She didn't know what to do; should she go and hug him? Should she tell him that she wasn't proud of her decisions and wanted him to know how much he had meant to her- Or should she just stay there and give him his space. It was very unlikely for him to even want to be close to her right now.

So Jenny decided to play safe and just smiled back awkwardly as a hello. She didn't move from her spot, but stumped the cigarette she had been smoking. They were both slowly remembering everything that had happened between them, what felt like years ago.

"So, how have you been?" He hesitated to ask.

"Good." Jenny nodded, giving him a short and simple answer. She had hoped her voice would sound as normal as possible, "You?"

Nate nodded right back at her, "Good."

The tension didn't vanish between them, but she had absolutely no problem with facing him squarely, "I'm guessing you already know what's going on."

"I've heard some rumors." He said sharply.

"Of course you have." She whispered bitterly, her eyes moving from his, "Privacy was never really something Upper East Siders respected."

He continued, quietly relentless, "It's true then… You and Chuck have a kid?"

Jenny hadn't realized how hard it was just to nod her head or even say yes to the obvious question. With a heavy heart she finally managed to mumble out, "He is seven months."

"You've told him?" Nate seemed genuinely interested, but still held a sad gaze.

"Yeah…" She nodded quickly, "I was supposed to leave today, but Chuck being himself- he just had to get the lawyers involved with this."

The blonde laughed awkwardly, not finding it easy to talk about Chuck with him.

He looked at her distracted with the thoughts in his mind, "I'm sorry about that."

"Nate …" She started a sentence, but stopped. With that one word she awaked a whirlwind of feelings in him. He had felt so betrayed by both of them the day he learned the truth from Blair and it was hard to comprehend that they were actually having a talk about this like nothing big had happened, "Saying sorry is a bit too late now, but I'm still sorry… for everything."

The confused guy took a deep breath and tried again to calm his emotions and push away the thought of what had happened between Jenny and Chuck. But that wasn't so easy. Although he hadn't thought about her as much as he used to, after their quiet and yet so painful separation, to put her completely out of his mind once and for all still wasn't possible – there simply hadn't been enough time that had passed. How could she do it? How was it possible for her to, lie to all of them for so long without feeling any guilt? He didn't understand her and wasn't sure if he even wanted to understand at this point.

"I honestly don't know what to say." It came quietly over his lips and the unpleasant pressure in his chest, which occurred every time he thought about the whole scenario.

"You don't need to say anything," Jenny's chest heaved and fell under the deep breath she took. Then she squared her shoulders, seemed to strive to regain her composure, "I just wanted you to know-"

"Well you can't say that you wanted me to know when it was me who came to you. Like you said if it was up to you- you would have left already."

"I am sorry Nate and I know my words probably mean nothing to you, but I won't apologize for protecting my son," She said, lifting her head proudly, "I won't beg for your forgiveness or anybody else's because I made all these decisions for him. I don't want this," She motioned the air between them, "I don't want this drama in my life."

He let out a slightly angry huff, "What did you expect to get?" he paused, "What did you think would happen when you had sex with Chuck?"

"Not this for sure," Jenny began calmly, but in reality her whole body was rigid down to her fingers, "It still hurts me to think about… everything, but when I see him.." She lowered her gaze and had to swallow to be able to speak, "When I see Charlie I don't see a mistake. I would never say that he is a mistake like most people do because what happened that night changed my life. It might have been with Chuck, but without him I wouldn't have Charlie and I don't know where I would be. As much as it hurts to say, but I won't regret that night anymore. I've been able to move on from this and I hope everyone else can do the same and respect us by leaving us alone."

Nate looked at the younger girl for a long time then nodded. His anger was gone for the moment. Instead, a sense of deep concern spread within him.

She breathed in deeply, trying to concentrate on finding the right words – the words that hopefully wouldn't upset him even more, "I have to get back inside," She glanced at her watch, "I have to feed him and I'm pretty sure dad and Dan are waiting for me." The girl avoided his gaze again and nodded her head, sad and disappointed as she took off.

"You should quit now when you can!" He yelled after her.

Her head flung around to him and she looked confused.

"The smoking," He pointed at the cigarette she had dropped earlier, "It's not good for you."

Jenny smiled, gratefully taking on his attempt to lighten the mood. She grinned and those cute little wrinkles he had not seen in a while appeared once again across her nose. He watched her go inside and sighed as reality hit him.

"Did you talk to your mother?"

Jenny was still in her own world as she sat in the living room with Charlie. He was in her arms again and eating from the bottle she was holding. Her mind was stuck on the moment earlier she had shared with Nate.

