Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. The time I've been taking to update lately is ridiculous, I know. I've just been really busy and I will continue to be for the next month or so. It's getting hard to find the time to write. This chapter is really long so hopefully that makes up for my absence. In this chapter, Blair is celebrating her 24th birthday. According to the timeline of the story and the fact that Blair's birthday is in November, she would have turned 23 when she was around 3 months pregnant, I just didn't mention that birthday. I've thought this through and it all works out :)
By the way, was it just me or was the last episode of the show just painful? Watching Blair meddling in Chuck and Eva's relationship was just so awkward. In my opinion, instead of declaring war on each other, Blair and Chuck need to decide whether or not they want to be together again and stop messing with each other's lives. Either be together or move on, it's that simple. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
Chuck stood in the kitchen, bouncing a six-month-old Alex in his arms in attempt to keep the baby entertained. "Nathaniel!" he called out, rolling his eyes at his friend's slowness. "Where are you?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Nate muttered as he entered the room carrying a plate full of red paint.
He shook his head as the baby began to whimper impatiently, "What took you so long? The kid's not going to wait forever."
His friend paled, before swallowing and responding, "Well, let's just say that I'll pay you back for whatever it costs to get your carpet cleaned."
"Nate!" Chuck exclaimed. "That's red paint, it's never going to come out!"
He rolled his eyes as he set the plate down on the bench in front of them. "Sorry Mrs Bass, I didn't know you were so sensitive about your carpet," Nate retorted with an amused look.
"Funny," Chuck responded dryly. He then turned his attention down to the plate of paint and large piece of paper laid out on the kitchen bench. He looked from his son to the paint and wondered, "How are we going to do this?"
Nate scratched his head, thinking for a moment. "Why don't you hold Alex and I'll put his hands in the paint?" he started. "Then we'll both move him over to the paper, make the handprints, then we'll get him cleaned up."
"Alright, come take his hands," he instructed, nodding down to the baby. The blonde did so, and then began lowered Alexander's hands down towards the plate of paint. However, the six-month-old had different plans and began to cry. "Oh no," Chuck remarked with a sigh, turning his son back around to face him. "Come on Alex. Can't you just co-operate with Daddy for five minutes?" he pleaded, giving him a kiss on the head.
"Can't you just get Blair a new purse for her birthday?" Nate suggested tiredly, as the baby's cries began to quiet down.
"No," he scoffed as he began to rub Alex's back comfortingly. "This is Blair's first birthday as a mom. She should at least get something special from Alex. I'm trying to be sentimental, she loves that type of thing."
"I'm sure she would love a new purse just as much," he retorted.
Chuck gave him his best 'bitch, please' look and responded, "Don't worry Nathaniel, I know what I'm doing. Most of the gifts you got Blair over the years were picked out by me and she loved every one of them."
"Yes Chuck, I know. You get her, she gets you, you're meant to be together," he teased in an overdramatic tone.
He glared at his friend, "Let's just do this." He turned Alex around so he was facing the bench again and they picked up where they left off. This time, they managed to get the baby's hands in the paint, but as soon as they did, Alex began to cry again and wave his hands around. Nate immediately jumped back to avoid getting splattered with paint. Chuck obviously couldn't avoid his son's paint-covered hands, which eventually came to rest on his chest, leaving red handprints on his extremely expensive shirt. To Chuck's annoyance, Nate burst out laughing. "Shut up," he grumbled.
Nate shook his head as he tried to compose himself, "I'm sorry, this is just too good." He reached into his pocket for his phone and commented, "I have to get a picture of this."
"Do it and die," he threatened him with an unwavering glare. Chuck suddenly felt Alex's tiny hand reach up and touch his cheek, making a red handprint on his face.
Nate started laughing again as he took a quick picture with his phone, "I think I might have this photo framed and give it to Blair for her birthday."
Chuck sighed, shaking his head at his son. He swore that he saw a little smirk present on the baby's lips. "You think you're real funny, don't you?" he commented playfully, removing Alex's hand from his cheek.
