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There was a screen shot of Gossip Girl with a picture from 2.25, in Nate/Noe's apartment, with Noe, Nate, Hope, Alex, Brooklyn, Thyra, Dylan, Wyatt, James, Zaya, Sadie, Blair, Chuck, Nate and Carter stood in front of the glass walls, a little further up than Marie, not noticing her behind them.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite."

From 2.16 "You've Got Yale!", in Rio, there were flashes of Angela and Carter's fight.

Carter: (voice over from 2.16 You've Got Yale!) "You're a mercenary?"

Angela: (voice over from 2.16 You've Got Yale!) "I'm a lot of things."

From 2.17 "Carnal Knowledge", in the clocktower, Angela explained to James and Carter. "The Silence. It's a council of high level crime lords that governs and oversees the world's most powerful criminal organizations. Bratva, Costa Nostra, Yakua, Triads, other mafias. The Silence brings them all together with the seats of the council that rules them."

There were flashes of the assassins attacking James, Carter and Angela, as they fought back and killed them, though James was injured in the side by a knife.

James: (voice over from 2.17 Carnal Knowledge) "So these people are..."

Angela: (voice over from 2.17 Carnal Knowledge) "Some of the most powerful and criminal masterminds there are."

From 2.18 "Age of Dissonance", there were flashes of assassins attacking Angela, and Angela fighting back and killing them all, but getting very injured in the process.

Angela: (voice over from 2.17 Carnal Knowledge) "Considered the ultimate authority of the world and feared and respected by all."

From 2.17 "Carnal Knowledge", in the clocktower, James looked at Angela. "So how powerful are they, truly?"

Angela shrugged. "They have dozens of police forces, politicians and bureaucrats worldwide under their thumbs."

Carter nodded. "Making them virtually above the laws."

Angela gestured around, nodding. "The gentlemen's club, and other clubs like it, are involved, yes, but they're just for rookies within the organization. The Silence is the real deal. They have their own targets at all times, but they never attack unless there's a perfect time. They like to watch their targets every move and see what they're up to, what they're like, before they make a move. They even have a Division of sorts, responsible for operations such as sabotage, espionage and assassination, protecting illegal activities when it comes to rogue managements, doing under the table murder for hire services. Like the car crash with James and Caroline. If it wasn't an accident, I have a feeling that it's tied to the Division branch of the Silence."

Carter looked at Angela. "You never said why they were looking for you either."

"It doesn't matter why they were looking for me," Angela told them. "I know too much about them and they feel threatened by that. Let's leave it at that, shall we?"

Dylan shook his head. "There's got to be more to it than that."

From 2.22 "Southern Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", in the Waldorf Penthouse, Aurora sat at the table with the WDBZ kids.

Thyra looked horrified. "This is what you meant by trying to find out if the plane crash my parents in was an accident or not, like with Carter trying to find out about James and Caroline's crash." Aurora nodded. "You really think these people, the Silence, killed my parents?"

"I'm not sure, Thyra," Aurora told her sadly. "That's what I've been trying to figure out."

Aurora took Hope and Thyra by the hands, looking between them, Blair, Wyatt, James and Carter. "Listen to me, all of you. I need you to stop looking. About Victoria, about Matthew. About Caroline and the crash and the fact James and Carter's father was technically the reason behind it because he screwed up. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"You can't tell me to stay out of this, Aurora," Carter told her. "I'm in it. Literally. The club, the Silence. If I can build my way up from the inside, I can find out for real about Caroline, about Thyra's parents. I can find out a lot easier than you can. And I can make sure that you, Hope, Thyra, James and Angela stay safe, since Angela's still in danger too even if she's off the radar."

From 2.18 "Age of Dissonance", in the clocktower, Dylan and Angela were talking.

"Family is why I'm in this mess to begin with," Angela told him. "So I can avenge my papa's death and find my sister Giselle. So I can save her."

"What if Giselle can't be saved?" Dylan asked.

"Then I will find everyone who helped destroy her and punish them so that no family has to suffer the way that mine suffered," Angela answered.

Later, Dylan and Angela had been drinking.

"I, and my sister Giselle, wanted to be normal for as long as I can remember," Angela told him. "We used to dream about what it would be like to have a big family. How many kids we could have in the future, what their names would be. I've always wanted to have three."

Dylan chuckled. "What did you want their names to be?"

"I don't know about two of them, but I have known that I've always wanted to use the name Theo for one," Angela answered.

"Theo," Dylan mused. 

Angela smirked, leaning a bit closer to kiss him softly. Dylan returned the kiss for a long moment. Angela sat up to remove her shirt, revealing her bra and the tattoo on her back. Dylan sat up, and Angela removed his shirt as well. They started to kiss passionately, heatedly, laying down and beginning to hookup once again.

Dylan: (voice over from 2.18 Age of Dissonance) "That's a great name. It's something I would use for a kid. If I ever had one." 

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", Noe, Hope, Eric, Dan and Jenny were walking down the street.

"You really like Olivia though, right?" Hope asked.

"Yeah," Dan answered. "Yeah, I do."

From 3.04 "Zaya de Fleurette", at the premiere, Dan and Olivia were talking.

Vanessa: (voice over from 3.05 Rufus Getting Married) "Don't you think that dating a movie star is gonna be hard?"

From 3.01 "Reversals of Fortune", in the street, the girls were walking together.

"We're completely monogamous," Blair told them. "It's just one of our games."

From 3.01 "Reversals of Fortune", in Chuck's hotel room, Chuck was pushed into the wall by Ashley. Blair walked in, while Chuck had been waiting for her.

Blair: (voice over from 3.01 Reversals of Fortune) "Chuck plays the cheating bastard and I play the scorned woman."

From 3.01 "Reversals of Fortune", in the street, the girls were walking.

"What happens when one day, you don't get there in time, and he actually kisses someone else, or worse?" Hope asked.

