"Henry, where's your father?" Blair questioned as she entered their kitchen and spied her son sitting alone at the island in the center of the room while he ate his breakfast.
"I don't know," he shrugged with a mouthful of toast.
"Dorota?"
"Mr. Chuck eating breakfast with Mr Henry when I arrive this morning. Before he leave he say not to wake Ms. Blair as she need her rest for new baby," the loyal maid replied as she handed her charge a warm cup of tea.
Blair sat there for a moment, sipping her beverage, wondering just how Chuck had gotten ready without her hearing him as he was sneaky, but not that sneaky when suddenly it dawned on her.
"Dorota, did you happen to collect the dry cleaning this morning?"
"Yes, I bring with me- Mr. Chuck have me leave it in guest suite."
"That mother chucker!" Blair cursed quietly to herself as she realized how he had done it.
Quickly picking up her phone, she checked the GPS on their beloved limo. Sure enough, it was headed in the direction she figured it would be. Immediately, she dialed her OBGYN.
"Can you please hold?" the receptionist at the clinic spoke almost as soon as she had answered the call.
"Actually, no, I can't," Blair interrupted her before the woman could habitually react.
"Excuse me?" the woman questioned, surprised by Blair's response. "And why is that? Is this an emergency?"
"Of sorts," Blair stated. "This is Blair Waldorf Bass, my husband and I were there yesterday as I'm a patient of Dr. Schline's and it is imperative that whatever he is doing at this moment that he stop and take my call," she nearly demanded.
"I... okay, please hold while I locate him," the receptionist replied, a bit flabbergasted. Blair only had to wait a moment.
"Blair, is everything alright?" the doctor soon spoke, concern in his voice.
"Currently it is, however... I do fear that my husband may be on his way to your office right this very moment and I have a request," she began at once.
"Oh?" her doctor inquired, curious.
"Yes, regarding the paternity test I had ordered last month... well I've changed my mind about knowing and insist that any evidence of said test be destroyed and deleted from the system," she got to the point.
"Okay..." Dr. Schline responded, a bit confused as to why however it was his patient's choice.
"No matter what my husband says, I do not give consent for the results or any information regarding the tests to be released, is that clear?" she demanded to know.
"Yes, of course Mrs. Bass," he replied immediately. "I will have the tests you ordered removed from our records and any documents pertaining to them will remain sealed and destroyed. However if you change your mind in the future, you can still have the DNA retested," he reminded her.
"I am aware," she conferred. "And I thank you for your efficiency and discretion on this matter as well. I will see you at my next appointment," she stated as she promptly hung up, feeling confident in her decision. Chuck had agreed from the beginning that he would love and accept this child as his own, there was no reason now for that to change.
"Are you and Daddy getting divorced?" Henry softly spoke up from behind her in the kitchen, having waited to speak until his mother was off the phone. Blair turned, shocked to hear the words out of her son's mouth.
"No! Of course not!" she gasped. "Henry, wherever did you get that idea?"
"Tegan said before his parents got divorced that they were sleeping in different rooms and last night Daddy slept in mine... he said you were hogging the covers... if you and Daddy get divorced will you still live here or in France? Cuz if you move to France... that will be a lot of airplane rides to see both you and Daddy... but oh! Tegan gets two birthdays and two Christmases and two-"
"Henry! Your father and I are not getting divorced so stop this talk of nonsense," she commanded at once, tired of hearing his thoughts on the subject. "Look, Hen, sometimes... mommies and daddies have disagreements and they just need their space away from each other so they don't say things they don't mean," she began to explain to him. "Last night... your father and I had a disagreement, Daddy went for a walk and when he came back Mommy wanted to talk about what happened but Daddy didn't – he still needed his space from Mommy. But despite our disagreement, I still love your father and I know he still loves me. Your father and I are not nor do we ever intend on getting divorced."
