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

A/N: New chapter for you patient people. Borrowed my little sister's laptop again to get this one out today. Hopefully my new one will be here sooooon. I'm just going to let you guys jump right it. It picks up where the last left after. Blair's homecoming. I don't have a beta anymore. Some things slip by me even after I've stared at it a few thousand times so forgive any mistakes you may find in this, large or small. Just the story…enjoy it. This is dedicated to CB lovers and most especially to my girls.

Chapter 34

Across the room, the duo happily trading verbal barbs and swipes were oblivious to the new tension straining between Serena and the boy she'd loved. The man she was falling for all over again.

Chuck smiled down at Blair, taking in her expression. "Waldorf, I know it's been a while but smug does not equate to gracious surprise."

Her back turned to the group scattered about the room, Blair pulled a face and stuck out her tongue at him.

His eyes still trained on hers, Chuck leaned close, his lips grazing her cheek as he whispered for her ears alone, "Try that again later and you have my word that you'll get the…uh, proper response."

"Promises, promises, Bass. You're just full of them."

"Yes, and if you recall. I always make good on them." Chuck stepped away, sultry promise in the curve of his mouth and amber eyes.

Her blood ran hot, belly somersaulting at the intense thrill of his words and expression. Blair's lips parted, the tip of her tongue darted out again, sweeping across her bottom lip. "Well, later I might need a reminder." She couldn't help her soft retort, giving him a taste of what she was feeling before she turned away. Her expression as smug as before and eyes lingering all too briefly on the bulge that told her just how much she affected him.

Chuck settled back, working to rein himself in as all eyes landed on Blair. Her father hurrying forward to welcome his little girl and their daughters trailing not far behind.

"Mommy. Mommy. Weren't you really surprised? Tell Kat we surprised you."

"You did, baby." Blair assured, lying through her teeth.

Kat rolled her eyes as her twin turned on her, hands planted firmly on her hips and expression indignant. "Told you so, Kat. Now say you're sorry for calling me a 'big mouth.' Tell her Grandma."

Lily sighed. "Say you're sorry, Kat."

"I'm sorry, but no Grandma."

"Why not?" Evie demanded.

Kat crossed her arms, "Because that would be lying. I'm not sorry and you do have a big mouth. Mommy, tell her that would be lying."

"No, make her say she's sorry, Mommy."

Both girls crowded on either of Blair, glaring at one another and looking to their mother with identical looks of expectation.

Blair looked between the twosome, everything and everyone else fading into the background as either child insisted she pick a side.

"Mommy, tell her." Evie stomped her feet.

"No, tell her."

Their mother did neither of those things, looking between them and wondering how she was supposed to referee this one. "Um…"

"Katherine Lillian Bass."

Now that was different. Blair and the twins all froze at the stern tone.

Evie smirked at her sister, certain that victory was in her grasp. She wouldn't gloat. Not much anyway. All she wanted was for her twin to say she was sorry. That wasn't asking a lot. Not really.

"Evelyn Cornelia Bass."

Uh-oh. The little girl looked away from her sister to her father's stern expression. Their father never yelled, but they could tell when they'd done something wrong. He'd get really, really quiet and he'd get that look on his face. It was seriously the only time she ever heard her middle name.

"Remember what we talked about earlier. Mommy just got home. I want you young ladies on your best behavior...no overwhelming her with your war of words. No name-calling. No lying."

Blair frowned. Yes, she'd blanked out for a moment there when she should've stepped up and reined the girls in but that didn't mean she couldn't have handled the situation. And she most definitely didn't want Chuck insulating her. She'd missed so much when it came to being a mother to Evie and Kat. She didn't want to miss anymore. Whether it was recitals, shopping, or girly days at Bliss. She wanted it all. Even the knock down dragouts and sisterly squabbles sure to come even more frequently when they got older. The very last thing she needed was Chuck "protecting" her, excluding her from any part of that.

Something else that she and Chuck were going to have to talk about. Later. Much later.

The girls mumbled their apologies, offering up mournful expressions and pouting glances.

Blair hid a smile, knowing exactly what they were about. Putting on a pitiful display for the man whose severe expression faltered almost immediately. She looked to her own father and found him watching her with a smile.

"If I hadn't seen them do it at least a hundred times over the past few years, I'd think that you'd given them lessons." Harold pulled her close. "Hello, Blair."

"Hi, Daddy."

