A/N: Here is the final chapter. A huge thank you to everyone who has been nothing less than supportive throughout this entire story. I would like to give an extra thank you to Mary for constantly listening to my crazy ideas. As promised, there will be a third installment in the series. It will be titled The Week Of The Honeymoon. Please leave me with one final review and I would love to know which original characters from either this story or A Week In The Hamptons that you would like to see return in the third installment. Happy reading!
Sunday
Blair observed herself in the full length mirror from where she stood. In about twenty minutes, she would be Blair Bass. She smiled at the very thought. Blair Bass. That name sounded so wonderful on one's lips. A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts suddenly and she reluctantly allowed the unknown perpetrator to enter the room.
"Come in!" she said in fake, cheerful voice.
"Wow," Nicole commented as she entered the room. "You must be thrilled to see me. I can really hear the happiness bursting in your voice B."
"I was sort of in my own little world is all," Blair explained herself.
"Oh," Nicole said in understanding. "I burst your bubble, didn't I?"
When the brunette remained silent, the blond trudged on, "How's the bride-to-be holding up?"
Blair smiled nervously at her then and answered, her hand on her stomach, "I've got about a billion butterflies fluttering around in my stomach right now is all Nikki."
The blond laughed and pulled her into a tight hug of reassurance.
"Oh honey," she started as Blair returned her embrace. "I don't think it's fair to blame your nerves for those butterflies. I believe a certain reformed womanizer was responsible for planting them there?"
"He definitely made his contribution," Blair agreed. "But this is my wedding day Nikki! I have every right to feel nervous. I mean, I'm just worried something will go wrong today, you know?"
"I know," Nicole assured her, reaching for the veil on her table.
"I just need everything to be perfect for today. I feel like I've been planning this wedding since forever. I've worked and worked to make sure that this wedding will be the wedding of the century, but now that the wedding has been planned to perfection, it can only go downhill from there."
"Nonsense!" the blond chided her as she placed the veil a top her head. "This wedding will be perfect just like you planned B. You worked hard for it. Girls like us work for what we want. People like Serena and Tina get everything handed to them without so much as lifting a finger. You deserve the perfect wedding and you'll get it B. I'll make sure of it."
"Thanks Nikki," the brunette said gratefully. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
The blond smiled and continued her words of encouragement.
"And you look absolutely flawless today. I mean, between you and me, everyone in the room will so have their eyes on you instead of Serena. It'd be hard not to stare at you. Gorgeous!"
Blair gave her an uncertain smile as she readjusted her veil slightly.
"Oh! Don't be such a worry wart B!" the blond exclaimed in exasperation, throwing her hands up into the air in mock defeat. "You make it sound like your fiancé's going to leave you at the altar or something!"
Nicole bit her tongue the moment those words left her lips.
Blair's eyes grew wide at her statement and eventually shouted, "What are you talking about? Has he? Oh my God! Tell me he's here Nicole or at least on his way! He's here, isn't he?"
"Well, no," Nicole answered her truthfully. "He isn't here yet, but then again, Nate isn't either. They'll be here. You have nothing to worry about! There's still fifteen minutes before the ceremony starts anyway. I'm sure they're just stuck in traffic or something."
Blair was about to open her mouth to voice even more of her insecurities, but ultimately decided against it. Losing her decorum was something she most certainly did not want to do on her special day. She took a seat on one of the chairs in the corner of the room, biting her lower lip in intense thought.
"You don't think he's changed his mind, do you Nikki?" Blair asked anyway moments later, glancing over at her friend from across the room in genuine concern.
"What?" Nicole shrieked, stalking over to her. "You're crazy! Look B. I only really know him through whatever stories you've chosen to tell me about him, but the way he looked at you throughout the entire rehearsal dinner last night was absolutely indescribable. I'd give my soul to the devil to have Tristan look at me like that."
Blair smirked at the blond and reminded her, "Nikki sweetie, you are the devil."
"There's that smirk," the blond replied, ignoring her comment. "Seriously though B. You're being ridiculous. He'll be here."
"Stay with me?" Blair whispered in response.
It would be nice to have someone with her to help calm her nerves after all.
"Of course," the blond answered before settling into the seat beside her.
Damn it! Where were they?
"Darling!" Tina shouted cheerfully as she entered the lush room.
"Tina!" Serena exclaimed excitedly in return. "How do I look?"
The blond twirled around once in her wedding gown, waiting for her verdict. Tina instantly clasped her hands together and squealed at how amazing Serena looked in her wedding dress.
