully, "Our flight leaves in a few hours. I wanted to say good-bye."

Blair looked away, not saying anything to her father. With Chuck there she felt like she could speak her mind but with her father, she felt as if she were a little girl, wanting to gain attention without making a scene, because Waldorf women do not make scenes. At the sound of her father's sigh Blair looked down at her hands as he sat on her bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her.

"Please forgive me, Blair? I should have told you that I was bringing Roman. I knew that having him here would be hard for you, but I love you so much, and I love Roman," at Harold's words, Blair finally looked at him as he continued on, "and I was hoping that if we were all thrown together, that something… perfect would happen and that you would love him, too."

Blair mentally scoffed at that last statement as she silently thought to herself, "So this is where I get it from…"

"I was going to convince you to move back to New York," Blair stated bluntly, "but you bought a vineyard, in France with Roman. What's next, a commitment ceremony?"

Blair easily caught the look of slight guilt on her father's face and realized that she had hit the nail right on the head with her statement could no longer keep her scoff silent as she added softly, "Great." Blair shook her head to herself as she looked away for a moment before she looked back and spoke, "There's no room in your life for me anymore."

"Sweetheart, there is always room for you," Harold assured her, "No matter where I am, no matter who I'm with." He leaned towards her and kissed her forehead gently. Obviously seeing Blair's skepticism at his declaration he pulled something out of his back pocket and handed it to her, "This is part of your Christmas gift."

Blair looked at the dvd in her hand before looking back at her father before he motioned over to her computer to look at what the disk held. As the disk began to load, Blair took her seat while her father stood behind her, leaning over her shoulder as she began flipping through the contents. The disk was full of pictures. "Your house in France," She said softly as her screen was filled with the vineyard in Lyon that she and her father were talking about earlier, "It's very nice, daddy. I'm sure you and Roman will totally enjoy it," Blair said politely, not seeing how this was much of a Christmas present.

"And so will you," Harold said with a soft smile as he pointed at the next picture, "Because this…is your room."

Blair gasped as she looked at the most perfect sized bedroom. It took her a moment to believe what her father was implying. That he actually made a place for her in his new life where she could go whenever she wished. All she could bring herself to say as she began to smile, "It's beautiful."

"We're having it decorated just for you," Harold said softly.

Blair laughed at the next picture of Roman holding up an orange tabby, "A cat."

"A cat named "Cat," like in your favorite movie," Harold explained with a smile at the sound of Blair's laughter, "It was Roman's idea."

Blair smiled and nodded softly as she was able to actually enjoy the rest of the slideshow playing on her screen as her father whispered softly, "So…Merry Christmas, sweetheart. We're hoping that you'll spend the whole summer with us."

Blair couldn't believe it. She remembered how she hoped that tonight would go as she hoped and planned, but it ended up being even better. Even though her father wasn't moving back to New York, she was able to go and visit him. He had given his stamp of approval of Chuck and Blair was willing to give Roman an actual shot next time she saw him. Overall he wasn't all that bad when she wasn't busy sabotaging his relationship with her father. As the slideshow ended, Blair sighed and leaned against her father with a smile. This was definitely a great Christmas and she couldn't remember a time when she was happier.

xoxo

On Christmas morning, snow was on the ground and was still falling rapidly on the streets of New York. It genuinely looked like something from a Christmas postcard, and Chuck, for probably the first time in a long while, woke up on Christmas morning with a smile on his face. It seemed as if everything had been going his way lately in his life and he decided to take this brief time to himself to fully appreciate it.

He had the girl of his dreams, a business that was beginning to blossom, and he had finally gained the approval of his father with no signs of it waning as long as Chuck kept working hard at Victrola. He even seemed to approve of his choice in girlfriends too. Chuck remembered how Bart would look at him and Blair last night at the party with a faint smile that only a select few would have been able to catch.

For the first time, Chuck wasn't going to be spending the holiday season alone in some exotic resort abroad. He was actually going to be in New York, surrounded by people he actually cared about; it was a gift that he never thought he wanted until it came. Chuck sat up from the bed and began to get dressed, wanting to get over to Blair's so he could give her gift to her and see the look on her face.

