"Serena, you're home," Blair asked hugging her best friend. "You've been gone for such a long time."
"Yeah, look at you," she said pulling back to look at Blair's protruding stomach.
"Well it's been three months, I feel like I'm going to pop," Blair said rolling her eyes but smiling giddily as Serena touched her tummy. "I want it out so I can wear heels again."
"Don't listen to mommy, she's just having a bad moment," Serena said seriously looking at Blair's stomach. "You can stay in there as long as you want."
"Stop encouraging him," Blair whined rubbing her hand over her tummy.
"It's a him?" Serena gasped looking at her best friend with wide eyes. "I speak to you every day how could you not tell me you were going to find out."
"I wasn't, the doctor mistakenly let it slip," Blair said rolling her eyes and huffing out a breath and Serena just shook her head, knowing that the man's career in the Upper East side was now over. "Don't get me wrong I'm going to love this kid to bits but I just really wanted a girl."
"I know B, but like they say, third time's a charm," Serena said with a sheepish smile and Blair glared at her.
"I've never heard anyone say that, ever," Blair pointed out pursing her lips. "I'm 8 months pregnant, I'm uncomfortable and I just really want to be able to stand up by myself again- it's not funny."
Serena couldn't help but giggle at Blair's complaints and by the end of her sentence Blair was giggling as well, as much as she complained while she was in her final stages of pregnancy, she loved the whole experience with Henry and she loved it with this new baby.
"It really is B," Serena said putting her hand over her mouth and shaking her head. "I'm sorry I'll stop now, I just feel like everything has changed since I've been away."
"Nothing really has, you're saying this as if I haven't been giving you daily updates on the phone," Blair said pulling Serena with her into the next room so they could sit down, she knew she was going to need help getting up later but she couldn't be on her feet for much longer. "Henry will probably be really angry with you for a while, you missed a lot of weekly dates with him and Nate."
"I know B, I didn't mean to stay gone so long," Serena said leaning back on the couch and putting her hand to her forehead. "I just thought that with everything that's happened it'd be easier to stay away for a while."
"I knew you were going to be on the other side of the country, I just didn't expect you to hop over to another continent," Blair said teasingly. "Chucks been really happy with everything you've done for Bass industries, especially since you've never worked a day in your life."
"I'll have you know that I worked an entire summer when we first started college," Serena said and then smiled with Blair because all she really did was get coffee and pick up dry cleaning and transfer calls to those around her, nothing like the suits and boardrooms and long meetings Chuck had her doing now. "At least the classes I took weren't a complete waste."
"I'm glad to see you doing something other than become Dan Humphreys trophy wife," Blair said and Serena's face changed to scowl at her. "I'm serious S, I'm proud of you."
"Thank you," Serena said squeezing her best friends hand. "Now where is this godson of mine, I want to make up for leaving him for 3 months."
"He's at work with Chuck," Blair said giggling as she thought of how cute her four year old looked in his little work suit with his hair slicked back and his shoes polished, clutching his tiny briefcase because he wanted to look just like his father. "He'll be back later."
"Ok spit it out," Serena said after a moment of silence.
"Spit what out?" Blair asked biting her lip and Serena rolled her eyes because she knew Blair.
"B, you have that look," Serena said pointing to Blair's eyes. "The one you get right before you ask me an uncomfortable question or you say something that I really wish you hadn't, so just spit it out."
"Hmmmm," Blair said thoughtfully taking in Serena's rigid posture and closed eyes as if she knows that whatever Blair says is going to hit her hard, Blair sighs softly before she speaks, she doesn't want to add more to the troubles that Serena is having at the moment but she can't not know. "What is going on with you and Nate and don't insult my intelligence by saying nothing."
Serena stopped and stared at Blair, it looked like she was expecting any other question beside the one that she just got. "What are you talking about?"
"You and Nate," Blair repeated and Serena continued to stare as if she had no idea what Blair was going on about. "I know his weekend 'business' trip last month was more than just co-incidence when Chuck informed me that you were there as well."
"It was pure co-incidence B," Serena said waving it off but Blair caught the way she swallowed and the momentary panic in her eyes. "Two friends that happened to meet when we were in the same city."