From 3.04 "Zaya de Fleurette", in Laureen's Ostroff office, Laureen looked at Richard, wet after he threw water on her. "I know you had an affair. Amanda Stry."

Richard was stunned she knew that, looking away, deeply effected. "Did your boyfriend Dominic Driton tell you that? You'd be smart to tell Dominic to mind his own damn business, Laureen. After I lost Amanda and her baby, I refuse to lose you, Zaya and Sadie too."

Laureen frowned a bit. "Baby?" Richard realized that he slipped up on that because of Laureen's ploy to get answers from him by using Amanda's name. He became furious, triggered by this subject, pushing Laureen against the wall, clearly taking her by surprise and hurting her. Laureen took Richard's wrists, twisting them off of her to break his hold on her, twisting his arm around, kicking him in the back, punching him in the face, making him fall. "I see I hit a nerve and made you fess up about something."

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", in Dominic's office, Sadie sat at the computer, crossing her fingers over each other on either hand to pop her knuckles when she pushed her hands out, starting to type. Zaya, Laureen and Dominic watched in amusement.

Dominic: (voice over from 3.05 Rufus Getting Married) "Sadie's hacking and her little program she set up is still running its course, but I'm sure by the beginning of tomorrow, we'll know what we were missing before about Amanda Stry and her baby."

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", at the garden, everyone was gathered, when Marie left.

"Dad, Lily, Marie is your daughter," Dan told them.

"How is that possible?" Noe asked.

"The Rossons lied," Carter answered. "Andrea wasn't Lily and Rufus's daughter. Marie is. She wasn't ready to tell you because she was scared that people think would she was crazy, because of the disorder."

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", in Carter's suite, the boys were talking.

"If you go to the wedding since you clearly want to be there for Marie, then you'd have to deal with Bree, her family and what they would call Southern justice," Chuck told him.

"Or you can run like Bree said that you could do," James told him.

Carter shook his head. "I'm not running."

"Look, whatever you did, even if you know how to fight and defend yourself, these Buckleys have people that can take you down," Alex told him.

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", at the garden, Marie and Carter were walking.

"I met this woman, Beth," Carter explained. "I knew they'd take care of my debts, so... I proposed."

Marie turned to face him. "So, what, you--you just disappeared?"

Carter clearly felt guilty. "It's the worst thing I've ever done."

Harry and Aurora watched the way Bree was watching Carter and Marie.

"Pretty sure Noe, Hope, Alex and Nate were right not to trust Bree," Harry told her. "She's been watching Carter and Marie like a hawk."

Aurora saw the way Bree was watching Carter now. "Like a predator circling their prey. You think she's using you to get to the Crew? To Carter? Sorry, Harry."

Harry sighed heavily. "You don't need to be, Rory. If she does anything to any of the Crew, I'm gonna make her regret it."

Aurora nodded in agreement.

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", in the park, Bree and the two Buckley men confronted Carter.

"You might be able to protect yourself because I know you're good, but you can't always protect that girl you're with," Bree told him. "Marie Rosson. I doubt she can protect herself."

Carter glared at them. "I'll go without a fight if you leave Marie alone."

From 3.05 "Rufus Getting Married", at the loft during the wedding, James and Marie were talking.

"Carter wanted you to know everything because of the danger that you could've been in," James told her. "He really cares about you."

Marie nodded in understanding, worried. "Do you think the Buckleys would really hurt him?"

"They want revenge," James explained. "And I know that Bree was willing to hunt Carter down and even gave him a chance to run, but he didn't. He stayed here. Not just for our family, but for you too."

In the closing, there was a screen shot of the Gossip Girl website, with a picture of Carter glaring at the Buckleys in Central Park in 3.05, and a picture of Marie and James talking at the wedding with everyone.

The headline read: Game Over??

The caption underneath the picture read: Have Carter's wicked ways of the past finally caught up with him? From the looks of it, he has a one way ticket to a Buckley beating. But Carter should have known better. You don't mess with Texas. And with Marie Rosson's reveal as really being the true Rhodes-Humphrey daughter, in this peril situation, does it mean it's game over for Queen of Hearts and the Dark Prince? Or will little brother James come in to save the day to clean up Carter's mess again like he always used to? Someone grab the popcorn. We're in for a wild ride.

X•O°X•O

Worlds Colliding (Gossip Girl)

X•O°X•O

Blair's Dream

Black and White

All About Eve

In Blair's first dream that didn't have her 'cast' as Audrey Hepburn, she found herself seated next to Chuck, acting as Bette Davis.

"But what truly defines tonight's honored guest is not something that can be easily categorized," a man announced, in reality, his name was Ellis.

Male narrator: (voice over) "The distinguished gentlemen at the podium is an alumnus of the university. He will go on speaking for a long time. It is not important that you hear what he says."

Blair watched enraptured. Chuck turned his head to look at Blair.

"In closing, those of us at the university who have had the pleasure of getting to know tonight's recipient, know that she is a kind..." Ellis trailed off.

Chuck frowned. "Hey, you okay?"

"What?" Blair asked. "No. No, I am not okay."

Ellis looked over the crowd. "Her devotion, her love for us. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Vanessa Abrams."

Vanessa, acting as Eve, smiled brightly. Blair looked horrified. Chuck clapped lamely while the rest of the crowd clapped enthusiastically. Vanessa made her way to the front, bowing.

Blair was even more horrified. "No. No. No!"

X • O ° X • O

Reality

Day One

Morning - Chuck's Hotel Room

Blair sat up, gasping, woken from her nightmare with a start, sighing in relief.

Chuck walked closer with coffee and a newspaper, leaning against the half wall behind Blair. "Bad dream? Don't tell me it was Charade again. I know how terrifying you find Walter Matthau."

Blair had a hand to her chest. "Worse. I was in All About Eve."

Chuck looked at her in surprise. "That's not a Hepburn movie."

