It was just after noon on Monday as Chuck strolled into Waldorf Designs with the intent of surprising his wife. He had had a long, tiring morning, meeting with the board for most of it and despite everything going as well as he could have hoped, honestly, he just wanted to get out of there. He had suggested they meet for lunch, yet Blair regretfully declined, citing she was just too swamped at the atelier to leave anytime soon. Not wanting to be alone yet knowing she would kill him if she learned he pulled Henry out of school for some afternoon fun, he decided he'd bring lunch to her.
He quickly passed through the downstairs gallery and boutique, greeting the clerk on his way. As soon as he set foot in the atelier upstairs though, he paused, feeling like he had entered an entirely different world. To his shock and surprise the atelier was a complete madhouse, in all his visits he couldn't recall ever seeing things this crazy. Blair wasn't kidding about the place being busy! He could barely stay on his own two feet as there were workers and seamstresses bustling all over the place, coming and going from all directions. Looking around, it was impossible to find Blair so he decided to take up residence in the one spot he knew she would eventually stop by – her office.
Sitting back in his wife's chair, he made himself at home. True, their businesses were separate, however she regularly used his study at home for her own purposes and the fact that Jenny Humphrey had so casually walked right in last Friday without even looking led him to believe that Blair had made herself quite at home in there over the summer while he was away. Not that he minded – they kept nothing from each other aside from gifts and even then... the need they both had to know everything would occasionally get the best of them.
Looking around, he noticed the photos all around the office.
There was one on the wall of Eleanor in her youth, proudly on display for all to remember who they were really there to please. Then there was the set of Blair and Serena playfully modeling some of Waldorf Designs' clothing from years ago. Chuck vaguely recalled it being from the shoot that Eleanor had originally asked Blair to star in only to end up picking Serena for the part. Blair had called him during the lost weekend he was hosting, tearfully and unsuccessfully trying to get hold of Nate...
Not wanting his mind to wander there, he glanced at the photos on the desk.
There was one of Blair standing between her mother and Cyrus and her father and Roman during one of their many, regular trips to France. Chuck recalled this one in particular as it was from their first summer in France as a married couple. Under the guise of visiting her parents, he had surprised her with their own French villa, located exactly between her mother's apartment in Paris and her father's vineyard in Lyon. He couldn't help smiling at the memory, she had been beyond thrilled.
In a sterling silver dual-frame one half was filled with a photo of Henry and Monkey they had taken earlier last spring. Again, he smiled as he remembered the day exactly - getting the perfect shot of the two had become seemingly impossible, neither wanting to sit for a serious pose. Normally Henry was fine sitting for a portrait but having his best furry friend join him... that proved to be overly difficult for both boy and canine. Having given up in frustration, Blair told the photographer to just shoot whatever he could get. Surprisingly, the shots turned out better than they had anticipated, having perfectly captured the personality and innocence of a boy and his dog.
In the other side of the frame was a selfie of the two of them that Blair had insisted he take one fall day when they were out and about in the city. She had decided to take the day off from classes at NYU and in an attempt to cheer her up, knowing just how much she hated school at the time and that she and Serena weren't in a good place, he had suggested they go decorative shopping for the penthouse at The Empire which he was soon moving into with Nate...
Again, not wanting to go there, he looked around on the desk... only for his eyes to land on a photo of the four of them, taken during the fall of their sophomore year of high school, before Serena had run off to boarding school for the last half of the year.
It was the weekend – a Saturday he recalled - which back then, Chuck was hardly ever sober, especially not on the weekends and if it was, he was usually nursing a hangover. Yet on this particular day he remembered Serena and Blair had burst into his suite, forcing him and Nate on some shopping excursion with them. Serena had insisted they needed some quality bonding time, all four of them, but he knew that the truth was by that point Blair had been growing suspicious of Nate having a wandering eye and didn't want him out of her sight. Nate really didn't want to go shopping with just the girls though so he practically begged Chuck to come with. It had actually turned out to be a fun afternoon. On a whim, Serena spotted a tourist snapping photos and upon learning the man was a professional photographer, she insisted he take one of the four of them.