"Can I help you, sir?" the woman manning the receptionists desk at the OBGYN clinic promptly questioned Chuck as he stepped into the waiting room. "Are you meeting someone here?"
"No, actually... I'm Chuck Bass – my wife and I were here yesterday and well... there is an urgent matter I need to speak with Dr. Schline about, on my wife's behalf of course," he added for good measure, having already formulated a plan on his way over.
"Oh, alright," the woman spoke. "If you'll have a seat, I'll see if I can locate him – last I knew he was taking an urgent phone call."
Reluctantly, Chuck took a seat. Looking around, he spied a small child playing with the toy playset in the corner of the room, guessing he must have been just a tad younger than Henry and most likely a future big sibling as well. There were several other pregnant women in the waiting room as well – one mother-to-be quietly reading a magazine as well as a couple happily engaged in conversation, smiling as the woman held her partner's hand to her belly, amused by the man's reaction to feeling her child respond to him.
Chuck couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
Just yesterday that had been him and Blair, anxiously waiting to be taken back for her ultrasound, eager to learn the gender of their child. While it honestly didn't matter to him as to whether they had a girl or another boy, the news that it was indeed a girl this time blasted him with a wave of mixed emotions. Both scared and anxious at something new as he could only imagine the challenge of raising a little girl, especially when it would come to keeping her away from boys much like himself when they approached the teenage years. He was also relieved as he knew Blair not only wanted a little girl to pass on her headband collection to, but to also, in sense, replace the little girl she had lost in their fateful car accident so many years ago the last time he had promised to love another man's child.
But now here he was, finding himself annoyed by the happy couple in the room, almost jealous if he truly admitted it.
"Mr. Bass?" a female voice called to him from across the room. Standing, he approached her in the doorway. "Dr. Schline will be right with you, if you'll follow me back to his office," the woman in doctor's scrubs informed him as she led him back through the clinic and down a hallway.
Stepping into the office, sure enough, there was Blair's doctor, already seated behind his desk.
"Mr. Bass," Dr. Schline greeted Chuck as he stood and reached across the desk to shake hands. "Please, have a seat. What brings you by today?"
"I'm actually here on behalf of my wife," Chuck lied.
"Oh?" the doctor inquired, curious as to how that could be.
"Yes, you see apparently there were certain documents containing some important test results she had received not too long ago, however before she had a chance to work up the courage to view them... our family dog had gotten hold of the envelope and chewed it to shreds much like he did to her once favorite pair of Louboutins," Chuck quickly explained, telling a believable tale.
"I see," Dr. Schline replied as he leaned back in his seat, fiddling with a pen in his hand. "You're here to...?"
"To obtain another copy of course – surely you have the test results on file, in her record," Chuck pressed him.
"We did," the doctor answered as he sat straight in his seat. "However I just got off the phone with your wife and she requested that the results and any documents pertaining to the tests in question be destroyed."
"You just got off the phone with her?" Chuck questioned suspiciously.
"That is correct."
"So obviously you haven't had a chance to do as she requested just yet," Chuck pointed out.
"True, however without her authorized consent I'm afraid I cannot share nor discuss anything in her medical records or personal files," the doctor informed him.
"Even though I'm her next of kin and emergency contact?" Chuck reminded him, desperate to find some loophole.
"Unfortunately no, not unless it were an emergency and Mrs. Bass was incapacitated and unable to make her own medical decisions," Dr. Schline regretted to tell him.
"Dr. Schline," Chuck addressed the man in front of him directly, attempting to try another, more personal approach. "Tell me, do you have children?"
"I do," the doctor promptly answered. "Two actually, a son and a daughter... my son at Harvard Law finishing up his law degree in the spring and my daughter is at Cornell studying medicine."
"Fascinating," Chuck spoke, faking an interest as truthfully he really didn't care what the children of Blair's OBGYN were up to. "Say there was the possibility that one of your children may not actually be yours... and your wife – you are married, yes?" he paused, not wanting to make an assumption that could set him back in winning over the doctor. Once Dr. Schline had nodded in confirmation that he was indeed married, Chuck continued. "Say she had had testing done that determined for sure whether or not the child was truly yours... wouldn't you want to know?"