"I know," Blair told him. "I was Bette Davis." Chuck put the newspaper down, walking around the wall to the bed. "I've never been Bette Davis before. I'm Audrey Hepburn." Chuck sat next to Blair, pulling her to his chest. Blair laid her head on his chest as he held her. "Not some plain Baby Jane."

Chuck kissed her head. "Who was Eve?"

"I couldn't see her face," Blair lied, embarrassed that it was Vanessa.

"Blair, we both know this is about NYU," Chuck told her. "Now it may take time, but one day you will hold that school in the palm of your dainty hand."

Chuck took Blair's hand to kiss it.

Blair looked up at him, taking a deep breath, getting up. "I'm Audrey." She stood, walking off to get ready for the day. "I'm Audrey."

Chuck smirked slightly.

X • O ° X • O

Rhodes/Bass Apartment - Living Room

Laureen was making the food. "Zaya, have some breakfast."

"I really can't eat right now," Zaya told her.

"Wait," Laureen told her, using her therapist voice. "This is going to be a time of real exploration for you. Sexual and emotional feelings you've been repressing for a long time are going to come to the--"

Zaya gave her a pained, embarrassed yet amused look. "Mom."

Laureen smiled. "Sorry. Have I ever told you about your first day of pre-school?"

"Mom..." Zaya trailed off.

Sadie walked closer.

Laureen chuckled. "I was so nervous you were gonna fall apart when we dropped you off. You loved being home with your baby sister so much. And you'd never been without me or your father for more than a couple hours. And we knew that you had dyslexia by then because of experts and I was worried that you would get bullied and teased. But we walked in and you took in all the kids playing and you proclaimed, 'Hello, everybody. I'm Zaya von Miller and I'm here!' And that's when I realized my daughter is so brave. It was the same way with Sadie. After we found out about her heart condition, we were so scared of leaving her at school never really knowing what was going to happen, but she managed to pull through everything." Zaya and Sadie are emotional. "So today, you go in there, and you remember you're Zaya and Sadie von Miller. And soon to be Rhodes once all of this with your father is over. And you say 'hello everyone. I'm here'." They shared an emotional look. Laureen tried to lighten the mood. "But don't actually say that. That'd be weird."

They smiled.

Marie and Lily walked into the room.

"Marie, hey," Sadie told her. "How are you settling in?"

"Uh, it's been a harder adjustment than I thought, but it's easier than some things," Marie answered.

Lily smiled fondly. "I'm glad. Where are Noe, Serena, Eric, Brooklyn, Dylan and Chuck? Hope, Dan, Jenny and Rufus? This was supposed to be a family breakfast."

"I think Serena's at work as a publicist for Preston and Prince Shea," Zaya answered, giving Sadie a teasing look. Sadie rolled her eyes. "And Noe was going to meet us later, after seeing Nate. Eric had to run to meet with Beck. Brooklyn, Dylan and Chuck are with Thyra, Wyatt and Blair. Rufus, Dan and Jenny are getting more of their stuff from the loft."

"Look, it's okay," Marie told them. "Honestly I'm more worried about Carter right now than anything."

"Carter will be okay, Marie," Zaya told her.

"You don't know that," Marie replied.

Lily gently stroked Marie's arm. "It will be fine. Marie, you were telling me more about your disorder."

"Yeah," Marie agreed. "Um, I find it hard to explain. The memories and amnesia and things. Um, Laureen?"

Laureen nodded in agreement, stepping in to help. "People unfamiliar with DID may envision the walls between alters and their memories as being concrete, but it is not that simple. Sometimes there is clear separation and total amnesia, but other times the lines can become so blurred that it is hard to tell who is who."

"Yes, exactly," Marie answered. "That is the case with a lot of mine I remember many of the other alters' memories crystal clearly and it can be hard to tell if they are mine or if they're someone else's. And other times I don't remember anything. It can leave someone very unsure of their identity and wondering who they truly are."

They looked at her in concern.

"Marie herself is the host of the system," Laureen explained. "The host is the person who is in the body, or who is fronting, controlling, the most often and the most frequent. A lot of people tend to think that that is the original, or who the alters belong to, but that's a very outdated way of thinking. A very simple way to put it though is, if you were to drop a glass bowl on the floor, and it shatters into a number of pieces on the floor, which piece is the original piece? They're all part of the same bowl, but they're also all their own individual pieces. They matter just as much on their own as they do when they were part of a bowl. They're still their own object, their own entity, their own existence."

Marie was very relieved to have Laureen help her explain this. "Or think of it as living in the same place, a house, or a castle. Everyone eats, sleeps, drinks, yet not one person owns the place."

Laureen nodded. "An alter is a fragment of mental consciousness which can develop completely as their own person with their own memories. There would be their own amnesia between different alters, so they may not have the same memories as other people. They may have different skills. One alter may have learned a skill that another wouldn't have any memory of learning."

"If anyone from the Crew needs to know any of this, Marie, we can help explain," Zaya told her.

"Yeah, you don't have to explain to everyone in the Crew if you don't have to," Sadie agreed.

Marie was thinking. "But it would be better if I did. But obviously not all of us can be in one place all the time, and I can't keep explaining over and over again, or introducing all of you to my alters so you know which one you're talking to when they come forward. I've actually been making videos of each of us doing a little introduction of ourselves, and maybe if I find the time to put those together, then I can just send to all of you so that you all know. The family, the Crew. Everything."

Lily nodded in understanding. "I think that's a good idea. But don't push yourself, Marie."

Marie managed a small smile. "Thank you."

X • O ° X • O

Mayor's Office

Nate was at his internship.

Noe walked closer with coffee to hand him some. "Figured you'd need some morning coffee."

Nate smiled. "Yeah, I do, thank you." Nate and Noe kissed lightly but sweetly. "Um, Harry wants us to meet him and Alex and Hope at the political house for Tripp's campaign later, by the way."

