A/N: Thank you for all of your feedback. I really appreciate it. Anyways, enjoy!

Both Jade and Blair did not lose their eye contact. In a way, it was sort of a staring contest. But instead of it being a friendly game, it was a silent bitch battle. Chuck watched them as they continued on with their fake smiles and their bone crushing greeting. He cleared his throat, causing both girls to drop their hands and look at him. He gently put his hand on the small of Jade's back, like any good date would, before turning to Blair.

"So, Blair, what brings you to the Met?" he asked, hoping she would say something interesting. An afternoon with Jade was enough boredom for a lifetime.

"Me and Jenny are supposed to meet here. It's sort of a girl's day out for me," Blair responded, not even looking in Jade's direction.

"Jenny Humphrey?" Chuck asked.

Blair nodded her head, making her brunette locks to shake in the process. She stood more confidently now. Maybe it was because that Jade wasn't all intimidating. Maybe it was because she was happy that she and Dan were moving in together. Or maybe it was the way Chuck was looking at her right this second. As if she was the only girl in the world.

"The fashion designer? From Brooklyn? Oh my, she has no fashion sense. Her designs look like they were made for Mary-Kate Olsen," Jade commented in her whiny, annoying, know-it-all voice.

Blair's eyes became cold as she unwillingly looked in Jade's direction. Jade stood there with an evil smile. Blair's ruby red lips opened to speak.

"And do you have any experience in the fashion world?" she asked.

"I did a few runways when I was eighteen. But now, I am a reporter for Fashion TV,"

"So you know your stuff?" Blair asked, a sly smirk appearing on her face.

"Yes, I do. And I know that Jenny Humphrey will never be that big. She's no Vera Wang or Eleanor Waldorf. Now those are designers,"

"Well designers can't all be the same, now can they?" Blair responded.

"No, but Jenny Humphrey doesn't have the talent to survive. She has no potential. Now if Eleanor Waldorf taught her a thing or too, then maybe she could have a shot. But that's next to impossible. Meeting Eleanor is almost unachievable. She's always so busy. But you wouldn't understand. It's not like you could even get two words with her," Jade told Blair, her thin lips starting to form a smirk.

Blair wanted to burst out laughing. Who did this girl think she was? She quickly glanced over at Chuck. He looked like he was to laugh out loud any second. Blair looked back at Jade and took a small step towards her.

"Actually, I think I'd have a better shot of speaking to her than you ever would," Blair said, her words cold and her brown doe eyes looking straight at Jade made them even colder.

"And why is that?" Jade asked, getting ready to hear a pathetic excuse.

"She's my mother," Blair said satisfactorily. "Granted, during most of my life she often ignored me. But her marriage to my step-father, really brought our family closer."

Jade stood speechless. Eleanor's daughter? I hate this fucking bitch!, she thought. She grabbed her purse and gripped it with her fingers. She tried to muster up a smile, but that seemed like an impossible challenge. She looked at the ground, admiring her own shows before looking up and making eye contact with Blair.

"Y-Your mother?" she asked.

"Yes," Blair clarified.

Jade flashed a fake smile in Bair's direction before turning to Chuck. She placed her hands on his chest and moved her head closer to his.

"I'm getting a little bit tired. Could we go back to your place?" she asked with artificial sweetness to her voice.

"Alright," Chuck said, before looking back at Blair. "It was nice seeing you again, Blair."

"Yes, it was," Blair responded.

After another small smile from Chuck, Blair watched as he and Jade descended down the steps to their awaiting limo. Blair sighed. She was alone once again. She sat back down on the steps, wondering what could have taken Jenny so long. She looked down at her watch. It was almost two thirty. It had only been eleven minutes.

Ring, Ring.

Blair heard her phone go off. She opened up her handbag and found it instantly. She pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. Dan. She smiled as she placed the phone up to her ears.

"Hey, handsome," she said.

"Excuse me?" said another man on the other end.

"Who is this?" Blair asked, panic staring to take over her.

