Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.

"Come on, Blair, do I really have to be the one to do this?" Eric whined yet again as Blair dragged him into another store. They had been shopping for hours and Eric was beyond irritated. She had told him it was going to be a quick shopping trip that she needed him for an opinion but had turned into a marathon.

"Yes, with Serena on one of her European adventures, you are the closest thing that I have to a girlfriend right now," Blair snapped. She was getting really sick of Eric's attitude. He'd been grumpy since she showed up at his mother's apartment.

"What about those minions you kept around you," Eric groaned, "Isn't this something they should be doing? You had to keep them around for some reason."

"They were so high school, and thankfully, high school is over," Blair sighed cheerfully, "And I would never trust them with anything that was this important."

"Didn't they help you pick out Nate's sweater?" Eric tried to recall.

"And you see how well that turned out," Blair rolled her eyes, "I promise this will be the last store we try. If I don't find something that I like, I'll learn to knit and make the sweater myself."

"I almost hope that we don't find this sweater," Eric chuckled, "That would be quite a sight. Blair Waldorf turning domestic."

They began browsing though the plentiful offerings the store had in stock, but nothing felt right for Chuck, and what was worse was the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that there wasn't a sweater out there that would be.

"Tell me again why we are doing this," Eric pleaded as he saw the frustration building in her eyes.

"This is important to Chuck," she stated, "I gave this heart pin to Nate after I first told him I love him. Chuck knows what that meant. I need to do this for him, to show him how much more I love him."

"Don't you think the three and a half weeks that you've spent together has already shown that," Eric replied. It sure had shown him, or rather the noises coming from Chuck's bedroom had told him. How he wished that Chuck would relocate them to the suite at the Palace once more. What his mother was thinking by insisting that he stay at penthouse was beyond him.

"This is important," she repeated.

"But giving him this pin . . . it's boring, it's tired, it's . . . been done," Eric stated, "It's like you're recycling gifts. You should give him something that says that your love for him is different than your love for Nate."

Blair froze. That's what had been bugging her. Eric had managed to put a voice to her thoughts. "You're right," she stated finally after a few moments of contemplative silence, "You're absolutely right. That's why this has been so hard, but what do I do? Chuck is expecting this . . . wanting this."

"Do you really think he wants a recycled gift?" Eric theorized, "Or perhaps he just wants to know that you love him like you loved Nate. After all, he did live in the shadow of the two of you for a long time. That had to have been hard for him."

"Eric van der Woodsen, I could kiss you right now," Blair squealed as a thought occurred to her as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the store.

"I'll settle for you letting me go," Eric stated as her grip tightened as she made a quick left into the nearest jewelry store they found.

"Can I help you, Miss?" the elder man stated as Blair smiled eagerly at him.

"Yes," Blair replied as she eagerly set the heart shaped pin down on his counter, "I need to know what I can do with this."

The man looked at her in confusion as did Eric.

"I want to turn this pin into something else, something more special," Blair explained, ". . . for my boyfriend."

"And what would you like," the older man asked turning to Eric.

"Oh no, not me," Eric responded quickly as he held up his hands in surrender, "Even if she was my type, which she definitely isn't, she would eat me alive. I'm just along for moral support and because I can't get away from her."

Blair smacked his shoulder lightly as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, perhaps if you described your boyfriend, this would help me determine what he might wear," the salesman requested.

"He's Chuck Bass," Eric quipped, "Son of Bart Bass, the deceased founder of Bass Industries."

"OH!" the man's eyes widened in surprise. Clearly the man had heard of Chuck and was very surprised by the revelation that he had a girlfriend.

"Blair, are you sure about this?" Eric asked as he eyed the pin in Blair's hand, "Chuck doesn't really seem like the type to enjoy jewelry, accessories yes, jewelry no. Couldn't you just sew the pin to a bowtie or something."

"I think this option is much better than the one I had earlier. Besides, you were right, Chuck isn't really a sweater type of guy," Blair stated before she turned towards the man once more, "I was thinking something simple, like a gold bracelet."

"Blair, what I'm going to say is going to be a little harsh so I want you to prepare yourself," Eric interrupted her as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath as she waited for him to continue. "If you think Chuck Bass is going to wear a freaken charm bracelet then you have lost your mind."

"I would never ask Chuck to wear a charm bracelet," Blair scoffed.

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" Eric exclaimed.

"Could this heart be worked into the bracelet somehow, like part of the clasp or something?" Blair inquired. Eric was taken aback by her creativeness.

"That could work," the jeweler stated as he inspected the pin Blair was still holding, "We'll have to alter this slightly to make it work. Is that a problem?"

"No," Blair shook her head, "As long as the heart is still evident."

"Let's look at what we have for options," the jeweler stated as he walked Blair to another counter and began pulling out various options, "How much are you looking to spend?"

"Money is no object," Blair responded quickly. Again the man looked at her in surprise. Clearly he was not used to teenagers saying that to him, but this was not one of the regularly shopped stores on the Upper East Side.

After spending another torturous hour at the store, Blair had made her selection and handed over the pin to be incorporated into the bracelet. Blair was beaming from ear to ear as they left the store. It would be ready by the end of the week, which meant that it would be in time for their one-month anniversary. She couldn't wait to see Chuck's face.

"Are we done now?" Eric asked hopefully as he held the store door for her as she exited.

"Yes, Little E, you are free, unless you'd like to accompany me to the lingerie store to pick out something for my anniversary dinner with Chuck," she replied all while struggling to keep a straight face.

