I wasn't going to post this chapter until Thursday night but I'm leaving tomorrow for California and I'll be gone until Sunday, most likely without internet. Therefore I wanted to give you guys another chapter before I left. I hope you enjoy it.

To my reviewers: SouthernBelle88, LovelyLydia, freak-chick-108, Krazy4Spike, ThunderChild94, ana-12, smartin555, wrightangal, CarolinaGirl21, GGfanficfan09, LitPrincess2787, and angeractress11. I seriously love you guys!

Disclaimer: I have an orange cat named Charlie but I do not own Gossip Girl.

Rated: T because I let things get smexy from time to time and I'm liberal with my language usage.

Thanks again to miragrace93 for the beta work!

Friday, May 15, 2009 - Van der Woodsen Apartment, NYC

Nate sat back in his chair his star burning a hole into the wall across from him, to say that he was uncomfortable would be an understatement. The room was filled with people he knew, Dan, Serena, Jenny, and Eric and Eric was the only one he was willing to talk to right now. He couldn't help but remember almost exactly a year ago when Blair had called him for help with Serena and he had gotten here to discover that she had called Chuck as well. That was when they had all hated each other. This time Blair had called them all here for her; she said it had something to do with Chuck. Blair was the only person that could have persuaded him to come here today, the only person that he would have endured the company of the others for.

Dan and Serena shifted on the couch exchanging uncomfortable glances with one another. Neither Nate nor Jenny were speaking to them and the way Eric was looking at them told them that he had taken Jenny's side as well. Serena looked at Dan, "I've had enough of this." And with that she stood and walked over to where Jenny was sitting scraping the paint off her fingernails. "Get over it."

Jenny looked up in surprise. "Excuse me." After what Serena and Dan had done to her last week, Serena had no right to speak to her like that.

"You heard me." Serena spoke sternly taking all of her pent up emotions from the past few months out on Jenny. "Now get over yourself and deal with it."

Eric placed a hand on Serena's shoulder gently but when he spoke there was a warning in his voice. "Serena . . ."

Serena's head snapped towards Eric. "Stay out of this, it has nothing to do with you." She then turned back to Jenny. "We were trying to do something nice for you guys, it's not our fault that you two were too immature to work things out from there."

Jenny didn't know what to say to any of this, a verbal assault from Serena had been the last thing that she was expecting and regardless of the fact that on a normal day she could reduce someone to tears within a few seconds she found that she was off her game. The person who did speak was a surprise to everyone.

"Hey, back off." Nate said angrily as he spun Serena around. He had acted without thinking, reacting to Serena's harsh words on instinct.

This time it was Serena whose mouth fell open in utter shock. "What?" She hadn't been expecting that, not from Nate and from the looks of it, he hadn't expected that of himself.

Everyone was frozen, staring at one another with their mouths open when it seemed that Nate came to a decision. "I said back off."

"Great now you're ganging up on me too. All I wanted to do was fix things for everyone; yet somehow I always end up getting blamed for everything." Serena shouted when really she felt like crying. Dan stood up and found himself beside Serena supporting her even if he thought that this argument might have been the most pointless one to date.

Jenny stood up herself, placing herself next to Nate, facing off against Dan and Serena. "Oh please, I'm poor little Serena I can't mind my own business and everyone's always mad at me." Jenny spat mockingly. "Well maybe if you learned to stay out of things that didn't concern you, you wouldn't have that problem." As she finished she and Nate exchanged a quick look reminiscent of the one he had given her the day she dumped yogurt on Blair's head, as though she had said it so much better than he could.

Dan stepped forward and tried to push Serena back. "Guys this is getting out of hand."

"Shut up Dan, you were as much a part of this as she was." Nate said gesturing towards Serena.

Eric stood by doing his best to act as a referee but they were making it increasingly difficult as their voices rose. The only good thing that he could see coming out of this was the fact that Jenny and Nate were working together.

All of them were so wrapped up in the argument that no one noticed that Blair had arrived and was standing in the foyer watching them. "What the hell is going on here?" Every head in the room turned towards Blair, taken aback by her entrance. She walked forward, her steps and voice filled with mild anger. "How is it possible that Nate and Chuck were able to be in the same room for hours when they weren't on speaking terms last year but I am ten minutes late and I walk in on World War III?"

All at once they all started making excuses causing Blair to roll her eyes and hold up a hand. "Stop, I don't want to hear it. Whatever it is we can sort it out in an orderly fashion not involving shouting later. Right now there's something else I need to talk to you about, so if you guys could separate and sit down that would be fantastic."

Immediately, everyone returned to the seats they had been in before the arguing had begun and Blair perched in the remaining chair. She was about to speak when someone else beat her to it.

