A/N: Please bear with me as this is somewhat of a filler chapter. I hope you enjoy it and reviews are loved as always. Thank you for all of your amazing feedback thus far.
Alone Together
"Miss Waldorf," Chuck greeted her the moment she stepped inside the limo.
"Skip the pleasantries," Blair seethed as she took a seat next to him. "What do you want?"
Chuck smirked in amusement at her evident irritation with him.
"You," he answered simply.
Blair found herself blushing at his reply to her question and slid herself closer towards the door.
"What?" she stuttered.
Chuck laughed. "What I meant was that I want you to work with me on the case."
"Of course you did," Blair quickly shot back.
"Unless wanting you is also a viable option," he continued.
"Absolutely not. Why should I work with you detective? I thought you and Nate had the case under control?"
She crossed her arms in defiance and turned to look out the window.
"Nate has some other cases he's been investigating, so I've been working on this particular case on my own for the most part," he informed her.
She turned her head to face him again, her features emotionless.
"Or are you afraid you'd lose to me if we were to work on this alone? You're afraid I'll solve this case before you do detective," she challenged him. "For some odd reason, I always seem to be one step ahead of..."
Chuck cut her off and kissed her hard on the lips then. She pounded her fists against his chest in an attempt to pull away until she heard an unmistakable moan escape from her own lips. What was it about his touch that made her lose all control? She threaded her hands through his hair, trying to deepen the kiss just as he pulled away. Blair peered at him with questioning eyes only to darken them when she witnessed his smirk, a visible lipstick smear on the corner of his mouth.
"Is that a yes Miss Waldorf?" he teased.
Blair huffed and made an attempt to fix her slightly tousled hair.
"Do you promise to stop pulling stupid stunts like you did just now?" she questioned.
He leaned in close to her ear as she shivered in anticipation.
"Admit it," he whispered. "You enjoyed every second of that. I wonder what Humphrey would say if he knew about our encounters."
"I hate you," Blair hissed.
He chuckled at her sentiment. Then he reminded himself of his initial purpose for having her speak with him in his limo. He wanted to seduce her and to make her his, but at the same time, he needed her help with the case even more. Nate was hardly pulling his weight and Daryl was simply too green to be trusted with anything more than what he was already doing.
Blair was far from qualified to help him of course. In fact, she wasn't qualified at all, but he had to admit that the brunette was good at what she did; at playing detective. It was her keen sense of determination and born curiosity that led her to succeed and he knew this because they were qualities that he eventually discovered in himself; that his father had always been proud of.
"I apologize for my indiscretions Miss Waldorf, but I think working together will benefit the case. This competition of who finds the murderer or murderers first doesn't do us both any good. We're looking at the same clues; following the same leads," he explained.
"And if we work together," Blair continued for him. "We could probably crack this case wide open twice as fast."
"Exactly," he agreed. "So, what do you say? I promise to keep my hands to myself. It's hard though when I'm in the presence of such a beautiful woman."
"You're buttering me up," Blair scoffed, although she was flattered by his words.
"I am," Chuck relented.
It was probably for the best if she thought he was simply complimenting her to get her on board with being his partner, but he really did think she was beautiful. In fact, he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Humphrey was one lucky son of a bitch. Some guys just had all the luck.
"Alright," Blair conceded after a moment of pondering. "I'll work with you, but let's keep this professional Detective Bass."
"You can call me Chuck you know," he started. "We're partners now and you have my word. We'll keep this professional."
"Good," she responded. "And you can call me Blair. Miss Waldorf is awfully formal."
Chuck nodded. "Alright Blair. Shall we go over some of the details of the case and then decide what to do from there?"
"Sure, but I have another class in about half an hour," she reminded him.
"Who are the major suspects you have pinned down for the case?" he asked her. "I need to know who you've been following up on."
"Well," she began. "I know Pete was blackmailing Lily and Rufus. I don't know with what, but I do know that they paid him off. That's why I haven't exactly been following up on that lead. Why kill the guy if you've already paid him to keep his mouth shut, right?"
"They're low priority on our suspect list then, but we should still pry into the details of that transaction. What he was blackmailing them with is still of immense interest to us. Where did you dig up all of this information anyhow?"
Blair grinned. "I have my sources and you have yours."
"Alright," Chuck sighed, waving off her aura of mystery. "Who else?"
"Serena," she stated, a hint of hesitation in her voice.
"You don't want to believe she could have killed Pete, right?"
Blair nodded at his accurate assumption.
"Sometimes it's the people closest to you that you need to watch out for," he warned her. "You have no idea how many cases I've dealt with where the perpetrator was a relative or a close friend. Actually, speaking of Serena, could you take a look at this strand of hair for me? We found it at the crime scene."