"Are you okay?" He asked after a moment, pulling back to study her.

Chuck moved away, giving them as semblance of privacy, taking Evie and Kat with him.

"A little tired, I guess. Busy day after all, but the doctors gave me a clean bill of health before they discharged me." She said.

"Blair-bear." Harold frowned, "You know that's not what I'm asking. I spoke with Eleanor a while ago."

"Daddy. Let me stop you right there."

"Blair."

"No. I can't talk about her right now. I don't want to think about her." She whispered, her eyes unconsciously seeking out Cyrus, some part of her afraid that he'd hear those words. The reminder that she'd sent his wife away and that he'd hate her for it.

But no. There he was with Lily and Roman. That familiar smile and hearty laugh ringing out.

"I understand, sweetheart."

"Good. You and Roman leave tomorrow and I don't want anything to ruin our time together."

Harold nodded his understanding, though she could tell he wanted to say more.

"Daddy, please."

"I won't. Not another word about Eleanor, but I'm feeling a little selfish."

Blair tipped her head, her brow furrowed, "Selfish? I don't…"

"When I spoke with your mother, I started to wonder if I was next."

"What?" She froze, "Don't be silly."

He held up a hand, "Let me finish, Blair-bear. After the divorce, I know I wasn't there for you as much as I should've been. When everything happened with your mother, you shouldn't have had to move in with Lily. I should have been here. None of this might be happening if I'd been there."

"I didn't tell you. And honestly. I think I needed to be with Serena and Lily right there. Strangely enough it made me feel closer to Chuck and I needed that." She admitted.

"I wish you'd have told me what a difficult time you were having with the pregnancy…with everything."

Cheeks flaming, she shifted from one foot to another, avoiding her father's eyes. Five years before, Blair had been embarrassed and terrified of the idea of her father being disappointed in her. He wouldn't have said it, of course, but how could he have been anything but disappointed to have his teenage daughter pregnant before she'd even graduated high school. After Eleanor kicked her out, it wasn't a question of calling her father. Besides, the idea that he might've come running hadn't even seemed like the remotest of possibilities.

"I just wanted you to know how very sorry I am."

"Daddy, you have nothing to worry about. You're not the one whose spent the past five years pretending that Evie and Kat don't exist. You did come home and you helped Chuck get our daughter back…you came back for me and I love you for it. I do." She said, "Promise. Now can we get back to my party. Who is that with Eric? Is that the boyfriend? I want details…where is S?"

Blair threaded her arm through her father's leaning into him as she scanned the room, looking for her best friend. She waved to Jenny and even had a smile for Dan Humphrey. Looked like the gang was present and accounted for. Well all except Nate. She wondered briefly at his absence and promised herself that she'd ask Chuck or Serena about it.

God, she hoped he wasn't stuck working or worse yet, off somewhere moping over Vanessa. She almost shuddered at the idea of her old friend being reduced to that. It was New Years Eve. Nate shouldn't be alone. He should be with his best friends in the world. She looked around for Chuck, spotting him off to the side talking to Dan.

The two actually looked as if they were having a real conversation, rather than their old routine of either ignoring one another's presence entirely or trading barbs built on years of mutual dislike. They looked so intense, though and she'd bet anything that they weren't discussing the Knicks or Rangers.

There was an air of conspiracy around the unlikely pair that left her wondering.

~ஐ~

Massaging eyes that felt as if someone had taken a blowtorch to them, Nate slumped back in the cab, trying not to feel discouraged. He'd watched the DVDs countless times. Something familiar tugging at his memory. He was missing some important detail and it galled the hell out of him.

It was their mystery guy. The very same who'd tried so hard to stay out of Dan's line of vision when Humphrey had come downstairs to console Vanessa. The same who'd used the service elevator and somehow manage to obscure his face from being captured by the camera.

Nate couldn't even get a line of the guy's body type. Clothing bulky and body seeming slumped at times.

There was something about the guy but no matter how many times he watched the DVDs, Nate couldn't figure out what that something was. Then there was the fact that he disappeared into the hotel and never seemed to come out. Neither did he ever spot anyone fitting Chuck's description of Felix McCarty. It was as if the two men had disappeared into thin air.

The Palace's security team had turned up nothing with their discreet search of different floors and hidey-holes within the hotel. They'd talked to the staff but no one seemed to have seen anything and all of the guests…well with the exception of McCarty himself were all accounted for.

