A/N: OMG. Are you guys prepared for this? This chapter is the LAST chapter of 'So What If I'm Jealous', minus the epilogue of course…which I will hopefully be posting soon. ;p But I have a few announcements you should pay heed to, before diving into this lovely last chapter of…I'm sure…your favorite story. ;p Hehehe.
ANNOUNCEMENT 1: I've had a huge moment of realization, and I've found that indulging myself in M-rated scenes & stories is probably not the healthiest thing for me, regarding my principles. Therefore, I am not going to be writing anymore (or at least for a pretty long time) M-rated stories or scenes, though I don't think I've entirely really gone past T-rated scenes in any of my stories. Heh. Going back to any of the stories I regularly read, I am putting a complete halt to the M-rated stories…*sniffles*…which is hard for some of those awesomely thought out stories *thinks sadly about 'Cutting Room Floor… by DaeDreemer' which was almost over!* And as far as those T-rated fics that have one to a few M-rated scenes in them…I'll probably keep reading some of them, as long as it's pretty obvious when those scenes are (as in a warning at the beginning of the chapter) and there aren't too many of them, so I can just continue on my way and still enjoy those wonderfully enticing storylines. Besides that, my reading and writing will stay at its norm. This message is also posted in more detail at the current top of my profile, if you were curious.
ANNOUNCEMENT 2: PLEASE vote on the poll on my profile. It seems as though 'Queen Bee for a Reason' is the most popular choice, which I can hardly believe…since 'Unable' and 'Never Again: A Chuck & Blair Story' have been visited and reviewed much more often. But…soon after I finish 'So What If I'm Jealous' I will be writing out the outline and finishing up the next one of these three stories, so unless you're totally in love with the idea of the results as is, please please vote, and soon.
*I OWN NOTHING.
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Ch. 22-Rightly Aligned
They were still arguing in the corner. Blair didn't know how much more she could take. Her bruises were still throbbing from earlier, and the make-up was doing a horrible job of keeping them hidden.
What was the point of all this? she wondered. Finding info on Chuck? For what reason? What had he done wrong? Nothing beyond womanizing and drinking too much alcohol at seventeen as far as she was concerned.
She shifted slightly in her seat, moving her phone so as to feel the vibrations more easily, should they come.
Jason's head quirked in her direction.
What? How was he so alert?
"Did you move?" he asked, his voice dangerously low as he stalked towards her. Wyler shook his head and faced the other direction as to not look on to the situation developing. He had always been against his partner's interrogating tactics, but trying to convince him otherwise had never been successful. So now he just turned the other way, and prayed to God to spare the lives of whoever was being questioned. He couldn't save them anymore.
Blair looked to him, silenced, and stilled to a severe degree. Wyler worked hard to ignore any screams or clanging of chains, used earlier when Jason had gotten particularly irritated at the feisty brunette. His wounded partner mumbled something incoherent and stepped outside, pack of cigarettes and lighter in hand, a small sigh released as an afterthought.
The door shut softly, wooden lock closing over its compartment with a quick click.
"I asked you a question," Jason's grumbling tone grew more intense.
Blair did nothing but blink at him, afraid of speaking, afraid of what he would do. She had switched between cocky and submissive more times to count, but the alteration didn't confuse him, it only made him more agitated with her. She honestly didn't know how she felt about anything anymore. She wanted to get out of here and be with Chuck or Serena or anyone besides this torturous crook. He so clearly was not a private investigator. She didn't know what his occupation was or what whoever hired him wanted with Chuck, but it couldn't be good.
Her forehead scrunched up in pain. All of this hardcore thinking was giving her a headache, especially with all the bruises and cuts she'd acquired all over her face.
"I'm not going to ask you again," he huffed, coming to a halt less than two feet in front of her. Blair lifted her gaze to him, her face frozen in a blank expression. She didn't know what to say or feel. She was lost in a blur of everything that was happening, of all that had happened.
Where was Chuck?
SLAP.
SMASH.
KICK.
SCRATCH.
It was everything from before, but twice the pain this time. Double the force. He slapped her across the face, smashed her arms into the chair by whipping the huge metal chain across, kicked her legs, scratched her skin everywhere with another rusty metal device behind him on a wooden table she had before bypassed in her analysis of the room. And all this was repeated, over and over until tears were spilling out of her eyes. She couldn't make any sound, and anyone looking on would think that perhaps she had lost her voice and the man screaming at her had not been notified.
Because that's what he was doing. He was screaming at her. Questions choked over violent cries. He pushed her chair around on the floor in a little circle, slapping her more than anything else. He pulled at her hair too, ripping some strands from the core. Then he took some dirt that had implanted itself on the dusty floor and rubbed it over her skin. She didn't even have the strength to spit or kick him, or insult him—which had been her best defense before.
No, she was covered in dirt and blood specks and bruises and cuts. And he laughed at her, finding himself more powerful than he believed anyone to be. He didn't stop for anyone or anything, and he certainly didn't hear the door creak open again, or see Wyler standing agape in the doorway.