While Blair was with Nate at the time, making it known she had him on a tight leash by the way she clung to his scarf in the photo, Chuck couldn't help squeezing himself in between the two female best friends at the last second. Oh how so much changed within just a few short years after that photo was taken – while Blair and Serena had been a bit surprised by him sliding in between them at the time, anyone looking at it now wouldn't have given a second thought to his placement in the photo as a year and a half later he and Serena became siblings and everyone knew he and Blair were involved.
Chuck smirked as he noticed himself in the photo, resting his chin on Blair's shoulder. It was one of the few times back then that he had gotten to smell the sweet, intoxicating mix of her shampoo and perfume, making up that signature scent of hers that he loved so dearly.
God how he missed those days, just the four of them, goofing around...
Before he could let his mind wander too far down into territory he didn't want to visit, he was broken out of his reverie by her voice trailing into the room.
"I have Jean-Pierre finalizing the plans for the actual show... you and Laurel have everything under control here, yes?" Blair spoke as she walked with her clipboard, making notes and crossing things off as Jenny attempted to keep up beside her.
"Yes, Blair..." Jenny's voice began to trail the moment she saw Chuck sitting there behind Blair's desk.
"What?" Blair questioned, looking over at her protege as she heard the sudden change in Jenny's voice. Noticing her looking straight ahead, Blair turned her attention to see just what had caught Jenny off guard. "Chuck!" she spoke gleefully with smile at seeing her husband there.
"Hey," he warmly greeted her as he stood and walked around the desk, giving her a lovingly kiss to the temple once he reached her.
"What are you doing here?" she curiously wondered, confused why he wasn't at the office and in meetings. "As much as you know I love you, Chuck, I told you – I just don't have the time to go out for lunch this week... there's just too much to get done around here before Fashion Week starts."
"Which is why I thought I'd bring lunch to you," he spoke with a grin. "I requested Choi to have some of Chef Woo Kim's best offerings delivered for everyone. There should be plenty of Bulgogi and Bibimbap waiting downstairs for everyone," he announced.
"Well, that sounds like quite the feast," Blair decided a moment later, pleased once she realized what he had done. "Jenny, why don't you let everyone know that lunch is ready for them whenever they decide to take a break."
"Right... I mean, sure," Jenny spoke up, having remained silent the entire time.
She never knew what to say or do around Chuck these days. As much as she enjoyed working for Blair and loved the amount of control that she had been given within the company, encounters like these with just the three of them... she never knew how to act. She didn't want to be too friendly towards Chuck and make Blair suspect there was something going on between them again when there most definitely wasn't nor would there ever be – Chuck was forever hopelessly in love with Blair and they all knew it - however she didn't want to be too cold towards him either or completely ignore him as he was her employer's husband after all.
"Um... bye, Chuck," she said before retreating out of Blair's office, having decided to at least acknowledge his presence.
"That will never not be awkward," he muttered as he wrapped his arms around Blair, kissing the top of her curls while he watched Jenny go back to work, stopping to address pockets of workers throughout the next room of the atelier.
"Yes, well, it's your own fault," Blair reminded him as she stepped out of his embrace and further into the room, sitting her clipboard down on the conference table. "I suggested when I hired her that you two should just clear the air and get it all out, but of course you chose to just ignore it instead and now things are even more awkward between you two."
"Remind me again why we can't just banish the Humphreys?" he wondered as he sat back down in her desk chair.
"Because believe it or not, Little J is actually pretty talented and I need her as my Head Designer. Having been a fellow Constance Queen and a former minion who aspired to be me, she knows exactly what I mean when I use the words "powerful" and "vicious" and knows how to translate that to Laurel and the rest of the staff. She's the perfect middleman, er, woman, for the job and besides as much as I would love to banish Dan, at this point it would be a little tough to do so what with Serena currently married to him and all..." she pointed out to him.
