Friendly Encounters- Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Alright, so my hiatus didn’t last that long but updates are going to be infrequent this week. Enjoy!

He met her the next day right outside of her classroom. “Blair, we need to talk.”
She walked right past him and continued down the hallway and to her locker. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Chuck was right behind her. “Chuck, we’ve already talked about this. I told you that I can’t do this with you.”
Blair noticed that a particular senior was staring at her and he wasn’t even trying to hide it. This had been happening all day, ever since her pregnancy had become so noticeable. With sarcasm dripping from her tone, she asked, “Is there something you’re looking at? Would you like to go get a microscope and go underneath my dress to see if I’m pregnant? I’ll save you the effort, I’m pregnant.”
Her words had the desired effect and the senior ran around the corner, anything was better than having to listen to a bitchy Blair Waldorf. Her attention was brought around to the fact that Chuck was laughing uproariously.
“What?”
He was still chuckling. “That was pretty amazing, B. You scared the shit out of him and I don’t blame you for it.”
A smile came to her face. For just a minute it seemed like they could forget everything and go back to being friends but that was impossible. But if there was anything she wanted right now, it was for Chuck to be back in her life. She had missed him. But he had chosen to abandon her and the baby, so she had to be strong for the both of them. “What did you want to talk about now, Chuck?” Her tone remained icy.
The smile faded from his face. “I just want to tell you the same thing I did last night. I want you and the baby, I’ve changed my mind.”
“I appreciate you telling me this but what happens when you change your mind again? What am I supposed to do then? I can’t risk that, Chuck.”
There was a desperate plea in his eyes and he did the thing that felt right to him. He kissed her in plain view of anyone who wanted to watch and probably send it to Gossip Girl. His arms wound around her back and Blair found herself clinging to his body and not to mention his mouth. As his tongue slid into her mouth and mated with hers, it felt right and she wanted nothing more than to sink herself into the kiss and lose all of her reason. But she wouldn’t be able to do that now, especially when she wasn’t the only one that she had to think about.
After another moment, Blair gently pushed his chest and he backed away from her with a dazed and confused expression on his face. “Chuck, we can’t do that.”
He looked around the hallway and noticed that most everyone was watching their every move. He did another thing that felt natural to him, he grabbed onto her hand. “Blair, I’m sorry for doing that in front of everybody. No, actually I’m not. I want everyone to know that you’re with me and that you’re pregnant with my baby.”
She felt his warm, rough hand caress hers and she meant to drop it but she found herself holding his hand instead. “Why the sudden change of heart, Chuck? For a month you wanted nothing to do with me or our baby and now it’s all changed.”
He moved his other hand up to cup her face. “Blair, I have just realized what a self absorbed ass I have been. For a month, I tried to convince myself that I could live without you and I knew that I didn’t want our baby, so that was no problem. For the past month, I’ve been miserable every single day. It didn’t matter if I was with people, or if I was doing something that I always enjoyed, I just found that I didn’t feel happy without you in my life. We were friends for eight years before we became what we are now and I think that I did miss our friendship. He took a deep breath before continuing, “A couple of nights ago it just all clicked into place for me, and I’m nothing without you. I can’t be happy without you in my life, Blair. Losing you is almost like losing a part of my soul and it makes me feel dead inside not to be with you. And I find myself yearning to be with you and of course the baby, I want the baby now. He or she is a part of us and how can that be bad? I know I’m going to make some mistakes with our child but I want him or her in my life along with you.”
Tears formed in her eyes when she felt his hand traveling down to her slightly protruding stomach. “Chuck, you don’t know how much I have dreamed about this in the last month. I really didn’t think you were ever going to come around. But, when you rejected me and the baby, it killed me. And I can forgive you for it but I can’t forget what you did. What’s going to happen in a year or two if you decide that fatherhood isn’t cut out for you? I can’t have you around our baby unless I know it’s for good. That would be the worst thing if our child got attached to you and you bailed on him or her. Do you realize what I’m saying?”
He nodded slowly and ran his hand over her belly. “I love him or her, Blair.” His voice was so hoarse and quiet, and she knew that he was telling the truth.