"I think he's fricken hilarious," Nate spoke up, patting his godson on the head. "This kid's a genius."
"Did you expect anything less?" he retorted. "Alright, let's try this again."
"You have to tell him B," Serena said to her friend as they exited one of the many designer boutiques that lined the busy New York City street. It had been Serena's responsibility to get Blair out of the house this morning so Chuck could organise her birthday present as well as any last-minute details for the surprise birthday party they were throwing for Blair at Eleanor and Cyrus' penthouse that night.
Blair sighed, "Yes, I know."
"Then why haven't you spoken to Chuck about the job offer yet?"
"I will," she insisted as they strolled along the footpath. "I'm just waiting for the right time."
"Time is running out," Serena replied. "The company gave you a week to decide if you want the job and it's already been four days."
"I'm aware Serena," Blair retorted bluntly. "I just needed some time to think about this on my own before speaking to Chuck," she explained. "This is a big decision. If I take this job, I'm going to be working five days a week so I'm going to be away from Alex. We're also going to need a nanny which I've been strongly against from the moment I found out that I was pregnant."
Her friend nodded sympathetically, "I know it's going to be hard to leave Alex, but you have to think about you as well. Babies grow up B. He's going to go to school eventually, where's that going to leave you career-wise?"
"It's not that simple," she shook her head. "I'm a mother now, Alexander is my first priority. He comes before my social life, my career and even Chuck."
"I'm just saying that you have to have a plan," Serena pointed out. "Do you really just want to be a bearer of baby Basses your whole life?"
Blair gaped at her, "That's a terrible thing to say. You're acting like I've completely abandoned my future career plans to stay at home and have babies."
"Isn't that what you plan on doing?"
"No!" she snapped back in annoyance. "We don't plan on having any more children for at least another couple of years."
"Well, good," she remarked with a satisfied nod.
Blair sighed again and mumbled sarcastically, "It's so nice to have a supportive friend."
Serena rolled her eyes, "I am being supportive Blair- at least, I'm trying to be." She sighed, before adding in a softer tone, "I just don't want you to give up on your dreams. This is your dream job B, you've always wanted a career in marketing. Don't forget that."
She pondered what the blonde had just said, turning to look into the windows of the stores they were passing by. All of a sudden, Blair stopped in her tracks and gasped, catching Serena off-guard. Blair approached the front window of the bridal shop slowly, placing her hand on the glass and admiring the dress on the mannequin in adoration. "Speaking of dreams," she started softly, "I think I just found my dream wedding dress."
Serena approached her friend, also admiring the dress in the window. "It's beautiful," she commented, observing as a grin broke out on the brunette's face.
"Isn't it?" she gushed with a dramatic sigh. "I think I'm in love." She was immediately brought back to reality when she remembered that her mother was making her wedding dress and she would have no chance of wearing this perfect dress on her wedding day. "Let's just go," Blair grumbled, taking her hand off the window and turning to leave.
"Why?" she asked. "Don't you want to try it on?"
"What's the point? Eleanor's making my dress, remember?" she asked.
Serena shrugged, "So? That doesn't mean that you can't try on other dresses." Blair was skeptical, knowing that as soon as she put that dress on, she was going to want it. "Come on B, it will be fun."
She bit her lip and thought for a moment, trying desperately to resist temptation. However she was unable to. "Fine," she gave in. "But you have to tell me I look hideous in it so I won't like it."
"Sure," she nodded as they entered the store.
"So, we have one birthday card for Blair and one clean baby," Chuck announced as he carried Alex into the living room, where Nate sat. He had just finished giving the baby a bath since he had ended up covered in red paint.
"And one filthy Chuck," Nate added, noting that his friend's shirt was covered with little red handprints and his face was splattered with dots of red paint.
He grimaced, looking down at the dried-up paint on his shirt. "I should probably have a shower," he stated, setting his son down on his play mat. "Can you watch Alex for fifteen minutes?"