"Dave, a waiter from Macelleria. Look, some guy left his phone here and since you were the first one on his speed dial, I thought I'd give you a call," Dave said.

"Thank you. Do you know when he left?"

"About an half hour ago. I didn't notice until now. He did seem a bit tipsy when he left though,"

"Well did he leave with anyone?" Blair asked worriedly.

"No, he did have a few drinks with an older man, but he left earlier," the waiter informed her.

When she heard his words, she quickly shut her phone. Her body froze.

Blair felt her head spinning. Dan hadn't started drinking until the end of senior year. He would drink a bit at parties, but that was about it. It wasn't until freshman year at Yale that he started to drink a bit more. At first it was only on weekends. But after a few months, he started to go to the pub every other day. And by the end of the year, he reeked of cigarette smoke and beer. She had seen him slip. Teachers had started to give him a hard time. He stopped writing. It had taken all her might to get him to stop drinking. It drove her to the point that she would cry at night when he was out drinking.

It had been a hard battle, but eventually he had stopped for her. For them. She didn't want to see him like that again. It had been terrifying the first time, she couldn't imagine it again. Her shaky hand opened her phone and quickly texted Jenny.

Do u know where D might b?

She got a reply almost instantly.

No, y?

He's drinking again. Can u look 4 him on the west side?

Sure. I'll call if I find him.

Even though it was six little words on the screen of her tiny phone, they gave her some reassurance. She dropped her phone into her purse and gallivanted down the steps. Her arm in the air, trying to hail a cab. Luckily one stopped in front of her.

"Every bar you can find!" Blair told him as she shut the door.

The driver gave her a weird look but started up the car and took the lady to nearest bar. Once outside, she told him to wait before she ran inside. But she came up short. No Dan. She went back to the cab. They did this for the next hour and half. It was almost five-thirty by the time the driver informed her that his shift was up. Blair paid the cab fair before stepping out of the taxi. She walked down the streets of Manhattan. She had received a few texts from Jenny, asking if she had any sign of him.

Her feet hurt. As beautiful as her shoes were, she probably wouldn't ever wear them again. Especially after one of the clumsy bartenders spilled a martini on them. She buttoned up her coat. She felt her eyes get watery. And she didn't care. The man she loved was off somewhere, drunk off his ass. She didn't want to even think about what could happen to him. She just had to find him. She sighed. She would need some help. She pulled out her phone and found his number. She pressed it and brought it up to her ear.

Fortunately, he picked up after the first ring.

"Waldorf, I must say after not seeing you for four years, your voice is slowly becoming a part of my daily life," Chuck said on the other end.

"I need your help," Blair said, worry dripped from her voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice concerned.

"I can't find Dan. He had a few drinks and when he get's drunk, he really gets drunk. And if-"

"Where are you?" he asked.

She quickly gave him the address. She heard the sound of a pencil meeting paper as he quickly wrote down where she was.

"I'll be there as fast as I can," he told her.

"Okay," she said.

He hung up. Blair took the phone away from her ear and closed it. She felt the wind hit her face and she shivered. There wasn't much on the street. Just buildings and a sidewalk. Sometimes a few cars would pass, but it was pretty obvious not many people walked through the area.

She looked up at the sky and frowned when she noticed it was getting darker. The air was getting colder. She brought her phone back out and looked at the time. It had been fifteen minutes. He'll be here. Don't worry. New York traffic always takes time, she told herself.

Footsteps were heard from around the corner. Three men emerged. Probably late twenties. They had on a pair of jeans and a sweater on top. They frightened her a bit, but she held her ground. One of them noticed her and pointed her out to his friends. She could hear them talking, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Their footsteps got louder.

"You are the finest thing to ever come to our neighbourhood," one of them said to her. He had a slight goatee.

She didn't say anything. They were a few feet away from her. She desperately prayed they would leave her alone.

"Aww, you're a shy one, aren't ya?" another one said, this one had one of his eyebrows shaved off.

