*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

…

Ch.2—Team Chuck and Serena

She was smiling contently at the TV screen by the time the movie was over. Her head was on his shoulder and she had an afghan wrapped around her. It was late afternoon and the sun had begun to set.

"Well?" She tilted her head up to look at him. He was still staring straight ahead at the screen, watching the credits go by and studying them as if they had some secret answers they were daring him to figure out.

"Chuck?" She sat up, the knitted blanket slipping off her shoulder. He lifted his hand to point doubtfully at the TV.

"That would never be successful in real life."

She rolled her eyes and reached for the bowl of popcorn on the low table in front of the couch. She frowned when she realized it was empty and set it back down, pulling the blanket back up around her as she sunk into the couch.

"It's a movie, Chuck."

"I know, but…"

She turned to look at him, amused and curious as to what his excuse might be.

He finally sighed, giving up and picked up the remote to turn the TV off.

"Well, at least Jennifer was hot."

Serena rolled her eyes again and picked up the empty popcorn bowl. She stood to her feet and wrapped the afghan around her frame as she crossed the room to the kitchen and dumped the bowl into the sink.

She turned back to look at him and she was startled to see how serious he looked.

"Thanks for the movie, Chuck." Her smile was somewhat forced.

"You know," he stood to his feet and started walking towards her, "you don't have to go back so soon."

Her brows furrowed. "You want to watch another movie?"

He almost laughed. "Hardly."

"Then?"

"Look, I know how hard it is for me to even think about Dan and Blair together, but I can't imagine trying to sleep in the same house they're in."

"He doesn't stay over," she said. "Most of the time," she murmured.

"Stay here," he said.

"Chuck, I don't know…"

"Or I can get you a suite here."

She sighed.

"Come on, it's the least I can do."

"You don't owe me anything, Chuck. I already made you sit through a cheesy '80s movie about time travel with me. That's enough for now, I think." She forced a laugh.

"Don't pretend you don't feel it," he said, now only feet away. Her brows furrowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Serena, I went back to my therapist today because I'm so sunk into depression that I want to hurt myself."

His intense gaze pierced her soul. An overwhelming amount of guilt and compassion poured out of her.

"Oh my god, Chuck." She started walking towards him to console him but he held up his hand to stop her.

"Don't…worry about me," he said firmly, almost annoyed that she was concerned. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm just desperate." He sighed. "So just…don't pretend you're not affected by them being together. It's your best friend and your ex for crying out loud. And it's not like you don't have feelings for him too."

"Yes, I know," she ground out. "And I wasn't. I just…I don't need other people to feel responsible for. I can hardly be responsible for myself." She sighed.

He came to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"So let me be responsible for awhile. Let me take care of you."

She couldn't look at him.

"Hey." He tilted her chin up so she was forced to look into his eyes. "I need this too. I need someone to take care of. I'm…" He released her. "I'm lonely. I can't live in isolation."

She nodded slowly as she looked at him sadly.

"I hardly see my best friend anymore," she admitted. "And…when I do, it's awkward, because I know she wants to talk about Dan but feels guilty about it." She moved back into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. "It's like I've lost her." She turned to look at Chuck when he sat next to her. He sighed and silently nodded. "You know?"

"Oh yeah."

She contemplated his stoic expression for a long time before speaking again.

"Okay."

He turned to her. "What?"

"I'll stay." She sighed. "I'm lonely too."

They shared a small smile and he pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. They sat in silence for awhile.

"You feel like a real brother to me right now. My protective older brother," she joked, though the serious undertone was obvious. She still remembered how he'd looked in the elevator when he thought Blair might be deliberately bringing Dan over without taking her feelings into consideration.

He smirked. "Except I'm younger than you."

"Nobody hears about a protective younger brother."

"Probably because it doesn't sound as intimidating."

"Probably."

They were silent again.

"It shouldn't feel like the end of the world, but…"

"It does."

"It really does," she sighed. "Why is that?" She played with a button on his shirt, not really expecting a legitimate answer from him.

"Because they're the loves of our lives," he said.

Her hand stilled and she nodded against his chest.

"Yeah…"

They sound of the elevator doors opening caused both of them to turn their heads. Serena sat up and watched as Nate walked into the suite. He stopped when he saw her there, an afghan wrapped around her as she cuddled up to Chuck.

"Hey Serena… what are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out—"

"Where's Lola?"

Serena forced a smile as she waited expectantly for Nate to answer her question. Chuck had to stop covering up for her.

