Here's the next chapter. I thought that I was going to be able to wrap everything up in this chapter, but I think there's going to be one or two more after this. I'll just have to see how I go. I really can't believe that I've been writing this story for over a year! I'm surprised that I've even gotten this far with it, considering all the crap that the writers of the show have been putting Chuck and Blair through during that time.
I've actually had this chapter completed for a while, but after episode 4x20 I was a little reluctant to post it. I've seen many fanfiction writers get a lot of hate for posting Chuck and Blair stories and I really didn't want that to happen with my story. This takes place in an entirely different reality to that of the show and therefore the actions of the characters on the show are irrelevant in relation to my story. Apart from anything that happened in the first and second seasons, and up to 3x12 (minus the Chuck seeing his mother at Bart's grave scene) of course. So save your hate messages for the Gossip Girl writers people :)
On a completely different note, I did some research and there's a million different ways of conducting a wedding ceremony, as well as a number of wedding reception traditions. It was all very confusing so I just went with what I thought. I apologize if I've left parts out that you wanted to see. I'm also bad at writing romantic monologues, so the wedding vows are probably way too corny. Anyway, enjoy this chapter of pure fluff! Chair fans need it more than ever at the moment.
When he saw her, she literally took his breath away. There she was, Blair Waldorf, being walked down the aisle by her father to him. She was his and he was hers, the way it should be. Chuck watched in a trance-like state as Blair and Harold approached him. Harold kissed his daughter on the cheek, before nodding towards Chuck with a smile. He nodded back and knew that they were making a silent agreement. He was trusting him with his daughter and Chuck was promising that he wouldn't let him down. As Harold went to take his place in the front row, Chuck extended his hand towards his bride, which she accepted happily. As they took their places before the priest, he took a moment to whisper in her ear, "You look beautiful."
If it was even possible, Blair's smile grew even larger as she whispered back, "You don't look so bad yourself Bass." They shared a look as the priest cleared his throat and began the ceremony. Chuck and Blair tuned into what he was saying every now and then so they wouldn't miss their cue to speak, but for the most part their attention was on each other.
"The bride and groom have prepared their own vows, that they will share with each other now," the priest suddenly announced, looking to Chuck expectantly. "Charles."
He was caught off-guard by this and almost forgot where he had put the piece of paper that contained his wedding vows, for the second time that day. Thankfully, Nate tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the piece of paper. Chuck breathed a sigh of relief and gave his best man a grateful look. He was glad that he had decided to ask Nate to mind the piece of paper, knowing that he probably would have lost it yet again if he had kept it on him. "Blair," he started nervously, his voice shaking slightly. He didn't know why he was so nervous about this. It's not like Blair was going to deem him unworthy to be married to her if she didn't think his vows were good enough. The truth was that nothing he could say would ever express how he felt about the woman standing before him, but he had done his best to do so.
Chuck cleared his throat as he glanced down at the paper to jog his memory of where to begin, then continued, "If someone had told me seven years ago that I would be standing here today marrying Blair Waldorf, I never would have believed them. Neither of us saw what we now have coming, but once we were together it was hard to comprehend why we were ever apart in the first place." He paused to smile at her, before continuing, "It never ceases to amaze me how lucky I am to have you in my life. You've brought me more happiness then you'll ever know. You've given me a beautiful son who lights up our lives every day, you've stood by me through good times and bad..." He paused once more, sighing softly as her eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. "But most importantly, you love me unconditionally for who I am. Even if that person isn't always worthy of your love. I love you Blair, and I'm honored to become your husband."
Blair smiled and for a moment seemed to completely forget where they were as she leant in to kiss him. There were a few chuckles from people in the crowd and a few disapproving looks from some of the older guests, but neither of them cared. She ended the kiss prematurely, to Chuck's disappointment, looking to the priest with a shrug, "I'm sorry, go on." She looked back to Chuck almost immediately and he chuckled. Of course neither of them could wait until the proper moment to kiss.
The priest also chuckled, then asked, "Blair, would you like to read your vows?"