"Mr. Bass... Charles is it?"
"Chuck," he corrected him.
"Chuck, from one father to another, while I am sympathetic to your plight, I cannot break doctor-patient confidentiality under any circumstances and especially not after your wife specifically stated that she does not give her consent. This is a conversation you need to have with her," Dr. Schline firmly told him.
"I've tried – she refuses to discuss it, saying it doesn't matter," Chuck informed him.
"While I don't know the circumstances that have put you both in this situation, if your wife says it doesn't matter than perhaps it really doesn't," Dr. Schline suggested, much to Chuck's annoyance.
"It didn't... until I found out she had gone ahead and gotten the testing done. Knowing that, I need to know what the results were, if not simply for my own sanity."
"I'm sorry, Chuck, but I can't help you on this matter without her consent-"
"One or two? Can you at least tell me which sample was mine?" Chuck hurriedly questioned.
"Again, that's something you would have to ask her as no names were provided, just samples," he was told.
"If it was my DNA that was provided, don't I have a right to know how it was used?!"
"Mr. Bass I'm going to have to ask that you leave as I have patients waiting to be seen and nothing more to tell you," Dr. Schline stated as he stood and began to walk towards his office door. "Talk to your wife," he added as he motioned for Chuck to leave, personally escorting him out knowing better than to leave the man alone in his office.
As soon as Chuck was outside, waiting for Arthur to pull the limo around, he immediately dialed his PI.
"Mike, got a job for you – I need you to get me a copy of my wife's file and record at her OBGYN. I'll text you the address, and the sooner I get it the better the bonus will be for you," he added before hanging up and quickly tapping out the text.
There had to be some way to find out the test results without her consent.
"B!" a familiar voice called out to her as she stood on the sidewalk, having just watched Henry ascend the steps at school and disappear into the building. Turning to address her caller, Blair rolled her eyes as she confirmed who it was.
"What do you want, Georgie?" she sighed in annoyance, coming face to face with her arch nemesis.
"You know what I want and you're going to make sure it happens," Georgina declared matter of factly as she now stood beside her, watching her own son scurry off to class.
"What? Why on earth would I ever do that? The company is Chuck's and he's worked hard since he's been back to fix the damage Jack did to it in his absence – Jack's yet again incapable of successfully running it as he's now proved once more!" Blair pointed out.
"If you don't... I'll have this blasted on Gossip Girl," Georgina threatened as she pulled up a picture of Blair recently leaving her OBGYN's office alone.
"So what? It's just a picture of me leaving the doctor's office – in case you forgot, it's not exactly a secret that I'm pregnant," Blair huffed, annoyed that Georgina was wasting her time with this.
"True... but look closer, B – what's that in your bag? A sealed manila envelope? Must be confidential..." Georgina spoke, prompting Blair to carefully look at the image once more. "And now just what kind of confidential information could you possibly have gotten from your doctor?" Georgina wondered out loud. "Perhaps you're hiding something? From your husband...?"
"I guess that's something you and Gossip Girl will never know," Blair sneered in defense.
"I guess so... but perhaps it might have something to do with this other image I found..." Georgina began again, pausing to flip to another picture on her phone, immediately flashing it to Blair. "Is that thee Daniel Humphrey – Chuck's brother-in-law and your best friend's husband – sneaking out the backdoor of the Bass residence in the wee hours of the morning? And just why exactly is that?"
Glancing at the picture in question, Blair began to feel nauseous. She recognized the image being from their home surveillance footage as it was timestamped from the same morning she learned that Chuck was in rehab.
"Where did you get that!?" Blair snapped as she grabbed at the phone only for Georgina to move it out of reach. "That's private property... which I had deleted months ago!"