As he put on his last item of clothing, Chuck heard a knock on his suite door. He frowned, not knowing who it could possibly be, as he made his way over and looked through the peephole. Imagine his shock to see his father on the other side of the door. Chuck ran his hand through his hair as he opened the door, "Father, what a surprise."

"I have to agree, I didn't think that you'd actually be awake already," Bart stated as he walked inside, "Going somewhere?"

Chuck nodded as he explained, shutting the door behind him, "I was going to head over to Blair's. We were going to exchange gifts sometime today."

"Well, I hoped that I could persuade you to come with me down to the Van Der Woodsens' for Christmas presents and breakfast," Bart said looking a bit off.

Chuck raised his brows in surprise, "The Van Der Woodsens? So you and Lily have…"

"Yes, we've reconciled recently and she's told her children, so she asked us to come over today to spend Christmas with her and her family," Bart paused before continuing on, "I would like for you to be there."

Chuck felt the smile from earlier when he first woke up return and nodded, "I'll come. I'm sure Blair's not even awake yet and I can swing by her place afterwards."

Bart nodded, "Good." He motioned over to the door and headed out, without another word, obviously expecting Chuck to follow. Chuck picked up his coat and the bag that held Blair's present before following at his father. The fact that Bart actually came to his suite and invited him to join this next phase in his life, spoke volumes to Chuck. Normally his father wouldn't have even bothered and if he did it would have been a phone call with a demand. Maybe this was a sign that next year was going to be better than before if this one was ending on such a high note.

Chuck smirked as he got into the elevator with his father, neither one saying anything as Chuck checked his phone and sent a quick message to Blair that he was coming by after breakfast with her gift. The ride downstairs was a quick one and before Chuck knew it they were standing outside of the hotel room reserved for the Van Der Woodsens and they were welcomed in by Lily with a bright smile.

To say that Serena and Eric were shocked by the Bass men's presence was putting it lightly. Apparently, Lily didn't think to give them advance notice of their Christmas guests. As Chuck took a seat on the couch in front of the breakfast spread, he smirked over at the two blondes sitting beside him as they ate quietly. Bart and Chuck were more than fine with letting the Van Der Woodsens lead the conversation since they weren't big on sharing small talk and before long it was time for the gift portion of the events.

Bart handed a box for Eric as well as a slightly thicker one to Chuck, to which they were both surprised about. Chuck opened his gift and found that smile returning full force, inside was a beautiful, black leather briefcase. Chuck looked up at his father who cleared his throat and shrugged, "I figured with the start of your first business, you could use one."

"Thank you, Father," Chuck said softly in disbelief that his father once again surprised him with his thoughtfulness. When he looked over at Eric to see what he got, he had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Turned out that Bart got Eric a baseball shirt with a large Mariner's logo on the front; Eric didn't seem to understand the gift as he gave Bart a forced smile.

"I know how you like Florida," Bart explained.

Instantly understanding that Bart was referencing Eric's time at the Ostroff Center at the beginning of the year and how Lily told everyone that he was visiting family in Florida, Eric played along, as his smile grew more genuine, "Yeah. Wow. Uh, number one fan!"

Every chuckled as Eric continued speaking, "You know, I'm sorry I didn't get anything for you, Mr. Bass, but, uh, I didn't know you'd be coming for Christmas."

Chuck smiled as he took a sip of his mimosa as Bart shrugged it off, "No worries, Eric. Please, call me Bart."

Serena chose that moment to go over to the tree and handed a gold box to give to Eric for his gift from her, but before Eric could open it, Bart began to speak in a very formal way that caused Chuck to set his glass down on the coffee table, "Eric, Serena, I just want you to know that I have deep feelings for your mother."

The slightly awkward moment was interrupted at the sound of a "Deck the halls" ringtone filled the air. "Mom, your phone," Serena said as she glanced over at Lily.

As Lily began to reach for it, Bart spoke again, "Uh, Lily, you're not going to want to interrupt this moment."