She nodded as Serena passed her the piece of paper with her wedding vows on it. Blair sighed contently, before beginning, "Chuck, if I've learnt anything from our relationship over the years, it's to expect the unexpected. And that everything you ever wanted could be right in front of you, it just might take a while to see it." She paused, looking up at him with a small smirk, "As a wise man once said, 'in the face of true love you don't just give up, even if the object of your affection is begging you to'." Chuck gave her a surprised look, not believing that she had remembered his speech at Bart and Lily's wedding from all those years ago. His words must have really stuck with her. "I'm so unbelieveably grateful that we didn't give up on each other. I can't imagine not having you in my life." Tears filled her eyes as she managed to choke out, "You're my partner in crime, the father of my child, my soulmate and my best friend." A tear slipped down her cheek as she finished, "I love you so much Chuck, and I'm looking forward to taking on whatever comes our way in the years ahead, together."
She looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Chuck was smiling at her. It was nerve-wracking, pouring your heart and soul out to the man you love in front of a crowd of people.
"Charles Bartholomew Bass," the priest began, immediately getting both Blair and Chuck's undivided attention, "do you take Blair Cornelia Waldorf to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live?"
He looked back to Blair with a genuine smile and said without hesitation, "I do."
They suddenly heard a sob and they looked to Serena, who was pulling a tissue out of her purse. When she saw that everybody was looking at her, she whispered, "Sorry."
Chuck gave his step-sister a look and Blair giggled, far too happy to be annoyed at her friend for briefly disrupting the ceremony. "Blair Cornelia Waldorf," the priest continued, moving the cermony along, "do you take Charles Bartholomew Bass to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," she grinned, squeezing Chuck's hand excitedly.
He smiled at her, wondering how it was even possible for someone to love him as much as Blair did. He certainly didn't deserve such a wonderful woman and would never be able to see the redeeming qualities in himself that she saw so easily. Their loving gaze was interrupted once more by the priest announcing, "And now for the exchanging of the rings."
The bride and groom broke off from each other and turned to Serena and Nate respectively to retrieve the rings and for Blair to hand her bouquet of roses to Serena. Now holding each other's wedding rings, Blair and Chuck turned back to each other with excited looks. She extended her left hand towards him, eager to finally have her wedding ring join her engagement ring on her finger. Chuck slipped the ring onto Blair's finger and it was of course a perfect fit. It was then Blair's turn to slip Chuck's ring onto his finger. They took a moment to admire their respective rings, suddenly realizing that it represented the fact that they were bound to each other for life. They had made it.
"By the power invested in me by God and the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said. He then turned to Chuck with a smile and stated, "You may kiss the bride."
He and Blair exchanged one final look of bliss before their lips met in their first kiss as husband and wife. The entire church stood up and began to applaud. Eventually, they pulled away from each other slightly, they're faces still in close proximity to each other. "I love you," Chuck whispered.
"I love you too," she grinned, leaning in to kiss him again, not caring who was watching.
When they broke away from their second kiss, the priest interjected quickly, "I present to you, Mr and Mrs Charles Bass."
As Blair took his arm, Chuck whispered in her ear, "Come on Mrs Bass." She smiled as they walked down the aisle arm-in-arm. They finally reached the back section of the church, where they were out of sight from their wedding guests.
"I can't believe that we're married!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We're actually married! You're my husband and I'm your wife."
"I believe that's how it works," he smirked as they kissed once more.
They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat and glanced over to find Serena and Nate standing there. Nate was carrying Alex, who looked very eager to see his parents. "There's my baby boy," Blair grinned as she took their son into her arms and kissed him on the head. "Mommy and Daddy are finally married! Isn't that exciting?"
"He can't even say the word 'marriage' yet, let alone know what it means," Nate pointed out.
"I know that," Blair retorted as Chuck wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Congratulations you guys," Serena gushed, stepping forward to pull all three Basses into a group hug. "Get in here Nate. This is an official Non-Judging Breakfast Club hug."