"I like powerful men, B and in order to ensure Jack stays at the top certain measures were taken, including hacking into your home surveillance and creating a second backup location for it to be stored to – you know, just in case some blackmail was ever needed. Like now," Georgina casually informed her as if it were the most obvious information in the world.
"Well it's not going to work – Chuck already knows about my drunken mistake with Humphrey and he's over it," Blair snapped once more. "He understands what happened and doesn't care."
"True, Chuck might be blinded enough by his overwhelming love for you to go ahead and let your little indiscretion slide, but just what would S think?" Georgina leered with a grin.
"G... I'm warning you..."
"What? You have to admit, with Chuck sober nowadays, and our children not yet old enough to wreak havoc on this city Gossip Girl's return has been a little boring... things need a little spicing up and what better way to do so than some drama with S at the center of it all?"
"Gossip Girl was never that cruel," Blair retorted.
"Oh the old Gossip Girl – or should I say Gossip Boy - no, I'll agree to that. While you four were her favorites, she did shy away from some of the juiciest gossip on you guys, only posting it when one of you really pissed her off," Georgina pointed out. "But this new Gossip Girl – and I don't mean that phony Gossip Girl Junior that's been following the latest crop of Upper East Side brats the last few years - I have a feeling she won't hold back."
"Let me guess – you're Gossip Girl. Again," Blair stated as she rolled her eyes, remembering Georgina's previous attempt at being Gossip Girl 2.0 years ago.
"Maybe I am... or maybe I've already figured out who is and am blackmailing her, forcing her to do my dirty work for me," Georgie grinned devilishly.
"G, don't do this... I thought we all grew up!"
"Yeah well... you know I get bored. And just think of the scandal! Chuck's sister spiraling out of control at the news his own brother-in-law slept with his wife... and that the newest member of the Bass family might not actually be a Bass but a Humphrey instead? While the board admires his courage to seek help and get clean, a scandal of this proportion is something they wouldn't be able to overlook and would even frown upon... it'd be the talk of the town, the stuff tabloid fodder is made for! Bad press for you and Chuck wouldn't fare well for the company and you know it. Hell, it might even be enough to push Chuck off the wagon once again," Georgina gleefully declared.
"We'll see about that," Blair remarked as she pulled out her phone and quickly sent out a text as she began to walk down the sidewalk, head held high. This wasn't over, Georgina wouldn't win.
We need to talk. Now.
"Chuck? What are you doing here?" Serena curiously wondered as she strolled into her mother's penthouse and spied her step-brother sitting alone on one of the couches. Normally she wouldn't have been so surprised to see him except that it was mid-morning, on a Thursday no less. He should be at work.
"I... was hoping to speak with your mother but it appears she's been quite elusive to catch today..." Chuck solemnly confessed as he watched his stepsister approach.
"Chuck, she's your mom too, you know..." Serena playfully remarked as she took a seat on the open space near him. He continued to look at her, still questioning desperately whether or not she knew of Lily's whereabouts.
"She left with my dad this morning, something about a conference in California that he's speaking at," she regretfully informed him. "She'll be back in time for Blair's party next weekend though!" she added, hoping that maybe that news would cheer him up. Chuck only slumped further into his seat, clearly disappointed. "Is everything okay? Did something happen with Blair?" she couldn't help wondering.
"Blair?" a voice that was extremely unwelcoming to Chuck's ears suddenly spoke up from the foyer, a hint of curiousness in it as well.
Chuck squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance, breathing in and out slowly, his jaw clenched as he fought to keep his mouth closed, a thousand words dying to spill out.
"I should go," he announced as he opened his eyes and quickly stood to his feet, his back still turned to the unwelcomed presence behind him.
"Chuck?" Serena questioned once more, her eyes begging him for answers, yet he continued towards the elevator. "What happened?" she called after him as she continued to sit perplexed on the couch, making a mental note to get in touch with Blair ASAP.
