Just a random one-shot, that came out of nowhere. AU post 1.12 Blair didn't have a pregnancy scare, and Nate never found out about Blair & Chuck.
ONE MORE NIGHT
"Try as he might, he's unable to speak One more night, that was a good one."
He grabs her by the hair, he strokes her on the cheek.
The bed is unmade, like everything is
Dark little heaven at the top of the stairs.
Take me like that, ruin it all.
Then build it again, by the light in the hall.
He drops to his knees, says, "Please, my love, please
I'll kill who you hate, take off that dress, you won't freeze.
One More Night - Stars
They reunite, and Chuck Bass is heartbroken. He's never felt this way before, and he hates it.
Nate asks him, one day, why he's avoiding him.
"I'm not," he insists, but it's a lie.
He feels sick when he sees them together - which is all the time, as Blair clings to Nate, as if he's her lifeline. These days, she won't even look at him. He's not sure why he's the bad guy in all of this. It takes two to tango, and she was as willing as he was.
Eventually, he confronts her. He's tired of being ignored, and if he doesn't fix things with Blair soon, Nate's going to figure something out.
"Will you stop giving me the cold shoulder?" he asks, grabbing her arm as she passes him.
"Don't touch me," she snaps, removing her arm from his grasp.
"Come on, Waldorf. You can't just pretend like nothing happened between us."
"As far as I'm concerned, nothing did."
In that moment, he hates her. He hates her for being so cold, and cruel, and for not feeling the same way he does. He's not entirely convinced that she doesn't - there was a spark between, and they were both aware of it - but she's choosing to ignore it, and she's doing a damn good job.
They don't speak again until the summer. Everyone is hanging out at the Hampton's home, Bart bought for his new family. He's in the kitchen, one night, getting some water, when Blair comes downstairs, also in need of refreshment.
"How has your summer been, so far?" she asks, as she leans against the kitchen island.
He's not sure why she's talking to him, but he goes with it.
"Pretty good. Yours?"
"Great," she answers, grinning. "The house is so beautiful. Bart and Lily have wonderful taste," she comments, running her hand along the marble countertops.
"Yeah," he agrees, because he doesn't know what else to say. "Why are talking to me?" he finally asks. "You've been ignoring me, all year."
She shrugs. "I just realized how stupid I was being. What happened between you and I, is completely irrelevant now, and we should be able to move past it."
"You really think it meant nothing?"
She frowns. "Don't you? I mean, I know you had convinced yourself that you "liked" me," she says, using air-quotes. "But it's been months - you can't still believe that."
"Why not?" he responds, growing frustrated. "Because you decided I shouldn't?"
He's so mad at her for disregarding him in this way, that he wants to show her just how much he likes her. He needs her to see that she's not just another girl to him.
He leans closer to her, pins her against the island. She gasps. "Chuck."
"I bet you think about me," he murmurs, running his finger along her jaw. "When you're with Nate, and he's trying his best, but he just can't satisfy you." He smirks. "I bet you think about me, to get yourself off."
Pink colors her cheeks, as she struggles to form a sentence. "You're disgusting."
"It's okay, princess. I do it, too."
He runs his hand up her bare thigh, pushing up her nightgown. Her breathing is harsh, as his hand dips between her thighs.
"What names does he call you, when you make love?" he whispers, he lips pressing against the spot behind her ear. She can't even form an answer.
Her fingers tug at his hair, as his talented fingers make her whimper and moan, until she comes all over them, in the middle of the quiet kitchen. It's the first orgasm she's had, from hands other than her own, since Cotillion.
No more words are exchanged. She retreats to her room, as he licks her taste from his fingers.
They continue hooking up, during the remaining weeks of summer.
He takes her in pool houses, against the side of Nate's grandfather's house, in her bedroom, in his bedroom, in Serena's bedroom. They come together wherever they can, because she needs it, and he wants it. He knows that she'll never give herself to him, completely, but he'll take what he can get.
So, as she plays the role of the perfect girlfriend, and stands by Nate's side as they attend dinners and parties, he watches her from afar, waiting for her signal.
On the last day of summer - before they head back to the city - they lie back against a sun-lounger, panting for breath, as they look up at the night above them.
"This ends here," Blair states, abruptly pulling herself away from Chuck.
