Nate rubbed at his eyes, ducking into the nearest deli. He ordered something in almost a mutter before taking a seat. Sure, he was probably due back at his office and his desk, for he was going to have to pull every trick in the book for this case.

He rubbed his forehead again, trying to jumpstart his brain. He had learned a lot from Stanford Law School, but trying to manage a media circus wasn't one of them. Sure, he was good at it, but it took from him a lot of energy. He had once confessed to Dan over a bottle of Tequila and a few not-so-chaste kisses that he had stress ulcers and the occasional migraine. Dan had advised Nate to shift to Corporate or Entertainment Law. Nate said he was a junkie for high profile criminal cases.

"Weren't you just on TV?" A voice asked him. He looked up immediately, trying to turn on that Archibald charm as quickly as possible. Before him was a very attractice young woman. If Nate had to guess, she was no older than 24, and she looked very familiar, but he couldn't place from where.

"Yes, I was," Nate answered. "You don't strike me as a Court watcher."

"In my spare time. I'm a journalism student at NYU." The girl answered.

"And you're all thrilled that one of NYU's best known graduates is on trial for murder, right?" Nate asked, smirking slightly.

"Sort of," She answered. "So, is he as innocent as your press conferences let on?" She asked as Nate had begun going through his phone.

"Yep," Nate answered, still oddly charming despite being distracted. "Take a seat." He offered.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really," Nate answered. "I'm Nate Archibald. And you're Elena Gilbert."

Nate really was magic. This was proven as he slid his phone over, the screen displaying her New York Star biography page. Elena almost laughed.

"You're good," She complimented. Nate cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah. My family owned that newspaper. I still have friends there." He pointed out. "So, you've got me pinned down, ask away. My defense strategy, gory crime scene details, go ahead."

"Are you and Dan Humphrey still dating?" Elena asked, barely able to control her grin. Nate burst out laughing.

"This is the case of the year, and all you care about is that?" He asked, very amused. It was now Elena's turn to fiddle through her phone and show a picture. Said picture was of Dan and Nate locked at the waist and lips on the dance floor of some club.

"That could have been from any time." Nate said as his food was delivered to him. Elena immediately grabbed a few fries.

"It was five weeks ago. Club90," She answered. "Off the record, is this beyond Attorney-Client?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "I hate to break it to you, but if you leak that pic, neither Dan or I will deny it happened."

"I thought he was in love with Blair Waldorf?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, well. She was engaged to Chuck. I'm single. And yes, Dan is in love with Blair, but everyone in New York City already knows that. You won't move many papers running with that."

"What will move papers?" Elena asked casually.

"An anonymous lawyer telling you that Chuck Bass had been spotted buying a large amount of cocaine a few weeks before he jumped out the window." Nate said, looking over the brim of his Dr. Pepper with a waggle of eyebrows.

"Is this confirmable?" She asked. "I could lose my job if you're trying to scam me."

"The dealer he buys from was busted shortly after the buy," Nate said, his smile boyish. "Ask your brother for the file. Or his little friend."

"I will," Elena nodded.

"See? You have me, Jeremy and his friend Tyler. That's three sources. All you need to run a story. And who knows, maybe there's a picture in the file?"

"Hopefully," Elena said, giving Nate a once-over glance.

"Relax. I'd be disbarred for leaking a false story," Nate said with a shrug. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Why not?" Elena laughed. Even Nate thought it was a very cute laugh.

"How much do you make a year? It can't be much."

Elena tried not to blush. "Last year? Countring my bonus, about $65,500."

"I'll triple your salary if you quit and come work for the defense team. I need a good researcher." Nate said, eyes smiling but face serious.

"Seriously? You'd pay me $200,000?" She asked.

"$70,000 upfront," Nate bragged, enjoying her shocked facial expression. "I'm a Vanderbilt. Don't look so surprised."

"And story rights?" Elena broached. "Magazine articles, a book?"

"Done," Nate nodded. "As long as it looks good for the defense."

"Is this because you're impressed with my talents or because my brother is on the prosecution team?"

"Yes." Nate answered simply. Elena always had liked honesty in lawyers.

"All right, you've got me," She winked. "I want to start my first piece now. An in-depth bio of you." Elena said, pulling out a pen and small pad. And a tape recorder just in case.

Nate smirked, winking slightly. "Nathaniel Fitzwilliam Archibald. I'm 32. Bachelors Degree from Columbia, law degree from Stanford. I was, uh, what's it called," Nate laughed, searching for the term."Magna Cum Laude." That made Elena almost doubletake. Sure, Nate didn't seem stupid, but, Honors from a law school like Stanford? Impressive.

"So, you've been a lawyer for what, seven years?" Elena asked.

"Six and a half," He replied. "92% win rate."

"I thought defense attorneys didn't keep track of things like that?"

"That's just what the bad lawyers say," Nate said, leaning forward with a smirk. "What else? Do you need my jean size? 32. 33 if I eat too much. I like Rolexes, Ranger Rovers and red wine." Nate listed off, casually laughing.

"What prompts an Heir presumptive to the Vanderbilt fortune to take up criminal defense, especially after you landed a job at Covington & Burling."

"Because defending people beats doing the adult version of busy work for giant multinational companies," Nate answered. "I'm a Courtroom junkie."

"I could tell by how you beat up on Bonnie at the hearing this morning." Elena smirked.

"She's a great bully, but a terrible lawyer." Nate said simply.

"Is that on the record?" Elena asked, eyebrow arching.

"Yep," Nate answered with a slight shrug. "What's she going to do, yell at me?"

"Tell me about Dan," Elena came up with next, blushing just slightly.

"On the record? Best friend. Off the record? Best friend, sometimes boyfriend and occasional love of my life. You know, the usual." The always modest defense attorney replied. "I've been his attorney since the day I passed the Bar exam here in New York. Before this, the biggest case I handled to him was a drunk and disorderly."

"So, I'm guessing you don't think he did it?"

"You mean threw Chuck out of a window? No, I don't think Dan did it," Nate said, rubbing his chin.

"Then what do you think happened? Your client and occasional love of your life was found in the room of dead man. And beaten up at that." Elena answered.

"Dan showed up to confront Chuck about something. Knowing Chuck, he was probably drunk or strung out. God only knows what happened." Nate sighed.

"Do you think you can win a case with no story?"

"I think so," Nate nodded. "I have a great imagination for things like this."

"If you have a great imagination, why am I here and $70,000 richer?" Elena asked, almost chuckling.

"Because," Nate said simply, swallowing a healthy bite of his sandwich. "You're going to find Blair Waldorf."

"Me? Find Blair Waldorf?" She repeated. Nate nodded.

"Yes," He confirmed. "I have the ugly suspicion that she knows something about this."

"Something?"

"Yeah. She was engaged to Chuck, but she knew Dan was in love with her. And, honestly, I think she has feelings for Dan." Nate explained, already looking slightly confused.

"Is this good or bad for your, our, case?"

"It all depends," Nate said, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin as he stood up. "Come on, I'll take you to my office and let you loose at the files."

"File searching?" Elena mockingly gasped. "I went to NYU. Like your love-buddy Dan. Show me some respect."

Nate laughed as he jokingly looped an arm around her shoulder. "And I went to Columbia and Stanford. Even Dan knows that allows me to call the shots."