"Aha, so I take it I'm completely wrong when I say this coincidence is also the reason Nate came home looking like someone kicked his puppy?"
"Of course it was B," Serena said not even bothering to hide the uncomfortable-ness now and Blair just smiled because she knew that tome of voice and they might not have know it but she watched them, they were her best friends of course she was going to be sensitive to the things going on in their lives.
The elevator doors opened to reveal Henry and Chuck in their matching suits and Blair's face immediately lit up at the sight of her boys. Chuck smiled when he saw who was sitting on his couch with his wife but Henry crossed his arms and stared at her.
"You didn't say bye," he said when Serena knelt down in front of him.
"I'm sorry honey, I had to leave quickly," she said, knowing that if she had said bye to Henry, she honestly wouldn't have been able to go. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."
"Uncle Nate and I had to go to the park alone and he didn't have a popcorn fight with me at the movies like you do," Henry said, pursing his lips and Serena tried desperately to keep herself from laughing. Blair and Chuck weren't helping at all because she could hear them both snickering at her futile efforts and their sons' stubbornness.
"I know sweetie but I spoke to you over the phone," she tried again pushing her hair behind her ears.
"Did you phone Uncle Nate too? 'Coz our play days where for him," Henry said seriously and Serena took a moment to compose herself in front of this little boy because the last thing she wanted to do was laugh and ruin this moment.
"Of course I did," Serena said. "I had to make sure he wasn't getting sad again."
Henry seemed to think about his and then nodded, "You have a lot to make up for," he decided and Serena allowed herself to grin.
"I promise I'll start making it up immediately," she said and then reached into her bag and pulled out a packet of Henry's favorite sweets. "Starting with this."
Henry broke out into a huge smile as he took the sweets from his aunt. "I forgive you for leaving, if you never leave again," he told her seriously.
"I promise," Serena said just as seriously and Henry hugged her tight.
"I missed you Aunty S," the little boy mumbled into her hair and Serena melted.
"I missed you too buddy," she said pulling back to look at the little boy. "Do you want to go to the park with me?"
"I have to leave my brief case in my room first," Henry said picking up his tiny briefcase and sprinting up the stairs.
"That's quite the kid you raised there," Serena said to her laughing best friends. "This is not funny."
"S, you were groveling for a four-year olds forgiveness," Blair said and Chuck wrapped his arm around his sister and squeezed her shoulder. "This is incredibly funny."
"You guys are mean," Serena said pouting. "Beside's he's a very important four-year old."
"That he is sis," Chuck said as his son came bouncing down the stairs.
"Come on Aunty S," Henry said grabbing his Aunts hand and pulling her toward the exit.
"Henry," Blair called looking at her like boy like he forgot something very obvious. Henry stared back at his mother for a few moments before realizing why she called him.
"Oh!" he exclaimed rushing to Blair's side. "Bye momma, bye 'kicker'."
"'Kicker'," Serena questioned as Henry was saying his good byes to Chuck.
"He kicks whenever Henry touches my stomach, the name just stuck," Blair said shrugging with a look on her face that said she hoped Henry outgrew using that name for his unborn brother.
"Cute," Serena said with an amused smile and Blair glared at her. "Come on sweetie, before your mom kills me," she said more to herself than to Henry.
Serena and Henry sitting on a bench close to a pond, with ice-creams in their hands when she realized how much she missed these little dates with her godson, he hadn't stopped talking since they left Chuck and Blair, she knew he forgot that he was supposed to be forgiving her slowly and instead it was as if she hadn't been gone at all.
"Done," Henry exclaimed when he was done with his ice-cream and Serena giggled getting out a packet of baby wipes to clean Henry's sticky hands. "Where are we going now Aunty S?"
"I was thinking we could go to the movies and have one of those popcorn fights you've been missing," she said with a smile as she helped him up and Henry beamed up at her, obviously thrilled with the idea.
Henry had another story to tell and Serena was so lost in it and looking down at the little boy that she didn't realize someone was in front of her until she slammed right into their chest. Serena gasped and held Henry's hand a little tighter before she looked up to stare right into familiar blue eyes.