He's confused by the sudden turn of events. "What? Why?
"Because I love Nate, and I'm not going to destroy what we have, for a summer fling."
He's furious. "Well, maybe you should have thought about that, before you let me finger-fuck you, against a kitchen island!"
"You're disgusting!" she shouts.
"So, you keep saying."
They go another five months, without talking. He rarely attends class, and she does everything in her power, to keep Nate interested. She doesn't want him straying, again.
On the night of the Snowflake Ball, Chuck watches Nate twirl her around on the dancefloor. He leans back against the brick wall, feeling lower than he has in months. It had been easier to ignore the pull he felt for her, when he wasn't around, but being in the same room as her is too much.
He's drowning in his sorrows and scotch, when Lily approaches him, her face pale, and her eyes frantic.
"What's happened?" he asks, rising to his feet.
He knows something is wrong - really wrong.
"It's your father," she says, taking his hand in hers. "He's been in an accident."
Blair feels an inexplicable need to comfort him. Nate is confused by her intense concern for his best friend, but he doesn't question it. Chuck needs all the friends he can get, right now.
They sit in the church with him, flanking his sides. Nate keeps a close eye on him, trying not to cringe away from the strong smell of booze and marijuana.
Blair's hand reaches out to take his, but Chuck pulls away, rejecting her comfort. She hasn't spoken to him in months - he isn't going to let her act like the hero, now.
They don't see him for a month. Nate informs Blair that he's in Thailand. She tries to act disgusted at the thought of him in that foreign country, contracting numerous diseases, from the women he buys. But instead, she worries. She worries so much, that she cries herself to sleep at night, wishing that there was some way for her to help him.
When he returns, he stops by Nate's townhouse. He's angry, and upset, and he wants to make somebody hurt, as much as he does.
"Hey, man. Long time, no see!" Nate smiles and tries to pull him inside.
He stays firmly in place, looking Nate directly in the eye.
"The night that I opened Victrola, Blair lost her virginity to me, in the back of my limo."
Nate punches him, the force pushing him down the steps, and onto the street below. He welcomes the pain.
Blair and Nate break-up the following day, and she is devestated.
Chuck receives a visit from the resident Queen B. She pounds against the door of his suite, and yells him name.
"Good morning, princess. To what, do I owe the pleasure?"
She slaps him, hard. He hisses at the pain, but still enjoys it.
"You bastard," she spits out. "You had no right to tell him!"
"He was going to find out, eventually."
"Why did you do it?" she shouts, pushing her way into his suite. "Why would you hurt him, like that?"
He shrugs. "I've lost you; I've lost my dad; I've never really had a mom. I thought I'd tie up all my loose ends, and lose my best friend, too."
"Chuck," Blair mumurs, reaching out for him.
He steps back from her, and collapses against the sofa.
"What is it about me, Blair?" he asks, his eyes filling with tears. "Why does everyone fuck me over?"
He buries his face in his hands, openly sobbing. She's momentarily lost, as his mood swings, but quickly recovers, knowing that he needs her.
Blair throws herself around him, cradling him to her. Her buries his face in her neck, his tears soaking her skin. She doesn't want to see him like this; she needs to fix him.
She lifts his head up, her fingertips tracing the black circles beneath his eyes.
"When was the last time you slept?" He shrugs. She sighs. "Come with me," she says, taking his hand in hers.
She pulls him over to his bed, and pushes him down, before removing his tie and jacket. She comes up behind him as he gets comfortable, wrapping her arm around his waist.
"Go to sleep," she whispers, running her fingers through his hair. "I'll be here when you wake up."
It becomes their nightly ritual. Every day for the next three months, he comes to her penthouse, and they lie on her bed, until they fall asleep, together. The next morning, he leaves before she wakes, and they avoid each other for the rest of the day.
At the end of May, he comes to her house, and finds her waiting in the foyer. Her eyes are sad, and she's biting her lip, nervously.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"This needs to stop, Chuck."
His stomach flips. "What? Why?" He takes her hands in his, his breathing harsh, as he panics. "You can't do this, Blair! I need you."
She nods, sadly, a tear falling from her eye. "I know, Chuck... but Nate took me back."
"He took you back?" he murmurs.
"He realized how hyppocritcal he was being, and said that we should try again."
He swallows, thickly, and pulls away from her.
