A/N - So I started writing this today and just couldn't stop.
Disclaimer - I own nothing
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This is Blair, leave a message.
"Damn it!" Dan curses when he gets Blair's voice mail again. "She's not answering." He lets out a sigh before opening his phone again and quickly typing out the text.
Whatever Vanessa said, we can work it out. Call me, please. - Dan
He scrolls to Blair's name and hits send, praying that she'll call him back, text him back, send him a smoke signal, anything really so he knows that she's OK. His mind flashes back to her climbing into that limo with Chuck and his stomach turns. He's all too familiar with their history and limos. No! He shakes his head, forcing the image of Chuck and Blair together like that from his head. Blair, no matter how angry she was with him, wouldn't do that. He pushes the thoughts from his head as he glances at Serena, who's sitting next to him, texting furiously on her cell. He can only assume that she's texting Blair as well.
"So where do we think they would have gone?" Serena flips her phone shut and looks at him expectantly. "I think the obvious choices would be the Penthouse or the Empire."
"OK, then we start with the Empire."
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"Blair, are you going to tell me what happened?" Chuck's voice brings her back to reality and she slowly turns to look at him sitting next to her in back of the limo. This was a bad idea. Her and Chuck alone in a limo was always a bad idea.
"I don't know. I think this might have been a mistake." Blair rubs her hand over her face warily.
"You and Humphrey?" Blair immediately notices the hope that lines his tone and she looks at him for long moment.
She can't help but remember the first time they had ended up in this almost exact situation. She can still hear his voice in her head, his low drawal asking if she was sure. There are times when she can still see small glimpses of the boy who made love her to that night but, lately, the majority of the time it feels like she's looking at someone she barely knows anymore. But regardless, he's still Chuck and she's still Blair. They're connected. She can't deny that.
"Blair…" He murmurs, moving closer to her and she knows what's about to happen. She knows that all she has to do is close her eyes and in mere seconds Chuck's lips will be on hers; that all she has to do is give him permission and he'll make her forget Dan Humphrey ever existed - at least for a little while. "Talk to me, Blair."
Chuck reaches for her hand, squeezing it gently as he rests his head on the seat, looking at her softly and to say that Blair is surprised is probably the understatement of the century.
"What?" Blair looks at him sceptically.
"Talk to me. Tell me what happened." Chuck says again. Blair opens her mouth to speak when her phone beeps loudly and she pulls it out of her purse to look down at the text from Dan.
Whatever Vanessa said, we can work it out. Call me, please. - Dan
Sighing, she shut her phone, placing it back in her purse before closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the seat for a second. Vanessa. Was this all Vanessa's fault? No, it couldn't have been. Vanessa may have planted the seed in her head, but she certainly didn't force Dan to go off with Serena… again.
"It's Dan… and Serena." Blair whispers, slowly opening her eyes and turning to her head slightly to meet Chuck's gaze. "I saw… something. I don't even know really what it was. It could have been innocent, I suppose. And I don't want to believe that either of them is capable of somethng like this but the way Serena was looking at him, it felt like Nate all over again, only a hundred times worse. And that stupid whore Vanessa was there spewing all of this crap and I just felt like I couldn't breathe…" Blair looks away quickly, blinking away tears as they sting her eyes.
"I shouldn't have brought Vanessa." Chuck reaches up and softly brushes the tears from her cheek. "I was trying to make you jealous and piss off Humphrey. I should have known that she would cause trouble, though. I'm sorry."
"Chuck Bass apologizing. Wow." Blair cracks a small smile and Chuck lets out a dry chuckle.
"Only for you." Chuck smirks but suddenly becomes serious. "I'm not expecting anything, Blair. I'm not going to try anything. I just want to be here for you tonight - however you need me."
