MONTH 6 (CONT.)

I've put a spell on you/ Because now you're mine/ You're mine/ I love ya/ I love you/ I love you/ I love you anyhow/ And I don't care/ If you don't want me/ I'm yours right now -

"Carter?" Serena asks, stepping into the grandiose penthouse suite, barely registering the smoky Nina Simone as she clatters in, wiping away stray tears and hoping the watery mascara didn't run down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she straightens her brown leather mini trench coat and crosses her arms across her chest, knowing full well that she's heaving for breath and shaking from relief, anger, and excitement all at the same time. Those damn Bass boy's will ruin you…

"Serena," a relieved male voice sounds, causing the blonde to spin around and see Carter Baizen standing beside her, his usually smooth hair sticking up in all directions and his eyes framed with the tell tale signs of exhaustion.

He's worn down too.

"Did I come at a bad time?" She inquires, throwing her sex kitten act out the window because she's just confronted Chuck and she's in no mood to play hard-to-get hussy. Even now, she still doesn't understand that men find her vulnerability three times as enticing as her seductress act, something the male population had better thank whatever spirit they believe in that she hasn't caught on to the charm she weaves when liquid diamonds spill from her ocean blue eyes. It's temptation in it's greatest form and it's already causing the usually smooth operator that is Carter Baizen to sweat a little. He sees the way her lips turn down in displeasure, the way her eyes are sharper than ever, and he sees how her hair is rumpled - as if someone had entangled his fingers in those golden locks and mussed it up during the throes of passion.

He really, really hates Chuck Bass at the moment.

Not that he ever really liked him.

Clearing his throat, Carter shakes his head to bring himself out of his reverie before stepping aside, allowing Serena to enter the sitting room. "Not at all," he responds, throwing in a little Baizen charm because, well, she's here in his hotel room isn't she? "Need anything to dri…" the words falter from his lips the moment she raises an eyebrow at him and puts a protective hand over her slightly protruding stomach. Nice going, Baizen - offer the pregnant woman a drink, why don't you? "Right. Apple juice?"

Serena can't help but bite back a giggle at his flustered state; he's scampering to the kitchens now (having not even heard her polite "no thanks") and has just returned holding a pitcher of warm, non-alcoholic apple cider. "I ran out of juice," he says lamely.

She smiles and says a simple, "I can see that," before taking the offered glass from his hand, "any reason you're living in a hotel suite when you already own one of the finest pieces of real estate around?"

Carter's smile drops from his countenance as his emotions become a polyphony of discomfort, pressing against his chest until he feels ready to burst. "Jenny and I are…on a break," he says, though the truth behind those mild words are enough to make anyone laugh - Carter's just managed to escape the hellhole that's become his reality and he couldn't be more thankful to Serena for allowing him to run. It's what he's good at. A little smirk quirks up on his lips before he sees that look - that same determined expression she wore when she demanded that he help her find her father - steel itself in her cobalt blue eyes. "And that's what you're here to talk about…isn't it?" He finishes when he sees Serena's lips turn upward in a smile.

"I was never one to be pushy but since you brought up the whole subject again…" Serena trails off, happily taking a large sip of the spicy sweet apple cider. She makes a mental note to find the recipe because this has got to be the best cider she's had since Chuck took her to the UK. Serena absentmindedly begins to fiddle with the rim of the glass while waiting for Carter to spill because she's feeling confident and rejuvenated since dealing with Chuck - beating him (okay, deadlocking with him) in his own game is enough to allow any girl a healthy dose of pride.

"Serena, please," Chuck murmurs against her neck, his lips leaving a trail of fiery kisses that has Serena's breath hitching. She can't believe what he's doing to her and what's even more surprising is that she's letting him do it to her.

That she's enjoying it.

"Get off me, Bass," the blonde manages to breathe out, her voice a little on the airy side and filled with little venom.

Damn it.