She knew lots of things had stayed unsaid and maybe one day they could talk things through, but right now she knew concentrating on what was important was more important.

She looked back up at her dad, "Yeah I just called her," She yawned, tired again, "She already left. Hour or so and she is back in Hudson."

Rufus shook his head disapprovingly, "I don't understand what's going on in that woman's head again."

"Dad," Jenny threw him a sharp look, but otherwise ignored him as her eyes were settled on the little boy, "You guys weren't exactly welcoming and I get that she is tired of this town. If I was her I would have probably taken off too. Besides she has her job."

"Still- work is just work," His jaw clenched, "Everything going on with this lawsuit and you being here alone without her support when you clearly need her is not right."

She smiled sadly for a moment and huffed out a little contented sigh while burying her face against Charlie's little head, "I have you guys don't I?"

"Of course you do." Rufus gave a wide smile, but it soon faded, "Jenny, are you okay? You want to talk about what happened earlier?"

"I talked with Chuck," The girl whispered, her voice raspy and quiet, but strong, "Soon as the test comes back positive he will officially sign his rights away; meaning that he does not have any rights whatsoever and on paper I'm finally a single mom. Charlie won't have to deal with him and that's what's important."

Her dad frowned, struggling with the dangerous mixture of growing unease and anger in his heart, "I'm just worried about how can you manage to take care of yourself and him at the same time," He tried to prove his point carefully and Jenny tried valiantly to smile at him as she kept her attention on Charlie, "I want you to finish school and accomplish all the things you wanted to accomplish. I mean in Hudson you only have your mom, but your whole family is here- so it's going to be tough."

"Dad, I've been doing this for a while now," Jenny gave back in frustration, "I have all my credits from school. I just need to read up and do a couple of tests and I'm done. Obviously when I'm at school someone is babysitting him. Usually it's either our neighbor Lucy or mom if she is not working."

"Sounds like you have this all figured out."

She planted a kiss on the baby's cheek who was finally done eating. His chubby fingers reached out to pull her long blonde hair and Jenny winced, "Charlie don't pull mama's hair," A soft chuckle escaped her lips, "I just hope nothing else will go wrong."

Rufus stared at the close mother and son- he pulled himself together and exchanged his brooding facial expression for a friendlier, much more optimistic one.

Dan walked into the living room and looked at his sister, "Could we talk for a moment?"

She blinked, puzzled and looked at Rufus who caught the message.

"I can take him." Their dad smiled and took the little boy who was happy to be in his arms.

Jenny watched him carry Charlie out of her view and smiled. She hadn't really imagined in her wildest dreams that she would end up with all of her loved ones under the same roof. Memories disturbed her mind as she tried to think about the bright future even thought her past had been nothing but dark,

"He is so adorable."

She didn't really know what to do. At first everything had been great; she'd been blissed out on the epidural and oxytocin rushing through her system, but soon as a few days passed it was like the reality was hitting her hard.

They were still at the hospital because the baby was born four weeks early and the doctors wanted to make sure he was strong enough to go home. He was incredibly tiny and the new mother didn't know what to do with him.

Every time she even touched him it made him more upset and she was completely lost with him when she was alone.

The joy had slowly leaked from her body and Jenny felt like she was broken.

"I guess he is."

She wanted to believe that she was just bitter, but couldn't help it, all the anger that welled up from seemingly nowhere, the random bursts of uncontrollable exhaustion and the waves of emptiness that seemed like they'd last forever.

She felt hopeless around the baby and she knew all the nurses around her knew it.

"When can I go home?" Her voice was vain, empty.

Allison shifted her attention from the baby to her daughter, who looked exhausted, "They said two days more Jenny. It takes time to heal," She looked at the adorable chubby infant in her arms and smiled, "And we want him to be strong when we go home."

Jenny grunted, "This is fucking stupid. They aren't the ones who pushed him out! I did, and I'm fine. I'm ready to go home already!"

"Jenny," Her mother scolded, "This is not about you- this is about him okay? Try to understand that! He comes first now."

"I know mom," She wanted to shrug, or roll her eyes, but all she could do was give her mom a blank stare, "I've been up two days straight because they keep bringing him into my room when I want to sleep and all he does is cries."

"He is a baby. What do you expect? I told you from the beginning if you were going through with this you had new responsibilities. He is here now and going back is impossible. This was your choice and all I expect is that you step up and take responsibility, nothing else."

"This wasn't my choice." Jenny muttered sad, "He didn't have a choice either mom. I'm sure he didn't ask to be born to me- who would want that? I never wanted this. Any of this."

