Disclaimer: I own nothing except a great love for CB and the many inhabitants of the UES

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and got just what they wanted. Thanks for everyone that reviewed. I'm so glad that you're all so very intrigued and enjoying the twists and turns of this story with me. As always thanks for the show of support from my fellow CBers, fanforum buddies, and reviewers. Love you all and just keep reading. Lynnie my awesome sounding board, I don't know what I'd do without you. :kiss:

Chapter 3

His fingers flew across the keys. After three hours and at least a half dozen false starts, Dan found his rhythm. Most days he didn't mind cutting things so close but this was insane. His cell vibrated at his elbow.

"Not now. Not now. Not now." He chanted, trying to hold on to his train of thought. After more than a year running every possible errand under the sun, writing copy, and stuck writing obits he'd finally been given the go ahead to pen a short write-up for the paper. Granted it wasn't front page material…more like destined for page six and lining birdcages. Still it was a start.

The phone vibrated, again, breaking his concentration. "Dammit." He snatched up the cell in one hand, his eyes glued to the computer screen, "Humphrey."

"Hey, it's me."

"Vanessa, hey." He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear, leaving his hands free.

"Are you busy?"

"Funny you should ask. I'm actually working on a story for the paper."

"That's great." She said. "I guess I shouldn't keep you then."

Distracted, he nodded. "Yea. Now's not really a good time. I running behind timing-wise. I still haven't packed and I need to be at O'Hare by 7 if I want to get through security and make my flight. Plus this thing is far from finished. So I…"

"Nate's cheating on me."

"Whoa." His mouth dropped and his fingers froze over the keys. "What? Okay. Uh, I'm sorry to hear that. Um, when did you find out? What did he tell you?"

"He's denying the whole thing."

"Well, how did you find out? Did you see them together? Find suspicious charges on your credit card statement?"

Silence fell on the other line. "No. So wait a minute…what? Are you taking his side? That's just unbelievable."

"Vanessa." Dan sighed, "I'm not taking anyone's side."

"By not taking my side in this, you're saying that you don't believe me…which means that you're taking Nate's side." She sounded hurt and accusing, "You're supposed to be my best friend. You know what he was like before and yet him you believe. Thanks a lot. Really. Go back to your precious story."

The line went dead before he could get a word in edgewise. He held the phone to his ear, unmoving and simply listening to dead air as his mind worked, trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened.

His time crunch and story were suddenly the very last thing on his mind, so as he stared unfocused at the computer screen, he couldn't quite remember what he was looking at. He cursed fluently, reading it through, once—twice—then again, trying to pick up the lost thread that had been pulling him through. "Fuck." He shoved his laptop away in disgust. "Fuck."

Dan caught himself glaring at the phone as he shuffled through his notes trying to get back into the story. But his mind was hundreds of miles away. On Vanessa's problems with Nate. His little sister's steady success and his own slow progress at the newspaper. Then there was the party. Jenny's party. Still not his scene after all these years.

Maybe he shouldn't go after all. Dan rolled his eyes. No, he wouldn't do that to his sister. He'd promised her that he'd fly out to help her celebrate. And he wouldn't disappoint her. Even if the idea of being back in New York for even a few days was up there with his aspirations of having his wisdom teeth yanked with a set of rusty pliers.

Shaking his head, he reached for his laptop and just started typing. Not stopping until he was deaf and blind to everything but the words in his head and on the screen. He wasn't thinking about a certain tall blonde. Hadn't really thought about her in months. Years.

Yeah, right Humphrey. Fuck.

~ஐ~

"You're late!" Brown eyes accused and she stiffened, her hands planted firmly on her bony hips.

Smooth as ever, Chuck smiled and tipped his head in apology. "I'm sorry. It really couldn't be helped. Midtown traffic, you know. It was a bitch. Now where's my kiss 'hello'?"

"Dorota's gonna wash your mouth out." Evie informed him gravely, a smile settling on her heart-shaped face.

Chuck scooped her up, making her squeal in delight. "You wouldn't sell your old man down the river."

"Hmm," She tilted her head, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Depends. Remember how you said we could get a dog."

"I said, I'd think about it, you little mercenary."

"But that was forever ago, Daddy." She whined. He knew that she'd be stamping her tiny feet if she weren't in his arms.

"Sorry, kitten. Daddy doesn't negotiate with terrorists."

She was quiet, considering him with narrowed eyes before she opened her mouth and belted out. "DOROT---"

Chuck covered her mouth, "Tattletale." He put her down, "Just don't you forget. Christmas is next week and Daddy has Santa on retainer."