"Yeah, sure, okay," Noe agreed. "But since when did Tripp decide to run for congress? And should somebody tell him the election is not until next year?"

Nate chuckled, taking a sip of coffee. "Well, after Congressman Kruger died, a house seat opened up in Manhattan. You know Grandfather. He figured, why wait?"

"Well, it's nice of you, Alex and Harry to help," Noe told him.

Nate shrugged. "Mm, well, Tripp's a good guy, and with the Buckleys buying up all these attack ads against his campaign, I'm taking it kind of personally. I know that a lot of us are because of everything with Carter and Marie, and..."

"Yeah," Noe agreed sadly. "Marie's so worried. And I don't know how to help her. And Carter is James's brother. We can't do nothing."

"Well, Harry's working on trying to find him, and so is Aurora," Nate assured. "We'll find him, Noe. For Marie, for James."

Noe nodded in agreement. "And do whatever it takes to help them get him back."

Nate nodded. 

X • O ° X • O

Political Office

James, Alex, Hope, Eric and Beck were walking through the political office toward Harry.

Harry was on the phone. "Well, thank you, councilman. I know my nephew appreciates your support. Yes, I'll be sure to tell him. Thanks." Harry hung up. "Hope, Alex, James, hey."

"Harry, you remember Eric," Hope told him.

"Of course," Harry answered. "Hi, Eric."

"Hey, Harry," Eric replied.

Harry glanced at Beck. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Beck Boardman, Malchus's Boardman's son," Eric answered. 

"Emancipated," Beck corrected.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Isn't Malchus the one that married Carter's ex Beth Buckley?"

"Yeah," Beck answered. "But don't worry, I'm not here for them. I'm here since it's because of my dad's marriage to a Buckley, and that my dad and the Buckleys are hell bent on winning this election, that I know where they have Carter. My dad makes me check in with the family every now and then and pays me for like interviews and stuff to keep up appearances so that he won't lose the election."

"Beck knows how we can get to Carter, James," Eric told him. "And we know that you want to get back at Bree for using you to get to him, and threatening Marie, and so do I."

James took this seriously, nodding. "All right. So where is he?"

"Supposedly, they're taking Carter out on a ship out to Galveston so he can work off his debt," Beck answered.

"Work it off how?" Alex asked.

"On one of the family oil rigs," Beck answered.

"Th--that's crazy," Hope told him. "It would take him, like, 20 years to earn that kind of money."

"I think they're more interested in getting Carter out to the Gulf with a bunch of Texas rough necks," Beck told them. "So it's not like he's going to be making a lot of friends. They could actually end up beating him down and could end up... killing him."

James shook his head. "No, please tell me this is a joke."

"James, don't worry," Alex told him. "We'll get Carter back. I promise."

"But we're gonna need a lot of help," Beck told them. "For one, there's no way on the boat to get Carter back from the ground, but luckily, I can fly whoever's coming with to the boat so we can parachute down."

"This sounds interesting already," Harry told them.

"But I need help with hacking and controlling the ship so it doesn't go anywhere, and there's like 20 guards on the ship, and they're all trained," Beck explained.

"So you need a hacker and fighters," Hope finished.

"But we also have to make sure that my dad and his partner for politics, Beth's brother PJ, are distracted so that they can't send more," Beck added. "And they always have at least 6 to 10 guards on them."

"So some fighters are gonna have to be there too," Alex realized.

"Noe and Nate are gonna be here soon because we were gonna talk about all this," Harry explained. "So they'll be here soon. I'll call Aurora. Along with Thyra, she's one of the best fighters we've got, besides Carter. James, Alex, Brooklyn and Hope are all pretty good because of non stop training for like 10 months now. And Zaya and Sadie, along with Laureen, learned quite a bit too, and Zaya and Sadie never stopped training because of their father. Serena learned a little. We can let Marie know that there's a plan."

"Okay," James agreed. "Yeah, let's do this."

"James, last year, you helped me when I was in a spiral, remember?" Beck asked. "We were at 1Oak and you told me about the car crash with you and..."

"Me and Caroline," James finished. "Yeah, I remember. That's when Serena, Brooklyn, Dylan, Chuck, Blair, Thyra and Wyatt first found out that Caroline was dead, when I told you."

"Right," Beck agreed. "I wanted to find a way to pay you back for helping me last year, because you really helped me open my eyes and it stopped my spiral."

"You stopped your spiral, Beck," James told him. "But I'm glad that I was able to help you. And you help me get Carter back, you more than repaid me for last year."

Beck smiled a bit, nodding.

X • O ° X • O

Humphrey Loft - Living Room

(Song:) Aching to Be - The Replacements

Dan and Rufus were getting more of their things. Dan was consistently staying in the loft. Vanessa was sitting next to Dan.

Rufus was going through records. "Yes, yes, Lily loves her Jefferson Airplane."

"So, Rufus, how is married life and having Marie back?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, at the risk of sounding like a man deeply in love and a proud father completely happy with the return of his daughter, each day gets better than the one before," Rufus answered.

Dan gestured to the counter. "Must be if you're packing these 'Welcome Back, Kotter' mugs. They'll look great next to Lily's china."

"Yeah, maybe we should hold off on the Sweathogs," Rufus told them.

Jenny walked closer, reading from a paper. "'In just a few short months, freshmen leader Vanessa Abrams has tackled numerous social and environment issues'."

"What is that?" Rufus asked.

"Well, it's just a wildly flattering cover story on Vanessa in the NYU paper," Dan answered.

Vanessa tilted her head back. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Except that she's a shoe-in to get the toast at the freshman dinner on parents' weekend," Dan told them.

"Dan, can I borrow your muscles?" Jenny asked.

Dan and Jenny walked away.

Rufus stepped over to Vanessa. "Is that true? About that toast?"

