First of Many

By Isabelle

Rating: PG (for cursing and adult language)

Summary: Moments with Henry, Chuck and Blair and perhaps another little one. Post-Finale.

A/N: Not my best, I know this, but a little something that I promised my Twitter friends to write post-show. I hope you all enjoy it. This is a one-shot, I have no plans to continue this or write another story. I hope you all enjoyed the finale! Special thanks to Courtney who did a quick BETA for me!

When love has always had a cost it's quite a difficulty to accept that love given willingly without reservations and monetary compromises. Quite honestly, despite the years of Blair's reassuring love tones and Lily's small glances of motherly affection it was still the hardest thing for Chuck to accept and believe that love, such a temperamental thing, was being genuinely given without hidden notes or folded strings.

Which is why when Henry came to the world, all pink, wrinkled and screaming with tons of hair, he was confused even a little mystified and absolutely out of his element. Blair took off in expert wings, letting the babe latch on to her breast as she cradled him and counted his fingers. But not Chuck. He stood next to her, overwhelmed by everything. By this new life, if he was honest.

"Congratulations, dad!" Their midwife told him, smiling at him.

Dad.

Such a strange enigma of a word.

His experiences with Dads had been limited and strained, at most.

Truth be told, Chuck didn't feel like someone's Dad. Wasn't there supposed to be a sudden change in the person? A warmth? A tingle? He felt neither.

Instead all he felt was confusion and a strange emptiness.

What was he doing here? Being a family man? Being a good person? He wasn't meant to be either of those things. He'd fucked up more times than memory could serve and his sins were pounding at his door.

Yet here was his body, standing awkwardly next to Blair as she smiled down to the small little wrinkly thing that carried his last name like a large stamp of ownership.

"Chuck, come here, come touch him," she encouraged him, knowing full well that he was drowning in his own thoughts.

He was rooted in the spot. His entire body felt like it had been land-filled with cement. Filled with a heaviness of indescribable enormity. He was… responsible for this minute human being who was so very new. Untouched, unwrapped, untainted by the vast world of bad people with bad intentions and bad hearts.

Naked with nothing but his strong pair of lungs.

It was all up to him. He was Dad.

And a slow realization dawned upon Chuck Bass at that very moment.

Henry, for lack of better word, was a blank canvas. All humans were. They were born with no knowledge of anything outside of being hungry and sleepy.

And here was Chuck Bass, once a babe himself, given this wonderful blank life ready to be filled with things such as memories, hugs, kisses, encouraging words, and love. Most importantly love. Love, the building block of any life, the glue, the substance that makes us who we are.

"I can hear your internal monologue from here, Bass, come meet your boy," Blair demanded of him and just like that he snapped, back to reality. She had that sounding effect on him. Just when he was always perched so very at the edge she would just speak and she would bring him back, save him time and time again.

With that he leaned in, ready for the first time in his life to take on the role of painter, of artist to his son's small and blank soul.

With that, the first of many memories were born.

Free from the birthing center and now on their own, the family made their way up the steps of the towering brownstone that was home. Exhausted and ecstatic, Chuck and Blair, made a beeline for the room decked out for their little Prince. Blair had the nursery redecorated 3 times. It started out with a farm theme. That was short-lived and removed were all the lambs and happy cows. She didn't know what she had been thinking when she chose it to begin with. Then she switched to a sailing nautical theme which lasted up until last month when she suddenly woke up and by the time Chuck was home from the office the lovely sea murals had been replaced with all white walls, no theme exactly save for a royal blue and silver. White walls, white furniture and rich royal blue curtains, carpets, pillows, wall art with beautiful silver Tiffany pieces done in tasteful elegance. A room for a Prince, Blair had said.

Chuck carefully placed the baby down in his beautiful white and silver bassinette and both new parents stared down at him, waiting for him to need something. He didn't budge. Dressed in all white with little navy socks and hat also embroidered with his initials, the baby stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

"He has your pout," Chuck informed Blair, in awe.

"I don't pout," Blair informed him.

"Yes, Mrs. Bass, you do. It's adorable and our son has inherited it." Chuck nodded, making sure his little socks were on right. "Do you think it's too cold in here? It feels too cold, I should turn on the heater."

"It's already 80 degrees in here. I'm sure he's fine." Blair sighed.

They didn't really do much other than stand around and stare at Henry, making sure it was all true and real. That he wasn't a figment of their imagination.

It wasn't long before his piercing cry brought them firmly back to reality.

