A/N: The main point of this chapter was to redeem a few of the characters and to nurture a peace between them. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews are highly appreciated as always! This story has begun to run in now and I know exactly where I am taking it, so I will be starting another story very soon. However, Liar Liar will still remain a priority.

Making Amends


Serena walked into the kitchen and attempted to seem refreshed and energized. However, the dark circles under her eyes betrayed her. She grabbed a plate of hot pancakes off the counter top and swiftly left the kitchen. She was not in the mood to have a family breakfast and she would never really consider the Humphreys her family anyway.

"Serena? Could I have a word with you please?" her mother called from the kitchen, demanding for her to return.

Serena sighed and reluctantly complied with her mother's request.

"Is there a problem mom?" she asked, defiance set in her beautiful eyes.

"Where were you last night?" Lily questioned.

"If by last night you mean why I missed dinner, I told Jenny to tell you that I would be at Penelope's sleepover party," she said defensively. "Besides..."

"I was aware of that, but I saw you sneak in at three in the morning," Lily interrupted.

It was at that moment that Jenny decided to cover for Serena. She had no idea what Serena had been doing last night or why she had left the party early, but she knew Serena would have had her back if she had been the one being questioned at the moment.

"She decided to leave the sleepover early. Serena told me this morning. Apparently, the entire party had been a failure. She snuck in because she didn't want to wake any of us," Jenny offered.

Serena was grateful to Jenny for the help, but she was now officially in a foul mood. She had been distraught after what she had done last night and she hadn't wanted anyone to see her in that condition. She sent her mother a profound glare, inwardly praying that her mother wouldn't push the issue any further.

Lily simply shrugged off her daughter's rebellious attitude. She had gotten used to it. Truthfully, she didn't blame Serena. Her marriage to Rufus had been quite sudden. It had been a selfish act on her part. What kind of mother would give her child a one week wedding notice? She hoped Serena would forgive her in time.

Rufus cleared his throat, hoping to dispel the tension from the air. "How about you join us Serena? We haven't had a family breakfast in a long time."

Serena scoffed at his suggestion. "Well, it was hard having a genuine family breakfast or any family meal for that matter with you staying at the Palace. It's nice to see you've moved back in. What did it? Did your ex-wife finally explain everything to my mother or was it the marriage counselor that worked like a charm? I suppose she was worth every penny."

Serena immediately regretted what she had just said. She knew she had crossed the line with her latest comment. She needed to remind herself that she wanted to turn over a new leaf in her life. She was going to work things out with Blair. She was going to try and accept her new family and most importantly she was going to forget what she had done last night, although somehow she knew it would haunt her for a long time to come.

Dan looked up from his pancakes in shock at Serena's outburst.

"How come I didn't know about this?" he asked, looking back and forth between Lily and Rufus.

"Yeah! What does this have to do with mom?" Jenny exclaimed, slightly hurt that her father had refrained from informing her about something that could have involved her mother.

"Personally, I am thrilled that the family is reuniting, but what was so bad that you needed to spend money on a marriage counselor?" Dan added.

Lily sent Rufus an accusing glare as Serena settled herself next to Dan at the kitchen table. She had been hoping to keep the details of their rift from the children.

Rufus could sense her impending anger, "Lily, I would never..."

"Serena, I would like to speak with you in the living room," Lily interrupted him to address her daughter.

Serena bit her tongue. She knew that tone meant that her mother meant business. She followed Lily into the living room without another word. It was absolute obedience or all hell would break loose. She simply kept on reminding herself that she was trying to go back to being the old Serena.

"Serena, I understand that you are still upset about this marriage and I..." she trailed off before continuing. "...feel horrible that I sacrificed your happiness for mine."

Serena looked at her mother in awe. She had no idea that her mother had felt remorse for what she had done. Suddenly, Serena felt like she had been such a horrible daughter. Her mother had already been suffering from the guilt of her marriage and she had only added to her misery.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. It's just that you got married on a whim and I single-handedly pushed my best friend away. I lost Dan as well and I just...spiraled out of control," she started as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

It felt so good to finally let everything out.

"The thing is I'm not even in love with Dan anymore. Some of the feelings are still there, but time will change that. I know you've tried to make this family work and I haven't exactly been cooperative, but I..."

Lily wrapped her daughter in a tight embrace. She had heard enough to know that Serena had forgiven her and that she had her old Serena back. She pulled back from the hug and Serena laughed. The tears in her mother's eyes were identical to her own.

