Okay well, since fan fiction is our only salvation for over a month I'm going to do my best to post frequently. Thank you to my beta and to all the people who respond regularly. I know there are a lot of you who've put me on alerts. I want to hear from you! Let me know what you think.

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Blair fastened a necklace around her neck and then centered the charm on her chest. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them back up she started a bit.

"You scared me," she said turning to face her friend.

"Sorry," Nate responded with a sheepish grin. "I just wanted to see if you needed any help up here. I know Serena had to go to her mom's house to get dressed because Lily forgot to have the maid pack a dress and shoes today."

God bless Lily, Blair thought absently.

"I'm okay," Blair smiled as much as her mood could allow. "Thanks for asking though."

"Sure. How are you?"

"I just got out of the hospital because some loser with a gun wanted money that wasn't his and I'm about to bury my mother because she wouldn't give up her wedding ring. So, I'm just peachy," Blair said sarcastically.

"Sarcasm does not become you, Blair."

"Maybe not, but it does sustain me," Blair smiled as she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"Somewhat," Blair nodded. "Your girlfriend didn't make it easy. Every time I'd start to drift off, I'd hear her creep across the floor. I think she stuck a mirror under my nose at one point."

Nate smiled as he bit back a laugh he knew she wouldn't appreciate, "She just wants to make sure you're alright."

"I'd still be in the hospital if the doctors didn't think I'd be able to survive in the outside world."

"Blair, you were-"

"Shot, I know. I see the reminder every day. There's no need to keep bringing it up."

"And there was a huge panic factor for us," Nate said as he sat on Blair's bed. "Especially when we heard your mom didn't make it."

"Tell me something that I don't remember," Blair responded with a dramatic roll of her eyes, "But if this keeps up, I'll be back in the hospital with sleep deprivation."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Nate chuckled.

"No, I want you to kill her and not tell me about it," Blair rubbed her forehead.

"Blair, she can't be that bad," Nate responded with the need to defend his girlfriend.

"If my children could talk, they'd want her banished. She's driving them as crazy as she is me," Blair added.

"Blair, you decent," Chuck asked from the other side of the door as he knocked softly.

"Yes, but if you give me five minutes, I can get Nate into a compromising position."

"It would take far longer than that," Chuck laughed as he opened the door, "Archibald has always been a late bloomer."

"Very funny, Chuck," Nate shook his head as his eyes recognized the infant in Chuck's arms. "Hey Sabrina."

"There's my little girl," Blair reached for her just as Chuck moved out of her reach. "Hey!"

"Sit down. No lifting until next week."

"I'm not looking to lift, I'm looking to hold," Blair pouted as she took the seat he suggested.

Chuck handed Sabrina to Blair and looked around, "Where's Serena?"

"Home," Blair said. "Lily forgot to pack a black dress for her."

Chuck couldn't ignore the relieved look on Blair's face as she appeared to be celebrating Serena's absence.

"Is everything alright with the besties?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Right now, I have my baby girl and two of my oldest friends with me. The rest of this day is going to be horrible but right now things are okay."

"Sebastian is out like a light," Chuck told her as he took a seat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder as he began to coo in his daughter's direction. "But this little lady doesn't want to go to sleep right now, even though it's her nap time. I think she wanted a kiss from Mommy."

"I didn't know you knew how to do that," Nate responded as his eyes widened at Chuck's baby talk voice.

"Well, I didn't know you could jump off a cliff and not have a scratch on you," Chuck said.

Blair stared, "What?" Clearly she'd missed something during her months of self imposed exile.

"Enough Chuck," Nate looked irritated as he turned to Blair to explain Chuck's offhanded remark. "Serena made us watch some lame movie a while back and she and Chuck think I look like one of the actors in it. It was somewhat funny at first but now it's just annoying."

"Why don't you go see if Sebastian and Sabrina's sitter is here yet," Chuck suggested to his friend.

"Okay," Nate said, looking happy to escape.

Once he was gone, Chuck turned to Blair, "How are you?"

