Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
Another great big thank you for those of you still with me here, and to my beta Lori2279, who is keeping me going.
I'm bumping up the rating here, just to be on the safe side. I hope no one minds.
Dare I dream that there is hope for my Chair on the show. Am I the only one that notices how much more enjoyable the show is when Blair and Chuck share a scheme?
"Good morning, Serena, doing the walk of shame I see," Blair giggled as Serena came to the breakfast table to pour herself a desperately needed cup of coffee in the same trench coat she'd worn the previous evening to Chuck's bachelor party.
"How is it that I'm the one hung over after your bachelor party, and you're as fresh as a daisy?" Serena inquired as she smacked Chuck's shoulder.
"Ow," Chuck groaned as he lurched forward and jarred his bruised ribs, "Might I remind you that I was recently in a car accident."
"Oh, sorry," Serena mumbled as she took a painfully needed sip of her coffee.
"Did you have fun last night?" Blair prompted her.
"I honestly don't remember," Serena replied, "A few of the guys challenged me to do shots. I woke up on the sofa at Chuck's Empire suite. Nate must have brought me back to sober up before I could do something really embarrassing."
"Awe, he's such the gentleman," Blair sighed until she heard Chuck clear his throat, "With you anyways."
"B, you were right. Jumping out of the cake in slutty lingerie is not the way to attract the right kind of guy," Serena sighed, "I give up. It's time to enter Blair Waldorf Charm School."
"Blair Waldorf Charm School," Chuck laughed.
"I charmed you up, didn't I," Blair scowled at him.
"You certainly did," he smiled as he leaned over and kissed her lips.
"Thank god my stomach is empty," Serena choked on their display of affection.
"You'll have to wait until after the wedding and the afterglow of the wedding subsides," Blair informed Serena, "I think my schedule will be full for the next few weeks."
"Make it a month," Chuck winked.
"Read your paper," Serena scowled at him as she shoved the lasted copy of The New York Times in his direction.
"Chuck, turn to Page Six. I want to see what the gossips have to say about our wedding tomorrow," Blair bounced up and down in excitement.
Chuck dutifully turned to the necessary page. It took only a moment, but suddenly the paper was flying across the room just before he stormed out.
"What was that all about?" Serena inquired as Blair sat in stunned silence.
"The Post outed Chuck," Blair stated, "And me."
"What!" Serena exclaimed as she ran over to pick up the paper. There was a picture of the two of them taken the previous day outside the Ostroff Center with the headline that read "Two Crazy Lovebirds". The subheading explained that Chuck was bipolar and Blair was bulimic. "Oh my god! Who would do something like this?"
"It has to be Georgina," Blair stated.
"Sending the blast to Gossip Girl is one thing, but sending it to The Post is something else entirely!" Serena exclaimed in outrage. "We have to do something."
"I have to go find Chuck," Blair stated as she disappeared from the dining room to find her fiancé. She didn't have to go far. He was in their bedroom pacing. She stepped in slowly and waited for him to see her.
"They aren't going to get away with this," he announced as he finally acknowledged her presence. "It's one thing to out me, but you."
"Chuck, my battle with bulimia isn't exactly a well kept secret," she told him.
"You can't tell me that you're okay with the revelation," he growled.
"No, I'm not," she shook her head as tears tumbled down her cheeks, "I'm not okay with either revelation."
"This could ruin Bass Industries," he growled, "This could ruin me. Who is going to take me seriously in business negotiations now?"
"Chuck," Blair tried to offer up some words of encouragement.
"When I find out who sent this tip into that gossip rag, there is going to be hell to pay," he railed.
"I think we both know who is responsible," Blair stated.
Chuck stopped pacing for a few moments to give Blair's words serious thought.
"Saint Georgina," Chuck laughed bitterly. "That bitch is going down permanently."
"There is one thing that bothers me though," Blair stated, "She could have taken the picture and rifled through our therapists files, but how would she know we were there to begin with."
"This is Georgina," Chuck hissed, "We've already established that she's not above stalking us."
"Okay, so let's use this rage and take her down," Blair stated as she advanced towards him, "For once and for all."
"It's the day before our wedding, we should be focusing on our day," Chuck replied as her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Celebrating the start of our new life together will be much sweeter knowing that Georgina will be no part of it, don't you think?" she smiled as he wiped the tears that she'd shed moments earlier.
"I actually have the necessary ammunition," Chuck stated, "I hesitated in using it because it's pretty big and our rivalry had always been played out before Gossip Girl, but since she's upped the ante, it's time to lay it all out."