But he did feel Wyler pull him away from the scarred Blair Waldorf and drag him a good ten feet across the room. His partner, standing outside that abandoned warehouse, had been experiencing the biggest inner battle yet. He had been in this battle awhile, but this particular case had been the worst for him. At first, he thought Jason was just a cocky professional who didn't believe in love. But it was so much worse. He learned later on from Kevin how extreme his brother could be. He had been using Kevin as a practicing tool for his interrogations, beating him on a regular basis and trying to get him involved in the cases for the talking sessions. Kevin had been horrified by the idea, but since they also seemed to move so often and he had been sworn to secrecy about everything, Jason bribed his younger brother into certain activities he wanted him to participate in. It was just simple things, like saying they wouldn't move for another few months if he got a few particular details in a student's family life. Or even the idea of a few less beatings that week for a kidnapping or two. They weren't really private investigators, in the literal sense of the word. Typically, private investigators were hired by people who wanted to know something about someone, but the people regarded were never hunted down, and the people around them were certainly never kidnapped or tortured. Wyler and Jensen were a special brand, hired by Bass Australia, Inc., found in the midst of professional hit men and camouflaging themselves to the highest degree. Unless they were hunted down by the FBI and studied in detail with evidence present at the moment of arrest, the only crime they could be convicted of was overriding their creative license as a private investigator. Wyler was sick of battling his conscience though. He knew what the right thing was, and he hadn't graduated from Harvard to be committing torturous acts. He graduated to continue on to the police force, to help solve crimes and put criminals in jail, even if by this final good act he was put in the prison himself.
Silence.
All that could be heard was Blair's uneven breathing. After pushing Jason away, Wyler was nearly knocked out by the punch delivered to him. He knew Jason had been going overboard with this case in particular, but punching his own partner…even by accident? That was low, even for the crazies. Jason and Wyler stayed pinned to their spots, staring each other down, unsure and furious simultaneously. Blair stared at the ground, hardly gathering together the significance of what had just happened. It hardly hit home for her that she was no longer being beaten up. Her head was still pounding and her limbs were throbbing unnaturally. It all hurt so bad.
She swallowed, her throat burning with the lack of liquid in the last few days, with the lack of food, with the lack of rest in a horizontal position. The dust settling on her eyelashes flew bit by bit into her eyes, the rest falling down on her cheeks.
Was this real?
The quiet lasted a few more moments, and then—
CLICK.
The latch was unhooked, and in walked a familiar face, fully recovered from his injuries before—no thanks to the insistence from his two new friends, Dan and Nate—Kevin had become quite the confident fellow. Wyler turned towards where the boy had come in, looking at him curiously.
"Kevin!"
"Kevin?" they both said at once.
The boy's face suddenly fell at the sight of Blair Waldorf, seemingly unaware of herself and unaware of any sort of reality surrounding her at that moment.
"Oh my Word…" his whisper fell amongst them, "What have you done to her?" his low tone nearly scared the life out of them.
He took no more than two steps forward when the door burst open and a whole police squad stormed in, shouting and demanding 'hands up', with Chuck, Dan, Nate & Vanessa at its forefront. In the rush of yelling and crowding around, Dan and Nate just about forgot their purpose in coming. Chuck pushed past the two clueless idiots and ran to his girlfriend's side, as completely out of it as she appeared.
She didn't move, didn't even seem to recognize that someone was suddenly so close to her, didn't recognize that it was the one person she wanted to be with the most.
Chuck untaped her wrists and ankles from the chair, removing the dust from her arms and legs with his hands, and trying to get her attention through the delicate handling of her face. He tucked a few dirty hair strands behind her ear, and tried hard not to see the bruises and cuts covering her entire body.
"God, Blair…" he pulled her forward and cradled her in his arms. She was still unresponsive, and it killed him to see her like this. "Blair…Blair, talk to me. Tell me you can feel me," he whispered. "I'm going to make sure these guys pay for what they've done to you. I swear I will. Just please…tell me it's not too late. Tell me I got here in time." The rest was muffled cries and speechless gaping.
He pulled back again and looked into her eyes, searching for some sort of sign, something besides the blank stare that she had been sporting for the last couple hours, he was sure. During the beatings. And the yelling, the lecturing, the cursing. All of it.
Her eyes twinkled with tears. Chuck nearly had a heart attack right then and there. "Blair!" he whispered with exclamation, taking her in his arms again. He clung to her, and for the first time since the hospital occurrence, she recognized a reality beyond this horrendous nightmare. Her arms rose from the chair and wrapped around his neck.
"Chuck," she cried into him. "Chuck, I was so scared." Her breathing picked up again. It had dulled during the last few minutes before the police force burst through that rickety wooden door. But the moment she burst through the thick atmosphere that her spirit had sunken through the last few days, and finally found the world in which she lived amongst her friends and the love of her life again…things were good. No, things were great. The ache, the hurt, the excruciating pain…it was all over.
Blair brought her head down, and captured Chuck's lips in a wild passion which he reciprocated greedily. It was as if they'd never breathed, never lived before this moment. She clung to him like a lifeline, and wrapped her hands deep up in his hair as he pulled her closer. He muttered sweet nothings in her ear, promises she knew he would keep, words she would never forget—the way he touched her, she would remember forever.