"God, I wish everyone would stop asking me that," Blair sighed as she rocked Sabrina.

"We're just concerned about you," Chuck tried to rationalize.

"I know but I can't take the concern today, okay? Ask me how I am tomorrow," Blair said. She shot a look at the clock. "We should get going."

Chuck nodded as he lifted Sabrina from her arms. "I'll stop asking how you're feeling if you promise to chime in if you're not feeling well."

"I promise," Blair nodded as her eyes darkened with the conversation shift. "Have you seen Cyrus yet today? He didn't eat with us."

"He left early this morning to be with your mother. He wanted time alone with her."

Blair nodded, "I'll see you downstairs."

"Don't walk down in your heels," Chuck said.

"I haven't gotten dizzy in days, Chuck."

"I mean it, Waldorf. If I see you with heels on your feet on those stairs, I'm throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you down."

Blair rolled her eyes and slid her heels off. She held them in one hand and her purse in the other, "Happy?"

"Coat?"

"Downstairs. I had Dorota press it for me."

Chuck and Blair made their way down the hall to the children's nursery where he laid Sabrina in her crib. The little girl immediately raised her arms to her mother as she whined at being laid down before she wanted to be.

"I'm sorry, Baby," Blair leaned down. "You know you and your brother are the most important things in the world to me, but today I have to help Papa Cyrus. I love you." She kissed Sabrina's tiny hands.

Sabrina cried out again. It tore at Blair and Chuck's heart to have to turn away from their daughter's cries.

"It's just for today," Chuck assured Blair as they stepped out of the room. Blair couldn't force herself to take another step away from them as her daughter's cries rose in volume even as Chuck closed the door tightly.

"They need me," Blair said. "I can't leave them."

"Blair, Cyrus needs you today. Nothing about today is going to be easy but those little angels will be here at the end of it to make you feel better."

She nodded as her head came to rest against his shoulder.

"I'll be there with you, at your side as much as you need," Chuck said.

"I know," Blair nodded.

-x-x-x-x-

Blair barely heard the minister's words as they stood in the cemetery. She was vaguely aware of the people around her but she knew Cyrus was standing next to her with Aaron and behind her Chuck, Serena, and Nate stood close; Chuck directly behind her. Her mind kept churning with how surreal this moment felt. The woman who gave her life had been lowered into the ground before her. She was never going to see her again.

She realized that the minister had stopped speaking and that a man with a shovel was starting to put dirt into the grave. She couldn't watch that. She gasped tearfully and turned away to hide her face in Chuck's chest, his arms encircling her immediately.

"I'm here," he whispered as he held her tight.

"But she's not," she whispered back.

"She's still with us," Chuck assured her as his hands rubbed soothing circles into her back. "She's still in your heart."

Blair nodded against him and then took a deep breath to compose herself as she pushed away the tears. She pulled back, "I have to help Cyrus."

"You sure you're okay to do that? He'd understand."

"I have to," Blair said. "My mother would have counted on me to do this for her. I c-can't let her d-down."

"I'm here if you need me," he whispered as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

She nodded as she turned towards Cyrus and took his outstretched hand as he smiled warmly at his beloved step daughter as they stepped forward to toss roses into the grave.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The crowd at the penthouse was larger than she'd expected it to be. She'd been hoping that Cyrus would limit it to immediate family and close friends.

No such luck.

The mother in her hoped that the noise wouldn't wake her children who were just upstairs with their babysitter.

"Cyrus, would you excuse me," Blair asked as she squeezed his hand softly as she made her excuses to leave. She couldn't take the looks of pity she was getting any longer. "I want to get some water from the kitchen."

"Certainly, Dear," Cyrus excused her.

Chuck was a step behind her the entire way.

"You okay," Chuck asked as she kicked her heels off and watched them slide across the floor. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a long pull from it before putting it down on the counter.

"I just needed to be alone in a room for a moment or two."

"I'll leave you then," he turned away from her quickly.

"No," Blair said as she reached out to halt his disappearance. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean you. You are the last person I want to leave me alone."