"Uh…" Nate still looked confused. "I dropped her off at her dorm. She said she wanted to be alone tonight."

"Tired her out already?"

"No. We've been spending a lot of time together. Everyone needs their alone time." He slid out of his jacket.

Serena turned around and sighed, sinking into the couch again.

"I've had too much of it," she muttered under her breath. Chuck looked at Serena and then at Nate. He stood to his feet and walked towards his best friend who was now rummaging through the fridge.

"Hey, Serena's gonna stay here tonight," he said.

Nate popped his head out from inside the fridge. "What? Why?" he asked, both concerned and confused. Chuck looked at him like he should just know, and at that moment Nate felt like maybe he should, but he also felt justified in not knowing. Sometimes Chuck could be complicated.

"I really have to tell you? Dan's with Blair at her place and…"

"Ah. Got it. So, you're kicking me out?"

"What? No. You live here. Just thought I'd give you a head's up."

Nate looked over his best friend's shoulder to Serena sitting on the couch.

"Nah, I think I'll go check out Lola's dorm. Maybe I'll come in late or something if they kick me out. "

"Wait. Nate, no, come on—"

"I'm not offended, Chuck. You guys need each other. I don't mind staying out of the way." He grabbed his jacket and nodded his goodbye as he went back into the elevator.

Chuck sighed.

Serena turned to look at him.

"You scared him away," she stated.

"It was not my intention," he said, walking back towards the couch.

She said nothing, just snuggled up to him when he sat back down.

…...

"Miss Serena," Dorota said, coming to meet her as she stepped out of the elevator back into the penthouse. She'd tried to avoid coming back as long as she could, but staying away longer than necessary would look suspicious.

She heard the clash of silverware on dishes and quiet chatter and knew she and Dorota were not the only ones in the surrounding rooms.

"Dan's still here?" she asked, trying to hide her exasperation and disbelief. It was three in the afternoon. Had they really been going at it this whole time?

"N-No," Dorota quickly said, anxious. "Mr. Dan left last night after dinner. He came back for breakfast this morning."

"It's three p.m.," she deadpanned.

"S!" Blair interrupted, coming into the foyer to hug her best friend. Then she pulled her into the dining room where Dan was sitting, half-finished with his small plate of snack food. Serena forced a smile.

"Where were you?" she continued cheerily, forcing her to sit down at the table. She carefully avoided Dan's awkward gaze. "Well?" Blair egged her on, sitting across from her at the table.

She didn't know which was worse, trying to get through a painful conversation for the sake of avoiding hurt feelings or pretending like everything was okay when it wasn't. Blair's over-the-top cheeriness was no coincidence.

"I…" she laughed. "I was with Chuck."

Blair froze with a grape halfway to her mouth. Serena saw a thousand thoughts race past her best friend's eyes, but the all-important was the one that came out.

"How is he?" she asked delicately.

"He's fine," Serena said quickly. She knew this would probably an ideal time for them to get into an actual conversation on how her relationship with Dan was affecting all of them, but not with Dan in the room. He would defend Blair and she would not be able to take it.

She was about to ask Blair how she was doing and what she had been up to, but she was pretty sure 99% of what she could come up with was accurate. So, she didn't.

"I was thinking…S…"

Serena raised her head to look at her attempt to make conversation.

"Maybe we could do some shopping today," she offered hopefully. "We haven't really…hung out in awhile."

Serena glanced at Dan briefly who briefly looked at the two and then looked down. She turned her head back to Blair who was waiting expectantly for her answer.

"I…uh…I don't think that'd be such a good idea, B." She started to stand up.

Blair frowned. "Why not?" she demanded.

"Well, for starters I just got home."

"We don't have to do it right now," she insisted.

Serena sighed. "I'm tired, B."

Her best friend's sad face tugged at her heartstrings a little, but she couldn't stand to be in the same room with them and deal with this situation, not with the atmosphere that surrounded them now. It made her sick to her stomach and it drained her spirit.

She got to her feet and left the room, avoiding Dorota's concerned stare as she started to climb the stairs. She heard what she was sure Dan consoling Blair in the dining room and it made her feel even sicker. She felt beads of sweat popping out on her forehead and she wanted to scream.

She closed the door behind her when she finally got inside her bedroom and exhaled a sigh of relief, blowing up a few strands of the blonde hair lying along the sides of her face. She slipped out of her shoes and landed back on her bed, just lying there for the longest time and waiting for the sound of the elevator to tell her that Dan had left, or maybe that both of them had. She honestly wanted both of them to be gone.