"There's no such thing as Santa Claus. Jason Fitzwarren said so." She nodded sagely, "He says Santa's a fake."

Now at least he understood the girls' actions the other night. Who the hell was this Jason Fitzwarren anyway? Chuck wished for Blair. What was he supposed to say? Tell them the truth and ruin the magic of Christmas for them. He'd thought that he'd have years before they had "the Santa talk," If possible he'd been willing to leave that one up to Lily or Serena. Or even Good ol' Uncle Eric.

Fuck it. Putting on his game face, he met his daughter's eyes. "Baby, look at me. Jason Fitzwarren only said what he did because he knows that he made Santa's 'naughty' list this year and he's not getting a damn thing. Trust me. I've got St. Nick's ear. Remember?"

Evie was quiet for a moment, letting his words sink in before she nodded. Her face reddened and her pursed, fury evident in her expression. "That boy!! How dare he…"

"Cut him some slack. He probably felt bad. And the nice thing to do would be to play along and pretend you don't know." He said.

"But why should I…"

"Where's your sister?" Chuck surveyed the unusually quiet apartment. It was neat as usual. One good thing about the girls getting bigger was the fact that these days they didn't leave so many disaster areas in their wake.

"She's upstairs with Dorota. We were playing dress up. Kat's getting her nails done." Evie waved her own short, glossy nails in his direction as they headed up the stairs.

"Dress up, huh?" Chuck said, "You guys didn't raid my closet again, did you?" He'd had a hell of time finding things for days after their last game of "dress up." And what he couldn't find, he'd ended up replacing. Chuck still couldn't figure out what they'd done with all of his goddamn ties.

"Nope. Can I pick the movie tonight? Kat got to pick last time."

So that was why she'd been waiting for him.

"Well, see." He pretended not to see the triumphant smirk, curving her mouth.

Chuck shrugged out of his suit jacket and loosened his tie, still mindful of his shadow following him into the master suite.

"We helped Dorota pack our things for the weekend. Edward packed a bag for you, too, Daddy. Are you spending the night at Uncle Eric's, too?" She glanced at the suitcase at the foot of his bed.

"No. Have to go out of town. Should be back before you and your sister get home. Why don't you go check on your sister and Dorota? I need to make a few phone calls. Then there's something that I want to talk to you guys about."

"A surprise."

"Something like that."

"A good surprise. Something with lots of fur and barks…but not all the time." She backtracked.

"Not a puppy." Hell, he might consider giving in, if it meant he didn't have to deal with Eleanor Rose interfering in their lives again. First he needed to talk to Harold, see if he'd been in touch with his ex-wife lately. Chuck had tried reaching Blair's father off and on throughout the day to no avail.

"Fine. No puppy for now. Negotiate later, though, right?" She inquired earnestly, leaving only when Chuck nodded his acquiescence. The kid was wearing him down and she knew in. He anticipated Kat going to work on him before the night was through. Like their mother, they somehow knew just what buttons to push. They were a handful and he didn't know what he'd do without Dorota or his family. But he wouldn't have it any other way. Especially not when he'd come so close to losing them.

--

July 2009

At Serena's insistence, they stopped at the penthouse long enough for Chuck to clean himself up and get changed. He'd lost weight over the past few months on his steady diet of scotch, drugs, and nameless faces, but his clothes didn't hang off of him as Serena feared. It wasn't perfect but she deemed him presentable.

They met with no resistance when they reached Blair's room. He hung back when Serena breezed inside, his feet going leaden and refusing to carry him any further. God. He didn't want to see her like this. Not Blair.

"Chuck." His sister held out a beckoning hand, her eyes pleading.

He couldn't move, but in the next moment he was standing at her side, looking down at his fallen Queen. "She's so small. Shouldn't she be bigger? You said twins." Chuck reached out a shaking hand. Her skin was cool to touch and ghost white. He turned on Serena with horror filled eyes, his gaze somewhat accusing, "Jesus, Serena. She didn't…she wasn't…"

"What? No…no. Of course not, Chuck. She was trying to put on weight and the twins they came early and she'd been having complications. One thing after another." Serena said.

"This is my fault." He leaned down, resting his forehead against Blair's. "I fucked up. I should've been here, Serena."

"Why didn't you come then?" She asked, "B wrote you a letter. Didn't Jack give it to you?"

