Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
"Serena's mad at you," Blair announced as she returned from her baby shower with a few gift bags of the many gift bags she'd received in her hands.
"Is she now?" he chuckled as he took the bags out of her hands and set them aside after greeting her with a kiss. "What have I done to incur the wrath of Ms. van der Woodsen?"
"You won't let me find out if we're having a boy or girl," she replied, "She hated using yellow to decorate for the shower. Her language definitely went beyond our PG rating. If I knew where the baby's ears were, I would have tried to cover them."
"She'll just have to get over it," he stated.
"Chuck, I really want to know if it's a boy or a girl. We have an appointment coming up. Can we please make this a mutual decision?" she pouted.
"Why is this so important to you?" he asked.
"Why are you so insistent that this remain a mystery?" she turned it around on him, "You even said at the beginning of all of this that if I wanted to know, we'd know. Well I want to know."
"We're still at a standoff, aren't we?" he realized.
"Compromise," she offered, "We find out the sex of this baby. For the next one, we wait until the baby is born."
"I like the idea of a compromise, but how about we wait with this baby, and then find out next time," he suggested.
"No," she moaned, "This baby is a part of me, Chuck. It's growing inside of me. I've spent seven months bonding with this thing. I hate having to refer to him or her as a thing. It has its own personality, its own heartbeat. Please, Chuck."
"How about this for a compromise," he stated, "We'll have our appointment and the sonogram like planned. At the end, I leave the room and you find out."
"And you trust me to keep this a secret from you for two more months," she replied.
"I trust that you'll try," he nodded.
Blair giggled as she threw her arms around his neck. Chuck could feel the baby kicking in her stomach as she pressed up against him. The feeling was unlike any he had ever felt before. He loved it. He couldn't get enough of it. If she'd allow him, he'd have himself pressed against her for the next two months, but he had a feeling that the time was rapidly approaching when she wouldn't allow him anywhere near her. She was already complaining about how uncomfortable she was getting. He dreaded that day that she'd push him away, yet he savored the moments he had now.
"I'm getting so big," she frowned as his hands settled at her hips as he was unable to put his arms all the way around her.
"You're pregnant," he reminded her, "And I happen to think you look incredibly sexy."
"I think you're an incredible liar," she responded.
"I'm being honest," he insisted, "Do you know what this baby bump does for me?"
"I know what it does for me. It makes me have to pee every thirty minutes," she replied as she kissed his cheek, "Can we pick this up in our bedroom?"
"You have yourself a date," he nodded as he watched her waddle towards the staircase.
"Screw this," she sighed as she looked at the grand staircase that appeared to be taunting her, "I'm using the elevator until further notice."
He chuckled as he watched her waddle towards the elevator. He had wondered how much longer she'd try the stairs. He had his answer, no longer.
"How are things going, Mrs. Bass?" her doctor inquired as she came into the exam room with Blair's chart in her hands.
"Pretty good, I think," Blair responded with a nervous hitch. She always became nervous just before an examination. She managed to convince herself that the doctor was going to find something wrong, "But I'm peeing far more often than I think is normal."
"That's actually a fairly common complaint," her doctor chuckled, "It has to do with how your baby is positioned. He or she has probably taken up residence on or near your bladder. As the baby gains weight, they press down a little harder. Why don't you lay down, and we'll begin your exam?"
Blair laid back on the table as Chuck grasped her hand. His reassuring smile was the only thing keeping her calm as the doctor poked around her belly. A few pokes earned a retaliation as their baby poked and kicked back.
"This baby is a feisty little thing," her doctor chuckled at the third poke that was reciprocated.
"Takes after his or her mother," Chuck laughed.
"Well, from what I can see, everything looks normal. We'll know more after the sonogram, but I'm fairly confident that there is no cause for alarm. If I remember correctly from your last sonogram, you were still coming to a decision about learning the sex of the baby. Has that decision been made yet?"
"Yes," Blair nodded, "We both still have different stances, but we've agreed that I can know as long as I try my very best not to tell Chuck."
"I'll tell the technician," the doctor chuckled as she made a quick note in Blair's chart. She knew the compromise wasn't going to work. She'd been doing this far too long. The excited mother had always spilled the beans in the past. She knew her latest patient would be no different. "Other than the frequent urination, have you felt any unusual pains?"
"Aside from the rib shots, nothing that seems too painful. That's okay, isn't it?" Blair's overactive imagination went into overdrive. Was she supposed to feel unusual pains? Was she not? She was driving herself crazy as she overanalyzed every detail of her pregnancy.
"Yes," the doctor reassured her, "I'm just making sure you aren't feeling any contractions yet."
"It's too soon for that, isn't it?" Chuck inquired.
