Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
"Someone has a birthday coming up," Chuck stated as he brought Blair breakfast in bed just a few days before her birthday.
"Don't remind me," she grumbled as she set aside the magazine she'd been reading as she waited patiently for her meal to be delivered. She'd sent Chuck on one of her special craving runs. She'd been craving The Plaza Omelet from the hotel of the same name. It wasn't her most unusual cravings for which Chuck was grateful. Some of her cravings had him going to seedy parts of New York that had him and Arthur fearing for their safety.
"What should we do to mark your first birthday as my wife?" he inquired as he set the tray in front of her that he'd carried upstairs.
"Can we just skip the entire day?" she sighed, "I don't want anything special."
"That doesn't sound like my wife," he chuckled, "Was she kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a robot?"
"I'm serious," she replied, "Having our family here on Thanksgiving is enough for me. I don't need anything else."
"Says the woman that has set aside lavish jewels every year so that she would get exactly what she wanted," he chuckled, "And Serena happened to mention that you ventured into a few jewelry stores on your last shopping trip."
"Serena has a big mouth," Blair huffed as she dug into her dish.
"If you want a low key birthday, it's okay to tell me," he replied, "But I'm going to ask for a reason why."
"Look at me, Chuck," she pointed straight to her belly, "I'm huge. This isn't an image that I want to show the world."
"You're pregnant," he reminded her as he caressed her belly, "It's nothing to be ashamed of or to hide away."
"I'm not ashamed," she insisted, "I just don't feel comfortable being the center of attention right now."
"That is something that we need to fix," he replied, "Because I happen to think that you're the most beautiful woman in the world right now."
"You keep saying that," she sighed, "The more you say it, the less I believe it."
"How can I convince you that these are my genuine feelings?" he inquired.
"You can't," she snapped, "So don't waste your time."
"Nothing regarding you is a waste of time," he replied.
"Seriously, Chuck, if you plan something for me against my will, I will cause damage to a certain body part of yours that you are extremely fond of," she scowled.
"Is this one of those warnings you secretly want me to ignore?" he eyed her skeptically.
"No," she shook her head, "This is one of those clear cut instructions. I don't want a party or a dinner with our family. I want this to be a low key, no fuss birthday. I have the baby shower next month and then Christmas a week later. That will be enough."
"I can give you anything your heart desires, but I want you to promise me this is what you want," he requested.
"I promise that I don't want any fuss," she vowed, "Do you want me to sign a contract or something?"
"We will celebrate your birthday alone," Chuck replied as he kissed her forehead.
"Good," she smiled as she forked another bite of her meal and held it up to him, "Did you want a bite?"
"I'd hate to interrupt the pregnant woman, go ahead," he chuckled.
"You're going to pay for that comment later, Bass," she glared at him.
"I hope so," he winked.
"Thank you for helping me with this," Chuck stated as he handed Blair's birthday surprise supplies to Serena.
"I still can't believe that she didn't want a party this year," Serena pouted, "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand her request?"
"She left no room for interpretation," Chuck replied.
"I'm still giving her a gift," Serena insisted.
"I'm sure she would insist on it," he chuckled, "Now you're supposed to meet Ms. Hennessy in half an hour, and she'll show you to the roof. Do you remember how I want everything set up?"
"This is a tad insulting, Chuck," Serena glared at him, "You've told me three times and even drew me a diagram. Even Nate couldn't screw this up."
"I just need this to be perfect. I royally messed this up once. I need to make this up to her," Chuck insisted.
"Everything is going to be perfect," Serena assured him, "And for the record, I think this is such a sweet idea."
"Thank you," he stated, "Now go before she sees you here. This is supposed to be a surprise."
"I wasn't here," Serena replied as she darted out the door, completely forgetting the supplies she'd come for. He was holding them out for her when she burst back into his home. "Minor hiccup. Don't worry about it, I have everything under control."
"I should have called Dorota," Chuck muttered to himself as she left once more.
"Chuck, do we really have to go out," Blair moaned as she waddled down the steps moments later, "I was hoping that we could just stay here, watch my favorite Audrey movie, eat some popcorn, and then make love."