"These diapers are too big for him." He noticed. Both looked down, the baby had calmed down and he was munching on his hands. The diaper almost hit his little chest so Chuck carefully folded it, avoiding the baby's still healing belly button.

"He's so small," Chuck commented, kissing a little bare foot.

"Yes, tell that to my traumatized vagina," Blair shot back, glaring at him.

"I'll ask her face-to-face in a few weeks," Chuck smirked at her and she gasped.

"You are never going down there ever again, Charles Bass, I won't let you." Blair said. "You'll have to make do with fond memories of her. Sorry."

"I am most certainly going down there; I need to personally thank her for my son." Chuck clothed the baby back in his little footed onesie.

"Charles Bass. This is neither the time or place to discuss oral s…" Blair hissed, covering her baby's small ears. "I refuse to discuss oral or any kind of sex in front of my 3-day-old baby."

"Good, because it was never up for discussion." Chuck smirked, picking up the baby and holding him against his chest. Chuck thoroughly enjoyed the first of many memories of dropping innuendos of their sex lives in front of their innocent children and watching Blair's face heat up in horror. He was going to traumatize them, she said. Good thing they could afford a shrink, he replied.

"Where is my baby!?" she bounced into the room, a smile plastered on her face and more bags of toys and clothes in her hands.

She plopped the bags down as Dan came tumbling in after her, made to carry more bags himself.

"Give me, give me!" She cried but Chuck held the baby to him.

"Wash!" he admonished and she quickly dropped her jacket and purse to make sure she was well sanitized.

"You didn't happen to bring a baby wipe warmer amongst all this stuff?" Blair asked, peering over the bags that Dan had deposited.

"Wait you were serious about that?" he said flatly, clearly not happy with the mini shopping spree that he'd been shanghaied into in the first place.

"Oh, stop it. Don't listen to him, you guys. None of the stores we hit had the warmer. Now where's my best little guy. Come with your favorite Auntie," Serena wrestled the baby out of Chuck's arms. The first of many, many, many times she stole his children from his arms. She was lucky she was his sister.

"You're his only Aunt." Blair pointed out and Serena happily ignored her as she cradled Henry in her arms.

"It can't be that all of New York is out of Baby wipe Warmers," Chuck stated, agitatedly, most especially how Serena was bouncing Henry as the baby frowned at her.

"I can Craigslist it," Dan offered and Chuck and Blair turned sharply to look at him.

"Who the hell is Craig?" Blair asked, clearly confused.

Dan pointed to his phone. "Craigslist."

Blair looked at Chuck, Chuck looked at Blair.

Dan played with his phone for a bit and then smiled, triumphantly. "Here! $15, lightly used baby wipe warmer, SoHo."

Blair's face would've been priceless had someone actually looked at it. "Used?!"

"In all fairness I should be allowed to hold him first," Eric reasoned with Nate, not backing down. The first of many arguments and rifts between the uncles was about to go down.

The older blond glared down at him. "I've been waiting for days!" Nate exclaimed. "You didn't even go to the birthing center; you didn't get a bashed in the head by a crazy person."

"Give her a break. She was in labor and it was just a magazine. Besides, you should've known Blair would turn violent when you started recording her, that's your own fault and in no way should impede me holding the baby before you." Eric said, with utmost patience.

"I –" Nate blanched. "I'm his godfather!"

"I'm his uncle!" Eric was starting to lose his cool.

"I've known Chuck and Blair longer!"

"Only because you're older!"

"Which means I win, I get to hold him first!"

"The hell you are!"

"What in the hell is happening here?" Blair walked out of the nursery with a glare that could melt steel. "I've just spent 87 minutes trying to get an infant to bite my nipple and sleep and you two idiots are going to wake him up!"

They both gaped at her.

And from behind the white polished door the sounds of an unhappy whimper came and Blair's eyes found them like angry daggers.

"I'll get him!" Eric volunteered.

"No, I'll do it!" Nate pushed in front of Eric.

"As far as I'm concerned neither of you will pick him up. If I recall correctly, only Serena finished the infant development class that I required for anyone to handle my baby," Blair stated calmly.

Nate and Eric stared, incredulously at her.

"That is crap, Blair and you know it, I had to be in California that week," Nate sighed, exasperatedly.

"Which is why I sent you an online version of it and you failed to complete it within the selected time frame which means neither of you will be holding my baby," She snapped, turning on her heel and tending to Henry.

"Infant development class," Eric said slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

Behind them a very content Serena bounced in, throwing a smirk over her shoulder. "Looks like I'm still the only one who can hold the baby, though luck, guys, but keep trying."