Allison wanted to say something, she wanted to talk to her daughter and know what she was really thinking about, but wasn't sure if she was ready to really know. So she didn't ask. She stayed quiet because she knew that right now Jenny needed to focus on the positive side of things and not think about the past.

"Jenny darling…" She approached her hospital bed with the small baby in her arms, "I know it's overwhelming and you feel very confused by him right now, but I promise you that he will never think of you that way," She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, "He is so lucky to have you Jenny and you to have him. His love for you is already there because he knows you're his mother. He will never leave you like I did- He will never hurt you like some people have because he loves you." Jenny couldn't contain her tears when she carefully placed the baby in her arms.

Her hand clenched around her daughters, and she said quietly, "Look at me, Jenny," When she complied, slowly lifting her gaze, she said in the same hushed tone, "It's going to be alright. I promise you."

With these words- these words hit home hard- Jenny finally crashed. She cried. Not for the first time certainly, but it's the first time she allowed it to happen completely without control. The control she thought she had over her emotions had slipped. It was time for her to heal.

"You know it scared me," His eyes flicked to her face and then away again as though he couldn't look at her, his expression deeply concerned. His eyes were tired, upset as he finally let go of his emotions and said in a miserable voice, "What I saw today… It scared me Jenny."

Her stomach plummeted as an uneasy feeling washed over her, "I didn't mean to scare you and dad. I-I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Dan swallowed hard, "I guess I'm the one who acted like an ass and I'm sorry about that."

His eyes, when they met hers again, were filled with deep guilt. She pushed herself up to a sitting position to look him in the eye, her own eyes nervous, "I wanted to tell you, but Dan it's not that simple."

He sighed again and then let the words come, clinging to her hand at the same time, "I should have been there for you that night instead of him... This wouldn't have happened and you wouldn't have to-"

"We don't need to think about that okay? That's in the past and it doesn't matter how much we wish things would have gone differently; they won't change and I wouldn't want that. Charlie means everything to me." The broken sister said all the words in a rush, as though she was afraid to admit that she didn't regret the shameful night with Chuck Bass.

Dan nodded sadly and let out a sigh. He knew the time lost between had made bigger damage than he thought and the headache that was drilling through his skull was not helping him through this at all.

"He has your name for a good reason."

He gave her a tired smile to conceal the jumpiness going on in his thoughts, "And what's that?"

"You're the best big brother a girl could have and the least I could do was give him your name."

Dan grinned broadly, "So it's not just my good looks and personality?"

Jenny grinned, eyes twinkling. She had always loved his sense of humor, "No, not just that."

He smiled slightly at her, looking thoughtful. After a few seconds he said quietly, "I'm honored," Her brother's voice was honest, "I really am Jenny. I'm proud of you even though I might not show it everytime."

She only smiled back as an answer and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment.

She figured she had earned to feel like the little sister again.

Nate took a deep breath, opened the door and entered. He didn't like going back there, but he felt like he had to say a few things to him. He strolled across the room with as much normalcy as he could manage considering that inside he was a mass of tension and anger. He stopped before his oak desk and stood there staring at him with serious eyes.

Chuck sat back at his desk and his face was hidden by a newspaper. He stared at the front page with a scowl on his face. His former friend could feel the tension in him even from the other side of the desk.

"What took you so long Nathaniel?" He dropped the paper on the desk and glared at him with the same stuck up expression, "Everybody else has already stopped by and voiced their precious opinions about me knocking up little Jenny."

Hearing her name, Nate shook his head. He looked at him blankly for a moment. Obvious dislike flashed over his features. "Cut the crap Chuck."

"Calm down, what's eating you too?" Chuck sighed in exasperation.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," The other man snapped, crossing his arms, "What do you think you're doing? If you think you can actually raise a kid you're-"

"Hold on," He stopped him and smiled smugly, "I'm not raising anyone. I'm guessing Jenny didn't tell you about our deal."

"What deal?"

Chuck didn't even have to look at his face. He already knew what was going on in his mind. A dark glint settled in his eyes and his smile stretched, "So that's what this is about…" He threw his head back and laughed, "Nathaniel, this whole knight in the shining armor act is getting old."

"This isn't about any act. This is about making sure you don't fuck up more lives."

"And who asked you to do that? Huh? Her? I doubt it since unlike you I have actually talked about these things with her and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate it if I went on and told everybody about the agreement we came to."