"Sure," he agreed, shifting onto the floor so he could play with his godson. Nate didn't mind watching Alexander every now and then. He had become quite fond of the baby over the last few months and Alex had come to love his Uncle Nate as well.
"Thanks Nathaniel," he responded. Just as he turned to make his way to the bathroom, his cellphone began to ring in his pocket. He checked the caller ID to find that it was Eleanor. "Great," he muttered.
"Who is it?" Nate asked, looking up at him from the floor.
"It's Eleanor. I bet something's gone wrong with the party preparations," Chuck replied. He answered the phone, holding it to his ear, "Hello Eleanor." He paused to listen for her reply. "I called to confirm the caterer this morning and they said everything was in order." He paused again, rolling his eyes at Nate. "Yes, I'm sure," he insisted, trying not to let his annoyance show in his voice. He was grateful that Eleanor had offered to host Blair's birthday party, but his future mother-in-law had become a real pain over the last few days. Chuck was dreading the weeks leading up to the wedding, knowing that it was going to be a hundred times worse than this. He reminded her what time he was bringing Blair over that night, before finally managing to end the conversation. He hung up his phone with a sigh.
"It's times like these that I'm grateful that Eleanor Waldorf isn't my future mother-in-law," Nate chuckled. His friend gave him a look that told him that he was far from pleased. "Sorry."
"She's just trying to make sure that Blair has a good birthday party," Chuck responded, discarding his phone on the coffee table. "Now if you'll excuse me, the shower is calling me."
Serena sighed, tapping her foot impatiently as she stood with the shop assistant just outside the change room. "Come on Blair, I want to see it!" she called out excitedly.
There was a pause, before Blair responded, "Okay, I'm ready."
"Well come out," she giggled. The blonde was immediately silenced when her friend pulled back the curtain of the change room and stepped out in the wedding gown. Even the shop assistant was speechless as she held up the back of the dress so Blair could step up onto the podium in front of the full-length mirror.
"What do you think?" Blair asked, trying to hold back the grin that was threatening to break out on her lips. She could not allow herself to love this dress. It would only lead to heartbreak since she couldn't have it.
Serena chuckled and staying true to her word replied, "You look hideous." Blair just laughed, unable to contain her happiness any longer.
The shop assistant shot Serena a disbelieving look, "What do you mean? She looks amazing."
"I know," she replied with another laugh. Apparently this women couldn't pick up on sarcasm. "She just asked me to tell her that she looks hideous because she can't have this dress."
"What do you mean you can't? Is it out of your price range?" she asked, turning to Blair. "It is expensive, but you have to remem-"
"No, that's not the problem," Blair interjected, scoffing at the thought.
"Then what is it?"
She sighed, "I told my mother that she could make my wedding dress. She's a designer, Eleanor Waldorf. Maybe you've heard of her?"
The woman's eyes widened in surprise, "Heard of her? She's one of New York City's top designers. We even have a few of her dresses here."
"Mmmm," Blair murmered, turning her attention back to admiring the dress in the mirror.
"If it's any concilation, you look stunning," the shop assistant offered with a smile.
"Thank you," she beamed.
"And she had a baby not too long ago," Serena informed her.
"You have a baby?" the woman replied with a warm smile. "How old?"
"He's six months old," Blair replied after a moment, having to quickly calculate how old Alex was in her head. She suddenly realized something that made her pale instantly. It was the 16th of November. It was of course the day before her birthday, but there was something else. Her period was late, almost two weeks late. She had only been late a couple of times before, including when she thought that she was pregnant when she was 17, and when she was actually pregnant with Alex. Blair suddenly began to feel light-headed and stepped down off the podium nervously.
"What's wrong Blair?" Serena asked, interrupting the conversation she was having with the shop assistant.
"N-nothing," she stuttered, making her way back to the change room as quickly as she could without ripping a hole in the dress. "I just need to go home," she said, shutting the curtain behind her.