"You're weak," he snaps, hitting her where it hurts. "You're so desperate for your fairytale ending, that you're turning your back on me, and running back to him."
She hates that he's right. "Please, Chuck. You have to understand - I love him."
"Don't you love me?" he asks, his voice quiet.
"I can't love you," she says, honestly. "I'm not supposed to love you."
He laughs, bitterly, walking to the elevator. "Fine. If that's the way you feel, then don't let me get in the way of your happily ever after."
After he leaves, she cries until her eyes are swollen, and she hiccups after every breath.
They graduate, and everything is calm. Nate and Chuck are friends again, Blair and Nate are closer than ever, and Chuck is finally making progress, after his father's death.
As they sit on opposite sides of the hall, Chuck stares at Blair, wondering if this will be the last time he ever sees her. She's moving to New Haven, to attend Yale with Nate. Chuck is going to travel around Europe, before he attends business classes at Columbia, in the fall.
It would be so easy for them to cut each other out of their lives.
Nate stands at the podium, and gives his validictorian speech. Chuck's pretty sure he only got the gig, because his grandfather paid the school, but he's still proud of him. As he nears the end of his speech, he pauses, smiling at Blair. Everyone turns their attention to her, wondering what is going to happen next.
"And as we go forth into our future, I'd like to ask Blair Waldorf one question, to assure that she will always be a part of mine."
As the graduating class claps and cheers for them, and Blair throws her arms around Nate's neck, Chuck escapes. When he's outside, he leans against the side of the building and throws up.
She really was lost to him.
They plan a lavish wedding, for the spring of their freshman year. After accepting Nate's request, Chuck returns from Naples a week before the wedding, to fulfill his best man duties.
He hasn't seen Blair since his return, and he's not sure if that's a good thing. It's definitely easier when he doesn't have to be in the same room as her - but seeing her for the first time in a year, when she's wearing a big white dress, might be too much.
Blair and Nate invite his best man, and her maid of honor, to her mother's penthouse, for drinks. It's the night before their wedding, and they both wanted an intimate gathering of their best friends, before their nuptials.
Chuck brings scotch, and Serena brings champagne, and they all get drunk and laugh about old times. It's simple and relaxed, and without his inhibitions, he no longer feels awkward around Blair.
It's late when Serena decides to leave. She informs Blair that she'll arrive at 8am, for wedding preperations, and Nate kisses his bride, before he joins Serena in a taxi.
Chuck stays for a little longer, helping Blair clear up the empty glasses.
"This was fun," she says, leaning back in the chaise longue.
"It was," he agrees.
They sit in silence for a few minutes until Chuck finally speaks.
"Don't marry him."
Her snaps round, and she stares at him, shocked. "What?"
"Don't marry him," he repeats, running his hand along her arm. "He's not the one you're meant to be with, and you know it."
She shakes her head, standing up and away from him.
"You can't do this, Chuck. Not tonight."
"He's not right for you," he insists. "He's not the one your supposed to spend the rest of your life with."
"And you are?" she snaps.
She turns away from him, pressing her palms against the table in her foyer. He comes up behind her, presses his lips to her shoulder.
"You love me, more than you could ever love him."
She doesn't disagree, only whimpers as his hands push up her dress, and run circles along her inner thigh. His breath ghosts across her neck, spreading goosepimples across her skin.
"One more night. Just give me that," he begs.
"One more night."
He fucks her from behind, as she grips onto the table. The large vase shakes with the force of their movements, but she's too far gone to care.
It's dirty, and it's wrong, and it's better than anything she's ever felt before. Later, he takes her against the wall of her childhood bedroom, and makes love to her on her old bed, and she's positive that she's never going to feel this alive, ever again.
They lie together, afterwards, his head resting on her stomach, and her hands running through his hair.
"I wish things were simpler," she says. "I wish that I had met you first."
"Don't," he murmurs. "Don't ruin it."
He leaves before sunrise, and she misses him already. She feels sick to her stomach when she realizes that the next time she sees him, she'll be walking down an aisle, towards his best friend.
That morning, when Serena is helping her into her dress, and the stylist is putting the finishing touches on her hair, Blair beings to panic. Anxiety takes over, and she struggles to catch her breath, as the finality of the situation finally hits her.