"So, what did happen between you and Rufus?" Serena asked.

Lily sighed. "Serena..."

"You need to stop pretending that I live in a bubble mom."

"It was a misunderstanding. I thought Rufus and Allison had rekindled their romance, but it turns out that Rufus had only been helping her divorce her abusive husband. Allison called me to clear everything up. There was no marriage counselor though," Lily explained.

Serena felt terrible that she had pinned Rufus as a cheater. She had known about the compromising incident discretely through one of the maids.

"I'm sorry about the marriage counsellor comment," Serena said, offering her mother an apologetic smile.

Lily nodded. "You and Blair are still fighting?"

"Actually, I plan to work things out with Blair today. I'm not sure if she'll forgive me though. I haven't exactly received a reply to my earlier text message."

"Oh! Well, she was the one who found Pete Fairmont's body, so she probably has other things on her mind," Lily reassured her.

Upon hearing his name, Serena let out an involuntary shudder, a nervous look possessing her eyes.

"Serena, are you all right?" Lily asked, concerned at her daughter's sudden change in behavior.

Serena forced a smile to cover up her true emotions. "I'm fine. I'm just shaken by the news of his death. The fact that it could have been Rufus scares me is all. I do care, despite how I've been acting."

"Of course dear. I was distraught when I heard the news as well, although I am grateful Rufus decided to give his room to Pete at the last minute."

Serena continued to fake her smile as Lily took her hands in hers. She had no doubt that what had occurred last night would follow her forever. She would need to destroy all of the evidence before anyone found out about what she had done.

"Now, how about we return to that wonderful family breakfast of ours? I'm sure Rufus has informed Dan and Jenny of the situation," Lily declared, interrupting Serena's discerning thoughts.

Serena nodded in agreement and followed her mother back towards the kitchen, a grim expression blossoming on her face.


Chuck walked into his office that morning only to find Nate already waiting for him.

"Nathaniel," he acknowledged as he closed the door behind him.

"I figured you would want to start on the case immediately this morning. You probably stayed up all night as well."

Chuck smirked. "I knew there was a reason you were my best friend."

"Really? You seem more attached to your scotch than to me," Nate pointed out, grinning all the while.

Chuck took a seat at his desk.

"That is true, but you're much easier to talk to. I never seem to get a response from my scotch."

Nate laughed, but quickly took on a more serious tone. "In all seriousness Chuck, I say this because I care. You really need some sleep, man. You look horrible!"

Chuck rolled his eyes and leaned back into his chair, ruffling through the papers on his desk.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, but it's not like I go around begging for cold-blooded murderers to target innocent people so that I may have many more sleepless nights," he reasoned.

"I'm afraid to ask, but how long is the suspect list this time around?" Nate asked, allowing a tiny laugh to escape from his lips.

Chuck let out a deep sigh and reluctantly got up from his seat. And to think he had just gotten comfortable! He walked over to his filing cabinet and removed a thin green folder, flipping through its contents before extracting a single sheet of paper. It was double-sided.

"It's not that long. Bart and Vanessa Fairmont are on the top of my list right now," Chuck informed him.

Nate nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Pete Fairmont was interfering with a multi-billion dollar business deal that his father had acquired. Bart needed to maintain an image. Let's just say Fairmont Industries needed this business deal to save the entire company. Besides, his alibi is his daughter. I find that hard to believe."

Nate nodded. "I can question his daughter. What exactly is her motive for killing her brother?"

"She has no motive. She cared a lot for her brother," Chuck replied.

Nate raised an eyebrow in his direction in confusion.

"However, I can charge her with obstruction of justice," Chuck explained.

Nate looked slightly shocked. "Man, you really don't let anything or anyone get past you, do you?"

"Nathaniel, you know it comes with the job description. What? You're telling me you would just let her walk away?"

Nate shrugged in response. "If her father asked her to be his alibi, how could she have said no? Would you deny your father that request?"

Chuck frowned. "I'm sure my father would have never put me in that situation."

"Alright, let's just drop it. I'm sorry I mentioned your father," Nate said, giving Chuck an apologetic glance.

Chuck merely nodded and continued.

"So, you check up on his daughter and I'll get a head start on Bart Fairmont. It's not like we can look at the evidence just yet anyway."

