This chapter might seem a little bit everywhere. Many of the scenes are kind of short because I wanted to show little moments in the hours leading up to the wedding but I didn't want to make it too long. Oh, and I know that Eric and Chuck aren't that close on the show anymore, but let's just assume that in my story they are still fairly close, hence why he is Chuck's groomsman. Please review :)
"I think that's everything," Blair said as she handed the last two of the six overnight bags to Eleanor's driver to be put in the limo. The driver nodded, before making his way towards the elevator to take the bags downstairs. Blair and Chuck had returned from their rehearsal dinner not too long ago and it was now time for her and Alex to go to her mother's penthouse for the night. Blair insisted that they adhere to the 'bride-and-groom-can't-see-each-other-before-the-wedding' rule, not wanting to risk the bad luck that apparently resulted from not following this rule. Serena was also staying the night at the Waldorf penthouse so she could be there while Blair got ready in the morning. Nate and Eric were staying over at the Empire with Chuck for the night as well, so they could leave for the wedding together.
"Are you sure you packed enough bags?" Chuck inquired, raising one eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better I would think that the two of you were leaving me permanently."
"That would never happen," she assured him. They shared a smile.
Eleanor cleared her throat, reminding the couple that she was in the room. "As much as I'm enjoying watching the two of you stare each other like love-sick teenagers, I really think that we should be going," she stated.
Blair sighed, turning back to Chuck with a pout. "Alright," she relented, looking to Alexander who was playing with a stuffed animal on his playmat. "Come on baby, let's say goodbye to Daddy."
She stepped forward to pick her son up, when something completely unexpected happened. Alex got up onto his knees, then onto his feet. This wasn't too surprising as he had stood up on his own before. However, what he did next left his parents and grandmother completely speechless. He began to take slightly shaky steps towards Chuck and Blair. When he had made it to his destination, Alex grabbed onto his father's leg and called out, "Da!"
Chuck and Blair exchanged shocked looks, then he bent down to pick up his young son. "Did you just walk all on your own?" he asked the baby enthusiastically.
"He's such a big boy," Eleanor commented a little tearfully. "They grow up way too fast."
Blair smiled at Alexander as she took him from Chuck and into her arms. "I'm so proud of you baby boy," she gushed. "Walking by yourself already? You are so smart."
"Clearly he's inherited your brains," Chuck noted proudly.
She was about to respond, when the elevator opened once more to reveal Nate and Eric. They were each carrying a small overnight bag, as well as a garment bag that contained their suits for the following day. In addition, Nate was carrying a bottle of scotch. "Hey Chuck," he called out, "Look what we brought-" He stopped talking instantly when he realized that Blair, Eleanor and the baby were still there and the two Waldorf women were currently giving him disapproving looks.
"Hi Blair, Eleanor," Eric greeted them with a polite smile.
"We didn't realize that you would still be here," Nate stated, shooting Chuck a glare for not warning him. "Surely it's past little Alexander's bedtime?"
Blair nodded, "It is. Which is why we were just leaving."
"I'll be waiting near the elevator," Eleanor told her daughter. "Goodbye Charles," she added, giving her soon-to-be son-in-law a look that he took as a warning for him to behave tonight. "Nathaniel, Eric," she nodded, giving the two men the same warning look as she passed by them on her way out of the room.
"I guess that I'll see you tomorrow then," Blair smiled as she looked back to Chuck. She gave him a quick kiss, well aware that Nate and Eric were in the room.
"Well I'd hope so," he remarked with a smirk. "Don't pull a Runaway Bride on me."
She gave him an offended look and retorted, "Don't pull a Runaway Groom on me."
"You have nothing to worry about in that regard."
"Well neither do you, so stop insinuating that you do," Blair remarked with a frown. He had been making the occassional comment about her leaving him at the alter all night. To everybody else, it seemed like Chuck was just kidding around, but she knew better. Blair knew that there were probably some irrational fears passing through his mind about whether or not she would turn up to their wedding. Not because of anything she had done, but mainly due to the abandonment issues that she knew that Chuck was still struggling with. However, the comments he had been making were hurtful because she liked to believe that he trusted her enough that he wouldn't worry about such things.