"I swear I'll make them pay for what they did to you, B…I swear," he was crying now, crying while he kissed her, while he made an impression on her and on the world that no one threatened and abused the loved ones of Chuck Bass.
Jason scoffed at this, and exploded with laughter as the policeman directly to his right grabbed him, and began to pull him towards the door. "Like you would actually do that when the man who hired us is your uncle Jack!" The policeman raised his eyebrows at the lunatic, snapping the handcuffs around his wrists.
And our cover is blown, Wyler concluded, rolling his eyes and walking towards the policemen willingly.
"That's fantastic, Jensen. Now we have even more cause to arrest you." Jason's eyes grew wide at the statement, and it seemed that for the first time in about a day and a half, he realized the seriousness of the situation.
Another policeman grabbed Wyler, loosening his grip as they neared the door with the fact that he seemed to be much more willing to cooperate than his partner. Dan and Nate followed the police squadron out the door moments later, stopping only when an object in the corner appeared to have caught Vanessa's eye.
The curly-haired Brooklynite wandered into the dusty corner, picking up the small device that seemed only recently emptied out with some sort of liquid drug. The whole situation was just so surreal. She had never expected the ice queen to be so physically tortured and emotionally far gone; her heart actually ached for the trauma she must've had to endure. Because of this, the simplest of things drew her attention. She held the syringe lightly in the palm of her hand. Her eyes grew wide, and she spun around looking towards Wyler, past the colorful crew she had come in with.
"Hey, you!" she shouted, walking towards him. The few policemen that had him in their grasp halted, and turned to look at the girl in question. Vanessa was huffing when she finally reached them from across the room. She held out the syringe for Wyler to see. "What was in here, and what do I have to do with all of this?"
Wyler sucked in his breath. When he said nothing in the following few seconds, the policemen began to pull him away again. "No," he said, his voice rigid and determined. He had been battling with his conscience for the last few years, but during the prior fifteen minutes he had decided to do right, and only right…regardless of the consequences he himself had to endure because of it. It just shocked him that in the midst of seeing his world crashing down around him, the initial target came forward and ever so innocently just asked for the truth. "Wait." The three policemen surrounding him stopped again, and walked a few steps towards the girl.
Her eyes were so hopeful. "Please. Please just tell me. I deserve at least that."
Wyler sighed and nodded, not even caring that the policemen would hear what he said and use it against him. He'd heard it in enough shows and movies, and had definitely been swallowed up in nightmares with that terrible phrase…and the arresting type experience in general. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will be used against you in a court of law…his eyes closed softly and when they reopened, she was still there. Still waiting. Unwilling to leave without an explanation.
"In the beginning, we were going to kidnap…" he paused, "and torture you in order to discover information about Chuck Bass."
She cringed, feeling the heat of Chuck's head snapping up at the mention of his own name. "Yes, Kevin informed me of that. But…this?" her eyes looked to the syringe again before finding Wyler's gaze again.
There was a soft silence.
"It had something to do with my brief amnesia episodes these last few days, didn't it?" she asked.
He nodded.
"You would…inject this into me inconspicuously so I wouldn't see what I shouldn't have been aware of, before I was supposed to be aware of."
He stared hard at her as she began to piece it all together. "Vestimin," he said, barely a whisper, "that was the drug."
"I probably…" she chuckled sarcastically, seeming to not hear the particular information he had just acknowledged. "I probably saw either one or both of you sneaking around or committing some unrecognizable crime, and then…" her eyebrows fused together. She had suddenly become very confused. "Why did they stop?"
Wyler sighed again. "Because Kevin cared about you enough to make them stop."
"How do you know all this?" she asked the boy she had laughed with only days later. Things had been much simpler then. Everything just had not been so serious.
"Because, Vanessa," he said, glancing at her as he led the others down another back alley. "I have discovered how my brother works. He claims to be a private investigator, and it was only recently when I realized he was not your typical investigator. Jack Bass, Chuck's uncle, hired both my brother and his current partner, Wyler, in the midst of a type of hit men inner city, and sent them on the mission to find out everything about his nephew. He has always wanted more control in Bass industry. Getting rid of the heir to the company solidifies a more powerful position in his career."
They all gaped at him.
"I…I had no idea," she said, startled.
"I know," he nodded, sighing. It looked like he wanted to say something else, but he remained quiet for a few moments more. "Let's just find your friend."
Vanessa quieted herself. She had never thought very highly of Blair Waldorf, but now was not the best time to be acknowledging such a fact.
Kevin turned to the boy behind her, and cleared his throat. "Chuck?"
The brown-haired boy nodded seriously. They all continued in silence.
Vanessa's eyes widened and she stepped back, bumping into Nate and Dan who caught her simultaneously. She saw out of the corner of her eye Kevin near the head of the police squadron, and by all rights—they were arresting his brother. Abusive or not—Jason and Kevin were related; they were all either of them had.
The two boys who had caught her said something during that heroic moment, she was sure, but all noise drained from her mind. She remembered seeing both Wyler and Jason at one particular moment during the last few days…memories she could not recall before. She exhaled.