This was the lead they'd been waiting for. Now if only he could get the pieces to fall in together.

His cellphone rang about a half a block away from Chuck's apartment. Nate was certain who it was even before he flipped it in his palm. "Hey."

"Nathaniel, I must tell you that your presence is in high demand. From the guest of honor herself to little Humphrey." Chuck's voice came across the line.

"I'm just a few minutes out. I would've gotten here earlier but traffic…is well…traffic. But hey New Year's Eve in Manhattan." Nate shrugged, "Guess I'm lucky we made it this far."

"Anything new?"

"Not yet. But I may have something. I'll talk to you and Dan when I get there. See what you think."

"All right. We're all waiting."

"Glad to know I was missed."

"But of course, dear Nathaniel. How could you expect anything less?" His best friend laughed, "I'll see you when you get here…just make it soon."

Nate shook his head, smiling in the dark as silence fell around him once more.

~ஐ~

Serena forced a smile, watching her best friend flit from one corner of the room to another. The classical music that had filtered through the room earlier was now quiet, overpowered by the throb of steady conversation and laughing voices.

Once or twice, she'd looked around to find Dan watching her but so far he hadn't approached her again. She wanted to apologize but what could she say. God, he didn't even live in New York anymore.

What would be the point of jumping off that particular cliff again?

"You're not fooling anyone."

Serena looked up to see Jenny only a few feet away. How the younger woman had somehow managed to move from clear across the other side of the room without Serena noticing only went to show how out of it she actually was. Still she tried to play it off, her mouth stretching into another smile that felt too heavy to bear. "I'm sorry, Jenny. What?"

"I said that you're not fooling anyone."

"I don't know about that. You're the only one who seemed to notice."

Jenny followed the other girl's eyes to first Blair and then Lily Bass, both seeming completely involved in the conversations around them. "Who do you think sent me over here?"

"Blair."

"Who else? Your best friend certainly hasn't forgotten how to dole out marching orders." The younger woman sighed.

"I thought you stopped taking orders from Blair a long time ago."

"I did, but it suited me to work with her this time. You're my friend too. So tell me. What'd he do now?"

Blue eyes automatically sought out her old boyfriend, though her expression and manner was nonchalant. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about, Jenny."

"You know I could always go back to Blair and tell her that you're being uncooperative. Then you'd have to deal with her. So I'd start talking if I were you. Why's my brother acting as crabby as…well as crabby as he used to act every time you guys were breaking up or fighting."

"We never fought."

"No, you just broke up. Now spill." Jenny demanded, "What'd my idiot brother do this time?"

Serena felt the sudden urge to jump to Dan's defense, "Don't call him that and he didn't do anything. I'm the one…well…let's just say that I called a halt to things before they could get out of hand."

"Why? What do you mean out of hand?"

"Just what I said. It'd be the worse idea in the world to let myself fall for your brother again. We've never been able to make things work for us and now we've got the added issues that he's in Chicago and I'm here. No. Better to not get things started again." Serena shrugged, reaching out for an hors d'oeuvre from a passing waiter.

"You're scared out of your mind." Jenny accused matter-of-factly.

"No, I'm just being realistic and acknowledging the facts. We're not in high school anymore and I can't be that girl again."

"But…"

"God, Jenny. Just stop. Please."

"I will. Let me just say one more thing."

"Okay. What is it?"

"What if it couldn't work before and you both needed to be away from one another. Lead separate lives before you could let yourselves fall in love with each other again. What if this time, after everything, you guys actually get things right?"

"And what if we don't?"

"But what if you do?" Jenny countered. "Now, I'm stopping now. I promise to mind my own business. Though, we both know you won't get the same kind of promise from Blair and I only beat Eric over here because the twins have him pinned down. You should at least pretend this is a party and now some form of water torture."

Serena forced a smile, "Better?"

The younger blonde merely smiled.

"Listen. Eric I can handle, but thanks for running interference for me with Blair. I don't need her worrying about me tonight. My best friend has enough on her own plate without having to worry about me, too. Blair's supposed to be relaxing and enjoying being back home."

"She's you friend. You'd do the same."

"True. Thanks again, Jenny."

Anytime, S." Jenny looked around the room, "Now, if you'd excuse me. I need to stop procrastinating and corner your brother."

For a moment, Serena forget her own growing list of issues. "Why? Is everything okay? Is that arson investigator still calling you?"