"Thank you, Chuck." Blair smiles back. Chuck nods, hesitating before taking her hand again and Blair stares at their entwined fingers before pulling her eyes back up to his face. The two of them look at each other for a moment and Blair turns to look out the window
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"Blair! Blair!" Dan charges off the elevator into Chuck & Nate's apartment with Serena close on his heels. He throws open the door to Chuck's bedroom, half afraid of what he might find but he heaves a sigh of relief at the empty room.
"Blair? Chuck?" Serena calls making her way into the living room. "Nate?" Silence. "OK, well, silver lining, you didn't walk in on the two of them having sex…" Serena says and Dan just looks at her. "I'm trying here, Dan."
"I know. I'm sorry." Dan lets out a frustrated sigh as he jabs the elevator button. "It's just the longer she's gone... Blair's upset and she's with Chuck and I don't trust that bastard not to try something."
"Yeah, but even if he does, that doesn't mean that Blair is going to do anything." Serena says immediately.
"I don't know, Serena. You know Blair. She doesn't always think before she acts. And if Vanessa said something to her to make her think…" Dan trails off, hitting the elevator button a few more times in the vain hope that it would speed the stupid lift up.
After what feels like forever the elevator finally opens and Nate steps out, stopping when he sees Dan and Serena.
"Hey guys, what are you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at that charity thing?" Nate asks, glancing between his two friends. "I'm running really late. I just came back to throw on my tux and head over there now."
"Have you seen Chuck or Blair?" Dan asks immediately and Nate looks at him, confused for a second before his features morph into a mask of worry.
"No." Nate shakes his head slowly. "Why? What's going on?"
"We're not sure, but we think that Vanessa may have said something to Blair to upset her enough that she left the party with Chuck."
"She left the party with Chuck?" Nate stares at them in shock. "Well, did you try calling them? Texting?"
"Neither one of them is answering." Serena shakes her head. "Look, you weren't at the party tonight so maybe if you call, Chuck might answer."
"Yeah, yeah, of course." Nate nods immediately, pulling his cell phone out and scrolling through his contacts.
"We're going to check the penthouse. Call us if you reach them." Dan calls over his shoulder as he and Serena step onto the elevator.
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"Nathaniel, what can I do for you?" Chuck says quietly into his phone as he glances at Blair, who was dozing next to him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Nate immediately snaps. "Where the hell are you? Dan and Serena are looking for Blair."
"Yes, well, Blair doesn't want to see either one of them right now." Chuck throws another glance in Blair's direction before slipping out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.
"What did you do?" Nate tone is accusatory. "Serena and Dan mentioned something about Vanessa, but this whole thing stinks of Bass to me."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Archibald." Chuck's voice is calm. "Blair was upset, she asked me to take her away from the party. You know that I can't say no to her."
"For once just cut the crap, Chuck!" Nate finally really looses his temper. "You know, I put up with a lot from you. And even after all of the shit that you put Blair through, I still defended you to Dan. I told him that you may have fucked up a lot but you did love her. But this… intentionally going out of your way to make sure that she gets hurt. And for what? So you can pick up the pieces and she'll just magically forget everything that's happened. It doesn't work that way, man. She's crazy about him and this little stunt that you've pulled isn't going to change that. So all you've done is hurt the one person in this world that you claim to love."
"Nate…"
"I don't want to hear it." Nate cuts him off. "This is the last straw, Chuck. If you do this, I'm not sure our friendship can survive."
"Nate, please…" Chuck starts but stops at the click on Nathaniel hanging up on him. He stares at his cell phone for a long moment before the door to the bedroom opens and he turns to find Blair watching him, looking slightly confused.
"Everything OK?"
"Um, yes, it appears Dan and Serena are looking for you and Nathaniel seems to think that I had something to do with whatever it was that happened between the three of you."
"Well, bringing Vanessa Abrams anywhere is not exactly something that I approve of but you didn't manipulate Dan and Serena into that situation. Not even you are that good, Chuck." Blair shakes her head and looks away for second as sadness floods her body.
"Blair…" Chuck steps forward, reaching out toward her but Blair shakes her head, moving across the room to pour herself a drink.