"Yes," the doctor nodded, "But it's not uncommon for an expectant mother to start feeling Braxton-Hicks contractions at this stage of pregnancy. It's the body's way of preparing the mother for the real thing. Are you still doing your yoga, Mrs. Bass?"
"Yes," Blair nodded, "That's okay, isn't it?"
"Yes," the doctor assured her, "Exercise at this stage of pregnancy is very healthy. I know we've talked about this at your other examinations, but it's time to cut the sex out of your routine."
"No," Blair pouted.
"I know the imposition this is going to cause, but I don't want you going into early labor as a result," her doctor advised her, "You still have more six weeks to go, and it's my job to make sure that you get there. The longer you can go the less chance there is for complications at and after birth for your baby."
Blair continued to pout as Chuck assured the doctor they would follow her advice. By the wickedness in her eyes, he could tell she wasn't happy about it, but he was undeterred. They would follow the doctor's recommendation to the letter.
"Your examination is finished. I'll send in the sonogram technician. She's been a little busy today. You may have to wait a few minutes, but I promise you're next on her list. Just relax. She'll be in shortly," the doctor gave Blair a warm smile.
"And if I have to urinate again?" Blair crossed her arms in a huff, most of her venom was still directed towards her husband, but there was a bit left over that she directed towards her doctor.
"There's a private bathroom just through that door," the doctor pointed towards the opposite side of the room from where she was exiting, "I'll be in with the technician shortly."
Once the door closed behind the doctor, Chuck went on the offensive. "Don't give me that look," he glared back at her, "Both the doctor and your husband have the best interests of you and this baby in mind."
"You didn't even fight her on it. Am I that repulsive to you right now?"
"I have been saying it nearly every day, and if I have to, I'll keep saying it until I'm blue in the face. I think you are as beautiful today as you were the day we were married," he replied.
"And I wasn't beautiful to you before that day?" she kept her glare fixed directly on him.
"I can't win with you right now," he threw up his hands in exasperation, "If I'd fought the doctor on this restriction you would have claimed that I didn't care for the wellbeing of our child. If the doctor hadn't placed this restriction on you today, we would have gone home, and I would have made love to you just as often as you'd allow me to. You're picking a fit with me on purpose. How about we discuss why that is?"
"Because everything is too perfect right now," she sighed, "I keep waiting for our world to crumble around us. I'm not used to this, Chuck. I'm not used to living each day in complete bliss. It's starting to freak me out a little bit."
"It freaks you out that we aren't at each other's throats," he summarized.
"Yes, and we haven't been at each other's throats since that argument we had just before your limo accident," she pointed out, "That's not who we are, Chuck. We love each other passionately, but we also butt heads just as passionately."
"We've argued since then," he stated.
"About little things," she replied, "Inconsequential things."
"I wouldn't call our arguments about finding out the sex of our baby an inconsequential thing," he replied.
"But nobody stormed out during the debate. We barely raised our voices. There was no name-calling, no ultimatums given, and no threats. That's not how we fight," she insisted.
"It is when you're pregnant with our child," he stated calmly, "You've read the same literature I have. Elevating your blood pressure is bad for the baby. I'm just trying to make sure that you and I end up with the healthiest baby possible."
"So after I give birth you're going to fight normally with me again?" she inquired.
"Maybe after you stop breastfeeding," he offered.
"I'm holding you to that," she cautioned him as the sonogram technician knocked on the exam room door just before she stuck her head in.
The technician had heard enough stories about the legendary Chuck Bass to know that entering a room without knocking with him inside was foolish. The couple could see the relief wash across her face as she pushed the door open wide enough to slide her machine into the room as Blair's doctor followed behind her.
It took the technician a few minutes to set everything up, which allowed Blair to warn the doctor a second time that Chuck didn't want to know the sex of their baby.
As the sonogram began, the first thing they heard was the steady heartbeat of their baby. Blair smiled at Chuck as the black and white image of their baby came into view. The technician jerked the scanner head across Blair's belly just as it dawned on Chuck and Blair what they had seen.
"Wait, can you go back?" Chuck requested.
"I don't think that's wise," the technician advised him with a nervous hitch to her voice.
"I think the cat is out of the bag," Chuck pointed out, "Would you please go back?"
"Certainly," the technician nodded as she returned the scanner head to its original position.
"That's what I think it is, isn't it," Chuck pointed to a specific location on the monitor.
"He's a very proud little boy," the doctor confirmed.
"It's a boy," Chuck proclaimed.
"I'm so sorry, Mister Bass," the technician began her profuse apology, "That's never happened to me before."
"It's alright," Chuck assured her, "It saves my wife the trouble. We both knew she'd spill the beans in the limo on the way home."
"Hey!" Blair professed her outrage.
Chuck gave her a knowing look that had her conceding to his point. She'd had every intention of telling him by the end of the day.
"Now that we have that out of the way," the doctor stepped in to redirect the flustered technician's focus back to the task at hand.