"I got a message from Josh Ellis," Vanessa explained. "He's the alumnus who decides who gives the toast. Supposedly, it's between me and some other girl. I probably won't get it."

"Well, speech or no speech, I--I hope you're inviting your parents," Rufus told her.

"You're kidding, right?" Vanessa asked. "My parents hate that I'm at a private college, buying an elitist education. 'Knowledge shouldn't be for sale'."

Rufus shrugged. "Sure, Arlo and Gabriela are progressive, but if they knew how much good you were doing at the school, I'm sure they'd come around."

Vanessa nodded. "It would be kind of amazing if they came, and you know, actually approved of something I was doing. But whatever. I haven't been chosen yet. So..."

"Well, you will be," Rufus told her. "And tomorrow tonight, Dan and I will be there front and center."

Dan and Jenny walked back into the room.

Dan was carrying a sewing prop for Jenny, placing it down. "Oh. Um, yeah, you know what? Actually, Olivia just got back from Japan and I was hoping we could hang out tomorrow night."

"So bring Olivia," Rufus told him. "Or not. It's your call. I--I don't wanna force you."

Rufus walked off.

"What?" Dan asked. "We--we just started dating. Isn't it a little soon for meet the parents?"

"Not for Olivia," Vanessa answered. "She seems really easygoing and into you."

"Yeah, seriously, Dan, play the parent card," Jenny agreed. "People like you more when they meet our family."

Vanessa smirked. "It's true."

Dan narrowed his eyes. "All right. Okay, all right. I'll invite her."

Rufus walked closer. "Oh, that's awesome. It's gonna be a great night for the Humphreys." He turned to look at Vanessa. "And who knows? Maybe the Abramses."

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Building - Foyer

Angela arrived to the building, the first time she had been seen in nearly a year. She had hold of a tiny baby in a car seat, looking so incredibly upset but knowing that she had to let him go to keep him safe, tears in her eyes. "Don't worry, Theo. I'll come back for you when things are safe again. I'm going to finish this. Love you, Theo. So much."

Angela kissed Theo on the head, hitting the button on the elevator to open it, placing Theo's car seat down, making sure he was comfortable with his toy and his blanket, placing a note/letter on the blanket, crying, devastated but numb all the same, kissing Theo on the head, standing, backing away, hitting the button for the penthouse so that the elevator would go all the way up without stopping. She stood outside the elevator doors as they closed, breaking her view of Theo as he was looking right at his mother, crying. She knew she had to leave, breathing heavily, clearly wanting to stay with Theo, but needing to go, running out of the building, outside to her motorcycle, getting on quickly, revving the bike to life, before speeding away.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Spotted. Killer Queen Angela De Caballeros seen feeling from the Waldorf building before bolting away on her bike. It's been nearly a year since we've seen Angela, so why would she only appear briefly for a few seconds before making a run for it again? Things are rarely as simple as they appear, and we have a feeling that Angela might make a comeback sooner rather than later."

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Thyra, Brooklyn, Dylan and Wyatt were walking to the elevators.

"Wyatt's already in college, it's the junior year for me, Thyra and Dylan, plus Zaya," Brooklyn stated. "Things are looking up."

"Yes, they are," Thyra agreed. "And nothing's gonna stop us."

When they reached the elevator, the doors opened, revealing Theo inside with the note.

"Except for maybe that," Dylan told them.

"Why is there a baby in the elevator?" Wyatt asked.

"Where did it come from?" Brooklyn added.

"I don't know, but whoever left it could be anywhere by now," Thyra pointed out. "You know how long it takes this elevator to get from the ground floor to the penthouse?"

"Long enough for whoever left this baby here to get away," Wyatt answered.

Dylan nodded in agreement. "Exactly. And who in their right minds would send a baby alone up to a penthouse?"

"Dylan, calm down," Brooklyn told him.

Thyra found the note in the car seat, picking it up. "Wait, wait. Guys, we got a note. His name's Theo."

"I don't know any Theos," Wyatt told them.

"The baby's name is Theo," Thyra explained.

Brooklyn knelt next to the baby carrier. "Hi, Theo."

Dylan was remembering something. "Wait. Theo. That's the name that Angela and I used when we..."

"What?" Wyatt asked.

"When Chuck, Carter and I were helping her, Angela and I were playing this game about the future, about what name we would use for kids, and we both liked the name Theo," Dylan answered.

Thyra was reading the letter. "Bingo. This letter's signed from Angela, and it's saying Dylan is the father."

"I hooked up with Angela twice when Wyatt and I were broken up," Dylan told them.

"Well, you should know it only takes one or two times to do the job, Dylan," Brooklyn told him. "I just didn't think it would happen to you or Angela."

Wyatt was in shock, but didn't know how to react, taking the note from Thyra. "Does it say anything else?"

"Just that Angela's sorry, she didn't know what else to do," Thyra answered. "She says someone's after them, like she was constantly under threat, so she wanted to leave Theo here with us so that he would be safe, and she had to take off so she could try to protect him."

"The Silence came too close to tracking Angela and Theo down," Brooklyn realized. "If they found her again, and she was with Theo..."

"They would've killed them both," Dylan finished. "That's why Angela sent Theo here."

"So Angela's in danger, and she sent Theo here to protect him," Wyatt stated.

"We gotta make sure that Angela's okay then," Thyra told them. "I mean, Theo's safe here, I think, but we need to make sure she's okay."

"We need some help with this," Dylan told them. "Like, now."

"I'll call Aurora," Thyra told them. "She's a lawyer. And she's had a history like Angela's. She'll know what to do."

Brooklyn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, call Aurora."

Brooklyn, Thyra, Dylan and Wyatt stood around Theo, looking worried and concerned and in shock, not just because of him, but for him and for Angela.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "And it only takes a split second to change everything and flip your life upside down. Let's hope the Waldorf-Diamond-Baizen-Basses  and Rhodes can adjust to this new addition to their little family."