He seemed to pick up on the fact that Blair was hurt by his statement. He kissed her on the cheek with an apologetic look and said, "I love you. I'll see you tomorrow."
She nodded, as Chuck gave Alex a kiss on the cheek and said a quick goodbye to him. Blair turned and began to make her way out of the room. She stopped in front of Nate and Eric and stated, "That bottle of scotch better be left mostly unconsumed tonight." Her statement was more directed towards Nate than Eric. She knew that the youngest Van der Woodsen was by no means a big drinker, and definitely had more common sense than Nate when it came to drinking. "I mean it," she emphasized, glaring at her friend strongly.
"Yes Blair," he nodded nervously. After all these years, the brunette still scared him. Nate knew not to cross Blair on the best of days, but to cross her the day before her wedding when her emotions were no doubt running high he would have to have a death wish.
The three men watched Blair, Eleanor and Alex leave. As soon as they had left, Eric turned to his step-brother and asked, "Trouble in paradise?"
"No. Why?" Chuck asked in confusion.
"Did you miss that little exchange a moment ago?" he replied. "The whole Runaway Groom comment?"
He shook his head, "That was nothing. Blair knows that I wasn't being serious about that."
"Does she?" Eric questioned him.
"And were you really just kidding around?" Nate chimed in.
Chuck looked between them, before making his way to the bar to get some glasses for the scotch. "What is this, 20 Questions?"
"Blair just didn't look too happy when she left, that's all," his best friend stated as he and Eric took a seat on the lounge.
"Probably because you came in carrying a huge bottle of scotch," he remarked, making his way back over to them with three scotch glasses and a bowl of ice in hand. Chuck sat down and placed the glasses on the coffee table, then Nate began to pour each of them a drink.
"I think you should call her," Eric suggested. "Just to clear the air."
Chuck sighed as he dropped two ice cubes into his glass, before taking a sip. "I appreciate your concern, but Blair and I are fine."
"If you say so," he responded. Truthfully, Chuck was a little worried. He hadn't meant to upset Blair with the comments he had been making. It was just his old insecurities resurfacing and messing with his mind. Deep down, he knew that there was so substance to any of his fears. He would be marrying Blair the next day, no matter what.
"You look beautiful B," Serena grinned as she sat on the bed in the guest bedroom of the Waldorf penthouse, admiring her friend's wedding dress. Blair had wanted to try on her dress one last time before the wedding to make sure that it fit perfectly and didn't require any last minute adjustments. Not that they hadn't already done this repeatedly over the last few weeks, but she wanted to be sure that the dress was a perfect fit.
"Thank you S," she responded with a small smile as she stood in front of the full-length mirror. She smoothed down the dress gently, before turning around to admire the back of the dress in the mirror.
"I hope I look half as good as you on my wedding day," she added, standing up from the bed and stopping at her friend's side.
Blair smiled, "I'm sure that you'll look gorgeous Serena, you always do."
Serena picked up on the fact that something seemed to be on her best friend's mind. She nudged the brunette gently and asked, "What's wrong? You seem a little preoccupied."
"I'm just thinking about all the things that could go wrong tomorrow," she lied. The truth was that she was still a little upset that Chuck would think that she wouldn't show up at the church tomorrow. "With all the little details involved in planning a wedding, something is bound to go wrong."
"Don't think like that," the blonde insisted with a reassuring smile. "Nothing is going to go wrong. And even if something small does go wrong, your wedding is still going to be perfect because you're marrying the man you love." Blair smiled. "I still don't believe that man is Chuck Bass but..."
"Serena," Blair scolded her friend half-heartedly.
"I'm only kidding, you know that I wish you and Chuck all the happiness in the world."
"I know," she responded, pulling Serena into a hug. She pulled away after a moment as she suddenly thought of something. "I completely forgot, I need to try the Erickson Beamon necklace on with the dress." Blair had requested that her mother design the dress to go with the Erickson Beamon necklace Chuck had gotten her for her 17th birthday. It was an important part of their history so she wanted to wear it on their wedding day. "It's in my old bedroom, I'll go get it," she said, before making her way through the connecting bathroom and into the bedroom.
