Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
"That's it, I give up," Blair announced as she waddled into the penthouse eight months pregnant.
Chuck was there to greet her the moment she stepped off the elevator with his usual hug. She dropped her bag onto the hall table as she shrugged off his attempt of affection yet again. Blair didn't see the frown of disappointment that crossed his face as it had for the past two weeks that she had shied away from his touch. She probably wouldn't have cared if she had witness it. She felt awkward and uncomfortable all the time. People continually came up to her all day asking if they could touch her stomach. She wanted this child out so much that she could scream.
"How was your day?" Chuck inquired as he followed her into their bedroom where her bath was waiting for her as it had been every day since she first told him she was pregnant. It had seemed silly to bath each evening in the beginning, but now she looked forward to it, for it was the only time that she felt as if she could relax at all.
"I'm not going back until this kid pops," she announced as he began helping her undress. This too was a ritual that had seemed silly when he first started, but had become a necessity as she struggled with even the simplest of tasks like putting on panties, "All I do is go back and forth between my office and the bathroom. Along the way people all throughout the loft keep asking to rub my stomach as if it's going to bring them good luck or something equally stupid."
"If you're ready to start your maternity leave, you know I will support you," he replied without the slightest hint of sarcasm or amusement in his voice. After five months of crazy hormone shifts, he knew better.
"Do you think I'm fat?" she inquired as he helped her into the tub.
"No," he scoffed. His answer was instantenous and sincere. "You're pregnant, and you look beautiful."
"You're lying," she growled as she sunk into the water, sighing in relief as the water began to relax her and alleviate some of the extra weight she was carrying.
"I would never lie to you about something like this," he assured her as he kissed her forehead gently.
"Then why haven't we made love in three weeks?" she snapped.
"Because you have been refusing my advances," he reminded her as he took her hand in his and kissed the inside gently. Her fingers were swollen from the extra water weight and her left ring finger looked painfully constricted as it curled up around her wedding band. He had gotten her to take off her engagement ring the month prior, but as of yet had hadn't found a way to get her wedding band off. He hoped tonight he had found the perfect compromise. "If you are in the mood, my darling, all you have to do is tell me and I'll happily show you how beautiful I think you are."
"Maybe later," she shrugged in a noncommittal way that told him she really wasn't interested.
"I have a present for you," Chuck stated as he reached for a box on her vanity that was within reach from his perch next to bathtub.
"It better not be stupid maternity lingerie again," she growled. He had come home with something like that a month earlier. She had not been impressed. In fact, she had exploded in a rage that he had never seen before. He quickly discarded it and made a mental note to never be that foolish ever again.
"This present I believe you will enjoy," he tried to assure her as he internally held his breath as he wasn't so sure.
"Give," she demanded as she held out her hand expectantly.
He placed the Tiffany's jewelry box in her hand. She looked a little impressed by the box as she always did when she received a gift from her favorite jewelry store. She lifted the lid to see a simple platinum chain laying in the box. She did not look impressed this time. He gulped nervously as he took the necklace out of the box and held it for her to view.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" she hissed as she glared at him devilishly.
"This is for your wedding band," he explained as he kissed her ringed finger softly, "I know how reluctant you are to go without the ring even while pregnant, so this seemed like the logical solution."
"It's because my fingers are swelling up like balloons, isn't it," she snapped as she stared at the hand that he was holding as tears built in her eyes.
"You are starting to retain a little water, yes," he stated very matter of fact. He was treading lightly as he knew that he could easily open up a mind field of emotions. "But Sweetheart, you're pregnant. We knew to expect this."
"You think I'm fat," she stated as she began crying as she buried her head in her hands.
"Look at me, Blair," he commanded as he lifted her gaze to meet his, "Do my eyes show any hint of repulsion? Do they not show the passion and lust that I feel in knowing that beneath this delicate layer of scented bubbles lays my very naked and beautiful wife? You are the most beautiful and sexy woman I have or ever will meet. I love you so much . . . every last inch of you."
"Chuck," she sighed in content as he leaned in and captured her lips, "This must be so awful for you. My emotions are all over the place. I feel and look like a blimp. I'm uncomfortable. The last thing on most days that I want is to be touched, even by you, but when you say things like that I want you to jump into this tub with me and have your way with me."
"Is that an invitation?" he smirked devilishly.
She splashed water at him in response.