Nate, who currently was feeling better than he had felt in months, had his chin sitting on his hand, his elbow resting on his knee. "Does this have something to do with the fact that none of us have seen or heard from you in three weeks?"

Blair's head snapped toward Eric. "You didn't tell them what I was doing?" Her voice wasn't angry this time, rather surprised. She hadn't instructed Eric to tell anyone what she was up to and in all actuality he hadn't known much only that she had a lead on Chuck that she was exploring in North Carolina, she was just surprised that he hadn't. Blair had gone to him because of everyone he was the one who she believed to care the most about Chuck and she thought that if there was anything, then he would want to know.

Eric shrugged embarrassed by the sudden attention that was directed at him. "I was busy with other things, I'm seeing someone." Eric paused as once more the faces of the room were shocked and a few of them looked actually angry. "Besides no one asked." He rationalized.

Blair could see that both Serena and Jenny wanted to say more so she took control of the situation before it became World War IV. "On the first point congratulations. Now for your question Nate, yes this has to do with where I was. You see all Eric knew was that I was exploring a possible lead into where Chuck was. I actual knew for sure before I left but I was concerned about his possible condition so that's all I said at the time."

Jenny reached over and squeezed Blair's hand. "You found him?" She paused letting excitement creep into her voice. "How did you find him?"

Blair had been contemplating for days whether or not she was going to come clean about just how she discovered Chuck's whereabouts and came to the conclusion that they were still the Non-Judging Breakfast Club, there were no secrets between them. Then when Marcus had shown up at her suite yesterday that had pretty much put an end to the debate. "I was desperate and I called Marcus to ask for help. He found Chuck for me and arranged all of my travel and accommodations so that I could decide what to do next."

Serena shook her head slightly. "So I get that Marcus is the one that found Chuck but what do you mean when you say condition? You're acting like there's something wrong with Chuck."

Blair pursed her lips this was the part she was least looking forward to. You'd think that the more she said it the more comfortable she would get with the truth but the reverse seemed to be the case. "Chuck tried to kill himself. He bought a car and drove to North Carolina where he crashed it into a tree." Further shocked sounds resounded around the room so Blair continued; knowing that it wasn't quite as bad as it sounded. "Physically he's doing fine; he was in a coma for almost a month that helped with the healing. The condition I was referring to - I assume that I use that word because that's what the nurses called it, a condition - is that he suffered some fairly serious brain damage; damage that caused some memory loss." Blair paused, needing a moment before she continued.

"How bad is it?" Eric asked, voice full of concern for the only brother he'd ever had.

Blair pulled herself together quickly. "He remembers everything, everyone, up until November of 2007. He was having trouble with names but as soon as I arrived he called me by name, all previous trouble gone."

Serena and Dan looked at one another, communicating without actually speaking, and found that they were happy. Chuck had been found and everything was seemingly okay. Serena turned to Blair. "This is great right? I mean two years of memory that's not bad in the grand scheme of things."

Dan smiled as well. "Right, and besides his memory will probably come back over time."

Jenny took Eric's hand quietly. She could see that Blair didn't find any of this anywhere near okay but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Eric faced her attempting to communicate the feeling in his gut that there was more and saw it reflected back at him in Jenny's eyes. Neither could identify it or even really say where the feeling came from but both of them realized there was something bigger that was wrong. Jenny looked over at Nate whose eyes connected with her own. Jenny watched as the light bulb went off in the eyes of her ex as he suddenly understood what none of the rest of them had been able to comprehend.

Nate looked at Blair tentatively. It had been minutes without words and Serena and Dan were the only two who looked excited. Eric and Jenny had looked confused and Blair had simply looked sad. It had taken a glance exchanged with Jenny to confirm what he was feeling and identify just what was causing Blair's distress. "He doesn't remember you." Blair's eyes met him surprised and he could sense that others throughout the room were on him as well even if he couldn't see them.

Serena shook her head, still smiling. "Don't be silly Nate, Blair already said that Chuck knew who she was as soon as she walked in."

Nate found himself swallowing as Blair continued to stare at him with a shocked look on her face. He assumed that of all people, he was not the one that she would have thought to guess her distress. "She knows that's not what I meant." He spoke calmly as all eyes once more traveled back to him. "I was referring to the fact that Chuck doesn't remember their relationship. He doesn't remember being in love with her. He's still the womanizing playboy of Manhattan."

Blair simply nodded, as all the eyes transferred to her. When no one else spoke she knew she had to say something so she asked the first thing that came to her mind. "How did you . . .?" She asked trailing off.

Nate's smile was wistful as he spoke again. "We broke up in November of 2007. That's when you and Chuck started . . . seeing each other." He spoke finding the best euphemism possible for just what Chuck and Blair were doing back in November. "So when you specifically said November of 2007, I assumed that was what you meant."