He handed her a closed baggie with a strand of golden hair resting on the clear bottom. She sighed and took the bag from his hands, scrutinizing its contents.
She rolled her eyes at him. "There are a lot of blonds on the Upper East Side Chuck."
"I know that, but I'm asking you if there's a possibility it could be Serena's hair. You're best friends, so I thought you would recognize it to some degree and I'd appreciate it if you could get me a sample," he added.
She pressed her lips together in concentration as if she were really thinking the possibility over.
"Yes, I suppose so," she answered, hesitation still laced in her voice. "I can get you that sample to make sure of course."
"Now, Serena has been a suspect to me as well, but I've yet to really work on that angle. The only thing I know right now is that she claims she was at a sleepover at Penelope's house at the time of Pete's death. Apparently, she was too ill to take part in the party, but she was in Penelope's room resting the entire time. Penelope and Hazel have both come forward to attest to this, but it all seems a bit fishy to me. I know you don't want to believe that she could have..."
Blair put up her hand to silence him. It didn't matter to her if he wanted to investigate Serena. If her best friend had truly had no part in Pete's death, then she had nothing to hide. If she had been pushed over the edge enough to kill Pete, well then Blair had no idea how she would react to the news. With these thoughts in mind, she prepared herself to tell Chuck everything she had found out about Serena.
"I found out that she also had some sort of contact with Pete beforehand because he was blackmailing her and a very reliable source told me that Jonathan knew all the juicy details of Pete's work. So, I went to talk to him. That's the day we bumped into each other as I was leaving your house and according to Jonathan, he started blackmailing her the morning of his murder," she revealed. "I mean Jonathan as in your brother's boyfriend by the way."
Blair cursed herself mentally for her nervousness at the mention of that day. It had been their first kiss. She had a right to feel nervous about mentioning that particular encounter, but did she have to explain who Jonathan was? How lame was that? Obviously she was talking about Eric's boyfriend. It was like she had diarrhea of the brain or something whenever she was around him or thinking about him or whatever.
"I'm well aware of who Jonathan is Blair," he drawled sarcastically.
"Just trying to be thorough," she defended herself. "For all I know, you could know loads of Jonathans."
Damn it! Even her cover up attempt was lame!
Chuck decided that now wasn't the time to argue with her because he knew that if they started arguing, he would eventually kiss her to shut her up and he had promised her that he would keep this professional.
"Well, did your mysterious source say whether she had paid him off or not?" he inquired.
"He only told me to talk to Jonathan. My source didn't tell me that Pete had been blackmailing her actually. In fact, I think he was intentionally hiding it from me. I never confronted him about it though," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"So, your source could be in on Pete's murder as well if he's trying to keep Serena safe or she may have confessed something to him on a drunken night out on the town and now he's being forced to keep his mouth shut," he reasoned. "Who is he?"
"Robert McKinley," she replied.
"Robert?" he asked in disbelief. "Isn't he set to marry Claire Waters? Now I know why you were at his house the other day."
Blair rolled her eyes. "He's my reliable source. That doesn't mean I sleep with him to get the information I need. Besides, it's not like Claire is so faithful herself. Wasn't she trying to hit on you just a few days ago?"
"Jealous Waldorf?" he mocked her.
"You wish. Are you?" she challenged.
They held each other's gaze, the intensity practically searing their souls. Just as Chuck leaned forward in her direction, she cleared her throat and snapped out of her trance.
"You know what? I actually need to get to class a little earlier today. Why don't I call you up later about the other suspects I have in mind and such?"
Chuck frowned in disappointment, but quickly recovered from this setback.
"Alright," he agreed. "Actually, you can just call Daryl and leave him with your message or whatever. He'll pass it on to me."
"That will be fine," she conceded, taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor. "What can I do in the mean time?"
"Well, I could use your help with Jenny. We found a piece of thread at the crime scene and it happens to be extremely rare. The only designers in the world that use this thread are your mother and Jenny Humphrey."
"Are you investigating my mother then?" Blair wondered.
"No," he assured her. "Your mother has her alibis. Jenny was running a few errands for Eleanor at the time, so she had a few opportunities to go in for the kill. Any of your mother's clients that own a dress with this thread are still suspects as well of course."
"I can question Jenny, but just to let you know Jenny was the love of Pete's life. She..."
"Yes, I got around to questioning Eric, so I know," he told her. "She seems to care about him a lot, but anything is possible. It could all be an act. When you question her, just make sure you're..."