"It's your birthday," Chuck reminded her, "I've honored your request about not having a big party or family gathering, but I am going to insist that we make a tiny bit of fuss. Go get dressed. We need to leave in an hour, and it will take you that long to get ready."
"I wish you'd tell me where we're going," she pouted as she turned to make the trek back up their staircase, "I don't want to be under or overdressed."
"You won't be," he assured her as he lightly tapped her backside, "Now go."
"I like spanking," she turned to wink at him, "Can we try that later?"
"Go," he urged her with a chuckle.
"Chuck, I can't see anything," Blair moaned as her hands covered the blindfold that he'd put over her eyes as soon as they were comfortably seated in their limo. They'd just arrived at their mysterious destination, and she'd heard Arthur open the vehicle door.
"That is the idea," he told her as he carefully helped her from the vehicle.
"If you're bringing me to a surprise party full of people you promised not invite, I can promise that you'll live to regret it," she warned him.
"I swear that I've lived up to my agreement," he vowed as he ushered her towards the building.
"Hello, Mister and Mrs. Bass," they were greeted by a cheerful voice, "Everything has been arranged as you requested. Please follow me."
"You arranged something," she tried to glare at him through the blindfold.
"You wouldn't want me to wing it, would you?" he chuckled.
"Depends on what you've arranged," she replied as she was ushered into what she thought to be an elevator that quickly started to rise and rise and rise. They just kept going up and up. "Are we in Willy Wonka's elevator or something?"
"Patience," he whispered in her ear as he stepped in behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.
After what felt like the longest ride of her life, the elevator came to a stop.
"If you need anything, Mister Bass, please let us know," the woman that had greeted them earlier stated.
"I will," Chuck nodded towards the helpful woman as he guided Blair off the elevator.
"Can you remove this blindfold now?" she demanded as he placed her in a specific spot and then went about putting the final touches on their evening.
"Just another minute, I promise," he vowed as he quickly lit the candles and popped the cork on their sparkling cider and poured two glasses.
"Chuck, making a pregnant woman wait is not the best way to get on her good side. You've suffered through my mood swings for several months now, so this cannot be news to you," she growled as her patience had worn out.
"So impatient," he whispered in her ear as he slowly worked the knot of the blindfold open. He smirked at the shiver that coursed through her body, "Happy Birthday, Blair."
"Are we…?" Blair inquired as she looked around at the vaguely familiar surroundings.
"We are on top of the Empire State Building," he finished for her as his arms wrapped around her waist, his hands caressing her swelling belly, "I wanted to set right a wrong. I want our memories of this place to be full of happiness. Did you know I was going to propose to you here? That's the memory I wanted for this place."
"I know," she nodded.
"That night I wanted to bring you here to the top of New York City and show you everything that I could offer you," he added, "I wanted to show you what kind of man I can be when I give into the one thing that is good in my life."
"You don't need to apologize to me for that night," she replied.
"Yes, I do," he replied, "I'm sorry for losing my temper the night you told me Louis proposed to you…I'm sorry for not waiting longer at the Empire State Building…I'm sorry for treating you like property…And I'm sorry I didn't tell you I loved you when I knew I did."
"That's all past us," she stated.
"Not all of it," he replied, "I still love you more than anything in this world, and for the next fifty years of our life I intend to prove it to you."
"Only fifty years," she pouted, "That's not nearly enough."
"I might be able to squeeze another decade out, but you'll have to take it easy on me once we hit our golden anniversary."
"Deal," she chuckled as he guided her towards the elegantly set table and held her chair out.
"If you get chilled let me know," he requested as he glanced towards the heater he'd had brought in to keep the November chill from invading on their evening.
"I never thought I'd be dining on the top of the Empire State Building on my birthday," she smiled as he set her dinner in front of her, "How did you manage all of this?"
"Have you forgotten who you married?" he tried to manage an insulted look, which came off as amused.
"I mean how did you manage all the decorations," she corrected herself, "This has your influence written all over it as it's set up exactly like our last meal on the island."