It wasn't that she liked the fact that her best friend had basically disappeared from her life, but she didn't even feel like she was the same person anymore, and she was running around with Dan. She felt like she was living with this stranger, and most of the time it took too much effort to try and change that. This hadn't been the first time Blair had attempted a shopping trip. Serena's mistake before was actually taking her up on it and then being caught in mostly awkward silence because Blair was trying to avoid talking about Dan.

She pulled the laptop to her from the other side of the bed. She'd been in such a hurry to leave the day before, and she hadn't expected to be spending the night elsewhere, that she hadn't turned it off. The same screen that had been on before was staring at her now, glowing with a brightness she was sure was extraterrestrial. Maybe she really was just tired and needed a nap. Despite being wrapped up warm in Nate's bed, she hadn't been able to sleep really deeply since Chuck woke her up in the middle of the night when she was lightly snoring on his lap in the living room. It was sweet how he wanted her to be more comfortable, but ever since he'd insisted on her spending the night, every moment away from him made her feel cold and alone, and unloved. She couldn't believe it. It was like she was a small child who cried like a madwoman when her mother left her alone at daycare for the first time.

She shook herself of the reverie her thoughts had sucked her into and exited the tab that stared at her on the computer screen. An advertisement popped up – the same from the night before for Back to the Future. She sighed, remembering her night with Chuck again. She wished she had taken his advice to stay away longer, but she knew that wouldn't solve anything. Not that she was doing anything to improve her relationship with Blair now, but at least she was in the same vicinity, for the time being.

She closed the advertisement, but her mind lingered on it. Oddly curious, she clicked on a new tab and went to Google, typing in the name of the movie. After a long list of sites to purchase Back to the Future and various reviews on it, links started popping up for other fictional movies and books on time-travel. After those, websites started appearing for real time-travel. She laughed lightly at the thought that people were actually attempting this, but in her gut she wanted it to be true, successful. She wished it was true. Because if it was then…

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. She sat up on the bed.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"It's me," Blair said quietly.

Serena braced herself and swallowed, preparing for the encounter. She must have missed the sound of the elevator when Dan left.

"Come in."

Slowly the door opened. Blair's head poked out from behind it and then slid into the room, closing the door behind her. Serena just watched her, completely stoic. She was doubtful of anything positive that could possibly come of this. She already wanted it to be over.

"We need to talk, don't we?" she asked softly.

So this was it. They were finally going to have the talk. From her actions, Serena figured that Blair already considered the talk had happened the night her grandmother died at the hospital. She'd told her she wouldn't interfere with whatever ended up happening with she and Dan, and she hadn't. Blair was already trying to be careful not to hurt her since then, so she figured it was over.

Apparently it had come to Blair's attention that things were not right between them.

"We don't have to," she said.

"S…" Blair whined, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it. She took Serena's hand and held it in her own. "I don't want to hurt you." She sighed.

"Yeah, you've made that clear." She took her hand back and skimmed the names of the sites she'd been glancing over.

"Tell me how to fix this," she pleaded. "Do you want me to break up with him?"

Serena lifted her eyes to Blair's. Yes. A thousand times yes.

"No," she said simply, looking back down at her computer. "I want you to be happy, B."

"I'm not happy if you're not," she insisted, almost sounding like she was about to cry. "Please."

Serena closed her laptop and set it off to the side. She sighed, tired of the conversation already.

"B, even if you broke up with him, it wouldn't be because your feelings went away. It would be because you don't want me to be hurting, and I'd feel responsible."

"But—"

"There's nothing you can do. I told you it wouldn't be easy for me, and you still went for it."

Blair's lips parted to say something, but Serena cut her off.

"And that's fine," she assured her.

Blair pursed her lips tightly and held her tongue. Serena went back to her laptop.

"Just don't expect me to be jumping for joy. I'm still in love with him, remember?"

She nodded slowly.

"Well, do you at least want to…"

"No."

Her brows furrowed. "What? We can't even hang out now? Because I'm with Dan?"

Serena blew out a puff of air and sat up, pushing the laptop to the side yet again.

"It's not because you're with him, Blair. It's because we have nothing to talk about when we're together anymore."

"That's not true…"

"I'm not blind, Blair. I know you want to talk about Dan when we're together. You're in love with him…the relationship is so fresh and brand new. You want someone to gush about it with, and I…I'm just not someone you can do that with."