"Hey S," he said with a hesitant smile before bending down to scoop up Henry.
She barely noticed the conversation between the two in front of her because she was reliving the last time she and Nate saw each other, in a whispered breath the only thing that came out of her mouth was "Hi Nate."
Nate stepped into the hotel room he was directed to and pocketed the key, he was very confused and a little intrigued. He got a call from Serena the night before to let him know where she was and of course he was on the next flight out when he heard the sadness in her voice. When he reached he found his way to the hotel he was sure she was staying at only to be immediately escorted to the room he was currently standing in, his bags placed by the door and his mind racing.
"You're here," Serena exclaimed when she came to investigate why her door opened and Nate caught her automatically as she came barreling into his arms.
"Of course I am," he said into her hair holding her as tightly as she was clinging to him."What's going on S?"
"Nothing," she said immediately and Nate shook his head and let out a laugh.
"Come on S, I know you better than that," Nate said and Serena sighed and shook her head pulling away and taking a step away from him.
"I think it's over between Dan and I," she said shrugging and Nate's eyes bulged. "Like really over, not like all the other times."
"Is this because you told him about your false alarm?" Nate asked, he thought Dan might be a little ticked off about that but ending their marriage was a little bit ridiculous.
"I didn't even tell him about that," Serena admitted biting her lip and Nate cleared his throat and shook his head. "He sent divorce papers though."
"Have you signed them yet?" Nate asked timidly.
"I can't bring myself to sign them," Serena said pressing the heel of her palm to her forehead. "I promised myself I wouldn't turn into my mother Nate, how did I turn into my mother?"
"You're not your mother S," he said, opening his arms for her to fall into when he saw the tears sparkling in her eyes.
"I feel like her, I've only been married 6 months, I hated her when she divorced my dad, when she married and divorced her other husbands," Serena said shaking her head and pressing her face further into Nate's chest. "She used to tell me how sacred marriage was and she'd just get married and divorced like it was nothing."
"You're not like her S, you know you aren't," Nate said leading her to the couch to sit down when she stepped out of his arms again, Serena didn't say anything, she just sat across from him and hugged her knees to her chest.
"Thanks for coming Nate," Serena said smiling gently at him. "After everything that's happened in the past few weeks, years even, it means a lot that you still came."
"You mean a lot to me Serena, you know that," Nate said and the look she gave him made him think that she knew his counter love confession was a lie and it made him worry about what that meant to their fragile friendship and hate her just a little for ignoring the things he was feeling.
"I know," she whispered and Nate was sure she knew. "I'm tired of being sad and angry, lets do something crazy."
"Crazy?" Nate asked wearily and Serena rolled her eyes.
"Fine not crazy but I don't want to sit in this hotel room any longer, we're going out," she declared and Nate laughed and looked at her like she was high but chuckled and took her hand when she held it out to him.
"If we're going out to do something 'crazy', that needs to go," Nate said motioning to her wedding rings.
Serena stared at her rings for a beat, contemplating, but finally she looked at Nate as if to say challenge accepted and pulled the rings from her finger, her eyes not leaving Nate's for a second. "Happy?"
Hours and many tequila shots later, the giggling blond pair stumbled into Serena's room singing some pop song that was over-played on radio at the top of their voices. "That's not how it goes," Nate said loudly as Serena sang one of the lines horribly wrong and off-tune.
"Then how does it go Natie?" she asked almost tripping over her own feet and giggling when she grabbed a table for support.
Nate was laughing with her as his fuzzy brain tried to figure out what exactly the words were. "It's 'we' … no its 'me and you' no wait, wait I got it, 'I don't wanna live without you.'" He sang and Serena shook her head.
"That's another song!" Serena screamed and Nate frowned as he thought about it and he was not up to thinking about anything that hard.
The room spun around lazily and Nate closed his eyes and held on to the sofa in front of him. "I think I need to lie down," he said and Serena looked up at him from her spot on the couch were she was trying to unbuckle her shoes.
Giving up on her shoes Serena got up and grabbed his arm pulling him into the room and falling onto the bed with him, both of them on their backs looking up at the ceiling. "I think my fan is on," Serena suddenly said and Nate laughed at the seriousness of her tone.