Nate chuckled and allowed her to pull him into the hug. They broke apart a moment later and stood there in a moment of comfortable silence. They were eventually interrupted by all of Blair's parents as well as Lily, who came in to congratulate the couple. They were followed by Eric, Dorota and Ana, who also wanted to offer their congratulations.
"To us," Blair smiled as she clinked her champagne glass against Chuck's as they rode in the limo, having just left the church. Serena had promised to mind Alex on the way there to give them some alone time before having to greet all of their wedding guests at the reception.
"To us," he agreed, before they took a sip of their respective drinks. He had barely managed to swallow his champagne before her lips were attacking his once more- not that he was complaining.
She broke away from him breathlessly and requested, "Call me Mrs Bass again."
Chuck smirked and responded, "I love you Mrs Bass."
"That is such a turn on," Blair commented, kissing him again. Before things got too far, she broke away from him and noted with a chuckle, "If this goes any further, we'll be consumating this marriage right here in this limo."
"What's stopping us?" he inquired. "It seems like the perfect location to do so, considering our history."
She giggled, shaking her head, "We can't! I don't want to turn up to the reception with sex hair."
"We'll be careful," Chuck promised, setting their champagne glasses aside. She just shook her head and attempted to give him a disapproving look. "Besides, the wedding photos have already been taken."
"There's a photographer at the reception as well, remember?"
"But Blair..." he whined, his hand caressing her thigh under her wedding dress. "I want to make love to my wife," he added, placing emphasis on the word 'wife'.
Her eyes immediately filled with lust and she abandoned any thoughts of social decency that were going through her mind. "What the hell," she remarked, before pouncing at him, kissing him hungrily.
They arrived at the Palace with Blair's hair perfectly intact and both she and Chuck looking perfectly presentable. Thankfully, after many years of driving Chuck and Blair around, Arthur knew exactly what they would be doing in the back of the limo and had driven around the block a few times to give them time to compose themselves afterwards. They were a little late to the reception, but if anyone asked they blamed it on traffic. Most people believed this, it was only a few people such as Serena and Nate who knew the real reason why their friends were so late.
After being congratulated by countless wedding guests, Chuck and Blair were seated at the main table with the rest of the wedding party. Dinner was served as the speeches began. There was a combined speech from Nate and Serena, followed by a speech by Blair's father. Then Lily said a speech on behalf of the deceased Bart and Evelyn Bass, seeing as she was Chuck's only living 'parent'. That particular speech was hard for Chuck to hear, even though Lily had done an amazing job. It only highlighted the fact that his parents weren't there to celebrate his wedding day. Although he had never known his mother, and couldn't imagine his relationship with his father becoming any better if he were to have lived, he still noticed their absence and suddenly felt extremely alone. Especially considering that Blair had four parents there that day, including both biological ones.
However, in that moment when he felt the impact of his parents' absence, Blair had squeezed his hand gently but firmly. He had looked over at her comforting face and was reminded that he wasn't alone and he never would be again. She and Alexander were his family. They were all that he needed. So he had brought Blair's hand to his lips and kissed it and the speeches went on. They didn't let go of each other's hands until everyone had finished their dinner and more wedding guests rushed to congratulate them. Somehow, they managed to lose each other in the crowd, which didn't make either of them very happy.
Chuck couldn't even believe that he had lost track of his wife. How hard was it to miss the only woman in the room who was wearing a white wedding dress? Eventually he ran into Eleanor, who was currently in possession of Alexander. Happy to see even one member of his immediate family, he convinced his new mother-in-law to hand his son over to him for the time being. To Chuck's annoyance, the baby got some extremely dirty looks from some Manhattan socialites and he heard one of them mutter something about how the bride was kidding herself by wearing a white wedding gown.
So when he heard yet another group of socialites make an awful comment about his son, Chuck approached them with a fake smile and stated calmly, "Thank you for coming ladies."