Why couldn't he have stayed away? Spending one more night with him had been a mistake, and only made things harder. She had been so sure in her decision to marry Nate, but now it seemed pointless.
Why would she marry him, when she knew she would always run back to Chuck?
Serena gives her a shot of vodka to calm her nerves. Blair studies the drink, frowning, but throws it back, anyway. She needs all the help she can get it.
Chuck watches Blair descend the aisle, her arm linked through her father's, and he knows that it should be him at the altar, waiting for her.
He's never seen a bride more beautiful, and he can only hope that Nate knows just how lucky he is.
They saw their vows, and they kiss, and everything is perfect. She is officially Blair Cornelia Waldorf-Archibald; it's everything she's wanted, since she saw Nate in the playground, when she was four. She had dreamt about this day for years, and every time she thought of it, she would get butterflies. Nate is her prince, and now it is official.
But the reality of that dream doesn't give her butterflies. Instead, her stomach flips, knowing that she has betrayed the man she truly loves.
The reception is wonderful. The guests enjoy their food, Chuck and Serena's speeches are short but sweet, and Blair can not stop smiling, as she and Nate share their first dance.
She loves him, she really does. She may not love him as much, or as intensely, as she loves Chuck, but it's simpler. Their relationship is lighter, and he makes her feel safe. She can be truly happy in her marriage. She hopes that Chuck will, one day, find happiness, too.
Other couples soon join them on the dance floor, and Chuck cuts in, to dance with the bride.
"So, how does it feel, to finally be Mrs. Archibald?" he asks, smirking.
She smiles. "It feels good."
"In another reality, there's an eight year-old Blair Waldorf, squealing with excitement, right now," he teases.
She laughs. "You're probably right."
He pulls her closer and she rests her head on his shoulder.
"I love you," he murmurs, into her hair. "I don't think I've ever told you that, before."
She smiles, softly, closing her eyes. "I love you, too."
Chuck moves to England, to run the Bass Industries London hotel. He's hopes to meet new clients, and finalize new plans, during his year-long stay. He leaves the day after the wedding, and doesn't inform his friends of where he's going, until he's at the airport, and Nate happens to call him.
"That's huge!" he says. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"You were busy with the wedding," he replies. "I didn't think it was important."
Blair and Nate buy their first home in New Haven, and continue with their studies at Yale. They easily adapt to married life, and enjoy furnishing their new home, and creating a life for themselves, together.
They're happy; content.
Chuck's stay in London for twelve months, turns into four years. He finally returns to New York, at the age of twenty-one, with a woman on his arm, and a briefcase in his hand.
He is a businessman, in every sense of the word, and a very good one.
His first night back, Blair and Nate invited him to their new Upper East Side townhouse. He's excited about seeing them. Excluding a few phone calls, and emails, he hasn't really spoken to them, so catching up with them should be fun.
He rings the doorbell, the collar of his coat turned up, against the cold. Jennifer shivers next him, and he wraps his arm around her waist.
"I'm so excited about meeting your friends," she says, grinning. "I don't know nearly enough about your past."
"There's a lot of stuff you don't want to know."
She laughs, as if he's joking.
Blair opens the door, as pristine and proper, as ever. She smiles as she sees him, but it drops slightly at the sight of his girlfriend. The small change would be imperceptible to anyone, but him.
"Chuck!" she says, pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you."
"You, too, Waldorf."
"I didn't know you were bringing company. Who is this?" she asks, turning to Rose.
"I'm Jennifer Thomson," she replies, introducing herself. "Chuck's told me so much about you."
"All good things I hope."
Her smile is fake, and her voice is too-sweet. He smirks at her and raises his eyebrows. She ignores him, and steps aside.
"Please, come in."
It's a relaxed evening. He talks to Nate about everything he has missed, and he seems to really like Jennifer. Blair is indifferent, but she isn't rude - it's better than nothing.
They talk about their relationship - three months, exclusively - and Jennifer answers any of their questions. She informs them that she is an Oxford graduate, and is currently working for her father's law firm, in London. She comes from very old money, and her family owns a stately home, in the countryside.
On paper, she is everything Blair Waldorf loves. In reality, when she is hanging all over the love of her life, she is everything Blair Waldorf loves to hate.
"How serious are you two?" she asks, as she pours them each a glass of red wine.