"She'd get over him," Chuck declared. "She would just need a distraction," he added with a smirk as Blair came to sit in his lap, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he placed an arm around her waist, preventing her from slipping.
"Like we didn't try that with Nate several times over the years," she reminded him, as it was true. On multiple occasions throughout the years they had purposely manipulated Serena post-breakup with Dan to seek out Nate. Sadly though, Humphrey always managed to somehow worm his way back into her heart.
"Trust me, she regrets not listening to us now," Chuck spoke without thinking, only realizing his mistake after Blair looked at him suspiciously.
"I don't have to trust you to know that as S often confides in me," she stated as she continued to stare him down. "What I don't understand is when exactly she started confiding in you. What else has she told you, Bass? Anything she hasn't told me?"
"Blair... it's not like that," Chuck sighed, knowing he was eventually going to have to tell her about their regular sibling outings last spring. "After... after Nate... you had your hands full with Henry and then trying to save me from my own mess... I just... I thought that by helping Serena cope I'd be helping you in the long run," he admitted.
"Well... as thoughtful and as noble as I know you thought you were being..." she spoke a moment later after allowing his explanation to sink in. "Two alcoholics helping each other... you know that isn't exactly a great idea."
"I realize that now," he huffed as he rolled his eyes at her stating the obvious.
"Chuck, why are you here?" she questioned after a brief silence had passed, neither of them having anything more to say on the previous subject.
"I told you, I brought lunch to you," he stated as he continued to stare ahead, lost in his thoughts momentarily.
"Yes, I know, but... shouldn't you be at the office? Or in meetings? I thought you were going to tackle this mess Jack caused head-on, with the board and your analysts and whoever else over there?" she wondered.
"I already did," he simply spoke.
"Oh? And how did that go?" she curiously pried, sitting a little straighter in his lap.
"Well," Chuck started, also regaining his posture as he sat up, his attention now back to her, happy to be onto a different subject and her interest piqued. "I met with the board first thing this morning. We will be having to cut some projects in order to recoup our losses, the biggest of which is the building we've already started on in Brooklyn - that one was halted immediately and we'll be selling the space it's on."
"Really?" Blair asked, eyes wide in surprise.
"Yes, really," he nodded along. "Just another failed attempt at making a mark across the bridge... Blair, next time I ever even hint at the idea of building in Brooklyn, please – do whatever you need to in order to stop me. Clearly, Bass is not supposed to be there – this is what? The fourth? Fifth attempt at it? I honestly don't know why I keep bothering," he slightly laughed.
"No Bass in Brooklyn. Ever," Blair spoke in agreement. "I'd be tempted to say no Waldorf in Brooklyn either but unlike real estate I can't exactly control who wears my designs..." she added with a grin for good measure. "But Chuck, why aren't you at work if you have all that going on?" she inquired once more.
"We're making the announcement on Friday, right before the market closes," he confessed after glancing around and making sure no one else was listening in. "Studies show it's best to make big announcements like that on a Friday, just before the weekend, for multiple reasons – gives the employees that are affected a chance to go home to their families, not to mention if we wait til just before the stock market closes our stock won't completely plummet before the weekend and come Monday morning it shouldn't have taken too much of a hit," he further explained to her. "Plus it gives me all week to find an acceptable buyer so when we do make the announcement... it won't be a total loss."
"I see," Blair stated as she thought it all over. She had just leaned in to give him a kiss, physically expressing how proud she was of him at going to the board with all this when there was a rapt against the door frame.
"Blair? Uh, hello, Chuck," Laurel addressed them both as she popped her head in. "Sorry to interrupt..."
"Yes, Laurel?" Blair questioned her mother's former assistant as she quickly slid off Chuck's lap and stood, walking towards her valued staff member.
"I need those pictures that were leaked from the competitor's collection – Stacy is going on an accessory run and we want to make sure we don't duplicate anything remotely close to what they were using," Laurel informed her.