"Maybe you should ask him," Chuck firmly remarked, his eyes locking onto Dan's as he passed him, pausing for just a brief moment, silently communicating to his unwanted brother-in-law that he was serious, before disappearing around the corner to wait for the elevator.
"Dan?" Serena now questioned her husband, wondering just what the hell was going on.
"Just... give me a minute," Dan quickly assured her, as he rushed to catch Chuck before he left. The door was just starting to close when he caught up to it, throwing his arm in the way.
Chuck looked up from where he stood, glaring at the man before him interrupting his departure.
"What the hell was that about?!" Dan quietly snapped as he stood on the other side of the threshold.
"You need to tell her what happened before someone else does," Chuck hissed back, growing more annoyed by Dan's presence with every passing second. He couldn't recall ever hating anyone more. At least not in recent years.
"Someone? You mean yourself?" Dan clarified, attempting to call his rival out. "Except we both know you wouldn't do that because Blair would be livid."
"Oh no, not me – it's not my place to tell her... but that doesn't mean someone else wouldn't hesitate to spill the news..." he casually pointed out as the elevator door slowly began to close once more, leaving Dan alone to ponder his words.
The door had no sooner shut when he received a text message from none other than Blair herself.
"Hey, what's going on? Something happen?" Serena's voice spoke up from the hallway.
"Huh? Oh, um... yeah... no... no, I don't know – it's Chuck. Aside from that brief period before my first book came out you know he's never liked me," Dan tried to cover. "But hey, I need to step out for a quick second – Shapiro's on my ass again, wanting to know when my next short will be submitted for The New Yorker," he lied as he quickly held up his phone as proof to his claim.
"Okay..." Serena remarked as she watched her husband quickly rush up the stairs, most likely to her father's office. She had a feeling something was up though as she pulled out her own phone and tapped out a text to her best friend, curious if she knew why Chuck and Dan were at odds again this time.
"I'm alone but I only have a few minutes tops – Serena's downstairs," Dan hurriedly spoke into his phone, having called her as soon as he closed the door to the upstairs office of Lily's apartment.
"Of course she is and I hear Chuck just left, having had words with you?" Blair curiously quipped in response as she continued her stroll down the sidewalk. "What was he even doing there?"
"I honestly don't know – looking for Lily I think? And yes, Serena picked up on the tension between us and when she questioned it, your husband," he hissed, "Told her to ask me and when I caught him at the elevator before he left he threatened that I needed to tell her about us before someone else did," Dan informed her.
"First off, I have told you before – there is no nor will there ever be again an 'us' – get over it, Humpfreak!" Blair snapped, already growing annoyed with him. "And secondly, Chuck does have a point..."
"What are you talking about? The only ones that know about that night are you, me and him," Dan was quick to remind her.
"Not necessarily..." her voice trailed for a moment. "Georgina may have found out about our brief dalliance..."
"What?!"
"And she may have proof that she is threatening to send to Gossip Girl," Blair finished.
"No!" he gasped in horror. "What are we going to do? What does she even want?!"
"You need to take care of this mess by coming clean to your wife before she finds out otherwise," Blair demanded once more. "I'll take care of Georgina," she declared before promptly hanging up, her mind starting to brainstorm various forms of revenge she could take out on Georgina.
"Like hell you are," Dan muttered to himself as he leaned against the front of William's desk, deciding his next action.
Pulling up his phone's screen up once more, he quickly dialed a number he was surprised he still had stored in his phone. "Drop whatever you're doing and meet me at Vanessa's old cafe in Brooklyn in thirty," he ordered, hanging up and making his way back out of the room.
AN: Thanks again for all the response still to this story! Glad you're still invested in it! Also shout out to M ( scarlett2u) for Beta'ing all these chapters here awhile back and her suggestion in breaking this one up into 2 parts, so consider this chapter part 1 of 2 as the one that follows goes along with this one and will be posted soon!