"Blair, you're doing it all wrong," Eleanor cried, impatiently nearly pushing Blair out of the way from cleaning Henry's bellybutton.

Blair gapped at her mother. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you had a whole week worth of experience with baby's healing bellybuttons."

Eleanor, smiled down adoringly at her grandson. "Henry can sense your sarcasm, dear."

"Good." Blair snapped and turned to leave the room, seeking her husband so she could complain about her mother. Again.

She found him reading the instructions on the baby bottles that her mother had brought them from Paris. A far cry from the boy she knew back in high school, her Chuck was now in cream slacks and a bright red polo which had a suspicious milk stain on a sleeve, and disheveled hair. Monkey sat faithfully next to his master, still confused on all the changes happening to his small family.

"She's doing it again," she whined to Chuck. He barely spared her a glance, he was so lost in concentration.

"My French is still fuzzy, what does this mean?" he thrust the paper at her. She snatched it from him and glared at him.

"Are you listening to me? She's doing it again! Telling me how I'm doing it all wrong because she has so much more experience with babies." Blair sighed. "She probably barely remembers what I even looked like as a baby and how long do you think she'll stay?"

Chuck leaned back in the counter, staring at her. "She's caught the Henrypidemic."

"Yeah, seems to be running rampant these days," Blair sighed, feeling they had hardly had any time with their baby by themselves.

"Want me to impose the emergency ban?" Chuck asked her, taking the paper back from her.

"Oh, Nana loves you so much, my angel," Eleanor was heard from the other room.

They both looked at the door, thinking it over.

Blair had never seen her mother this gentle and loving. From the moment Eleanor had arrived yesterday night she had been in utter love with her grandson.

"Give her a day," Blair finally acquiesced. "But if she says one more thing, I'm done."

But, of course, it was the first of many times that Eleanor gave plenty of unwelcomed advice when it came to her grandchildren.

It was exactly six-thirty five in the morning and Dorota, now running the Bass household like a diligent militant ex-general, knew that this intrusion was most unwelcomed. Mister Henry had been screaming his little lungs out for the past 5 hours straight and despite Mister Chuck and Miss Blair trying everything to get him to eat or to at least sleep it had been futile. The tension in the home was only cut by the whimpering cries of the frustrated hungry and sleepy baby who refused to cooperate.

Whoever was ringing the bell of the brand-new brownstone had to leave, that was all there was to it. The ringing was persistent as she huffed and puffed down the stairs, her brows straight and her mouth set. The nerve! All their friends and family knew that the Bass household couldn't be disturbed until at least 10am when Miss Blair was ready to greet the world.

So when Dorota yanked the door opened and saw who it was she couldn't help her quip.

"Mister Jack, goodbye." She snapped, ready to slam the door back on his face. But the man, being stronger and much taller than her, easily slipped in.

"Mister Jack! Mister Henry get no rest all night, things very bad, you must go now." She insisted, pointing out to the street.

That's when she noticed the man's usual sharp appearance to look quite… disheveled. "I've been calling non-stop for the past 3 hours." He snapped, his eyes red from lack of sleep.

"Family very busy, you come back later." She insisted.

"No, I think I'll make myself at home." He bounded up the stairs, following the cries of Henry. Dorota huffed behind him, intent on blocking him before he could even make it to the master bedroom where the Basses were huddled. But Jack was faster despite her running after him.

He slammed the doors of the master bedroom opened and he and Dorota froze at the sight that greeted them.

"He's eating!" a very tired-looking Blair cried, her gown opened and her heavy chest exposed. Henry's head full of thick dark brown hair was attached to her nipple as he whimpered and suckled loudly.

Chuck for his part was in his robe, his hair messier than his hungry son's, dark circles under his eyes and both Jack and Dorota spotted what looked suspiciously like throw up all over his left shoulder.

Both Blair and Chuck's heads snapped up, their faces set in disapproval at the unwelcomed intrusion to their private act.

"Jack!" Blair cried, undignified, startling Henry and making him lose his mother's nipple which only sent him screaming again in frustration.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chuck growled, none too pleased, stalking angrily towards his uncle.

"Looks like the nugget doesn't take after you, nephew. If I remember correctly, Blair's pink nipples never sent you into a fit of rage." Jack smirks.

Blair's mouth dropped opened and she angrily stuffed her boob into her son's face, calming him once more. Chuck seethed and if Dorota hadn't intervened she was sure he would've strangled the man.

"Out!" Chuck growled, as Dorota shoved Jack out, slamming the door behind them.