"Oh of course!" Blair exclaimed, realizing she had a point. "Chuck – do you mind? They're in the bottom right drawer... should be right on top..." she requested as she pointed in the direction of where she needed him to look.
He pushed the desk chair back just enough to access the drawer, pulling it open and sure enough there were the photos in question. As he picked them up, something else in the drawer, sitting just under said photos, caught his eye. Slowly but without closing the drawer just yet, he sat back up and handed her the images. As she went to take them to Laurel, he leaned back down, looking back inside and carefully opening the file he thought he recognized. Looking inside, sure enough, it was exactly what he thought it was.
Their separation papers.
"Just tell me already, is she divorcing me or not?" Chuck demanded to know as he sat opposite his lawyer in his office at The Palace after several minutes had passed and the man had had a chance to look the documents in question over. Chuck was clearly agitated as he sat leaning with his elbows on the desk, his hands in his hair, pulling as he focused on just breathing, in and out.
When his secretary announced he had an unexpected visitor anxiously awaiting him, being quickly served by someone from his wife's lawyers was not what he was expecting when he agreed to meet with the visitor in question. Furious, Chuck immediately had one of his own lawyers summoned.
He knew she was upset with him once again the night before when she had his things sent to The Palace penthouse and had Dorota deny him entry into his own home, however he never expected her to actually divorce him.
How could she? Especially now, after everything that had happened these past few months? Couldn't she see that right now he needed her more than ever?
He could only imagine the media circus that would ensue if and when it went public that she was divorcing him. The rumors and speculation over the splitting of their estate would be the talk of the town as it was public knowledge neither of them had opted for a prenup – they had gotten married so quickly on the cusp of Bart's death that a prenup was the last thing either of them thought about, however, despite his father's disappointment even in death, Chuck would never have bothered asking her for one anyway. He honestly never thought they'd need it – he was in it with her for the long haul and even if things were to come to this there was nothing within reason he would ever deny her. He would give up everything for her if he knew it would make her happy in the end. He could care less about the splitting of their estate – what concerned him the most was that he no longer knew how to live, let alone function without her. And truth be told, he hadn't in years. Ever since their first night together so many years ago, it was as if she cast a spell on him. Those damn butterflies hit him full on and refused to leave no matter what. Along with their son, she was the most important thing in his life. And he was losing her.
"Not necessarily, Mr. Bass..." his lawyer's voice trailed as he continued reading through the papers.
"Then what is it?" Chuck seethed, irritated but glad that he was paying this man by the hour and not by the minute.
"It's a request for a trial separation," his lawyer announced.
"Meaning what exactly?" Chuck pressed him further as he finally sat back in his chair, relieved a little at least to learn it wasn't a divorce she wanted.
"Meaning that you and the missus will be living separate, as if you are no longer married," he stated the obvious.
"For how long?" Chuck grumbled as he rolled his eyes. He didn't need a lawyer to tell him all that.
"That's up to you and the missus to work out, sir," he answered as he adjusted his glasses.
"If she doesn't want to be with me, wants to act like we're not even married, then why doesn't she just divorce me?!" Chuck exclaimed, frustrated as it didn't make any sense.
"Again, that's between you and her – I honestly couldn't tell you," his lawyer regretfully informed him. "Perhaps there's some undisclosed stipulation she purposely left out?" he suggested. "Something she wants you to do...? To change...?"
"Change... pfft," Chuck huffed as he took a sip of the scotch he had previously poured for himself. "She knows how I am... she's always accepted me for me..."
"That may be so, sir, but clearly there's some reason why she's only asking for a trial separation right now and not a full on divorce," his lawyer reminded him. "Now, with this separation, she's also requesting for several other things..."
"Go on," Chuck insisted as he reclined in his chair, curious to hear Blair's demands.
"She of course is claiming the townhouse as hers, as well as the villa in France. The house in the Hamptons is up for negotiation," his lawyer began to read.
"Fine," Chuck muttered as he took another sip of his drink.