He could only shake his head, his mind jumbled and confused. Too much. All too much. He didn't want to think of any of it. He just wanted B to wake up. On the plane ride, Serena had told him about B's discovery and the subsequent fallout after Blair told Eleanor that she was pregnant. At first, Blair's mother left the ultimate decision up to her daughter. Not pushing her when she opted not to end the pregnancy. Helping her decide on prospective parents for their child when she settled on adoption. But Serena told him that as the pregnancy progressed, Blair became less and less certain about the course she'd decided on. Despite the months of silence from him, she'd wanted him to come home. She didn't want to make any decisions without him, but he never came. Things grew worse at home and Blair actually ended up moving in with Serena and the family. Days later, she was in labor, fighting to bring her children into the world. Holding on to her own life by the thinnest of threads.

"I'm sorry, baby." Brushing her hair away from her face, he dropped a soft kiss at the edge of her mouth. He wanted to cry for her. For them but he had no tears left. No grief left in him. It wasn't fair really, she'd spoken those three words. She'd held him and let him cry and he couldn't give her any of it. Eyes burning and dry, he found himself glaring down at her sleeping form. "You're not leaving me, Waldorf. You said the words and now I'm yours. You're stuck with me. That's it. Game over."

"Please step away from my daughter, Charles."

He stiffened at Eleanor's freezing tones. Satisfaction pooled in his belly and his lip pulled back, sneering. Perfect. This he knew. This he could handle. He turned to find her standing in the doorway, her new husband at her side, looking worried and torn.

"Cyrus."

"Chuck."

He stepped closer, shaking off Serena's hand as she tried to stop him. He ignored the two, burly orderlies at Eleanor's back as he focused every bit of what he was feeling on Blair's mother.

Her eyes never leaving him, she told the orderlies, "I don't want this young man anywhere near my daughter. As a matter of fact I don't want him in this hospital."

"Well, that's just too damn bad, isn't it?" He told her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You're not family. My daughter wouldn't want you here."

"Eleanor, please don't do this. You know that's not the truth."

"Stay out of this, Serena." Blair's mother snapped.

"I've got it, sis." Chuck brushed a nonexistent speck of dust from his lapel, his expression unfazed.

Eleanor stepped aside, motioning the orderlies forward. "Please. Get him out of here. Take him out of my sight. He doesn't belong here."

"Touch me and I will own this hospital. And when I do I won't fire you, but you will be wiping up shit for the rest of your fucking lives." He informed them softly.

"Yeah. Right. Let's go. You heard the nice lady." The smaller of the two stepped closer to Chuck.

"You can't bar him from the hospital. What about the girls?"

"The girls are going to nice families, who will make sure that they have a proper upbringing." She looked Chuck up and down, her tone scathing. "Look at you. You're barely eighteen. And you're already a drunk and a womanizer. Who in their right mind would entrust an innocent child into your care? You'd ruin them, Charles."

"Blair changed her mind. She wants them." Serena tried to get around Chuck. "What are you going to do when she wakes up and finds out what you've done."

"If—When…" Eleanor ground her teeth, dragging in a shaky breath. "When Blair wakes up, she'll understand that this is in the best interest of all involved. Even you, young man."

"You're not giving away my children."

"It's done." Eleanor crossed her arms. "Boys, get him out of here. Now!"

The orderlies moved then, coming to stand on either side of Chuck. They started to pull him from the room.

"Don't touch him." Serena reached out, yanking at the smaller man, while her brother struggled in their grasp.

"What in the world is going on in here? Serena…Charles." Lily shoved past Eleanor joining the fray. "Take your hands off my children this instant."

Everyone else moved into action. Cyrus turned on his wife, "Eleanor…"

"This is my child. My decision." She told her husband.

Somehow, Lily inserted herself between the two orderlies and her children. "Look, gentlemen. There has been a grave misunderstanding. My family and I will leave this room under our own steam. And we will be going to the NICU where my son is going to meet his daughter."

"Mom?"

"Come, Serena. Charles. Now." Lily gripped their arms and pulled them from the room. She glared at Eleanor as she moved past, "Call your goddamn attorneys Eleanor because mine are already on the way. I want that paperwork and I want the address."

"Mom, what's happened?" Serena demanded as her mother propelled them down the hall, carrying the protesting teenagers further and further away from Blair.

"Lily, stop." Chuck dug in his heels, refusing to move. Lily's words filtering in past his anger and outrage at being kept away from Blair. "Serena asked you a question. What paperwork? You said daughter. You told them I was meeting my daughter…"

Now they came, unbidden and hot, burning the back of his eyes. Not for B, but for some unknown child who he'd never even seen or held. Had one of his daughters died? Was that why Lily wouldn't meet his eyes?

"We were too late. They just handed her over to those people and I couldn't do anything." Lily croaked, her hand at her throat. "Bart's grandchild."

