AN: I own nothing except the story line and the characters not seen in the show!

Thanks for all of the reviews, they really meant a lot to me!!


Chapter 4

"Ah, I was wondering when I would be getting a call from you." Blair said in her fakest sweet voice imaginable.

Chuck knew her too well to think that she was really pleased. He pitied the person on the other end of the phone.

"I must give you credit, though, I expected to get a call last night. Five days is your normal rule of thumb, isn't it?" She asked in her sugar-coated voice. However, her face seemed to be getting tenser with each word.

She listened silently for about a minute, rolling her eyes constantly. Her hands clenched and she dropped her spoon. And then, without warning, she was screaming in rapid French, clearly forgetting that she was not in the privacy of her own home.

Realization finally dawned on Chuck, it was her ex-fiancée, Peter something or other. He didn't know and he honestly didn't care. He did, however, feel bad for the guy, as he had probably gone partially deaf by now. Blair was yelling pretty loudly and had startled Ryan in the process.

Chuck put a hand on Ryan's shoulder to comfort him, shooting Blair worried looks.

Finally, Blair slammed her phone shut and in an angry rage threw it at a tree where it broke apart.

"Sorry about that." Blair said and resumed eating her ice cream.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Chuck asked cautiously.

"Not really, no." Blair responded with a tone of finality.

"Okay." Chuck said, not sure of what to do next.

"Ryan." Blair began calmly.

"What?" Ryan asked nervously.

"I need you to promise me something. Can you do that for me?" He nodded vigorously. "I need you to promise me that when you're older and you meet a girl that you like, you're going to treat her right. I want you to treat her the way Daddy treats Mommy. Can you promise me that?" Blair asked.

"I promise." Ryan declared.

"And no matter what happens, you will never ever cheat on her, okay?" Blair continued.

"I won't." Ryan promised.

"Blair." Chuck said kindly.

"It's fine." She said. "I'm fine. I'm used to it by now." She said and laughed bitterly.

"I'm sorry." Chuck said lamely.

"It's not your fault, but thank you." Blair said and they finished eating in quiet.


Blair slowly opened her hotel room door and felt a chill run down her spine as she heard the TV on. She knew that she hadn't left it on, her anal-retentiveness wouldn't allow for such an act. She silently crept into the room and grabbed a large umbrella she had laying around, ready to attack the intruder.

Running quickly around the corner to her bed, she stopped short.

"Blair, what the hell?" Nate asked in a shocked voice.

"Jesus, you gave me a heart attack." Blair sighed in relief. "I thought you were a burglar or rapist or something." Blair continued and put down her umbrella.

"Sorry. I tried calling your cell but you wouldn't pick up." Nate explained as he turned off the TV to give Blair his full attention.

"Yeah, it broke." She said not caring to relay the details of her tantrum to him.

"Oh. Sorry for barging in on you like this, I just wanted to talk to you and I got a key from the front desk." Nate hasted to further explain his presence, not wanting to seem like a crazy stalker.

"Don't worry about it." Blair said warily and sat on a chair to pull off her boots.

"Are you okay, you seem really stressed?" Nate asked in concern.

"I'm fine, what did you want to talk about?" Blair asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

Nate blushed slightly, feeling nervous for the first time all day. He had planned this in his head perfectly and rehearsed it about ten times, but seeing Blair looking so beautiful took his breath away. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and smiled that irresistible smile of his.

"Umm, I was wondering if you don't have any other plans tonight, if maybe, you would be interested in getting some dinner with me." He rushed anxiously.

"I'd love to." Blair said with a smile. Nate's face lit up at this news.

"Okay, good. Great. I'll pick you up at eight?" Nate said.

"Sounds good." Blair said, happy to have something to take her mind off of her recent phone call with her ex-fiancée.

Nate quickly left Blair to get ready for their dinner plans.


"What did you do today, sweetie?" Serena asked as she helped herself to some French fries.

"Me?" Dan asked sarcastically.

"No, I already know what you did today." Serena said with a knowing look. Dan grinned.

The two lovebirds had taken advantage of the fact that Ryan was out with Chuck and spent the whole day in bed together.

"Aunt Blair and Uncle Chuck took me to the park and then we played Frisbee and then we ate lots of ice cream. And then, Aunt Blair threw her phone at a tree and it broke." Ryan said as he munched on his chicken nuggets.

True, they lived at the Palace and could order basically anything that they wanted to eat, but the Humphreys preferred simple food. So tonight, dinner consisted of chicken nuggets and French fries, prepared by a real French chef.

"Sounds like the making of an infamous Waldorf temper tantrum." Serena said to her husband.

"Indeed." He responded with a smirk. "Too bad we missed it, they are ever so amusing."

"Dan!" Serena exclaimed, slapping his arm. "She's my best friend."

"What? I though I was." Dan said, feigning hurt feelings.

"Sorry, you're just my husband." Serena retorted with a grin.

"I'm not going to lie, that hurts." Dan said with a smile matching his wife's.

"What about me, Mommy?" Ryan questioned.

"What about you? You are my favorite son." Serena said and rumpled his hair.

"I'm your only son." Ryan explained to Serena, as if she didn't know that.

"This one is too smart for his own good." Dan said. Serena chuckled.

"Tell me about it." She said and gave her son an adoring glance.

"Aunt Blair said I'm a genius." Ryan said excitedly.

"Well you know what they say, like father, like son." Dan said proudly.

"So true." Serena laughed. "With Daddy's brains and my good looks, you'll rule the world." Serena said to Ryan.

