Four and a half months later…

Second week of February 2019

Her phone rang and she looked at the number flashing on the screen.

"Yes?" She answered.

"I was instructed to tell you that if walk in now, you couldn't ask for better timing. It'll be just like you planned."

"Perfect." A slow smile crossed her face as she ended the call.

She didn't have to say a word to the driver, who had taken his cue when the phone rang and stood at the door, waiting for her signal. She tapped on the glass and stepped out into the crisp New York morning air. She stood still for a moment and looked around her, before tightening the belt on her new, eggplant-colored coat. The show was to start at nine a.m. sharp, and there were an impressive number of photographers standing outside the theater's doors. As she climbed up the steps, she heard the whispers.

Is that…?

No, it couldn't be.

I heard she moved out of the country.

That looks an awful lot like…

She looks amazing.

Who do you think she's wearing? That coat is gorgeous.

The laughter that threatened to spill was suppressed, she didn't want to give anything away. She was pleased that she didn't even need to flash the coveted invitation, but was quickly ushered inside the doors. The overhead lights flickered in warning, as people rushed to make it into their seats. There was a lone, empty, white chair waiting for her in the front row.

"B!" Serena stood up and waved her over.

Blair walked down the aisle slowly, as the crowd started buzzing and all eyes were on her. Ignoring everyone, she made it to her seat, exchanged hugs with Serena and removed her sunglasses.

This was her first social event since the Jack incident last year. It had been a miracle that they had even had a two day buffer before the shit hit the fan, and the Basses had again become front page fodder. If they had thought the media circus surrounding their separation had been bad, well, this had been infinitely worse. The only advantage this time around, had been the fact that police reports were leaked and the entire world had been informed just how psychotic Jack Bass truly was. The nightmare that had been their lives, had catapulted the Basses into a type of cult-like status, the public marveling at how angst-ridden and tragic their epic love story was. People had started to scour through every morsel and tidbit of information they could, and Chuck had emerged as a Byronic hero with Blair being the much maligned heroine. Those who had made nasty comments about their separation now cooed over the depths of their love. And with more than a little satisfaction, Blair had been happy to read how people never believed that Chuck would leave her for someone like Jenny. How it was so obvious that Jenny had been a business arrangement, merely used as a beard for Chuck to protect the wife he clearly adored. But for the first time she could remember, the attention—albeit positive—had made her uncomfortable.

The rabid media scrutiny had driven Chuck and Blair to uncharacteristically shy away from the public's eye. Even though they had reconciled, there had been a lot of hurt and anger and guilt buried beneath the surface. They were emotionally exhausted, although no less committed to one another. They cocooned themselves in their Hamptons home for the next few months, desperate only to be with each other as they had to relearn simply being together again. Except for Christmas Day, the only other time they had returned to New York was for a few short hours when Chuck had to meet with the Board of Directors to discuss extending his leave of absence. Given the hermitlike nature of Chuck and Blair's behavior over the past four and a half months, the press was salivating for any new photos of Blair or her husband.

"Aren't we the center of attention?" Serena murmured into her ear, as she enviously eyed the coat Blair was wearing. "You haven't been out shopping in months, where did you get that fabulous new coat?"

Blair shrugged and batted her eyes innocently at her friend, before the pair burst into giggles. The show hadn't even started, and the room was blinding from all the camera flashes. She was surprised by how much she was enjoying this attention, it was a rush. But still, she was relieved when the overhead lights dimmed and the spotlights lit up the catwalk—Jenny Humphrey's debut at New York Fashion Week was about to start.

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Backstage was flooded with a sea of people, the show had been a success. The usual throng of well-wishers had been multiplied by the number of media people who had arrived once word had spread that Blair Bass was at Jenny Humphrey's fashion week debut. Blair and Serena had been backstage for almost half an hour, and had given up the pretense of finding Jenny, and settled for catching up with one another. Just as Serena was about to tell a scandalous tale involving Penelope and Hazel, she got distracted by someone in the crowd.

"Ugh, I don't know why I'm even surprised," she huffed.

"What is it?" Blair asked curiously as she looked at her friend's face that was suddenly alight with anger.