"The adoption's not valid. I never agreed to it." Chuck said. "B didn't want it. She changed her mind."

"I'm not related by blood. I couldn't do anything without you. The attorneys have the injunctions all drawn up. Even if Katherine weren't still too small to leave the NICU, they can't take her now. But Evelyn. She gave that child to a couple of strangers and I just stood there." Lily cried then. "I'm so sorry, Charles."

He hugged her, the feeling awkward and unfamiliar. Serena stroked her mother's back. Chuck was lost. Helpless, just like before. He couldn't do anything for Blair. Hell, he couldn't even get to her. The same couldn't be said for their daughters. First he'd find out what the hell Eleanor had done with his little girl. Evelyn. Named for his mother. He tested the sound in his mind, on his tongue and his arms spasmed around Lily.

He'd find Evelyn. Then he'd take care of their little girls. Blair would wake up and they'd fix things. He'd make them right. He would.

Harold. Where the fuck was Harold?

--

Present

Chuck stretched out his legs, sinking back against the sofa. The overhead lights had been dimmed to a faint glow as the more colorful lights from the Christmas tree flickered off and on, splashing color throughout the room. Kat leaned close, curled at his side, like the kitten she was named for.

The girls were identical but some times their personalities were polar opposites. His little Kat was quiet and methodical, where Evie took after her Aunt Serena, jumping in with both feet first. He was so grateful they had each other. Those first four months it had just been him and Kat. With his Evie out in the world giving all her firsts to some other family.

He wasn't sure which of Eleanor's transgressions made him hate her the most. That she'd gone through with the closed adoption that had stolen away the first four months of Evie's life. Months that she should've been with him and solidifying the lifelong bond that she and Kat had formed as they grew in the safe confines of their mother's womb. The minute she'd been found and he brought her home, his calm peaceful Kat had lit up.

Chuck and Serena had held the girls face to face and the rest was history. His little Kat and Evie reached out with the teeny hands, drooling grins spreading across their faces. He'd never forget that moment. That had been a first. The first time he'd heard Evie laugh and Kat joining in. Laughing for no other reason than to do it. And God but he lived for those sounds. Even now they giggled on either side of him, watching as the boy on the TV gave a high-pitched squeal, his tongue stuck to an icy pole. His sadistic little fiends were actually gleeful.

Damn straight he resented their grandmother for the time lost, but she'd made a horrible situation even worse by keeping him from B. He'd lost four months with Evie, but his time away from Blair had stretched beyond that. Those first few months he had no clue where Evie was and Blair had been just minutes away but equally out of his reach. Access blocked off by private guards that Eleanor insisted on.

The long months had dragged before Harold was granted legal guardianship. That spiteful bitch had kept his family apart and for that, he'd never forgive her.

"Daddy." Evie crowded close on his other side, her eyes never leaving the plasma.

"Hmm?" Chuck smiled at her wheedling tone. Here we go again, he thought, bracing himself for the coming litany. Puppy. Puppy. Puppy.

"Can we stay up for Christmas Eve? We want to make popcorn and watch A Christmas Story." Evie said.

"You're watching it now."

"It's different, if we stay up." Kat piped up.

"It's the same movie, ladies." He told them. "Besides you can't stay up all night on Christmas Eve, especially. Santa won't come if you're awake."

Chuck fell quiet, pretending to be engrossed in the movie as he waited.

"Can't you call him or something? He works for you, right? Tell him we're staying up that night." Kat instructed.

"Nice try. No. Now watch the movie. Uncle Eric will be here soon." He pursed his lips, resisting the urge to pump his arm in victory. His girls thought he was Super-fucking-man. Boss to God and Santa Claus. What more did he need.

Evie frowned, "Daddy, can I have a Red Rider BB…"

"No." Lord but they tested him. "Fuck."

The girls oohed and threatened to call Dorota. She'd surely stick soap in his mouth this time, just like the boy on TV.

Kat met her sister's eyes and smiled up at him, "About that puppy…"

TBC

A/N: Okay so now you know what brought about World War III or better yet The War of the Roses (+Bass) and the reason why Chuck hates Eleanor with such a passion. So what's a Bass to do? Lol. And I may have played fast and loose with the adoptions laws how long it would've really taken C to get the adoption overturned but that's why writers have that beautiful thing call creative license. Okay. Enough from me for now. Let me know what you're thinking.

Oh yeah…I don't own A Christmas Story…just happens to be one of my favorite holiday films…just doesn't seem like Christmas if I haven't watched it five or six times…in a row. :D Will update as soon as possible. Later, people.

Courtney 333