Understanding washed over the faces of everyone in the room but it was Blair who spoke again. "He remembers everything up until the second I arrived at Victrola."

Serena was anguished, especially recalling the way she had been acting today. Blair had called them here for something that was excruciatingly important to her and they hadn't respected it in the slightest. They were the Non-Judging Breakfast Club and they were better than this. "I'm so sorry B."

Blair nodded at Serena trying to offer her the slightest of smiles, trying to seem strong and courageous; but she knew that her guard wasn't really up and even if it had been these were the people in the world that were the most likely to see through the Blair Waldorf facade.

"Do they know why?" Dan asked, always the first to look for the practical solution.

Blair responded keeping her emotions in check. "They think they do. The doctor told me that knowing mine and Chuck's complete history there is a good chance that the amnesia is somewhat voluntary." Serena, Jenny, and Nate all looked as though they were about to say something but Blair continued forward. "Before you ask, no he isn't doing it on purpose and no it's not something he can just fix; I thought the same thing." She said, meeting their eyes so they each knew that she didn't think they were acting like idiots and asking questions that were inconsequential. "It means that the amnesia isn't caused by the brain swelling that resulted from the car accident, at least not anymore. It's quite possibly the result of the trauma of our relationship. The doctor said that his brain couldn't handle any more stress or turmoil so it eliminated the cause."

No one spoke for a few moments as they tried to digest what Blair was saying. It was Eric's voice that finally broke through the silence. "In order to heal, his brain had to shut something down so it chose the thing that was causing Chuck the most pain."

Blair nodded saying nothing; more importantly, knowing that nothing needed to be said.

Jenny, who had yet to let go of Blair's hand, felt her heart smash against her chest painfully at the look on Blair's face. Chuck was Blair's life; he meant everything to Blair. Without Chuck Bass there was no Blair Waldorf, at least not really. So if Blair's Chuck was gone, there was a damn good chance that they had lost them both for good. Jenny had just gotten her best friend back; she didn't want to lose her again. "So how do we fix it?" She asked, a determination in her features that wasn't entirely out-of-character yet still surprising in the moment.

Blair bit her lip; this was the hard part. "We don't." She paused and no one spoke, knowing that Blair wouldn't stop there. "I've done everything I possibly can do, now it's up to Chuck. His mind will remember when he's ready to let it."

"What did you do?" Eric asked not an ounce of skepticism or judgment in his voice, only compassion for their current predicament.

Blair could see the kindness and wisdom reflected in Eric's eyes and had the not so uncommon feeling that Eric was older than them. "I started by telling Chuck everything and he was skeptical to say the least." She looked to Nate, a hint of a smirk on her features. "He was convinced that you and I were trying to play a trick on him and that we were still together." Addressing the room once more, she forged onward, knowing that she owed them all the truth if only because Chuck was their friend too. "He kicked me out of the hospital that day. I lost hope but after an interesting conversation came back to New York convinced to fight for him. I went to see Bart, we had it out again." She said with a glance at Serena, knowing the other's feelings for her step-father. "I basically told him that as a father he really sucked."

At that Eric snorted, imagining that Blair saying that to Bart would have been something spectacular to witness; there were so many days in which he wished he could tell Bart where to shove it and it appeared as though Blair had gotten to live the dream so to speak.

Blair smiled at Eric before continuing. "I went back to North Carolina and I gave Chuck the iPod."

"The iPod?" Nate asked, suddenly confused.

Blair was surprised, not realizing that there were very few people who knew of the iPod's existence; being Jenny's boyfriend, Blair had assumed that Nate would have been one of them. She opened her mouth, recovered from the surprise and ready to answer but found that Jenny was better prepared to do it for her.

"Of course." Jenny spoke as a smile graced her features. "That's perfect." She glanced around the room, realizing that no one else was following what she was saying and looked to Blair in question. Blair nodded encouragingly, so Jenny continued. "Chuck gave Blair an iPod for her wedding gift. The iPod details their relationship through the songs that represent their time together. Chuck's the one singing most of them and they're intermingled with heartfelt monologues from him."

Blair smiled slightly at the description; she couldn't have said it better. "Chuck wanted to make sure I never forgot us. So I thought that there couldn't be a better way to help him remember." Everyone nodded, slightly shocked at Chuck's act of pure romance. That was a side of him that Blair alone was privy too; it was strange for someone else to bear any sort of witness to it, even through words. As they continued to absorb the gift, she continued. "He kissed me before I gave him the iPod but he broke it off. Afterwards, when I put on this ring," Blair held up her finger when she spoke. "I told him that I wasn't giving up on us, that I would be waiting, and I kissed him one more time; before walking away. The ball is completely in his court, there's nothing more I can do."