Serena stuck her head through the curtain and suggested, "Maybe you could ask Eleanor if she minds you wearing this dress instead?" She had mistakenly thought that Blair was upset over the dress, when in reality she was concerned that she was expecting another baby.
"Maybe," she murmered distantly, turning so Serena could undo the the dress for her.
"It will all work out B, you'll see," she smiled reassuringly. Blair sighed. She had a feeling her life was about to get a lot more complicated.
Blair stepped out of the elevator and made her way into the living room, where she found Chuck playing with Alex on the floor. Nate had left about half an hour ago and Chuck had managed to hide all evidence of Alex's card for Blair. This included placing a small rug over the spot on the carpet where Nate had split the red paint earlier. As soon as he saw his mother, Alex grinned and began crawling towards her as fast as he could. Despite being sick with worry about the potential fetus inside her, Blair couldn't help but grin as she lifted the baby up into her arms. "Hi baby," she cooed, planting kisses on his cheek.
"Hello pumpkin," Chuck responded with a mischevious smirk, as if she had been talking to him. Blair gave him a look, rolling her eyes. "How was your day?"
"Well considering that you practically kicked me out of the house this morning, I still managed to have a nice day for the most part," she told him, shifting Alex to rest on her hip. And by for the most part, I mean until I started to suspect that we're having another baby, she added mentally. She peered at her son in confusion, only just noticing his slightly damp hair. "Did you give Alex a bath?"
"Uh..." he started nervously, trying to think up an excuse. "Lunchtime got a little messy," he lied with a sheepish smile.
"Did Daddy get a bit messy too?" Blair asked, taking a seat on the floor beside him. She set Alex down on the floor and he went back to playing with one of his toys.
"What?" Chuck responded in confusion.
She gestured to his own damp hair with a questioning look, "I'm assuming you just had a shower."
"Oh, right," he shook his head in realization. "We both ended up covered in baby food. It wasn't pretty."
"Hmm," Blair murmered, before sighing softly.
"Is something wrong?" Chuck asked, noticing that she seemed a little pre-occupied.
She looked up at him and responded immediately, "I got a job offer." She paused, allowing the news to sink in. "It's at this world-reknowned advertising company. It's practically my dream job."
"That's great!" he replied, pulling her into a congratulatory hug. He pulled back after a moment and asked, "Why don't you seem happy about this?"
"I am," Blair insisted, putting on her best fake smile. However, Chuck saw straight through it and gave her a skeptical look. She sighed and admitted, "Well, I was."
"What changed your mind?"
She cringed, "You see, that's where things get complicated."
Chuck gave her a confused look, "What do you mean?"
"You're asking a lot of questions."
"That's because you're not giving me any answers," he pointed out.
She hesitated. "If I tell you, you can't freak out on me. I don't know for sure yet," she told him.
He was starting to become concerned. "Just tell me Blair," he said, taking her hands in his own. "If you tell me what's bothering you, I might be able to help."
Blair bit her lip nervously, looking down at her hands that were holding onto his tightly. She sighed, before saying softly, "I'm late Chuck."
"Late?" he repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Late for what?"
"No," she groaned in frustration. "I'm late," she repeated, emphasising the word in hope that he would get it.
Chuck took a moment, before finally realizing what she was talking about. "Oh," he remarked, his eyes widening in surprise. "That kind of late."
"Yeah."
He was silent for a moment, before asking, "Are you sure?"
"Am I sure that I'm late?" Blair questioned him, rolling her eyes. "I know my own body Bass. I'm definitely late."
"How late?" he inquired, not particularly comfortable with discussing his fiancee's menstrual cycle.
"About two weeks."
"That's not that late."
"Yes it is."
"It is?"
Blair nodded, "I'm afraid so."
"Oh," Chuck responded defeatedly. "So you think that you're..."
"Pregnant?" she finished. He nodded. "There's a chance that I might be."
