Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.

"Serena and I are meeting for lunch after my doctor's appointment this morning," Blair replied when Chuck asked her what she was doing with her day while he was away at the office. She was due any day, so he was a little more than hesitant to leave her. Her doctor had been telling her that she could go into labor at any time. She was already dilated four centimeters when she went to see the doctor two days earlier.

"Keep your cell phone close," he cautioned her as he walked with her to the elevator as he prepared to leave for the day.

"Don't I always," she responded with a roll of her eyes as she pushed the elevator call button. Their cell phones had been such an extension of themselves for so long, how could he possibly conceive that she would go anywhere without it.

"I love you," he proclaimed as the elevator doors opened. He kissed her quickly while rubbing her stomach affectionately.

"I'll see you soon," Blair replied as she shoved him gently into the elevator, "I love you too, Bass."

His smile was the last thing she saw as the door closed.

She quickly waddled towards her phone, scanning through her contacts to find Serena's house telephone number. Her best friend's cell phone number was one of her speed dial keys, but she knew her best friend well enough to know that she wouldn't answer the cell that early in the morning.

"Blair, it's early," Serena yawned as she looked at the clock as she answered the house phone at the tail end of the fourth ring. Blair could feel that it was a heartbeat away from going to voicemail before the bubbly blonde managed to answer it.

"I'm sorry," Blair responded, her speech accelerating as she spoke, "But can you come over as soon as possible."

"What's wrong?" Serena asked as she sat up quickly while scanning her room for suitable clothes to pull on.

"I think I might be in labor," Blair spoke hesitantly as she gripped the table near where she was standing as the pain began to build.

"How long has this been going on?" Serena gasped as she leapt out of bed and sorted through the clothes at her feet to find something suitable to wear.

"A few hours, I think," Blair groaned as she gripped the table more firmly as the contraction took a firm hold.

"Breath, Blair," Serena encouraged her through the phone as she took several deep breaths with Blair as she slipped in a suitable pair of pants and threw on a tank top and fall sweater, "Remember our Lamaze classes."

"Serena," Blair pleaded as she panted for breath. Her voice sounded panicked and desperate. She needed her best friend more in that moment than she ever did.

"I'm on my way," Serena assured her as she grabbed her purse and apartment keys as she left her penthouse. "Stay on the phone with me. I'll coach you long distance until I get there. Has Chuck left for work already?"

"He just left," Blair responded as she took another deep breath as the pain began to lessen. "I haven't told him that I think I'm in labor."

"BLAIR!" Serena exclaimed as she dashed down the five flights of stairs of her building and had the doorman hail her a taxi. She couldn't wait for the impossibly slow elevator that morning.

"I know I'm being a coward, but we both know how he flipped out a month ago when I thought I was in labor. He passed out and ended up on bed rest for two days, and that was just gas. I'm fairly certain this is much more than that," Blair stated with certainty.

"I'm getting into the cab right now. I'll be there in five minutes. Do you want me to stay on the phone until I get there?" she inquired as she slid into the back seat and gave the driver the directions while offering a hundred dollar tip if he could get there in under five minutes. Her stepbrother was rubbing off on her.

"I think I'm okay for right now," Blair replied with only a slight hesitation in her voice, "If I need you, I know you're only a phone call away."

"Is your bag packed?" Serena asked one final question.

"It's sitting in the front hall closet," Blair nodded. It hadn't moved in since two months earlier when she first packed it after their first few Lamaze classes.

"Stay calm," Serena encouraged her. "I'll be there in a few minutes. You should call Chuck and have him meet us at the hospital."

Blair hung up the phone so she wouldn't have to give her best friend an answer. She couldn't call Chuck just yet. She couldn't put him through this if it was another false alarm. The actual event was going to be hard enough for him to get through.

"Now will you call Chuck?" Serena insisted as Blair's doctor left the exam room after confirming that she was indeed in labor. Serena and Blair had been bickering since the blonde arrived at the penthouse an hour earlier about Blair's need to call Chuck.

"Let's wait until I'm dilated a few more centimeters," Blair offered up a compromise.

"Blair, you're at seven centimeters," Serena squealed, "If we wait any longer your child will be finished with kindergarten by the time Chuck gets here. You know how traffic can be."