She had already changed the locks on the townhouse and moved him into The Palace so that was already decided as he didn't expect her to move out as well and as for the villa... she always spent a month in France during the summer both for business reasons and to visit with her parents so he had expected that one as well. But the house in the Hamptons... when they weren't vacationing in France or home doing business the rest of the summer was spent in the Hamptons... perhaps something could be arranged as she couldn't expect him to stay in the city the entire summer if she was trying to avoid him and him staying at the Rhodes Estate with Lily and Serena wouldn't help her achieve that goal either.
"She requests you stay away from Fashion Week in Europe and keep your distance from the events here in the US, obviously for business reasons," the lawyer went on.
"What? Is she afraid I'm going to distract her models?" he sarcastically remarked as he reached for the decanter on the desk and poured himself another glass.
"And she requests you give her notice if you are planning on attending any society functions outside of the Bass Industries events," the lawyer continued, pausing for a reaction from Chuck who simply dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "And then there is the matter of your son."
At that Chuck straightened in his seat, giving his full attention.
"Go on," he ordered, curious as to just what she was requesting when it came to Henry.
"She requests majority custody of your son, offering two hours chaperoned on weekday afternoons and then every other Saturday," the lawyer read.
"You've got to be fucking kidding!" Chuck exclaimed, outraged. "Chaperoned visits with my son?! Why?! What have I ever done to warrant that?!"
"It appears she's citing your lack of sobriety these days, sir," the lawyer quickly tried to explain.
"She's making it sound like I'm a drunken father and an unfit parent! I have NEVER harmed my son nor put him in danger! The fact that she's even suggesting that's a possibility... this is ridiculous!" Chuck barked as he began pacing back and forth across the room, another full glass of scotch in hand.
"Sir, please, if I may-"
"My drinking has nothing to do with the kind of father I am to my son!" Chuck went on, ignoring the man. "I have given that boy everything. EVERYTHING! Things I never had growing up – a family for starters, a real actual home... toys... a dog... Up until she kicked me out I had been there to put him to bed most nights, up most mornings to have breakfast with him and see him off to school... I've made sure to attend every school event... I love that boy as much as I love her! How dare she accuse me otherwise! I have gone above and beyond what I ever thought I was capable of when it comes to him!"
"Mr. Bass... I understand that it is upsetting, however please try and calm down," his lawyer tried to quell him. "Perhaps you should try talking to her? See if she'll agree to a revised custody agreement, one you can both agree to?" he suggested. "It might work, given you're not contesting any of her other demands."
"That is if she'll even speak to me..." Chuck muttered as he picked up the phone on the desk and dialed her number at the atelier, knowing she'd be there, putting it on speakerphone so his lawyer could listen and speak as well. He hadn't actually spoken to her in days and their last encounter wasn't pretty.
"This is Blair," she spoke a moment later after her receptionist connected the call.
"Hello Mrs. Bass, this is Michael Peters, your husband's personal attorney here at Bass Industries," Mr. Peters spoke.
"Yes, Mr. Peters, I know who you are. What can I help you with?" she innocently questioned. Chuck brewed in his seat as he listened in, knowing full well it was all an act. She knew exactly why he was calling.
"I'm sitting here with your husband, reading over the trial separation papers you had sent over this morning..." his lawyer continued.
"Ah, yes... that was rather quick," she stated with genuine surprise. She had discussed the papers over the phone with her father after the scene outside their home last night and he had faxed them over for her approval earlier that morning, passing them off to one of her lawyers state-side.
"Yes, well, we were wondering, in regards to your list of requests surrounding the trial separation, if it would be possible to make a revision to one item in particular – specifically the one regarding custody of your son," his lawyer explained.
"Oh?" Blair innocently wondered, curious as to what they had in mind.
"Cut the act, Blair," Chuck finally spoke up, tired of the game. Her feigning innocence on the matter was only pissing him off even more.
"Whatever do you mean?" she questioned further, keeping up the act simply just to spite him.
"Chaperoned visits with him?! And for ten hours total a week plus every other weekend?! Have you gone mad? It's bad enough you kicked me out so that I can't even tuck him in or continue having breakfast with him but this... this is low even for you!" he growled.