He looks up, his tired brown eyes are somehow pleading and he opens his mouth to speak when she cuts him off. "If this is an eviction notice - fine. I'll move in with Blair tomorrow but right now, I've got things to handle and I don't need you trying to mmph!" She's cut off when he kisses her, this time full on the mouth as his hands drop the yellow rose bouquet he was holding and grasp onto her body, pulling her flush against him. The feel of leather against the silk of his shirt leaves him hard as it only serves as a reminder of the time Serena decided to dress up as a sex kitten for Halloween - literally. "I," kiss "never meant" kiss "to hurt you", his hands weave themselves into her hair and his voice becomes small - it's nowhere near the powerful and authoritative tone he usually uses to address people (even her at times) that Serena's completely taken aback.

She's shocked.

Stunned.

Flabbergasted (it's an ugly word, yes, but it really does cover how she's feeling at the moment).

With a sudden show of strength that nearly causes Chuck to topple backwards, Serena pushes him away as her blue eyes glow bright with the suppressed anger she's kept within herself. Her cheeks are flushed from their encounter, yes, but the fiery indignation she feels is what truly fuels the saturated pink-red hue. "You think," the blue eyed vixen hisses, taking a step towards the Bass industrialist, "that by buying me a few flowers and kissing me I'll just somehow magically forget what you've said before?" She demands, this time crossing her arms and raising a perfectly sculpted brow. "I don't think so."

The dark haired billionaire staggers up from the wall; he's exhausted and remorseful but he's a Bass - and being a Bass means never backing down. Never losing.

And this is a fight that Chuck Bass cannot afford to lose.

"Do you take me for a fool?" He shoots back, his mocha eyes are ablaze with the same light that's in Serena's - and they both know they're treading dangerous waters because the two of them - stupidly enough - forgot to put their walls up. Their defenses. Their shields. But they both negate that fact when Chuck places his hands on her shoulders, caressing the leather of her jacket to make sure that she is in front of him. "I don't expect the most priceless of diamonds to make up for what I've done but I'll be damned if I don't try - I'll use every dirty trick in the book to win you back, Serena. But it's not for any selfish gain of my own - it's all for you. Everything I do, Serena…every decision I make regarding you isn't deflected back towards myself or my sexual desires but it's all for you." He murmurs out, his voice is steady and controlled and Serena feels ready to implode from all the emotions swarming towards her at once.

"I don't believe you," she says, her voice breathless and shaky and damn it all, she hates herself for sounding so fucking weak. "I can't read you, Chuck - I never could read people in general - but you," she sighs, a delicate hand rising up to brush against his cheek, "you're like this maze that I have to try and make my way through every single day. And I want to do it on my own because...I care about you, Chuck."

There it is. He takes a sharp intake of breath.

Her confession.

They're not ready to make peace - not by a long shot - but the olive branch (for the moment) is being held out and Chuck's a damn fool if he doesn't take it.

"I'm not nearly loquacious enough to make up a sonnet for you on the spot," he responds, and she hears some of his trademark Bass snark beginning to seep through, only this time, it's playful - before his eyes narrow in seriousness. "I notice everything you do, Serena - whether I want to or not."

There. This is his confession.

It's not deep.

It's not poetic.

And it's damned confusing.

But to Serena (whose beautiful face splits into the widest smile he's ever seen), it's enough.

"…Georgina Sparks is back in town."

Serena's glass tumbler falls from her hand.

Nate Archibald has never claimed to the perfect prince, the man atop a white horse who sweeps away the damsel in distress - fuck no. He's never claimed to chivalrous, or courteous or kind or giving or wonderful or anything. The only thing he's ever claimed to be was Nate. To be himself. To be a lax loving, easy going, wide smiling politician's son who loves sailing and living each and every day to the fullest - does he agree with Clarissa Dalloway* that even living one day is dangerous?

Hell yes.

Because look at where it's got him. He can't possibly even fathom where Blair got this idea - this picture of Prince Charming from, but he's never claimed to be that person.