"You look fantastic! All eyes will be on you at the wedding honey instead of Blair. Mark my words," Tina told her, waggling an index finger in her direction.
Serena brought a finger to her lips then and hissed, "Keep your voice down Tina! We can't afford to let Blair hear you say that. I need my bridesmaid alive, you know?"
The two girls shared a knowing giggle before Tina assured her, "Relax! Blair's room is three doors down and Nicole is in there right now to calm her nerves. The last thing she's thinking about is what we're talking about in here."
Serena nodded in full understanding and asked, "Have you seen Nate by the way? I bet he's even more nervous than I am. Get Eric to calm him down, will you?"
Tina shifted uneasily from foot to foot at the mention of Nate and Serena could tell that something was definitely amiss.
"What is it Tina?" the blond demanded, her lips pressed together as she rested her hands dangerously on her hips. "And don't even think about lying to me! We're nothing if not always honest with each other."
"Well," the redhead started, hesitation evident in her voice. "Nate might not be here yet."
"Is Chuck here?" the blond wondered.
Tina shook her head to answer her question and quickly said, "They're probably both stuck in traffic or something though. Taylor has already been calling them on their cells for the last five minutes or so, but neither of them has been answering her calls."
"Yeah, they probably are," Serena agreed. "I'm just worried that Blair's insecurities will get the better of her."
"I know what you mean. She's probably in her room right now convincing herself that Chuck has decided to bail on the wedding," Tina added.
The blond nodded and suggested, "Maybe we should go over and see how Blair is holding up."
Tina laughed and told her, "Sure! But I'm more worried about how Nicole is holding up."
The two shared a laugh just as the door swung open and in marched a very distraught Blair Waldorf.
"Wonderful!" Nate cried out sarcastically as he looked out the window. "Of all the days we could possibly be stuck in a traffic jam, it had to be this one. It just had to happen on our wedding day!"
"Will you relax Archibald?" Chuck shot back, although he was worried about how his fiancée would react to his tardiness as well.
"This is all your fault," Nate accused him. "You just had to have your revenge on your uncle. We wouldn't be in this situation right now if it weren't for your determination!"
"Please Nathaniel," Chuck scoffed. "I was planning to do it alone. You were the one who insisted that you wanted to tag along."
The blond huffed at this and the brunette continued.
"And why must you use the word revenge? You make it sound like I set Jack up to get arrested," Chuck drawled, readjusting his bow tie. "He had it coming. I was merely helping the process along unless you somehow think that rape is ok?"
"Of course not!" Nate defended himself immediately. "I know he had it coming, but couldn't you have sealed his fate some other day? Now, we're going to be late for the wedding! Serena is so going to kill me!"
"Oh! Serena will kill you!" Chuck spat out sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the blond. "That certainly sounds much worse than suffering the wrath of Blair Waldorf."
"Oh please!" Nate retorted. "You actually like it when Blair gets upset with you!"
"Fighting leads to makeup sex Archibald," Chuck explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Thanks for that," Nate answered as he took out his phone to check yet again whether he had signal or not.
He rubbed his forehead in frustration when he noticed that he still didn't have any service.
"How can there be no service?" Nate wondered out loud. "We're not even on the subway!"
"You take the subway?" Chuck clarified, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "It is odd though. My cell isn't getting any service either."
At that moment, the vehicle started moving at a steady pace once more and the two boys almost hugged each other in absolute relief and happiness. Almost.
"Finally! We've still got ten minutes to make it to the wedding," Nate announced.
"We'll definitely get there in time Archibald," Chuck assured him, sitting up straighter in his seat in increased anticipation.
"Will you? Will you really?" challenged an all too familiar voice.
The tinted partition in front of them lowered then to reveal Georgina Sparks behind the wheel.
"What the hell?" Chuck hissed in complete and utter shock.
Nate could only muster a scared squeak from his lips.
"You didn't think I'd actually let Blair have her fairytale ending, do you Bass?" she inquired.
She then turned towards Nate and told him, "Ruining your wedding with Serena is merely collateral damage."
Unable to control himself, Chuck lunged himself at her. The vehicle swerved alternately from left to right in response and Nate pried Chuck's hands from around Georgina's neck just in time to prevent an unnecessary accident from happening. Multiple car horns sounded off around them and the curses that came from the other drivers on the road were hard to miss as well.
Georgina coughed slightly and regained her breathing before she threatened him, "Do that again and I will drive us straight into oncoming traffic. Do I make myself clear?"
"You wouldn't," Chuck challenged her, narrowing his eyes at the brunette.