Now Chuck was intrigued about what his father was up to. He slowly stood up beside Eric and Serena as Bart got down on one knee as he pulled out a velvet box from his pocket, presenting it to Lily. The three teens in the room just stared at the scene before them as Bart opened the box, revealing a very impressive diamond ring, and began to ask a very important question, "Lily…would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

xoxo

Meanwhile at the Waldorf penthouse, Blair was just waking up to her own Christmas morning with a soft smile. Sure she was a little disappointed that her father wasn't able to stay for the big day, but with the changes in Blair's and her mother's relationship, Blair felt that today wouldn't be as horrible as it normally would have been.

As she wrapped herself up in her robe, she faintly heard the sounds of voices coming from downstairs. Blair frowned in confusion as she slowly made her way down, unsure of whom it could possibly be. Maybe her mother was on the phone, but Blair found it doubtful that she would hear multiple voices. As she reached the first landing, she called out, "What's going on?"

"We're back for Christmas," Harold stated with a smile.

Blair beamed excitedly as she rushed down the stairs to go to her father, hugging him tightly, "What happened?"

"Well the snow caused the airport to cancel all the flights out, so it allowed us to stay. Your mother was gracious enough to let us stay here for the night." Harold said with a smile as he returned Blair's embrace.

As Blair pulled away from her father she smiled over at Roman, "Well, Roman, you are in for a treat, because a Waldorf Christmas is like no other." Blair chuckled as she squeezed his arm gently in greeting.

"Come on you," Eleanor stated as she held Harold's hand and led them into the kitchen for breakfast. At Harold's affectionate kiss on her hand she just rolled her eyes playfully at his dramatics, while Blair and Roman trailed behind and watched the two interact positively.

About an hour later the group along with Dorota were all together drinking mimosas and opening gifts around the tree in the sitting room. Blair had to admit that the sight couldn't have been more perfect with Roman and her father and her mother all together, getting along and laughing. Blair beamed as she opened a gift from her mother; it was a truly gorgeous burgundy coat. "Mom," she said in awe as she put the coat on as her mother sat down, "Oh, it's beautiful! Thank you, thank you!"

Eleanor smiled and waved her hand at the thanks, taking pride in being able to make her daughter happy on this day.

Blair laughed as Roman hopped over, leaving his crutches by the couch as he took Blair's hand and spun her carefully as she showed off her coat, "You look like a brunette Catherine Deneuve. Quelle magnifique."

Blair just couldn't get over how much she loved her new coat and she knew she'd be the envy of every girl at Constance, "It's so gorgeous." Blair picked up a box and made her way over to Dorota, not even bothering to remove her new coat as she smiled at her maid, "Merry Christmas, Dorota."

In the box was a brand new smart phone, "It's so we can text," Blair explained with a smile. Dorota laughed and looked at the box excitedly, "Do you like it?" Blair asked as she watched her maid who had been there for her since almost the very beginning and had been more of a mother to her than her own for so long. At Dorota's nod of excitement, the two shared a hug.

After all the presents were opened and exchanged, Harold announced that he needed a photo for the occasion. The group happily gathered around the Christmas tree and exclaimed cheese, or in Roman's case fromage, as Harold took several pictures. After declaring it perfect the group broke up with a laugh as the elevator door rang, informing the group that they had a visitor. As they looked towards the foyer, it was Blair's smile that grew in excitement as she went over to greet them.

"Chuck, you made it!" she exclaimed as she gave him a big hug and a kiss on the lips, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Chuck smirked right back at her as he held her close, "I see that your father was able to stay a bit longer?"

Blair nodded happily as she wrapped her arms around Chuck's waist as she leaned against him as her father called over, "Welcome, Chuck, and Merry Christmas. Will you be joining us?"

Blair gasped and looked up at her boyfriend with hope as he grinned down at her, "If you'll have me." Blair found herself nodding again, unable to wipe the smile from her face. "But first, allow me to present you your gift, Waldorf."

Blair beamed and took his hand in hers before calling over her shoulder at her father, "We'll be right back, I have his gift upstairs." Not even waiting for a response, Blair quickly led Chuck up the stairs to her room eagerly and yet feeling a bit nervous about her choice in gift for Chuck.