"Your stalker is here," her best friend said, vitriol oozing from her voice.

"Who?" Blair followed the blonde's line of vision and rested upon a familiar face. She offered a half-smile in Dan's direction, trying to ignore the discomfort she felt as his eyes seemed to be drinking in the sight of her.

Serena continued on, "Of all the nerve! What is he even doing here?"

"S, he has every right to be here," Blair said diplomatically.

"No, he doesn't. But of course you're defending him, like you always do. I really don't know how you can condone this type of behavior from him," Serena continued to rant.

"I don't know why you're so upset—" Blair tried again.

Serena waved her off. "Well, I'm tired of him and all this nonsense. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. Is it really too much to ask that he leave you alone for a couple of hours?"

"Serena!" Blair called after her as she stormed off. She prayed that S wouldn't draw too much attention to herself, especially since she and Jenny had gone out of the way to orchestrate her arrival just so.

Blair watched in confusion as Serena marched past Dan without a second glance, and strode purposefully towards the emergency exit on the right side of the room. Where was she going? A smile stretched on her face when she saw her best friend poke her husband in the chest, the target of the blonde's rage. Instead of looking at Serena, Chuck brushed the snow off of his coat while his eyes combed the room until he found her. Chuck smirked at her, but then his eyes darkened with a promise of retribution, and Blair couldn't stop the shiver of excitement from running up her back.

As Chuck took a step in her direction, he froze mid-step and turned around abruptly. He glowered at Serena, who looked pleased with herself. Her best friend must have said something that had gotten under his skin. Blair was so engrossed watching the pair engage in their typical sibling squabble, that she didn't notice the presence of someone standing next to her.

"Blair?"

She jumped at the voice and then nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Wow, those two are really getting into it. Are they like that all the time?"

"It's gotten worse over the past couple of weeks," Blair admitted.

"Do they force you to pick sides?"

"Force is a relative term."

"Let me guess, more often than not, you defend Chuck."

"Well, he is my husband," she answered, trying not to smile.

"You two scare me," Jenny confessed. "I used to think I wanted that—that kind of all-consuming love. But…"

"You witnessed firsthand the down side?" Blair supplied helpfully.

"It's just so much. I honestly don't know how you two can keep up that level of intensity, all the time."

The two women fell silent as Serena and Chuck continued to snip at each other. A moment later, Jenny cleared her throat nervously, "So do you think we should just let the photographers take pictures of us talking, or did you want to pose together for some?"

"Oh, definitely pose. Nothing will create more waves than both of us smiling and getting along, especially with me wearing a coat from your line," Blair advised as she turned to face the blonde for the first time that day. "Congratulations, on your first show, Little J. The clothes looked even better in person than they did from the photos you sent over last week."

A flush of pride crossed the younger girl's face and she smiled gratefully. "Blair, thank you so much for coming. You don't know how happy I was when you called last week and suggested we do this. If there's anything I can do, just say the word."

"Well…" Blair said slowly.

"What?" Jenny asked eagerly.

"Not the finale dress, but the third to the last dress, the black one—."

"If you liked that one," Jenny interrupted with a grin. "There's a dress that didn't make it into my collection that you might like better. It was the last look I cut from the show. I'll send it to you, and if you approve, I'll do the final alterations myself, and the dress is yours."

"I love nothing more than a pretty new dress, and an exclusive one at that," Blair said happily. As the number of camera flashes increased, she inclined her head at the crowd of photographers that had gathered. The two women stepped closer together, smiled and posed for the media. Without a doubt they would be the top story of fashion week.

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"You know stalking your own wife could be classified as highly diabolical," Serena informed him.

"The term stalking seems a bit inaccurate, especially since Blair wants me here," Chuck said pointedly.

"Wants you here?" Serena said disdainfully. "Only you would take Blair sending you on a phantom errand, so she could escape from your clutches and come to the show, as a personal invitation for you to play Where's Waldorf."

Chuck stifled the urge to snap at his sister that Blair's last name was Bass, and since there were no blindfolds or restraints in sight, she obviously had no clue how the aforementioned game was played. Instead, he counted to ten slowly before he attacked Serena where he was sure to draw blood, "I don't expect you to understand the intricacies of being in a long-term committed relationship, considering your track record—or lack thereof. But you really need to stop projecting your frustrations and confusing them as Blair's feelings."