"Well if you don't like the current arrangement then perhaps we should change it so I have sole custody instead," she spoke without missing a beat.
"What?!" Chuck raged, unable to believe what she was suggesting. "You wouldn't! You know you can't do that to him! Or to me! That's not fair!"
"Fair... like you've given any consideration about what's fair these past few months, Chuck! You decide now, after being served separation papers, that you want to be part of this family again?! That's not how this works – you don't just get to decide that! Either you're there for us or you're not – I can't take the questioning anymore on whether or not you're coming home tonight to read a bedtime story or if daddy's going to be around for breakfast in the morning! I get things happened, however life still goes on, Chuck! I can't wait around any longer while you pick and choose which days you want to be part of this family and which days you choose to stay out all night, going from bar to bar and I refuse to continue lying to Henry, telling him you're working late or going in early. He's a smart kid – he knows something's not right!" she laid into him. "Ask yourself , Chuck – when was the last time you were sober for more than twelve hours?! Or better yet – how many drinks have you had so far today?" she paused for just a moment, giving him a chance to think before continuing. "It's not fair to me nor is it fair to him! Either you're part of this family or you're not."
"You can't just take him away from me like that!" Chuck cried out, desperate for her to understand. Growing up, his father was never there for him – following in his own father's footsteps, not being there for his son... it was the last thing he wanted for Henry and it broke his heart just to think about it now possibly becoming a reality.
Perhaps maybe it was true that he wasn't there one hundred percent of the time in the months since Nate's death, however he felt it was understandable... he was still grieving the loss of his best friend. Anyone could understand that, or so he thought and told himself.
"I will if you don't sign the papers the way they're currently written – the documents are non-negotiable. Sign the papers, Chuck," she urged him before hanging up, ending their lack of a discussion.
Realizing the line had gone dead, Chuck picked up the phone's receiver, turning off the speakerphone and slamming it back down in a fit of anger.
"Sir, if I may... as your longtime council... may I advise you seek some help?" the lawyer meekly suggested, knowing perhaps it wasn't his place to say so, however he felt it needed to be said.
Breathing deeply as he now stood at the window behind the desk, with frustrated tears now welling in his eyes, threatening to fall any second, Chuck glanced over at his trusted counsel, seeing the sincerity in the older man's eyes.
Slumping back down in his chair as he tightly closed his eyes, willing the tears not to fall, Chuck anxiously ran a hand through his hair once more.
He didn't want this. He didn't want this at all.
Keeping his distance, staying at The Palace indefinitely, letting her have the villa and all the fashion weeks and events she wanted he could easily do. But this... agreeing to walk away from her and giving up the majority of his rights to their son... it was definitely the hardest thing she had ever asked of him.
"In my profession and in this city, I've seen my fair share of dissolution of marriages," his lawyer started to speak. "This however is only a trial separation, it's not permanent. I urge you, Chuck – give her what she wants for now and in the meantime, work on yourself – if she really doesn't want to leave you, she will be looking for a change and she will notice your efforts or lack thereof," the man calmly spoke to him.
Mulling over his words, Chuck began to feel two things he hadn't felt in a long, long time: defeat and total loneliness.
"Are you sure this will make her happy?" he murmured behind clenched teeth, vacantly gazing across the room to one of the bookshelves which displayed a photo of the three of them as he painfully tried to his picture life going forward without them.
Perhaps his lawyer was right, maybe he really did need help... was he really out at the bars most nights? And when was the last time he had gone more than twelve hours without a handful of drinks? By his count, he had just finished off three in the brief amount of his time his lawyer had shown up... and then there were at least two between the time he had been served the papers and when his lawyer had finally shown up...
He glanced upward at the man before him only to see him quietly nodding in response.
"Then where do I sign?"
All he had ever wanted was for her to be happy.
Time and time again over the years he had sacrificed his own happiness just so she could have hers, however one thing they continued to learn every time was that while in the short-term she would find happiness on her own, without each other for the long-haul, both of them were completely miserable.