"It was our pleasure. Congratulations Charles," one of the women said fakely. She eyed Alex, "And this must be-"
"Our child, conceived and born out of wedlock?" he finished for her. "Why yes it is. This is Alexander." He continued sarcastically, "I can't stress enough how much Blair and I appreciate you coming to support us on our wedding day."
"Well of course-" another woman started.
"What we don't appreciate," he interjected, "is you bad-mouthing our son when you think that we're not listening." He smirked as all five women's jaws dropped in surprise, horrified that he had heard what they had said.
Blair suddenly appeared at his side with a confused look, having seen the socialites' reaction and was wondering what Chuck had said to them. "What's going on?" she asked, putting on her best fake smile.
"Nothing," one of the women spoke up. "We have to go." And with that, they all scurried off in the direction of the bar, obviously needing another drink.
"What was that about?" Blair asked, looking to Chuck in amusement. He passed Alex to her, knowing that she probably wanted to see him for a bit until somebody else whisked her away to dance or have a conversation.
"Just snotty Upper East Side women rudely sticking their noses into other people's business," he responded with a roll of his eyes.
"Of course, it's what they do best," she remarked, running her fingers through Alex's dark hair. The baby rested his head on her shoulder and yawned. "He's getting tired," she commented, kissing him on the head.
"I don't blame him," Chuck nodded, wrapping an arm around her waist. "It's been an exhausting day. A great day, but exhausting."
Their moment alone was interrupted when Serena hurried over to them with a frantic look. "There you guys are!" she breathed a sigh of relief. "The band is about to announce your first dance as husband and wife." Blair and Chuck looked to each other with a smile, as they had been doing whenever someone mentioned that they were now married. "I'll take the baby," Serena offered, holding out her arms to take Alexander.
Blair looked down to her half-asleep son hesitantly, before looking back to her best friend, "Alright, but he's really tired. Maybe you should try to find a quiet spot and just sit with him for a bit?"
"A quiet spot in this room?" she remarked with a scoff. "Yeah, I'll try."
Blair reluctantly handed the baby over, just as the current song the band was playing finished. The singer then took to the microphone and announced, "I would like to call the bride and the groom to the dancefloor for their first dance as husband and wife."
Chuck and Blair looked to each other once more, then he extended his hand towards her and asked, "May I have this dance?"
"You may," she responded, chuckling at how corny they both sounded. She took his hand, allowing him to lead her to the dancefloor as the next song began to play.
He pulled her in, placing one hand on her waist and the other in her hand, while she rested her other hand on his shoulder. They began to dance, eventually falling into a comfortable pace. They had always danced well together, even before they were a couple. Dancing came naturally to them, which Blair often thought was a testament to how perfect they were for one another. As more couples joined them on the dancefloor, they no longer felt the pressure to be dancing so formally. Blair wrapped her arms around Chuck's neck and he put his own arms around her waist. Even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, this was Chuck's favourite way to dance with Blair. It was much more intimate than how they were dancing before and he loved the fact that he was the one who had the honor of dancing with her this way.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked gently, breaking the silence between them.
"You," he replied simply. "And how lucky I am to have you as my wife."
Blair kissed him gently, before insisting, "I'm the one who's lucky. Chuck Bass doesn't marry just anybody."
"That's true," he acknowledged. "You're the only woman I would ever marry because you're my equal."
"Do I complete you?" she asked teasingly.
Chuck smiled and responded, "We complete each other. We're Chuck and Blair."
"Blair and Chuck," she added.
"Exactly," he remarked, before leaning in to kiss her again. "I love you," he murmered against her lips.
"I love you more," Blair giggled. She was going to take advantage of these corny exchanges while they lasted. Certainly the fact that it was their wedding day gave them a free pass when it came to public displays of affection and sickeningly romantic banter.
They continued to dance for a while longer, until someone tapped Chuck on the shoulder. He turned to find Harold standing there with a smile on his face. "Do you mind if I borrow your wife for a dance Chuck?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Not at all," he shook his head, stepping back to allow Harold to take over. Truthfully, he did mind being interrupted a little and he knew that Blair did too, but he knew that it was important for Blair and Harold to have their father-daughter dance. Chuck was about to go find a seat when Lily approached him.
