Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
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"You don't have to do this," Blair insisted as she watched Chuck fiddle with his tie for the hundredth time since they left his penthouse as they got into the elevator to her mother's apartment. He was so nervous that it was downright adorable. In his hand was a bouquet of white lilies. He knew they were her mother's favorite.
"I was there when you told your father," he assured her, "I can be there when we tell Eleanor and Cyrus."
"My father will be a piece of cake compared to Eleanor," she mused.
"Blair, I can handle your mother," he tried to sound confident, but he knew she heard the nervous hitch in his voice.
"Relax, Bass," she tried to encourage him, "No matter what she says, it's not going to change my mind about us being together. We're good together. I don't need my mother's approval."
"What if she downright forbids it?" he inquired.
"Then she'll have to live without her daughter for the rest of her life," Blair smiled, "You are as much family to me as she is."
"I've never really felt like I had any family for the longest time, even when Bart was still alive. Now I have the van der Woodsens and you," he stated as his eyes started to moisten in emotion.
"I love you," she stated as she leaned into kiss him just before they arrived at her childhood home. Dorota was standing at the elevator to greet them. She eyed Chuck with a devilish scowl.
"Hello, Dorota," Chuck stated as Blair rubbed her lipstick off his lips.
"Hello, Mister Chuck," she responded as she waited for Chuck to remove his coat and hand it to her.
"And how are you on this lovely evening?" Chuck inquired as he poured on the charm.
Dorota didn't answer him. She merely turned to put his coat in the hall closet.
"She likes me, doesn't she?" Chuck asked Blair as he tried to get a handle on Dorota's feelings for him.
"Yes," Blair chuckled. The notion that Chuck actually cared about an employee in anyone's service was a little too amusing, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense that he would care. Dorota was an important part of Blair's life. She was more than just a maid, she was Blair's most trusted confidant. When everyone else in her life had turned on Blair, Dorota was the one that stuck by Blair's side.
The sound of Eleanor's laughter caught Chuck by surprise. He was so used to hearing her voice her displeasure that the sound shattered any self-confidence that he had.
"Relax," Blair whispered, "You get points just for trying."
"And what do these points get me?" he smirked.
"A night in bed with me," she whispered into his ear just as Cyrus came out of the dining room where her mother was looking over the caterer's work.
"Blair, sweetheart, we didn't hear you come in," Cyrus stated as he hugged Blair warmly in greeting before his eyes widen in surprise at the visitor Blair had brought with for dinner. "Chuck, it's always a pleasure."
"It's good to see you too," Chuck smiled as he shook Cyrus's extended hand.
"Blair only told us she was bringing a special someone to dinner," Cyrus stated as he tried to explain his stunned expression.
"A very special someone," Blair responded as she put her arm around Chuck's waist and pulled him closer. Chuck leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. The look exchanged between the pair didn't go unnoticed by Cyrus as he smiled with the giddiness he felt at seeing Blair so completely happy.
"Eleanor, Dear," Cyrus called out for his wife, "Blair and her guest are here."
"Oh, wonderful," they heard Eleanor say as her voice grew louder as she made her way from the dining room to the entryway where the trio was standing, "Who is the mystery gues. . ." Eleanor stopped talking as she recognized the man at Blair's hip. Her happy expression turned furious.
"Mom," Blair began.
"No," Eleanor burst out, "This isn't happening. You are not dating this man."
"You cannot tell me who to date," Blair responded as she held her ground.
"I'm not telling you who to date. I'm telling you who to not date," Eleanor snapped, "This man has caused you nothing but pain and misery. He's hurt you countless times. He'll do it again, and I don't want to have to watch you go through one more time."
"Mrs. Waldorf, I love your daughter," Chuck chimed in.
"You can stop right there," Eleanor commanded as she held up her hand, "I don't want to hear one word out of your mouth. You are just like your father, a lying, manipulative bastard that uses woman for their own pleasures and then throws them away like Kleenex."