It was the first of many times that Jack showed up at random hours to intrude on the small family, this all happened until him and Georgina settled "their thing" (as Blair called it).

He's like the uncle that never leaves, Blair would scream.

He is the uncle that never leaves, Chuck would reply under his breath. Which is why he plotted out for Georgina and him to get it together; he didn't think Blair would be able to handle many more of Jack's random intrusions.

When Henry was seven months old he was finally sitting on his little high chair and it was the first of many mornings that the Basses spent over breakfast.

Of course, Blair had envisioned it quite differently. Mostly that she wasn't covered in orange goo and that Chuck didn't have to change his tie three times as they attempted to get Henry to eat his organically grown pesticide-free carrots and peas.

Henry, for his part, was having a grand old time, smiling and showing off his one tooth, not minding whatsoever that all of his beautiful dark hair was quickly hardening with baby food.

"No, Henry!" Blair cried as he spit out his food, making bubbles with it and laughing. Then he proceeded to splatter his little hands over the chunks that had fallen on his plate.

"Chuck, do something!" Blair snapped at her husband who was attempting to stay as far from the flying orange muck as possible.

"I told you to let Dorota feed him, she doesn't have a board meeting to handle later and we do," Chuck stated plainly, trying to grab Henry's dirty hand and clean him.

"We need to do this as a family!" Blair cried her voice so high-pitched that it sent alarms off in Henry's head and the baby went from being happy with his mess to being hysterical.

Just like his mother, Chuck thought. Yet, with that same train of thought he picked up his baby boy and held him against him as Blair struggled to emerge from the feeding with as much dignity as possible.

"We're trying this again, Chuck Bass, don't you try to deter me," Blair stated with as much determination as Chuck knew her to have as she whipped at her forehead, leaving behind even more goo.

Suit, tie and shirt ruined, Chuck rocked his baby back and forth as Henry clung to him, tucking his dirty face into Chuck's neck and making the CEO very very late to his board meeting. He would've been upset but when he opened his briefcase he found one of Henry's rattles between his papers and he suddenly remembered that even thought it was the first time he was late to a meeting he was now a Daddy and that made all the difference.

Originally, their first true vacation was meant to be when Henry turned one but it just happened to be that he got a horrible ear infection and they spent the week they were supposed to be in a fabulous resort in Hawaii in the hospital.

They tried again six months later but Eleanor got suddenly sick and they had to travel to France.

And so on, it felt that they only traveled if they were going to see family or for business.

When Henry turned three it finally happened.

"Don't take any calls, don't check text messages, ignore everyone and everything until we get to the hotel!" Blair came bounding down the stairs as Henry and Chuck stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. Both wore matching khaki Bermudas, navy Polos with dark sunglasses and a serious expression.

"I haven't. I'm not. And consider it done," Chuck replied sardonically. His wife was going to drive him to the brink of insanity.

"And no emails!" She emphasized.

"No m-mails!" Henry stated with finality.

"Everyone will just have to wait to be fatally ill or die, we need this vacation so badly, our son needs this vacation and I need to sip on something fruity with a tiny umbrella or so help me god."

"Yes, dear," Chuck replied as Arthur started taking their bags down to the limo.

"Henry? Did Dorota put sunblock on you?" Blair demanded.

Henry stared at her blankly through his dark glasses, mouth set.

"Blair… sweetheart, we're not going to land in Greece for a few hours," Chuck reminded her.

"He still needs sunblock, I read an article the other day that said –"

Chuck ushered her out of the door as she continued to explain some NY Times article that had her panicking about something new.

When he finally got his small family on the plane Blair gasped in excitement when the stewardess delivered the mojitos he had arranged for her.

Henry got one too in his sippy cup, sans Rum but still sweet and tasty. Which he happily sipped, just like his parents.

"I already sense it, this is going to be a great vacation," Blair stated.

"Best ever," Chuck nodded, winking at Henry as he gulped his drink loudly.

At the end it was not Henry who sported a sunburn. It was Chuck as he had stated that he didn't need sunblock and had fallen asleep with Henry on top of him on the terrace. So he had a Henry-sized imprint on him for 2 weeks.

He didn't mind too much, it was the first of many times he had fallen asleep with one of this children on him while on vacation. Something about Dad being comfortable made that happen. Blair, of course, had gotten it on camera.