"You'll have to call your minions for that one," Eric asked as he began walking in the opposite direction of Blair as fast as he could without running. She began laughing as soon as he was out of earshot. Torturing Eric had just been the icing on the cake of the productive day of shopping.


"Waiting to see you today was absolute torture," Chuck groaned as he pulled Blair into his arms upon meeting at his Palace suite. They had discussed early that morning the need to relocate their nights together for the sake of Eric. The bags under his step-brother's eyes caused by sleep deprivation were becoming more evident with each passing night that they were spending there, and Chuck knew that he and Blair were the reason behind it. They'd never be able to quiet themselves, so they concluded that the suite was the best place for them, for everyone's sanity.

He had spent the day at Bass Industries learning the ropes. He had told Lily during one of their family dinners that were becoming increasingly more common since his relationship with Blair began that he'd like to start the transition of powers of Bass Industries. Lily had been so excited by his interest that she had arranged for him to start the very next day.

"How was your day at the office, Dear?" she teased as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him impossibly close.

"Not nearly as incredible as our night together will be," he whispered into her ear.

"Did I ever tell you what a turn on CEOs of multi-national companies are?" she responded playfully.

"I'm not taking over just yet," he stated as he nibbled on her delicate earlobe, "We're still a few months away from that, but I actually did enjoy the day."

"You sound surprised," she stated as she pulled away from him slightly to look in his eyes.

"That's because I am," he admitted, "I always thought my father's job was boring, but there is a lot about his work that I didn't understand. In a way, I guess I understand him better than I ever did before. I get why he always seemed to be preoccupied."

"Are we still on for dinner Friday night?" she inquired.

"Absolutely," he groaned as he pulled her closer to him, "I'm not letting such a monumental day as our one month anniversary pass us by without a lot of fanfare."

She smiled at him brightly.

"Blair, I want you to promise me something," he stated as he voice turned serious as he pulled her impossibly closer. She looked at him in anticipation. "My father was always distracted while running the empire. Soon that job will fall to me. I don't want to become so consumed by my job that I forget about what is most important to me."

"And you want me to promise what?" she inquired.

"I want you to promise me that if I ever start to neglect or ignore you that you'll call me on it, and I don't want you to spare my feelings when you do it. Do whatever it takes to get my attention. If you have to scream at me in front of the Board of Directors or slap me across the face, do it," he insisted.

"Are you telling me that I'm the thing that is most important to you?" she pressed. She wasn't sure that she was hearing him right, for it just didn't seem possible.

"Of course," he responded.

"Once upon a time there were only three things that you cared about and only one of them was an actual person: money, the pleasures money brought you, and Nate," she stated.

"That list has grown exponentially," he assured her, "But you are at the top of it."

"So are you going to tell me where we're going for our anniversary?" she teased as she tried to sucker it out of him by nuzzling his neck.

Chuck had told her that he was planning something special for their anniversary and that he wanted it to be a surprise. Naturally, she had tried to pry the information out of him every chance she got. He saw right through her latest ploy and called her on it, "It's not going to work, Waldorf."

"Please," she whispered seductively in his ear. A lustful moan escaped from deep within his throat clouding his brain, but the information that she so desperately sought would remain safely tucked away.

"Forget it, Waldorf," he stated as he summoned the last ounce of restraint he had as he captured her wrists from behind his neck, unlocked them and freed himself from her clutches. She was good at the game, too good, but this was important to him.

He'd never been one for romantic gestures, but from years of watching his best friend disappoint her over and over again with his lack of romantic overtures, he was determined to succeed where Nathaniel failed. The ghost of Blair and Nate's relationship would continue to haunt him until he was absolutely sure that he was what she really wanted. He wasn't sure when or how the ghosts would disappear but it wasn't any time soon.

"I can live with that right now," Blair stated as she slid his suit coat off his shoulders and let it fall to the ground as she began to work the buttons of his crisp dress shirt as he slid his necktie over his head. Her eyes had become clouded with passion. He was becoming more familiar with that look with each passing day, but his reaction to it was as uncontrolled as always. He pulled her towards him roughly as his hands began divesting her of the offending clothes.

"You have no idea how out of control I get when I'm around you like this," Chuck hissed as he lifted her effortlessly in his arms and carried her the few steps required to make it to his bed.

"By all means, don't fight it," she cooed as she pulled him with her onto the bed, rolling him over so that she was straddling him so that she could continue to undress him. He was extremely overdressed at the moment considering she was only wearing a brand new black silk negligee that she had bought that afternoon and he was still in his dress shirt and pants.

"Is this new?" he inquired as he ran his hands over the silk hem.

"Only you would notice that," she chuckled as his shirt finally came free and found its way to the growing pile of clothes on his bedroom floor.

"I think we've managed to ruin virtually every other undergarment you own, Waldorf," he teased, "They tend to get in the way at the most inopportune moments."

"That's why I went lingerie shopping today," she purred, "I had to restock. I wish you would have been there to offer your opinion. I could have used an objective eye as I was trying things on."

"I'll never be objective when it comes to you," he assured her, "To me, you'll look just as beautiful in a potato sack as you do in this scrap of silk."

"This isn't a scrap of silk," she pouted, sticking her lip out like that of a child.

"It will be by the end of the night," he assured her with a devilish grin as he flipped them over so that he was once again in control. She appeared to be in a playful mood this evening, and he couldn't handle that at the moment. He needed her, as badly as he ever had.

TBC. . .