"Let's get out of here," she muttered, forcing her mind to focus on the reality at hand, though not to such an extent as to not lose herself in the thoughts misplaced. And Kevin? She didn't even know where to begin with that one. They had only spent one afternoon talking at a café, and for some bizarre reason the fourteen year old had chosen to save her life from this madness. Save her over Blair Waldorf. She blinked, snapping out of what appeared to be a dream. The two boys honored her request and, inclining their heads towards the reunited couple behind them, they all moved out of the haunting abandoned Brooklyn warehouse.
.............................................................................
The young blonde could hear her father talking on the phone in the hallway some time later. It was her mother, as far as she could guess from the direction the conversation had gone. He gave the cliff notes version though, probably guessing that their lovely daughter would spill details later. Jenny smirked when he dove into the part about Dan making a klutz of himself regarding the attending nurse.
She sighed, glancing at the objects around the room, wondering when she would finally get out of here and back to her life. Not that there was too much going on at the moment. I mean, she did have the whole fashion business with Eleanor and that was great. She got to do something that she was passionate about every day. Not everybody gets that type of opportunity. Plus, she was so over the popularity deal at school, and was moving on to homeschooling, which was definitely exciting. As exciting as a different type of education can actually be. There was also discovering what had been causing Vanessa's frequent fainting spells as of late…but a part of the blonde felt that that would also be solved within the day.
Another sigh. Too much thinking.
And still no guy.
There was a knock on the door. Jenny looked up and found herself looking into the kind eyes of a pink scrub clad nurse. The same frustrated nurse from before. Though she seemed much more at peace without Dan in the vicinity. Where was Dan anyways? She pushed the thought aside.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing," the nurse said, stopping at the end of the hospital bed. "I'm Terry by the way." She smiled simply.
Jenny nodded to her and shared the sentiment. "I'm doing fine. Thanks."
The woman nodded. "The doctor should be in soon. I know you're probably dying to get out of here," she said, suddenly sporting a casual air.
She chuckled softly. "Yeah, I definitely am. Thanks for the update."
Terry continued to smile as she turned for the door, and was almost about to leave the room completely when she came back around and moved closer to the head of the bed. "I almost forgot," she said, "there was a boy in the family of the other victim…"
Jenny's eyebrows fused in confusion.
"….he left this note for you," the nurse handed her the note and shuffled out of the room, muttering a 'you're welcome' to Jenny's surprised 'thank-you'.
The small piece of paper must have been folded at least ten times—clearly well thought out—and was even crinkled in a few of the cornered regions. The young Humphrey looked at it with the most curious intrigue, like she had never seen something so bazaar in her entire life. Gulping, she unfolded it, almost frightened by what may be written on the inside.
Probably just a 'get well soon' or 'sorry' or something of that nature. She tried to convince herself of this, God help her she did…but the truth of her thoughts lie in a completely blank slate.
She exhaled.
You are very beautiful. I wish you the best of recovery.
-Kevin
"Jen?"
Her head snapped up at the sound of her father's voice. "Hmm?" she managed a few moments later. Rufus eyed her slightly suspiciously, but then shook it off and continued on through the room. He landed on the chair occupied earlier.
"So, I just called your mother."
The briefly frazzled blonde nodded. "Oh," she said, hoping she sounded interested enough.
"I informed her of her foolhardy son and the well being of her lovely daughter."
Jenny smirked at that, her eyes twinkling towards her fathers'. He shared some more of the conversation via telephone, before finally noticing the now folded note in his daughter's clutch.
"What's that?" he asked, inquisitively.
"What? This?" she gestured to the paper, suddenly alarmed, but calming down almost instantly. "It's…it's…." she tried to piece it together.
Silence.
Then she smiled and sighed contently, at the thought of the note and what it meant to her. She looked towards her father again.
"A blessing in disguise," she said.
Simple.
……………………………………………………………………
The dark environment of the interrogating rooms at the police station was a somewhat haunting thought to the five of them. It was especially hard for Chuck to watch his frail, scarred Blair walk in with what he knew was anything but a fearless demeanor. She walked so slow down the dimly lit hallway, and it just about blew his mind that nobody else was petrified by these professionals taking advantage of the wounded girl.
But he supposed it would all be for a good end result. He couldn't wait to get this evil man locked up for what he had been trying to do, and the awful physical scarring he had caused to his beautiful Blair. Though quite honestly, it seemed like Kevin really knew all the answers, aside from the criminals themselves. He sighed. Whatever. At least they could leave as soon as she came out from those darkened hallways. Then, he could take her to the hospital. Dan would probably come along as well…unfortunately.
Inward eye roll.
Apparently little Jenny Humphrey crashed while in a runaway taxi.
At least Nate and Vanessa were a bit in a fog. They probably had some mending to do, as far as their relationship was concerned. The Bass heir was just glad that N & V's making up would cancel out any further jealousy on Blair's end. After all she'd been through, any threat of jealousy was the last thing she needed.
"This is unreal," Dan said suddenly.
Nate nodded mutely as Vanessa stared off into space. Chuck was still focused on the hall Blair had gone down ten minutes earlier. The time seemed to go on forever. People were rushing about or working ferociously at their office work in the cubicles some distance away.