Before retrieving the necklace, Blair checked on Alex, who was fast asleep in the portable crib that Blair had brought with them. She smiled when she saw that he was sleeping soundly. She made sure that the 11-month-old was tucked in comfortably, before gently kissing him on the forehead. The peaceful moment suddenly turned frantic when Blair heard her cellphone begin to ring from where it sat on the bedside table. She hurried to retrieve the phone, hoping that the noise wouldn't wake the sleeping baby. She mentally scolded herself for not putting the phone on silent. She answered the phone as soon as she got to it, not even bothering to check who was calling. "Hello?" she hissed in annoyance.
"Waldorf?"
Blair blinked and whispered, "Bass?" She paused to listen for the baby, before adding in a whisper, "I could kill you! Your phone call nearly woke up Alex."
"Sorry," Chuck responded blunted. "I think we need to talk Blair."
"About what?" she asked softly as she opened the door to her bedroom. She stepped out into the hallway, lifting her dress slightly so that she wouldn't step on it. She began to panic a little, worried that he was having second thoughts about tomorrow. That would be extremely ironic considering that he was worried about her doing the same thing. Blair made her way into another of the spare bedrooms where she could talk to Chuck in private, without waking Alexander.
"I kind of got the impression that I might have upset you earlier," he confessed. "When I made that Runaway Bride comment."
Blair relaxed as she sat down on the queen-sized bed. "I'd rather not recall such things, but I do know what you're referring to," she remarked simply.
He paused and she heard him sigh. "You have to know that those fears that I have, have nothing to do with you at all," Chuck continued. "I know that you would never do something like that to me. These are my issues. Even when my life is going great, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"I believe that's known as being a pessimist," she retorted teasingly.
He shrugged, "So I'm a pessimist. I can't help it, it's who I am."
Blair couldn't help but giggle. "I love you," she told him, suddenly feeling the urge to tell him that.
"I love you too," Chuck smiled. "And I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven," she responded. "But just so you know, if you had woken up the baby I wouldn't have been so forgiving."
He chuckled, "Lucky for me that kid has started sleeping like a rock."
"Lucky for both of us actually," she corrected him. "We're finally getting a whole night of uninterrupted sleep most nights."
Chuck smirked and added, "And we have more time for other bedtime activities..."
Blair also smirked, "Don't you worry. We'll have plenty of time for that tomorrow night. Alex will be with my mother."
"I look forward to it," he replied. "What's the minimum amount of time we have to spend at the reception again?"
"We'll only stay as long as is absolutely necessary," she promised him, knowing that she would be just as eager to get a start on their wedding night as he would be.
He chuckled and concluded, "We're definitely meant to be together."
"Did you ever doubt that before?" Blair asked. She tried to sound casual, but she was a little concerned.
"Not for a second," he promised her. She breathed a sigh of relief that didn't go unnoticed by him. "Goodnight Waldorf." He smiled, realizing that it would probably be the last time that he could accurately call her that.
"Goodnight Bass," she responded, before hanging up the phone. She left the room and made her way back to her bedroom with a smile on her face. Now that she and Chuck had talked, she was free to be excited about tomorrow, when they would finally be married.
When Blair was awoken the next morning by Alex's frustrated cries, at first she was confused as to why she was waking up in her old bedroom at her mother's house. A second later, she remembered that it was her and Chuck's wedding day. Blair immediately grinned, then hopped out of bed to retrieve her son.
"Ma!" the baby cried as he stood holding onto the edge of the crib.
"Good morning Alexander!" she exclaimed excitedly as she lifted him up into her arms and spun him around. She kissed the grinning baby on the cheek and asked him, "Do you know what today is?" Blair continued talking to Alex as she made her way into the hallway. She stopped at the door to the guest bedroom and knocked on it a couple of times, before opening it and announcing loudly, "It's my wedding day! Wake up Serena, we don't have any time to waste!" The blonde just squinted at her sleepily, before burying her face back into the pillow with a groan. Blair frowned. She set Alex down on the bed beside Serena and the baby began to play with her long blonde hair.
"Ow!" Serena cried as she felt her godson tug her hair, hard. She looked up to find her best friend standing there with an amused grin on her face. She was definitely awake now. "That was uncalled for."