In the eve of Henry's first Christmas (and by first Christmas it is implied that it was the first one that Henry actually remembered as he had mostly slept and cried through the past ones) he realized that all of the silly Holiday traditions that Blair was so fond of suddenly made sense. From snow being vital on Christmas morning, to a decorated tree, to leaving cookies and milk by the fireplace, to carols and casseroles and roasts and breads, to ice skating, to snowmen because suddenly he was seeing it all from the eyes of his four year old. Finally understanding what Christmas was, Henry had proven himself very much Blair's offspring as he was truly in his element during the Holidays, much like this mother. His smile was wider and brighter and he bounced with happiness at all of the things his mother had planned out for him.

It all started when Chuck returned home from work to find his lovely wife telling Henry different stories about the ornaments they were adding to the tree. It was not the first time he'd watched Blair decorate the tree. On the contrary, he'd watched and enjoyed the way her derrière lifted up as she concentrated on the perfect spot for her beloved ornaments. But never had she shared her passion with someone else. And Henry was the perfect specimen.

His little face looked at her, nodding, understanding completely the vital importance of each snowflake they added to the tree.

"Teaching him all good things, I see," Chuck murmured, his family turning to look at him as Monkey happily trotted into the room to greet his owner.

"Daddy!" Henry, was always ecstatic to have either of his parents arrive home. He ran to him with an ornament at hand as Chuck scooped him up and twirled him making the little boy let out a peel of laughter.

"Are you having fun with Mommy decorating the tree?" He asked, tousling his hair.

"Yes, come join us!" Henry demanded, wriggling out of his arms and tugging him towards his smirking mother.

"Yes, my love, come join us," Blair stated sardonically. She knew for a fact that he husband refused to put up ornaments, opting instead to enjoy a cup of a coffee and scones as he watched her do it.

Chuck stared at her, knowing full well that he'd been trapped. He looked down at his son, all smiles and happiness, holding a glittery silver star in his little fingers.

"This one is my favorite, daddy," he said in his little lisp.

Chuck contemplated this but it didn't take him long to make up his mind. Henry's little innocent and smiling face and the opportunity to be involved in something his own father never even dreamed of. With that he shed his jacket and to Blair's stunned surprised he rolled up his sleeves and picked up Henry so that he could place his favorite silver star on the very top of the tree.

And with that Chuck made his first of many Christmas memories to come.

"But we already have a dog," Chuck reasoned.

"But we're not wanting another dog. We're wanting a cat." Blair stated plainly.

Blair and Henry had been on an Audrey Hepburn kick. Not that his 4 year-old understood much, mostly he understood how much his mother loved it and as was the rule – whatever his parents enjoyed, he also enjoyed. When Nate and Chuck did a Clint Eastwood marathon six months ago Henry insisted on being a cowboy. All of the time. For a whole week.

This week he wanted a cat (Blair had been wanting one for 2 years now, she said Monkey needed company. Monkey hated cats.) because of Blair's enthusiasm for Cat, Holly Golightly's pet.

"Please, Daddy! We can name him Cat!" Henry cried, raising his arms as he expressed how much he wanted the animal.

Blair turned and looked wide-eyed at Chuck, completely innocent in the matter.

"It's not like you have to walk it," Blair reasoned. "It doesn't need much affection; it's really much more convenient than a dog."

Monkey whined next to Chuck, staring up at his owner.

"We are one animal away from becoming a middle-class animal hording TLC family." Chuck said, staring directly at Blair.

"It's not fair to count the horses, Bass, they're in New Haven," Blair pointed her finger at him.

"Or the turtle that escaped?" Chuck countered.

"She's gone," Blair said, excitedly. "No longer ours, we can only pray she found a good family."

"Blair – " Chuck started, about to remind her of the birds which Lily ended up taking or the bunny nightmare; which had multiplied inexplicably overnight, escaped their cage and ended up literally pouring out of their home, into traffic where two had ended up road kill much to Blair's hysterical horror.

Chuck paused when he felt a small tug on his pants, he looked down to find Henry staring up at his father with wide brown eyes that belonged solely to Blair.

"Please, daddy," Henry's begged. He batted his lashes. "I want a cat more than anything in the world."

And that was that. One of the first of many times that Henry learned to use his wide eyes to convince his father of something. Most especially animals.

"But, Daddy, I'm scared," Henry whined as he clung to his father, looking dubiously out into the streets.

"Baby, it's just people and children dressing up and pretending! It's only make-believe." Blair smiled, she was dressed herself like Cleopatra complete with wig, winged liner, robe and jewelry. Henry was wearing a miniature Iron Man costume which Blair had made just for him.

Chuck was in his suit, refusing to wear the Marc Anthony costume Blair had custom made for him. He was Chuck Bass. Chuck Bass only dressed up for Halloween when a suit was involved.