Kevin walked towards them from the far left corner of the room. Neither of them had hardly realized when he had gotten to the station, and then after that, when he had wandered away from them.
"Kevin," Chuck said in shock, turning his head away from the hallway before him for the first time since Blair had gone down it. "Where did you go?" he walked to him.
The younger boy sighed. "I was with the detectives."
Chuck raised his brows at this, and by now the other three characters behind him had gathered around. "And?" he asked.
"I basically just told them what I told all of you on the way to the warehouse. About your uncle, Chuck, and the fact of my brother and his partner being anything but legal. I was really hoping I was wrong about all this, but over the last day or so I've been piecing things together and I couldn't come to any other realistic conclusion…"
They all watched on, listening to him with the most curious concern.
"…I was right. I mean, they haven't officially discovered that everything I had let on was 100% true, but it might as well be. As far as my involvement with kidnapping Blair," he scratched his neck awkwardly, watching a light surprised fury fill Chuck's expression. But it smoothed over a few minutes following. Blair was safe now, and Kevin could tell Chuck believed him when he said he never wanted to be part of any of this. Besides, Blair didn't appear to be frightened in his presence. Chuck knew the boy was no real threat.
"…they said that since I gave up all this information and I clearly was forced into everything I did in regards to this case and all the cases in the past, only six months of community service will be required," he continued, nodding and watching their expressions as they took it all in. "But…" he began again.
And they all froze in their moments. So much for the 'sounds good's from the collective audience.
Kevin sighed. "I will probably be put in a foster home. Away from here and everything and it'll be just as awful as living with my brother." He inhaled, lowering his voice. "Well, I probably won't get abused." He mock-laughed at his own pathetic joke, and pushed a hand through his red curls. When he regained eye contact with all of them, Dan and Nate were looking down, hoping to think of something positive they could say to their newly made friend in his continued misery. Vanessa was biting her bottom lip softly, searching his eyes full of sadness. Chuck looked lost in and of himself, until he was torn away by the sound of Blair calling his name. He walked swiftly to her and cradled her body to his as if he hadn't seen her for ages…again. He then nodded to Dan in an impatient expectancy of leaving. The Brooklyn boy nodded his head, his eyes widening in realization, and then proceeded to make eye contact with Nate before turning away and heading for the hospital with the UES couple.
The younger boy's mouth dropped open, feeling slightly abandoned by the Bass boy that he had spent the most time with over the last couple days…and then feeling utterly humiliated for dumping his additional personal stresses on the group of teens he had hardly known a day and a half. He turned away from the two left over, hoping they would think he just needed to be alone.
Nate followed the intended hope, finding his thoughts lost in how he was going to deal with whatever was left of his friendship with Jenny. And then….there was Chuck. The blonde heartthrob sighed occasionally. He felt incredibly stressed by these two concerns in his life. Jenny was one thing, but Chuck was his best friend, and not even a new friendship in Dan was worth losing his number one companion since toddlerhood.
Vanessa, on the other hand, completely broke for the boy with the head of red curls, more so than anyone else had….because she had seen him before the vulnerability of his current state had been so visible. She had found him entertaining and fun to be around from the start, but now she felt like she had really entered his world. She knew his frustrations and his fears and how he was so incredibly selfless. Plus, what Dan had told her on the way over completely blew her mind…
"Kevin."
The sound of her voice He was done for. He knew from the moment she said his name, and reached forward to squeeze his arm gently, that he could not hide anything from her. She was his weakness, even though he would clearly never have her. He turned his head in her direction.
"Vanessa, look—"
"I know what you did for me," she pulled down the arms he had begun to gesture with, and gripped her hands around his own.
He gaped.
She blinked in recognition. "Nate told me on the way over…apparently you told him and Dan at the hospital?"
He nodded. "I did. I didn't expect it would be passed on."
She looked at him sympathetically, almost appeared to be in pain because of the knowledge he had just offered up to them all. And then her arms were around him, and he couldn't prevent his head from falling onto her shoulder after the initial shock, regardless of his clearly taller height. She padded his curls down softly, not even caring who might be watching, even Nate.
The blonde was still lost in his own thoughts, but he did happen to see Vanessa comforting Kevin briefly out of the corner of his eye and….he thought nothing of it, strangely enough. Kevin was almost like a child to her, he guessed. A friend and a hero. A breath of fresh air amongst the chaos. But Nate felt strongly that romance had never been part of the relationship on her end…there was no need for jealousy.
"Thank-you," Vanessa whispered, rubbing soothing circles along the boy's neck. Kevin exhaled, and relaxed into her, bringing his arms around to rest across her back. His head slid into the crook of her neck, and he found himself relieved for the first time in years.
He couldn't speak, but he clung to her like a lifeline. Softly she slid off to the side to a group of chairs along the wall, and that's where she held him…allowing his head to rest on her lap as she stroked his curls. Nate leaned against the opposite wall and watched the two of them in their peacefully intimate moment. He smiled at the comforting innocence.
It was so rare and beautiful.
