A/N: Hello ladies (and gentlemen?),

Gah! I know it's been almost three weeks since I updated and I'm so sorry. I feel really guilty. I've been sick and then I had computer problems (be careful what you attempt to download people). I have three days off this week and then next week I a have a little break for Easter so hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up quickly.

SPOILER ALERT! So apparently, Clemence Poesy (Eva) and Katie Cassidy (Juliet) are coming back to GG for the season finale. Maybe Chuck and Blair will team up to take Juliet down and get back together in the process. Or maybe Louis and Eva will both go back to France together...where they belong...and stay there...away from Chuck and Blair. If you can confirm this or if you just wanna let me know your ideas for what's gonna happen in the finale, leave me a review. =]

Thanks to tiff xoxo, maggymoo21, lisottina81, LeftWriter224, xoxogg4lifexoxo, TriGemini, ilovecujo1993, QueenBee10, Emma, Danny Santinelli, chairlovforever, UnwrittenGirl, Elaine, and jamieerin for your reviews! You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl or any of the characters, storylines, etc. If I did, Ed Westwick would be shirtless 90% of the time. (Who cares about his tattoos? He is hottt! Can't the writers think up a storyline where Chuck gets tattoos? Or just cover them up with makeup.)

Get up, get out, get away from these liars

'Cause they don't get your soul or your fire

Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine

And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time

...

Every minute from this minute now

We can do what we like anywhere

I want so much to open your eyes

'Cause I need you to look into mine

Open Your Eyes - Snow Patrol

Blair woke up to Louis gently shaking her.

"Blair, wake up. I got breakfast for us."

Blair opened her eyes and looked up into Louis' handsome face. He was smiling down at her. This was such a change from the Louis she had fallen asleep next to last night. This was the Louis she had fallen in love with and gotten engaged to. She sat up slowly, feeling a dull pain in her stomach. Louis handed her a hot cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Blair smiled back at him. "What time is it?"

Louis glanced at his watch. "It's almost seven." At the look on Blair's face, he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Blair. I didn't want to wake you but I have a meeting at 8:00. I need to leave here by 7:30."

Blair noticed that Louis was already showered and dressed. Then she looked down at herself. She was still wearing the dress from the benefit last night. It was a wrinkled mess but she didn't have any clothes here so she was going to have to wear it home. She sighed in dismay.

"What's wrong, Blair?" Louis asked in a concerned voice.

"Oh, it's not important. I just don't have any clothes to wear home."

"Just wear what you have on now. You look beautiful. But I can drop you off at your penthouse on the way to my meeting if you don't want to take a cab," Louis offered.

"That would be great. Thank you, Louis," Blair replied with another tentative smile.

Forty-five minutes later, Louis kissed Blair goodbye and climbed back into the car. She watched as it sped off before going inside and riding the elevator up to her penthouse. She went straight to her room without even a word to Dorota.

Blair went right to her bathroom where she peeled off her dress, stepped out of her heels and removed all her jewelry, including her engagement ring. She proceeded with her almost daily ritual of examining her body in the mirror. She noticed bruising on her stomach, her outer thigh on her left leg, and around her wrists and forearms. She knew she didn't have anything in her stomach to throw up and she didn't want to go downstairs to the kitchen and risk facing Dorota. She decided to skip that step and brushed her teeth instead. Using a lot of toothpaste, she brushed fiercely and for a long time, determined to get the taste of Louis out of her mouth. The Louis she had woken up to this morning was so very different from the Louis who had forced her to do such humiliating things last night.

Still mulling over Louis' split personality, Blair jumped in the shower and continued to cleanse herself of the events of the night before. When her skin was wrinkled all over, Blair finally stepped out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a fluffy robe and went in search of comfortable clothes. From the furthest depths of her closet she unearthed the outfit she saved just for times like this. After getting dressed, she ran a brush through her wet hair and crawled into bed and curled up under the covers. She was exhausted and fell immediately into a deep but fitful sleep.

Chuck stepped out of the elevator at Blair's penthouse and was immediately met with a worried Dorota.

"Mister Chuck, something wrong with Miss Blair. She come home early this morning, go straight to bed. She still asleep."