"I'm OK." She takes a sip of scotch (when in Rome) and looks over at Chuck. "Thank you for bringing me here, Chuck." She smiles a little as she sits down. "I don't think anyone will think to look for me here so…" She trails off as tears fill her eyes and she looks away quickly, hating herself for crying in front of Chuck of all people.
"You know that you never have to put up a front with me." Chuck sits down next to her and Blair looks down at her lap for a second before looking up at him.
"What we had… that was real, wasn't it, Chuck?" Blair's voice is barely a whisper as she stares up at him, her eyes searching his. "Do you think that what we had was real?"
Chuck is completely silent for a long time as he stares at her, before he finally reaches out to take her hand.
"I think that I'm Chuck Bass and you're Blair Waldorf. I think that what we shared together went beyond words and labels… and I think that I hurt you so many times, I'm surprised that you can even stand to be in the same room with me." Chuck looks away for a second before slowly looking back at her, nodding. "Yes, what we had was real, Blair. It was the only real thing I've ever had." They stare at each other for a what feels like hours but could only have been minutes before Chuck looks away, standing up. "Come, it's late. You really need to sleep." He holds his hand out to her and Blair hesitates for a second before taking it and standing up and following Chuck into the bedroom.
"Thank you for being here with me tonight, Chuck." Blair smiles up at him as she settles against the pillow, her eyes fluttering closed as he pulls the blanket up around her, softly brushing the hair from her forehead.
"I love you, Blair" Chuck presses a soft kiss on her forehead as she sleeps. "I always loved you."
Turning to leave the room, he pulled out his cell phone, dialing the number before he could change his mind.
"She's at The Palace, Humphrey. My old suite."
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The hotel room door swings open before he has a chance to pound on it the way he had been planning to and Dan finds himself face to face with Chuck Bass.
"Where is she?" He shoves past Chuck and into the hotel room, looking around wildly.
"Keep your voice down, she's sleeping." Chuck glances toward the closed bedroom door and Dan feels his blood boil.
"I swear to god, Bass, if you touched her…" Dan takes a threatening step forward and Chuck stares at him as though he is most vile thing on the planet.
"I never laid a hand on her." Chuck sneers. "I never even tried." Chuck turns away, pouring himself a rather large glass of scotch and gulping it down.
"I don't understand?" Dan looks at him, still angry but confused. "Why would you call me then? I thought you just wanted to gloat."
"No, Humphrey, there will be no gloating for me." Chuck takes another drink. "Believe me, it's not like I didn't think about it. I saw this as my most opportune time. She was pissed off at you, I knew that all I had to do was turn on the Bass charm, but I couldn't." Chuck shakes his head and Dan just stares at him. "I couldn't because I love her, Humphrey, and I want her to be happy. But I don't make her happy. For some unknown reason, you make her happy." Chuck lets out a quiet sigh. "I'm in love with her, but she's not in love with me, not anymore. She's in love with you, Brooklyn."
"What?" Dan finally speaks, staring at Chuck as though he has completely lost his mind. "Blair told you that she was in love with me?"
"Of course not. To be honest, I'm not even sure she's admitted it to herself yet." Chuck shakes his head, taking another long drink. "But she didn't have to say anything to me. I know Blair better than I know myself. If this had just been about her pride or her ego, there would have been yelling and screaming, plotting and revenge. There was none of that. She just sat there, looking completely lost. That was when I knew. She had same look on her face when she confronted me about Jack - that's how I know that this one goes deep for her." Chuck finishes off the glass of scotch, laying it on the bar before turning to look at Dan one last time. "So I'm going to do what she asked me to do. I'm going to let her go." Chuck swallows hard and for a second Dan thinks that he sees tears in the other man's eyes. "I've hurt her enough for one lifetime, Humphrey, so treat her right. Treat her the way she deserves to be treated."
Chuck gives him one last look before picking up his overcoat and heading toward the door and, again, all Dan can do is stare.
"But…" Chuck pauses at the door to look back at him seriously. "If you hurt her, all bets are off and I will end you."