Blair shrugged as she sat down on the bed, "I didn't want to resort to that, but you left me with no other choice." She pulled Alex into her lap and exclaimed happily, "I can't believe that my wedding day is finally here!"
She sat up with a grin. "I'm so excited for you B," she gushed as she took her friend's hand and squeezed it. "What time is it, by the way?"
"Just after 7."
"7!" Serena repeated, her eyes widening in surprise. "Why are we awake so early? The wedding isn't until 3 o'clock."
"Because this little one wakes up early," Blair replied, looking down to Alex who was clapping his hands together with a grin. Apparently he was finding that particular activity quite amusing that morning.
"This is really putting me off having children," she confessed with a grimace.
She rolled her eyes, then announced, "Come on, let's go have breakfast. We still have so much to do before the wedding." Blair stood up from the bed with Alex in her arms and proceeded to leave the room.
"Like what?" Serena asked. She reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and followed Blair into the hallway.
"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed as they made their way down the stairs. "We're getting massages at 8, followed by mani-pedis at 9. Then I have to shower and be ready for the hair dresser and make-up artist who are arriving at 10:30." Serena just nodded. She knew that it was in her best interests to go along with Blair's schedule. "We have to leave here by 2 at the latest in case there's traffic. I don't want to be late for my own wedding," she finished as they entered the dining room, where Eleanor and Cyrus were sitting at the table having breakfast.
"Good morning," Eleanor greeted them with a smile.
"There's the bride!" Cyrus exclaimed.
Blair grinned as she kissed her mother on the cheek. She then began to put Alexander in the high chair that was set up at the end of the table. "I can't believe how excited I am," she commented. She finished buckling Alex into the high chair, then sat down in the nearest chair. "I don't think I've ever been this excited for anything before."
"Not even for Cotillion?" Serena asked, gasping over-dramatically. "Or Prom?"
"Of course not Serena," she rolled her eyes as she retrieved some fruit from the platter on the table to give to the baby. "This is my wedding day. My day. I wasn't the centre of attention at either of those events."
"B, you were Prom Queen," she reminded her.
Blair shook her head and pointed out, "That's not the same as being the bride."
"I'll give Alexander his breakfast Blair," Eleanor offered, taking on the role of selecting some fruit for her grandson. "You just relax and eat your breakfast. You shouldn't have to lift a finger today."
She accepted her mother's offer and began to gather some fruit and a piece of toast for her own breakfast. "I wonder how Chuck is this morning," Blair wondered out loud. "Do you think he's nervous?"
"I've never been this nervous in my entire life," Chuck said as he paced back and forth beside the table, where Nate and Eric were seated eating breakfast. From the moment he woke up, he had butterflies in his stomach. They were good butterflies of course, but he was still feeling extremely anxious. He knew that the only thing that would calm him down would be seeing Blair walk down the aisle.
"Just sit down and eat something Chuck," Nate told him, biting into a piece of toast. "It will make you feel better."
"I highly doubt that," he responded, finally stopping his pacing. "I completely forgot, I have to read over my vows!" he exclaimed suddenly. He groaned at his stupidity, before rushing off to find the piece of paper he had written his vows on.
Eric and Nate just looked to each other and chuckled. "I don't think I've ever seen Chuck this on edge," Eric commented.
"He was pretty nervous when Blair was in labor with Alex," Nate recalled. "But this is taking it to a whole new level."
The elevator to the penthouse suddenly opened to reveal Harold and Roman. They had arrived in New York City from France the previous day and were staying in one of the suites at the Empire. "Good morning," Roman announced as they entered the penthouse with smiles on their faces.
"Where's Charles?" Harold asked as he realized that only Nate and Eric were sitting at the table. "We came by to see how he was doing before going to Eleanor's."
"He's reading over his vows," Nate replied.
A moment later, Chuck rushed out of his bedroom and into the living room in a panic, "I can't find the paper that I wrote my vows on!" Before anyone had a chance to form a reply, he continued, "What am I going to do? I don't remember what I wrote and I don't have time to write new vows!"
"Uh Chuck..." Eric started, pointing to where a piece of paper was sitting on the lounge.