"You are such an ass, Chuck," Serena said angrily as her cheeks flushed a dark shade of red.

"No, I'm a Bass," he corrected smugly.

"Don't think I don't see what you're doing. You're just trying to piss me off, so you don't have to hear someone tell you the truth. You're practically suffocating her with your refusal to let her leave the house! Other than Christmas, the only way I could see her, was if I made the trek out to the Hamptons. She's always making lame excuses about why she can't come into the city, even though I can hear it in her voice that she wants to!"

"Blair and I decided together that we didn't want to be in New York. In fact, the Hamptons was her idea. You make it sound like she's a prisoner in our home, that she's not free to come and go as she pleases. Has she actually said that? That I'm suffocating her? That she needs to ask to go outside? That she's unhappy?" He demanded, trying to ignore the twinge of horror that Serena's words might possibly be true.

"Of course not," Serena said irritably. "She does actually love you. Why, I don't know, but she does."

He let out a breath of relief. In an effort to diffuse the situation, he confessed, "I won't deny that I have been a bit needy."

"A bit?" Serena scoffed in disbelief. "You are rewriting the book on codependency!"

Chuck scowled at her. "You seem to forget how much Blair and I have been through this past year. Excuse me, if the only thing I want is to be at home with my wife."

Serena's face softened. "Chuck…Jack is dead."

"I'm aware," he said stiffly. He hated how easily she could read him sometimes. But she wasn't privy to the fact that he still woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, calmed only by the fact that Blair was lying in his arms.

"He can't hurt Blair, or you, anymore."

"I know that," he insisted. Not that backstage of a fashion show was an ideal place for exposition, but he needed to make Serena understand what he was struggling with. So he told her a modified version of the words he had spoken to Blair—the morning after the first night back at their penthouse. "I've been in love with Blair for so long at this point, I can barely remember what my life was like before she became the center of it. When we were apart last year, I couldn't sleep. All I could do was think and think and think. I've loved her since I was sixteen, and even though we've been married for over three years, I've still spent more of the past twelve years without her, than I've spent with her."

"No, that's not possible," Serena argued as she shook her head frantically.

Chuck remained silent, letting his sister calculate the math for herself. He didn't need to tell her that he had vowed to Blair, that from that moment forward he would make sure that they spent the rest of their lives together, not apart. And that he would welcome all the silent treatments and fights to come, if only she would let him. They had left for the Hamptons four days later.

She leaned over and engulfed him in a hug, whispering in his ear, "I'm sorry, Chuck. I do want both of you to be happy—but preferably while living within an UES zip code."

He squeezed her back. "Voluntarily hugging me in public might give the impression that you want to make yourself available for missed childhood memories." He wiggled his eyebrows in an overtly suggestive manner. "It's too late, I'm all Blair's now. You lost your chance to bathe with me years ago."

"Gross, Chuck," Serena said after she shot him an obligatory look of disgust, but there was no heat behind the words. The lines on her face relaxed, his confession had made everything okay between them again.

"So, I take it Blair hasn't informed you that we're back for at least a month? And that the odds are highly in favor of the Hamptons reverting back to just being our summer home?"

"What? Why couldn't you just say that to begin with? Why must you always be so difficult?" Serena groaned.

"You were being kind of annoying, Sis," Chuck said with a casual shrug. "And you were itching for a fight. As any good brother would do, I had to provide you with one."

"Well, since no good deed should go unpunished, I hereby invite myself over for dinner, after I've spent all afternoon shopping with your wife. You know, one of her favorite activities that she's had to do without for the past couple of months?"

Chuck rolled his eyes.

"Call Nate and ask him to join us for dinner. It'll be just like old times," Serena suggested. "No, scratch that, I'll call him myself. Knowing you, you'll somehow manipulate him into thinking that it's more important for you to be alone with Blair for the evening, instead of the four of us catching up."

She walked away from him and pulled out her phone, dialing Nate's number.

