A/N: Well, I guess you guys didn't like this chapter very much according to the number reviews... Anyway, I'd like to thank wrighthangal for reviewing every chapter, no matter what happens. I hope you'll like this chapter more than the last and tell me about it. Enjoy!

Upper East Side

Everyone was there, at Chuck's penthouse, for Christmas. Serena had taken care of the decoration, Nate bought the tree, Lily brought the food and of course, the drinks were provided by Chuck. Smiles were hanging on each face and if anyone who didn't know them had entered the room, he or she would have thought they were truly happy and carefree. Wrong idea.

Chuck hadn't had even a drop of alcohol for the last four months and he was on the edge of breaking. He had deep purple circles around his eyes and his face was paler than usual, he was sick and he couldn't face the idea of dying if he didn't get a liver transplant, soon. Each person of the room had gone through compatibility exams but no one was compatible. Serena had wanted to call Chuck's family, the Basses, but Lily advised her not to - the Basses weren't what you could call an united and caring family. So, they were waiting and enjoying every seconds as if it was their last with Chuck Bass, the womanizer.

"So, how is he dealing with the whole cirrhosis thing?" Raina asked Serena, a glass of champagne in her right hand. The blond girl glanced at Chuck to make sure he couldn't hear her, he was teaching Taylor the art of flirting with girls.

"Well, you know him. He nevert talks about it, he lives as if he is not sick - except the no alcohol policy. His attorney called me the other, we, his friends, are his only heirs. I don't want him to go, he's Chuck. We've already lost Blair because we were foolish enough to think she'd be happy with Louis, I couldn't stand losing him, neither could Nate, I guess." Serena said. She was always on the verge of crying when it came to Chuck and his cirrhosis, and even surrounded by her family and her closest friends, that one time did not make any exception.

"I hope he'll make it through - but it's Chuck we're talking about, he'll get better." Raina wanted to cheer Serena up, she was - with her two kids - in the middle of that and she didn't know what to do. Of course, she was sorry for Chuck but she wasn't as much affected by that as Nate or Serena were.

"Yeah, you must be right." Serena said. She wasn't sure. Chuck had never been very lucky in his life - except in business - and the one thing he had wanted and loved more than anything had been taken away from him and was suffering.

Two hours late, the last guest eventually arrived. "I'm so sorry! My plane was late, the taxi driver had apparently never heard of the Empire Hotel and my phone crashed before I could call any of you!" The blond tornado rushed in the room, her hands full of her luggages and the expensive gifts she had bought for everyone.

"Don't worry, Jenny. Come here, it's been too long since I saw you!" Rufus said. He opened his arms to hug his daughter. She instantly dropped all her things and rushed to him. Then, she said hello to everyone, she was so glad to be there with all of them, it had been too long. She had been forgiven for all her sins and whenever she came back to Manhattan, she felt like she was home. She had made mistakes there, she had learned and she had grown up in New York, she was home.

But when she went to Chuck to say hello and give him the bottle of old scotch she had bought to thank him for hosting the Christmas Eve, she stumbled on her words. What had happened to him? Why did he seem so old? "Chuck - hi. That's for you, thank you for inviting tonight. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome Jenny. Thank you for your gift but - I don't drink alcohol anymore." He told her with a smirk. She didn't understand the sudden silence in the room when she gave him the bottle. But Chuck's new tendency to non-alcoholism was even more surprising.

"Well, uhm, you're welcome too." She didn't know what to say so she made a small smile and went to see her brother. Dan was playing with the tree girls on the carpet next to the tree. She sat down next to him and asked him what had happened to Chuck. He told her the whole story of his disease and in the end, Jenny's face went blank. Chuck was dying.

"So you understand why he doesnt drink anymore and why your gift felt like a cold shower in the room. Don't worry, nobody will hold that against you but don't do such a mistake anymore." Dan advised her.

"Sure. But there isn't any cure?" Jenny asked.

"Well, as I told you, we're looking for a compatible donor, he needs a liver transplantation but none of us is compatible - someone from his family would be the best but you know the Basses." Dan said. Jenny nodded and stood up without saying anything else. She was lost in her thoughts. She sat down on a leather armchair, away from the others, with a glass of champagne in her hand. She knew someone from Chuck's family, but did she have the right to shake a teenager's life and give away her boss's darkest secret?

"Jenny, are you okay? You didn't know about Chuck... I know, it's a hard new to take in but I can help you if you need anything, someone to talk to for instance." Serena said. She had seen the thin girl going to an isolated place, she didn't want anyone to feel abandoned so she came to check on her.

"Serena, there's something very important I need to tell you." Jenny murmured. She didn't want the others to know, she would already be in a lot of troubles after tonight.

Paris

"Merry Christmas, grandma!" Maxime exclaimed, hugging Yvette. She hugged him back, smiling widely. Cornelia didn't reach out to her, she knew the old woman wouldn't have hugged her as warmly as she'd hugged her grandson.

"You don't look with us, Cornelia." Isabelle murmured in her daughter's ear. Cornelia smiled to her mother and ignored her sentence. She didn't want to talk about Ivan and their break-up, five weeks ago. Their relationship hadn't lasted long, but Cornelia had the feeling that she had given him everything she could. Who was he to say that wasn't enough? She was in love. That bastard broke her heart and as much as she was glad to be spending Christmas Eve with her family - well, her adoptive family -, she wasn't feeling in the mood of partying. Like everytime she wasn't feeling ok, all her troubles were going back to the surface. What about her biological family, where were they? What were they doing? Were they happy or feeling a little bit blue, like her?