"Leave me alone," Blair said in a cold, assertive tone, a tone that sent ninth graders running.

"We just want to show you around the neighbourhood," goatee said as he stepped closer to her.

She could smell the alcohol on his breath, He brought his hand up to her face and stroked her cheek.

"Don't touch me!" Blair snapped.

He laughed before bring his hand down to her neck, then her arm and finally her waist. He brought her closer to him. She tried to push him off, but she was no match. Her eyes weld up with tears.

"Let me go!" she screamed.

He and his friends laughed. Another one of his friends walked right up behind her. He stroked the back of her neck. Her tears ran down her neck. She screamed, but they kept laughing. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, she thought, not being able to believe it. She was going to die, and these three dumbass' would be the ones to kill her. She closed her eyes and prayed.

Suddenly, she couldn't feel the one behind her anymore. All she heard was the sound of someone hitting the ground. The one in front of her was pulled away and hit the ground as well. She opened her eyes to see Chuck standing over the three men. His chest rising and his hand in a tight, red fist. He looked up at Blair.

"You alright?" he asked as he walked towards her.

Blair stood speechless. She looked at the three men on the ground, remembering that seconds ago they would have done god knows what to her. She brought her gaze up to Chuck. His eyes soft and his hand extended towards her.

"I'll take you home," he said in a soft voice.

"But what about Dan?" she asked.

"I'll find him for you," he told her.

She grabbed his hand as he led her to his limo. He opened the door for her and she slid inside. He shut the door behind them and looked over at Blair. She sat quietly, her hands rested on her lap and her eyes filled with worry.

"I will find Dan for you," Chuck said quietly, causing Blair to look at him.

"Thank you," Blair replied.

Chuck smiled at her. She went back to looking out of her window. He looked out his.

He had known once he had gotten her call that something was wrong. She rarely asked for help. She was a Waldorf and she would do things herself. So he had gotten ready as fast as he could and made sure his driver got there as quickly as he could. After a giving Jade a quick excuse he was gone. Once they had neared the neighbourhood, his bad feeling had gotten worse. Why would Blair even go near a place like this?

And then he had seen the three scumbags surrounding her. How helpless she had looked. Anger had filled his body up at that point. He had marched so fast out of the car, that he didn't know what had happened until he had the three guys on the ground, fear striking their very core.

Now here she sat, across from him. No where near danger. By the time they reached her building, she was fast asleep. Chuck smirked to himself before lifting her up in his arms and walking inside the building. He managed to press the elevator button as he held her in his arms. As they rode to the top, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. It was like senior year all over again, in a way. Whenever he looked at her, nothing else seemed important.

Dorota was shocked, but silently happy, when she saw Chuck carrying a sleeping Blair into the penthouse. He smiled at Dorota before taking Blair upstairs. He opened her bedroom door and walked over to her bed. The room smelled the same as it had all those years ago. Lavender with a hint of vanilla. He set her down on her bed. She lay peacefully. He gently brought the sheets up and covered her petite frame.

He heard Dorota enter the room. He stepped away from Blair and walked past the maid. He swore he saw a smile form on her face.

Once he stepped into his limo, he whipped out his phone. It was time to find Dan.

"Hello?" he heard on the other end.

"I never thought I'd need to call you ever again, but tonight I am wrong. I have a feeling you know where Humphrey is," Chuck said.

"I have no idea where Dan is. I didn't even know he was missing. Why don't you ask Blair and leave me alone," Nate replied.

"You must think I'm stupid," Chuck told him.

"Actually, I think you are. You are stupid if you think I know where Dan is at this hour. The last time I spoke to him was this morning," Nate said.

"You have no need to be mad at me anymore. Look, just tell me if you know anything about Humphrey's whereabouts," Chuck responded.

"I do have every right to be mad at you. You ruined everything for me!" Nate roared.

"I tried to protect you, then you ruined everything for yourself," Chuck answered in an equally angry tone.