Her face fell.

"Not yet at least," she amended.

Blair was silent for awhile. Finally, Serena straightened and scooted to the edge of the bed.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

She sighed as she stood to her feet. She looked down at Blair's pleading doe eyes.

"I think I'm going to go see Chuck again."

Her brows furrowed. "Why?"

"Because he's hurting too. He gets how I'm feeling. And besides, Nate's always busy with Lola." She grabbed her purse and slipped the strap over her shoulder. Blair was about to say something , but she found herself totally and completely speechless. Serena looked at her once more before leaving.

"You know, I appreciate how much you're trying to keep me from hurting, but it's not fair to Chuck that you don't even think twice about how he's feeling. Just because you're in love with Dan now doesn't mean you can dismiss how much Chuck is still in love with you. He's fought for you every second since the accident and when he finally thought he could have you again, you'd fallen for someone else right under his nose."

She snapped to her feet, now glaring at her best friend. "It's not like I did it on purpose," she spat. "And besides, I'm not the only one trying to avoid confrontation here. He's doing it too."

Serena looked at her incredulously and shook her head. "Right. Well, I'm gonna go now. Maybe I'll be back later." She waved her off and shut the door behind her.

Frustrated, Blair fought the urge to the scream and then just sat back down on the bed, digging her fingernails into the comforter.

…

Chuck hadn't answered. She'd called him several times on the way over before she finally admitted defeat. He had probably turned his phone off.

If she had been smart, she would have just gone somewhere else, maybe done some shopping on her own.

But no, she'd told herself she needed to check on Chuck, make sure he wasn't giving in to his dark thoughts even though he'd promised her he wouldn't, and after he'd insisted on letting him take care of her. Worst case scenario, she thought, would be running into Nate and Lola again and forcing some sort of I'm not really a spoiled, rich kid front in order to convince her newly-met cousin she was worth her time. With her energy decreasing less and less with each passing day, she knew she wouldn't be up to that type of challenge any time soon.

And she wasn't.

It was another thing entirely.

One that she was even less prepared for.

She shouldn't have been.

But she was.

"Serena."

She forced a smile at the sight of Dan's confused face as he turned to look at her.

"I won," Nate announced beside him, clearly unaware of the blonde's entry. "Again." He smiled smugly at the Congratulations displayed on the Wii game screen. Dan nudged him roughly. "Wha—" He turned to where Dan was looking. "Oh."

Serena nearly rolled her eyes. What a greeting.

Nate set down the controller and walked around the couch towards her.

"Chuck's not here," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Chuck?" Dan asked, confused, setting his controller now down too.

"Yeah." Nate briefly turned back to him. "The two of them hung out yesterday. She spent the night," he brushed it off casually.

Dan looked like he was holding in his anger by a mere inch and Serena wanted to know what the hell for. It wasn't like she and Chuck were anything even close to a booty call, let alone a romantic relationship. Besides, he was the one traipsing around with her best friend as if it wouldn't bother anyone.

"He's not here." Nate turned back to Serena, oblivious to the very loose top clattering above Dan's head.

She nodded once. "Alright, well, do you know where I could find him?"

Nate was about to say something when Dan cut in. "He just left."

Both their brows furrowed as they turned to look at Dan. "What?"

Dan very carefully stood to his feet and attempted to maintain comfort.

"He and I may have shared a few words…"

"Oh god." She rolled her eyes and turned for the elevator.

"Wait-" Nate reached out to her than shot fiery eye-darts at Dan. "What did you say?"

Dan had apparently been rendered speechless.

"You know, it's fine." She forced herself to remain cordial and understanding until the elevator doors closed behind her. "I think I know where I can find him."

Nate shot fiery eye-darts at Dan for ten more minutes before Dan's unusually long time in the bathroom made him cool his anger. They ordered pizza an hour later.

…

"Another."

Serena smiled sadly as Chuck signaled for the bartender to bring him another drink. She walked over to him and slid onto the barstool beside him. He spared her a side-glance.

"Hey."

He nodded once and exhaled loudly in what probably should have been extreme satisfaction after he'd greedily consumed half of his refilled drink.

She watched him worriedly.

"How'd you find me?" he asked.

She shrugged. "There are only a few bars you regularly visit. This one was the most likely."

"What was the tip off?"

She was silent for a second. "It's the last place Blair went before you brushed her off and she almost ran away to France our junior year."

That got his attention. He turned to her.

"She told you?"

She nodded.