Within seconds Blair's vision was clouded by a wave of golden hair as she was enveloped in a hug by Serena. "He'll remember B, he has to." And just as suddenly, her vision was clouded by something else, something far more dangerous. Blair had refused to allow herself to cry since leaving the hospital other than the breakdown she had had yesterday with Marcus. She had refused to be weak. That wasn't her; not anymore. That's when the realization hit her that being surrounded by her friends wasn't going to help her right now, it was going to make her fall apart. The pressure she was under started crashing down around her and she felt every defense she had ever built begin to crumble in the face of her friends. No, no, no, no, she couldn't afford this right now. She had to be strong, for the baby, for Chuck, and for herself. "I can't do this." She spoke as she shook Serena off, abruptly standing. Blair looked around the room, eyes darting quickly from face to face. "I'm sorry guys, I thought I could do this but I just can't. It hurts too much."

And as quickly as Blair Waldorf had entered the room she was gone; their protests falling on deaf ears. Knowing that Blair was gone, they all simply sat there stunned by the surprising turn of events. Not a one could quite digest everything that had just happened. It was Serena who finally spoke, knowing that they would each understand what she was talking about. "I'm sorry guys."

"We know." Jenny and Nate replied in almost perfect unison. Jenny could still sense a certain amount of tension in the room and knew that right now, what they each needed was some time alone to sort out what they were feeling about the current situation at hand. So she stood slowly and moved slightly towards the door. "I should go. I have designs to finish at the atelier."

Everyone nodded as Jenny made for the exit. They all understood that alone time was necessary right now. However, as Nate watched Jenny leave he was struck with the sudden urge to talk to her; away from everyone else. "I should go too." He spoke almost as an afterthought as he got up to follow Jenny out.

Those remaining in the room looked at each other with raised eyebrows; that had been unexpected. Unconsciously Serena began to smile as she looked over at Dan. "You were right."

"Of course I was right." Dan replied smugly before allowing his face to fall slightly. "Now would you mind telling me what exactly I was right about?"

Serena could hear Eric laughing to their left and her smile broadened slightly. "He does still love her."

Outside of the living room, Jenny felt her hands begin to shake. She needed to get away from everyone, if only for a while. Unexplainable relief washed through her system as the elevator came quickly, pressing the button for the lobby she found herself exhaling a breath she didn't know she was holding when suddenly a hand shot through the rapidly closing doors and Nate slid in. "Hey." He spoke quietly as he pressed the 'door close' button.

"Hey." Jenny replied, feeling her shaking suddenly cease at Nate's nearness. It was strange. In Nate's presence it was as though half of her was exhilarated, completely on fire as passion and love washed through her veins; yet the other half of her was completely still, completely calm, completely at peace.

Nate stuck his hands in his front pockets, not entirely sure what he was doing running after Jenny after everything. But that was just it, he hadn't thought at all before following her out, he had simply listened to his instincts. "So you're headed to the atelier? I didn't know you were still working there after Eleanor . . ."

Jenny bit her lip slightly but shook it off quickly. This was Nate, her Nate, there was no reason to be nervous, especially when discussing something so infinitesimal. "Died." She finished softly as Nate nodded his head. "I wasn't at first. Everyone was in shock after her death and no one knew what was going to happen with it. Blair refused to deal with it, not that she should have had to with all she had going on," Jenny amended quickly. "But as you know the company went public last year. Eleanor Waldorf Designs is a corporation not just a person so the show must go on so to speak. I got a call right after we got back from London asking me to come back to work." Jenny stated even though she thought of it more as getting a call right after they had broken up. "I'm not an intern anymore either."

"They made you a designer?" Nate asked with raised eyebrows.

Jenny shook her head slightly as they walked from the elevator. "Not yet but I am a Junior Designer which is kind of exciting. Things are really different now though. As you know several members of the design team were with Eleanor on the plane, including Laurel. The woman over everything now's name is Claudia and she's actually super nice. She likes my designs a lot and since she has final say on everything, that's good." Jenny's smile was almost rueful as she spoke again. "In all actuality everything should have to be run through Blair since she technically owns the company but as of yet she is standing by her initial reaction."

Nate found himself not wanting to end their conversation, not yet at least, and continued asking questions as they began to walk down the street, towards the atelier. "You should talk to her about it. The company is her legacy. Blair might not be one for designing herself but I know her mind is business geared. She could run things."

Jenny nodded. "I know. I really want to talk to her about it but things have been so crazy the last few months, I wanted to wait until things settled down a little."

This time it was Nate who nodded. "So what exactly do you guys do without Eleanor there cranking out designs?"