"Don't keep me in suspense," Blair replied, "What's the dirt?"
"You've heard of Bernie Madoff, right?"
"The ponzi scheme guy?" Blair nodded, "Of course, one of Daddy's bank accounts was frozen temporarily because of him."
"Georgina's little hubby's scheme is just as big and just as dirty. The FBI have been after him for months looking for the one thing to tie it all together. I happen to have just what they need," he explained as he pulled out his phone and made the call.
The day passed by on fast forward. Chuck had to turn over his documents and sign a sworn statement as to how he came by the information. In between all the legal proceedings, Blair and Chuck tried to fit in their pre wedding day preparations.
"Where's the groom?" Serena asked nervously as all their friends and family sat in the back room of the restaurant Blair had chosen for the groom's dinner. "He is coming, isn't he?"
"Yes," Blair laughed, "He had a little business to take care of that's making him a little late is all it is."
"So he still doesn't have cold feet?" Serena replied, "How is that possible? With what happened this morning, I thought he'd be running as far away as possible."
"He's angry," Blair nodded, "But he's focused."
"I have a contact that The Post that told me that the tip came from the email of none other than…" Serena stated.
"Georgina?" Blair inquired.
"Yeah, your hunch from earlier was correct," Serena nodded, "I told you she was up to something."
"And I was a fool for not listening," Blair admitted, "But we're handling it."
"Do I want to know?" Serena inquired.
"I think it's best to keep you out of it," Blair stated, "Let Chuck do the dirty work on this one."
"Blair, please tell me Chuck's coming," Nate interrupted their conversation, "The natives are getting a little worried that we might have a runaway groom on our hands."
"He's taking care of some last minute business…" Blair trailed off when Dan appeared.
"You are not welcome here," Serena stepped forward before anyone else could gather their wits, "You've been uninvited, remember."
"Serena, I asked him to come," Rufus chimed in, "I told him to do the right thing for Blair and their friendship."
"You," Blair suddenly put the missing piece of her puzzle together, "You told Georgina where we would be. That's how she got the picture of us yesterday."
"What? How could I possibly know you would be outside the Ostroff Center?" Dan scoffed, "I didn't know anything about Chuck's diagnosis."
"But you knew about mine," Blair stated coolly.
"I would never betray your confidence like that," he insisted.
"You would if you thought it would stop me from making what you felt was the biggest mistake of my life," Blair stated.
"And you did know that Chuck had an appointment yesterday," Rufus chimed in as he took his seat. It looked to everyone like his legs had suddenly gave way. "You heard Lily mention it to me when you came over for breakfast. I didn't think you would understand what she was saying. I should have realized."
"I did it to protect you," Dan address Blair, his voice shaky with panic and desperation, "I never thought Georgina was going to publish that in The Post. It was supposed to go on Gossip Girl. It was supposed to stop the wedding. That's all. It was supposed to give you enough time to see who it was that you're really marrying."
"You know what," Blair threw up her hands in exasperation, "I'm so over all of this. All of this manipulation, all these secrets, all this gossip, it has gotten us nowhere. All it has ever done is cause us all an enormous amount of pain and have us turn on each other." She reached out for her purse and grabbed her cellphone, throwing in to the ground and shattering it to pieces. "I'm done with it. No more Gossip Girl." She walked with determination towards Dan. "Dan, you'd better cross that famed bridge back to Brooklyn one final time and stay there."
"Blair, come on…" Dan began.
"You'd better go," Nate stepped in between them, glaring at his friend in such distain that he didn't know he had in him. "You don't belong here."
"Nate," Dan tried.
"You intentionally hurt and humiliated my best friend the day before what is supposed to be the happiest day of his life," Nate gritted out. "It's taking every inch of self restraint that I have not to pound on you, but it's Blair and Chuck's party and they don't deserve the scene. Leave now."
Dan sulked away as Rufus went to follow, stopping in front of Blair to apologize. "Blair, I am so sorry."
"It's not your fault," Blair assured him, "We all have blinders when it comes to those that we love. You don't need to leave, Rufus. You are Lily's husband, which makes you Chuck's stepfather. Please stay."
"Blair's right," Chuck came to Blair's side. He hadn't a clue what was happening, but he was always going to support Blair and her decisions. He whispered in her ear, "What am I missing?"
"I'll catch you up later," she replied as she kissed his cheek in greeting.
"Good, because we have a lot to discuss," he replied as he kissed her forehead before he turned his attention to Rufus, "Please stay. We are going to be one big dysfunctional family. We might as well start now."