"Do you have time for a dance with your adoptive mother?" she asked hopefully.
Chuck smiled, "I always have time for a dance with my mother."
Lily lit up at his statement as they began to dance. "I'm so proud of you Charles," she stated softly. "And your father would be too."
"I appreciate the gesture, but I highly doubt that I could ever make Bart proud," he replied. "He was a very hard man to please."
"Maybe in terms of business," she nodded. "But he loved you more than anything else in the world. You're his son." Chuck looked skeptical, so she continued, "When Bart and I first started seeing each other, all he talked about was you and how he hoped that you would take over Bass Industries some day. Even if he didn't say it, he was very proud of you. That's one thing that I know for sure."
Chuck simply nodded, still not entirely believing what she was saying to him. Now wasn't the time to get into his relationship with Bart. It was his and Blair's wedding day, a day dedicated solely to their relationship finally being official. He wasn't going to let his father's memory overshadow that. He and Lily finished their dance, then the band began to play a more upbeat song.
"Chuck," Blair called out to him. He turned to find Harold twirling her around as she laughed.
"What do you say we swap partners?" Harold asked him with a wink. "It's been a while since Lily and I shared a dance."
"I'd be honored Harold," Lily stated. She took his hand and he twirled Blair around once more before releasing her, causing her to turn straight into Chuck's arms.
"Your father has some serious moves," Chuck commented.
She nodded, "It's going to take a lot to impress me after that dance, so you'd better up your game." He gave her an amused look. "Turn on the infamous Chuck Bass charm that makes all the ladies swoon," she added teasingly.
"For the record, I'm only interested in making one woman swoon. I didn't want to have to resort to bringing out my own moves, but if you insist," he shrugged. Blair gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he was going to do. She didn't have much time to think about it because before she knew it, he had spun her around and dipped her, making her gasp. Chuck brought her back up to standing a moment later, to find that his wife was giggling once more. "Who has moves now?" he asked smugly.
"Not bad," Blair commented as they continued to dance. She got a few more surprising dance moves out of Chuck that she found extremely amusing, before he insisted that they stop before they wasted their energy that would be better used later on that night. She agreed, and they were about to go check on Alex when Eleanor and Cyrus approached them on the dancefloor, wanting to dance. So Blair danced with Cyrus and Chuck danced with his new mother-in-law. Then Blair danced with Roman, then Nate and then Dan while Chuck danced with Serena. Chuck also danced with Dorota, Juliet and even little Ana, who requested that he dance with her.
Finally, Blair managed to break away from the group on the dancefloor to retrieve Alex from her father and Roman, who were currently taking care of him. Thankfully, he had managed to have a short nap so he was no longer tired and cranky. She brought her son back to the dancefloor and began to dance with him in her arms. Alex giggled as she did this. "Is Mommy a good dancer Alex?" Blair asked as she spun the baby around before kissing him on the cheek. She nodded her head and he imitated her, to which she commented, "I am? Why thank you!"
"Mommy is a great dancer," Chuck interjected as he emerged from amongst the crowd and grabbed Blair's hand. "Not as good as Daddy though," he added, ruffling Alex's hair.
"You wish," she remarked.
"Ma ma ma ma ma!" Alex squealed suddenly, excited by the music and many people dancing around him.
Blair looked to Chuck smugly, "See? Even Alex knows that I'm the better dancer." He just shook his head as he pulled her in to kiss her.
"Not in front of the baby," Serena grimaced. They broke apart and realized that she was dancing with Dan beside them.
"That poor child," Dan added teasingly. "He's going to be scarred for life."
"Why? Because he's going to be completely aware of the fact that his parents are head over heels for one another?" Blair asked with an I'm-right-and-your-wrong look.
He grimaced and replied, "No little boy should have to witness that much PDA."
"Shut up Humphrey," she retorted with a grin, kissing Chuck once more just to annoy Dan and Serena.