Jenny actually smiled at this. "Well Eleanor had already finished all of the designs for all of the men's fashion weeks this summer so those just need to be cut and styled. She also had plenty of things ready for Fall Fashion Week but styles change around a lot so we've had to do some modifications already and I'm sure we'll be converting more as time goes on. Eleanor had notebooks of designs she never used so there's plenty to work with."

Nate nodded once more, acting as though he understood what Jenny was talking about. When she came to a stop he found himself smiling as he realized just how much he had missed her. "Sounds like you've had your hands full lately."

Jenny smiled in return. "I have but from what I've been hearing, so have you?" Nate looked at her curiously and she continued. "With Vanessa I mean. I heard the two of you got back together." Jenny had been fishing for information and when she saw Nate's face fall she realized that Blair had been right all along; the only reason Nate was messing around with Vanessa at all was so that he could make her jealous.

"Things with Vanessa are weird." He spoke almost without thinking. However, Nate was cognizant of his sudden change in mood at the mention of the brunette.

"How so?" Jenny asked in her most supportive voice. Right now she needed to establish a friendship with Nate before they could go back to being more and if she found out information on his relationship with Vanessa in the process, so much the better.

Nate shrugged slightly. "I don't know. It's a lot of things I think. For one there's these letters I keep getting; the one's I used to think were from you. Blair told me that they're from Vanessa. I brought them up with her thinking we were going to have a fight and she just smiled at me. She had this crazy look in her eyes as she said something like 'you just realized those were from me?' It was just weird." Nate said shaking his head. He looked at Jenny, noticing the way she was looking at him and really listening, not just pretending to listen. She was looking at him like she honestly cared what he had to say. Perhaps that's why his next words slipped out. "And I don't love her, not like I . . ."

Jenny who was already alert, felt her entire being begin to hum with exhilaration. Her mind, her body, her heart, her very soul were all screaming out to her; screaming the words that Nate had left unsaid. Nate's sentence hadn't finished. "Not like you what?" She asked breathless.

As Nate stared at Jenny he felt something snag. He knew that if he finished his sentence, saying the words he really meant, there would be no going back. He would be saying that he was ready to forgive her, ready to move forwards. A balance scale in his head was tilting back and forth, weighing the pros and cons of the decision. On one level he loved her, he knew he did, but on the other he didn't know that he was ready, he was so uncertain. "Not like I should." He finished lamely as he looked away, the balance still tipping back and forth in his mind. He could see the atelier ahead and was glad to have a reason to leave. "Look, I've got to go. There are some things that I need to take care of."

Jenny nodded, trying not to let it show just how disappointed she was. "I've got to go too, I'm late." Nate was lingering and she didn't want to leave. "Thanks for walking me here." She spoke softly as she found herself giving Nate an almost shy hug. She felt a wash of cold run over her as Nate was stiff in her arms and heard herself babbling as she pulled away. "It was nice talking to you. You know that's what I've missed the most, talking to you. I miss my friend Nate." She finished seeing the conflict raging in Nate's eyes. She didn't want to do this to him, she didn't want to push him before he was ready, so Jenny turned and walked away.

Nate felt his heart slam against his chest as Jenny turned away from him and it was as though the balance collapsed, weighing fully on the side of him loving her. He reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her around and pulling her to him. "I've missed this." He said before slamming his lips onto hers.

Jenny was breathless as she found herself grabbing onto Nate, wrapping her fingers tightly in his hair, drinking in every single part of him. Her mind was numb and she could feel the blood pounding in her veins, sending electricity throughout her body. But when the electricity finally hit her mind it came alive causing her to realize just what was going on and she found herself breaking away.

"Jen?" Nate asked uncertain of what had just happened, why was Jenny stepping away from him? He still held onto her fingertips, which he ran through his own fingers as he waited on her answer.

Jenny looked down at their intertwined fingers and felt her mind working in overdrive. She looked up at Nate, whose innocent eyes were staring down at her as though she had just killed his puppy. Knowing that what she did next would hurt him she took a step backwards tugging her hand from his.

As Nate felt Jenny's fingers slip through his own he only had one word on his tongue. "Why?" He asked feeling like once more he had put himself out there again only to have his heart smashed by the girl who had torn it to shreds before.

"You're not ready." Jenny spoke softly, pain evident in her voice. "You were right before. There are things that you need to take care of."

Nate looked at her questioningly. "I wouldn't have kissed you if I weren't ready for us to be together again."

Jenny shook her head. "You may be ready to be with me physically but you haven't forgiven me yet, I can see it in your eyes." Jenny added when Nate looked as though he was about to protest. Her heart hurt only a little with his curt nod. "And technically you're still dating Vanessa. Finish things there, then when you've forgiven me, you'll be ready and I'll be waiting." With that she turned and walked away.