Rufus nodded as he extended his hand to Chuck before he returned to his seat next to Lily.
"Now that we have a groom, we'd better start with the speeches," Serena chimed in, "I'll be starting."
"This should be interesting," Chuck replied as he pulled Blair towards their place at the head of the table.
"I'll save the sentimental speech for tomorrow, but for tonight I'm going to be giving Chuck some lessons as to how to survive a lifetime with his blushing bride. As we all know, she does have her quirks and is a little, how shall we say this, high maintenance," Serena began.
"Hey!" Blair exclaimed.
"Lesson number one, never touch anything on her vanity," Serena began as Chuck pressed a finger to Blair's lips to silence her outrage, "We all know that Blair needs all the cosmetics that she can get her hands on." Laughter erupted from all of those at the tables.
"Lesson number two, no matter how much she asks for the truth, your answer should always be 'No, that dress does not make your butt look big'," Serena continued on as she looked at her note cards.
"Serena, you're fired as my maid of honor. I'm in need of a new best friend," Blair stuck out her lip to pout.
"Lesson number three, don't ever try on her Jimmy Choos or Manolo Blahniks. That will open an entirely new can of worms," Serena stated as she looked nervously to see how Blair's father and his lover would take her joke. To her great relief, they were chuckling along with everyone else. "Besides, they'd stretch out and that is such a waste of finely crafted shoes."
"Agreed," Eleanor chimed in.
"Lesson number four, when she asks for the credit card, just hand it over. We all know she's going to get it from you anyways, so save yourself the time and effort because you'll make her late for one of our epic shopping expeditions," Serena stated to more laughter.
"And finally, last but certainly not least, lesson number five, love and cherish her always," Serena stated sweetly. There was a chorus of 'ah's from everyone at the table. "Because she'll castrate you in your sleep if you don't."
"So true," Blair laughed as she kissed Chuck's cheek, before slapping his cheek lightly in warning.
"Wise words," Chuck lifted his glass of sparkling cider to Serena, "You had to get lucky once in your life."
"Alright, it's my turn," Nate spoke up after everyone took a sip from their glasses.
"This should be interesting," Blair whispered in Chuck's ear.
"Let me start off by saying that no one is as happy as I am that Blair is marrying Chuck tomorrow," he began, "Finally gets me completely off the hook."
"What is this, gang up on Blair day?" Blair threw up her hands in exasperation.
"All right, all right," Nate replied, "I'll stop picking on Blair. I'll turn my attention to Chuck. Ladies and Gentleman, what do I say about my best friend, Charles Bartholomew Bass?" Nate paused several moments for dramatic effect. "Blair, good luck."
The laughter began anew.
"But seriously, Chuck has turned into a pretty good guy. Gone is the guy that I went to when I needed to get my buzz on. Gone is the guy that taught me all I know about seducing the opposite sex as he'd regal me with stories of his numerous conquests."
"Didn't teach you nearly enough," Serena chimed in.
Nate paused to glare as Serena before he continued on. "Gone is the guy that used to say he cared about only three things, money, the pleasures money could buy him, and me. I have to say, I'm going to miss that guy." Nate bowed his head for a moment of silence as if he was giving Chuck's eulogy instead of a best man speech.
"I'm getting married, Archibald, I'm not dead," Chuck replied.
"Blair will take care of that soon enough," Nate grinned from ear to ear. "But seriously, the Chuck Bass from those crazy days is gone and in his place we now must embrace this new, yet in my opinion, unimproved Chuck Bass. Chuck, we've gone through a lot together. If anyone deserves a lifetime of misery and pain that Blair is sure to give, it's you. After all, you did steal her from me."
"Hey!" Blair exclaimed as everyone else raised their glass to toast the pair once again.
"Okay, okay, I believe it's my turn," Chuck stated as he rose from his chair as Blair sulked in her seat. "Now everyone has been piling on my beautiful bride and shame on them. Nate, Serena, you both should know by now that Blair has no sense of humor." Blair grabbed Chuck's thigh with her hand, pressing her perfectly manicured fingers into him to cause as much pain as she could. "Okay, okay," he laughed as he tried to pry her fingers away before he cleared his throat to restart his speech, "Tomorrow means a great deal to Blair and me. We have been through quite a lot over the years. We've had many ups and downs. We've pushed and pulled each other in the best and worst of ways.