The rest of the sonogram went by quickly. Blair and Chuck were too blown away by the news to focus much on the words that passed between the technician and the doctor. There didn't appear to be any cause for alarm.
As they were leaving the doctor's office, they were handed the most recent picture of their baby. Blair let out a giddy laugh as she looked at the image. It was the first one they'd seen earlier.
"He is a very proud boy indeed," Blair laughed as she showed the picture to Chuck as they stepped into the elevator to take them down to the lobby of the clinic. "Takes after his daddy."
"Let's hope that's all he's inherited from me," Chuck mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Chuck," she patted his chest lightly, "I know you wanted to be surprised in the delivery room. I hope you aren't too upset."
"As it turns out, fate wanted me to know today," Chuck gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm not mad, not at you, not at the technician, and especially not at our proud little boy."
"Next time, we'll do it your way. We'll wait until the baby is born to find out the sex," she offered.
"I'm having a son," Chuck proclaimed in bewilderment.
"Yes, you are," she nodded as they stepped off the elevator in the lobby and made their way out to the limo waiting for them.
"We're having a boy, Arthur," Blair announced to their driver as he held the door open for them. She quickly produced the picture to provide her proof.
"Mazel tov, Mrs. Bass," Arthur replied as he glanced at the photo quickly.
"This is so exciting," Blair exclaimed as Chuck coaxed her into the vehicle.
"Arthur, take us to Bloomingdales," Chuck requested, "I think Blair is going to want to buy some appropriate clothes for our baby."
"I want to stop at my mother's loft first," Blair called out from inside the limo.
"Eleanor's loft, then Bloomingdales," Arthur nodded as Chuck slid into the vehicle next to Blair to allow their driver to close the door.
"You're telling your mother before Serena," Chuck replied, "Serena's going to be mad at you."
"She'll get over it," Blair replied as she looked at the picture of their baby again, examining every detail of the image before proclaiming, "He's going to be a very handsome little boy."
"You're adorable right now," he chuckled as he took in her appearance. She had a childlike smile on her face as she concentrated on the photo in her hand.
"I'm not adorable!" she exclaimed.
"Sexy," Chuck quickly corrected himself.
"Well you can just forget about that for the next two or three months," Blair slapped his shoulder.
"Beautiful," he tried again.
"I'll take beautiful," she replied as she curled herself against him. She studied his face for a moment as he appeared to lose himself in his own thoughts. "Are you thinking about all thing activities that you can do with your son?"
"I have given this some thought," he admitted, "Hell, I even googled it, but most of the activities listed are things that I don't have a clue how to do. I was raised by nannies, female nannies. I don't know anything about working with wood, fixing cars, camping in tents, grilling meat."
"So you teach him the things you do know how to do," she replied, "Not knowing how to do those things does not make you less manly. If anything it just shows that you're a true Upper East Sider. Chuck, those lists are for different people. You have to make your own list. I'm sure he'll be interesting in those same things."
"Promise me that even if we get this boy a nanny that we'll still be involved in raising him. Promise me that we won't just turn him over to some help that we hired and let them raise our son," Chuck demanded.
"Of course we'll be involved," Blair nodded, "I want to be as hands on as I can. Honestly, I don't know if I even want to hire a nanny, at least not right away. We'll probably need help eventually, but Serena offered her services when our baby arrives. When Lily and my mother heard that, they jumped right in with offers of their own. Though those offers may be to keep Serena's contact with the baby to a minimum because Serena doesn't have a clue about babies. Even Dorota wanted to help out, but I had to remind her that she'd have her own newborn to attend to."
"So no nanny?" Chuck concluded.
"At least for awhile," she nodded, "I reserve the right to change my mind when I haven't slept for a week straight."
"We'll take turns," he offered.
"If only we could," she sighed, "But I'm pretty sure there's at least one activity that only I'm going to be any good at."
"If you're talking about changing a diaper, I'll figure that out," he assured her.
"I'm talking about breast feeding," she replied as she palmed her breasts in her hands as thrust them in his direction, "Yours just don't work the way mine do."
"And they aren't nearly as lovely as yours either," he chuckled as he bowed his head to peck at the exposed portion of each of them.
"Don't patronize me," she scowled at him as she shoved at his shoulder just as the limo rolled to a stop outside her mother's building.
"Who's patronizing?" he inquired as he offered her his hand after he stepped out of the vehicle.
She shoved the hand away as she climbed out of the car without his help. Her scowl remained as they made their way to Eleanor's office.
"What's the matter, Sweetheart?" Eleanor inquired as she greeted her daughter with a hug.
"She's mad at me because I can't breast feed our baby," Chuck chimed in.
"Don't be ridiculous," Blair hissed, "I'm mad because you're mocking me."