"Fine, I'll call him," Blair sighed, "But can you please go get me some ice chips while I do this. This is a really personal call."

"I'll go get you the ice chips, but don't think for a minute that I don't already know that you're calling Chuck's assistant and not Chuck's cell," Serena stated as she left the room after placing Blair's phone in her hand. She heard Blair's huffs of displeasure as the door closed.

"Mister Bass," Eugenia called out as she popped her head into the board meeting that Chuck was running. After her brief conversation with Blair she made a mad dash to the board room.

Chuck looked at his assistant in surprise. She never interrupted his meetings. He quickly excused himself and stepped out into the hall to where his assistant was eagerly awaiting him.

"You know not to interrupt board meetings," he scolded her in jest.

"Blair called," Eugenia responded quickly, "She and Serena are at the hospital. She's in labor."

Chuck quickly retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and looked for the call he must have missed. There wasn't one. "She chickened out and called you instead of me," he concluded. Eugenia nodded her response.

His face was the picture of calm at the moment. She was surprised by his reaction. From how Blair had described his reaction last time, she had expected him to hyperventilate or pass out once more. "Let me dismiss the board and then I'll meet the limo downstairs."

"Are you okay, Chuck?" Eugenia inquired as she looked at her boss with a curious expression.

"I'm going to be a father today," Chuck smiled as he turned towards the door, "I'm more than okay."

Eugenia chuckled as she waited for Chuck to reappear. She already had the limo waiting out front, and her purse was at her side after she had hastily closed their office. She had every intention of being at his side as he made his way to the hospital. Blair had made her promise to do so weeks earlier.

"I apologize for the interruption, ladies and gentleman, but we have to cut this meeting short," Chuck announced as he returned to his usual post at the head of the table, "My wife has gone into labor."

After several congratulations and well wishes, Chuck made his escape with Eugenia at his side. In the limo, he tried every minute to get a hold of Blair, but it always went to voicemail. A call to Serena offered up a suitable explanation. Blair had been on the phone with first her mother and then her father.

Finally just as they pulled up to the hospital Blair called him.

"How are you doing?" Chuck gushed into the phone.

"Okay," she stated automatically.

"You can tell me if it hurts," he responded. He knew she was going to shield him as much as possible on this day, but he didn't want that. He didn't want to be kept in the dark. He had concluded it would be harder if he didn't know that everything was going well or, god forbid, not.

"It's not as bad as I expected," Blair sighed, " . . . yet."

"We just pulled up to the hospital. What floor are you on?" he inquired as he leapt out of the car without waiting for Arthur to open it for him as he normally did. He remembered that Eugenia was with him, and turned to help her out before they both made a mad dash for the hospital entrance. She was on her cell phone calling Nate as she knew that Chuck hadn't even thought of calling his best friend yet.

"Eight," she replied after verifying with Serena.

"I'll be right there," he assured her, "I love you."

"I love you," Blair smiled before she turned off her phone completely. Everyone that she wanted to be there that day was on their way.

"Hey," Serena stated as she met Chuck at the elevator as he stepped off. Her arms were wrapped around his neck instantly.

"How is she?" Chuck inquired as he returned her hug with only a slight hesitation. While he couldn't keep his hands off his wife, affection towards other people was something that he still wasn't comfortable with.

"She's doing great," Serena assured him, "Everything has been smooth sailing so fair. She's at seven and a half centimeters already. The doctor says that she was probably in labor while she slept. You know Blair, she can sleep through a tornado, so why not contractions."

Chuck smirked in amusement as he followed Serena to his wife's room.

"Chuck," Eugenia called out to him. Chuck and Serena paused to turn towards his assistant. "I'm going to get everyone some coffee. I'll be in the waiting room if you need anything."

Chuck reached out and hugged his assistant. Eugenia froze in his arms. She didn't know how to react. There had been very few times in which they had that type of close interaction. "Thank you for being here," he stated as he released her. Eugenia nodded as she watched Chuck and Serena disappear into one of the private hospital rooms.

"There you are," Blair smiled brightly as she reached out for his hand as he entered her room. He quickly grasped her hand as he closed the distance between them and leaned in to kiss her passionately as he slid himself onto the vacant spot on her bed to sit next to her.