"What? Oh, no. I haven't heard anything from him. Not since our first talk. No, I need to speak with Chuck about my getting back to work."

Automatically, Serena glanced down at the other blonde's injured hand, pulling a grimace of distaste from the younger woman that appeared more directed at herself rather than Serena.

"I can still work. My designs are all in here," Her uninjured hand flexed, fingers tapping her temple. "I'll have to get someone else who I can dictate my designs to…or who can sew when I need them to. It'll be different, but I can still work."

The way she said work sounded more as if she meant live. "I'm glad you're dealing with this straight-on. And I'm certain that Chuck will help however he can." Serena saw him disappear down the hallway, heading for the kitchen. "And you'd better catch him now."

"I'm off. Think about what I said."

"I will." Serena said, giving Dan's little sister a gentle push toward the kitchen.

Without a hitch in her step, Jenny squared her shoulders and followed Chuck. She briefly caught Blair's eye as she passed, nodding slightly, letting the brunette know that she'd spoken to Serena as asked. Not that she wouldn't have done it on her own.

Serena missed nothing of the byplay between the other two women and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. When Blair glanced her way though, Serena knew that it was only a matter of time before her best friend came over on her own to find out all the juicy details. She suspected that her bestie wasn't too far from the truth already as the brunette glared at the back of Dan's head.

"Stop it." Serena mouthed when Blair looked her way again.

Her best friend was the picture of innocence as she mouthed back, "What?" The evil glint in her eye giving her away.

"B…"

Across the room, Blair smiled and made a beeline for Dan.

"Damnit." Serena moved to cut her off at the pass. Only she found Dorota blocking her path.

"Miss Serena. Telephone for you…it's Alex's papa."

"Thank you, Dorota."

The maid didn't head back over to where her date was chatting with Roman and Eric's boyfriend. Instead she headed for the kitchen, whispering instructions to one of the cater waiters as she passed.

Bringing the phone to her ear, Serena tracked Blair's movements. Her entire body tense as Blair tapped Dan's shoulder, her smile dagger sharp and seeming to be dipped in sweet poison.

Dan's back was to her, but Serena could read every nuance of her best friend's expression. And Blair looked all too pleased with herself. Not good. Not good at all. Sure Blair had only been awake for about a week but her claws were as sharp as ever.

"Carter, what is it?"

"Come downstairs." He said, ensuring Serena's complete attention with those two words.

"What?"

"I said come downstairs. Unless of course you've changed your mind and can't be bothered with Alex after all."

"One…my son isn't a bother and if you ever feel he is, then tell me and we'll permanently rectify the situation."

"That's not what I meant. I just meant that if timing wasn't convenient for you after all…"

Convenient? Bother? Serena shook her head, but didn't say anything this time.

"I thought you wanted him."

"I do. Stay there. I'm coming down."

"Don't bother. I'll come up." Carter told her.

"Not the best idea. Just stay there." Serena disconnected before he could say otherwise. She couldn't help smiling, though. Alex. Her Alex was there after all. Things were looking up. She realized that she'd already started walking before hanging up in Carter's ear and she was halfway to the elevator.

For the second time that night, her heart jumped in surprise when she stepped onto the elevator and turned to find herself not alone as Dan slipped in before the doors could close.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? You don't have to cut out on your best friend's party. I'll leave. Eric can make sure Jenny gets home."

Serena cleared her throat, "I—uh. I wasn't leaving. Carter's downstairs. He brought Alex to me after all…he was being difficult about it earlier, but now…"

"Oh."

Teeth chewing nervously at her bottom lip, she wondered aloud, "So. You were just going to leave if I wanted. Abandoning your little sister."

"I wasn't abandoning her. Eric would've seen her home. Or Nate when he gets here."

"What'd Blair say to you?" Serena couldn't help demanding, and her curiosity ripened threefold when Dan stiffened. She could almost swear he was blushing. What in the world was that about?

"Huh?"

"Dan…what'd she say. Do I need to apologize? I'm sorry, really. She just gets protective."

"I know. She's your friend. You'd have done the same, but it was nothing really. She just reminded me of a conversation we had a long time ago."

"About?"

"You…her and Chuck. Well. More me and Chuck."

Blue eyes blinked in confusion. His words sinking in and yet making no sense at all. "What…"

He reached out and hit the emergency stop button, jolting the elevator car to a halt. "I'm not a coward, Serena."