"Mom," Blair gasped as she saw the pain in Chuck's eyes that her mother's insults had inflicted, "You cannot speak to Chuck like that!"
"Like hell I can't," her mother shouted, "How long is it going to take you this time to throw my daughter away? A week? A day? An hour?"
"Enough!" Blair shouted, "I will not have you speaking to Chuck like that. It's me that you are angry with, not Chuck. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. It was my choice to not tell you about the two of us. If Chuck had gotten his way, I would have told you much sooner."
"Sooner?" her mother repeated in confusion, "How long have you been seeing him this time?"
"Almost three months," Chuck responded without hesitation.
"Three months," Eleanor forced the words out of her mouth, "You've been dating for three months and this is the first time I'm hearing about it."
"It's the first time you've been around for me to tell you," Blair snapped back. There was no point in making an attempt to have a civilized conversation with her mother at this point.
"I would have made the time if you had wanted to tell me," Eleanor insisted.
"And how would I have had time to tell you!" Blair exclaimed, "Would I have to call your assistant and make an appointment on your busy calendar? I'm not some stupid business contact. I'm your daughter!"
Chuck stood behind Blair and wrapped his arms around her waist. This was a conversation that had been almost nineteen years in the making. He couldn't get in the middle of it. He could only be there to support her.
"I know you are my daughter!" Eleanor stated defensively, "I carried you for nine months. I gave birth to you."
"And then after nine months, you popped me out, handed me to Dorota, and ignored me except when it was convenient for you to have a daughter," Blair responded as she pushed the tears out of her eyes, "You made me feel like I was invisible. You criticized me, mocked me, and made me feel so small that I started making myself sick. You are the reason I became bulimic. You are the reason that I would stuff myself full of food and then haul off to the bathroom to throw it up, and you know it. You knew it was happening. You knew I was sick, and you did nothing until you were forced to."
Chuck's eyes closed at the confession. He had known about her illness for as long as it had been happening, but she'd never said the words out loud before. He wanted to tear Eleanor apart for the role she played in Blair's illness, but that was not what Blair needed at the moment. She needed his arms around her.
Eleanor just stood with her mouth hanging open.
"Say something!" Blair demanded, "Defend yourself!"
Eleanor just shook her head. There were no words that seemed adequate.
Blair turned towards Chuck, "Let's go home."
"You are home," her mother insisted.
"No," Blair shook her head as she turned back towards her mother once gain. "My home is with Chuck. He makes me feel good about myself. He lets me be myself. I don't have to prove myself worthy of his love. He just loves me, flaws and all."
She turned back towards Chuck again and with pleading eyes, begged him to take her away. He nodded as he extended his hand to her. On the way to the elevator Chuck handed the lilies he had bought to Dorota as he accepted his jacket. Dorota smiled at him warmly as they stepped on the elevator.
Blair cried in the limo during the entire ride back to his penthouse. She was thoroughly exhausted by the time the driver stopped the vehicle in front of his building. Chuck carried her the entire length from the car to the elevator, the entire ride to his apartment, and then directly into his bedroom.
"What do you need me to do?" Chuck asked, speaking for the first time since they left her mother's apartment as he removed her shoes.
"Get this Eleanor original off me, and burn it," Blair stated as she looked at the dress she was wearing.
Chuck nodded as he lifted the dress over her head and then walked to the corner of the room where the fireplace was, flipped the switch so the flame would ignite and then tossed the dress into the flame. After it had sufficiently burned, he heard her sigh in relief. Upon returning to the bed, he noticed that Blair had relaxed exponentially.
"Tomorrow, we burn the rest of Eleanor's disasters," Blair insisted as she sat on the bed in only her lingerie. Her eyes were red from the crying, her usually flawless makeup was streaked, but she still managed to take his breath away. "Tonight I need you to make love you me. Make me feel how much you love me."
Chuck descended upon her immediately, capturing her lips in the most passionate kiss he'd ever given her. He needed her to feel how true her words really were. He would give up everything in his life except her, even his very life.
TBC. . .