A clearing of a throat behind them reminded them that they were not alone.

"Isn't that what got the two of you here in the first place," Serena mused. She had a teasing glimmer in her eyes.

"Every now and then you show a hint of the intelligence we all know you have," Chuck quipped as he looked at Serena in amusement. Blair quickly turned his head so his focus was back on her.

"I'm going to go get some coffee," Serena stated as she quickly disappeared.

"I'm glad you're here," Blair stated as he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"There isn't anywhere else I want to be," he sighed happily as he pressed his forehead to hers.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation.

"When did you realize you were in labor?" Chuck whispered softly against her skin. He hadn't been at the office for more than a few hours, so he knew it couldn't have been too long.

"When I woke up this morning, I knew something was different," she replied quietly, "The first contraction that I felt hit me while you were in the shower. The second happened just after you left for work."

"Why didn't you tell me when the first contraction hit?" he inquired as his lips dusted her cheek as he spoke.

"You know why," she replied as she pulled away to look in his eyes. He nodded. He did know. She was telling him exactly what he already knew. She was shielding him.

"Don't protect me from this," he requested as he looked at her with pleading eyes, "We both know this is going to be hard for me, but I don't want to be kept in the dark. I need to know what is going on."

"Chuck," she began to discourage his request.

"Listen to me," he pleaded with her, "For my own sanity, I need to know what is happening. If something bad happens, I need to know to prepare myself."

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me or this child," she assured him, "We are both doing great so far."

"So far," he repeated as his eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"We're going to be okay," she stated slowly as she over-enunciated each syllable, "Chuck, I promise you, we will be fine."

"You can't promise something like that," he hissed. His voice began to break as he continued. "You don't know what is going to happen. You cannot predict the future."

"Please have faith in me," she requested as she began wiping the tears that spilled from his eyes, "Have faith in us."

"We are the one thing I have always had faith in, but . . ." he trailed off.

"No buts, Chuck," she scolded him quickly as she cut off his thoughts, "I need you to have faith in us. I'm going to be okay. This child is going to be okay. In a few hours, we are going to hold him or her in our arms, and you'll realize that all this fear and anxiety that you have built up inside of you was completely unnecessary."

"Your mother is turning into Doctor Freud again," he bent over and whispered to her stomach.

"Chuck," she scolded him. She needed him to be serious at that moment.

"I want you to be right," he stated after a few moments of silent reflection, "With everything in me, I do want that."

"Put aside all of that old self doubt and misplaced blame, and focus on what is important at this moment," she requested as she threaded her fingers into his hair.

"Focus on you," he nodded.

"No," she shook her head, "Focus on us . . . all of us. Focus on the fact that in just a short amount of time we are going to be more than just husband and wife . . . we're going to be a true family."

"I don't know if I've ever truly been a part of a family before," he contemplated as his ringed hand entwined in the chain around her neck that held her wedding ring. "My father and I were mostly strangers to each other for my entire life. The van der Woodsen's tried to bring me into their family, but it always felt a little forced. Today I'll finally have the one thing that I've wanted most all my life . . . a family of my own."

Tears seeped out of Blair's eyes as she put her arms around his neck and held him close.

"I love you, Blair," he sighed as he held her close.

"I love you," she agreed.

"Are you up for some company?" Nate inquired as he stuck his head into Blair's room. She could see that he was holding a small teddy bear in his hand.

She nodded as she dried Chuck's eyes before wiping hers.

"How are you feeling?" Nate asked as he handed her the stuff animal he had purchased weeks ago for this very event.

"Anxious," Blair replied with a smile after thanking him for the bear, "I'm so ready for this pregnancy to end."

Nate looked at Chuck to see the apprehension in his eyes. "How are you holding up?" he inquired as he slapped his friends shoulder. Chuck simply glared at him in response. "That well, huh," Nate concluded with an amused chuckle.

"Take care of him for me," Blair requested as she caressed her husband's hand gently.

"Of course, whatever you need, man, I'm here for you," Nate nodded. He could sense that Chuck and Blair needed a few more minutes alone, so he quickly excused himself claiming that there was a hot nurse at the nursing station he wanted to hit on. Chuck and Blair both smirked as he left. He hadn't changed since high school ended. He was always looking for a pretty woman to chat with.