"You never tried to protect me. If you had, I wouldn't have turned out this way. I wouldn't be unhappy," Nate said on the other end.

"Just tell me if you see him," Chuck said before hanging up on his former best friend.

Senior year had been tough. Between exams and all the events, there was barely enough time to juggle reality. During March, Nate had gone to visit his father in prison. Basically Nate's father told him that he still had a shot at getting into Dartmouth and told him to go meet up with one of the deans, who coincidently was Carter Baizen's uncle.

Nate knew that he would probably have to reconcile with Carter in order to even speak to the dean. So he did. And in a few short weeks, the two were like old friends. Carter took him everywhere, including the horse races. Chuck hadn't trusted Carter one bit when they were younger, and still didn't trust him. Eventually, Carter got Nate to gamble on some of the races. Of course in the beginning, Nate won some money. He immediately gave it to his mother, for some financial stability. So he thought he would keep gambling.

Once Chuck found out, he knew he had to put a stop to it. So he fought with Nate, trying to get him to quit gambling all the money he had left. Nate didn't listen and continued going to horse races. But when the dean found out of what Nate was doing, all hopes for Dartmouth were gone. Chuck and Nate never spoke to each other again. Nate always thought that Chuck had told the dean. Even after Chuck told him for the hundredth time that he didn't do it, Nate had called him a liar too.

So with no other choice, Nate had married Sylvia Gallagher, heir to the Gallagher musical instrument company. Although she was sixteen years his senior, he knew this would ensure his family's future. But it had made him unhappy for the past three years.

Chuck peered out his window, looking for any sign of Humphrey. They had gotten along a little bit during the last year of high school, but weren't the best of friends or anything. But then again all of Chuck's time was spent with Blair. That was until that night. Chuck shook his head, hoping his memory of that night would just disappear.

The limo turned at a corner. There was a man, mid-twenties, attempting to walk outside of a bar. Chuck immediately instructed his driver to stop and got out of the limo. It was Dan alright. He tried to grab onto anything to stay right side up. Chuck grabbed his arm and held him up. Dan looked up and managed to glance a drunken smile.

"Chuck!" he slurred.

"Yeah it's me. Come on," he said, brining the drunk one towards his limo.

He had to basically push Dan into the limo before getting in himself. Dan smelled like an eighties rocker. Chuck opened the window slightly to avoid the smell.

"Chuck," Dan called out to him.

"What?" he asked, turning to look at him.

"Where's Blair?"

"She's at home. She was looking for you but you were off being a drunk ass," Chuck replied.

"I have an ass," Dan said proudly.

Chuck rolled his eyes. Drunk Dan was slightly more annoying than sober Dan, expect far more stupid. The ride to the Waldorf's penthouse was long, considering that Dan would say odd things. At one point the started to explain why Shrek was an ogre. Chuck felt as though he would lose it any second, but fortunately the limo stopped at they were in front of the Waldorf building.

Dan slid closer to the door, but Chuck was in the way. So Dan had to walk in the tiny space he had to get out of the limo. Once outside, he turned to Chuck.

"Thanks," he said before stalking off inside.

Chuck shut the door and waited to be dropped off at his place. First I save the Queen and then her King. Guess I'm the fucking knight, Chuck thought to himself. He felt the limo stop and the cold air from outside hit him as his driver opened the door for him.

As he rode in the elevator to his floor, he couldn't stop thinking about Blair. He knew it was wrong. She has Dan and they love each other. He couldn't just go in and expect her to be crazy for him. There was Dan. Stupid Dan Humphrey. The elevator doors opened and he knew that he was in the penthouse. He sighed before exiting the elevator. He walked towards the living room only to see Jade sitting with a cup of tea in her hand. She looked up upon his arrival.

"It's about time you came home," she said.

"I was helping out a friend," he replied as he shrugged off his coat and passed it to a nearby maid.

"Was it that Blair Waldorf girl? I don't like her," Jade told him.

"She is my friend. She has been since we were little kids," he answered.