"I never said you were."

Dan didn't say anything and she wondered if maybe it was himself that he was trying to prove to himself. He advanced on her. Taking one step and then another until they stood close enough to touch. "I'm not a coward…"

"Is that what Blai…"

He kissed her, stealing away the rest of what she might've said. One strong hand against her nape, pulling her head down to his as he tried deepening the kiss, drinking her in.

And just like that, Serena couldn't remember a single reason why they shouldn't be together like this. Not even one. She sighed against his mouth, wanting more, needing more.

She was definitely going to have to thank her bestie for butting in this time around. Definitely.

~ஐ~

"What the fuck are you doing here, Baizen?" Nate glared at the other man. He'd spotted him almost immediately, upon entering Chuck's building. His back to Nate as he studied one of the paintings gracing the walls.

"Language…" Carter censored, as he stepped aside enough for Nate to glimpse the little boy bouncing slightly, legs kicking out on one of the lobby's settees.

"Uncle Nate."

"Hey, kiddo."

Alex would've scampered down from where his father had set him and gone racing over to his Uncle Nate, but his father held him there with a lightly restraining hand.

The little boy glanced between them in confusion, his displeasure clear in his expression.

"Stay there, Alex. I need to have a word with Nate. Okay, buddy?"

Alex nodded, arms crossing his chest and mutiny already burgeoning in his light eyes. The little boy already seemed to be weighing his options. Waiting for his father to turn before he dared try making a move again to his Uncle Nate.

"I don't have anything to say to you. Are you dropping Alex off? I can take him upstairs and you can be on your way."

"You don't have to speak. Let me." Carter took another step closer to Nate, heedless of Nate's fists curled at his sides. "Can we?" He motioned for a spot just out of earshot of the little boy watching them both.

Nate couldn't figure what the hell this bastard could possibly have to say to him. Just that day, he'd learned that the son-of-a-bitch had slept with Vanessa with the intention of using it to strike out against Nate. Using the destruction of his marriage like some kind of weapon.

God, he wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around the bastard's goddamn neck. Forget trashing the bar at the Palace. He wanted to trash, Baizen's face.

"What the fuck do you want, Carter?" Nate demanded, wanting to get as far away from the other man as quickly as possibly.

"I owe you an apology."

Now that he hadn't been expecting.

"I just wanted to make sure that there were no hard feelings, old buddy." Carter reached out, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Chicks come and go. Especially when you're talking about someone like Vanessa. That wasn't going to last. Hell, perfect first marriage material."

No hard feelings? That was his idea of an apology. Really?

"You guys were done anyway and I figured why not. Better me than somebody else, you know?"

"Are you for real?"

"Come on. I fucking owed you one. Now we're even." Carter's mask of sincerity slipped just enough for Nate to see the other man's words for the utter bullshit it was. Just earlier that day, the cocky bastard had winked at him, knowing full well that Nate finally knew the truth. That Carter had put the final nails or rather screws to what was left of Nate's marriage.

"Carter. You need to get away from me. Like right now."

And there it was. That smile. "You can't really blame me. I draw the line at forcing women into my bed and Vanessa was more than willing. All I did was provide…an outlet of sorts for all of her marital frustrations."

Chest heavy, Nate tried to breath through the anger wanting to swallow him whole. All he could see was red and he felt like he might choke.

"She talked about you, you know? You're getting shot really fucked with her head and then she lost your kid. Twice. No way were you guys surviving that…not with your grandfather calling the shots. I did you a fucking favor. Gave you an out. You should be thanking me, Archibald."

Dimly he heard the elevator chime its arrival, but his entire focus was on the bastard standing all too close. And the satisfying crunch of bone and flesh under the weight of his swinging fist. At first everything went utterly still. Then all hell seemed to break loose.

Nate was swinging again, even as a child's cry rang out, filling the lobby. Alex, he thought, but forward momentum was already carrying him forward and he landed another blow. Blood spurted and Carter cursed as he took a swing at Nate.

"Nate…Carter. What are you doing? Dan!"

"Ma!!" Alex called out.

Then Nate wasn't hearing anything, nothing beyond the ocean roaring in his ears. Anger and frustration that made his display from the night before seem like child's play.

"Dan, do something."

Cooper. Nate cursed as the other man, scored a lucky blow that left Nate with the taste of his own blood in his mouth.