"I was once the best man at my own father's wedding to the lovely Lily van der Bass-Humphrey and all the other names she's gone by over the years. As the best man, I was entrusted to give the best man speech. I found it odd that my father was giving me such an honor to speak about love when I had never been in love up to that point, or so I thought at the time. The night before the wedding, Blair graciously stayed up with me all evening to come up with a speech that express the feelings I'd never had."
"That's not what happened!" Blair exclaimed.
"Shhh, it sounds better than what we actually were doing," he held his finger to her lips.
"I despised you that night," she held firm.
"In any event, the speech that I'd prepared didn't have that personal touch, didn't pull at the heart strings, but as I began to speak I suddenly found inspiration. I found Blair, sitting a few tables away, in a frilly floral dress with an equally frilly, pink flower headband in her hair, and it hit me. I spoke about perseverance and never giving up on true love even when the object of affection is begging you to. I talked about forgiveness, and the gift of a second chance. I spoke about the women that I hoped I'd be lucky enough to find one day who would do for me what Lily did for my father, when in actuality I'd already found her. All my life, Blair has been there, she's been the yin to my yang. Everything good in me is inspired by her, even the speech that I spoke that night so many years ago and the one that I'm giving now. To the love of my life. To Blair."
"To Blair," everyone repeated as they raised their glasses to toast Chuck's bride as she rose from her chair to give him a passionate kiss.
"You're getting so lucky tonight," Nate quipped when the room quieted down enough for him to be heard. Blair threw her napkin at Nate, yet she didn't break their kiss.
"I love you," Blair smiled as she pulled away to look deep into his eyes.
"Blair, it's your turn," Serena chimed in.
"And follow that, absolutely not," Blair shook her head, "I should have gone after Nate. Not much to live up to there."
"Hey!" Nate exclaimed.
"All I want to say to everyone here with us tonight is thank you for always being there to support us, to mop away those tears when needed, to point us in the right direction, and when necessary to tell us to get our feet out of our mouths and heads out of our…"
"Keep it clean," Chuck covered her mouth.
"Backsides, I was going to say backsides," she insisted as she pushed his hand away.
"Sure you were," he chuckled.
"Anyways, Chuck and I had seriously talked about eloping. What stopped us was realizing that we wanted all of you there with us."
"That and she wanted to wear the gorgeous gown," Serena chimed in.
"And that was the other reason," Blair laughed before she gathered her thoughts to continue, "This isn't just a celebration of our love for each other, but a celebration for all of us as you all helped us get here. So I guess that is what I'm thanking you most for."
"To Blair and Chuck," Serena proposed.
"To Blair and Chuck," everyone repeated as they took their last sip before the servers brought out their meals.
"So what happened during your chat with the FBI?" Blair inquired as she began undressing for bed after they had returned to The Plaza when their dinner had concluded.
"Philip is in a lot of trouble," Chuck replied as he loosened his tie while simultaneously kicking off his dress shoes. "The authorities will be going through what I gave them tonight, present it to a judge to issue an arrest warrant. By this time tomorrow, he'll probably be someone's girlfriend in the city jail."
"And Georgina?" Blair inquired.
"Well, her bank accounts are going to be frozen. Mommy and Daddy won't be able to bail her out because they invested heavily in Philip's scheme, so their assets will be frozen as well. Plus there is that bit where the FBI thinks she might have had some involvement in the entire scheme," Chuck replied, "I think Georgina's life has gotten far less boring. She'll be working so hard keeping herself out of jail, we'll be able to live in peace for quite awhile. I have a few other cards to play when that dust settles, but I'm thinking that's at least five to ten years down the road."
"When the dust does settle, she's going to come after us with everything she has," Blair pointed out.
"She'll try," Chuck nodded, "But I plan on living a life above reproach from this moment forward. After all, I have quite a bit to look forward too. Why would I risk it?"
"So we have a few hours before you have to leave, any ideas how you want to use that time?" she inquired as she sauntered towards him.
"Before I leave?" he coughed out in surprise, "I'm not going anywhere."
"Yes, you are," she insisted, "Its bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."
"In her wedding gown," he added.
"Nope, I'm not tempting fate here, Chuck. We've tested it quite enough already. You are leaving before the clock strikes twelve, even if I have to hog tie you and drag you to the elevator," she insisted.
"Your nostrils are flaring," he pointed out as his hands closed around her waist, reveling in the feel of the lace teddy she'd been wearing all evening without him realizing. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized until that moment. "It's so sexy."