"She's a bit self-centred. I don't like her and I don't like you spending time with her. I'm your girlfriend, she's just a friend," Jade said looking up at him.

Chuck walked closer to her and sat across from her on the other couch. He leaned forward, his eyes dark.

"She is my friend and I help out my friends. And no one tells me otherwise," he said in a cold tone.

"But you shouldn't be spending all this time with her. How would you like it if I spend all my time with my male friends?"

"All of your male friends are gay," Chuck commented.

"That's not the point."

"Well then what is? I don't know about you, but I'm tired. Goodnight," he said as he got up from the couch and preceded up the stairs.

Jade watched him. Anger filled her eyes. She didn't know the whole story of Blair, but she knew she would have to get rid of this girl. Blair Waldorf must be gone!

Dan staggered into the foyer of the apartment. Dorota came running out when she heard something. She let out a small sigh of relief when she realized it was Dan. She quickly rushed to his side, helping him stand straight. She helped him up the stairs and quietly entered Blair's bedroom. Dorota left him in her room.

Dan made his way over to Blair's bed, when she lay sleeping. He smiled when he saw her. He quietly sat down on her bed and made his way over to her. He grabbed her sheets and put them over his body as well. He placed his arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you, Blair Waldorf," he murmured before dozing off.

Blair felt the familiar strong arm around her waist, protecting her. She smiled and gently squeezed it. It was Dan. She looked over at her side table. Her clock informed her that it was nine-thirty. She glanced at Dan. He was sound asleep. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before getting out of bed. He smelled a bit like beer, nothing a shower couldn't fix.

She grabbed her robe and pulled it over her clothing. She gasped when she realized that it was what she had been wearing the night before. She slipped her feet into a pair of silk slippers and headed downstairs.

Dorota was in the dining room preparing breakfast. She smiled when she saw Blair enter.

"Good morning, Miss Blair," she said in her Polish accent.

"Morning Dorota," she replied.

"I'm glad Mr. Chuck brought you home last night. I had been growing very worried," Dorota admitted.

"Don't worry Dorota, nothing like that will every happen again. I promise," Blair told her maid.

Dorota smiled before pouring Blair a glass of orange juice. Blair sighed and took a sip of it before turning to her maid.

"Could you bring me some aspirin and a glass of water?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss Blair," Dorota said before dashing off into the kitchen.

She came back as quickly as she had went. She handed Blair the pills and the glass of water. Blair sent her a thankful smile before going upstairs. She quietly opened her bedroom door. Dan was still sleeping. Blair placed the aspirin and the water on the side table before climbing onto the bed. She gently stroked the side of Dan's face.

"Morning, Humphrey," she said in a soothing voice.

Dan's eyes started to flutter open. He looked around his surroundings before settling his eyes on Blair. He smiled.

"Blair," he said with a smile.

"Sit up, you need to take your aspirin," she said as she tried to help him up.

"It'll be good for me head." he said, mentioning his headache.

He brought the pillow up first and then sat in a straight position. Blair brought the aspirin and water to him. She watched as he swallowed the pills. She smiled and gently kissed his cheek. He gave her a confused look.

"What as that for?" he asked.

"That your safe and I know where you are right this very second," she said.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night," he replied.

"You should be," she commented in a small voice.

"I never meant to drink or do anything like that."

"But you just had to have a drink? You weren't going to have more than one? That you thought you could control yourself? Well what is it? What's your excuse this time," Blair snapped at him.

"I know your upset-"

"I am more than upset. Dan, I'm hurt. If you love me, if you really love me, then you wouldn't drink. You would care more about the people you hurt instead of yourself," she replied, a few tears escaping her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Blair looked at him. He was literally at loss for words. They had fought before in the past. Always about his drinking. But they had managed to get through it. Blair sighed and got up from the bed.

"Dorota made breakfast for us downstairs. You can join me if you want," she said.

"I'll be there in a minute."

Blair walked out of her room, wiping her tears off as she did. The day wasn't going to get any easier, she just knew it.