"Yeah, Daryl mentioned everything was still being tested in the lab. He'll let us know immediately when the results come in," Nate confirmed.

An awkward silence ensued until Nate decided to speak up again.

"Look, I actually came here this morning to make sure you don't suffocate Bart Fairmont in this case."

Chuck became suspicious upon hearing his request.

"Why? He's not blackmailing you or anything, right? You don't have to take any of his shit if he's pressuring you or something," Chuck assured him.

"No, man. You know we get a lot of our funding for this department from Bart. He could pull our funds."

Chuck scoffed. "And if he is the murderer? We just let him slide by simply because he may be responsible for my pay check and our expensive lab equipment?"

Nate sighed. "I'm not saying don't investigate him. I'm asking you to investigate him after you've eliminated most of the suspects on your list."

"Nathaniel, are you selling out? I hope you remember why we got these jobs in the first place."

"I wanted to find my father and you and your father always talked about how wonderful it would be for you to serve and protect. I get it Chuck. We've been through this a million times," Nate replied, his voice weary and close to defeat.

Chuck pondered for a moment. Although, Nate had never enforced his position on him, Nate was still his supervisor and he should be heading to his orders.

"I'll lay off Bart, Nathaniel, but only until most of the suspects have been eliminated."

Nate gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks."

Chuck nodded. "I think I'm going to check in on Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey then and maybe pay Blair Waldorf a visit as well."

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Blair has been accounted for by the doorman. She is no longer a suspect."

Nate thought he saw a momentary flash of disappointment cross Chuck's face, but he shook it off. He must have been seeing things.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Right, well I'll just pay a visit to the Humphreys then," he replied.

He had to admit that he was slightly disappointed that Blair Waldorf was no longer a suspect. After all, she would have been an interesting suspect to...pursue.

He started for the door. "I'll see you back here later and forget about Vanessa for now. It's probably more important that you stay here and wait for the evidence. Call..."

"I'll call you the moment the reports arrive. Seriously, man, you should be my supervisor with the way you take control of these cases," Nate joked.

Chuck smirked as he left, closing the door tightly behind him.

Nate let out a loud sigh as he took Serena's cell phone out of his pocket and examined it, turning it around in his hands. He had caught a glimpse of the evidence that his team had collected at the scene of the crime. The contents in each of the plastic bags had been indeterminable at a distance, but the single wisp of blond hair had been unmistakable. He really hoped Serena hadn't gotten caught up in all of this. Besides, there were plenty of blonds on the Upper East Side. He felt guilty for keeping all of this from Chuck. He felt particularly bad that he hadn't told his best friend about his biological father, especially since he had discovered the real truth about his identity. He would return her cell phone to her the moment Chuck was through with questioning Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey. He wanted to know if Serena had seen Pete Fairmont before his death and if she had, had she seen anything regarding the murder? He could probably also get a strand of her golden hair in the process to help clear her name when the time came.


"Good morning," Blair greeted her mother as she dragged herself into the kitchen.

"Blair, you look horrible. Go back to bed!"

As much as Blair tried to hide the sadness in her eyes, Eleanor witnessed her face fall.

"Blair, that's not what I meant. After the night you've had, you should stay in bed and rest. Anyone would look awful after having seen a dead body," Eleanor explained herself.

Blair looked at her mother in shock, her mouth slightly open. It was as if her mother actually cared.

"I'm sorry about my hysterics last night. Last night made me realize..." she trailed off, unable to carry on the conversation.

"You realized what mother?" Blair prodded, hoping her mother would express her true feelings.

"I realized that I could have lost you. If you had arrived earlier or something, the murderer could have targeted you!" her mother chocked out between tears.

Blair ran over to hug her mother. This had to be one of those rare mother-daughter moments that her friends always talked about, but that she had never experienced until now.

"Mom, I'm alright and I'd understand if you didn't want me to represent your new fashion line anymore," she said as her mother continued to sob into her shoulder.

Eleanor pulled back from her daughter's embrace. She could see now that she had been a terrible and distant mother all these years. She had been so close to losing her only daughter, who still loved and admired her despite all the pain she had caused her over the years. Last night had been a wake-up call for her. She was going to treasure Blair from now on.

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed, drying her tears and composing herself. "I have postponed the launch for the moment. When you recover from all of this drama, we can arrange for a photo shoot and all of that, but until then, you need your rest. I'll ask Dorota to bring your breakfast to your room."