"Take all the time you need," he told her as he ran his hand along her back to offer his comfort.

"You have to do something for me though," Blair said looking slightly panicked.

"Anything, you know that."

"You have to get Serena out of here."

"Why?"

"She's making me crazy. Chuck, she tried to cook yesterday. She nearly set the kitchen on fire."

"Surprised she wasn't successful. She melted her easy bake oven when we were children," he responded with an amused chuckle.

"Don't tease," Blair stated as she felt a smirk forming. "Help me. Get Lily to ask Serena to come home. Have her say she's lonely. I'll get another nurse or something to move in."

"Not necessary," he shook his head. "Bring the children and come stay with me."

"Are you serious," Blair stared at him with wide eyes. Finally he was asking the question at the appropriate time and she could accept without regret.

"Yes. I think it'd be better for you there instead of here. You're not supposed to exert yourself and climbing those stairs all the time can't be good for you."

"And there would be the benefit of twenty-four hour room service, nightly turn downs, and mints on my pillow," she smiled.

"I have a kitchen," he smiled as he ran his fingers through her beautiful curls. "Dan says you make a pretty good apple cake."

"You also have a roommate. Isn't it going to be a little crowded?"

"Nate can find his own place. It's about time he took responsibility for his own life and became an adult. Besides, you and I have a family together. We've agreed to raise the children together. Living under the same roof will make that so much easier."

"Instead of just tossing Nate out on his backside, why don't he and I trade? Serena can continue to live here in my room and Nate can take the adjoining room for his own," Blair suggested. "That way Dorota will have someone to take care of and I don't have to feel guilty for making Nate suddenly homeless since he refuses to live with his mom."

"Van der Woodsen and Archibald shacking up, not sure they're in a good place for that, but it's an option that we'll propose to them."

"Are we in a good place to be 'shacking up'?" Blair inquired.

Chuck tucked a strand of Blair's hair behind her ear, "Nothing happens until you're ready, willing, and able. Separate rooms for as long as you want. And I'll only touch you when I think you want me to."

"Thank you for being so understanding," she smiled softly, "And so willing to take care of not only me, but also our children."

"You never have to thank me for that," he told her.

"You've been really great today," Blair said. "I don't think I would've made it this far without you. Cyrus says you took care of all the transportation for us today. That was really great of you."

"It's the least I could do. I wish he would have let me do a little more. Your mother deserves the best send off we could give her."

Blair smiled and stood on tiptoe to kiss Chuck's cheek and then wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank you for keeping your promise to hold my hand."

"My goal in life is too keep every promise I ever have or ever will make to you from this moment on," he whispered into her ear as he melted against her, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist so as to not pressure her.

"We'll talk to Serena after everyone goes home," Blair told him. "Then I want to watch something that will make me laugh insanely."

"No Audrey?" Chuck replied, "I'm a little disappointed."

"There are things in this world other than Audrey," Blair smiled as the startled look appeared on his face. He'd never expected to hear those words from her. "I was as surprised as you are. There's this movie I saw on basic cable one night when I was pregnant with the twins called Oscar. It's a spoof of mobster movies. It's funny as hell. I nearly wet myself from laughing so much. Interested?"

"We could use a little levity in our lives," he nodded as he reluctantly released her when she pulled away.

"We should go back in. I have responsibilities today," she said. "I can't leave everything to Cyrus. He's not holding up very well."

"Promise me that you aren't over doing it," he requested, "You've only just been released from the hospital a few days ago."

"I sit, I accept their condolences, and I do my best to put on a brave face. When I need a break, I take it by excusing myself and coming into the kitchen. Dorota keeps people out except for you obviously."

"I'm going to go look in on Sabrina and Sebastian," he told her.

"Give them a kiss for me," Blair requested.

"I will. Don't forget your shoes," he said as he left the kitchen.

Blair watched him go and then turned to frown at her heels. She missed her sneakers.