X • O ° X • O

X • O ° X • O

Street

Noe and Nate had met up with Hope, Alex, James, Harry, Eric and Beck. Serena, Marie, Zaya and Sadie walked closer.

"Hey, what was with the call?" Zaya asked.

"Yeah, I just had to ditch Sherry and Simon before they got onto Preston and Prince for letting me off early so I could come here," Serena told them.

"Hey, Zaya, Sadie," Beck greeted. "Serena." He looked at Marie. "And you must be Marie. Hi, I'm Beck. We haven't officially been introduced. I'm a friend of your brother Eric, and you're with my sorta would be ex-stepfather Carter, so it looks like we have a lot in common."

Marie looked overwhelmed and confused. "Excuse me?"

"Beck's father married the girl that Carter proposed to," Eric explained. He gave Beck a look. "Don't do that to Marie, all right?"

Beck made a face. "Sorry."

"Wait, Beck, your father married a Buckley?" Sadie asked.

"And Beck knows of a way that we might be able to get Carter back," Alex explained.

"Beth's brother PJ Buckley hosts a poker game," Harry explained. "Picture, like, a young JR Ewing in earnest sewn jeans."

"And you really think he'll play for Carter's debt?" Marie asked.

"Well, if not, we have a backup plan," Hope answered. "Harry and I'll explain later."

"Beck's dad is gonna be at the poker game, and they've bet thoroughbreds, islands, the Knicks," James explained.

"Oh, but what makes you think we'll win?" Noe asked. "None of you are exactly card sharks."

"No, but you are," Nate told her. "And you happen to be able to read people's tells, really, really well."

Serena nodded, looking at Noe. "That is true."

"I'm good, actually, I learned a lot of poker," Marie explained. "And if it means saving Carter, I'll do whatever I need to. I mean, I'm good at cards, but my poker faces are the issue. Carter even made a joke when he realized that I was keeping something from him, about who I really was, that my poker faces alone would make me bad at poker. But I can handle the cards."

The others nodded in understanding. Harry was considering what to do after Marie brought up the poker faces.

"You really want me and Marie to play?" Noe asked.

"Noe, Marie, listen," Beck told them. "PJ and my dad hate Harry, Alex, Nate and James. But PJ likes brunettes. Hope could help."

Hope laughed nervously. "Oh, I'm not good at poker, but maybe I can help buy some time."

Eric looked at Noe. "And you've got this. I mean, we spent two entire summers in Monte Carlo with Mom when she dated Carlos Mortensen and he taught you to play."

Noe was trying to remember that, having vague memories. "Wasn't I nine?"

"Yeah, and Carlos taught you to play using Necco Wafers as chips, but you were still good," Serena told her.

"Just imagine Carter owes the Buckleys half a million Necco Wafers," Nate told her, looking sort of amused.

Noe gave Nate a look, though she was amused too.

"Look, we don't have much other choice," Alex pointed out.

"Carter might be running out of time, so let's do whatever we can to help," Zaya told them.

Sadie nodded in agreement. "What do you need from us?"

"Zaya, Sadie, don't worry," Harry told them. "Alex, James, Eric and Beck will explain on the way where you're going. I'll explain to Noe, Marie, Nate and Serena. I'm calling Aurora."

"Maybe Mom can help," Hope agreed.

They all nodded in agreement.

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Dylan and Wyatt were talking about Theo.

"The silence is killing me here," Dylan told him. "Can you please say something? You've got to be in as much shock as I am."

"It's not that I'm in shock," Wyatt told him. "'Cause I am. But I can't help but feel like maybe... this baby is exactly what we need."

Dylan frowned. "Wait, what?"

"We were both in a dark place for a while," Wyatt told him. "It just feels like a sign. Maybe Theo needs us to be his parents, if we can't find Angela, or if something happened to her. To help raise him. I wanna do this. With you."

Dylan smiled in relief. "You're unbelievable, Wyatt." But he was very worried. "But what if I can't be a dad? What if I am a terrible father? What if I end up running away like I always do?"

Wyatt shook his head. "You're nothing like your father. And you have no idea how wrong you are. You're a good guy. Becoming a good man. These things just come. You can't force it. I'm trying to show you how onboard I am with it, and I'm not even the father. That's something, isn't it? As for you, I guarantee that you will be a great father. And I will help you. I am scared, but I still wanna go on this journey with you. I know that no one ever gave you support and comfort when you needed it growing up. And that's my job now. And now we can provide it together. For Theo."

Dylan nodded. "For Theo."

Brooklyn and Thyra were standing with Theo while Dylan and Wyatt were talking, knowing that they needed to talk, while they were taking care of Theo. Dylan and Wyatt walked closer.

Aurora walked in. "Hey, you called?"

"Yeah, thank you so much," Thyra answered.

"Hey, Aurora," Dylan told her.

"It's okay," Wyatt told him. "Aurora's one of the best lawyers, and with a past of danger like Angela's, she'll know what to do. Right, Aurora?"

"I can see what we can do, yeah," Aurora answered.

Theo started to fuss.

Brooklyn took a step away from Theo, hands up innocently. "I didn't do anything."

Wyatt went to go comfort Theo. "Hey, it's okay. Come here, little baby."

Wyatt picked Theo up, holding him.

"Believe me, I know what it's like to wake up in a strange place," Dylan told him.

"Are you hungry?" Wyatt asked. "I bet you're hungry."

"I'll get the baby food and stuff from the store," Brooklyn offered.

Thyra nodded in agreement. "I'll change the diaper."

Aurora's phone rang. She took it out, answering the phone call. "What is it, Harry? What, right now? I need to stay here for a little while. There's something big going on here too. Look, I'll be out there as soon as I can, but they need my help right now. Okay. Just tell me where."

Aurora hung up.

X • O ° X • O

NYU - Hallway

Blair was walking with Amalia and another minion, Sophie, on her way to her dorm room.