He sighed, running his hand through his hair worriedly. They sat there in silence for a moment, until Chuck announced, "I'm going to go get a pregnancy test." He proceeded to stand up from the floor but Blair pulled him back down. An easy task seeing that gravity was on her side.
"Are you crazy?" she hissed. "What if someone sees you?"
He gave her a disbelieving look, "Who cares? We have to know for sure." He started to stand up again and this time she let him.
"I'm sorry," Blair said softly.
Chuck stopped in his tracks and turned back to her. "For what?" he asked incredulously. "If anything, I should be apologizing to you for potentially getting you pregnant for the second time in less than two years."
"Don't say that," she said as he knelt back down beside her. "If I'm pregnant, it's just as much my fault as it is yours."
"But I should have been more careful," he insisted, slipping a stray curl behind her ear.
"We should have been more careful," she corrected him with a small smile.
He managed to return the smile, before leaning in to kiss her. He broke off the kiss and told her, "I love you, okay?"
Blair nodded and replied, "I love you too. Hurry back."
"I will," Chuck promised. He gave Alex a quick kiss on the head, before standing up and making his way towards the elevator.
Chuck returned twenty minutes later, entering the living room with a paper bag in hand that contained the pregnancy test he had just bought. "Blair?" he called out, when he saw that the room was empty.
She emerged from the nursery a moment later, holding one finger to her lips as she shut the door behind her. "I just put Alex down for a nap," she explained, making her way towards him holding the baby monitor. "Did you get it?"
He nodded, pulling the box out of the bag, "One pregnancy test, just like you ordered."
"Cute," Blair responded with a brief glare, taking the box from him. "Let's just do this. I can't wait any longer."
Chuck smirked as he followed her into the bathroom, "If I remember correctly, it may have been a similar statement that got us into this situation in the first place."
She rolled her eyes as she ripped open the box, "Of course, why would you be serious about this? It's not like it's your life and career hanging in the balance."
The smirk immediately disappeared from his face. "Wait a minute, what?"
Blair shrugged as she pulled the test out of the box and began to read the instructions. "I'm just saying, this isn't going to affect you very much at all," she started. "At the end of the day, you'll still have Bass Industries and a life outside our family-"
"Blair," Chuck interrupted, grabbing her by the shoulders gently. "Where's all of this coming from?"
She shook her head and stepped out of his grasp, "I don't know. Just forget about it." She pushed him towards the bathroom door, "Get out, I have to take the test."
"No."
"You want to watch me pee?"
He rolled his eyes, "No. I want to talk about what you just said. Do you really feel that way?"
Blair just sighed, before turning and making her way towards the toilet. "Get out Bass," she said, unwrapping the plastic from the pregnancy test. "I'm not going to pee with you standing there. It's awkward."
"Fine," he said, raising his hands in surrender as he backed out of the bathroom and sat down on their bed.
Blair exited the bathroom a few minutes later holding the pregnancy test in one hand and her phone in the other. The phone was currently counting down the three minutes it was going to take for the results of the test to come up. She set it down on the bedside table, before taking a seat beside Chuck. "This is the third pregnancy test I've taken because of you, you know," she pointed out as they waited anxiously.
"It takes two to tango," he reminded her bluntly. "And if my memory serves me correctly, you've been all too eager to 'tango' over the last few months."
"So now this is my fault?" she retorted incredulously.
"Of course not. We both got ourselves into this situation Blair," Chuck responded. They sat in silence for a moment, until he asked gently, "Why didn't you tell me that you're not happy?"
She looked to him abruptly, "Who said that I'm not happy?"
"You pretty much just implied it."
"I am happy," Blair insisted, taking his hand. "You and Alex make me very happy Chuck. You need to know that."
"But..." he started expectantly.
"But I am disappointed about this job," she admitted. "If I'm pregnant, I'm not going to be able to take it."
"You still can," Chuck insisted.
She gave him a look, "Yeah, I'm sure they would be thrilled to employ a woman who's going to go on maternity leave after eight months."