"What?" Chuck exclaimed. It was almost noon. Blair was always up by 8:00 and she wasn't one to take naps either. If Chuck had any doubts that something was going on with Blair, he didn't anymore. Chuck was halfway up the stairs when Dorota called out, "Please, Mister Chuck, help her. She listen to you."

Chuck didn't bother with a response; he just flew up the rest of the stairs. He pushed the door to Blair's room open quietly, stepped inside, and shut it softly behind him. Dorota was right; Blair was still in bed. She was lying on her back in the middle of her bed. It looked as though she had started out under the covers but had kicked them into a tangled heap at the foot of the bed. Chuck stepped closer to the bed and was astonished at what he saw. Blair wore a pair of navy blue, silky shorts and a large Yale sweatshirt. Judging by the size and worn out state of the sweatshirt, Chuck assumed that it used to be Blair's father's. Chuck also noticed that Blair's dark hair was spread across the pillows in a wild, tangled mess. It looked like she had gone to sleep while it was still wet.

Chuck didn't know what to do. He just kept staring. He had never seen Blair in this state of disarray before. Even during her darkest times, Blair was dressed immaculately, her hair and makeup done to perfection. Chuck had never seen Blair wear a sweatshirt. He didn't even know she owned one. He had never seen her sleep in anything like that either. When they had been together, she usually went to bed in fancy lingerie. However, more often than not, Chuck had taken great pleasure in ripping that same lingerie off her luscious body and they would wake up the next morning wearing nothing at all.

Chuck was startled out of his thoughts by Blair tossing around fitfully and rolling onto her side so she was facing him. Chuck walked right up to her bed and stared down into her beautiful face. His heart clenched when he noticed her tear-stained cheeks. Blair started tossing again and whimpered softly in her sleep. Chuck couldn't bear to watch her suffer through a nightmare, so he did the only thing he could think of. He stepped out of his shoes and stripped off his jacket and bowtie. He climbed carefully onto the bed and lay down behind Blair. Gently, so as not to wake her, he wrapped an arm around her waist. She immediately relaxed back into him and stopped tossing. She sighed and said softly, "Chuck."

Chuck's heart skipped a beat. He was sure she had woken up. But Blair just snuggled back against him and let out a small sigh. Chuck relaxed again and buried his face into the back of her neck, smelling her sweet scent. Soon he was asleep as well.

Dorota crept stealthily up the stairs, making as little noise as possible. Mister Chuck had been in Miss Blair's room for hours and she was dying to know what was happening. She hoped Mister Chuck would find out what was going on and help Miss Blair.

Dorota knew something was wrong with Miss Blair, but she couldn't figure out what. Miss Blair was being even more private than usual. Dorota didn't know exactly what the problem was, but she did know that Miss Blair wasn't happy. She was pretending to be happy, and she was managing to fool most people. But not Dorota. Dorota had been taking care of Miss Blair since she was a baby and she could always tell when something wasn't right.

Dorota did know one thing though. Miss Blair had never been happier than she had when she and Mister Chuck were together. Dorota knew that Mister Chuck had deeply hurt Miss Blair but he was still good for her. When Miss Blair was with Mister Chuck, she was different. She almost glowed with happiness. And when Miss Blair was happy, everyone else was happy too.

Dorota stopped outside the door to Miss Blair's bedroom. She put her ear up against the smooth wood of the door and listened carefully. She heard nothing but the sound of soft breathing. As quietly as she could, Dorota eased open the door just enough to poke her head in. The sight before her almost brought tears to her eyes.

Mister Chuck and Miss Blair were curled up on Miss Blair's bed together. Although Miss Blair's bed was very large and there was plenty of room, there was not an inch of space between them. Miss Blair was curled on her side facing Mister Chuck. Her knee was hooked over his hip and his arm was curled tightly around her waist. Her hands were trapped between them, clutching the front of his shirt. Their faces were so close they were almost touching.

Dorota just watched them for a minute. This was the most relaxed she had seen Miss Blair in days. Finally, Dorota pulled her head back and shut the door quietly with a huge smile on her face.

A/N: OK, so I know that was pretty short, but I wanted to get you guys a new chapter and that was also a convenient stopping point. Please review and let me know what you thought of it!