DISCLAIMER: Gossip Girl and its characters are the property of Cecily von Ziegesar and Warner Bros. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Watch Over Me
By Dane
"I know what I want, S. I want you."
Serena captured the hand moving tenderly against her breast. "Blair," she whispered hoarsely.
She sat up and pulled her fingers from Serena's loose grasp. Blair sat back on her heels, straddling Serena's waist and watched Serena's eyes track to her shaking hands as Blair gripped the bottom of her own t-shirt and lifted slowly.
Serena swallowed hard. Tantalizing skin begging to be touched appeared before her eyes and she knew it would be so very easy to give into Blair's gentle seduction.
With an unsteady touch, she covered Blair's hands, stilling the motion that threatened to push her past the point of no return. "Blair. Wait."
"Why?" Confused brown eyes slid towards green.
"We should," Serena closed her eyes and tried to focus on something, anything besides the incredible warmth and softness of Blair's body. "We should slow down." Blair's silken mouth pressed against her own, her hand sliding under the Yale t-shirt Serena wore effectively halting the protest on her lips.
"I don't want to slow down, S." Blair's thumb stroked once, twice and one of them sighed, "Oh, god." Serena's nipple tightened painfully and she arched into the hand cupping it.
"I've waited my whole life…I want you to be the one." Blair's hands slid down and began to ease Serena's shirt higher, exposing more skin.
The words and their meaning slipped through the high Serena floated on. The heels of her hands and feet dug into the mattress and she propelled herself away from Blair's gentle touch and higher on the bed into a sitting position.
"The one? B…you and Na-, while I was away, you didn't?" her voice was even though her body was on fire.
Blair held her gaze and cocked an eyebrow. "I just got farther with you than he ever got with me."
Serena was saved from replying by the insistent ring of her cell phone but Blair made no move to release her.
"It could be important, B."
Blair leaned forward and whispered against her lips, "Nothing is as important to me as you." She leaned across Serena and picked up the phone, holding it against her chest. "But I will humor you this once."
She glanced at the caller id, Ostroff Center, and put the cell on speaker phone. "Eric, it's a little early to be calling don't you think?"
"This is Randall Conrad from the Ostroff Center. Am I speaking with Serena van der Woodsen?" The man's voice was official and aloof.
Serena took the phone from Blair. "This is Serena. Has something happened with my brother?"
"I haven't been able to reach Eric's mother and you are listed as next of kin in case of emergency." Blair watched as the blood drained from Serena's face.
Blair listened as he cleared his throat and she could tell by the cadence of his speech he was picking his words carefully. "There was an incident at the Center this morning. Your brother was involved and he has been transported to the Mount Sinai Medical Center."
Blair caught the phone as it slipped from Serena's grasp. "You're scaring her, Mr. Conrad. Is Eric badly hurt?" She pressed the phone back into Serena's hand and she went to dresser, pulling out clothing for each of them.
The pause before he answered had Blair ready to climb the walls. "It would not be appropriate for me to comment on Eric's injuries as I am not a physician or the nature of the altercation until the Center has conducted a thorough investigation. I would suggest you make your way to the medical center as soon as possible."
Officious. Sanctimonious.
"Miss van der Woodsen, will you be making contact with your mother, or should I continue with my efforts?"
Prick.
Blair stalked towards the bed and her shell shocked best friend. "I suggest you do your god-damned job Mr. Conrad and keep calling Lily until you reach her." She snapped the phone shut and blew out a frustrated breath. She ached with the need to pull Serena into her arms and comfort her, an instinct she ignored fearing they'd both fall apart. "Come on, S. Let's get you dressed and get out of here."
Serena felt numb as she let Blair guide her to the bathroom and help her clean-up. Gentle hands quickly wiped away the traces of the previous evening and pulled long-blonde hair into a pony-tail.
The thoughts filling Serena's mind were like mercury. Without rhyme or reason, and unable to grasp or still them, they slipped away almost as soon as she became aware of them. It was disorienting how quickly her psyche shuffled the mental images. Serena pressed her hands against the vanity and bowed her head. Suddenly Eric's face came clearly into view; the air left her lungs and her knees buckled.
"Blair, what if he's…?" Blair felt like she had been sucker punched when Serena lifted devastated eyes and met her gaze in the mirror.
She put her hands on Serena's shoulder and turned her until they were face to face. "He's not. Don't even think it. Whatever's happened, he'll be okay." Blair rubbed her hands up and down Serena's arm as she raised up to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to call for a car and get dressed." She stopped in the doorway and looked back. "Your old toothbrush is in the drawer."
Serena let her mind shut down and operated on auto-pilot. Later she wouldn't remember brushing her teeth, dressing or even getting in the car. But she would remember everything Blair did for her, and for Eric.
She would remember Blair giving Dorota the numbers to Lily's cell and to the hotel with instructions to call both every five minutes until she answered or returned the call. She would remember Blair's not so even tones as she called the emergency room and tried to get an update on Eric's condition. She would remember Blair's hand holding her own, gentle kisses on her temple and words murmured to comfort as the car made its way through traffic.
"S?" Blair stood outside the car, her hand extended to the blonde.
Serena experienced déjà vu and thought fleetingly that less than twenty-four hours had passed since she had seen Blair in that exact stance. Their date felt like a lifetime ago.
She accepted Blair's hand and stepped out of the car. An ambulance, lights and sirens active screeched to a halt beside the town car. The sights and sounds slammed Serena jarringly back to reality.
Eric.
"I don't think I can do this." Her feet felt rooted to the asphalt.
Blair stepped close. "You can. You can because Eric needs you. And because you need to see him." She brushed away the tears that slid down Serena's cheek. "I'll be with you every step, okay. I won't leave until you ask me to."
Serena managed a weak smile. "I can't imagine asking you to."
"Then I'll be right beside you."
The End