He sighed again and sipped his drink.

"Best friends tell each other everything."

He laughed. "The irony of that is Nate should have told me Dan was going to be over after I came back from our lunch. It's almost like…he's punishing me for spending time with you."

Serena's brows furrowed. "I think you're overanalyzing this."

"Am I?"

She hesitated, but assured him. "Yes."

"It couldn't have been a coincidence that he left last night and didn't bother to come back until this morning after we'd both left."

"It could've been," she said. "It's actually very likely."

"Did Blair try to talk to you about Dan today?"

Her jaw dropped and Chuck nodded.

"I'm guessing such an attempt was also meant to happen when Humphrey was suddenly in my living room when I came back today."

"You think Nate's trying to play mediator?"

He shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me. As oblivious as he may be at times, he knows when his friends aren't exactly okay with each other. For what his nameless flings may bring him, it's not what we can – us, you know, family, friends…" he trailed off.

Serena contemplated that. "You have to admire his attempts," she offered.

He laughed and then shook his head. "Not today I don't," he said.

She was silent for awhile and finally signaled the bartender to bring her something.

"How long have you been here?" she asked Chuck.

"An hour." He took another long drink from his scotch glass and finished it. Before Serena could stop him, he signaled the bartender for another. "Give or take."

Two hours later they were completely drunk off their asses, Chuck more so since he'd started earlier. Five hours later it was getting crowded and they were saying things that made no sense whatsoever. An hour after that they were asked to leave.

"I'd like to say this has never happened to me before, but I think I'd be lying," Serena whispered, giggling.

"This is where Blair and I first had sex," he announced for the fifth time since they'd climbed into the limo. And, as every time before, Serena burst into laughter.

"You know what we need?"

"Scotch!" he declared.

"No!" she insisted, very serious – and very loud. "A time machine!"

"Yes! Like Mikey!"

"But not a car." She shook her head, apparently depressed by that possibility.

"Unless…"

She turned her eyes to him, intrigued.

"We could turn this car into a time machine," he said proudly, beaming from ear to ear.

"A limo time machine?" she asked, baffled.

"Yeah," he said, thrilled now.

"Wait." She held out her hand like a stop sign and instantly he silenced himself. He held his breath then, as if awaiting a great surprise.

"What?" he finally whispered, unable to take the suspense a moment longer.

"When would we go back to?" she burst into giggles again.

He laughed with her.

"I have no idea."

She laughed for awhile with him and then clutched his hand desperately.

"Chuck, this is serious."

He returned the serious stare.

"We could change so many things!"

"Like what?" he whispered, enraptured.

"Well…" She looked puzzled for a moment. "Oh! You could stop yourself from selling Blair in exchange for the hotel!"

He frowned. "But where would I live then?"

She clutched his shoulders and looked into his eyes fiercely. "Chuck. It's Blair."

A shiver ran through him, despite being incredibly drunk. He nodded and swallowed. Then his face suddenly lit up.

"Then she would have never met Louis!" he said, excited, overwhelmed and relieved all in one instant.

"And then she and Dan would never be together!" she squealed, then sighed contently. "So much could be fixed." Chuck nodded solemnly. "You two could be married."

His heart beat faster.

"You'd still have to reform yourself though. Blair deserves better than you two years ago."

He nodded.

"And me…" She turned her head to look out the window, her face becoming plastered to the glass. "I could not screw up with Georgina."

Chuck nodded slowly, clearly starting to doze off as his own face plastered itself against the back of the leather seat.

"No secrets…" he yawned. "Tell him right away."

"I was so scared then…"

"But now you know better." He attempted to pat her shoulder in encouragement, but ended up hitting the seat instead again.

"Be hard to convince my younger self of that though…"

He was almost snoozing.

"You'd probably have to get a haircut to appear convincing. Sixteen-year-old you would never cut your hair like you do now."

He frowned, offended, but he couldn't open his mouth to protest. Almost every part of him had decided to go to sleep. Serena yawned.

"See. If only we had a time machine…"

Chuck made some sort of moaning sound.

"Oh Mikey…" she yawned again.

"I'm Chuck Bass," Chuck managed, his voice hardly distinguishable.

Then, they were dead to the world, only waking up once when Arthur screeched suddenly to a halt when an unexpected pedestrian started crossing the street before the light turned red. Chuck and Serena wailed and cursed for a few brief moments before falling back asleep.

…

A/N: Please review. The actual time travel will probably happen in the next chapter or the chapter after it. =)