He loves Blair - that much he knows - but he also doesn't know how much more he can take. He's putting a few t-shirts and jackets and jeans into a duffel bag just because (no other reason) and it's not because he's afraid that Blair's gone off the deep end again with her plans (because he'll stick around for those - he always does). He just wants to make sure he has a bag made up just in case he decides to whisk Blair away on some romantic trip of where ever - who knows, he thinks, she may have grown to like the ocean (lies) and she may enjoy going to the Cape (lies) and they might be happy, far away from all this damned UES drama (Blair thrives off of it).

To take her away, Nate knows, would be to kill her.

But she's already managed to claw her way into his heart - and he's just barely hanging onto the windowsill of hers.

He knows she's plotting something with Chuck because he's also helping to plot with Chuck - a nice friendly game of 'let's finally kill Dan Humphrey'. Nate was always a player in one of those games and sure he may not have always had a four of a kind like Chuck or a full house like Blair but he's gotten by pretty well with his flush and straights - it's been working out just fine. So it's not that he's worried about their plans but he's worried about just how far they'll go to achieve their means.

Because if Nate's learned anything from being friends with Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass is that they - for all their snobby requests and mandatories - have never been afraid to get their own hands dirty. They've never been afraid to take the plunge in order to get what they want and that's exactly what frightens Nate - Blair lost her baby in order to escape that blasted marriage she was in and Chuck had to destroy his own mother to become king of Bass Industries.

Those tasks are not for the faint of heart and Nate is afraid of what will happen when he's the one who has a sell a piece of his soul to the devil.

After all, he's just Nate - a simple man with a simple smile.

What does he have to give?

(Except his heart - but Blair already has that).

"She's pregnant from what I've heard."

The maids are cleaning up the shattered glass pile by Serena's feet and Carter's not even fazed - hasn't even blinked. He just looks defeated.

How far the mighty have fallen.

Eric van der Woodsen was far from being the perfect brother - he'd tried to commit suicide, then became gay, and then realized he had no talent for business. Not the way Chuck did. Not the way Asher did. But he tried to make up for it with human morals and goodness - you know, the general kindness a human being exhibits. The very thing that the UES elite lack.

Human decency.

Which is why he's currently flying down through Grand Central Station, trying to get up above and hail a taxi cab and find his sister so he can tell her that Georgina Sparks is back in town. Which means Dan Humphrey is hot on her heels. Which means that all those woes that they suffered - the tears they'd shed for when Lily had fallen to pieces - can be transfigured into the dew drops of Apollo.

So that they can heal.

A cab stops and Eric hops in.

"Where to sir?"

"Bass penthouse. And if you skip all the damn red lights, I'll give you three hundred in addition to what I'll owe."

"Buckle up, sir."

And so Eric van der Woodsen and an unnamed taxi cab driver broke every speeding law New York had to offer.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sparks aren't exactly happy to know that their only daughter is now with child - and is still unmarried - but what really irks them is that the baby is Dan Humphrey's. A lawsuit to him for rape could crumble the paper thin legal walls he now hides behind. Investigations will occur. His fortune will be questioned - bank statements, Serena. Things could come to light."

"What do you mean?" The blonde asks faintly, her head woozy.

Carter leans in close to her, his breath is hot on her cheek. "It means," he whispers, "you can have it all back, Serena. Everything. You could leave Bass."

And with that, he kisses her.

Hey there UES, has it been too quiet for you all out there too? No need to worry, the end of October brings many things, such as Halloween and Eric van der Woodsen. Welcome back to the city that never sleeps, E! We've missed you! But not nearly as much as S has - she's a wreck right now but I'm sure you coming back will heal those wounds in her heart. Especially if you have D's lawyer's phone number. Or better yet, just go to the yellow pages to find one Jack Bass.

You know you love me,

XOXO,

Gossip Girl

*Clarissa Dalloway: the main protagonist from Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway.

A/N: I am SO sorry for this super delayed update but I would like to anyone who has stuck with this story and I can promise you that things are going to pick up. I think I've established the relationships to be at a fairly steady point and the characters are somewhat poignant and I'll be moving with the plot line.

Once again, I am so, so sorry for this late update and the only excuse I have is lack of inspiration.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and please keep them coming!