"Nice try, Bass," she glared at him, "But you're still on restrictions from your accident. I might be persuaded to bend them tomorrow night because it is my wedding night, but certainly not tonight."
"Even after that poetic speech that I made tonight in your honor, I can't persuade you to drop those La Perlas and give me a little love?" he gave her a sad puppy dog face.
"You're pathetic," she laughed as she shook her head in disbelief, "Using that perfect speech as a way to get inside my panties."
"Your panties aren't the only thing that I want to get inside of," he continued to give her the puppy dog face. "It probably wouldn't hurt too much if I just laid back and let you do all the work."
"I cannot believe you just said that!" she exclaimed as she pushed him away roughly. She sounded outraged, but the look on her face showed a bit of humor.
"Please," he added as he batted his long lashes, "I know you want me. I know you need me. You have these urges, remember, these itches that only I can scratch."
"Keep talking, Bass, and you'll be lucky if I'm not wearing flannel tomorrow night," she sternly told him as he began stalking towards her. "Not another step, Bass. I'm warning you."
"Come here," he motioned her towards him as he remained in place as she'd requested. He'd play the game. He knew she'd come to him eventually. She always did.
"Do you promise to behave?" she crossed her arms.
"No," he shook his head. "How can I make such a promise with such a beauty standing before me."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," she rolled her eyes.
"Are you sure about that?" he chuckled, "Because I think I'm actually getting much closer to my goal. How about you just give me what we both desire? We both know you're going to."
"I am not," she stated slowly as she took a small step towards him. She hadn't even realize she'd done it as she added, "I happen to have your wellbeing in mind."
"We both know that you are craving intimacy right now. Those pregnancy hormones are turning you into the wanton woman that I love and cherish beyond anything in this world," he spoke seductively.
"So you only love and cherish me when I'm without sexual restraint?" she glared at him as she took another tiny step forward.
"I love and cherish you always," he told her, mentally cursing himself for his choice of words. He thought carefully about his next turn of phrase. "Just think tomorrow, two hundred people will have their eyes focused solely on you as you float down the aisle in that beautiful satin gown custom made to fit those glorious curves that I so desperately want to worship this evening."
Another step forward.
"We'll be pronounced man and wife, and I'll lay a kiss on those tantalizing lips that will leave you breathless."
Another step closer.
"I will dance with you in my arms as my fingers fight to stay away from whatever is holding your dress together."
One more step was all he needed.
"I'll carry you across the threshold of our new home and make love to you, claiming you as my wife for the rest of our lives."
Finally, she was in his arms, kissing him, pulling at his clothes, backing him towards the bed they shared for a few weeks, a bed fit for the queen he'd crowned her to be. They were both so aroused that no foreplay was need. Clothes were littered across the floor as they climbed into bed, Blair hovering over him. Their bodies were so closely pressed together. He could feel the heat pouring out of her.
"Chuck, tell me if I'm hurting you," she whispered against his lips, as she looked deep into his eyes.
"I feel no pain," he assured her as he claimed her lips again. They moaned in satisfaction as she lowered herself onto him, stretching to accommodate him.
"You feel so good," she whimpered after a few slow thrusts, "No one has ever made me feel as complete as you. No one has ever filled me like you do. Please, Chuck, tell me you're close because I can't hold out any longer."
"Let go," he encouraged her, "You'll take me with you."
Blair's back arched as she came, crying out to the heavens as she felt him fill her with his essence. She managed a few more erratic thrusts before she was completely spent as she collapsed on top of him.
"Wow," Blair muttered, gasping for air as she returned to her senses. "It's never been like that before. So…"
"Short," he offered with a slight frown.
"Powerful," she corrected him, "I mean we've had moments where quick yet satisfying was on the menu, but this…wow. I felt it all the way to my toes."
"Verbal foreplay," he offered up an explanation with one of his Cheshire grins, "I'd wager with a few more carefully chosen words I could have had you coming were you stood."
"I think you're right," she nodded in agreement before a horrific thought occurred to her as she was still draped across him. "Oh, god, I'm probably hurting you right now."
"Still feeling no pain," he assured her, as his hands went to her back, guiding her to lay against him again. "As long as we're connected so intimately, I feel nothing but pleasure."
"We'll have to test that theory again tomorrow night," she chuckled.
Chuck groaned as he felt her laughter ripple through her body. The sensation went straight to his groin.
"Seriously, Chuck, how can you be reloaded already?" she playfully teased him, "My orgasm have barely faded."
"You bring out the best in me," he smirked, "Ding, Ding, round two."
TBC. . .