"Cornelia, do you want a piece of cake?" Yvette asked her. She denied the offer. She didn't like that kind of creamy cakes, she was craving macaroons. Chocolate. Pistachio. Yeah, pistachio. Or Vanilla maybe - Gosh, she really had to meet some guy who knew how to cook good macaroons, like those from Pierre Hermé or Baillardran or LaDurée, and marry him!

"Mom, can I go upstairs? There's some work I need to do and Marie must have texted me what she thinks of it - I have some troubles with it." Isabelle nodded and Cornelia rushed upstairs. She checked her phone and her e-mails. Empty. She was friendless. She was on the internet and she had some idea in mind - what if she could find some new things about her family?

She went on and did the same research as the first time. She went through each page she could find. The same pictures and infos. The bag "Cornelia" by Eleanor Waldorf, in honor of her daughter, Blair Cornelia Waldorf. That was all. She thought about it for a second. What if Blair was her mother?

Nah. Her mother would have told her, she knew Blair's face and she knew her mother's face too, they weren't the same. Too bad, she was sure she could have helped the poor woman.

Monaco

"So, is she happy now all her family is here, in our palace?" the Queen whispered wryly to her son. Louis grimaced. Blair had made a scene to him, his sister and his mother to be sure that all her family would be gathered here. The Waldorfs weren't welcome there. The Queen and Eleanor hated each other since Blair's first pregnancy. Louis's sister had a thing against Harold and Roman - she didn't like gays and that was one the reasons why Blair couldn't stand here.

"Mother, please, calm down. They'll be gone the day after tomorrow." Louis muttered under his breath. He took a sip of white wine - he didn't share Blair's taste for French champagne. Actually, they didn't share many things, except a palace and a son. Louis left his mother in the corner of the room, next to the fireplace. She was staring at her daughter-in-law. Roman caught her eyes, she looked pretty threatening. She suddenly smiled and it sent chills down Roman's spine, that woman had definitely something in mind, something none of the Waldorfs would like.

"Grandma, can you take Mom 'n me to Paris? I think she'd like it very much. She loves you, grandma." Eleanor smiled to her grandson, she wanted nothing more than taking her daughter and Henry to Paris with her, and keeping them there, safe.

"I agree with you, I love her too. And you know what, I love you too, small boy." she told him. She kissed him on the nose and left the crowd of her loved ones to talk to the Devil who wore Valentino rather than Prada. She was the last soldier of her army in her own battle field. Her daughter had faked a headache and she wished she could have done the same.

"The rumor says that my Blair will soon be a divorced woman and your son, married to a virgin Bulgarian princess. What should I believe?" Eleanor said without any look to the Queen.

"Well, you're Blair is no Queen to my son. He's in love with that respectable, virgin and ready to serve him to death lady. Louis have already told her about the deal, she will leave the palace and say they weren't happy anymore. She won't gossip about the royal family, she will be free to go wherever she wants to. Henry will stay here with us and she will be allowed to see him whenever she wants." the Queen said.

"Henry will stay with his mother because it's what he wants and it's his place. Try to take him away from his mother and you can be sure of something, we'll destroy you. You may be queen in Monaco but the rest of the world is ruled by power, fashion and manipulation. If you had known my daughter before she met your son, you would have known she used to be the best in all these three matters, she inherited from somewhere. Be careful and do not declare a war between our two families, you're risking your son's throne." Eleanor threatened. She smiled and left her, astounded. Eleanor and Blair were stunning in their Eleanor Waldorf dresses and the more time passed by, the less powerful and strong the Grimaldi looked. Blair's smile seemed stuck on her face and she ate twice much than what she usually ate.

Hours later, Monaco.

A phone rang in the middle of the night, when Santa Claus was putting gifts under the trees. Only four persons, forsaken in an isolated part of the castle, were woken up by that sound. Just a glance to the clock convinced the four of them the call was from New York. "Waldorf." Eleanor answered.

"Eleanor? It's Jenny. Sorry to disturb you so late in the night but I'm at Chuck's. I didn't tell him the truth but Chuck's sick, he has a liver cirrhosis and he needs a transplantation. None of them is compatible, the best would be someone from his family. Eleanor, he's dying." Eleanor was paler than the white silk sheets she was sleeping in. Cyrus was staring at her and started to worry when she winced at the word "cirrhosis".

"So what, Jenny?" Eleanor eventually managed to say.

"I told Serena the truth, she's shocked. She won't say anything but we decided to contact Cornelia to tell her everything about her father. We want to check if she's compatible and if she volunteers to give a piece of her liver to her father." Jenny said. Eleanor took a deep breath. She switched on the light and mouthed to Cyrus to tell Harold and Roman to come. She had too much to deal with. She was sorry for Chuck and deep inside, she knew Blair would never forgive her if she told her the truth and if Chuck died because she didn't want to say a thing about what she had done. Eleanor wanted to tell Blair the truth - they both needed it.

"Do it. Be careful, I don't want Blair to know anything about it. Chuck will tell him himself about Cornelia when and if he gets better. Tell Serena to call me, Blair will need her during the next months." Jenny said she would and they hung up. Everything was about to change, maybe not for the best, but at least, the truth would come to light and her Blair could eventually find happiness.

Next chapter will deal with the consequences of what happened in this one! Please, tell me what you think about this chapter.

Nyah-Cullen