Amalia was reading the NYU newspaper. "And Miss Abrams has even been mentioned as a contender to deliver this year's toast at the freshman dinner--"

"Oh, my God, enough," Blair told her. "I am in no mood to hear you fawn over some girl with tacky accessories who lives to recycle."

"Blair, didn't you ask Mr. Ellis if you could give the freshman speech?" Sophie asked.

"I put out feelers," Blair told them. "That's totally different."

Vanessa walked along, on the phone. "Of course I'd be honored, Mr. Ellis. Thank you."

Blair glared. "You."

Vanessa hung up her phone, smiling. "Yeah, Blair, me."

"FYI, one insipid article does not mean people here like you," Blair told her. "The fever will pass. Like swine flu."

"Really?" Vanessa asked. "Huh. Then I wonder why Josh Ellis... he's this kind of important alumni liaison... told me to start working on my toast for the freshman dinner."

Blair stormed into her dorm room. Vanessa smirked at the two minions.

Blair called to her minions from inside her room. "What are you standing there for? Get in here."

The two minions ran into Blair's room, closing the door behind them. Vanessa squealed with excitement before heading down the hallway to her dorm room.

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Dylan and Wyatt were talking.

"I can't believe this is happening," Dylan told him. "I'm not ready to be a dad. What if Angela never comes back? What if she can't because she got hurt or worse?"

"Then you have me to help you," Wyatt answered. "Dylan, you're not alone. You got Thyra, Hope, Brooklyn, James, Carter, me. Noe, Serena, Eric, Zaya, Sadie. Blair even would be happy to help. Chuck not so much."

"You think?" Dylan asked sarcastically.

"But we also got Alex and Nate," Wyatt told him. "And now even Marie since she's apart of your adoptive family. Aurora's helping us out. You're definitely not alone. You've got the whole Crew, Lily, Laureen. Harry Vanderbilt. And we're gonna find Angela and make sure she's all right. It's gonna be okay."

"How do you know?" Dylan asked.

"I don't, but it's all I got," Wyatt answered.

Dylan was clearly worried. "I was only with Angela for two nights. And I know that it's easy to happen in one night, and one time, especially if something broke. I mean, condoms do break, and I was drunk both nights, so..."

"I get it," Wyatt told him. "You don't have to explain to me. How long ago was that? I mean, I know we were broken up for a while and... Theo's like three months, right?"

"Yeah, according to the letter," Dylan answered.

"And Theo's obviously yours," Wyatt told him. "Same smile, same ears, same little speck of mischief in the eyes."

"If you're trying to make me feel better, it's almost working," Dylan told him.

They walked back toward the girls where they were with Theo.

"All right, Theo is fed and dressed," Aurora told them.

"And changed," Brooklyn added. "That was nasty."

"Now all Theo needs is to be burped," Thyra told them, holding Theo toward Dylan. "I'm sure you can handle this part."

"What, me?" Dylan asked. "Are you sure? Right now?"

"Yes, right now," Brooklyn answered. "It's your baby."

Dylan sighed, nodding, very nervous but taking Theo, holding him, patting his back to burp him.

"See, you're not doing too bad," Thyra told him.

"I'll try to find Angela as fast as I can," Aurora told them. "Thyra, Brooklyn, you want to come with when I go to find her?"

"Yeah," Thyra answered.

"Of course," Brooklyn answered.

"Good," Aurora told them. "Be ready to leave in  when I get a thread on where Angela could be. I'll talk to Hope, Alex and Harry too. One way or another, we're gonna figure this out. Maybe Carter can help with his connections with the Silence. I don't want him using those connections because it is dangerous, but we have to this time."

"Well, first, we'd have to find out how to get Carter back," Dylan pointed out.

"Harry's already working on that with Noe, Hope, Alex, James, Marie, Zaya, Sadie, Serena, Nate, Eric and Beck," Aurora explained. "About to go help them get Carter back, so just be patient, all right?" They nodded in agreement. "I gotta go. Just be careful."

Aurora walked out quickly.

X • O ° X • O

Street

Olivia and Dan were walking together.

Dan was holding a watch. "I love it. You know, cobalt's my favorite color."

"Push the button," Olivia told him.

Dan hit the button.

An electronic voice said, "It's 11:45. Your hair is so pleasing."

They laughed.

Olivia smiled. "It's a compliment watch and it flatters in three different languages."

Dan smiled. "Oh, my God. This is the greatest watch in the history of all watches. The Swiss should be ashamed for not thinking of it first."

Olivia chuckled. "So, um, what are you gonna do this weekend to thank me?"

"Uh, you know, actually, um, about that, I was thinking I would invite you to the parents' weekend freshman dinner with, uh, with me and my parents," Dan answered. "I know you're probably exhausted."

"I would love to," Olivia told him.

"Really?" Dan asked in surprise. "Are you sure? 'Cause you heard the part about my parents, right?"

Olivia smiled. "Dan, the last three guys I dated, I met their agent, their manager, their publicist, a personal trainer who also read tarot cards, and I never met a single one of their parents. Back when I was dating Prince Shea, when I met his brother Preston and their parents Sherry and Simon, I was meeting a combo of parents/agents/managers/publicists, so that's more frightening than this would ever be." Dan chuckled in acknowledgement and agreement. "I would love to meet your parents."

(Song:) Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

Dan smiled, leaning closer to kiss Olivia. "I missed you."

Olivia smiled, pressing the button on Dan's watch.

The electronic voice said, "It's 11:46. Your teeth shine like diamonds."

Dan chuckled. "That's ironic considering my adoptive sister is actually a Diamond."

Olivia and Dan laughed before kissing again.

X • O ° X • O

NYU - Vanessa/Olivia's Dorm Room

Vanessa was sitting on her bed, making a call to her parents.

Voicemail: "You've reached Arlo and Gabriela Abrams. Pay it forward."