"Try me," she answered smoothly, winking at him through the mirror.
Chuck sat back in his seat, pursing his lips in thought over a plausible escape plan. It was best to continue to engage her in conversation while he did so.
"How did you escape from the clutches of my PI?" he asked.
The brunette smiled in satisfaction and revealed, "Your PI was very naughty you see. They found an unbelievable amount of drugs in his carry on. I have no idea how that happened of course, but you seriously need to be careful about who you hire Charles."
Chuck glared at her and Georgina smirked in satisfaction that she had managed to play him good.
"Do you even know how to drive a limo Georgina?" Nate asked nervously, oblivious to the struggle that was going on between the devil and his best friend. "And where are you taking us?"
"Not really," she informed him. "And I thought we'd drive around long enough for Blair to conclude that Chuck had decided to leave her at the altar. I do love watching her freak out over silly things you know."
Chuck closed his hands into two tight fists to prevent himself from lunging at her again. He glanced over at Nate and cocked his head towards the door handle. Nate knew immediately that Chuck was asking him to jump out of the vehicle on his signal. Georgina eyed Chuck in the mirror then and let out an evil laugh.
"I dare the two of you to try and escape," she told them, putting the gun she had in her lap on full display.
"Shit!" Nate muttered as Chuck remained completely emotionless.
"I agree that Blair has done some pretty bad things to you," Chuck urged. "And so have I, but please do not ruin her fairytale wedding. Please."
"Chuck Bass pleading with me," she stated. "I like it, but unfortunately for you, your bitch needs to be taught a lesson she'll never forget. She needs to be put in her place."
"Now!" Chuck shouted, the moment he felt that the vehicle had slowed down enough for them to make their escape.
Nate was thrown onto the sidewalk as Georgina swerved to the left in a failed attempt to keep him inside the vehicle. Nate turned around to celebrate with Chuck then when he noticed that his best friend was not by his side. Nate watched in absolute horror as the limo headed into oncoming traffic. A single gunshot was heard from inside the vehicle before the unmistakable sounds of a car accident began to ring in his ears.
Blair felt the butterflies flapping their wings even more relentlessly in her stomach as an odd sensation took over her body.
"Chuck is in trouble," the brunette exclaimed suddenly as she headed out the door. "Nate is in trouble too."
"What?" Nicole asked in absolute confusion as she ran after her friend.
Blair was too distraught to repeat herself and ran over to her best friend's room, banging on the door three times before just letting herself in. Serena grabbed her hands immediately, gazing into her eyes in full understanding.
"You feel it too?" Serena asked, a rare grimness to her voice.
Blair nodded in confirmation just as Serena's cell phone began to sound off.
"Hello?" she said as she flipped open the device.
"Serena," Nate greeted her, his voice slightly dejected.
"Nate? Where are you?" Serena asked him hurriedly. "Is Chuck with you? Are you two ok?"
"Please Serena," Nate urged. "Let me explain."
The blond nodded vigorously in response, prepared to listen intently to what he was about to tell her. Blair, Nicole, and Tina eyed her curiously as they tried to analyze her every word and expression.
"The bottom line is that Georgina came back to New York and took a hold of our limo. Chuck and I tried to escape," he rambled on. "I made it out of the vehicle safely, but Chuck...The limo swerved into oncoming traffic Serena and then I heard a gunshot. Georgina was the one that was shot though. The ambulance is taking Chuck to the hospital. I'm with him right now."
Serena was rendered completely speechless by the news and Blair grabbed her shoulders after a few moments, giving the blond a good shake.
"What?" the brunette hissed, wanting to know everything Nate had just told her.
"Blair and I are coming right now," Serena assured him as she gave Blair a reassuring nod.
Nicole put her arm around Blair in support as Serena filled her in on the accident. The brunette gave no response and ran out of the room. Nicole followed closely behind her, shouting to Serena that they would meet her in the limo. The blond gave some instructions to Tina before she headed out the door as well. The redhead prayed that everything would turn out alright as she marched over to the wedding planner to tell her the horrible news.
"Chuck is fine Blair," Serena assured the brunette, who was currently fidgeting with the lace of her dress. "Georgina was the one who was shot."
"Good," the brunette seethed. "Or I would do it myself."
The vehicle then rolled to a stop as the traffic light turned red and Blair whined, "I crawl faster than this limo!"
The driver offered her apologetic smile as Serena's phone went off once more. She put her cell on speaker this time to save herself from having to reiterate everything to the brunette later.
"How's Chuck?" Blair asked immediately.
"A broken arm and a couple of bruises," Nate informed her. "He'll be fine though Blair."
