A/N: I know it really has been forever. I give you all permission to be very angry with me. Anyways, here is the long overdue next chapter.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GOSSIP GIRL

Rated: T mostly for language.

Shoutout to all my reviewers: smartin555, ana-12, odyjha, bomb7979, tvrox12, I Love Chair, bluestriker666, Danielle :), broadwaybaby2405, xoxogg4lifexoxo, CarolinaGirl21, EZ11, annablake, and LayRay. You guys are so awesome.

I write for me but I post for you guys, so it's great to know that you are enjoying it :)

Blair woke up early on purpose. She wanted to be completely ready and downstairs before Marcus woke up. The less time she had to spend with him the better. So far it was working. When she left the bathroom completely ready to go for the day, Marcus was still asleep.

"Hey." She said quietly as she walked into the dining room where her father, Roman, and Roland were all seated.

Harold immediately stood and walked to her, hugging her tightly. "Sweetheart are you okay."

Blair continued speaking in a soft voice as though she didn't have the strength to talk any louder. "Yes, no, I don't know. I think I'm going to head out to the guest house to see everyone; then me, Serena, and Jenny are going shopping downtown."

"Okay." Harold said, taking a good hard look at her before releasing her. "Have a good day Blairbear." He knew that she must be anxious to get out to the guest house and see Chuck so he tried not to delay her.

Blair waved at the other two men before walking outside. She had called Jenny from the bathroom and she and Nate had driven Blair's car to come pick her up at the main house. "Hey guys." She said, hurrying over and hopping in the car.

"Morning Blair." Jenny said before turning the car around and driving back towards the guest house.

"How are you?" Nate asked, turning around in his seat so that he could see her. She looked as perfect as ever but he could see the sadness in her eyes.

Blair looked out the window before looking at Nate. "I'm dealing." She said, her voice the same tone that it had been all morning.

Jenny ran a hand through her hair as she drove. "Ugh, I just wish I could have gotten a hold of you sooner or stalled longer or something. I feel like it's my fault."

"Jenny, it's not your fault." Blair said automatically. For the first time all morning, her voice held some sort of emotion. "In fact if it wasn't for you we would have been caught red handed. Marcus would have walked in and found me and Chuck together and the shit would have really hit the fan."

At hearing Blair use the old saying, all three laughed even though the laughs were slightly affected. "How is he?" Blair asked, her voice returning to the soft one that she had been using all morning.

Jenny looked at Nate as though seeking help for what to say before looking at Blair in the rearview mirror and speaking. "Not good." She said her tone almost matching Blair's.

Blair nodded. After all, Jenny's response was exactly what she was expecting. So as soon as they reached the guest house, Blair had to hold back from sprinting from the car and into the house. Instead she exited the car and walked her normal brisk pace into the guest house.

Walking in the door, her eyes searched to meet his and instead only ran across those of Serena, Dan, and Eric. "Where's Chuck?" She asked, confused and more than a little worried that he had decided to leave.

"Upstairs." Eric said, pointing up as he did.

Blair simply nodded at everyone knowing that they would understand, before making her way up to Chuck. When she reached their room the door was shut. She didn't bother knocking; she knew that Chuck wouldn't care. Once she had a clear view of the room, she could see that Chuck was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from the door. As she took a step into the room, she heard him speak.

"Whoever you are, you can go. I'm fine I promise." Chuck really didn't want to be bothered right now. Sure they were his friends and he knew that they cared about him; but for at least a little while, he needed to be alone. He had lost Blair again.

Blair smiled a little; that was so Chuck. But when she spoke, all traces of a smile were once more gone from her voice. "That's funny because I'm not."

"Blair?" Chuck asked questioningly as he flipped around to see her standing just inside the door. "I wasn't sure I'd see you again." He said getting over the initial shock and standing, walking around the bed to face her.

"I know." Blair said quietly, before walking into his now open embrace.