"Just checking," he laughed merrily, "And for the record, I don't believe that this experience is awful. Whatever I need to do to make you comfortable, I am willing to do because you are giving me the greatest gift you could ever give me. You are giving me our child."
"You always know the right things to say to make me want to make love to you," she sighed in content as she laid her head back against the porcelain tub while closing her eyes.
"Does that mean you'll wear this necklace and allow me to take that ring off your finger?" he inquired. He was pressing his luck and he knew it, but he had to try. He was the only one that she would allow to slide the ring from her finger. She never even took her rings off herself. He was the one that had slid them on, she rationalized, so he was the only one that was allowed to take them off.
She nodded in agreement as she slipped her hand into the water to allow it to soak, hoping that it would shrink her finger so that he could pry the ring from her hand.
"Baby, we're going to need ice water again," he reminded her. It had been the only way they could get her engagement ring off a month earlier. Blair instantly stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. He bent forward and began raining kissing along her forehead and down her jaw line to her chin and then back up as a way to entice her.
"Go get the ice," she sighed as she opened her eyes to see him looking at her intently.
He nodded as he disappeared briefly. When he returned he had in his hands a small basin of water filled with ice. Blair moved to get out of the tub, but Chuck stopped her.
"Stay," he urged her, "Perhaps this won't be as much of a shock to your system if you sit in the warm water. The last time we did this your teeth were chattering for several hours afterwards as we laid in bed trying to warm you."
She nodded as she allowed him to slip her hand into the bowl. She recoiled the moment that her hand hit the frigid water, but she forced herself to submerge her hand again. She didn't have to look to know that Chuck wincing right along with her as she tried to keep her hand in the water. They were so in tune with each other's thoughts, emotions, and feelings that she was sure he felt her pain as acutely as she did. Chuck began moving the ring around her finger as the swelling had obviously reduced. Finally after about twenty seconds, the ring came free, and Chuck quickly submerged her hand in the warm bath water.
Blair almost jumped out of her skin at the new sensation as her eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm sorry," Chuck responded quickly as he yanked her hand out of the water.
"Don't ever do that again," she gasped as she looked at him to see the terror in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry," he responded as he placed her hand between his two larger ones and began rubbing vigorously as he tried to warm her. She felt as if needles were being stuck into her skin but the sensation diminished quickly as her hand warmed up due to the friction he was creating.
"I'm better now," she assured him as she pulled her hand away slowly and slipped it into the water.
"Here is your ring," Chuck stated as he quickly slid the platinum band onto the chain and then slipped it around her neck. She smiled at him brightly as she fingered the ring, reading the inscription that was inside. She had only read it one other time, on their wedding night when Chuck first showed it to her.
"Thank you," she responded as she reached out for his hand. He took hers eagerly and kissed it lightly. "Will you join me?"
"Are you sure?" he inquired. It had been awhile since they'd been intimate, and he saw in her eyes what she was really asking for, him making love to her as only he knew how.
"Yes," she nodded as her eyes began to cloud over. He knew and loved that look, but he was hesitant. From everything he had read, making love seemed to be frowned upon this late into her pregnancy as it tended to send the expectant mother into labor.
"I'm not sure that is such a good idea," he stated hesitantly.
"Just touch me then," she insisted as she shifted in the tub, "I need something."
His hand slipped into the water and closed around one of her breasts. Her back arched reflexively as a guttural groan escaped from deep within her.
"Not enough," she moaned as his hand slid to her belly.
"Blair, I don't want to risk sending you into labor," he stated as her hand closed around his.
"I know," she sighed as she slid his hand lower to her womanly folds. His fingers slid in with practiced ease. Her eyes widened with surprise at how strong a sensation he was creating as he caressed her lovingly. "Chuck!" she purred as her head fell back against the porcelain.
"Is this what you had in mind?" he whispered in her ear seductively.
"God, yes," she groaned as her eyes flew open as his tongue began caressing the shell of her ear. She quickly turned her head so that she could devour his lips.
She felt him hum into her mouth as he relished her uniquely exquisite taste. She had denied him that for far too long. While he claimed to be understanding about what she was going through, his body still screamed out daily with his need for her. His attempts to relieve that yearning had done little to satisfy himself. He hadn't taken matters into his own hands for so long that he was surprised he had even known how. As he felt her climax hit, his own did as well, embarrassingly in his dress pants. He'd have to do some smooth maneuvering to get her to not notice when she left the tub.