"Thank God!" Blair commented as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where are you girls right now?" Nate inquired.
"We're almost at the hospital," Serena assured him.
"I'll meet you outside Serena," Nate told her. "Chuck insisted that you and I get married as planned since he's ok and everything now."
"I'm not getting married without my best friend Nate!" Serena shot back, appalled that he would even suggest something like this to her. "This is supposed to be a double wedding."
"No S," Blair stated firmly. "It took forever for us to plan this wedding. You and Nate should at least enjoy the fruits of our labor and your dad is waiting to walk you down that aisle S."
Serena gave her no answer and so Blair made her decision for her.
"She'll head back with you Nate," the brunette enlightened him. "Nicole will stay with me."
"Absolutely," Nicole assured her immediately, giving her friend as reassuring nod.
"Thanks B," Serena said gratefully, pulling her into a tight embrace as the limo pulled up in front of the hospital.
Nate hung up the phone then and ran towards the limo just as Blair and Nicole exited the vehicle.
Serena and Blair embraced one last time as the latter whispered, "I love you S."
"I love you too B," she answered. "Thank Chuck for me, will you?"
"I will," the brunette promised before heading for the entrance. "Say hi to your father for me."
Nicole was careful to follow closely behind her as the limo disappeared off into the distance.
The moment Blair entered the premises, the hospital staff recognized her immediately. After all, how many people showed up at a hospital wearing a wedding gown?
"Miss Waldorf?" one of the older nurses asked as she approached her.
She continued when Blair nodded.
"We've put your fiancé in the room at the end of that hallway," she informed her.
Blair thanked the woman and ran in the direction in which she had pointed. She barged into the room without knocking as Nicole informed her that she would be waiting right outside the door.
"Chuck!" she shouted instantly as she threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder.
He winced in pain as she collided with his broken arm, but tried his best to hide it.
"Steady Waldorf," he simply reminded her as he stroked her hair gently in comfort with his other hand.
"Sorry," she mumbled against him, still refusing to let him go. "I was just so worried Chuck!"
"Worried about my safety or worried I'd decided to leave you at the altar?" he teased her.
"Both," she murmured honestly as she took a step back from their embrace.
She sniffled as she reached up to dry her tears and Chuck took the opportunity to take a good look at her then from the hospital bed. She had never looked more beautiful to him than she did now. There were a few speckles of dirt on her dress, her hair was in disarray, and half of her veil was shielding her face. Her eyes were slightly puffy from crying and the way she sniffled was absolutely adorable to him.
"What are you staring at Bass?" she wondered out loud as she met his gaze.
"You're beautiful. You know that?" Chuck reminded her, pulling her towards him.
"I'm going to kill Georgina. You know that?" she echoed, taking a seat on the bed.
"No need," Chuck informed her bleakly. "When I saw her reach for the gun, I fought her for it. She managed to knock me back into my seat and was prepared to pull the trigger except she lost control of the wheel at the same time. She ended up shooting herself in the chest by accident."
"Is she...dead?" the brunette questioned hesitantly, although there was a tiny sliver of hope in her voice.
"No," Chuck told her as he placed a hand over hers. "She's in critical care though and she hasn't woken up yet."
Blair nodded numbly and asked him in concern, "Are you in pain?"
She reached out to touch his bruises and he winced once more at the feel of her fingers on his aching skin.
"No really Waldorf?" he mocked her. "So, are you ready to get married or what?"
It took a moment for the brunette to fully register his question.
"What?" Blair questioned him in disbelief. "You can't honestly think that I'm about to allow you to check out of the hospital just so that we can get married Bass."
"No," Chuck answered her easily. "But what I am suggesting Waldorf is that we get married right here and now with God as our witness."
"And me!" Nicole sang cheerfully as she strode into the room with a priest.
Blair stood up immediately, speechless at how Chuck had managed to pull something like this off in such a short period of time not to mention the amount of pain he was currently in.
"Now," Chuck explained. "I know this isn't your fairytale wedding, but you were meant to be Blair Bass today and I'll be damned if you're going to make me wait any longer. After all, is a wedding not a promise between two people Blair?"
"Yes," she whispered in agreement as she took his hand in hers.
The priest smiled at the happy couple as Nicole took hold of the temporary rings Chuck had managed to purchase from the hospital gift shop. In due time, the two brunettes had exchanged their vows and as they sealed their promises with a kiss, Blair finally realized that she had been so silly to have been fretting over the details of her dream wedding all week. All this time, all she had really needed for the perfect wedding was him.