"Gross," they commented in unison.
"Dance this way," Serena instructed, nudging Dan in the opposite direction with a giggle.
"They're gone," Chuck informed her as they broke apart once more.
"Good," Blair smiled, wrapping one arm around his neck as she continued to dance with her husband and son.
After many hours of dancing, it was time to cut the cake. Blair insisted that she, Chuck and Alex do this together. Seeing as they had started their family prior to getting married, their wedding day wasn't just about the two of them promising to be with each other for the rest of their lives. It was about them making a commitment not only to each other, but to their baby, which is why Blair wanted to include Alexander in the day as much as possible. "Are we ready?" Chuck asked as he held the knife just above the wedding cake, ready to cut it.
Blair smiled as she took Alex's tiny hand and placed it, along with her own hand, on top of Chuck's so they could cut the cake together. The baby seemed quite confused at first, but then smiled at the attention he was getting from the crowd. Thankfully, the majority of their wedding guests had no problem with Chuck and Blair having Alex out of wedlock. Not that it mattered to them in the slightest what irrelevant people thought, but at the same time they didn't want Alexander to be judged based on the fact that his parents weren't married when he was born. They cut the cake and the photographer took a few pictures, then Blair and Chuck sat down at the table with their son to eat their piece of cake.
Blair offered a tiny bit of cake to the baby from her fork, but he shook his head and reached for the plate of cake on the table. Before either of them could stop him, Alex scooped up a handful of the cake and brought it to his mouth. While Chuck simply chuckled, Blair panicked at the thought that the cake may fall onto her dress. She sat Alex down on one of the empty chairs beside them and placed the plate of cake on his lap. "There you go. Knock yourself out," she stated, making sure to keep one hand on his leg so he wouldn't try to climb off the chair.
"He's going to be hyperactive after all that sugar," Chuck noted as he watched Alex get into the cake. He already had cream and icing all over his mouth and cheeks.
"That's for Grandma to deal with," Blair responded with a mischievious grin. "She's going to have fun trying to get him to go to sleep tonight."
They continued to watch Alex eat for a while longer, then Dorota approached them with Vanya and Ana in tow. "Oh, Mr Alex like cake," she commented. The baby looked up at her and grinned, before turning his attention back to the cake.
"Mr Alex loves cake," Blair corrected her as she attempted to wipe the baby's face with a napkin. However he brushed her away, wanting to continue to eat this delicious food that he had just discovered.
"Congratulations," Vanya offered, shaking Chuck's hand, before kissing Blair on the cheek.
"Thank you Vanya," he responded.
"Was I a good flower girl?" Ana asked, looking between Chuck and Blair excitedly.
Blair nodded and insisted, "You were a wonderful flower girl. You look so pretty in that dress."
"Thank you," the little girl beamed, twirling around so her dress swooshed around at her sides.
"We won't be able to get her out of dress," Dorota commented, shaking her head in amusement. "Thank you for letting us be part of your day Miss Blair, Mr Chuck."
"Thank you for being a part of it," Chuck stated.
"I'm so glad that you all could be here today to celebrate with us," Blair said, smiling at her loyal maid. "You've been the greatest supporter of our relationship, so it's only fitting that you be a part of our wedding day."
"Really?" Chuck asked in amusement.
"Of course," she told him. "Dorota was always rooting for Mr Chuck in the fight for my heart."
"I know true love when I see it," Dorota replied with a wink.
"Is everybody ready?" Blair asked, looking back to the crowd of people that stood before her in front of the stage she was standing on. She was getting ready to throw her bouquet. As tradition stated, the unmarried woman who caught it would be the next to get married. Blair watched in amusement as a number of extremely desperate woman elbowed each other in an attempt to get a good spot to catch the bouquet.
She turned her back to the crowd, before throwing the flowers over her head and bracing herself for the catfight that would no doubt break out amongst the women. She looked back and laughed when she saw that Juliet was holding the bouquet of roses, a bewildered look on her face. She exchanged a look with Nate, who was standing near by with Chuck. He looked shocked. Of course it was far too early for Nate and Juliet to even consider marriage, but it was funny to see Nate freak out at the fact that his girlfriend had caught the bouquet.
