As he groggily awoke he looked over and realized that he was alone, which he most definitely was not the night before. From the sound of the hair dryer blowing from the bathroom Todd quickly deduced that Blair was getting ready to leave. Disappointed but not surprised, he looked around for his shirt- she seemed to have forgotten about the clothing rules last night- and opened the door.

"Don't you ever knock?" Blair grumbled as she shot him a dirty look.

"So much for all the sweet talk last night. I was hoping you could turn that thing off. "

"What's the matter, you have a headache? You did have a lot to drink last night," Blair laughed as she turned it up.

He cringed. "Do you have to do that? You had more to drink than I did. Where are you off to anyways?"

"I'm meeting Serena for brunch. I'm supposed to be there in a half hour so if you don't mind I'd like to finish getting ready."

"What about me? I need to get ready too…"

"Wrong. You're not going anywhere. Stay here. Get some more sleep. You need it. You look awful. This is my time. Maybe- if you're good- we'll do something when I get back." She didn't know why she told him that, but she had to admit she wasn't having that bad of a time with him. Last night was wonderful, truth be told. What she could remember of it anyways. Besides it couldn't be that much fun for him hanging around waiting for her. What was she thinking? That was his problem, and she couldn't be responsible for that. She was letting her guard down, and she knew what happened whenever she did that. She wound up hating him, and hating herself. No, better to just keep her distance despite the fact that they were living just a few feet away from each other during this trip.

"If I'm good- I'm not one of the kids, Blair." Todd mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. You're going to be late."

As she turned to leave Todd got an idea. He just hoped that she was game; otherwise she would just resent him even more than he already did. And he couldn't take that chance. He'd made some strides, but he wasn't where he wanted to be, not yet anyways. He would get there. He had all week, and if that's what it took then so be it.

00000

Serena greeted her friend with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It had been since before Blair's children were born that they had seen each other; Serena had moved to New York after meeting her soon-to-be husband Jeff. She had driven to Llanview several times to see Blair throughout some of her life changes, namely her children. She did not like Todd one bit. She had been there throughout Blair's mourning process when she thought her second born had died, albeit long distance, and had been enraged when she found out what Todd had done. In some ways she was even less forgiving than Blair was.

"He did what?"

"I know. I don't know how he managed to tag along. He's persistent. Please don't get mad at me. I'm already mad at myself," Blair sighed as she sipped her diet drink.

"I can't believe this. The one person in the world you hate- not to mention how I feel- and you bring him along to my wedding! What were you thinking?" Serena demanded to know.

"I know. You're not asking me anything I haven't asked myself a million times. But you weren't there. He just kind of invited himself. I couldn't really tell him no.."

"Yes you could have. You could have told him to go to hell. That's what I would have done. In fact that's what I will do when I see him. What hotel is he staying at?"

Blair looked down as she picked at her salad.

"Blair, where's he staying? You're scaring me girl. Don't tell me he's staying at our hotel."

"Can we talk about something else? I'm trying to eat and Todd Manning is the last thing I'd like to think about right now. Besides, I'm here for you. How are you and Jeff? Is he ready for the big day?"

"Oh yes. I have him trained well," Serena laughed. "He's been begging me for years to marry him but after everything you've been through marriage was the last thing I wanted. But he wore me down. I saw I got a good one. You just have to know where to look. And you've obviously been looking in the wrong places. Have you ever thought about moving out to New York? You could use a fresh start. Besides, the selection is much better out there. Jeff has plenty of friends."

"I know. I've thought about it. But I have family…"Blair started.

"You mean you have Todd. When are you going to get him out of your system? You've always had a knack for picking the worst possible man for you. I know. I did the same thing until I met Jeff. And look at me. I'm getting married for crying out loud. You're in Venezuela. Why don't you sample the locals? I would if I were single."

Blair smiled. "I'm a mother now. I can't just go around picking up the first man I see. I'd like to. But I have to think of my kids."

"You've changed, woman. The old Blair would have thrown caution to the wind and had the time of her life over here. You used to be the life of the party. What happened?"

Blair thought about it, and looked around. Her friend was kind of making her mad. She was the same Blair she always was. And she would prove it.