"They can't not give you the job because you're pregnant, that's illegal."
"But it would be unfair to the company if I took the job," Blair pointed out, glancing over at the pregnancy test nervously. She just wanted to know the results already. "Oh my God," she commented, covering her face with her hands.
He gave her a questioning look, "What is it?"
"I just realized that if I'm pregnant, we're basically going to have two babies," she groaned. "They'll only be like...thirteen or fourteen months apart."
Chuck's eyes widened in surprise. "Shit," he commented simply, shaking his head. If Blair was indeed pregnant, their lives were going to become a lot crazier.
"That pretty much sums it up," Blair agreed with a nod. A minute later, the alarm on Blair's phone went off. They both jumped in surprise and shared a worried look.
He gulped as they both eyed the pregnancy test. "Do you want to look at it, or should I?"
"You looked at it last time," she reminded him, "So maybe I should do it." He nodded, gesturing for her to pick up the test. As Blair picked up the piece of plastic, her heart was going a hundred miles an hour. She thought back to high school when she had commanded herself not to be pregnant. It had worked back then, so maybe it would work again now. "I command myself not to be pregnant," she said out loud.
Chuck peered at her in confusion, "What?" If he wasn't so nervous about the results of the pregnancy test, he would have laughed. Only Blair would believe that she had enough control over her body that she could command it not to be pregnant.
She shook her head, blushing a little, "Nevermind." She looked down at the plastic stick and read the result of the test. She blinked in surprise when she saw the words 'not pregnant' on the tiny screen. "Chuck," Blair started, handing him the test so he could confirm the result. "Please tell me that this says 'not pregnant'."
Her fiancee took a look at the test and immediately looked up at her with a grin. "You're not pregnant!" he announced happily.
Blair returned the smile as he hugged her. "Thank God," she murmered against his shoulder. As they pulled away from each other, she added, "I do want us to have more kids, just not now."
"I couldn't agree more," Chuck nodded, leaning over to give her a passionate kiss.
After a moment, she pushed him away with a playful glare, "That's enough Bass. It's that kind of spontaneous behaviour that led me to suspect that I was pregnant in the first place."
He sighed as he pulled her onto his lap, "You're right. We need to be more careful from now on."
"I'm definitely going back on the Pill," Blair commented, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"That would be a good idea," Chuck agreed, resting his forehead against hers. "Now that we've dodged that bullet, there's just one more topic we need to resolve." She gave him a puzzled look. "The job offer," he reminded her.
"Oh," she remarked. In midst of all the drama, she had completely forgotten about what she had intended to talk to Chuck about in the first place. "It's a pretty great job," she commented with a smile.
He smiled back, "Then you're going to take it."
"What about Alex?" Blair pointed out. "I'm going to be working five days a week. We'll have to get a nanny."
"Are you okay with that?"
She sighed, "I don't know. I just feel so guilty for leaving him."
"I know you do," Chuck nodded, "But you have to think about yourself and your career as well."
"That's what Serena said."
He chuckled, "My step-sister has been pretty wise lately. Maybe Humphrey's rubbing off on her." Blair gave him a look. "Seriously though, do you want to try out this nanny thing?"
Blair shrugged, "Well if I'm taking this job, it's our only option."
Chuck thought for a moment, before kissing her on the forehead. He stood up from the bed and set her down beside him. "Let me see what I can do in terms of my work schedule," he told her. "I might be able to arrange it so I only have to go in a couple of days a week. Then Alex would only have to be with a nanny one or two days per week."
"Can you do that?"
"It's my company, I can do whatever the hell I want," he answered smugly, taking out his cellphone. "I'll make a few calls. In the meantime, you're going to call this company and tell them that you would be more than happy to accept their job offer."
She smiled, "Thank you Bass."
"We'll find a way to make this work," he promised her, searching for a number in his phone as he started towards the doorway. "Oh by the way, we're going out tonight. Be ready by 6:30."
"What's the occasion?"
