Disclaimer: 'Gossip Girl' belongs to Cecily von Ziegesar, Josh Schwartz, and the CW. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: So, as of 2x05, this story is officially AU.

When Lily returned to the dining room, her children had already left for school. She sat down with a sigh and picked up her glass of orange juice, taking a sip.

Minutes passed before Lily heard footsteps coming toward her. The kiss on her cheek brought her out of her empty thoughts.

Her husband was standing on her left, watching her.

When she faced him, he finally spoke: "I'll be in and out of the office all day. If you need me for anything, my cell will be with me." His tone had returned to normal, no longer tainted with anger.

"Alright," Lily replied, distantly. "Have a good day."

Bart nodded and leaned down to kiss her. Their lips touched, but both were somewhere else, lost in thought. He straightened up and walked away.

Lily spent the next thirty minutes checking her planner, making a phone call to a committee member about an upcoming event, and just sitting in the living room. She hadn't realized how dull her days were until she consciously thought about it. Usually she was constantly busy with multiple events, but she could not concentrate today. Something was wrong; she just could not identify what the problem was.

Bart's behavior earlier was uncharacteristic. Though Eric had joked once that Bart Bass only had one expression, it was not entirely far from the truth. He retained his business attitude most of the time. He never raised his voice. It always had a much more powerful affect on people. But today was different. For a moment, he lost control.

Did that mean he was aware of what Charles was up to?

That thought confused her even more. What were the Bass men hiding?

Lily picked up the hotel phone and called the front desk. The concierge was close to the men. Dexter would help.

"Mrs. Bass, how can I help you?" his voice greeted.

"Good morning, Dexter. I was just wondering…have you seen Charles leave for school this morning?"

There was a momentary pause. An awkward shift of air passed through the phone, she was sure. Because when the concierge spoke, Lily could tell that he was avoiding her real question.

"I'm sorry, Lily, but I haven't."

Pause.

"Is there anything else that I can help you with?" Dexter continued.

She was tempted to ask him what he was hiding, what he knew, but Lily was aware that Dexter would not give her an answer. He was too loyal to the Bass men.

She sighed. "No. Thank you, Dexter."

"Have a good day, Mrs. Bass."

As Lily continued to sit on the couch, she tried to come up with a suitable explanation for the weird vibe she was getting.

Charles was missing; Bart knew where; and Dexter was in on the secret.

She tried to remember if today held any significance, but nothing came to mind. This time last year hadn't been like this, had it?

Lily stood up and decided to check Bart's office. They were a family now. Last year, with Serena, had been an impromptu situation that lasted only a few hours. This was not the same. Bart knew what was going on and Charles did not return to his room.

His room.

The bedroom in the Palace Penthouse was not his only room.

Lily opened the office door and stood there, eyes roaming the room.

Where would the key be?

Bart had to have a spare. He wouldn't carry it with him, would he?

She walked over to the desk and sat in Bart's chair. Opening the top drawer on the right, all she found were files. Same with the bottom drawer. She was about to stand up and look elsewhere when she noticed the thin drawer in the center, right under the desktop.

Inside there were pens, pencils, highlighters, staples, post-its, paper clips, etc.

And there it was. A silver Palace Hotel room key. It had to be for Charles's suite.

Only one way to find out.

Lily grabbed the key and left the office, closing the door behind her.

She walked straight to the elevator, pressed the only button and waited.

She was getting impatient, and she had no idea why. But she knew something was not right, or at the very least that she was missing something.

Ding.

Lily entered the elevator before if fully opened and pressed the button for the 18th floor. And then the 'close door' button.

Since when did she become so impatient? Since she found her 14-year-old son bleeding to death a year ago. Moments like those – when her motherly instincts kicked in – always put her on edge and afraid for the worst.

The elevator slid open on the 18th floor and Lily walked out, strolling passed the rooms until she reached 1812.

She could knock. Then she'd know he was still alive. Although, she could have easily called the room, too. She forgot about that.

The past year and a half with her kids had been too much. Eric's suicide attempt to Georgina's re-entrance into Serena's life to Serena's wild attitude returning. Knocking did not work. Not if you wanted the truth.

The key easily slid into the lock and Lily turned the door handle. Click. The door opened and Lily took a couple steps inside. And gasped.

She had never seen anything like this. Even in her groupie days. Rock stars partied hard and messy. Upper East Side teens partied hard, but clean.

Lily wasn't sure where she was. It couldn't be the Palace Hotel. Because its rooms never looked like a tornado had shattered everything possible.

Standing fully inside 1812, Lily shut the door behind her and took in Chuck's suite.

The couch – the one Nate claimed – was overturned. Shot glasses and whiskey glasses were broken all over the floor. That was not the only broken glass. The mirror above the bar was in pieces. And bottles littered the suite.

Lily observed the main room. Most of the alcohol bottles were broken on the floor, but she did manage to pick up three that were still together. She placed them standing upright on the bar.

Then she went behind the bar. Nothing was there. No glasses. No bottles. Lily opened the mini-fridge. A bottle of water stood alone.

Sighing, she stood up and left the bar. Lily took in the mess and then her eyes caught the body on the bed in the bedroom.

She maneuvered her way around the glass and just stared on her stepson.

Chuck was laying on his stomach, clothed in jeans and a t-shirt, no shoes. Thankfully he was wearing socks. His hair was standing up. It looked like he had flopped face down and passed out.

Not good.

Lily entered and walked over to the side of the bed. She used all her strength to roll the 18-year-old male over onto his back.

She would have been more worried if she wasn't watching his chest rise and fall normally.

Lily took a seat on the bed and continued to stare, wondering what had caused this.

And did her husband know about this.

Yes, she immediately answered to herself. That's why Bart's reaction to her inquiry had been so harsh.

But was he aware of the extent of his son's behavior?

Again, yes, she thought. Dexter's pause. Someone had to clean this up, and naturally, Dexter would be informed, and so would Bart.

This meant that this was not the first time this happened.

Why?