-z-z-z-z-

Blair forced her last grateful smile as the elevator doors closed taking Lily and Rufus with them. She reached back and unclipped her hair before stepping out of her shoes. She could feel the last bit of stress leaving her body.

"Cyrus, you look exhausted," she told her step-father. "Go to sleep. I'm not staying up much longer."

"Are you sure, Sweetheart?" Cyrus inquired with a sad smile. "I can stay up a bit longer."

"I want to talk to Serena before I go to bed, but I'll see you at breakfast," she said before she kissed his cheek. "Daddy and Roman will be here at nine. We're eating with them before I see them off to the airport."

"I love you, Dear," Cyrus stated as he began the climb up the staircase.

"Love you, too," Blair smiled.

Blair watched him go before she turned and went into the living room. She could hear her friends getting food in the next room so she walked over to the couch, sat on the arm and let herself fall back. She landed with a soft thud and stared at the ceiling.

In her mind she could hear her mother scolding her for the unladylike way she was sitting on the furniture and the tears began to flow.

"Blair," Nate ventured, "you hungry? There's a lot of food left over."

"No," she shook her head as she pushed the tears away, hoping that Nate wouldn't see them. He had always hated when she cried. He always panicked and went to find Serena to deal with her.

"You sure," Chuck asked taking hold of one of her ankles and squeezing gently. He wouldn't miss the tears even if Nate had. He knew her every emotion just by the sound of her voice. "You didn't eat a lot today. You still have to take one more pill, and you can't do it on an empty stomach."

She nodded reluctantly as he pulled her to her feet and guided her into the kitchen.

"Hey," Serena said handing a plate to Blair. "The lasagna's good."

Blair nodded as Chuck lifted an eyebrow and waited for her to nod before he dished up a piece onto her plate.

He had been simply amazing today. She couldn't even begin to express how grateful she was to him.

She waited until they were all sitting at the dining room table before she started to talk, "So, Serena, Chuck and I were talking today."

"You've been doing that a lot lately," Serena responded. "Anything in particular?"

"Yes," Blair nodded as Chuck's arm came around the back of her chair. His thumb caressed her back to offer her support as she dropped the bomb on Serena. "We were thinking that maybe we should live together for a while. We've agreed to raise the children together and there's a lot more help at his place than here."

"But . . ." Serena wanted to speak up to try changing her mind, but Nate shook his head to discourage her. The pair needed to do this. It was an important step to reconnect.

"I'm not kicking you out. You can stay here as long as you want. Cyrus is going back to Paris as soon as things are settled here. He said that he has no problem with you staying."

"But I think you'll have a roommate," Chuck said looking at Nate.

"You're kicking me out?" Nate gasped. He had no idea that Blair moving in with Chuck would leave him with no place to stay. He never would have been so encouraging had he known.

"Nate, do you really want to live with a recovering gunshot survivor and two infants," Blair asked.

"And you and S can play house," Chuck chimed in as he tried to smooth things over.

"Is that what you two are going to do," Nate asked.

"No," Blair shook her head. "I'm going to live with Chuck because he has the room and it's all on one level and he doesn't like me walking up and down the stairs when I have heels on."

"Not to mention round the clock staff to cater to her every need," Chuck chimed in.

"And a willing boyfriend to satisfy her every desire," Nate added.

"Slow it down, Archibald," Chuck cautioned him with a menacing glare. "We're a ways away from that."

The silence that descended upon them was incredibly awkward.

"Hey, how about that movie," Blair said getting up from the table, having eaten just enough food so that the pill she needed to take wouldn't irritate her stomach. "I'm going to go make popcorn. Serena, how about you come with me and get the drinks?"

"Good idea," Serena said.

"So, what Audrey masterpiece are we watching," Nate asked as he and Chuck got up from the table.

"No Audrey tonight," Chuck said scanning the titles of the DVD library in the Waldorf living room. "We're watching something called Oscar. Here it is." He pulled the case out and checked the credits. "Whoa."

"What?"

"Blair?"

"What," Blair said from the hallway as she came into the living room. "Popcorn's almost ready. Nate, do you still like hot sauce on it?"