Chuck gives him one last look before disappearing out the door and Dan is frozen to his spot for a few seconds before he slowly turns, staring at the closed bedroom door.
He slowly makes his way over and hesitates for a second before turning the knob and walking into the dimly lit room. His eyes soften when he sees Blair asleep on the bed and he lets out a breath.
"Blair…" His whispers, sitting down on the bed next to her and reaching out to brush the hair from her face. "Blair…"
"Wha…" She reluctantly opens her eyes and looks up at him, slightly confused. "What's going on?" Her eyes start to clear and they widen is surprise when they focus on him. "Dan? What are you doing here?" Blair quickly sits up, her eyes darting to the door. "How did you find me?"
"Chuck called me." Dan says simply and Blair's jaw drops. "Yeah, I know. I had a similar reaction. He just left."
"I don't understand…" Blair still looks completely confused.
"I think, in his own Chuck Bass way, he gave us his approval." Dan shakes his head and Blair continues to stare at him. "So, do you want to tell me what happened tonight?"
"I…" Blair bites her lip nervously, looking away. "I saw you and Serena outside on the veranda and I just…"
"You saw that…" Dan sighs heavily, running his fingers through his hair. "Blair that was nothing. Serena was just upset about Ben and she got carried away. It didn't mean anything"
"It always means something with you and Serena." Blair shakes her head, looking away.
"Just like it always means something with you and Chuck?" Dan asks and Blair's eyes widen and Dan sighs again. "OK, look, Blair we both have pasts and we both come with baggage. I had a serious relationship with your best friend. I can't change that. I can't erase that time that I spent with Serena, but you are the only woman that I want." He leans forward to take her face in his hands gently. "I am in love with you, Blair. And I'll say it as many times as I have to until you finally start believing it."
"I do believe it. I do." Blair gives him a watery smile as tears fill her eyes. "I know that I need to work on these issues that I have when it comes to Serena, but when I saw the two of you together, I just lost it. The thought of losing you, it was like I couldn't breathe and it hurt so bad."
"That just means that it's real." Dan rests his forehead against hers. "Promise me that from now on you will talk to me. That's the only way that this is going to work, Blair."
"I promise." Blair nods.
"Come on, let's get you home." Dan pulls back the blanket and helps Blair off the bed, wrapping his arm around shoulders and holding her close to him.
"Dan…" Blair falters for a second, pulling away to look up at him nervously. "I'm really sorry for all of this." She leans in to press her lips to his gently. "And I know this is probably the worst possible time for me to say this, and you probably won't even believe me, but I just wanted you to know that I love you. I'm in love with you. That was pretty much the only good thing that I realized tonight." She quickly brushes the tears from her eyes.
Dan is quiet for a long moment before a smile spreads across his face and he wraps his arms around her, kissing her deeply.
"I know." He whispers into her ear. "I love you too." Blair looks up at him for a second before she smiles, kissing him once more.
"I'm going to get my purse. I'll be right back." She makes her way to the main room and finds her purse on the coffee table. She digs out her cell, quickly typing out the simple text: Thank you before hitting send. Almost instantly her phone deeps and she looks down.
Only for you - C
Tears fill her eyes as she stares at the text for second before dropping the phone back into her clutch and she looks up to find Dan waiting by the door.
"Ready?" He looks at her expectantly and Blair nods, making her way toward him.
"Yeah, let's go home." Blair smiles up at him as Dan wraps his arm around her and kisses her temple one last time before they head out.
A/N 2 - Hey guys! So that was it, I know I clued up all that drama with Chuck quickly but I wanted to close that whole thing with Chuck completly so that the threat of Chuck wasn't hanging over the rest of the story. I also wanted to redeem Chuck a bit. I've written him kind of douchy but I do like to believe that if push came to shove Chuck would do the right thing and step aside like he did in S2 with Nate if that meant Blair was happy. Anyhoo, that's all. I hope you like it. Please review!