Hr breathed a sigh of relief as he retrieved the paper, unfolding it to confirm that it was his wedding vows. "Thank God," he commented.
"I was going to ask how you were but I think your actions speak for themselves," Harold stated with a chuckle. "A little nervous are we?"
"Just a little," Chuck responded, tucking the paper into his pocket for safe keeping. "Aren't you supposed to be at Eleanor's getting ready?"
He nodded, "We're about to go over there now. I just wanted to speak with you first." Harold patted his almost son-in-law on the back and said, "Let's take a walk Chuck."
"Where on Earth is Daddy?" Blair asked impatiently. She was sitting in the living room with Serena, who was currently in the middle of getting a manicure. Blair had already gotten her manicure and pedicure and was now sitting and waiting for her nails to dry before having a shower. Cyrus and Eleanor were upstairs giving Alex a bath and getting him ready for the day.
"He'll be here," Serena assured her. "What time is he supposed to come over?"
"Fifteen minutes ago."
"Well I'm sure he's just running a little late," she replied. "Don't worry B, we have plenty of time."
The elevator opened and Blair looked up, expecting to see her father. However, it was Dorota and Ana that stepped out. Dorota was carrying two garment bags that contained their bridesmaid and flower girl dresses. "Well at least someone arrived on time," Blair commented as they approached them.
"How are you Miss Blair? Excited?" Dorota asked with a big smile on her face. Ana immediately recognized Serena and let go of her mother's hand to go talk to her about her pretty flower girl dress that she would be wearing that day.
"Excited and nervous," Blair nodded. "To be honest, I just can't wait to see Chuck." Dorota smiled knowingly, recalling her own wedding day and how anxious she was to see Vanya. "Did you happen to see my father downstairs when you arrived?"
She shook her head, "No, Mr Harold and Mr Roman are not here yet."
Blair sighed and explained, "They're late."
The elevator to the penthouse opened yet again and this time Rachel the wedding planner stepped out. "Good morning," she announced happily as she made her way over to everyone with a clipboard in hand. "How's the bride doing?"
"The bride is currently annoyed that her father has blatantly ignored the allocated time at which to arrive here," she grumbled.
"The F.O.B isn't here yet?" Rachel gasped.
"The what?" Serena interjected.
"Father of the Bride," Blair and Rachel responded in unison.
"It's wedding terminology Serena," Blair added. "You'll have to learn it for your own wedding."
The blonde rolled her eyes and retorted sarcastically, "It's on my to-do list."
"Alright, my nails are dry so I'm going to have a shower," Blair announced, standing up from her seat.
"Before you do that, I just need you to go over a few little wedding details with you," Rachel stated as she followed the bride to the bottom of the staircase. "I know that Chuck said that I should go to him for these things, but I thought that you'd want to know what's going on."
"You thought right. You can talk to me on the way to my bedroom," she nodded as she began to climb the stairs. "Walk and talk Rachel, walk and talk," she instructed as the woman hurried to keep up with her.
"Now Chuck," Harold began as they stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby of the Empire. "I don't want you to think that I don't like you, because I do." Chuck took a deep breath and exhaled nervously. Here came the inevitable wedding day warning conversation with Blair's father that he had been dreading. "You make my daughter very happy and I'm pleased that you two are finally getting married," he continued.
Chuck smiled, but he knew that there was going to be more to this conversation. "But..." he started expectantly.
He chuckled, "But I'm afraid that it's my duty as a father to give you a little warning of what I'll do if you ever cause Blair any unhappiness."
"I understand," he told him. "If Blair and I ever have a daughter, I'll be doing to the same thing with whoever she ends up marrying."
"This isn't supposed to be a friendly conversation Charles," Harold responded, his tone turning serious. He waiting for a couple of people to pass them, before adding quietly, "I know that you're a powerful man, but what I'm capable of doing when it comes to defending my daughter would shock even you." Chuck gulped. He had never seen this side to Harold Waldorf before and he was truly scared. "So as long as you treat her well, you and I should get along just fine."
Chuck nodded, "Of course." He paused for a moment, before adding, "You have no reason to be worried. I love Blair and I intend on staying married to her for the rest of our lives."