They are alone in the kitchen, their first private moment, all night.
"Blair," he says, in a warning tone. "Don't do this."
"Do what?" she asks, innocently. "I'm not doing anything."
"She's nice, Blair. And she makes me happy. Leave her alone."
She falls silent, as she takes another bottle of wine from the cooler.
"I really missed you, while you were gone," she said, leaning against the counter. "It hasn't been the same around here."
"It feels good to be back. I never realized just how much I missed Manhattan, until I came returned."
"Have you spoken to Serena?" she asks, trying to make conversation.
"I saw her at my mom's earlier," he says, taking a sip of his wine. "She was there with her new Italian boyfriend. Lily hates him."
Blair laughs. "Yeah, he's a real catch," she says, sarcastically.
"How are things with you and Nate?"
She goes quiet, taking a large gulp of wine. "We've hit our rough patch," she admitted. "Every marriage has one - I just didn't think it would be this stressful."
He sees the tears fill her eyes, and approaches her, rubbing his hand along her arm, soothingly.
"Hey, don't cry. What's happened?" he asks. "You can tell me."
"When we graduated, we decided to try for a baby," she tells him, wiping away her tears. "That was seven months ago, and in case you haven't noticed, there's still no baby."
He sighs, and holds his arms out. "Come here."
She wraps her arms around his waist, burying her face in his shirt. She relishes in his familiar scent - she had missed it, so much. He presses his lips against her forehead, and she closes her eyes, enjoys being so close to him.
"It's going to be okay," he assures her. "Things will work themselves out. For you and Nate, they always do."
"I hope you're right."
At that moment, Jennifer enters the kitchen, in search of Chuck.
"Oh!" she says, startled by their embrace, and Blair's tears. "I'm sorry. I'll just-"
"No, it's okay." Blair pulls away from him and runs her hand across her cheek, collecting the tears. "I'm gonna go freshen up."
Blair leaves the room, her skin flushed from the red wine, and embarassment.
"Is she okay?" Jennifer asks, genuinely concerned.
He nods. "She'll be fine."
A few later, after a particularly nasty fight, Blair stays at her mother's penthouse. She returns to her home the following morning, hoping to reconcile with him, before he leaves for work with his grandfather.
She walks into the house, checking the mail, before she goes upstairs. She can hear Nate's voice, and assumes he's on the phone with somebody.
As she approaches their bedroom, she sees that the bedroom door is slightly open. Blair is confused; Nate hates sleeping with the door open. It was one of his quirks.
Blair walks slowly, knowing in her gut, that something is not right. And that's when she hears it - a laugh.
And not just any laugh.
She flees to Palace, where Chuck is staying. She doesn't know why she's running to Chuck, of all people, but he had been so good to her when she was upset, and she really needs someone to talk to.
"Blair," he says, surprised, when he finds her behind his door. "What are you doing here?"
She's sobbing. "I didn't know where else to go."
He ushers her inside, and pours her a scotch, at her request.
He sits down next to her, and grabs her hand. "What's wrong?"
"I found them together," she cries.
"Found who?"
"Nate and Serena."
"Fuck."
When she calms down, she tells him about their fight the previous night, and what she saw that morning.
"Well, what does this mean? Are you going to confront him?"
"No," she says, shaking her head. "I don't want to leave him."
He frowned. "What? Why not? He's cheating on you."
"It will cause a scandal," she explains. "He's just started working on Tripp's campaign, and if any Vanderbilt gets divorced, it makes the news. I don't want that."
"So, you're going to stay with him, to avoid gossip?" He scoffs. "That's ridiculous."
"It was only one time," she tries to reason. "I can deal with that."
He paces in front of her, visibly angry. "You don't know that! You don't know how long this has been going on."
"He was upset! He just needed someone to turn to."
He stares down at her. "Is that why you're here? So, you can lean on me, and get your revenge?"
"No." He raises his eyebrows. She sighs. "Maybe. But it wasn't a conscious decision!"
He exhales harshly through his nose and pulls her up, from the couch. She intakes a sharp breath as he leans towards her, their lips inches apart.
"What are you doing?" she whispers.
"You know exactly what I'm doing. And you also know that you're going to regret it."
"Never," she states. "I would never regret, anything that happens between us."