Nate glared at him with fury in his eyes, "What are you playing at? You never think about anybody else, but yourself. I'm sure you are the one who tipped off Gossip Girl about her being back in town since you have your dog's sniffing around this town."

"I can't take credit for that," Chuck glared at him. He didn't seem very enthusiastic anymore, "Besides why the fuck would I care if Jenny Humphrey came back?"

"I don't know… hmmm.. Let's think; well she kind of ruined your relationship with Blair and I'm sure you're still pathetically trying to get her back." He muttered back sarcastically, "I swear to God if you're using her as a pawn in some sick game of yours…."

"What?" He raised his voice in frustration, "Nathaniel, I'm going to tell you this only once so listen carefully," The line in his forehead became deeper as he sneered, "What happened between me and Jenny Humphrey stays between me and Jenny Humphrey. Nobody else knows about this mistake of ours and it's going to stay that way because I'd rather drop dead than tell the world I fathered a child with scum like Jenny Humphrey okay?"

His tone was malicious, his words relentless filled with pure hatred towards the whole world.

Nate didn't answer anything. He simply stared at him, feeling anger and frustration, but unable to argue with him. He had probably done the wrong thing after all. He shouldn't have thrown himself in the middle of their fighting when Jenny clearly didn't want him to know all the details.

"The next time you want to come here threating me," He turned to him and looked directly in his eyes, "Learn the full story and make sure the girl you're trying to impress actually cares."

With that said Chuck picked up the newspaper from his desk and continued his day without a worry in his mind.

"You think we need all of this?" Jenny grimaced at the amount of things Lily had piled up on the table near the cash registry. She had dragged her out to buy things for Charlie since they were staying a little over a week now. The nice boutique they had arrived into was so expensive looking it made her shake in her leather boots. She wasn't exactly fan of these kinds of stores when it came to the stuff that was bought for Charlie. It was not that she didn't think that he deserved the best- she just felt like it was useless to buy such expensive toys and clothes when he would grow out of them very quickly after all.

"This is my gift to you," Lily smiled happy, "Do not worry about it."

Jenny watched Lily go to one of the women working in the boutique for advice as she searched for the best quality. She chuckled to herself as she watched her pick things out like her life depended on it. Rufus, Eric and Dan had stayed back to watch Charlie for her. It was so weird to see them interacting with little Charlie who clearly didn't mind the attention he was getting from everybody. The idea of her dad reading stories to him, Dan feeding him and Eric playing with him warmed her heart. She had never felt so free and happy in her life and she would not let Chuck Bass change that. She would enjoy these days she had with her family and trust that he would do the right thing which was probably stupid.

"Look at this Jenny!" The woman squealed excitedly as she showed her a small sized dress jacket. It was navy blue and even had a tiny silky pocket handkerchief.

The girl smiled at the thought of putting Charlie into it just for the fun of it. "That's so cute."

"We have to get this." Lily demanded.

"Lily…" Jenny whined, "I don't think we have any use for that."

"Oh come on." She waved her hand effortlessly and carried the jacket to the pile of things that were already being packed into beautiful boxes with ribbons around them.

Overwhelmed by the change of scenario Jenny just nodded and figured to go with it. Her attention turned elsewhere as the cashier kept packing and Lily fussed around the luxury items.

Jenny's blue eyes looked out of the window that had a clear view into the streets of Manhattan.

She wouldn't have looked out if she knew who was staring back, but it was too late.

When her eyes find the hazel ones it's too late. Her heart started thumping louder and she desperately wanted to hide. Her intense gaze scared her. She would have been lying if she said that she wasn't imitated by Blair Waldorf.

Jenny was insane enough to walk out of the boutique and really see her. She was there few steps away from her and for a moment she thought she would have maybe attacked her viciously, but she only gazed with that piercing gaze that told more than a thousand words.

With a tote bag in her hand, the sour face Blair held turned into a smile.

A perfect smile.

She reached out and hugged her.

Jenny stiffened as the glamorous brunette woman squeezed her.

This hug wasn't warm. This hug was cold.

Blair breathed into her ear," Mark my words little J," Her lips lingered at the sensitive shell of her ear, she continued vehemently, punctuating her words, "I will make life very hard for you and that little surprise of yours. Get out when you can."

She pulled away and grinned with satisfaction before walking away.

Finally chapter 9 done!

This one took more time because I had some trouble writing Nate.. He is so.. I dont know I just think because of his "calm" personality he is harder to write. He just seems to be the type of guy who goes with the flow unlike Chuck who goes against it every chance he gets lol! anyway hopefully you enjoyed! Yay 62 reviews already! you guys are awesoomeee!