Blair gave her mother a tiny smile. She really hoped this wasn't a fluke in her mother's personality and that she was really going to care for her now. She had always felt so neglected over the years.

"I'm fine mother. I had a few nightmares last night, but I'm fine for the most part. I'm actually on my way to see Serena right now," she said, sitting down to eat her breakfast.

"I thought you and..."

"Yeah, that's why I'm going to see her. We're going to talk things out. It was all a silly misunderstanding. Besides, I haven't seen Dan since last night," Blair insisted.

Eleanor nodded. "Just don't overexert yourself. I'll be out all day. I'm postponing the launch of my fashion line, but the clothes will need to be ready. If you see Jenny, tell her to come in as soon as possible."

"I will and does this mean you'll also accept Dan now?" Blair asked.

She knew that was a stretch. Eleanor had taken a turn for the better, but accepting a Humphrey would probably be pushing her limits.

"Nice try darling. I still think you deserve much better. Someone with money and status would be much more appropriate. I would mention Pete or Robert, but they are both clearly out of the picture now. What about that handsome boy from high school? I hear Detective Archibald is still single. He's rich and he could provide you with protection," her mother reasoned.

"Mother! There will never be anything between me and Chuck!"

"Chuck Bass?" her mother questioned. "I didn't mention him. Are you all right Blair dear?"

Realizing her blunder, she blushed furiously. Archibald had been the operative word in their conversation and yet her brain had decided to freeze on her at the mention of handsome boy from high school. Her brain was a traitor. That's what it was.

"Yes mother. I'm fine. I just...I have to find Serena now!" she responded as she bolted out of the kitchen.

Eleanor remained rooted to her seat. She could sense that Blair was attracted to the boy. Chuck Bass. She had never considered him before. He did inherit a fortune from his parents and he was a detective as well. Nate was his supervisor, but she supposed Chuck Bass was still worthy of her daughter. Anyone was better than a Humphrey.

"Dorota, I think we should invite the Humphreys to dinner sometime next week..."

The maid listened intently to her every word.

"...and be sure to invite Detective Bass and Detective Archibald as well. We want to…show our appreciation for the work they do for our…community," Eleanor finished with a satisfied look upon her face.

She wasn't interfering with her daughter's life per se, but it wouldn't hurt the steer her in the right direction. Detective Archibald and Detective Bass were both excellent prospects after all. Besides, couldn't that Humphrey boy withstand a little competition?

Dorota left Eleanor to her breakfast and to her thoughts, a knowing smile upon her face. Miss Blair would be furious if she knew what her mother was planning.


Blair stepped out of the elevator. She missed coming to the penthouse. She had always made sure to avoid it whenever she had had a date with Dan because it would have only been awkward if she ever ran into Serena. She was glad they could put all of that behind them now. She started towards the stairs. She had sent a text to the blond moments before, so Serena knew she was coming. To her disappointment, Dan was out with Vanessa. She was probably still in need of comfort. Blair could understand that.

"Looking good Waldorf," a voice drawled behind her.

She didn't have to turn around to match a face with that voice.

"Detective Bass, what are you doing here? Are you following me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Chuck smirked. "Of course not. If I were following you, I would know that Nate dropped you off last night instead of that fantastic boyfriend of yours. I would also know that you were asking too many questions about the murder for your own good."

Blair gaped at his response.

"You were following me last night? Who do you think you are?" she asked, jabbing her index finger into his chest after each word.

"I'm Chuck Bass," he answered, grabbing a hold of her wrist. "And that hurts you know. So, stop it."

Blair sucked in her breath as they glared at each other, neither of them willing to move. The mysterious vibe she had been feeling had returned and her earlobe began to tingle again. She swallowed hard as he took a step forward if that was even possible considering their already close proximity to one another.

"Detective Bass! We're sorry to have kept you waiting," Rufus said as he guided his wife into the living room.

Chuck abruptly let go of her wrist as Blair turned to leave.

"Blair?" Lily asked. "What are you doing here?"

Blair couldn't help but stutter slightly. "I...I...um...I was looking for…I'm here to see Serena...We're..."

"Oh yes! Of course. Serena is in her room dear."

"Right. Thank you," she said as she quickly walked out of the room.

She could still feel his intense eyes boring into her. That Basstard was probably mentally undressing her by now. The very thought caused her cheeks to turn crimson red. Somehow that always managed to happen whenever he was around.