“It’s not enough anymore, Chuck.”
“I love you and the baby, what else do you need?”
She placed a hand over his. “Everything would be fine between us right now if I didn’t get pregnant. And that is what scares me, we faced our real first relationship trial and we failed at it. How can I trust that you’re not going to do this to me again? I just need to be sure Chuck before I let you back into our lives. And I love you too, so much that it hurts to even talk about it.”
The bell rang for class but both of them ignored it. He pushed back a lock of hair from her face and gazed down at her with an expression of pure love on his face. “You know how I knew that I wanted the baby?”
“How?” She whispered.
“The other night when my father got home, he kept talking about how you and he had gotten very close through your pregnancy. And he was telling me about one of your lunch dates last week and I was jealous about it. I was jealous that Bart went out with you to lunch because it should have been me. I finally realized what a fucking asshole I was being and I just wanted to make it all up to me. Then Bart mentioned, how your pregnancy was starting to show and how happy that made you, that you could finally see the results of being pregnant. And all I wanted to do was run to you and see what your body looked like and how our baby looked nestled inside of you. I need the both of you, Blair.”
She touched the side of his face and what he had said was wonderful, and she wanted it more than anything but she still didn’t know if it would work between the two of them. “I don’t know, Chuck.”
“Let me prove it to you, Blair.”
“How are you going to do that?”
He smiled. “By doing anything that you want me to do. Once I prove myself then you will understand that I will do anything for the both of you. It’s up to you what you want me to do, to prove myself.”
“Chuck, it’s not just going to be one thing. You’re going to have to do many things to prove to me that this is what you really want.”
He nodded. “Agreed. What’s first on the list?”
She thought about it and decided on something. “Serena and Nate are coming over to the apartment later; you come over also and let them ask you anything they want about the pregnancy, or your fears, and the baby.”
Chuck felt a trickle of fear at this but he knew that he had to prove to Blair that he could be the father that their child deserved. “I’ll see you after school.” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and he was gone.
Blair felt happier than she had in the last month. It was like everything was starting to fall in place but she still wasn’t convinced about Chuck and what he said. He was going to have to work hard to prove that this was really what he wanted and it wasn’t just a fluke. She would be sure to find out this afternoon.

XOXO
Chuck walked into Blair’s apartment to find that Blair, Serena, and Nate were already waiting for him. Serena glowered at him, while Nate looked happy to see him, and Blair looked quite anxious to see him. He strode over to where Blair was sitting on the couch, and he sat down next to her and looped an arm around her shoulders. He saw the quick smile that settled on the corners of her mouth.
“Are we going to do this or what?” He asked after a few minutes of silence. “That’s why I’m here to prove to Blair that I have changed my mind. Throw your best stuff at me.”
Serena piped in right away. “Why should any of us really believe that you’re just not going to do the same thing again?”
He swallowed quickly; Serena had started with a hard question. “Well as I told Blair this afternoon, I have been thinking about the baby and her the past month and it wasn’t just her I missed while we were trying to avoid each other. I missed the baby and it all just finally sunk into this dense brain of mine. Without wanting the baby, I would never have B back in my life. But that’s not the only reason; I really do want to be a father now. I want to prove to myself and to everyone else that I will not make the same mistakes that my father made with me and that I can do better for my own child. I love the both of them, and if I can say that I love the baby when it’s not even born yet, then you know that I really do mean it. Love is a very hard word for me to say and the only two people that I have ever said it to are currently residing on this couch next to me. And I would never hurt Blair if I could help it, she’s everything to me. I don’t want to ever lose her again and I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen again. If there’s no Waldorf, there’s no Bass. It’s always been like that? Right, B?” He looked at Blair for confirmation.
A true grin spread across her entire face. “That is right, Chuck.”
“Good answer.” Nate said while Serena nodded her head almost reluctantly.
He grasped Blair’s hand next to him and she grabbed back at it. “What else?”
Nate asked, “I know this might seem like a stupid question, but what if you decide that you want someone other than Blair? What will happen to her and the baby when you cheat on her?”