His lips are bruising as they move against hers; his touch makes her entire body tremble. She hasn't been close to him like this in four years, and just the thought of what they're about to do, makes her moan.
It's slow and sensual. They move in sync, and he feels so good, that she wants to cry.
"God, I've missed this."
He buries his face in her neck, never faltering in his movementz.
"I love you," he breathes out. "I love you, so much."
She wants to tell him that she loves him, too, and that she's going to stay here with him, right in this moment, forever.
But she can't.
As soon as it's over, she sits up in bed, and looks around the floor, in search of her dress.
"Don't leave," he says, reaching for her hand. She turns to him. "Stay here with me today," he suggests. "Ignore the rest of the world."
She doesn't even need to think about her answer.
Everyone attends Lily's New Year's party. Serena is here with her new fling, and Chuck is surprised by the lack of jealousy, on Nate's part. Usually, he would be brooding in a corner, as his wife moved from guest to guest, her perfect socialite-smile in place.
When Chuck finds Nate at the bar, he observes how happy he is - almost giddy. He honestly has no idea why he's in such a great mood.
"What's up with you?"
"Nothing," he says, though he smiles.
"Seriously, what's going on?"
Nate shakes his head. "I promised Blair that I wouldn't tell anybody."
"Fine," Chuck says, dropping the subject.
"Where's Jennifer?"
"She went back to London, on Christmas Eve. Said she wanted to spend the holiday with her parents."
Nate nods. "Makes sense."
Chuck takes a sip of his scotch, and looks over the glass, to his best friend.
"Are you going to tell me yet?"
Nate sighs, caving. He's too easy. "Okay, I'll tell you. But you have to promise me, that you won't tell anybody else, and you definitely won't tell Blair I told you."
Chuck rolls his eyes. "I promise."
"Blair's pregnant."
Chuck pretends he's sick, and leaves the party early. He spends the rest of the night in his suite, sipping scotch, and wondering if Blair's child will have his nose, or Nate's eyes.
He goes back to London for a month. The guilt and anxiety he feels, after his affair with Blair, weighs down on him. As he and Jennifer wait in a restaurant for their food, it all becomes too much, and the words just tumble from his mouth.
She throws her wine in his face, and leaves the restaurant. He's pretty sure he should have left out the whole, "she's possibly pregnant with my baby, but I ran away, before I could find out" part.
Blair hears of his return, five months after the New Year's party. She immediately goes to visit him, positive that he left because he found out about her pregnancy. Why couldn't Nate just keep his mouth shut?
The doorman allows her into the building, and the bellhop gives her a key to his suite. He informed her that he was sleeping - jet-lag - and that Mr. Bass had asked not to be distrubed, but knew that he would have made an exception for her.
She finds him, fast asleep, in the center of the bed. She lies down next to him, pushes herself back against his chest, as she tries to get comfortable. Her baby makes sleeping and lying down, very difficult.
She takes his hand in hers, and pulls his arm around her stomach, resting both of their hands on top of it.
"Blair?" he whispers, half-asleep.
"Hi," she whispers back.
"Are you okay?" he asks, running his hand along her belly.
"I'm okay," she responds. "He's okay, too."
She feels him smile against her shoulder. "It's a boy?"
"Yes." She grins. "I'm going to name him Clark, like Clark Gable," she informs him. "Clark Harold Waldorf-Archibald."
It's quiet for a few minutes, until he asks, "So, my son is going to be an Archibald?"
She sniffles as a tear rolls down her cheek. "Yes. He's going to be an Archibald."
They fall asleep together, like old times, only now, their baby lies between them.
The day she gives birth - Chuck's birthday, no less - he gets drunk in his new apartment, and cries as he thinks about his son, who was never really his to begin with.
Blair lies in the hospital bed, sobbing as she studies her little boy, who looks so much like his father. Nate is so blinded by his love for this tiny human being, that he doesn't even notice the similarities - but her mother does.
"Are you sure you know, what you're doing, Blair?"
"No, mother. I have no idea what I'm doing," she admits.
"And Charles is okay with this?"
"He says he is, but I know he's lying. He won't even look at me, anymore."
When her son is a day old, she sends Nate home for the night, and tells him to get one last night of peaceful sleep, before she and Clark go home, tomorrow.