"Anything else you want while you're at it?" He called out sarcastically. "The chateau in France? The combination to my vault?"

"This will do for now, but I'll get back to you if I change my mind," Serena said flippantly. Nate must've answered her call, because there was a goofy, almost love struck look on her face as she spoke quietly into her phone. Perhaps dinner with the four of them was long overdue, Chuck mused, especially if there was suggestive nudging that needed doing. Maybe it was finally time for Serena and Nate to stop tap dancing around each other and give in to inevitability.

Pleased that blondie was currently distracted, Chuck turned his focus back to what had brought him here in the first place—his wife. His eyes scanned the room, only to locate her now standing next to Jenny, posing for photos. He shook his head. He should've known the moment she had asked him to go to breakfast at her mother's house without her, that she was up to something. Not that he minded breakfasting with Cyrus—secretly, he was Chuck's favorite of Blair's three fathers—but the manner in which she had sidestepped their morning ritual and practically pushed him out the door was enough to rouse his suspicions. When Cyrus had mentioned that Eleanor was sorry she was skipping Jenny's first fashion show, Chuck realized exactly what Blair's true motive was. She had wanted him out of the way so he couldn't stop her, in the event that he objected to her plan—which he did not.

As he made his way towards his wife, he saw Lily from the corner of his eye, talking with Eric, Rufus and Humdrum Humphrey. He would have to go over and say hello, but only after he spoke to Blair. Interrogations first, social niceties later.

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Blair's cheeks were beginning to grow sore from all the smiling she had done for the past quarter of the hour. There were so many damned camera flashes, she was seeing spots. She had exhausted all of the small talk topics she was willing to engage in with Jenny, because quite frankly, they were never going to be friends. There was, however, a small part of Blair that was truly grateful to Jenny for aiding Chuck in his misguided quest to protect her. But mostly, this was business. While she trusted Chuck's judgment that loaning money to Jenny would be a good investment when he first made it, she knew the events of the past year could adversely affect Little J. So her "friendly" presence at the show was to insure that multiple goals on her list would be achieved—primarily quashing any belief that Chuck had left her for the younger blonde. Plus, since she no longer despised Jenny and wanted to see a return on their investment, it was the nice thing to do.

She was startled when she felt a pair of hands slide around her waist, but then recognized the familiar scent of her husband's cologne. There was a smile on her face before he had even pulled her against his body and nuzzled her ear.

"Someone's been very, very naughty," Chuck murmured.

"Did you play with your food during breakfast? Cyrus have to give you a timeout?" Blair asked innocently, unable to keep the hint of laughter out of her voice.

"Of course not. Unlike a particular brunette, I know how to behave myself at the breakfast table," Chuck answered smoothly.

Blair turned around to face her husband and scrunched her face at him. "So I threw an éclair at your head. It happened once—last month. Get over it already." In fact, remembering how perfect her aim had been, and how the chocolate icing had stuck to Chuck's nose and forehead after the pastry landed onto his breakfast plate, made her giggle. To further demonstrate her lack of remorse, she stuck her tongue out at him.

He was almost quick enough to catch her tongue between his teeth, but he settled for a kiss. With his hand possessively splayed on her waist, his lips brushed against her ear as he whispered, "You were supposed to pay penance for dabbling in proletarianesque ways by spending mornings lying naked in bed, with me."

Her eyes fluttered shut, enjoying the feel of his teeth scraping against her ear lobe, making her question why she hadn't done exactly that today. As he continued to press wet, hot kisses down her throat, she distantly heard a throat clear, realizing exactly where they were.

"Chuck," she said quietly. "We're attracting a lot of attention."

"Let them watch," he said with annoyance at being interrupted, but he reluctantly pulled away from her. "This discussion is not finished."

"I know."

They turned around to face Jenny, whose face was flushed with discomfort of having witnessed their display.

"Congratulations," Chuck offered easily, his arm remained wrapped around Blair's waist. She rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Looks like you're on your way."

"Thanks, Chuck," Jenny said sincerely. "I really can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done."

"It was a good investment," he answered absently, as he looked around the room for an escape route. "We shouldn't be keeping you, I'm sure there are plenty of people who want to talk to you."

