Summary: What if the ghost of Bart Bass saves Chuck from committing suicide instead of Blair and Jack? Chuck sees how those he cared about would be affected if he had succeeded in his suicide attempt. Starts during 2.14. Loosely based off of the film "It's A Wonderful Life"

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, etc.

Redux

Everything suddenly made sense, like he knew it all along but didn't realize he did until just now. Chuck looked at his father and nodded in recognition. He was ready to go home.

"Chuck? Hey, Chuck, are you alright?" a male voice reverberated in Chuck's ears as the young Bass' eyes flickered open to reveal his Uncle Jack kneeling over him.

Chuck blinked several times to regain his focus and realized he was back on the rooftop of the Victrola. An empty liquor bottle was strewn to the side and it was a hell of a lot colder outside than Chuck had remembered.

"Chuck, answer me. I need to know if you're okay," Jack urged his nephew, touching a hand to Chuck's arm.

Recalling what he had seen take place in the future, Chuck recoiled from his uncle's touch. "Get the hell away from me," he growled menacingly, scrambling backwards until he found his back resting against the thick ledge of the roof. Chuck's head spun wildly; apparently time-traveling hadn't killed his buzz.

Suddenly, a new voice – Blair's voice - joined the conversation. "Chuck, what's going on? I was so worried about you." Blair gently shut the door to the rooftop behind her and walked towards Jack. "What did you do to him?" she hissed to the elder Bass angrily.

Jack shrugged. "Nothing. All I did was find him passed out up here and attempt to help him come around. You try. Nothing gets through to the kid." He gestured towards Chuck, who watched the interaction between Blair and Jack with disdain.

Chuck jumped to his feet. "Stay away from her," he snarled before stumbling, still a little drunk, towards Blair. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief when Chuck took her in his arms. "Blair, I missed you so much," he said throatily, tangling his hands in her hair and inhaling Blair's intoxicating scent of vanilla and orange.

Chuck felt her fall against his chest. "I missed you too," she whispered. "Don't ever do that to me again, Chuck."

Chuck pulled out of the embrace, his expression grave. Soberness appeared to take over his features as he shook his head. "I was a fucking idiot, Blair. I acted like a child and hurt you in the process, something I never wanted to do."

Jack snorted in the background, causing Chuck to turn his attention to his uncle. "What do you find so funny, Jack? I wouldn't be laughing if I were you because you aren't getting the company and you most certainly aren't getting my girl."

Jack's smirk vanished and Blair's eyes widened. She supposed they would have to talk about that "my girl" part later. "Whatever are you talking about, dear nephew?" Jack drawled slowly.

"Please, Jack. I'm not an idiot," Chuck started, "I know you're here to try to oust me from the company, and I also know you've been dying to get your hands on Blair. It was a valiant effort, uncle, but you can go home now."

Jack smiled maliciously. His eyes, gleaming, darted towards Blair as he responded nonchalantly, "Oh, I've already had her. No need to worry about that."

"Jack…" Blair trailed off, visibly upset.

"No, sweetheart, allow me to elaborate for your man. I'm sure he'll love to hear it," Jack said gleefully.

Chuck's face grew dark as he clenched his fists, trying his damndest not to pummel Jack's smug expression off of his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Blair fucked me on New Year's, and my god was it fantastic," Jack answered with a casual grin, "I don't know why you'd ever want to leave that." He swept his hand towards Blair, who looked away guiltily.

"I did it for you, Chuck," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"What? Did it for me? How the hell is fucking my uncle doing it for me?" Chuck asked in disbelief.

"I don't know," she murmured sadly, and in the moonlight, Chuck could see glistening tears trailing down her cheeks.

Jack cleared his throat. "Ahem. If I may throw Ms. Waldorf a bone, I will say she offered to do it only if I brought you home. How could I turn down such an… indecent proposal?"

Chuck looked at Blair. "Is that true?"

She nodded, still not meeting his gaze. "He said it was the only way," Blair said weakly. "I didn't know what else to do."

Chuck sighed and massaged his temples. How could he be mad at her? If it weren't for what Blair did, he would still be in Bangkok, high on drugs, or perhaps even dead. No, of course Chuck wasn't pleased. He was pissed. But he could accept it. Sure, Blair was no saint. But neither was Chuck. He had hurt her more times than he'd like to admit, rejected her when all she wanted to do was help, made jokes about her love for him. Despite everything, Chuck knew that they would get through with this. They had no choice, after the future he saw for Blair without him. Everything would be okay, as long as...

"Jack. You need to leave immediately before I do something I regret," Chuck threatened his uncle, his words dripping with venom. "Actually, I won't regret it, which will make it worse for you. It's your choice."

Jack's face fell as he realized his attempt at sabotaging Chuck's affection for Blair failed. "Fine, I'll go. But don't think for a damn second that you're going to be capable of all that your father was able to do. And I'll be on the next flight after you call me desperate for my help."

"We'll see about that," Chuck growled, watching his uncle like a hawk as Jack left him and Blair alone on the rooftop.

"Chuck, I -" Blair started before Chuck took her breath away, kissing her long and hard.

Chuck brushed a few loose tendrils of hair away from Blair's face and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. "I've been through a lot tonight, Blair. Trust me. I've come to realize that I need you. I don't care what you did."

"But I care, Chuck. I should never have done that to you," she replied, her voice tinged with guilt. "I love you so much and I just wanted you back. I should have looked for a better way."

"Listen to me, Blair," Chuck cradled her face in both of his hands, "If Jack hadn't come for me, I don't think I would have ever come back. And now, because of you, here I am. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't bother me, and if it happened under any other circumstance, I would probably be furious. But you saved me, and nothing you say will take away from that. How about you just accept the fact that I love you?"

Blair leaned into him and Chuck greedily wrapped her in his arms once again. "What's gotten into you, Chuck Bass?" Chuck heard Blair whisper into his chest. He smirked.

"Life, Blair. I feel alive again."

He remembered his father's words: "You and Blair are intertwined."

And so they were. Standing on the rooftop, Chuck and Blair were entangled in each other's embrace, ready to take on the future… together.

Fin

A/N: Well, that's the long-awaited end! I am terrible for taking so long to update but I really wasn't sure how I wanted this to end so I had to take the time to craft this chapter. Many drafts later, this was the ending I came up with. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you for coming on this journey with Chuck Bass =)