"I'm happy to hear that," Harold said, a smile appearing on his face once more. "If you were going into this marriage thinking anything different, I would be concerned."
"Blair and Alexander are my world Harold," he stated honestly. "I would never do anything to jeoparadize their happiness." Anymore, a little voice inside his head added, noting all the times he had hurt Blair in the past. He knew that he had to let go of all of that. The past was the past and it was time to focus on their present and future.
"Alright," he responded, patting Chuck on the back with a smile. "I should go and see Blair. I'm already running late."
"She's going to kill you," he commented, shaking his head. "She hates when people aren't punctual any day, but on her wedding day..." He trailed off and finished with a grimace.
"I hope not. I was rather looking forward to walking her down the aisle," Harold chuckled. "Tell Roman that I'll be waiting for him in the car outside the building."
"I will," Chuck promised, shaking the man's hand. As soon as he left he breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the conversation was over.
"Blair," Eleanor said softly as she opened the door to her daughter's old room. Blair was standing in front of the mirror in her wedding dress, make-up and hair done and ready to leave. She turned when she heard her mother come in and they shared a smile. "You look beautiful sweetheart," she gushed, tears coming into her eyes as she slowly approached her. "My design looks amazing on you," Eleanor commented, gently touching the fabric of the dress.
"Thank you," Blair smiled.
"The necklace was a nice touch," she nodded. Eleanor hadn't been too pleased about Blair's choice of necklace at first, but had gone along with it seeing that her daughter seemed to have some sort of emotional attachment to it. "I have to ask, why this particular piece of jewelry?"
Blair's hand came to rest on the Erickson Beamon necklace as she began to fondly recall the night that Chuck had given it to her. "Chuck gave it to me on my seventeenth birthday," she said softly, turning back to the mirror. "It was the first meaningful thing he ever gave me. It's also my third favourite thing that he's given me." She smiled and added, "Right after Alex and my engagement ring."
They stood there in front of the mirror in silence for a moment, smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. "The limousines have arrived downstairs so we should be going," Eleanor announced suddenly, sniffing to stop the tears in her eyes from falling.
Blair's nerves intensified as she realized that this was it. In just over an hour, she and Chuck would be husband and wife. That thought alone was enough to bring a whole new lot of tears to her eyes once more. "Why did you say that?" she asked her mother in annoyance. "Now I'm crying again." She reached for a tissue from the box on the nightstand. She began to dab her face gently and added with a sob, "I'm going to ruin my make-up."
"I only suggested that we leave," Eleanor chuckled, pulling her daughter into a hug. "I didn't realize that I would make you cry in doing so."
She held her mother tightly and whispered, "I love you Mom."
"I love you too Blair," she responded softly, before pulling away from the hug. "Now, no more tears. This is a happy day."
"But these are happy tears," she replied in her own defence.
"Just think of the state of your make-up and how it will look in the wedding pictures if you have mascara running down your face," Eleanor stated bluntly. And just like that, their moment was over and she was back to being Eleanor Waldorf once more.
Blair just laughed and said, "I knew that I should have worn water-proof mascara."
When Blair came down the stairs with Eleanor following close behind, everybody that was waiting at the bottom of the stairs gasped. This consisted of Serena, who was holding Alex as well as Harold, Dorota, Ana, Cyrus and Roman. Everyone was now dressed for the wedding and ready to go. Harold stepped forward to help his daughter down the last few steps. "You look beautiful Blair-Bear," he said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Thank you Daddy," she grinned.
"Doesn't Mommy look beautiful?" Serena gushed to Alex, who lit up at the mention of his mother.
"Ma!" the baby cried, reaching for Blair.
She looked over at her son and smiled even wider when she saw that he was wearing his tiny suit that they had custom-made to match Chuck, Nate and Eric's suits. "There's my handsome boy," she said as Serena passed him to her. She kissed him on the cheek and added, "You look just like your Daddy."
"Da?" Alex asked with a confused look. He had obviously just realized that he hadn't seen his father in a while.
"We're going to see Daddy very soon," she promised him.