Eleanor fought valiantly to suppress the chuckle that she felt trying to escape. She could see in her daughter what she must have been like when she was pregnant. She made a mental note to call her ex-husband to apologize for how ridiculously she behaved towards him.
Chuck released a sigh as he greeted his mother-in-law with a kiss to her cheek. There was no way he was going to win the argument, so it was best to let it drop.
"Blair, your baby shower earlier this week was lovely. We'll have to send Serena and Lily a thank you note for hosting it," Eleanor shifted the conversation.
"It was the first thing I did when I got home," Blair replied, "I should have the rest of them out in a few days."
"Well, it wasn't the first thing you did," Chuck corrected her.
"Those restrictions my doctor put me on today seem suddenly unnecessary because there is no way I'd consider having sex with you for at least the next three months with the way you have behaved today," Blair snarled at him once more.
"Restrictions," Eleanor picked out of Blair's statement, "Is everything okay with you and the baby?"
"Yes, we're fine," Blair assured her, "The doctor just thinks it would be a bad idea to have sex until after the baby is born. She says it could possibly induce labor."
"Trust me, Sweetheart, in a few weeks, sex will be the furthest thing from your mind anyways," Eleanor smiled.
"We have a picture to show you, Grandma," Blair smiled as she pulled the sonogram photo out of her purse and laid in on the desk in front of Eleanor.
"Ugh, can we go with Nana or something else? Grandma makes me feel so old," Eleanor scrunched her nose at the expression before she adjusted her glassed to examine the photo. She let out a gasp of surprise as the image came into focus. "Is that…Does this mean…A boy?"
"A very proud boy," Blair nodded, "It was the first image that was captured today. We had come to an agreement that I would find out the sex of the baby, and Chuck would stay in the dark."
"But it was instantly obvious," Chuck chimed in.
"I knew it was going to be a boy," Eleanor proclaimed as she came around her desk to hug her daughter, "I told Lily at the shower that we were going to have a grandson. Blair, this is wonderful."
"I can admit it now that we know for sure; I was hoping for a boy," Blair confessed.
"Have you told your father yet?" Eleanor inquired.
"You're the first stop," Blair replied, "We're going to Bloomingdales after this to start buying gender specific items, but I have to ask you a small favor first."
"Anything," Eleanor responded quickly.
"I want to bring this baby home from the hospital in a special outfit," Blair began, "And I don't know that I've seen anything during my days of shopping with Serena that fit the bill. I know you don't really do baby clothes, but I was hoping you'd make an exception for your grandson."
"Absolutely," Eleanor nodded as she grabbed her sketchpad and waited for Blair to give her the details of what she was looking for.
"I want to bring our baby home in a little suit similar to the ones his daddy wears. It doesn't have to be a three piece suit exactly, but one thing it absolutely has to have is a little bowtie sewn into it," Blair explained.
"Blair, isn't that a little impractical for a newborn," Chuck chimed in.
"Probably, but his first day home from the hospital is a very special day. I want an outfit that reflects that. I'm okay with the fact that he likely won't wear it any longer than his first diaper change."
"How about a faux dress shirt with a pinstripe vest and matching pants," Eleanor thought out loud as she began moving her pencil around the paper as she drew her first image.
"I like that idea," Blair beamed with happiness, "Chuck always looks so handsome in pinstripes."
"Perhaps a navy pattern with white pinstripes… wait, what color is the nursery again?" Eleanor stopped her train of thought quickly.
"Well the walls are a light green. The floors are a brown maple. The crib and chair are ivory, and the sheets are a brown and white polka dot," Blair stated.
"How about a brown pinstripe with a light green dress shirt?" Eleanor suggested.
"With a solid brown tie to match the pinstripes," Chuck added.
"Perhaps you could even design a suit for the baby's daddy, so that they match," Blair thought out loud.
"Let's not go too crazy here," Chuck stepped in.
"You're probably right," Blair thought better of her idea, "Just the suit for the baby. I wouldn't want you possibly upstaging him on his big day."
"I'm not sure that could be an option, but yes, let's keep the focus that day on the baby," Chuck agreed.
"I'll get to work on this right away," Eleanor stated, "Perhaps I'll even join you in Bloomingdales. If I'm going to construct this to fit a newborn, I should probably find some sort of pattern I can use to judge the size. I don't think the baby will sit still long enough for it to be tailored, and I'd hate to drown the poor thing in something too large."
"You absolutely should join us at Bloomingdales," Blair nodded her head eagerly.
Chuck knew that as soon as Eleanor joined their shopping party that he was going to be delegated to holding purses, his opinions would be ignored, and he'd be expected to foot the bill. Quite honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way.
TBC. . .
Again I am going to thank Lori2279 for helping me edit this chapter. I'm also going to thank you the readers for reading and the reviewers who reviewed. I appreciate you all more than you know.