Summary: It was the catalyst to the inevitable downfall. The spark that ignited the flame. The question was, would it burn down the whole village or simmer down to blackened ashes? Nothing stays perfect forever. No matter how hard you try to bury the bad side of yourself, it only takes one thing to bring out the inner beast inside you. And all it took was one word. SEMI AU.

There were many things in life that brought happiness to Chuck Bass. At the top of the list had to be his family. He never thought this would be the case, but it was.

His doe-eyed, curly, and timeless wife. The way she laughed. The way she let her insecurities scratch at her porcelain skin. The way she always loved him, inside and out. The ways she showed her love. The way she snuggled up against him at night, wrapping him in love.

The list was endless.

Moving down the line were his children, Elizabeth Lillian and Scarlett Rose. They were probably two of the most difficult children at times, but at the end of the day Chuck loved them just as much as he loved his wife. Even when they spilled things on the floor or got in fights with each other or put up a fuss. Part of fatherhood was tolerating all of those things, even when it was hard. Chuck had never been a tolerant person, but when he set his eyes on his twins he changed. He could never put in words what it was like to see his children for the first time. He was responsible for two little venerable girls and took his job very seriously.

Now four, the twins had definite personalities. They say that a child is either the spitting image of their mother or father, or aunt or grandfather. But to Chuck, his little girls were both blends of him and Blair, at least personality wise.

Their firstborn Elizabeth, or Beth as she has come to be called, has pin-straight brown hair unlike her mother. She has doe eyes like her mom as well as the appearance of innocence that comes with them. But with that also came insecurity. She always had a sister to be compared to, and at the end of the day although wiser and more put together, gets outshone but her twin's bursting personality and confidence. She is daddy's girl, always coming to her father for hugs and long talks. She has Chuck's deep thought processes and hints of a hidden darkness, although she is full of life. Blair and Chuck can't help but to fear that she turns into her father, but their other daughter seemed to be on the faster track.

Coming almost twenty minutes after her twin sister was Scarlett. She was that baby girl a father could set eyes on knowing she'd be trouble in the future. Her name served her justice, being named after Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. When she was settled down in her father's arms looking up at him with her deep brown eyes, he knew it was the role she was born to play. She could have no other name. Full of spite and confidence, she flounced down the street as if she was a queen. She fluffed her curls that Blair refused to cut when she was a baby and sighed dramatically when she was in deep thought. Her sister may have the brains to the scheme but she had the wit. Together, Chuck and Blair had a hunch they'd be feared even more than Queen B herself. The boys would really have to step up to the plate as well as girls who wanted to be their minions. Chuck was beyond satisfied with that.

His contentment with his life was beyond even his beautiful, picturesque family. It was beyond any material object in the world. He didn't know if he could even assign a word to it. It was like all of the blues and grays and deep shades of black had blended into pinks and fire reds and deep purples of elegance. However, the dark colors still remained. The demons still lurked, the kindling still ready to catch fire. You see, you can change a person on the outside. Maybe even the inside if you really make an effort.

But you can never kill a soul.

There are events in life that happen that are far out of your control. You can't change them, no matter how much money or willpower you put into it. You feel helpless. Because on the Upper East Side, doesn't money solve everything? That art camp that wouldn't let his four year-old participate because she's too young. He pays a little extra. His wife is upset. He buys her a necklace to mask the pain. Chuck Bass grew up with that lifestyle. He drowned himself in booze, money, and girls to disconnect himself from painful reality. It was Blair Waldorf: sixteen, venerable, wholesome, and on top of everything, beautiful who ripped him out of the darkness. It took years and years to change himself to be the father, husband, and complete person he is today. However beneath all of the change, he was still himself to the core.

And all it took was one word for his core to rip him to shreds.

Cancer.

Chuck Bass was never one for tragedy.

I promise this will be a really good story, just give it a chance ;) The chapters are going to be much longer, this is just the intro. The rest of the story will be told in the style all of my other stories are. I have had this on my mind for so long (like almost a year!) and am so excited to be finally writing it. I don't know how much I will update this story as I have school and Oh, Brother! to finish, but I will try at least once a week.

Here's my only hint for the next chapter: Blair doesn't have cancer. I didn't want anyone freaking out about that lol. So there you go.

XOXO, Becca