"You remembered?" he smiled as she made the connection.
"A woman does not forget the night that she was made a queen of her very own island," she replied.
"I couldn't manage the breathtaking sunset," he replied.
"New York's nighttime skyline works just as well," she assured him, "So are you going to give me the name of the little fairy you had helping you with this? I know you couldn't have had time to come here and decorate as you've been hovering over me all day."
"I'm not sure I want to give away this secret," he stated.
"Please," she stuck out her lip and batted her lashes.
"Serena," he caved instantly, "I gave her very detailed instructions and even drew her a picture."
"Probably a good idea," she smiled, "I love her. She's my best friend, but she has a ridiculously short attention span."
"That may be, but she came through for us this evening so she'll be getting a rather generous gift in the near future," Chuck replied.
"And what are you getting me, your beloved wife, on her birthday?" Blair inquired.
"A little birdie spilled a few beans regarding a few items that you had set aside at a certain jewelry store," he gave her his most charming smile.
"So which item did you select?" Blair gave a giddy giggle of anticipation.
"I thought of going for the obvious," Chuck replied, "The most expensive item that you had selected."
"The Bulgari ring then," Blair clapped her hands eagerly.
"Then I thought of going for the least expensive item because that would be unexpected," he stated.
"The Cartier platinum earrings?" she clapped her hands again, her eagerness dissipated ever so slightly.
"Then I thought about why you used to set aside jewelry in the first place. You had a boyfriend that didn't know you and a mother that wasn't paying attention," Chuck stated, "I have always paid extra special attention to you, so I went outside the box on this."
"What did you do?" Blair eyed him curiously.
"Thought outside the box," Chuck replied as he pulled a box from his jacket pocket and sat it in front of her.
"Tiffany's," she smiled in recognition of the famous powder blue paper wrapped around the box as she lifted the package into her hands and began shaking it, "You're off to a good start."
"When in doubt, head to Tiffany's," he chuckled.
She pulled at the bow before lifting the lid.
"I noticed you didn't have a charm bracelet in your jewelry box," he noted as she had her first peek inside, "It seemed like something that we could do together. I took the liberty of selecting the first charm."
"A baby carriage," she smiled as she admired the platinum charm with yellow enamel and diamonds, "It's beautiful. I've seen this charm before, but I've only ever seen it in baby blue."
"Think of it as a special order," he winked at her.
"They don't do special orders for items like this," she eyed him curiously.
"They do for Blair Bass," he replied.
"Do I have to put it on myself?" she inquired as she draped the bracelet across her wrist to admire the way it looked.
"Never will you have to put jewelry on by yourself again," he smiled as he reached across the table and helped her with the clasp, "That's part of being married, isn't it?"
"Yes," she nodded as she flipped her hand over and grasped his wrist, "And it's been absolutely amazing being married to you for these past few months."
"The first of many more months…years to come," he replied as he lifted her hand to his lips, "I love you, Blair."
"I love you too, Chuck," she responded as he pulled her to her feet and began dancing her around the floor, but she stopped, "Stop, there is no music."
"We don't need music," he told her.
"I feel silly," she told him as a blush crept to her cheeks.
"Who cares, it's just us here," he replied as he coaxed her into a steady rhythm.
"This is likely going to be the last romantic evening we're going to have before we become parents," Blair noted.
"But not the last romantic evening of our lives," he vowed, "I promise to be no less romantic after I become a father."
"I'm not sure you'll be able to top the observation deck of the Empire State building," she challenged him.
"I accept the challenge," he laughed.
"Good," she smiled with glee.
TBC. . .
You may be wondering why a certain portion of this text was underlined. Nope, it's not a typo. It was taken directly from the episode this season in which Chuck finally apologized for all his misdeeds. It was tweaked slightly to fit my story, but I'm sure no one will mind.
I hope you all are still enjoying the fluff.
I have to add a big thank you to my pal Lori who is editing her little heart out for me, and another to those of you taking a few moments to express your opinions. I love reading your comments.