"We're doing this the traditional way, we go to the houses and saying 'trick or treat' and people give us candy!" Blair was beyond herself with excitement.

Chuck, on the other hand, didn't understand why his son needed to beg other people for candy when he would easily buy him all he wanted. Blair had said that it was all part of the tradition. The moment Henry had turned 3 it was all done in the name of tradition.

Blair wanted her son to have traditions. Like clockwork, the small Bass family now celebrated every single holiday. Every single one.

"But how come Daddy doesn't have a costume?" Henry asked, looking at Chuck. Blair's sharp gaze found him and he could practically feel the heat coming from her. And it wasn't a good heat. It was a bad, you're in trouble, I will wear flannel to bed type of heat.

And with that Chuck Bass celebrated the first of many Halloweens with his family and since his children would only go trick or treating if he dressed up with them he took the reins of the costume decisions from Blair before he ended up dressed up like the three little bears.

The first time they found out they were pregnant it had been an accident. Henry came so suddenly they hardly had time to process they were married. On their month-long honeymoon Blair kept getting sick. They attributed it to the seafood; they even placed a formal complaint.

Four days later Chuck voiced that he thought she had a stomach virus.

Two days later they both stood staring at a pregnancy test.

It was positive and a few months later came Henry and their lives had been a whirlwind ever since.

When Henry was four and a half and they were in the mists of the finishing touches for Dan and Serena's wedding Blair began to feel familiarly different. She was grossed out by all food, her nipples were in an all-time high sensitivity and she skipped her period.

Unlike last time, she didn't tell Chuck. She wanted to be sure. They had spoken about having a brood of little Basses running around (well he had, while she had made a case for her vagina) but if she was indeed pregnant she knew her man very well. He would hover and worry. He would ask her to slow down with the preparations for the wedding, he would want her to delegate. And she hated delegating and Dorota couldn't do everything, she would have to trust some perky 22 yr-old who was determined to be New York's premier event planner. That was not happening. So when the test came out to be positive, Mrs. Bass decided to hide it from her husband.

She never claimed it was a good, sound, idea. She just knew it was an idea, her idea and it was going to fly.

He'd never know, she told herself. The wedding was in 3 days anyways, it was small – actually everything was small and simple except Serena's dress. So she hid it as best she could until she caught him staring at her one morning. She had been extremely quiet during her earlier barf-fest, she had taken all precautions yet here he was supposedly listening to a complex story that Henry was narrating and boring his eyes through her.

Once Henry finished and she had disguised pushing her yogurt and grapes around (the thought of putting the yogurt in her mouth made her even more queasy) Chuck casually buttered his toast.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked her, quietly, as not to disturb Henry's ritual of dunking his toast in his chocolate milk.

Her eyes were wide and innocent but panic took over her despite her best efforts to thwart it. "Of course." She lied.

A beat and he still stared at her.

"The wedding is going to be lovely, aside from the whole firing the florist and seeking a new one in the peak of wedding season I think this might be my best event yet," Blair smiled at her two boys. One was eyeing her knowingly; the other was concentrated on getting all of his yummy soggy toast into his mouth without getting a stain on his favorite bowtie.

"Blair." Chuck's voice was deeper and this made Henry turn to look at his parents, a little chocolate milk dribbling from his chin.

"I'm with child," she snapped.

Chuck blinked.

Henry stared at his parents as if they'd lost their mind.

And Dorota came in just in time to hear the happy news.

"Oh, Miss Blair!" Dorota cried, happily dropping the tray she carrying loudly next to Chuck and shaking him out of his stupor and poor Henry lost his bread inside of the milk, drowning it.

Blair stared at Chuck over Dorota's grasping arms and slowly her husband smiled.

"I think you should hire someone to help out with the wedding preparations," Chuck said slowly and this turned into the first of many little squabbles that Henry witnessed between his two parents during breakfast that just led them to make out and have 'adult time' in their bedroom.

"How did Mommy swallow the baby?" Henry piped up as he sat next to his father in his own iPad.

Chuck paused, completely forgetting about the expense report he had to approve and slowly turned to look at his son. Henry was nonchalant switching from application to application, his little brows furrowed in concentration, his pudgy little fingers expertly working his birthday present. He knew how to work on it better than Chuck himself.

Once in a while, when Chuck wasn't as fast as him, Henry would let a small exasperated sigh and take over his father's, showing him how it was done. His brows would furrow in the same manner his mother's did and for that alone Chuck could never get mad at him. On the contrary, he would tell the board of trustees how smart his little boy was.