Which is why he didn't understand.
If they both knew that, then why did she still have the separation papers?
She had said she was taking him back and physically showed him many times over the weekend but was it possible she was still hanging onto them, just in case? Was she not happy?
"Chuck..." he suddenly heard her voice gently calling to him. "Chuck?" she tried again as Laurel had left and shut the door behind her, however Chuck was clearly still lost in thought and confusion. "Chuck, what are you looking at?" she continued to pry as she now approached her husband, crouching down next to the drawer he was leaning over and across from him.
"Why..." he started, only to stop as he didn't quite know how to vocalize everything that was running through his head at the moment. "These... these papers... why? Why are they are here? And why do you still have them if we're not..." His voice trailed as he was unable to say or speak the word.
"What are you talking about..." she began to wonder as she reached for the now opened manila folder that was in his hands, immediately stopping as she realized what he had found. "Oh! Honestly, Chuck, I had forgotten these were in here," she explained with an eyeroll to his typical overreaction as she took them from him and sat on the edge of the desk, facing him.
"But why are they here... and not in a safe or safe deposit box somewhere? Or better yet – destroyed?" he lowly growled as he leaned back in her seat, arms crossed and his eyes intense as he stared her down. A combination of hurt, anger and confusion washed over him all at once.
"I brought them here, hiding them away in my desk for safekeeping, knowing it would be the last place anyone nosy would think to look for such a thing," she explained in annoyance as she failed to understand why it mattered as clearly they were back together in every way.
"And?" he simply replied, expecting her to continue.
"And what, Chuck?" she shot back, growing irritated.
"Why do you still even have them?"
"Oh for Christ's sake, Chuck! I just told you – I forgot about them, okay?"
"Do you still.. feel that way?" he had to ask. He needed to know for sure and he needed to hear it from her.
"Chuck..." she sighed, frustrated that they were even having this conversation. "What do you want me to say? What do you honestly want me to tell you?"
"I just want to know the truth," he calmly spoke. Looking into his eyes once more, she saw the fear and desperation once more. "Just tell me – are you happy?"
"Of course I am!"
"And is this – me, us – really what you want?"
"Chuck... do you honestly believe I would have spent all weekend locked up in our home, making love with you over and over, reminding and showing you just how much I love you only to eventually leave you?" It was her turn to question him now.
"It wouldn't be the first time..." he mumbled, almost immediately regretting having said it the second he saw the look of shock on her face that he would have brought that up again.
"Oh no!" she huffed indignantly knowing exactly what instance he was recalling. "No, you don't get to bring that up! You insisted I go with him. Don't you even dare try to say that-"
"You're right and I'm sorry, you know that was me just going on the defensive," he quickly interrupted her tirade, trying to excuse his remark. "Look, I just want to make sure that you're happy, okay? Signing these," he snatched the folder with the papers in question out of her hand, dropping them on the desk beside where she was sitting. "Signing away the majority of my rights to Henry, agreeing to walk away from you... it was the hardest thing you have ever – ever -asked me to do. But I did it. Because I believed it was what you wanted, what you needed from me to be happy again," he explained.
Blair sat there, dumbfounded, as she realized what he had done. When she had her father draw up the agreement she was so hurt and upset at the time by his negligence and blatant disregard towards her and her feelings that in that moment she didn't care how he felt anymore. To be honest, now, she couldn't even recall what she asked him to agree to in those documents as they had been long forgotten in her mind when she saw him again for the first time a few weeks ago.
Curiously and nervously picking the folder back up, flipping through the pages, she stopped as she saw it. The article regarding Henry's custody. Skimming through it, she realized that even though it had worked, she had gone too far in her last-ditch attempt to push him to get help.
Chuck sat there, intensely watching as he noticed her breathing deeply and as her eyes began to clench shut. He knew what was going to happen next.