Nate stood there and watched as Jenny walked away from him and through the atelier doors. He couldn't have been more surprised by her reaction. He had thought that she was willing to do whatever it took to have him back. As he turned and walked toward home he realized something important. Jenny was doing just that. She didn't want him back only for a little while and that's what she knew it would be if they returned things to the way they were too soon but if she waited and gave him the time he needed then when they got back together, he would be hers for good. Nate smiled, he had a lot of thinking to do; but that could be done after he paid a visit to Vanessa he thought, suddenly changing directions and heading for the subway. He was going to Brooklyn.

Gossip Girl here and oh how I've missed the drama. B returned in spectacular fashion just in time to prevent any major fireworks from going off between an unlikely pair of warriors, S and little J. Guess who's side N took? Maybe not who you think. Sources say things are on the mend with N and little J but we'll just have to wait and see.

xoxo
Gossip girl

As Dan exited the penthouse alone he pulled out his phone; he wanted to call his dad and check in since he'd left so early this morning. He was surprised to see that he had a missed call from Blair Waldorf. First he thought that she had been calling him earlier to say she was running late but the call had gone through at 11:17 a.m. and it was just now 11:30 a.m. which meant that Blair had called him after leaving the penthouse. Immediately concerned, Dan picked up his phone and called Blair. "Hey, what's going on? Is everything okay?" He asked quickly, wanting to ensure that his friend was safe.

Blair sighed. "So you finally called me back? Took you long enough Humphrey. And yes everything's fine, but I need your help with something. Can you meet me at the Palace?"

"Sure, I'll be there by twelve." Dan said, instantly curious over what exactly was going on. What did Blair want his help with that she couldn't have asked for at Serena's?

Just as Blair was about to hang up, she thought better of it. What if someone saw them at the Palace. The last thing she wanted right now was for it to get out ahead of time about what she and Dan were up to; assuming after all that he agreed. "On second thought, can we meet at the loft instead?"

Dan was shocked. Even though he and Blair had now been friends for almost a year, the only times that she had been to his house were on Thanksgiving junior year and when she threw the surprise party for Jenny. "My loft?" He asked, the disbelief apparent in his voice.

"No the loft of Georgina Sparks." Blair spat sarcastically. "Yes Cabbage Patch, your loft."

Dan just shook his head at her insults, she was sounding more and more like the old Blair Waldorf. "I'll meet you there Waldorf."

Blair smiled slightly forgetting how much fun it was to exchange words with Dan, he was witty but surprisingly slow on the uptake. "Great. I'll pick up sandwiches on the way."

Almost an hour later, Dan sat at the bar in the loft waiting on Blair to arrive; knowing it should only be a few more minutes. Just as he was thinking that it was taking Blair quite a bit longer to get here than it should she walked through the unlocked door.

"Hello Cabbage Patch! I see the loft hasn't changed much from the last time I was here." As she spoke, she shut the door behind her and placed the bag with their sandwiches on the counter.

Dan glared slightly knowing that Blair didn't mean anything by it, not anymore at least. "It's true Waldorf we can't all have interior decorators change the décor every few months."

Blair smirked. "Touché. Now dig in and I'll tell you why I wanted to meet privately."

Dan did as she asked, getting out the sandwiches and handing her one while waiting on her to talk.

Not certain where to start, Blair decided to begin by explaining her visitor yesterday and work from there. "So you remember how I said that Marcus was the one who helped me find Chuck?"

Dan nodded, his mouth full. At the same time, his gut began to fill with worry. If this was about Marcus, he wasn't certain that he would know how to handle the situation.

"Well, Marcus came to visit me yesterday and it seems as though we've reached a pseudo-friendship." Blair watched Dan's eyes go wide with alarm but she didn't stop talking. "Marcus needs my help taking care of something. We had the marriage annulled but we didn't announce it to the British media. The paparazzi over there are a little insane over celebrities, including the royals. Marcus was worried about how we could present our 'amicable' annulment while hiding the fact that I'm pregnant and he's seeing someone." She paused, taking in Dan's shocked features. "It turns out the someone he's seeing is an old friend, I don't know if you remember her, it's Jocelyn Forbes."

Dan wouldn't have thought that his eyes could grow any wider but at the mention of Jocelyn Forbes, the former Queen of Constance, dating Marcus, the former and apparently current royal pain in their asses they widened beyond belief. "What? How did that happen?"