Chuck arrives at exactly the time she had texted him. He stands in the doorway of the room for a moment, just staring at the woman and baby, that should be his, but never will be.
"Come meet your son," she murmurs.
He takes him in his arms and his eyes trace his tiny features.
"He's perfect," he states, smiling proudly, through his tears.
She grins. "Of course, he is. He's ours."
He sits down in the chair by Blair's bed, knowing that this will be the only time he gets to spend with his son as his father, not his uncle.
"I'm so sorry, Chuck," she sobs.
"Shh," he soothes. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."
He doesn't speak to Nate and Blair for an entire month, and while Nate is confused by his behavior, he doesn't question it. Chuck has never been good with children.
It turns out, neither has he. He and his son, simply don't connect. He cries whenever he holds him, he can never get him to go to sleep, and he's sure the baby spits up on him, on purpose.
Blair says he's being stupid, and that the baby will adapt, and so will he. But he's not convinced.
He's home alone with the baby, one night, while Blair goes out for dinner with Serena. While his mother is gone, Clark cries for a full hour, his face red, and his forehead hot. Nate's not an expert, but he knows something is wrong.
He calls Blair, panicked. She tells him to meet her at Lennox Hill, as soon as he can. The doctors inform them that he simply has a fever, that can be treated. Blair cries and holds her baby against her chest. She feels stupid for being so upset about something so simple, but she doesn't know what she would have done if it had been something more serious.
With this in mind, the guilt she constantly carries around, feels worse than it ever has. Chuck should be here for this; he should be there for his son, in his time of need.
She knows this is it; she has to tell him, right now. No more lies, and no more secrets.
Blair turns to Nate, her eyes filled with tears.
"Nate, I need to tell you something."
They sit in their living room, as Nate struggles to process what Blair has told him.
"I can't believe this," he says, more heartbroken, than angry. "When did this happen?"
"Remember when we had that huge fight, and I went to stay at my mothers?" He nods. "When I came home, I saw you here... with Serena."
He drops his head, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Blair."
"You shouldn't be," she says, smiling sadly. "I feel awful for lying to you... but I've been lying to you for years. And you've been lying to me, too."
"What are you talking about?"
"We married the wrong people, Nate. I've been in love with Chuck since I was seventeen, but I was so caught up in my fairytale, that I couldn't let you go." She cries, knowing that this is the end. "And you've always loved Serena."
"I feel so stupid."
She nods, laughing softly. "Yeah, me, too. God, we really made a mess of things."
She leaves for her mother's house, with most of her belongings, and some essentials for Clark. He kisses her on the cheek, and tells her that he'll send the rest of her stuff, later that week.
As she lies in her bed, her ring finger bare, for the first time in five years, she wonders where she went wrong. Then, as she watches her baby, sleeping in his bassinet, she realizes she never went wrong, at all.
Clark was fate - he was supposed to happen. A physical representation of their love.
She falls asleep to the soft tones of her baby's mobile, a small smile on her lips.
She wakes up in the middle of the night, when she hears Clark's whimpers. Her eyes snap open as she realizes the whimpers are coming from the wrong side of the room, and that there is someone lying next to her.
She squints in the dark, trying to identify the person.
"Bass?" she whispers, reaching for him.
He's stretched out next to her, in his undershirt and dress pants, their baby lying on his chest. As her eyes finally adjust to the darkness, she smiles, her heart thumping loudly as she watches her son's eyes slowly close, as he lies on top of his father.
"Hey, Waldorf."
"What are you doing here?"
"Nate called me," he answers. "Said he thought I should introduce myself properly, to my son."
"That was very sweet of him."
He nods. "It was. And I have to say Waldorf, we did a good job, with this one."
She giggles, running her hand along Clark's back. "We really did." Her hand comes to a stop, and Chuck lies his own, on top of it. "I have an appointment tomorrow, to get his name and birth certificate changed."
"You do?" he asks. "What are you changing it to?"
"Clark Harold Bass. No hyphen, and no Archibald," she states. "I want him to be yours - officially."
"I like the sound of that," he says, smoothing his hand along the baby's fine hair. "You should go back to sleep."
She wraps her arm around his waist, and snuggles in closer. "Are you sure? I could stay up with him, if you want."
"No, no. Go back to sleep." He places a kiss against her hair. "We'll be here when you wake up."