"Your birthday of course," Chuck reminded her with a chuckle.
"My birthday isn't until tomorrow," Blair pointed out.
"I know," he nodded. He winked at her as he put his phone to his ear and made his way out of the room. She shook her head and wondered what he was up to.
"Are you going to tell me where we are yet?" Blair asked as Chuck led her through the foyer of Eleanor and Cyrus' apartment building. She had been blindfolded since they got into the limo and had absolutely no idea where she was.
"You'll find out soon enough," he responded as he led her towards the elevator. He was holding onto Blair's hand with one arm and was carrying Alex in his other arm. He also had the diaper bag on one of his shoulders so the journey so far had been quite a balancing act. Chuck let go of Blair's hand for a moment to press the button for the elevator.
"Don't tell me you're abandoning me in the middle of nowhere," she teased when she realized that he was no longer holding her hand.
He just shrugged, "Possibly. You'll just have to wait and see." The elevator suddenly opened with a ding, causing Blair to jump in surprise.
"So, we're going into an elevator," Blair noted as he led her inside.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Chuck said, "You can take off the blindfold now."
She removed the piece of material from over her eyes excitedly, but immediately frowned when she realized where they were. "You brought me to my mothers?" she asked in disbelief.
"There's nothing wrong with having a quiet dinner with Eleanor and Cyrus to celebrate your birthday," he replied teasingly.
Blair peered at him suspiciously, "What are you up to Chuck Bass?"
The elevator opened at the Rose penthouse and Chuck gestured for her to step out, "Why don't you see for yourself?"
She gave him another look before exiting the elevator, nearly having a heart attack as she did so. "Surprise!" everyone at the party exclaimed. Blair looked around the room and noted that nearly every friend and family member she had was there. There was her mother and Cyrus, and her father and Roman. There was Serena and Dan, as well as Nate and his girl-of-the-week. He had been jumping from one girl to the next for the last few months after realising that he and Serena weren't getting back together any time soon. Then there was the rest of the Humphries/Van der Woodsens, as well as Blair's friends from college and a few other family members. There was also a few people there that were more Eleanor's friends than hers, but Blair put that down to her mother's obvious control over the guestlist.
"Happy birthday sweetheart!" Harold exclaimed, stepping towards her and pulling her into a hug. They hadn't seen each other in over a month and were happy to finally see each other again.
"Daddy," Blair beamed. "I had no idea that you were coming."
"Well when Charles called me last week and told me that there was a party being thrown for your birthday, we couldn't stay away," he explained with a warm smile.
She raised one eyebrow and turned to look at Chuck, "So this was all your doing?"
"I can't take all the credit," he replied, handing Alex over to his very insistent grandmother. "Eleanor and Cyrus kindly offered to host the party." Before she could respond, Blair was escorted off by Serena and before she knew it, she was surrounded by people wishing her happy birthday.
A couple of hours later, the party had started to wind down and Eleanor had taken Blair into the study to speak with her privately. "What's going on?" Blair asked curiously. "Is something wrong?"
"No, of course not," she insisted, making her way over to her desk to pick up a large sheet of cardboard. "I just wanted to show you the final design for your wedding dress," she explained, making her way back over to her daughter.
"Oh," she remarked, putting on her best fake smile. She couldn't help but still be a little disappointed that she couldn't wear the dress she had tried on today. "I'm very excited to see it."
Eleanor smiled excitedly as she presented the design to Blair, eagerly awaiting her reaction. "Well, what do you think?"
Blair gasped as she took in the image of the wedding dress. It was more spectacular than she had thought. Obviously, her mother had put a lot of time and effort into designing this dress for her. Suddenly, all thoughts of the dress she had tried on today were gone. Why would she want to wear a mediocre dress like that when she could wear an Eleanor Waldorf original? "Oh Mom..." Blair gushed, feeling herself tear up a little. "It's beautiful."
"Are you completely happy with it?" she asked. "If there's anything you want to change, just tell me."