Chuck's eyes stopped moving for a moment, before he triumphantly looked down at Blair.

"Are you two coming to the reception at my dad and Lily's?"

Blair could tell Chuck had stopped listening, as his eyes pointedly looked towards the left side of the room. When she turned to see where he was motioning, she nodded in agreement.

"Unfortunately, not," Blair answered quickly. Too much time had passed from when Jenny had asked her question. "We just got back to the city yesterday, and there's a lot to catch up on. You know how it is."

Chuck laced his fingers with hers, before looking back at Jenny and flashing a polite smile. "Congratulations, again. But if you'll excuse us, there's someone we need to say hello to."

Without waiting for a response he tugged on her hand, led her across the room and behind the curtain that had earlier served as a dressing area. Once they were out of sight, he backed her against the furthest wall, untying the belt at her waist. He was operating on high efficiency, her coat was already unbuttoned before she could even open her mouth.

"Who was it we needed to say hello to?" Blair couldn't resist asking.

"Each other."

Those were his last words before he pressed his body up against her. His hands roamed up and down her back, while his mouth descended on hers. He kissed her slowly, almost too slowly, as if to punish her by not giving her enough. Her hands fisted in his hair as she pulled him closer to her, trying to increase the pace. Finally, he relented and ravished her mouth, while one hand slowly crept up beneath her dress. She moaned loudly, reveling in the way he could excite her so easily, the lightest touch igniting intense desire.

"Charles. Blair." Lily's voice sharply scolded them. They had been so focused on each other that they hadn't heard the curtains being pulled open.

She pulled her mouth away from his, and he rested his forehead against hers, both of them groaning in frustration. It was as though they were in high school and had been caught by their parents—well, his parent, in this case. With a sigh, Blair slid her hands from Chuck's hair and rested them on his shoulder, blinking her eyes open as she stared up at her husband.

"This is why I prefer leisurely mornings in bed," Chuck reiterated with a growl. "Too many damn interruptions, otherwise."

"I'll make it up to you, tonight," Blair promised, equally disappointed that their alone time had been intruded on.

"You better."

Lily tsked loudly, as they still remained within each other's embrace. It was only when Blair heard Eric's amused laughter followed by someone else's uncomfortable cough, that she realized there was a larger audience. Chuck gave her a purposefully long and scorching kiss, before he unenthusiastically let her go. With matching faux smiles pinned to their faces, they turned around to greet his mother and brother.

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He had just topped off drinks for Nate and himself and was about to pose a question about his best friend's love life, when Blair's voice floated into the penthouse.

"Chuck?"

"In here," he called out from the living room as he handed Nate a glass, and sat in the chair across from him.

The sound of clicking heels and duo of girly laughter grew louder, until Serena and Blair appeared in the doorway, the latter waving a newspaper in her right hand. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and there seemed to be an extra bounce in her step. He had just finished taking a sip and was setting the tumbler down, when he saw her eyes narrow.

He watched as his wife dropped the shopping bags in her left hand onto the ground and walked over to him. She discarded her newspaper onto the coffee table, on top of the identical one Nate had brought with him earlier, and unceremoniously plopped herself into his lap. She didn't say a word about the image of them lip-locked that graced the cover of the periodical or even acknowledged Nate, sitting a couple of feet away. With a glare, she reached for his glass and took a large gulp, daring him to comment. He merely raised a brow at her when she set the beverage down. He was unprepared for the ferocity in which she attacked him with her mouth. He was so lost in Blair and the kiss, that it wasn't until he had shifted so she could straddle him, that he heard voices and remembered that they weren't alone. As Chuck unwillingly pulled away from Blair for the nth time that day, he actually realized what words had been said.

"Should we be concerned that Chuck and Blair are having their millionth can't-keep-my-hands-to-myself phase, even though we're the ones in the technical honeymoon period?" Serena teasingly asked Nate, although the question was directed towards the married couple.

Chuck's eyes met Blair's and both sets of brown eyes widened, before they turned their heads to find Serena cuddled in Nate's lap, his hand absently played with the strands of her blonde hair.