"Rachel just sent me a text from the church," Serena announced, looking up from her cellphone. She was surprised that the wedding planner even had her number, but she figured that Blair had given it to her for reasons such as this. "She says that if we don't leave in the next three minutes, we're going to be late."
Blair looked over at her and nodded, "Okay, let's go."
"I'll take Alex," Serena offered as they all hurried towards the elevator. Blair reluctantly handed him back to her friend. She didn't particularly want to, but she knew that it would be difficult to get into the limo in her wedding dress, so doing so with an almost one-year-old in her arms would be nearly impossible.
"In we go," Cyrus said, ushering everyone into the elevator.
Chuck stood in front of the alter of the church with Nate and Eric at his side, taking deep breaths in attempt to calm himself down. His heart was beatly loudly in his chest and his palms were sweaty. This was a rare occurance in the world of Chuck Bass. He was always so confident and never felt this uneasy. He turned to his best man and requested, "Talk to me Nathaniel."
"About what?" he asked in confusion.
"Anything," he shrugged. He suddenly noticed Lily smiling at him from her spot in the crowd and he gave her a small wave. "Just talk to me and calm me down," he said, looking back to his friend.
"Uh, okay," Nate started, trying to think of something to say. "Flowers!" he announced suddenly.
"What?"
"The flowers are...nice," he stated, looking around at the floral arrangements placed around the church with an approving nod.
Chuck shook his head, "Great conversational topic there Archibald. You're supposed to be my best man. Calming me down is one of your duties."
"Well what do you want to talk about?" Nate asked, rolling his eyes.
Fortunately, the conversation didn't have to go any further. Chuck was immediately distracted when Serena came into the church carrying Alexander. Blair had asked her to bring the baby to Chuck as soon as they had arrived at the church. She knew that he would be missing their son and would want to see him. "Alex," he greeted his son with a smile, taking him from his step-sister without acknowledging her presence.
The baby lit up when he saw his father and cried, "Dada!"
"I missed you buddy," Chuck said softly, kissing him on the forehead.
"Thank you for bringing my son to me Serena," Serena recited in a mocking tone, looking to her step-brother expectantly.
He looked to her and rolled his eyes, but nevertheless replied, "Thank you."
"Blair thought that you might like to see him," she told him.
"Is she here?" Chuck asked, looking down the aisle as if expecting her to come in at any moment.
Serena nodded with a grin, "We just got here. She's outside." He smiled. "I've got to go line up to come in," she said. "Good luck!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek, waved to Nate and Eric, then hurried back up the aisle and out of the church.
"You'll mind Alexander during the ceremony, won't you?" Chuck asked Eric.
"Of course," he nodded.
Rachel suddenly hurried over to them from her place at the back of the church. She looked extremely stressed out, the pressure of hosting a perfect high society wedding resting solely on her shoulders. "What are you doing with the baby?" she asked Chuck incredulously. "The bride is just outside, it's nearly show time!"
"It's okay," he assured her. "Eric's going to watch him once the ceremony starts. I'm just holding him for now."
"He better behave himself," she commented. Chuck gave her an annoyed look, but before he had the chance to say anything, the woman's cellphone rang and she hurried off to answer it.
As the limo pulled up in front of the church, Blair looked to her parents with a smile. Harold and Eleanor had accompanied her in one limo, while everyone else took the other limo. This was convenient as it gave Blair a chance to speak to her mother and father alone before entering the church. It was rare that the three of them were alone in a room together nowadays, so the fact that they had a moment together now was nice.
"Are you ready?" Harold asked, turning to his daughter expectantly.
She nodded with a nervous smile, "Absolutely."
"We love you Blair," Eleanor said, kissing her daughter on the cheek. She then looked over to her ex-husband with a smile, that he returned.
"I love you both too," Blair responded, squeezing both of their hands that were currently in hers. She had to stop herself from crying again. She didn't want to embarrass herself by bawling as she walked down the aisle.
After a moment, the driver opened the door to the limousine. Harold thanked him, before turning back to the two women beside him, "Here we go."
Blair took a deep breath, before taking her father's hand and allowed him to help her out of the limo.
I know that was a mean place to end this chapter, but it was getting far too long. Please don't kill me lol *hides*