"Thank you," Blair sighed in relief as she pulled him to her by his shirt collar so she could kiss him properly.
"It seems silly for you to thank me," he chuckled as he lowered himself back onto his usual perch, "You know I enjoy our intimate time as much as you do, even when I'm not the one receiving the pleasure."
"This must be agony for you," she began to tear up, "We go from having sex multiple times a day to having none in a blink of an eye. I'm so sorry."
"Stop apologizing," he commanded her.
"I could help you," she offered as she reached her hand out to caress his chin before it began to slide lower to his neck and then to his shoulders.
"I'm okay," he assured her before he intercepted her hand as it traveled further south down his body.
"You don't want me touching you," she snarled as she jerked her hand away quickly, "I knew it. I am repulsive to you."
Chuck snatched her hand quickly and lowered it to his groin to show her the damp reason he hadn't want her to touch him. "I didn't want you to touch me for fear you'd find out how turned on I was that just touching you sent me over the edge. I'm Chuck Bass, for christ's sake. I used to have a reputation."
Her hand caressed the dampness as a smile began to form at the corners of her lips.
"Happy now," he growled with the blushed mortification that he felt at his lack of control. Even as he said it, he felt his anger dissipated as she continued to stroke his lap. He raised a curious eyebrow to her, "Blair, what are you doing?"
"Returning the favor," she stated with a mischievous smile.
"You don't need to," he assured her as his hand covered hers stilling her motions, "That encounter should hold me for awhile."
"Relax," she whispered as she leaned over the tub to kiss him, thrusting her tongue into his mouth as her hand continued to caress him as he began to respond to her touch. He moaned in approval. "Let's move this to the bed," she suggested.
Chuck nodded as he helped her rise from the tub, drying her off quickly, before she began pushing him forcefully to their bed.
"Take your clothes off," she commanded as she backed him to the edge of the bed.
Chuck moved quickly in fear that her ever changing mood could shift at any moment and leave him high and dry. His clothes were tossed in several directions with his haste. He saw her bite back a snicker of amusement as she shoved him unceremoniously onto their bed as her hand closed around his hard member. He hissed in pleasure as she joined him on the bed, her naked body pressing against his as much as she could with her protruding belly getting in the way. His hand closed around her much smaller one as he began to guide her pace. She hadn't been quick enough for him she concluded as his eyes closed. She could tell by his moaning that he was so close. It had been so long for him to receive any attention from her. He released her hand once he was sure that she understood the desperateness of his need. His hands gripped the comforter beneath him as he tried to fight off his orgasm for as long as possible.
"Let go," she whispered against his ear lobe. He turned to look deep into her eyes. He bent over to capture her lips with his just as he lost control, his moan swallowed by her eager mouth invading him again.
"God, Blair," he gasped as he finally broke away from her kiss. He was panting for breath as his head fell back against the pillows. His eyelids became heavy as he waged an internal war to stay awake.
"Feel better," she grinned victoriously as his eyes slid closed as his hand found her pregnant belly and rubbed it rhythmically as his head nodded slightly as he fell asleep. She snuggled in closer to him as she began to drift off to sleep.
Her eyes opened just as suddenly as she began to feel an intense pressure she had never felt before.
"CHUCK!" she exclaimed as she grabbed at his hand still resting comfortably on her stomach. His eyes opened wide with panic as the worry in her voice registered.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he sat up quickly.
"I don't know," she responded as she tried to place what she was currently feeling. It slowly dawned on her what could possibly be wrong. "I think I might be in labor."
Chuck's eyes went wide in terror as her words repeated in his head. He'd been trying to mentally prepare himself for this day since she first told him she was pregnant, but the panic in his eyes was evident as he leapt from the bed, running to his closet to put on whatever he could find while finding her a change of clothes at the same time.
"We need to get you to the hospital," he stated in panic as he threw clothes at her while he began frantically searching for his phone to call for Arthur and then Serena.
"Calm down," she instructed him calmly, "Even if I am in labor, we have time."
She was just as panicked as he was, but she knew she couldn't show it. That would give him license to be even more panicked and he was practically hyperventilating as he ran in circles around their bedroom as he tried to determine what to do first.
"Chuck," she called out to him in scolding as he very nearly passed out. "Come lay down on the bed and take several deep breaths."
He shook his head to refuse her before he slumped to the floor as he did indeed pass out.
TBC. . .