"Swallow the baby?" Chuck echoed, still confused. Lately Henry had been in what Blair called 'the question stage'.

"Well," Henry started, casting a glance at his father. They were wearing matching gray suits as they sat waiting for Blair to be ready to head to Lily's for brunch. "It's in her stomach, right? She must have swallowed it."

This was heading towards very, very dangerous territory and Chuck was in no way equipped to face it without his wife next to him.

"Well, you see…" Chuck stuttered. He really just wanted to tell his son the truth, all this lying and making up fantastical stories for him like Blair did just unnerved him. But he knew well and right that any whisper of the real truth to Henry and Blair would absolutely lose it. She was moody enough as it was; everything seemed to set her off lately. Just yesterday she became hysterical when the new maid changed the wrong bed sheets on their bed.

"What's going on?" Blair entered the living room, all dressed and refreshed from the small breakdown she had not 30 minutes ago when she decided she was fat and didn't fit into anything.

Chuck turned to her and smiled brightly, catching her by surprise. "Our inquisitive Henry would like to know how you swallowed the baby."

Blair turned to her son, without stopping which made Chuck think that she had it all planned out. Probably for a long time. Probably since before Henry was born. Probably since Blair knew Chuck, in the Biblical sense of the word.

"It's a small tiny pill, sweetheart, that the Doctor gives Mommy and Daddy when they want another baby. I swallowed it with water and as time passes a baby is made out of it and continues to grow in Mommy's stomach until it's time for the Doctor to take it out using his magical gloves."

Chuck stared at her, mouth agape.

"Oh." Henry seems completely disinterested and goes back to flipping between his apps on his new iPad. "Ok."

Blair turns and smiles placidly at her husband, with a small twinkle in her eye.

"Now, if we're all done with questions, why don't we all head over for brunch?" she snipped.

The first of many times that Chuck was surprised when his wife came up with a magical lie to appease one of their children's curiosities.

"Are you going to use your magical gloves to take the baby out of my mommy?" Henry piped up, perched on his father's lap. He directed his question with all of his Bass demeanor to the birthing doctor who had asked the second-time parents if they had any questions before he let the nurse take over.

The doctor was taken back, most especially when he fully expected one of the parents to laugh it off or quiet the small boy but neither did. They both looked back at the doctor, expecting him to answer the question of the youngest Bass.

The doctor cleared his throat. "The m-magical gloves?"

"Yes, the magical gloves," Henry said clearly, his little face turning to his father slightly to convey to him how he was starting to doubt this doctor's credentials.

The doctor looked at Blair Blass, completely at a loss.

"Would you explain to him the process, doctor? I'm sure you could better than I." Was all she replied.

Chuck Bass smirked.

The doctor blanched.

"Well… the magical gloves come from the land of… magic –"

It was the most convoluted explanation anyone had ever come up with. It was so long that by the time he was able to finish Blair was asleep on the hospital bed, happily sleeping through her early contractions, Chuck's eyes were bloodshot but Henry was still listening attentively.

" – and that's how your baby brother will be born."

Henry let out a loud sigh. "That's going to take forever!"

Chuck let out a loud chuckle and cuddled his boy to him.

"Can I stay with Nana and Papi while all this happens?" Henry begged. At Nana and Papi's he was the most coddled boy in all the world. He would get tons of hugs from Papi and he could play in his huge playroom Nana had built for him.

"Yes, of course you can," Chuck nodded. After Eleanor had taken a very happy Henry, Chuck turned to his wife who was now 7 centimeters dilated and blissfully enjoying the epidural and chuckled.

"You're brilliant sometimes," He murmured to her, kissing her forehead. Blair smiled, placidly at him. No longer upset with him since her pain was completely gone.

"The poor doctor, I would feel sorry had we had any other choice for Henry not to insist spending the night," Blair smirked.

Chuck let out a small chuckle. "He couldn't get out of here fast enough."

"I didn't want to scar my baby or hear him crying for us outside the door," Blair concluded.

"Like I said, brilliant," Chuck nodded, rubbing her protruding stomach that encased his unborn boy.

"Sometimes," Blair conceded, closing her eyes and trying to get some rest before the real work began.

Chuck never got tired of those quiet moments that it was just them, expecting a new baby. He enjoyed all 4 births of his children and most of all he enjoyed the first of many realizations that he belonged to people and people, in turn, belonged to him.

"Having a brother is boring!" Henry whined as he looked over his mother feeding Elliot Charles Bass Waldorf.

"Well, he's just five days old, Henry. You didn't do much when you were his age," Blair leaned in to smell her new baby's head. She missed when Henry stopped having that magical newborn scent.