…………………………………………………………………………………….
"Oh Chuck…" the brunette smiled softly at him, as he rubbed his thumb softly over her fingers. "Thanks for saving me."
Chuck brought her hand up to kiss its knuckles, and lowered it again, placing a single strand of her still undistracted hair behind her ear. "It would have killed me not to."
She sighed contently, and just looked at him, grateful to have him to look at instead of that dreadful torturer. "It'll be good to go home…"
He nodded.
"I mean, after being tortured and locked away, in Brooklyn of all places," she rolled her eyes in disgust, and he smirked, "this is the last place I want to be."
Chuck leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm not sneaking you out of here early, Waldorf."
She was gaping at him when he pulled away, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly at her for her stunned expression. Then, it shattered from her face, allowing the usual resonance that placed itself there at norm. "Why not?"
He relaxed into the depths of his chair and pretended to be thinking deeply by putting a tapping finger to his chin. "Well…let me think about that…"
Blair rolled her eyes and sunk into her pillows, crossing her arms at the obvious dislikable fate that showed itself to her. She grumbled. "You don't have to mock me, Chuck. I just want to get out of this despicable public facility." She looked repulsively around her at the screens and passing nurses throughout the hospital.
"Now, now Blair…don't be so harsh, you could after all be in a dusty warehouse being slaughtered with a chain." He responded cheekily, but the undertones were not lost. She could see the hurt resonating in his eyes, the pain she guessed he had been feeling every moment since he became aware of the kidnapping.
"I…Chuck—"
"Shh," he quieted her softly with a peck on the lips. "It's ok. I wouldn't want to be stuck in this germ-infested health hole either." He winked at her.
Her lips parted, as he moved to leave.
"I'll see when we can get you out of here."
"Chuck!" she called after him, moments before he was entirely in the hallway.
"I'll be back, precious," he looked seductively towards her, and it took her breath away, the guilt nearly dragging itself along with her air supply.
…
"Father," Chuck choked, shocked at his father's sudden appearance outside of Blair's hospital room.
"Charles," he responded grimly. "Could we talk?" he gestured in way of the waiting room. Chuck nodded and followed his father's lead.
They were seated for some time, and it occurred to Chuck that his father might be waiting for everyone in the room to leave. This seemed somewhat ridiculous and almost impossible in his own mind, but as usually happens, his father surprised him…and with a brief swipe to his head for an apparent mild aching, the rest of the people sauntered away.
"Charles, I know you may be aware, but I have just been contacted and been made aware of Jack's involvement regarding the brutal torture and kidnapping of Miss Waldorf."
Chuck's eyes widened at this and his lips parted.
"It is…as you know, because of his desired placing in Bass inc. Perhaps I should have given him a bigger position throughout the company, but I thought giving him all of Australia was more than enough." He sighed, and noticed as Chuck grumbled a small 'apparently not'. There was a slight smirk on Bart Bass's face.
"Mr. Wyler and Jensen are being locked away as we speak, and I have no doubt that they will be sent away for quite some time. I have every confidence in their conviction, and as much as I'm hoping it won't have to happen…your Blair Waldorf may have to testify to solidify this."
Chuck gulped. He had hoped it wouldn't come to that…but he knew that more than anybody Blair wanted these two awful men put away. To put her nightmares to an end. He only hoped that testifying wouldn't turn her nightmares into a reality, even if it was just temporarily. He nodded to his father, a thousand worries seeping through that frozen stare of his.
"Beyond that, there is one thing I believe I must make you aware of, that you may not already know." He took a deep breath, and Chuck prepared himself by brushing his now sweaty palms against each other. "Jack's treachery runs deeper than you know. He was not only trying to dispose of you for more career opportunities for himself, but trying to dispose of me as well. I have found out from my P.I. that he had already hired a few more gunmen to have me crashed in a car accident a couple months from now, on the eve of your Snowflake Ball. I've made arrangements for all involved to pay gravely for the crimes they have or consented to act on."
Chuck's eyes widened once more, and he turned his face ever so slightly away in order to digest all the information. How twisted was his uncle? He had been planning to kill both of them? His dad knew when his school events were?
Okay, perhaps the last point wasn't as relevant.
"Chuck…"
The young Bass heir turned his head towards his father. Never before in his life had he heard Bart call him by the commonly used nickname. He blinked at the man across from him.
"I've been too hard on you," he continued.
Chuck shifted uneasily, extremely unsure of where this sharp turn in topics was leading.
"You have to understand though, I only want the best for you."
Gulp. He felt like he was going to explode.
"The seriousness of this situation has shown me just how much I could have lost. Were it you that had been kidnapped, and had someone not come in time…" he sighed, " I don't know what I would have done." His eyes fixated on his son's.
"Father—"
Bart held his hand up to silence him. "I have decided," he pulled out some papers folded in his suit coat, "that it would give me the highest degree of honor and pride to see you personally investing in this," he paused, searching for the right words, "broken down Brooklyn bar."
He smiled, and Chuck shared the joy, grabbing hold of the papers giving him authority, and resisting hard against the urge to jump forth and hug his father.