"Blair," he softly spoke to her as he leaned forward, carefully taking the folder with the separation papers out of her hands, placing them aside before slipping her hands into his own as he gently stroked them with his thumbs. "Baby, please don't cry..." he whispered, blinking back his own tears that were threatening to fall.
"I'm sorry," she choked out as she opened her eyes once more to look at him, tears slowly starting to stream down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry... it was too much of me to ask, I shouldn't have done that to you," she began to sob as she reached out towards him. He immediately caught her, holding her to him as they sat there in her office.
"It's okay," he quietly assured her as he rocked them back and forth. "As long as this is what you want... it's okay."
They stayed together like that, her face buried against his chest as she clung to his shirt, his arms lovingly holding her tightly to him almost in silence aside from a few muffled sobs Blair couldn't help emitting before she eventually sat up, beginning to right herself.
"Chuck," she addressed him as she wiped her cheeks dry, her voice starting to return to normal again. "If I were going to leave you for good, I would have done so by now," she reminded him in a playful manner as she reached for a tissue from the box on her desk to blow her nose. "You do realize that, yes?"
"I do now," he sighed in relief.
"Good, because you're stuck with me," she grinned as she sat back on the desk, picking up the folder and immediately shredding the separation papers into multiple pieces.
"You're sure?" he asked her one last time as she sat there with several half torn pages in each hand.
"I'm positive," she confirmed as she then dramatically tossed the remains into the waste basket under her desk.
"Thank you," he whispered against her lips as he leaned forward and captured hers with his, her hands reaching up and locking behind his neck as her fingers tangled themselves in his hair.
"Whatever it takes to get it through your head, Bass – I love you and I'm not giving up on you," she assured him again for what seemed like the millionth time, however she knew she would always tell him no matter how many times he needed to hear it.
They were Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck.
Whatever one of them was going through, the other would be there. The worst thing one could ever do, the darkest thought either of them ever had... the other would stand right there, through anything, by their side.
It's just what they always did.
No matter what.
AN: So the photos... in season 6, we get several glimpses around the Waldorf Designs atelier and yup - there's an old, classic glamour portrait of Eleanor as well as a set of four photos from the pictures Blair and Serena took together in 1x4 Bad News Blair (which in my own head canon, after B learns her mother replaced her with Serena but before Dan finds her alone in a hallway I can picture her desperately and unsuccessfully trying to reach Nate who had put his phone away at Carter's reminder of no phones during poker). The selfie one is actually the picture of the two of them taken during season 3 as a promotion for the Nikon Coolpix s60 camera. And then there's the infamous early promotional shot of the NJBC underneath a bus lane sign. I can easily picture Blair surrounding herself at work with photos of her loved ones on her desk.
The restaurant C gets lunch from is Don's Bogam in New York and the dishes mentioned are 2 of Chef Woo Kim's most popular cuisines.
The instance in which C accidentally brings up without thinking is the end of 4x22, where after the events that occurred at the bar mizvah and B had chosen to be with him and end things with Louis, in the end, C pushes her towards keeping her engagement having misunderstood what she meant earlier when she stated that things with Louis were lighter and simplier compared to what they had together and believing that he couldn't make her happy in the same way that Louis did.
Thank you to everyone that's still reading and while I do apologize if I may have scarred some of you with Smutfest in the previous chapter however I hope you are still reading! Always, I appreciate the feedback regardless and each and every review, view, follow and favorite! Special shoutout to M (scarlett2u) for continuing to beta and once again, giving me ideas for things I hadn't fully thought of or developed yet - if you haven't, be sure to read her historical Chair AU The Gilded Cage as she just recently posted **2** pivotal chapters in that story (and even if historical AUs aren't your thing, still give it a whirl - they're not normally my cup of tea either but I just so happen to LOVE this one, it's *that* good!).
I notice that in my stories I tend to write more from Chuck's way of thinking (not entirely sure why, it just always happens) but the next chapter gets very Blair heavy in that regard and we also are reintroduced to another character from the UES we have yet to encounter in this story - any guesses?
Until next time!
XoXo