"I don't need you to tell me how to go about this Chuck," she interrupted him. "I'll be discreet in my approach. I'll mention how wonderful the thread is and Jenny will immediately offer me a few designs with that thread."
"Then you could casually ask her about anyone else who has ordered those exact designs including all of your mother's clients of course," he continued for her.
"Exactly," Blair responded. "And Jenny is already a suspect because I personally know that she wears all of her own designs and some of those of my mother's as well."
"You're good."
"Tell me something I don't know," she commented cheekily.
He ignored her statement, although he admired her confidence.
"I'll start working on the Bart Fairmont angle. The only thing I think his daughter is guilty of is obstruction of justice by pretending to be her father's alibi. Nate and I will stop by and question the two of them in their humble abode or maybe just Bart. I'll see what mood I'm in."
"You'll question them both," Blair assured him.
"Why do you say that?" he asked curiously.
"You're clearly in the I'll-bug-as-many-people-as-I-can-today-including-Blair-Waldorf-because-I'm-an-ass mood."
"You wound me," he cried dramatically, his hand on his heart.
Blair swallowed hard then. It wasn't that she found his dramatic reaction extremely adorable. It was that she wanted to tell him everything that Dan had told her earlier this morning, but why should she? Dan probably trusted her not to tell anyone and Vanessa was planning to confront Bart anyway. If he did kill Pete, perhaps he would tell Vanessa and then she would tell Dan. Dan would surely let her know if Bart was the murderer. She would solve the case first for sure and if this lead turned out to be a dead end, Chuck would find out on his own soon enough. Besides, maybe he would discover something new upon questioning them. She decided to keep her mouth shut.
"Well, the plan sounds good. You cover the Fairmonts. I'll contact you when I've got something on the Jenny front."
Her hand was on the door handle and she seemed to hesitate in leaving the vehicle.
"Sure Blair," he answered and she stepped out of the limo then, closing the door behind her.
She walked away slowly as if wanting him to summon her back.
"Blair," he called after her.
She turned around and forced herself not to smile.
"Yes?" she inquired.
"I said I would keep this professional, but after we solve the case, all bets are off."
He winked at her and signaled for the driver to start the vehicle. Blair stood frozen in her place on the walkway and if it wasn't bad enough that her mind had been wandering from her boyfriend ever since she had stepped into that limo, she found herself melting into a puddle of goo upon that Basshole's departure, hoping that his statement would be a promise.
"What color roses should I get her? How many should I get her? I mean, is there a rulebook for buying a girl flowers when you plan to propose to her?" Dan asked the florist.
Vanessa smiled politely at the woman. "He's nervous."
The blond rolled her eyes. "You don't say?"
Dan laughed awkwardly, forcing the woman to roll her eyes once more.
"I think we can find what you need," the florist assured him. "You have a few sure fire options."
The phone in the store began to ring at that moment and the blond immediately tended to the call.
"How long do you think she'll be?" Dan wondered out loud.
Vanessa shrugged. "The look on her face tells me that that could be one annoying customer."
"Shall we browse a bit then?" he asked, offering her his arm.
"Sure," she responded, lacing her arm through his. "I talked to Bart by the way."
Dan stopped in his tracks. "Really? How did it go?"
"Well, I was really straightforward about my concerns and he did confess that he was trying to cover for Pete's stock fraud scandal, but he promised me he had no hand in killing my brother," she told him.
"That's great!" Dan exclaimed. "Are you sure he was telling the truth though?"
Vanessa nodded. "He wouldn't lie to me about this and I could see it in his eyes. I think he really does miss Pete in some ways, but he's just too stubborn to admit it, you know?"
"Yeah," Dan agreed. "By the way, I wanted to apologize. This morning after you left, I sort of took the liberty to tell Blair about our investigation."
"You what? Dan, that was supposed to be between you and me. How could you let it all slip like that?" she cried.
"Sorry," Dan reiterated. "I figured I was proposing to her soon and Blair and I don't really keep secrets from each other."
Vanessa waved off his apology. "It's fine Dan. Forget about it. Just don't tell her anymore than you already have. Promise?"
"Not even..."
"Promise?" she repeated.
"Promise."
It wasn't that Vanessa really minded if Dan told Blair of their findings and whatnot, but she had wanted something to just be between her and Dan. Somehow everything that they shared involved Blair.
"Oh, I also forgot to mention that Chuck and Nate just arrived to question me and my father when I left to come and meet up with you," she informed him.
"What did they ask you?" Dan asked, concern in his tone of voice.
"Chuck asked me if I still insisted that I was with my father that night," she responded.
"What did you say then?" he urged.