His smile was so wide it was nearly breaking into laughter. It remained frozen in place and tears almost came to his eyes at the whole atmosphere of the conversation just shared. But suddenly…as if it should've been known all along, a gut feeling betrayed him. His smile fell, and he cleared his throat in an obvious reconsideration regarding the recently achieved privilege.
"Son?" Bart asked, leaning in closer to his son.
Chuck pursed his lips and turned his eyes back to his father after a moment's departure. "I can't take this," he said, handing back the papers.
Mr. Bass was hesitant. "I don't…understand. I thought you wanted this."
"I did, I do…" he raked a hand through his mess of hair.
"Then?"
He sighed. "Blair is the most important thing in the world to me."
Bart nodded.
"…and I nearly lost her."
Mr. Bass gazed at his son, seeing the desperate sadness he had once seen on his own face, before his norm had become professional and stony. He was trying hard to change back into a person of happiness and some emotional clarity, but he never wanted his son to lose this fire he had. He could see it had taken him some time to grasp hold of it.
Chuck shook his head slowly. "If I have to keep away from Brooklyn for the sake of keeping her jealousy dormant, I'll do it."
Bart nodded, standing as his son did so. "You can't let her control you completely, son." He smiled as they began to walk back down the hall.
He smirked, as he turned towards his father. "I'm not."
The door closed behind him as he entered into Blair's hospital room once more. He felt good about the conversation with his father. He felt good about just about everything right at this moment. And his girlfriend lit up at seeing him back in the room, even if her blonde best friend who had been oblivious of everything this entire time was striving hard to gain her friend's attention. And failing.
"Blair!" Serena shrieked, waving her hands dramatically in front of the brunette's face to no avail. "Are you listening to me?! I'm trying to tell you something!!"
Blair chuckled as she finally turned to the blonde beside her. "And to think just moments ago you were worried out of your mind for my safety," she muttered, "but do, go on." She smiled cheerily.
Serena's mouth had dropped in the underlining tones of Blair's meanings. "I…I…nobody tells me anything!"
"Ooo," Chuck put a few fingers to his ear in order to cover up his step-sister's shrieks. "Tone it down a little, would ya sis? There are sick people here."
Blair smirked, and her boyfriend shared the sentiment. "So…did you find out?" her face beamed hopefully, turning to Chuck again.
He exhaled with a brief laugh. "Actually, I did not. I got caught up with my father in the hallway, and it's safe to say our little chat did have its own useful purposes."
She looked intrigued. "Such as?" she inched closer to him, as he came to sit down in the chair from earlier.
"The Brooklyn bar?"
Blair's eyes widened. She had hoped he would've forgotten about that by now. The whole jealousy thing seemed so long ago in her mind, and the fact that he had not forgotten, but was trying to fix it continuously…made her feel extremely guilty. She gulped, trying hard to focus. "What about it?"
His smirk slid into a smile. "I'm not doing it."
"What?" she asked confused. "But…y-you said it was a good investment."
He sighed, leaning forward to kiss her on the top of her head. "There are many good investments in this city."
Blair leaned back against her pillows. "But…I-I don't understand." Her frown turned her supple lips into a perfectly formed pout, and Chuck found himself momentarily mesmerized.
"It made you jealous, Waldorf." Unashamed smirk in place, waggling eyebrows just about driving her insane.
She gasped. "I was not j—" she stopped herself with Chuck's knowing expression staring her down. Serena stayed pinned to her chair, realizing they were really in their element now and there would probably be screaming and yelling on Blair's part if she tried to exit the premises just yet.
"Fine," Blair huffed. "I was jealous. But you know what? So what if I was jealous? So what if I'm jealous?!" she reared back at him, and he knew that if she was not tied to wires of different sorts, she would be attacking him right now. "Didn't I have reason to be?!" she shrieked, tears almost coming to her eyes during her dramatic display. "What, with all your talk of how she sweet she was, and how she helped you through some hard times with your father…" she spat. "I'm sure I've clearly done nothing to help you through your walk of life." She spat through her mocking accusations, but Chuck caught the hurt laced beneath it. He would've been blind to miss it.
Here she was now, huffing and near tears, and Serena feeling helpless in the corner, doing nothing. Chuck leaned in for her again. She was very resistant to any physical contact, and not just for the sake of her cuts and bruises, which quite honestly she had forgotten in the heat of the discussion. But she could feel the heat of his warm breath on her neck as it traveled up to whisper in her ear, and she melted.
"No," he said.
She turned to look at him, mystified by his simplistic way of responding.
"You didn't have any reason to be jealous," he spoke, almost numbly.
She blinked. "Bu—"
"No," he growled, lingering dangerously close to her plump ruby lips.
Serena gulped uncomfortably and turned away, trying her best to think of every and anything else imaginable.
"Chuck," the brunette inhaled sharply.
"She's got nothing on you, Waldorf." He smirked, and a swarm of butterflies surfaced to her throat. Chuck continued, "Vanessa means nothing to me, not like that, not like you do…and I think you know that." Then, without allowing her any time to respond, in case of disagreeance, Chuck took the initiative and poured his love into her. He kissed her hot and heavy, and was nearly pulled down onto the bed in the midst of it because of the speedy rate Blair was tugging him towards her.