Blair made her way back down to the dancefloor to where a chair had been set up for the removal of the garter she was wearing around her leg. She sat down on the chair and smirked as Chuck approached her with an identical smirk present on his lips. "Hey," she murmered as he knelt down before her. She extended her leg forward slightly and nudged him with her heel.
"Someone's impatient," Chuck observed, resting his hand on her knee under her dress. That gesture evoked a number of wolf whistles from a few men in the crowd, making Blair blush.
"Quickly," she whispered with a giggle. "My parents are watching."
He chuckled, before reaching up to where the garter rested just above her knee and pulling it down her leg. Blair couldn't help but shiver slightly as she felt his fingers brush her leg, which Chuck noticed gleefully. He pulled the garter from her leg and raised his eyebrows at her suggestively, before standing up to throw the garter to the crowd of single males standing not too far away. He attempted to throw the garter in Nate's direction, just to get a reaction out of his best friend. However it ended up hitting Dan directly in the face and he caught it as it fell onto his arm. "What do you know? A tradition that actually works," Dan remarked as Serena came over to him.
"I'm not too sure how I feel about you having my best friend's garter though," she stated with a smirk before pulling him into a kiss.
Chuck just rolled his eyes, before turning back to his bride and helping her up from the chair. "Dan Humphrey has my garter," Blair grimaced, unable to hold back a chuckle.
"I'll make Serena get it off him later," he promised her, kissing her on the cheek.
"I have to say," Blair started, running her hand along his jaw, "I think I'm more than ready to get started on our wedding night right about now."
"The whole garter thing got you all riled up, didn't it?" Chuck smirked, kissing her passionately. He broke away breathlessly and asked, "Is it appropriate to leave now?"
"Since when do you think about what's appropriate?"
"I don't, but you do," he pointed out.
She grabbed his wrist and looked at his watch, "Well it's almost nine o'clock so I think we've stayed long enough." She kissed him again, before grabbing his hand, "Come on. Let's go say goodbye to Alex, then we'll announce that we're leaving."
He allowed her to lead him away happily. They said their goodbyes to their son, which was particularly emotional for Blair as she hadn't spent the night away from him before. But with a little encouragement from her mother and promises that she would take good care of Alexander, Blair managed to leave him in Eleanor's care and leave the reception with Chuck.
They left in the limo, that now had a 'Just Married' sign attached to the back window, and waved as many of the wedding guests stood outside the Palace waving them off. They were heading to another of Chuck's father's hotels in the city, having wanted to escape from the chaos of the wedding reception at the Palace. The next morning, they would go to Eleanor and Cyrus' to see Alex, before heading off to their honeymoon that afternoon. Blair had chosen the location of the honeymoon so Chuck currently had no idea where they were going. They had planned to go away for three nights without Alexander and leave him in the care of Eleanor and Cyrus, although Blair was a little apprehensive about leaving the baby for that length of time.
"So," Chuck started, turning back to her as they pulled away from the Palace. "Was today everything you imagined it would be?"
"It was perfect," she gushed, taking his hand. "The ceremony, the reception...everything." He smiled. "Oh and the fact that you're my husband now isn't too bad either," she added teasingly, leaning in to kiss him.
"I'm glad that everything was up to your standards," he commented as they pulled away from each other slightly, their noses brushing against each other. "I was dreading the double murder of myself and the wedding planner that would have occurred if anything was screwed up today."
Blair shook her head and insisted, "Like Serena reminded me the day before the wedding, all that really matters today is that I married the man that I love."
Chuck kissed her passionately once more, knowing that they definitely weren't going to be able to wait until they got to the hotel to consumate their marriage yet again.
I hope that this chapter didn't disappoint anyone and that there was enough of Alex in there to keep you all happy. As I said, I still have one or two more chapters in me, so stay tuned :) In the meantime, please review!