"Really?" He asked his face lit up with joy.

"Absolutely!" Serena answered. Dan rolled his eyes at his wife. Serena ignored him and patted Ryan on his head.

Dinner was soon followed by dessert and then movies. They all cuddled on the large sofa in the living room, watching Harry Potter on their plasma TV.

Eventually, Ryan fell asleep and Dan carried him to his room. He then joined Serena in bed, where they fell asleep almost instantly, both exhausted from the day's activities.


A limo was waiting for her as she walked out of the Palace, Nate leaning against it. He looked terrific in a black Armani suit and light blue shirt. He wasn't wearing a tie, but if anything, this only added to his effortless sex appeal. His hair was messy and swept to the side and Blair felt her breath hitch in her throat as she looked at him. Even after all this time, he was still as gorgeous as ever.

She sauntered over to him in what she hoped was classic Audrey fashion. She wore a simple little black dress, black pumps, and an incredible diamond necklace. She was sophisticated chic, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"Hi." She said, trying to calm her nerves.

"Hey." He responded and kissed her cheek. She felt herself blush.

He pulled a magnificent bouquet of flowers from behind his back. It was made up of all different types of flowers, but they were all pink. She smiled at him and he felt himself smile back.

"Thank you, they're beautiful." She said breathily.

"They're nothing compared to you." He said, and opened the limo door.


"Do you even love me anymore?" Joanna asked as tears filled her eyes.

"What kind of a question is that?" Chuck demanded, wiping away the tears staining her cheeks.

"Well what am I supposed to think, Chuck?" She said angrily, flinching away from his touch.

"All of a sudden this old girlfriend walks back into your life and you're spending the entire fucking day with her! When was the last time we spent the whole day together?" Joanna continued, and a fresh wave of sobs followed.

"Jo, it's not like that. We were just catching up. And maybe you and I haven't spent the whole day together because you're a workaholic." Chuck said, getting a little angry himself at his fiancée's accusations.

"Please. Don't even go there. Every time I ask you to spend the weekend at Atlantic City or go to a play or do something for a day you make excuses. And then she comes waltzing back into your life and suddenly you have all the time in the world!" Joanna shouted, a little too loudly.

"Alright. That is enough!" Chuck said his voice barely audible. "I said there wasn't anything going on and there's not. Now control yourself or leave, you're making a scene."

Joanna quickly stood up, grabbed her coat and purse, and stormed out of the restaurant. Chuck sat back in his seat, sighed, and downed his scotch.


"I can't believe you remembered." Blair muttered as the host pulled out her chair.

"C'mon, give me a little more credit than that." Nate responded as he sat down, a smile crossing his lips.

"It's not that." Blair giggled. "It's just, it was so long ago."

"How could I forget where we had our first real date?" Nate asked, still grinning.

"Well, I must admit, I am impressed." Blair said and gave a small smile of her own.

Just then, a waiter walked over with a bottle of Dom Pérignon. He opened it slowly, holding a napkin over the cork, and then poured both Nate and Blair a flute full of the delicious champagne.

"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of ordering some things." Nate said with a wink.

"Are you really Nate Archibald?" Blair asked incredulously. Nate chuckled.

"Afraid so." He said.

He held up his glass and Blair copied him, still smiling.

"Here's to the beautiful woman that is sitting across from me and two old friends reconnecting." Nate said. Blair flushed. They clinked glasses and both took a sip.

A second waiter walked over with two small plates, each holding a raw oyster. Blair just looked at Nate and shook her head, amazed that this was the same boy from her youth.

By the time the third course rolled around, Nate and Blair had caught up on almost everything that had happened since high school. She regaled him with tales of her failed engagements and he, in turn, spoke about his numerous disastrous relationships.

Dessert was chocolate dipped strawberries. Blair was shocked that Nate had actually taken the time to order everything in advance and more surprised that he remembered her favorite foods.

"So, I heard about your date with Chuck." Nate began after taking a bite of a strawberry.

"Jealous?" Blair taunted and took a bite of her own fruit, savoring the taste.

Nate watched her eat it, mesmerized by her beauty. He tried to remember why he had ever looked at Serena when he had Blair all to himself. He chalked it up to hormones and the-grass-is-greener complex.

"Should I be?" Nate teased back.

"Of course you should. After all, I'm the one that got away." She said, and then recoiled.

There was an awkward silence and Blair regretted ever saying it.

"Blair." Nate finally breathed.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Blair said as her face turned red.

"Why not? It's the truth." Nate said almost remorsefully.

Blair quickly changed the subject after that and the rest of the meal went on quite pleasantly. Neither would acknowledge the significance of what had been said although both were interested in what the other was thinking.

After dinner and dessert, Nate took Blair back to the Palace and walked her to her door.

"I had a really nice time tonight." Blair said softly to Nate.

"Me too." He said, gazing deep into her eyes.

"It was really fun to, you know, catch up." She continued, wondering if he was planning to kiss her.

"Definitely." He agreed.

Nate leaned in for a kiss, but then thought better of it. He didn't want to come on too strong and scare her away so instead he hugged her and said goodnight.

Blair stood in the hallway minutes after Nate had left, wondering what had happened. She shook her head, walked to the elevator, and pressed the button for Serena's suite.

She pounded on the door, forgetting the late hour. Finally, a sleepy Serena opened the door and Blair pushed her way in.

"I don't even know where to begin." Blair said, as she sat down on the living room couch.