Chuck lifted her chin and kissed her. It was a kiss like most others they shared. The passion was there but it was somehow sadder. As Chuck pulled back he whispered. "Where's Marcus?"

"Still sleeping, I think." Blair said, laying her head on his chest and holding him tightly.

At that Chuck shook her gently, excitement filling his voice. "We could run now Blair. Marcus is asleep, we have plenty of time. Let's go."

Blair's eyes widened as the prospect ran through her mind. "We could." She said quietly. This time with a hint of excitement present in her voice. "But what about everyone else? Marcus will blame them." Blair said, thinking aloud.

"They'll understand." Chuck replied, now really excited. He could feel the rush of hope once more and knew that it was dangerous if this didn't work.

Blair bit her lip before nodding. "Okay, let's do it. I know you left my jewelry here so that Marcus wouldn't see and that's all I need. So we can just grab that and go." She said, lacing her fingers through his.

Chuck smiled for the first time all day. "We've got to go now before something else goes wrong."

As though his very words brought it about, there was a knock on the downstairs door. Blair listened to see if she recognized the voice of whoever was there, she was really hopping it was her father, Roland, or Roman; but she couldn't discern a thing. After a moment Jenny called up. "Blair, it's for you."

Chuck began looking worried immediately. Already there was a kink in the new plan. "Don't go." He whispered.

Blair nodded and called in response. "I'm a little busy Jen. Can they come back later?" She hopped that her response sufficed.

"No Blair, I think you need to come down here." Jenny shouted back.

Blair sighed before calling back. "Okay. I'll be right down." She turned to Chuck, who looked extremely disheartened and whispered. "Don't worry, we'll find a way." Before kissing him quickly and leaving the room.

As she walked down the stairs, Blair spotted a large bald man in the main room. "Hi, can I help you?" She asked as she reached the bottom floor.

"Actually I am here for you." The man said unsmilingly. He saw the girl's confused face and continued. "Marcus needed Roland for the day, so he sent me to accompany you on your outing. I'm Sergio."

"Oh." Blair said softly. "Well we should be going anyway. I hope you don't mind watching us shop Sergio. Hopefully it won't be too boring." Sergio did not respond; he simply led the way out the door. Blair turned back to Nate and whispered, tell Chuck, before she, Jenny, and Serena headed out.

Marcus smiled as Blair walked into the house. He had a nice dinner planned for her and he thought that perhaps afterwards all of the pill switching that he had been doing would pay off. "Good afternoon darling. How was your shopping?"

Blair flashed him a patented Blair Waldorf smile. She had gotten so use to faking being happy over the years that it seemed natural. "Wonderful. It was nice to spend the day with the girls." Sergio was following her in with her shopping bags. When he turned to her she instructed him further. "If you could take them upstairs that would be perfect." Sergio just nodded. Causing Blair to turn back to Marcus, a question now on her mind. "Why is Sergio following me around?"

Marcus knew that she was going to be asking this eventually and he didn't want to say that he didn't trust Rolland but that was turning out to be the case. He was beginning to think that Blair and Roland were getting too close and should she heaven forbid decide to run, he wanted a body guard looking after her that would stop her not help her. "I need Roland with me right now, so Sergio is taking over for him for a while."

"Roland never followed me around like Sergio does." Blair said pouting. She could see right through Marcus and even though she really didn't want to get into an argument with him right now she needed him to have Sergio back off if she wanted another chance to run.

Marcus reached forward and brushed a hair of her face choosing not to think about the fact that she flinched at his touch. "I just want you to be safe. I couldn't handle it if something happened to you."

Blair had tried not to react to his touch, but she couldn't stop herself and now she was getting angry way more quickly than she should be. Usually she was much better at keeping her demeanor icy but right now she felt the extreme need to lash out. "Are you worried about something happening to me or about me doing something?" Blair asked her tone icy.

Shit, Marcus thought to himself. Lately he lying to her had become bloody difficult. He cared too f'ing much. And right now, he had no idea what to say. "Baby, don't say things like that. You know I wouldn't do that."

