A/N: Wow, this chapter really didn't go the way I expected, but the characters kind of took over! Thank you to all the readers who like the story, and I certainly hope you don't kill me after this chapter.

Chapter Five: Call or No Woman, No Cry

Nathaniel Fitzwilliam Archibald had somehow become the third most powerful business magnate in Manhattan; a position that he was very comfortable with, because he would fear for his life if he dethroned the true king of the island. As a Princeton university alumnus, Wharton business school graduate, high-powered Upper East Side father, and Southampton summer resident, Nate never thought he could be happy with this life but he was, he really was. He trudged through the cottage on steroids that Jenny had convinced him to purchase as their first investment with their own hard-earned money. His mother had been mortified when Nate declined the Vanderbilt family manse and refused to visit the home where he summered.

As soon as they entered the house, Jenny escaped to her office on the second floor to continue the work she had paused during the drive. To say that she was a workaholic was an understatement, but she was an artist, and an artist cannot turn off inspiration. There was a sketchpad at her side at all times. In fact, the collection she had designed while giving birth to Philip had garnered an unprecedented amount of attention for such a young brand. She loved the all-consuming nature of her work in times like these. When everything with Nate was tense or when she had a problem with the kids, drowning herself in the office was as good as the pot she knew Nate still smoked on occasion.

After dropping his bags in the bedroom, Nate crept to the parted door of the next room on the left and peeked through the small crack his wife had left. A smirk tugged at his lips while he watched her in deep concentration. Everything between them happened by accident, falling in love with her, their first kiss, his proposal, their two children. In fact, the only thing in their life that had been planned was the wedding, but even that couldn't go off without a hitch. He pushed the door open and strolled in, hands buried deep in his pockets.

Jenny didn't need to look up from her work to know that her husband had just broken into her privacy. A slight tinge of annoyance crawled into her throat, but she pushed it down into the depths of her stomach. She tried to cover up a flinch when she felt her husband's arms wrap around her from behind.

"Mmm…that drive was torture," Nate mumbled against her neck. He let his hands slip from her front and dug his fingers into her hips, pulling her tighter against himself in the process. "What are you working on?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Fall line," she replied curtly. "The seamstresses need to start on the patterns by the end of the month so we can have the first alterations done in August." She turned her body against him, her butt planted against the edge of the desk, his hands on each side. Jenny could feel her husbands growing need, so she pressed her lips against his rather than relegating him to bathroom with a stack of Penthouses.

Smiling against her lips, Nate nudged her into a sitting position on the desk. "That's what I love about your business," his kisses started to travel across her jaw and down her throat. "Always ahead of the curve," he muttered against her pulse point. He grabbed onto her hips when he felt a low grumble from the back of her throat.

Jenny groaned in frustration, she had so much work to do, she wished that Nate wouldn't try to seduce her and just get this done already. Suddenly she felt a vibration against her inner thigh and feigned indignation at her husband. "Seriously Nate, do you ever turn that damn thing off?"

"Ignore it, that's what I plan to do," he replied, capturing her lips in his. Nevertheless, the vibration didn't stop, and he could feel Jenny tense under his fingers, shooting him an angry glare. "Fine, I'll turn it off." He pulled the offending object from his pocket and looked at the screen. A picture of Chuck and Blair kissing flashed on the screen, and Nate couldn't help but snicker at his best friend's humor. "Just one second, it's Blair," he said to his wife before answering.

"Of course it is," Jenny replied, wiggling away from him and planting herself in the plush office chair opposite him to continue her abandoned project.

"Hey B," Nate looked back at his wife with pleading eyes but she was ignoring him. When he heard the other woman on the line, his entire demeanor changed. "What happened? No, no, calm down I can't understand you Blair" His heart was pounding in his ears; all he could focus on was his oldest friend crying so hard he couldn't comprehend a word she was saying. "Are the girls okay? Is it Chuck?" as soon as the name passed his lips Blair began to shout a litany of expletives at the top of her lungs, forcing Nate to pull the phone from his ear. Well, that answers that question. "Where are you?"

Jenny rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. No matter how long ago Blair had chosen Chuck, she still held uncontrolled power over Nate. When Blair Cornelia Waldorf-Bass said jump, Nate asked how high and in what outfit.

"Okay, I'll meet you in…fifteen minutes. Yes, I promise I'll hurry…get a bottle of water and try to breath." He coached into the phone before flipping it closed. "Something big happened with Chuck," he stated to the empty air separating him from Jenny.

"Yeah, I figured based on the things she was screaming." Jenny replied flippantly. No matter how much Nate coaxed her to be friends with Blair the rivalry was too strong and the betrayals too deep. "I don't understand why she always has to call you," she continued, trying to hide the anger in her voice.

"Jen, Blair was my friend long before she was anything else," he leaned across the desk and held her left hand in his, absently playing with the set of rings on her finger. "Serena's in Chicago and Henry's married to Chuck's brother. I'm the only unbiased friend she has."

Jenny sighed and looked away from her husband's pleading eyes. "Fine," she replied, utterly defeated by Blair Waldorf again. "Just, please be home for dinner."

Nate ran to the other side of the desk and brushed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. "Hopefully I'll be home in time to finish what we were just getting started." He smiled genuinely at her before walking out of the office and closing the door firmly.

When he entered the tiny bistro in Watermill, all he could think was that he had never seen Blair Waldorf so disheveled. In high school he held her hand as her life spiraled out of control, he was the one telling her to breathe in the back of a dirty New York cab when she went into labor with her twins, and he helped her pick up the pieces after Chuck's affair. Looking at the woman before him now, the only thing that read on her vacant expression was defeat. His best friend had finally broken his first love.

"Blair?" he attempted, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He was standing directly in her line of vision and she had yet to acknowledge his existence.

She looked up into his blue eye and struggled to stand, but Nate was there to catch her when she lost control of her legs. She felt like she was choking on the air around her as she grasped at Nate's polo shirt. Suddenly she realized that they were no longer in the café, he had carried her out and into the back seat of his S600. He held her body tightly against his, tangling his fingers and whispers through her curls.

"He swore to me Nate," she began. Her whole body was trembling from exertion. "He swore that I was it. He swore he would never make me feel like this again. He swore that our family meant everything to him." She was choking again, her body shaking violently against him as the tears refused to fall.

"Shhh," he whispered against her hair. He was so scared. This wasn't Blair, it couldn't be. His Blair was strong and determined; she was protective and fierce. That is when Nate realized, that this wasn't his Blair, the woman curled and shaking in his lap was the Blair that Chuck created. "Tell me what happened. It's me Blair, you can tell me anything."

"He's been sleeping with another woman for three months," her voice was surprisingly steady as she began. This was Nate-- her Nate-- she could tell him everything. This man, who was her prince charming for as long as she could remember, would scoop her up and mend the shattered pieces of what remained. "I'm going to leave him Nate."

"Blair I think…" he began, but he was cut off by her harsh tone.

"Don't you dare try to convince me otherwise, Nathaniel! I've suffered longer than any sane person would have…" she felt his strong fingers dig into her arm pulling her attention away from the words she was struggling to get out.

"You didn't let me finish," he tucked a wild curl behind her ear, not believing what he was about to say. "I think you've spent so much time doing what was best for Blair Bass that you forgot all about Blair Waldorf." He didn't know who started it, but for some reason, Nate didn't stop when their lips met in a familiar tender kiss.

See what I was talking about in the author's note! I don't know where that came from! I'm a die hard C/B shipper so please don't kill me during this detour. This story is about C/B, I promise they will find their wasy back to each other. As always, reviews are appreciated even if you're just going to tell me that you hate my guts for this chapter.