Alex's cries grew louder, despite his mother's best efforts to quell them. The doorman rushed forward while the girl at the front desk, hung back watching two combatants make a dive at one another.

God, this was bad. Really, really bad. Problem was…it felt too damn good to make himself stop.

~ஐ~

She danced to the side at the last moment, dodging the cater waiter that came hurrying out of the kitchen and balancing one tray high. "Sorry. Sorry. Totally my fault."

"No harm done." he said, his professional mask slipping for a moment as interest sparked in his dark eyes. He gave her the once over and pure male approval shone there. Then he seemed to remember where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

Jenny smiled, watching the cute waiter hurry off. Hmm. Fashion wasn't the only part of her life where she'd been woefully out of commission on lately. Too invested in her spread in Cosmo and working on her new collection for the Spring, her lovelife had fizzled to the point of becoming almost all but non-existent.

It seemed as if her career wasn't the only thing making a comeback. Her newly awakened libido sending her confidence through the roof, Jenny turned back to the kitchen. Now she just needed to talk to Chuck, see if he was ready to take a chance on her again.

The kitchen was empty, except for Chuck who stood watching the flat screen television on one wall, his phone at his ear.

"No. It's not one of mine." He was saying, his eyes glued to the news report flashing across the screen. A dour-faced reporter relayed the city's latest tragedy, fire trucks in the background. Flames bright and raging against the night sky. A blue ticker across the bottom of the screen, boasted at least five confirmed fatalities. "No. The definitely isn't among my holdings…what do you mean, how can I be sure. One, neither I nor my father would've found merit in investing in some fleabag motel. Two, I know every square inch of property that my company owns even a piece of…I made it my business to know even before the fucking police started sniffing around."

Jenny froze in the doorway, her eyes glued to the flames onscreen. So distant and harmless to her now, but she knew exactly what they'd feel like against her flesh. The pain and the burning stench of in her nostrils. Still she listened and heard Chuck's words. Remembered his reaction when he found out that the arson detective had been asking her questions. She realized the true reason behind her brother and Chuck suddenly spending so much time together and Dan's mysterious bout of errands.

The fire. Someone had set the fire…because of Chuck.

"Look, just keep your ear to the ground. With this new fire and if your people turn up anything on McCarty. He can't just have disappeared into thin air." He shoved the phone away, cursing softly.

"Do you know why this happened to me?" She whispered, cradling her bandaged hand.

"Jenny."

She gave him credit for not stalling or trying to convince her that she was jumping to the wrong conclusions. He didn't tell her that she'd misconstrued his words. "You know."

"We have an idea." He admitted, his eyes flickering again to the newscast on the screen.

"Someone set the fire on purpose. They torched my boutique…my home." My body, she tacked on silently. "Do you have any idea who did this?"

"No, but we think we know who might."

There was that "we" again, "You mean, you and my brother." Jenny clarified, "And Nate. No way he's not in on this, too."

Chuck looked almost grateful when his cell phone rang again, "I need to take this." He said, without even glancing at the caller ID. "Bass."

"It's me."

"Serena?" Chuck frowned. Why was his sister calling him from the next room and what the hell was all that noise.

"Chuck. It's Nate and Carter. Downstairs. You need to come now."

Was that Alex he heard wailing in the background, Serena murmuring words of comfort that had no affect on his nephew. Beyond that was the sound of further chaos, grunting and fluid string of curses. What the fuck was going on?

"I'm coming." Chuck assured her, long strides already carrying him beyond a curious Jenny.

"Hurry, Chuck. It's bad. It's really bad."

TBC

A/N: And there you have it. More drama at Blair's party. The will they, won't they & should they? Of DS continues. I can tell you that things will get even more complicated in upcoming chapters and take a turn for the unexpected. Also now Jenny knows the secret…the fires were set because of her connection to Chuck and Bass Industries. Will this cause another set back for the young designer and her need to get back into the game. Blair is home and trying to figure out what that means. How to be a mother and share those duties with the boy she loved and the man she falling for all the same. Nate finally lost his cool and went for Carter's throat…it had to come. A guy can only take so much. Could it became a case, though of satisfaction now and more borrowed trouble for later. Only time and more chapters will tell the story. Hope you enjoyed this. As always, let me know what you're thinking. Will update ASAP. ;) Later, ya'll.

Courtney