Blair shook her head slightly, she probably shouldn't have mentioned Joss just yet; she knew that would bring about questions that she didn't want to take time to answer. She wanted to get this over and done with. "It's not important to our current dilemma but Joss and Marcus met at the wedding then ran into each other in London. So the issue here is, how we release news of our breakup to the press without letting on that I'm pregnant as well arranging for me to publically introduce Joss and Marcus." She paused and looked at Dan to see if he had perchance caught on to her meaning and she saw understanding in his eyes. He already knew what she wanted him to do but she went on anyway. "I was thinking that you could write the story and we could sell it to the most reputable magazine that we could manage. You've still got connections at the New Yorker right?"

Dan nodded, actually starting to get into the idea. This could work, plus it would be good for his career. "I do. I'll give them a call and offer them an exclusive on you and Marcus, I'm sure they'll bite."

"Great." Blair said smiling. "Now I have another favor to ask. I remember at my mom's funeral, you knew Aaron Rose; the photographer who's dad was dating my mom."

Dan nodded again. "Yeah, he's one of the artists whose work was featured in Dad's gallery a little while back. We're still in touch."

Blair smile brightened, that had been exactly what she wanted to hear. "Do you think you could contact him for me? Whoever does the photos for the article has to keep hidden that I'm pregnant; that can't get out right now or it will be the downfall of life as we know it because anyone connected to me will be hounded by the British paparazzi. I'm serious, they are intense."

"I'm sure he'll have no problem doing it and Aaron's a dependable guy. We can trust him." Dan said definitively. "I'll give him a call and see what we can work out. When do you want to do this?"

At this point Blair bit her lip slightly, as she was a little nervous about Dan's reaction to what she said next. "I was kind of hoping we could do it today."

Dan knew he looked as though he'd just seen something crazy even though he couldn't see his own face because of Blair's facial expression. He sighed, what Blair Waldorf wanted, she usually got. "I'll go call Aaron."

Friday, May 15, 2009 - The Palace Hotel, NYC

As soon as Chuck had gotten the call from Tyler that Blair had left the suite and was subsequently arriving at the Van der Woodsen-Bass penthouse, he knew that this was the best opportunity that he was going to have to explore the suite without interruption. So he'd made his way upstairs, leaving behind the room service that he hadn't really been eating, and moving quickly. Regardless of the fact that he had plenty of time before Blair would be back even if she left the penthouse immediately to come home, Chuck felt an intense need to rush as though his mind wanted him to hurry up and remember.

The call yesterday that Marcus had been in the suite had left him unnerved; so unnerved that he had intervened in an area that he would have normally left alone. When Blair was plotting and scheming he rarely involved himself unless asked but this was different. Immediately after Tyler's phone call he'd placed another call, to another PI and hired him to look into what Marcus was doing in New York. When the scheme about the New Yorker story surfaced Chuck relaxed. They should be more cautious if they wanted this to go off as planned; his PI had taken no time at all to find out the connection between Marcus and Jocelyn Forbes. They needed to be careful, but just in case Chuck had taken measures to ensure that they didn't have to be. He would be careful enough for all of them. As he thought of being careful, an unexpected thought entered his mind that caused him to pick up his phone and dial I number he hadn't used since the days he could remember, literally.

Jocelyn heard her phone ringing as she stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her. She seriously hoped that that wasn't Marcus calling to say that they wanted to do a late lunch instead of an early dinner for the article since she'd allowed herself to sleep late and was just getting out of the shower. She picked up her phone quickly, trying to avoid dripping on it, but was surprised when she didn't recognize the number. "Hello?" She said into the receiver, almost cautiously.

"Forbes, how are you?" Chuck said, speaking sincerely and doing what he could to ensure that his voice wasn't overly anxious. He had reservations about letting anyone know that he was back.

Jocelyn felt the phone slip through her wet fingers and only barely managed to keep hold of it, but she knew it had nothing to do with the water on her hands. "Chuck Bass?" She asked, shock filling her voice. She might have only heard Chuck's voice a few times in the past few years but he was the only person who called her Forbes, ever.

"The one and only." Chuck replied his voice rather grim. Perhaps this was not the best idea he'd ever had.

Jocelyn thought she might fall over, so she sat down to ensure that she didn't. Chuck was pretty much the last person she expected to hear from, now or well ever. "What are you doing calling me? I thought you were you know . . . out of it?"

Chuck sighed, not particularly interested in getting into this. "I was . . . I am, ugh" Jocelyn could hear the frustration in his voice and didn't say more. "It's not important, what is important is why I'm calling. The photo shoot that you three are doing this afternoon is now for Vanity Fair rather than the New Yorker. I want you to look out for Blair, make sure she doesn't get too stressed out; Vanity Fair is a much bigger deal than the New Yorker and stress is bad for the baby."

"How do you know about the photo shoot?" Jocelyn asked, any ounce of awe she had left in her system, finding its way into her voice. "And what the hell are you talking about a baby?"