Chuck looked at Nate with disbelief. “That will never happen; I mean it’s hard to even answer this question honestly because I know that has no chance of happening. I’ve never wanted anyone like Blair, she is the most important thing in my life and there is no way that I will cheat on her. She had ruined me for other women and I’m happy about that. I have no urge to ever be with anyone else and I can’t believe you would even ask me that question, Archibald.”
Nate shrugged and Blair chimed in, “I have a question for you, Chuck.”
He turned his head to her and gave her a shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Okay. Anything for you, Blair.”
She smiled but then became quite serious. “What happens if you decide that fatherhood isn’t cut out for you? Will you just leave us behind without a second thought?”
His heart beat with fear when he heard her question. “Blair, I think you deserve the truth and as part of our longstanding friendship, I would never lie to you. I can’t promise you that won’t happen. I am still very frightened about becoming a father and I’m afraid that I’m going to fuck everything up. But, I do know that I love you and that I will do my best not to cause you any more pain than I already have. That would kill me. All I know is that I want to try and be the best father that is even humanely possible, and I want for our child to love me like I will love it. I promise you that I will never lie to you about what our baby means to me and I will never just leave you behind like that in the dust, Blair. But I find myself every day wanting this more and more and I think this might have been a good thing that has happened to us. I want to be a father that much I know.”
She nodded. “Thank you for being honest with me, it does help.”
For the next hour, Blair, Nate, and Serena threw all the questions at him that they could. He answered all of them honestly and they did seem to be pleased with his answers. Soon they ran out of questions. “Is that it?” He asked.
Blair was still holding his hand and she answered his question. “For now.” She warned. “But if we think of anything else, don’t think that we won’t ask you. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and do you want to go with me?” She asked it warily because she wasn’t sure if he wanted to be that involved with the baby.
Chuck leaned over and captured her lips with his in a mild but passionate kiss nonetheless. He broke the kiss and he looked at her, and he knew the love that he felt for her just radiated out of his eyes. He also realized that it was a big step for her to ask him to go along with her to one of her doctor’s appointments. It was a big step in the right direction and he found that it was something that he really wanted to do. “I would really like that, Blair. Thank you.” He whispered. “I’ll meet you there tomorrow.” He kissed her one more time and this time she reacted and grabbed his collar to prolong the kiss. When she finally let go of him, he knew that he was going to have trouble walking out of here with his now obvious and blatant erection that he was sporting. She gave him an impish grin and he tried to cover himself as he got up from the couch and left. As he was almost out the door, he gave her one more smile and he felt so hopefully when he saw the grin that she shot back at him. He waved goodbye to Nate and Serena.
As soon as the door shut, Blair rounded on her friends. “What do you think?”
Serena took her time answering. “He obviously loves you Blair, I mean that is so very obvious.” Blair nodded her head. Serena continued, “He really does seem to want the baby and you, and I have to admit that all of the questions we asked him, he answered them all perfectly. But, I would be cautious in forgiving him too quickly. He hurt you very badly Blair, and I think he should have to prove himself a little more before he is let back into your life. And you do have the baby to think about.”
Blair took in everything that Serena had just said and asked Nate, “What about you?”
Nate threaded his hand through Serena’s golden, silky, locks. “I’m a little softer towards Chuck than Serena is. I think he really is sorry about how he reacted when he first found out that you were pregnant but then again, I’m not positive that he won’t do this to you again, Blair. And I don’t want to ever see you in that kind of pain again; you lost all of your happiness when Chuck bailed on you. I do think he’s changed his mind but I wouldn’t forgive him just yet. Make him work a little harder and see how he reacts to that.”
“I think the both of you are right. Chuck really seems to want this but I can’t be sure just yet. I’m not going to allow myself to get close to him and then to just get hurt again. He’s going to have his work cut out for him if he decides that this is really what he wants. I am not going to be forgiving him just yet.” Blair knew that was the right decision since she couldn’t be sure if she could trust Chuck again yet or not. Only time would tell where her future with Chuck would lie.

XOXO
The next day, Blair sat on top of the exam table already in the required gown for her ultrasound. Chuck was standing right by her side.
“Are you okay? You look a little tense.” He asked her as he rubbed her back.