Blair shook her head and insisted, "Don't change anything, it's perfect."
Eleanor beamed proudly, "I'm so happy that you like it."
"Like it? I love it!" she retorted with a chuckle. "I can't wait to try it on for the first time."
"Well, we're a few months away from that-" she pointed out, getting cut of as her daughter unexpectedly pulled her into a hug. "What was that for?" Eleanor asked in confusion as they pulled away from each other.
Blair smiled, "Thank you so much for making this dress for me."
"You're my daughter Blair," she responded simply. "You deserve the best wedding dress money can buy and I'm just happy that I'm able to give that to you."
She just chuckled at her mother's statement. Of course Eleanor would associate herself with 'the best money can buy'. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and the two women looked up to see Chuck standing in the doorway. Blair quickly hid the piece of cardboard with the design on it behind the desk. "Excuse me," she started playfully. "This is a secret wedding dress meeting which means you can't be in here."
"Is this the whole 'the-groom-can't-see-the-bride's-dress-before-the-wedding' thing?" he asked.
Blair nodded and Eleanor reminded him, "It's bad luck Charles."
"That doesn't worry me," Chuck insisted, making his way over to them. "We've had a lot of bad luck in the past and we've managed to get through it, so I think we're safe."
"Nice try Bass, but you're not seeing the dress design," Blair remarked, folding her arms across her chest stubbornly.
He sighed, "Fair enough. Anyway, the reason why I came in here is because I have one more surprise for you."
"Another gift?" she asked in disbelief, a smile creeping onto her face. "Between the party, the diamond necklace and that adorable card from Alex, you've already spoilt me this year."
"It's not another gift," Chuck shook his head. He paused, before continuing, "I made a few calls and I've managed to rearrange my work schedule so that I only have to go into Bass Industries three days a week."
"What?" she retorted, peering at him in surprise.
"So now I can stay home and take care of Alex on Mondays and Tuesdays while you're at work," he clarified, pausing to wait for her reaction.
"Work? You got a job?" Eleanor asked, looking to her daughter in confusion.
"I did," Blair nodded with a smile, giving Chuck a grateful look. "That's very sweet of you," she started, taking Chuck's hand, "but are you sure you can do that?"
"Don't worry, I've worked it all out," he insisted. "You just focus on your new job."
"But what about the other three days of the week?" she asked. "We're going to have to get a nanny, there's no way around that."
Chuck smiled knowingly, and Blair immediately knew that he had something up his sleeve. "I've thought about that issue," he started, "and I realised that why go looking for a complete stranger to take care of our child, when we have a woman in our lives who we know and trust that would be happy to take care of him."
"I hope you're not referring to me," Eleanor spoke up nervously. "I love Alexander, but I don't think I can handle him for three days every week."
"No," he chuckled. "I was referring to Dorota."
"Dorota?" Blair echoed.
He nodded, "I just had a talk with her and she said that she would be happy to take care of Alexander three days a week while she's here. We would pay her extra. Of course we need your approval Eleanor, but it seems like the perfect arrangement."
"That would work so well," Blair commented, turning to her mother excitedly. "What do you say Mom? Do you mind sharing Dorota with your grandson for a couple of days a week?"
Eleanor nodded, "As long as Dorota still completes all her other required duties, I don't see why this can't work."
"That's great," she smiled, giving her a grateful look. "This makes me feel so much better. I was so worried about leaving Alex with a stranger. There are just so many weirdos out there these days, how could we possibly know if we were picking a good nanny?"
"Well you don't have to worry about that any more," Chuck responded.
"Speaking of our child, where is he?" Blair asked sweetly.
"He's asleep in your old room," he told her. "He's exhausted, we should probably get him home."
"That would be a good idea," she responded, before turning to Eleanor. "I'll send Arthur to come pick up my gifts in the morning." They said their goodbyes to Eleanor and went to retrieve their son. It had been an extremely long day and they were both eager to get home.
Let me know what you think!