Blair's eyes flashed. "Please tell me that you did not just call me baby." Her voice was raising decibels per second. "And we both know that that is exactly the type of thing that you would do Marcus." Suddenly, she let it all pour out. "I know exactly what you're doing Marcus. I can see right through you. I know that you don't really trust me. Roland and Sergio aren't body guards; they're prison guards. They are there to make sure I can't get away, right Marcus?"

Marcus just looked at her, unable to speak. She had hit the nail on the head and he had no defense. "Blair I . . ."

"Don't even try to deny it, you son-of-a-bitch." Blair said her face flushed with anger.

There was a time when Marcus would have lashed out in return but right now he just felt defeated. "I don't want to lose you." His voice gained strength. "I refuse to lose you. So I will do whatever I have to, to ensure that I don't."

Blair shook her head slightly. "Just when I think that you actually give a damn about me and what I actually want you show your true colors again Marcus." Blair remembers back to right before she left for France and is suddenly disgusted. "You know, when you told me that I could come spend Christmas here, for the first time I thought that I could maybe live with being married to you. I remember thinking that maybe just maybe, you had a heart and being married to you wouldn't be the end of the world." Even as she said the words, she realized the truth in them. Yes she was as in love with Chuck as ever but if Marcus was going to take a step back and let her have some freedom she would have dealt. Now she realized that it was all a well orchestrated scheme, only Roland had switched sides. "Any chance you had of me ever being happy or letting my guard down again was just blown." Blair said turning and walking away.

Marcus reached out and grabbed her arm. He couldn't believe this. How had everything gone downhill so quickly? "Blair, please, I didn't want that. I just wanted to make sure I didn't lose you."

Blair jerked her arm out of his. "I don't give a damn what you wanted Marcus." She resumed her advance towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Marcus called out, confused.

Blair flipped her head around. "The guest house and I swear to god that if you or Sergio follow me, you'll have to sedate me to get me to go anywhere with you and lock me up once we got there because I would resist you ever step of the way no matter what you threatened to do to me." As soon as she finished, she tore through the doorway, leaving Marcus standing there completely alone.

Chuck approached Jenny tentatively. Everyone else had gone out for dinner or something but of course he was stuck in the house and Jenny had offered to stay with him. Right now she was making them breakfast for dinner in the kitchen but he knew that they needed to have a serious conversation. "Can we talk a minute?" He asked his voice gruff.

"Sure, just let me finish the waffle mix." Jenny said slightly distracted. After a few moments she turned around. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked almost cheerfully.

Chuck's eyebrows rose. Was she really asking him what he wanted to talk to her about after what she had told him last night? "Jen, you could be pregnant."

"I don't want to talk about that." Jenny said dismissively as she wiped her hands on the apron she had donned and walked towards the sink.

Chuck stepped in front of her blocking her way. "I got that much when you fled the room the second you told me last night; but this isn't something that you can just wish away. If you're pregnant you need to know. Hell, if you're pregnant I need to know because I could be the father."

Jenny looked away. She didn't want to hear any of this. Ever since she had spilled the beans to Chuck, she had regretted it. But when he mentioned that he could be the father she couldn't help but look back at him. "I know. But Nate still can't know about what we did Chuck. So if I am pregnant I'm not . . ."

"Getting a paternity test." Chuck saw where she was going and filled in the blank. He couldn't help but think that the situation felt oddly familiar. Potentially pregnant girl plus a secret affair with Chuck, plus a clueless Nate. It was so similar to what he had gone through with Blair that he was thrown for a moment; but while in Blair's case he would have insisted on the paternity being known, in Jenny's he wouldn't. She and Nate deserved a chance at happy. "I don't blame you." He said quietly.

"So can we keep this between us for now?" Jenny asked. "I'll go get a test done when I get home but right now I just need some time. And if I'm pregnant, I'll decide what to do from there."