When Chuck walked into the penthouse he instantly felt warmth that went beyond the physical warmth of heat. It was similar to the warmth he felt while was over at the Van Der Woodsens, and it was one he could only associate with family. And with his father's proposal, Chuck felt that he would be able to have that of his own, but from the looks of Blair's family, they were more than willing to have him join them in theirs.

Even though Lily didn't give an answer to Bart's question, she did agree to be whisked away to an exotic location after the start of the New Year. And Chuck had no doubt that by the time she got back, Bart would have persuaded her to give a yes to his question. Bass men were nothing if not persistent when it came to things and people that they wanted.

He watched as Blair went over to her night stand and pulled out a Tiffany Blue box and handed it to him, "Me first?" he smirked as she nodded.

"Call me being in the Yuletide spirit, okay? Open it," Blair said firmly with a smile.

Chuck purposely took his time as he opened the box as he smirked at his girlfriend. At the sound of her sigh of frustration, he decided enough was enough and he was actually kind of curious at what it could be. Inside the box was a pair of onyx cufflinks with his initials engraved on it, a C on one and a B on the other inside of a heart. It was truly beautiful.

"I got the idea last month," Blair started hesitantly, "I figured that with you new venture as a business man, you'll need them. I hope you like them…"

Chuck smiled at her and nodded, "I love them. I'll always wear them and I'll think of you when I look at them." Chuck leaned towards her and kissed her lips gently, feeling an overwhelming urge to tell her those words he realized he felt that night of Cotillion but pushing it down, not ready to say them out loud. "Your turn."

He presented his own velvet black box to her, slowly opening it to reveal a Swarovski crystal headband. Blair gasped as she covered her mouth as Chuck smiled and spoke softly, "I figured, every Queen needs her crown. Headbands are yours, but I figured that this could be a crown worthy of your status."

Blair removed her hands from her mouth and gently took the box from him as she smiled, "I'll wear it only on special occasions…I love it." She smiled up at him and pulled him down by his neck and kissed him passionately. "Thank you. For my gift and for making this the best Christmas ever."

Chuck set the boxes aside on top of Blair's bed before he rested his forehead against hers and ran his nose along with hers as he whispered to her, "Consider us even, Waldorf."

Hear those silver bells? It's Christmastime in the city. Some families actually do make the yuletide gay, managing to leave their troubles far away…

Other families have a merry little Christmas even when their troubles aren't so far away…

Some presents might end up getting returned…

But some gifts are for keeps. Other presents come when you least expect them. And everyone knows that the biggest presents comes in the smallest box. Have a holly Jolly Christmas.

x.o.x.o

Gossip Girl

A/N: images/41515182/8712754679_ cufflinks only with an engraved heart around CB in the center

/images/collection/3/gall_3_large_ and ?main=gall&gall=3&img=8 Blair's new headband made of Swarovski crystals. Yes it's the same headband given to Jenny in season 2 when she was crowned Queen.

And that is the end of the longest chapter of the entire story so far! Whew! It's Christmas so I figured why not make it last? Even though it's not really Christmas, lol Anyway! What did you think of the chapter? Did you like the flashback of Bart finding out about our beloved Chair? Did you like the gifts? There is a bit of a hidden meaning behind Blair's gift to Chuck, but I'm not going to tell you until later on in the story! :P But feel free to speculate!

Next chapter will be the school lies episode and I've decided I'm going to put some lemony goodness in there once or twice. We'll also be getting more of Nate's reaction to Chair being a couple in the next chapter, as well as a scheme so it's going to be full of great stuff!

I have nothing but love and great appreciation to all my readers and reviewers! When I started this story I was so nervous and afraid, but you have all made this experience a great one and it just makes smile when I see 67 reviews and over 80 people favoriting and alerting! I didn't even think that I would make it past the 100k word mark and that it's been four months of commitment to this project. Anyway, thank you all!

Can't wait to read your reviews! I'll see you next Saturday!

-Plei4fun