"Since when?" Chuck asked as he met his best friend's blue eyes.

"October," Nate said with a hesitant smile. "After what you two went through, it seemed ridiculous to let something like pride stand in our way."

"And you didn't tell us this whole time?" Blair demanded, the brightness of her eyes offsetting the sharpness of her tone. Before either of them could answer, Blair had already scrambled off of his lap, and was pulling his sister out of Nate's, hugging her tightly. The two women squealed happily.

"We just wanted to see if we could get through the holidays," Nate admitted. "And then things were going so well, we decided to keep it a secret. Although, if you guys hadn't come back by the end of the month, we would have driven out to tell you the news."

"Well done, Nate!" Blair said excitedly, as she leaned over to give a combo congratulations and hello greeting.

Chuck stood up and swung Serena around in a circle and whispered in her ear, "Finally, Sis."

Blair twirled around to face him just as he let go of his sister. "Where did you hide it? Is it in the vault in your study or the one in my closet?"

He paused for a moment, trying to recall where they had hidden the document in question. "The study. I think it's on the second shelf. Do you want me to go fetch it?"

"No, I'll do the honors." Blair smirked at their best friends. "You two will love this!"

She disappeared down the hall.

"Well, I think we should make a toast to your long overdue union," Chuck said, as he made his way to the bar and pulled out four champagne flutes.

"If you insist," Serena said cheerfully, as she proceeded to kiss Nate in a similar fashion that Blair had greeted Chuck when she walked in.

Chuck busied himself with the glasses and libations. He walked back over and handed out the beverages as Blair burst back into the room, document in hand.

"Did you look at it?" Chuck asked suspiciously, as he handed Blair her drink. She shook her head, as she placed the paper face down on the table. She accepted the glass and settled back into his lap.

"What is that?" Serena asked curiously.

"Toasts, first!" Blair overrode. "To Serena and Nate, who took infinitely longer than Chuck and I did. I am so happy that my two best friends are finally together."

"To finding your bliss," Chuck said simply, as he winked at Nate. "Bottoms up!"

The four of them clinked their glasses and downed the bubbly concoction. Blair took Chuck's glass and placed it with hers on the dining room table, before picking up the piece of paper and hugging it to her chest. Looking at him solemnly, she said, "Addendum to the original agreement. Winner—."

"Gets to ask," he interrupted.

"Exactly."

"Why are you two being so weird?" Serena accused.

"Weirder than usual," Nate specified.

The brunettes ignored their shinier counterparts.

"On the count of three," Chuck said.

"One. Two. Three." Blair flipped over the paper so they could both see. Their hands brushed against each other as they looked over the boxed grid, trying to locate the correct square. They hadn't looked at this chart since they first made it, almost three years ago.

"Seriously, what are you two doing?" Serena asked again.

"Yes!" Chuck shouted triumphantly, finding his initials in the corresponding box. "I win!"

Blair rolled her eyes. "That is pure luck. It's the only box you picked for last year."

"I think you mean pure genius," Chuck crowed.

"Guys," Nate said with a hint of annoyance. "There are other people in the room besides you two."

"Sorry," Chuck said unapologetically, as he handed over the chart to Nate. Blair settled against him, her head resting in the crook of his neck, as they watched their friends try to decipher the handmade spreadsheet.

About six months into their marriage, there had been a ten hour blackout that spanned most of New York. They had been lying in bed for hours talking, when the topic of Nate and Serena's hook up at their wedding surfaced. Chuck had jokingly suggested they place odds on when the two would finally realize that they were meant for each other. Blair had been about to smack him over the head with a pillow, when she had realized there could be a wager involved. She had jumped out of bed, donned on a robe, and searched through her desk, pulling out pens, markers, paper and a ruler. She had started to make mockups of a grid, while they discussed what the parameters were. In the end, there had been sixty boxes to represent the five years they were going to allow their friends to figure it out on their own, before an intervention would be required. They had been so engrossed in the project, that they continued to work on it for hours after the power had come back on, refusing to do anything else until each square had been fought for. The terms also dictated that if one of them had been declared the winner, he or she would be granted three occasions in which there was veto power, non-negotiable veto power.