Chuck nodded, speaking tentatively. "If you don't want to have the baby and you don't want Nate to know; just tell me and I'll take care of it."

"Thanks." Jenny whispered before hugging Chuck.

They had just broken apart when Blair stormed into the room with a smile on her face. Instantly the all knew that she and Marcus had gotten into it and clearly she was the victor this time. "Hey guys, what's for dinner?" She asked, just as her phone rang. "Hold on one second." She said to her friends before answering. "What now Marcus?"

"Blair I know you said not to but Sergio is coming out there. I swear he won't come in and he won't bother you. He is just going to sit in his car and read or something." He asserted.

Blair hissed through her teeth. She had thought that Marcus would head her warning from before. To hear that he was already going against it pissed her off. "Seriously Marcus, did you think that I was kidding?"

He did his best to keep his voice firm and in control. "No of course not, but I really don't feel comfortable leaving you unattended, for your protection. Earlier it wasn't necessary because you were staying in the main house, as was Roland but I don't want to risk anything happening to you out there alone." He knew it was a weak defense; one that she had already torn down, but it was the best he had.

"Fine." Blair said angrily. "But he better not step one foot inside."

Marcus sighed relieved. "He won't."

Blair huffed in frustration. "Well if that's all . . ."

"Actually it isn't." Marcus interrupted. "I meant to tell you earlier but I didn't get the chance, we need to head back to London tomorrow."

Blair's eyes went wide in shock. "Why?"

"I wanted to stay longer but I have to go take care of something in Parliament the following morning." Marcus said truthfully.

Suddenly Blair was struck with an idea. "Fine, you go, Roland and I will stay on as planned."

Marcus hadn't quite been expecting this response. "Blair, no."

"Why not Marcus? What changed? You came to surprise me right? Well I've been effectively surprised. No need to cut my visit short in the meantime." Blair combated.

He knew that she was right so he relented. "Okay, but I need Roland. Sergio will stay with you."

Blair knew that that was one point that she was going to have to concede in order to get her way. "Deal but I'm staying through Saturday."

"Fine." Marcus relented. "I'll see you in the morning before I leave for the airport."

Blair had to stifle a laugh at Marcus's statement. "Oh no you won't. I'll see you when you get back to England."

"Blair . . ." Marcus started before Blair interrupted.

"It's not negotiable Marcus." Blair countered.

Marcus wanted to see her before leaving but he knew the type of mood that she was in right now and decided that the best way to get back on her good side was to relent. "Alright. Have a good rest of your vacation Blair."

"Thanks." She said before hanging up and turning back to her friends who were looking at her with confused faces. "Good news, Marcus is going home. Bad news, he is switching Roland out for creeper Sergio."

Chuck didn't know whether to be happy or sad. It was great that he would have more time with Blair, but at the same time, Sergio's presence would prevent any chance they had of running. So he simply walked to Blair and kissed her. "We will use the time we have well."

"Oh I know we will." Blair said with a smirk before smiling at Jenny. "How long are you guys staying for?"

Jenny smiled in return. "We'll be here until the Saturday so that should make a pretty good cover for the two of you to spend time together here."

Blair nodded as she walked into the kitchen pulling Chuck with her. Everything that Jenny was making smelled so good. "Okay, now what can I do to help?"

Chuck laughed aloud, wrapping his arms around her. "Blair, you don't know how to cook."

She looked at him skeptically. "Seems like there are still some things that you don't know about me Bass. I'll have you know I am an excellent cook. Dorota's been teaching me since I was little."

"Really?" Chuck asked with a raised eyebrow. He thought that Blair was showboating. "I'll believe it when I taste it."

"In that case," Jenny said interrupting their back and forth. "Do you think that you can manage the French Toast Blair?"

Blair smiled and picked up the spatula, winking at Chuck. "Most definitely. Watch and learn Chuck, watch and learn."

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this update.

Reviews are always appreciated.

xoxo

kate