"You like a movie with Sylvester Stallone in it," Chuck asked.

"Yes," Blair said defensively.

"You do realize who Sylvester Stallone is, right," Chuck prompted her, "Remember those Rambo movies Archibald used to force us to watch. You used to say you'd never watch another movie of his again as long as you lived."

"He doesn't beat anybody up in this movie. He's actually funny. The closest he gets to fighting is mentioning that if some fighter got the workout he's been getting by running up and down the stairs he wouldn't have lost his last fight."

"Just making sure," Chuck replied as he popped the movie into her player as Serena came in with the beverages and large bowl of popcorn.

"You will love the staircase, Serena," Blair said. "It's like something you'd see in those old mansions your grandmother used to make us tour with her up in Rhode Island. You remember?"

"Unfortunately," Serena nodded. She'd never understood the fascination her grandmother had with the mansion tours she used to force on Serena.

"The Breakers were my favorite," Blair smiled as she leaned back. "Nate's family home."

"The one time I go with you guys and we tour the old Vanderbilt house," Nate groaned.

"I must have been absent that day," Chuck chimed in having felt left out of the conversation.

"No, you were in Venice or something," Serena said. "Bart decided to take you with him at the last minute."

"One of the very few times he tolerated my presence, I'm sure," he grumbled.

Blair slid her hand into his and squeezed lightly, giving him a sidelong glance, "Maybe this summer we can take a trip. It might be fun."

"Especially if Sabrina and Sebastian are walking," Serena chuckled, "It would be fun to try chancing them down those long corridors."

"They'll barely be six months," Blair said. "Don't rush them."

"When do babies start walking?" Serena inquired, showing how clueless she truly was about infant development.

"Around a year," Chuck said. Everyone stared at him. "I did a lot of reading."

"Start the movie already," Blair demanded as she snuggled against him as Serena did the same against Nate.

It felt strangely familiar, yet completely foreign all at the same time. The quartet had watched hundreds of movies together over the years, but never like this.

It had always been Blair snuggled up with Nate and Serena and Chuck keeping their distance from each other.

Blair's eyes started to droop around the time Little Anthony the Accountant asked for a raise and by the time Snaps was trying to choke him because he'd told him he was sleeping with his daughter she was in dreamland.

"Blair," Chuck whispered softly into her ear to test if she was still awake. Blair mumbled something incoherent and snuggled in closer.

"Is she asleep?" Serena inquired as she and Nate turned towards his voice.

"Yes, I think so," Chuck nodded. "I think today's catching up with her." He maneuvered around and scooped Blair up off the couch.

"I'll help you," Serena said as she got up.

"I have her," Chuck assured her. "You guys finish the movie."

"Are you sure?" Serena pressed. She'd never really seen Chuck as the type of guy able to carry a woman that great a distance. From the doorway of a bedroom to the nearest bed, yes, but from a living room, up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, no.

"We'll be fine," Chuck said. "Blair was right, this movie is funny. Stay and enjoy it."

Chuck carried her effortlessly up the stairs and into her bedroom. The nostalgia of the room hit him immediately. All the hours they'd spent in this room making plans to take down enemies, hiding away from everyone as they made out for hours, making love when he'd been turned out of the Empire by his supposed 'undead' mother.

He couldn't believe he'd ever even though of risking what they had.

He would regret it for the rest of his life.

Laying her down on the bed he grabbed the folded blanket at the end and he spread it over her and kissed the crown of her head. He backed away slowly. Just as he got to the door Blair murmured.

"Chuck?"

He turned to see her head had lifted up, "It's okay. Go back to sleep."

"Stay with me?"

He froze for a moment unsure of how to proceed. Was she really asking because it was what she wanted or was she asleep and merely dreaming it was what she wanted?

"Just no scarf this time," she said. "No shoes either. I don't want my sheets dirty."

She was most definitely awake, he concluded as he slipped out of his shoes and laid out next to her, wrapped her in his arms. They both drifted off into a sleep like they hadn't experienced in months.