"You two bet on…us?" Serena said, slightly aghast a few minutes later.

"Why does Blair have twice as many squares as you, Chuck?" Nate asked as he continued to study the sheet.

"We had different strategies," Chuck explained. "One of us thought there was safety in numbers." He looked pointedly at Blair. "While I was willing to sacrifice squares to get dibs on the months that I could actually see the opportunity for you two to happen."

"Please," Blair scoffed. "You bribed me to take your squares. As if you could even call those bribes a sacrifice. You enjoyed every last second of—."

"Where did your filter go? Was it the past few months of isolation that made your 'stop talking' reflex disappear?" Nate interrupted, before Blair could finish her sentence or Chuck could think to respond to it. "I hate to break it to you, but Serena and I really don't want to know the details of your sex life."

Blair and Chuck both rolled their eyes.

"I don't know if we should be insulted or impressed," Serena said. "You two never fail to be so…you."

"Well, we'll take that as a compliment," Blair said. "You two should be honored. We spent almost an entire day analyzing your behavior patterns, and coming up with this chart."

"And how is that not creepy?" Nate asked.

"Who said it wasn't creepy?" Chuck shot back.

Nate and Serena shook their heads while Blair smacked him on the arm.

"Well, you two aren't the only ones with news. There's something that Blair and I wanted to discuss with you," he said, as he stood up and made his way over to the bar to grab the open bottle.

"Is it a cause for celebration?" Serena questioned as he poured the bubbly into all four flutes.

"Definitely," Blair chirped happily as she resettled herself in his lap.

Nate lifted his glass and prodded, "Well, congratulations…"

"Cheers!" Blair said gaily as she knocked back her glass.

Chuck made sure his hands were visibly resting on Blair's flat stomach after he set his glass down. Before their friends could sip their drinks, he said, "To our growing family."

"What?" "Oh my god!"

He and Blair smirked at their faces, frozen in shock.

"But you're drinking," Nate said accusingly.

"Actually, neither of us are," Blair informed him snottily. "Chuck and I have a deal, as long as I can't drink, neither can he."

"I've been drinking apple juice since you got here, Nathaniel. And Blair and my glasses of 'champagne' were sparkling pear cider, and that's what I poured into your glasses just now," he admitted, gesturing for them to take a sip of their beverage. "But that's not what we wanted to discuss. It seemed only natural that as our best friends, you two would do us the honor of being godparents, despite your flighty and non-committal ways."

"B," Serena whispered, her eyes were starting to water. "You're pregnant?"

"I am," his wife nodded, her own eyes welling up with tears. "We just found out yesterday at the doctor's. It's probably too premature to tell anyone, but we agreed that we couldn't keep this a secret from both of you."

Serena walked over and crouched down, gently moving Chuck's hands off of Blair's stomach and replacing it with her own. "You're going to have a baby. I'm so happy for you both."

"We're pretty elated ourselves," Chuck said, as he gently lifted Blair off of his lap, so she could share the moment with her best friend.

Nate gave him a bear hug. "Congratulations, man. Looks like you have everything you ever wanted."

Chuck turned his head so he could look at Blair. He found the brown eyes that caused his stomach to flutter with excitement and happiness, staring back at him. Slowly, they smiled at one another.

"Yes," he said quietly. "We do."

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fin

A/N: To Iluvenis…done! done! done! (Childishly sticks my tongue out at you!)

As always, my sincerest thanks to the lovely and ridiculously talented uncorazonquebrado who makes time to beta for me. I know this sounds cheesy, but truly, I am lost without you.

Hopefully this worked as an epilogue. I had more than a bit of difficulty finding the direction I wanted to go, as the two main scenes I visualized were extremely different from the other. I ended up writing two separate parts that didn't quite mesh well together, but this is the part that seemed to match the tone of the rest of the story. And I hope you feel the story is now complete.

I will be posting the second part as a oneshot in the next week or so, it's definitely a continuation of this world, but works well enough as a standalone. It will give you more of a future glimpse of C/B, set ten years from now. It's a bit Chuckcentric (shocker).

Thank you to all of you who continue to take the time to read my fics, it is appreciated.