A fleeting grin came to her face. “I am just nervous about how you’re going to be reacting to all of this, Chuck. I know you said that you want this but I’m still not entirely convinced of the fact.”
“I will convince you, Blair.”
She nodded. “Okay. Actually, I’m really excited to find out the sex of the baby today.”
“What?” He almost screeched.
“I’m over four months pregnant, so they can tell us the sex of the baby if we want. And I need to know, I can’t wait for five more months.”
He face lit up with a huge smile and he looked like Christmas had come early. “I didn’t know we were going to find out what we’re going to have but I can’t wait. I’m as anxious as you are, Blair.”
The joy was so evident on his face and in his voice that she couldn’t help but peck his lips. Just as Chuck responded and wrapped an arm around her waist, the doctor decided to walk on in.
Blair and Chuck broke apart instantly.
“Hello Miss Waldorf, I presume this is the father?” Dr. Thompson asked.
“It is. This is the father of the baby, Chuck.”
Dr. Thompson and Chuck shook hands before the doctor chimed in, “I haven’t seen you here before, Mr. Bass.”
A guilty look appeared on his face. “Well, that’s a long story. But the shorter version of it is that I was scared when Blair told me about the baby but after many nights of consideration I have decided that I want to be here for her and the baby. They are what is most important to me.”
Dr. Thompson seemed satisfied with his answer and he what about his usual examination with Blair. Chuck stood by her side the whole time and held her hand while he checked everything out. He finally got to the ultrasound and poured some of the petroleum jelly over her belly and Blair shivered when she felt it. After a few moments the picture came up on the screen of their baby and they could hear the heartbeat. Chuck sat transfixed by the monitor; he decided that he was never going to take his eyes off of it.
“Everything looks great. Did you want to know the sex of the baby or do you want to be surprised?” Dr. Thompson asked.
“We want to know.” They both answered in unison.
He smiled at them. “Okay, let’s see what we have here. It looks like you are going to be having a healthy baby boy in November.”
“A boy?” Blair managed to squeak while her eyes filled with tears.
“A boy.” He confirmed.
Blair glanced over at Chuck, who was standing very still and not moving his eyes away from the picture on the ultrasound. Happy tears continued to cascade down her face. “Chuck?”
He looked at her when he heard her voice and he had unshed tears in his eyes. “We’re going to have a boy, Blair!” He kissed her soundly on the mouth and they both hugged each other fervently. Their excitement could not be contained.
Dr. Thompson couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face at the picture of the young couple in front of him who so obviously loved each other. He printed a picture of the baby and handed it to Blair. “Here’s a picture of your baby boy. Take all the time you need in here.” He left so that they could have a few minutes alone with each other.
As soon as the door closed, Blair grabbed his hand. “We’re going to have a mini Chuck.”
The grin never left his face as he said, “I hope not.”
“I hope we do.” She said softly as she took in the look of complete and utter happiness on his face. “You really are happy about him, aren’t you?”
Chuck moved back a lock of her chocolate waves. “How can you still doubt that, Blair? I was a total ass but I want nothing more than to just be with you and him now. You are my life and I can’t wait to meet him. Do you still doubt that?”
Blair bit her lip as she said, “I want to trust you Chuck and I am starting too but you need to do one more thing before I let you back in both of our lives for good.”
“Name it.” Came his instant reply.
She placed a hand on her stomach and Chuck did the same. “Um, my mother is coming home from France this week to stay with me for a little while. I told her about the pregnancy and she knows that it’s your baby. I also told her how you abandoned me and how you didn’t want anything to do with either one of us. She hates you now for what you did to me and she knows how upset I have been with everything. So, I want you to come to dinner with me and my mother, and I want you to convince her that you really have changed your mind about us. It’s not going to be easy; she is really pissed for what you did to me. If you can get Eleanor to see that you really do want the both of us, then I will have no other qualms about letting you back into my life. So what do you say?”

To Be Continued…

A/N: I am sorry for my lack of updates recently but sometimes life just has a way of interfering with everything. Everything has been going better and my muse has come back to me. So, the updates should continue to happen. How did you like this chapter? I need to hear some feedback.
-Sam