"I don't think we're sober enough to check," Nate said rolling over so he was on his side facing her.
"Hi," Serena said with a smile, her eyes were closed but she could feel Nate's eyes watching her.
"Hey," he said moving closer and Serena smiled reaching out blindly to grab the front of his shirt and pull him in for a bruising kiss that she knew he would probably never get to without her permission. Nate smiled into the kiss and he just knew that the lame story he fed her about not actually loving her didn't work at all and if it did, then she knew now how fake it was.
It was only when Serena's hands reached for his belt buckle that it clicked to him where this was going and what they were doing, he didn't feel drunk as he looked into her eyes and saw the lust and want and everything they were before in that blissful time it was just the two of them. And when she kissed him deep and slow he knew there was no way he could stop now.
Nate blinked his eyes open in the morning and immediately regretted it, his head was pounding and his eyes burned when he opened them. Next to him Serena was already up staring at the wall in front of her.
"Hey," he said trying to clear his throat when he heard how scratchy it felt. Serena reached over and handed him a cup of coffee. "Thanks," he mumbled, he didn't have to wonder why she was being quiet or why there was so much of tension in the room because he was naked and he knew under that sheet so was she.
"I'm ok," she whispered before he asked, she knew Nate too well and he was staring at the tear tracks on her cheeks too long not to ask.
"You aren't, we both know it," he said and she nodded because she was tired of hiding it.
"We can act like it," Serena said and Nate sighed.
"It's not going to fix anything," Nate said and then shook his head, the reality of what they did just hitting him. "We cheated."
"I'm getting divorced," she stated and Nate pressed the side of his head. "We didn't cheat, you have nothing to feel guilty about."
"You haven't even signed the papers yet," Nate said as loud as he could without making his headache worse, when he realized that she hadn't looked at him yet, her eyes were trained to the wall, he wasn't even sure she had blinked since he woke. "Serena look at me."
Serena shook her head and closed her eyes, Nate put the cup he still had in his hands onto the side table and sat up so he was in front of her and gently took her face in his hands. "I can't," she said.
"Look at me S," he said and she bit her lip and opened her eyes, tears falling slowly from her eyes. "No-one needs to know, just like the pregnancy scare and that month we had before you got engaged, its ours and ours alone, no-one needs to know ok?"
Serena just nodded as Nate wiped her tears and pushed her hair out of her face. "I think you should go," Serena chocked out, the need to be alone was overwhelming, she wanted Nate to stay with her and keep her sane but at the same time she was going to hurt him more if she let him stay.
"Yeah … ok," Nate said dejectedly, slowly letting his hands fall from her face and finding his boxers, under normal circumstances, there was no way he'd even consider leaving Serena when she was in this state but he thinks maybe he needs his own space to work through what happened and Serena probably wants to try again with Dan so he just needs to clear out and let her be.
Nate dressed quickly and looked one last time at his blond beauty sitting on the bed, staring out the window. Picking up his bag from the table room to leave, he saw the divorce papers and sighed, he didn't know what was going on but they were barely married six months, there's no way Serena was going to let go of that, especially not after the way she felt about marriage. If he had looked properly though he would have seen her signature scrawled on the page next to Dan's symbolizing the end of her marriage.
A/N : I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry! I really really really didn't mean for it to be this long till I posted!
I love this story, I do, but its taking a lot out of me because I knew where it was going but when I sat down to write it, it went in the opposite direction and I don't know if its all making sense.
This chapter skips ahead a few months since last time, please let me know if you have any questions if anyone is still reading and let me know if anything is confusing or wrong or if you feel like theres a chapter missing because I'm not too sure how well this chapter flows in with the rest of the story I haven't read through it properly because I just finished writing it out and I figured if I don't post it tonight I probably never will and you guys might hate me for that hehe
So it's my birthday today and as a gift to you from me here is chapter 8, I hope you loved it because I really enjoyed writing it
Between my exams and work, i'm not sure how long it will take for the next chapter, hopefully not as long as it took for this one!
For anyone who's still reading please leave a review to let me know what you think
Thank you guys so much, I'm sorry again
Happy Halloween!
Until next time (^^,)