"Blair's pregnant, Marcus didn't tell you that?" Her lack of response was enough of an answer but Chuck only shrugged. The inner workings of Marcus and Jocelyn's relationship weren't of his concern as long as Marcus didn't try to interfere with Blair. Once more Chuck sighed, "Don't worry it's mine. As for the rest, I'm Chuck Bass, I know everything. And since I felt as though this scheme of Blair's is particularly delicate, I'm taking measures of my own to ensure that everything goes well, I just need you to be looking out for her. I know she hasn't been talking to her friends lately, maybe she'll open up to you."

This time it was Jocelyn who sighed. "I don't know Bass. This is Blair we're talking about. The last time I saw her crack was the night after she poured the Nair-tini on Viviane Fitzgerald's head freshman year."

Chuck shook his head, knowing that Jocelyn couldn't see him. "All I'm asking is that you try Forbes. There aren't many people I trust with Blair; you are one of the select few. You are the reason she is the way she is, you taught her to build the walls; it should be fairly simple for you to help her break them down."

"You're as infuriatingly confidant now as you were when you were fifteen years old and quite a bit more demanding . . . but I'll see what I can do." Jocelyn said in way of agreement.

Chuck couldn't help the small snort that seemed to come from his mouth. "I'd be a lot more confidant if I could remember what I've forgotten; I'm kind of sifting through the muck in my head right now." Chuck said, coming to the sudden realization that Jocelyn could help him out with something else as well. "Speaking of my attempts to regain more of my memory, I'm going to be in Blair's Palace Suite today looking for clues; make sure she doesn't come back for any reason."

Jocelyn felt like she was processing too many things at once as that statement revealed so much to her that she hadn't known. "Whoa you're in New York and Blair doesn't know? And jeez breaking and entering is a little intense even for you isn't it Bass? And speaking of regaining your memory, you happened to say 'more' of your memory, does that mean you've already recovered some?"

"I've never known you to be so inquisitive Forbes." Chuck said, his voice low as he had grown tired of this conversation, Jocelyn Forbes had that effect on him. He imagined she was likely rolling her eyes about right now.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes regardless of the fact that he couldn't see her; knowing Chuck he probably knew she was doing it anyway. "I've never had cause to ask so many before."

With one last sigh, he decided that there was really no reason not to answer her questions as she was about to do him a favor. "First, yes I'm in New York, I've been here since I checked out of the hospital. Second, it's not breaking and entering when it's my suite. Ironically, Blair's the one that broke in after I disappeared. And lastly, yes there are things that I'm beginning to remember. But it's not enough, it's not good enough. She deserves better than this, and it's my fault she doesn't have it."

"You're being too hard on yourself." Jocelyn spoke without thinking. "Go to Blair, she'll want to be with regardless of what you remember."

Chuck practically growled she didn't know; she had no idea. "You don't understand what you're saying Forbes. Over the past month I've fallen in love with Blair Waldorf all over again but we can't move on, can't move forward until I can remember, I have to come to terms with how I really feel before she and I are going anywhere and to do that, I need to remember. What I feel now, while strong isn't enough for Blair, whether she knows it yet or not. You I remember, you I can trust, so all I'm asking for is your help."

Jocelyn smiled slightly, unable to hold it in because whether Chuck realized or not he was very much in love with Blair Waldorf. "I'll do what you ask, good luck in the apartment."

"Thank you." Chuck said softly about to hang up when he heard Jocelyn's voice again.

"And Bass, if it helps at all, you always loved her. For as long as I've known the two of you, you've loved her." Jocelyn said, shaking her head slightly.

Chuck was the one who was surprised this time, of course he'd come to that conclusion himself but how had Jocelyn known? "How could you possibly know that? You didn't even know us anymore when we became involved."

Jocelyn's laugh rang through the phone. "Are you kidding? I called the two of you hooking up within two days of tapping Blair to be the next Queen. The look in your eyes as she dumped that Nair-tini on Viviane's head said everything. You were already a complete goner when it came to Blair."

Chuck just shook his head, had everyone know but them? "Just take care of her okay?"

Reaching suite 1812, Chuck hung up the phone as he realized that there was a damn good chance that his key wouldn't work. Jocelyn's comment about breaking and entering had brought that particular fact to his attention. If he were Blair he would have had it changed by now but technically the room was still in his name so she shouldn't actually be able to make changes. Thankful at this realization, Chuck confidently slid his key into the lock and waited with bated breath for the green light to flash. When it did, he took a deep breath, swung open the door and stepped inside.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The first half has been written for a long time (it was originally part of an earlier chapter) but it ended up here. Anyway, thanks for reading and there is a photo or two of Joss on my profile if you want to check it out.

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kate