"Sometimes, God doesn't send you into a battle to win it; he sends you to end it."

Shannon L. Alder

There Is Too Many People In This Party

Chuck sighed, bored out of his mind, while sipping his drink.

"Smile a bit, Charles. This party is to celebrate your father's return from the dead after all."

Chuck smirked. "You mean the one that caused me so much grief I almost suicide over it to discover, years later, that he had always been perfectly fine?"

Lily sighed. "I'm not saying things are perfect, Charles."

"I'm afraid that's an euphemism, Lily. Look, your husband is coming. I'll leave you to it."

Chuck made his way to the rooftop, careful to not even brush past Bart on his way up there.

Serena & Chuck: On The Rooftop.

"This is my spot, you know?"

Serena turned in order to discover a surprised Chuck, standing near the door.

"I can leave if you want to."

"That won't be necessary."

Chuck walked towards Serena and sat next to her, watching the magnificence of Manhattan's skyline.

"We really are the privileged ones after all, most of New York's inhabitants will never know the city like this. It's when she is more beautiful."

Serena smiled. "Why are you telling me that, Chuck?"

Chuck shrugged. "I thought some small talk would be appreciated after so much tension."

Serena smirked; letting her eyes wonder over the city Chuck loved so much from up high.

"It wasn't your fault, Serena. They tricked you because you aren't like us. You're a better person so you believe them."

"I was stupid."

Chuck shrugged. "You always have that risk when you trust people. That doesn't mean you should stop doing it."

Serena nodded. "But you're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I wish this was a film and that I could tell you I'm over it because love conquers all then we'll kiss into the night while the credits end rolled onto the screen but I'm afraid it's slightly more complicated than that."

"I know. I don't blame you."

"I trusted you, Serena. For me that's an almost impossible task and you betrayed that trust even if it was for good reasons. You should have told me. You should have trusted me like I trusted you."

"Will you ever forgive me?"

"I don't know yet. I need time. I guess we'll find out sooner or later."

Serena sighed then nodded, accepting her fate.

"I just wanted to let you know that I don't hate you."

And that, Serena knew, meant a lot in Chuck's language at the moment. He took her hand in his and pressed tightly for a few seconds before letting go. Maybe not everything was lost.

Dan & Blair: Working On It.

"It's been a rough month."

Blair sighed, dropping her head onto her boyfriend's shoulder as they danced to the music.

"That's an euphemism and it's not even over yet."

"Do you think we'll make it?"

Blair frowned then looked up at Dan.

"Us, I mean. Do you think we'll make it as a couple?"

Blair thought about it for a few seconds before sighing and dropping her head on his shoulder once again.

"I don't know, Dan. I don't know if we'll make it but we'll work on it, yeah? That's what people do, they work on it."

Dan nodded and hugged Blair's waist tightly to him.

Bart & Chuck: The Last Conversation

"You've always had a thing for rooftops, since you were a kid."

Chuck smirked. "I guessed I got it from you, didn't I? The need to possess everything, to look at it from above."

"Probably. Sadly, you've never worked hard enough to get the position."

Chuck looked at his father in the eye. "It's funny, you know? When you faked your death, I almost threw myself from this same rooftop. I bet you thought it was such a demonstration of weakness."

"It was, Charles. You're not ready to work yet. You'll need to go to college now. I'll remove it from the Industries otherwise."

Chuck laughed slightly, looking at the skyline. "You can do whatever you like, Bart. I don't really care anymore."

"Have you ever?"

"I think I'm the only one that has. Now I'll leave you with your beloved skyline, the ultimate symbol of power because, frankly, it's the only thing you've got."

Chuck & Jack: Have Fun Up There.

Chuck and Jack's paths crossed on the staircase. As Chuck got down, Jack was finding his way up to Bart.

"Is he still up there?"

"All yours."

"Chuck!"

Chuck turned around, a pair of stairs down from Jack.

"I'm going to solve this now. Don't you want to be there?"

Chuck looked down, thinking about it for a moment. It would be nice to see Bart finally losing but he was too tired of everything. He was sick of their games, sick of their ploys, sick of them.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

Jack & Bart: The Ultimate Confrontation.

"Brother, to what do I own this honor?"

Jack shrugged. "Can't I come to congratulate my older brother?"

"How touching Jack, I'd almost believe you've missed me."

"I've known all along, Bart."

"Of course you have. The stunt you pull on Chuck was nice though, a beautiful move Jack. It's such a shame it has resulted being so useless."

Jack laughed. "Oh Bart, always so sure of yourself."

"One of us has to be."

Jack took his phone out of his pocket, handling it to Bart.

"What is that?"

"It turns out your son isn't as stupid as we both believed he was. We should have expected it really; a mix of genes between two manipulators such as Barbara and yourself couldn't have turned out any differently."

Bart scrolled down through his information, his anger raising.

"You don't have any proof."

"Actually, I do. I have the originals of those documents and many more. It's over, Bart. You lose."

Bart looked at Jack, red coloring his face. "We could rule this together, Jack."

Jack chuckled. "I don't think so. I'll never forgive you Barbara, Bart. Never."

"You're as weak as Charles. He could have been your son, you know?"

Jack launched himself at Bart, both of them ending up on the ground. After a bit of a fight, Bart had Jack on the edge, only waiting to be pushed.

"You were always such a nuisance, Jack. I should have end you long ago."

"If you push me, I'll bring you with me Bart."

"I doubt it."

Bart Bass was wrong though; when he pushed Jack, his strength reversed against him. They both ended up falling through Manhattan's sky, always rhythmically.

Blair & Chuck: What Will You Do Now?

Chuck and Blair were sitting at the entrance of the hotel, lost in deep thought.

"I would never have imagined it would end like this."

"Real life always surpasses fiction, doesn't it?"

Blair nodded. "Are you fine?"

"Maybe I'll be, someday."

"Bass Industries is now yours, Chuck."

"It looks like it."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I think I'm going to take a nice vacation, far away from here."

"You can't get far away from yourself, you now? Not even if you go to the other side of the Earth."

"Yeah, I think I've learned that by now."

They both got up and started walking towards a cab, passing a crying Barbara. Chuck didn't spare her a glance. It was over.

Blair & Serena: Sisters Always Last.

"You can't keep going on like this, Serena."

The blonde girl looked up from the couch where she laid hugging Monkey. "It's only been a month."

"That's enough time."

"I miss him."

"He'll come back."

"How do you now?"

"It's Chuck, he'll come back when he's ready."

"Then there is no problem with me sitting here until then."

"We don't know how long he will take."

Serena sighed sitting up. "I don't really know where to begin. Everything is such a mess."

Blair chuckled to herself. "My dear S, nobody knows where to begin. Everything is always a mess. Let's take the dog out for a walk then we'll go shopping!"

"Everything gets better with shopping, right?"

Blair smiled. "Of course it does!"

Serena got up and hugged Blair. "I love you, B."

"So do I, S."

"That was the thing about best friends. Like sisters and mothers, they could piss you off and make you cry and break your heart, but in the end, when the chips were down, they were there, making you laugh even in your darkest hours."

Kristin Hannah, Firefly Lane