Henry scrunched up his face as Blair lavished kisses on Elliot. He hated Elliot. Elliot was the worst thing that happened to them. It was all about Elliot when before it was all about Henry. When his Auntie came, she didn't play with him for long because she wanted to hold 'the baby'. He used to be the baby and now this small little squirmy loud thing took over. When his Uncle Nate and Uncle Eric came, they all wanted to see 'the baby'.

So, naturally, Henry started to plot a little plan to fix things and set them right. Before Elliot came and ruined things.

"Mommy?" Henry asked, eyes going wide and innocent.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Blair smiled at him, he had taken this better than she expected. Way better than Chuck expected.

"Can I help with taking care of the baby?" Henry asked.

Blair was delighted. "Yes, you can, Elliot would love that, wouldn't you, baby?"

Getting rid of baby Elliot was harder than Henry had expected. Mostly because they never left him with the baby by himself. There was always 'an adult', much to his chagrin.

It wasn't until his parents had finally put Elliot to sleep, letting out a sigh of relief that Henry climbed out of his new bed, padding on the cold floor with his footed pajamas.

He slowly made his way to the baby's room which was quiet and casting a pale blue shadow. He peered between the rails of the crib and watched his little brother sleeping, his little chest rising slowly and he suckled on his pacifier.

He looked around the room, trying to find something to climb on to so he could get to the baby and try to put him in the large mailbox downstairs. His plan was flawless.

Finding a small stepping stool which had belonged to him when he was younger he picked it up and placed it directly next to the bed. Grunting, he stepped on it and leaned over to try to grab the baby.

"Henry?"

He froze, eyes going wide. Slowly he turned to see his father peering at him with a blank expression on his face.

"Hi, daddy." Henry said quietly, learning back and getting off the stool.

"You're going to wake the baby," his father whispered but came closer to him, kneeling before him and pushing Henry's unruly hair back. "You don't like the baby, do you?"

All the sentiment Henry had been holding in him since all the jealousy started brimmed over in his eyes. They watered and he widened them, trying to not let tears escape.

"C'mere," his father said, scooping him up into his arms and holding him close.

Henry melted against him, trying to find the warmth and comfort that he always found in his parent's arms.

"Just because there's a new baby doesn't mean we love you less," Chuck told him, kissing the side of his face.

"But you guys forgot about me," Henry whispered, holding on to little wispy sobs.

Chuck took him out of the baby's room, not wanting to wake him and took him to Henry's own room, setting him down on the bed. Henry still clung to him, like a lifeline.

"Listen to me," Chuck said, turning Henry's face to stare at him. "No matter what happens, you're my eldest, my very first child and that alone is something incredibly special. I love you, your mother and your new brother more than anything in this world. You hear me?"

Henry slowly nodded, wiping at his tears.

Chuck stared at him for a moment. "You want to know a story?"

Henry nodded again. He loved stories and it had been days since his parents told him a good one.

"When I was a little boy I wanted so much to have a brother or a sister but it never happened and it was very lonely, I was always alone." Chuck said quietly and Henry listened with wide eyes, having a hard time picturing his father alone and lonely.

"Where was your mommy and your daddy?" Henry asked, aghast.

"I didn't have a mommy and my father was always working… he was never home," Chuck admitted, unsure how Henry was going to take this news. He'd never really asked where Chuck's father was, having so many grandfathers already.

"But what about Grandma Lily?" Henry was very worried, attempting to remedy the situation.

"Grandma Lily didn't come into my life until much, much later, I was already grown up," Chuck tucked Henry into his bed. "So you see, I know right now it feels like everything is about the baby and you might feel we don't care about you anymore but that's not true. Your Mommy and I loved each other so much that you came out of it, you were the little gift we were waiting for, you made us a family."

Henry smiled brightly at his father. "And this way you're no longer alone, you have all of us!"

"That's right, I have all of you, you're mine to treasure and to love, no matter how many brothers and sisters you get." Chuck winked at him.

"I love you, Daddy. I guess we can keep Elliot if you want as long as he doesn't steal my toys," Henry nodded.

"We'll get him his own, ok buddy?"

"Ok," Henry conceded.

By the time Chuck made it back to bed Blair was laying there with tear tracks in her face. He reached over to her.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, knowing full well that she was still very hormonal.

She turned to look at him. "I was spying on you and Henry." She admitted. "You're an amazing father, Charles Bass, you know that?"

And that was the first of many times Blair reiterated that to him, through their four children and eventually… grandkids.

The end