"You okay?" Blair inquired as she studied Chuck's eyes once they were alone.

"You just focus on yourself and this child," he told her, "Nate will take care of me."

She nodded in agreement as she sat forward and kissed him. A contraction kicked in just as their lips made contact. She pulled away quickly as she grasped his hand tightly. He looked at her with frantic eyes as she began inhaling and exhaling. She had to look away from him to concentrate on her breathing. Her instincts were screaming at her to take care of him and ignore the contraction, but she knew that wasn't going to work.

Several moments later the pain began to subside.

"Contraction," she offered up an explanation as she took one more cleansing breath as she looked at the clock to calculate how far apart the contraction was from the last one. "Six minutes apart . . . they're coming quicker and quicker. They were twenty minutes apart when I first got here. The doctor was going to send me home and have me return when they contractions got closer, but as he examined me the contractions skipped several minutes. Then my water broke after he finished his exam. He thinks this is going to be quick."

"Is this normal?" Chuck inquired. His eyes grew frantic once more as his voice began to quiver.

"It's not abnormal," she assured him as she caressed his chin gently, "Each woman's labor is different. Some are quicker than others."

Just then Blair's doctor entered her room to do another exam.

"You must be Mister Bass," Doctor Finch stated as he extended his hand to Chuck who nodded in confirmation. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"All good things," Blair chimed in.

"How are my wife and child?" Chuck inquired as he shook the doctor's hand.

"Both are doing excellent," Doctor Finch assured the nervous looking man. "Blair's labor is progressing very rapidly, but it is nothing to be alarmed about."

Chuck nodded as he took a deep breath as the doctor's words seemed to have a calming effect on him.

"Chuck, why don't you go get some coffee," Blair encouraged him. She didn't think it was wise for him to be in the room when the doctor examined her. "I'll have a nurse come find you when Doctor Finch is finished."

He shook his head. "I want to be here with you for as long as I can," he replied as he kissed her forehead. Relenting to his earlier request to not shield him from her labor, she extended her hand towards him and pulled him towards the chair near her bed for him to sit next to her. Once Chuck was settled she let Doctor Finch exam her.

"Eight centimeters and a half centimeters," Doctor Finch announced, "I don't think we have more than a few hours left. How far apart were the last two contractions?"

"Six minutes," Blair and Chuck spoke in unison. Chuck's voice was more panicked than Blair's.

"I'll be back to check on you soon," Doctor Finch replied while trying to hide the smirk that was trying to form upon seeing the panic in Chuck's eyes. After fifteen years of practice, he was used to the expectant father's panicked look, but this one was different. There was more fear in his eyes than he had ever seen. "Mister Bass, she's doing great," Doctor Finch assured him as he placed a hand on Chuck's shoulder to offer his encouragement. "I'm very good at what I do. I will not let anything happen to your wife or this child."

Chuck nodded as Doctor Finch left the room.

"Feel better?" Blair inquired as she studied Chuck's posture when they were left alone. He was slumped over slightly and his shoulder were sagged.

"I'd feel better if the doctor would stay with you until our child is born," he responded as he shook his head, "I should have insisted on hiring you a private doctor and nurse for today."

"Doctor Finch is one of the best obstetricians in the country. He knows what he's doing," she assured him.

"Then why has he left you alone?" he growled, "What if something happens when he's gone? What if the baby wants to come, and he's not here?"

"Take a deep breath," she encouraged him, "He's not too far away."

"I know I'm being ridiculous," he sighed as he took a deep breath.

"You're being you," she assured him, "I don't expect you to be anything more than you are."

"This is really happening," he announced as the situation was starting to feel more and more real. "Together we really did create this life growing inside you, and we get to meet him or her today."

She smiled in response.

"I want to be here for as long as I can," he stated as he rose up from his chair and took his place on her hospital bed in the spot he had vacated when Doctor Finch walked in.

"Then I want you here for as long as you can," she grinned happily. She knew when the actual birth happened that he wouldn't be able to be there, but he was making the effort to be there for her through the contractions. It was more than she had hoped for. She had figured that he would pop into the room to assure her that he was there and then he would disappear into the waiting room until their child was born.

TBC. . .

We're getting close to the end. Stay tuned.