………….
Outside the room, in the hallway, Nate briefly heard the beginnings of moans and took the incentive to wander a bit down the hall. He had seen Serena run in their some minutes earlier, and the thought occurred to him that she had feared leaving during the heat of Chuck and Blair's argument. He pitied her now, hoping that for her sake Chuck and Blair would not resort to shredding clothing.
"Vanessa," he started, shocked at her sudden appearance. He knew she would have probably ended up going the route Dan had gone in visiting little Jenny Humphrey, but when he left her ten minutes ago she had found the both of them…on the far end of the next floor up.
"Nate," she said, sounding scared and excited all at once.
And then there was silence.
It definitely hadn't been the most riveting conversation on the way over from the warehouse. Everything was just so intense. From the beatings of Blair Waldorf to the drugging of Vanessa Abrams, and Jenny's car accident in the midst of it all, it was a little overwhelming. Okay, a lot. But one thing Nate knew was that by the end of the day the girl he wanted next to him was the girl in front of him right now. Blair had been love initially and then he had been swept up in her best friend, but after that and not for the sake of rebound…there was Vanessa. Vanessa made everything better, lighter, happier.
"I love you."
"What?" Vanessa whispered, completely mind-boggled by everything and now by this.
He gulped. "I'm sorry that you need to hear it under these circumstances, and I'm sorry I turned you away. I know you didn't deliberately blow my cover to the Duchess, and—"
"Whoa. Wait!" she breathed a fuse, and took a seat on the chair planted at the end of the hall. Nate sat, waiting nervously for her next words on the chair beside her.
After a few moments more, Vanessa forced her lack of a voice to come to a stop. "A lot is going on right now, Nate."
The blonde nodded along, hoping she wasn't heading in the direction he was beginning to sense.
"Blair has just been rescued from a torturous kidnapping. I was connected somehow and was being drugged these last few days…and Jenny—" she gasped, resolution dawning. "Jenny!" she whispered exclamatorily toward him.
The color in Nate's cheeks instantly paled.
"What about Jenny?" her voice went soft. "Don't you…don't you like her?"
Nate blinked at her, like he hadn't understood the question.
"Nate?" her eyebrows furrowed, almost in anger. Was he trying to irritate her?
"I don't like her," he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You don't?" she seemed confused.
He smiled, restraining a laugh. "I don't. After Blair and Serena it was only really you."
Vanessa forced a cough.
Nate shook his head and laughed a bit, despite himself. "I did not have anything physical attachments to Mrs. Beaton."
"Oh, bad image, Archibald! Unnecessary!" she laughed as she said it, and he laughed too. When the laughter faded though, he was still staring at her.
"You made a mistake in handing off the pictures."
She nodded, remembering.
"But who doesn't make mistakes?"
She looked to him hopefully and almost confused by where he was taking this.
"I know I've definitely made more than a handful in my day."
She laughed softly. "So…?"
He smiled. "So, I'm so not over you, and I so need to take you out for coffee some time." He winked at her, and she smiled, a blush exploding across her face.
"Well then," she announced, taking his hand and leading him towards the cafeteria, "I'm so going to have to let you." She giggled.
He was glad she hadn't pushed it further, but if she had…he would've had an answer ready. Yeah, Jenny was into him, and no, he didn't reciprocate the feelings, but as far as the small blonde went in the realm of heartbreak…he got the feeling she was going to be just fine.
…it probably had nothing to do with that chance viewing of a spontaneous note, before its timed delivery…
Probably.
…………………………………………………………………….
"Bart!" Serena chirped cheerfully, relieved to have gotten out of that room before anything else occurred that was not necessary for her viewing eyes.
"Serena," he smiled curtly. "Is Chuck still in there?" he gestured towards the room.
"No!" she attacked the door facing Bart. "I mean, y-yes, he is. But…uh, I think what you mean to say…"
Bart looked at her confused.
"…is…" she looked around, searching for some sort of outlet, "where is the coffee?" she squeaked the question, hoping the father wasn't as intelligent as the son.
Mr. Bass chuckled, clearly seeing through her lies and clearly just going along with it. "Yes, my dear Serena," he wrapped an arm around her in a show of too much affection, "Please to show me the way to New York's most famous hospital cafeteria." Serena looked at him strangely now, because he couldn't really be believing her and be spouting this nonsense simultaneously. She blew out a gust of air, as she let him drag her along down the hall. This was obviously punishment for having been oblivious of her best friend's disappearance the last few days. First a Chuck and Blair make out, in a hospital bed no less, and then a father-daughter coffee trip in the cafeteria? She shook her head and continued to smile. At least everyone was all right.
………………………………………………………….
A/N: OMG!!! I finally finished it!!! *dances for an eternity* Except, obviously there are a few unanswered questions, and so DON'T STOP READING!! I am going to have one more little snippet, which will be labeled the EPILOGUE of the story. It won't be too long, and it will be posted soon, TODAY if I can help it. But, as always, R & R!!! I'll totally love you….and aren't you glad I'm just about done??? Lol. XD