"I didn't have to say anything actually," she explained. My father stepped in and told them that I wasn't his alibi. He admitted that he thought it would look bad if he had said he was alone at the time of his death, but he still denied killing Pete. They're still questioning him right now, but they let me go."
"Well," Dan reasoned. "I suppose they can't just take Bart's word for it. I mean the not killing Pete part. Admitting he asked you to pretend to be his alibi doesn't exactly make him shine in a good light if you know what I mean."
Vanessa sighed. "I know and he's still lying to them because he told me he wasn't alone. He was dealing with a few people who are on board with the cover up plan. He hired some people to scare some of the board members into selling those fake stocks back to him."
"Oh wow," Dan commented. "Wow."
"I know, but can we talk about something else please?"
Dan nodded and tried to come up with a new topic of discussion. Truthfully, Bart could still be playing his daughter for a fool. He had used words and those could hardly be considered hard evidence to wash away any doubts that he had killed his own son. Vanessa believed him based on her intuition and Dan was unsure as to whether or not Vanessa was seeing the truth or simply what she wanted to see in the truth.
"How about we go back to the topic of how nervous I am for this proposal?" he questioned.
Vanessa rolled her eyes at him. "Stop being nervous. She is going to be the happiest woman alive when you pop the question."
And I'll be the most miserable woman alive when you pop the question.
"What is taking the florist so long?" he asked in irritation.
"Patience Dan," she reminded him. "These daisies are beautiful."
She reached out to touch them and Dan smiled.
"Hey," he started. "Remember the first time I gave you a daisy?"
Vanessa laughed and nodded at the reminder.
"We were at the park and I told you how much I liked them," she continued.
"And I went to go pick one for you," he finished.
"Except there was an ant on the stem and it crawled onto your finger. You screamed like a girl, dropped the flower, and ran."
"I did not," Dan huffed as Vanessa's contagious laugh echoed throughout the store.
"That phone call took more time than I imagined," the florist explained upon her return.
"Demanding customer?" Vanessa asked sympathetically.
"You have no idea," the florist answered.
Dan laughed awkwardly again, but stopped the moment the blond gave him a stern look.
"I had a few options laid out for you, but how would you like to order fifty red roses Mr. Humphrey?"
"Please call me Dan and would that be a good choice?"
"Fifty roses tell her that your love for her is limitless and the color red conveys deeps emotions," the florist explained. "It would be perfect for the occasion. Anyhow, I'm sure the flowers will come only second to the ring."
"Because who you're marrying is of no importance," Vanessa mentioned sarcastically.
The florist scoffed. "True love is overrated. Diamonds are a girl's best friend. We women might as well marry rich. The ring says it all. I'll go and place your order then. You can come and pick them up on the day of the proposal."
"Thank you," Dan said before he headed for the door.
The moment they were outside Dan turned towards Vanessa and asked, "Does the ring really matter that much?"
Vanessa gave him a look. "Dan."
"Right. She'll accept my proposal because she loves me," he chanted. "Blair loves me and I love her. Nothing could go..."
He trailed off as Vanessa pulled him into the nearest store. Dan took a look at his surroundings and gasped.
"We're best friends, but I am honestly not comfortable with shopping for lingerie with you," Dan informed her.
"Oh please," Vanessa scoffed. "Look!"
Dan peered out the window to where she was pointing at to find Serena and Nate on the other side of the street in deep conversation.
"He certainly has good taste taking her there. The coffee at that cafe is to die for," Dan commented.
"Details Dan," Vanessa protested. "Did you see the tape he just gave her?"
"I saw it, but what's so important about that tape?" he asked in confusion.
"When Chuck was starting to question my father, Nate told him that he would take a look around Pete's room. I was halfway out the door, but then I noticed that I forgot my purse. When I went upstairs to grab it, I caught of glimpse of Nate pocketing the tape. It seemed personal. Otherwise, wouldn't he have put it into one of those clear evidence bags?"
Dan pondered over this for moment. "I suppose and the tape is yellow for crying out loud. It has to be the same tape that he pocketed. Why would he give it to Serena though?"
"She may have asked him to retrieve it for her. He is her boyfriend now after all," Vanessa stated.
"Pete was probably blackmailing her and she wanted to get whatever he had on her back now that..."
"You're probably right. You don't think she would have..."
"...killed Pete in order to keep whatever secret safe? Serena? Yeah, I don't think so," Dan voiced his opinion, laughing at the very idea.
"I guess. I can't imagine her killing anyone either. Want to get out of here now?"
Dan looked around at all the lace and the bows around him and smiled gratefully at her suggestion. "Yes please."