Vanessa left a message. "Hey, Mom, Dad. Look, I know you guys aren't happy that I'm at NYU, but I'm giving this toast tomorrow night and it's kind of a big honor, and it would mean so, so much to me if you came, so I hope you can."

Vanessa hung up.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Careful, V, don't send out your invitations just yet. We hear another girl has her eyes on the prize."

X • O ° X • O

Blair's Dorm Room

Blair was pacing, holding books, while her two minions were sitting on the bed. "Montesquieu, Churchill, Hobbes. I'm thinking my toast should touch on tradition, virtue, the divine right of the monarchy."

Blair dropped the books onto both minions, walking away.

"But, Blair, Vanessa's giving the toast," Amalia told her.

"Not when I'm done," Blair replied. "Mao. Sun Tzu, of course. Napoleon's always good for a few zingers."

X • O ° X • O

Ellis's Office

Ellis was working when his phone started to ring, answering it. "This is Josh Ellis. Oh, well, I'm thrilled he changed your mind. Well, of course, we'd still love to have you give the toast. Yes, there was another girl but we hadn't fully committed to her. We definitely want you."

Olivia was the other girl on the line, in the street, smiling. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Ellis."

Olivia hung up.

Dan brought over some coffee from a coffee cart. "Goodbye, jet lag. Hello, triple ristretto. What was that?"

Olivia smirked slyly. "Just a surprise."

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Warehouse

(Song:) I'm In Love With Your Rock and Roll - Kish Mauve

Hope, Harry, Nate, Noe, Marie and Serena arrived to the warehouse, riding the elevator up. The gate door lifted up, and they walked toward the three men at the table. Two of them were Malchus Boardman, Beck's father, and PJ Buckley. They had guards stationed around the poker table.

Hope and Harry stayed behind Nate, Noe, Marie and Serena, whispering.

"I still think we should tell them about where the others are," Hope told him. "Noe and Marie's mind states, if something goes wrong and they didn't know the whole plan..."

"Noe and Marie need to play well without getting their tells outed, and Nate doesn't have a good poker face," Harry whispered. "If these guys sense that we're up to something or distracting them so the others can get to Carter, then we'd all get hurt or worse. Including everyone on the ship when the guards have a heads up."

Hope knew he was right but was worried, hating not being able to tell the others the full plan, but doing it so that everyone could get out safely without getting hurt.

"Well, well, well," PJ told them. "Harry Vanderbilt. Nate Archibald, didn't recognize you without your better brother Alex. You looking for a game?"

Malchus looked at the two empty seats across from him and PJ. "I'm afraid we don't have a seat for you two."

"Oh, Harry and I are not here to play," Nate told them. He looked at Noe and Marie, making sure they were really up for it. "They are."

Noe and Marie nodded.

Noe looked at the men. "That is, unless you're afraid to play two girls."

Marie smirked. "Sure you can handle this?"

PJ and Malchus were impressed, shrugging.

"Buy in's $25,000," Malchus told them.

Harry took out the money, placing it on the table.

Serena muttered under her breath. "That's a lot of money." She looked at Noe and Marie, still whispering. "So don't lose."

PJ looked at Noe and Marie. "Pull up the seats, darlings."

Noe and Marie took the last two seats at the table, exchanging a look. Marie looked worried, but Noe nodded reassuringly.

Hope, Harry, Nate and Serena stood behind them. Hope bit her lip but kept her expression clear. Harry remained relaxed. Hope, Nate and Serena were just concerned for Noe and Marie.

X • O ° X • O

Plane

Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Beck and Eric were getting ready, pulling on parachutes.

Beck put the plane in autopilot. "I'm so glad that I know how to fly our family's plane."

"You wouldn't be the only one, Beck," Eric told him.

"Once we get down there, we can't make much of sound without risking getting caught," Aurora told them.

"We got to get to the control room so that we can track down where they put Carter and make sure we can operate their systems," Alex told them.

Sadie handed them each an ear piece. "Here. So that all of us can stay in touch, but if we get too far off track, the signal might cut out."

Zaya put in her ear piece, as did the others. "Got it. So we just got to be careful."

"When we get Carter and need to get out, meet by the bow so we can get the lifeboats and take off," James told them.

"As quickly as possible," Beck agreed. "Most of the guards have guns."

"All right," Zaya agreed. "Let's do this."

Beck set a course for the plane to fly to on autopilot so that it wouldn't smash into anything or hurt anyone.

Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Beck and Eric, with parachutes on, made their way to the opening of the back of the plane, ready to jump.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Outside forces should know by now to not mess with someone from the Crew. Even new additions. The others would come in full force to find a way to save them, and have help doing so. Like their protective parental figures Aurora Diamond, Harry Vanderbilt and Laureen von Miller. Something tells me we're in for a show."

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

X • O ° X • O

Ship

One by one, Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Beck and Eric jumped from the plane, and floated down toward the ship, landing at different places, taking off their parachutes.

When guards ran closer because they saw them, Alex grabbed Guard 1 from behind in a headlock, choking him until he passed out, letting him fall.

Guard 2 ran closer. Zaya punched him in the face. Guard 2 tried to punch her. Zaya ducked, sliding past him over the floor, spinning to kick his legs out from underneath him, making him fall, slamming his head against the floor, making him fall unconscious.

James ran toward Guard 3, kicking him off the ship into the water below. Guard 4 ran toward James, trying to punch him. James ducked, kicking his legs out from underneath him, making him fall to the floor, slamming his head on the ground to knock him out.

Guard 5 ran toward Aurora. Aurora jumped up, wrapping her legs around his neck, flipping him to the floor, landing in a crouch next to him, punching him in the face, making him fall unconscious.

Sadie climbed up on the railing of the boat so she could jump up on Guard 6's back when he tried to attack, spinning herself around his head so she could wrap her legs around his neck and flip him to the ground with his momentum added to hers, standing, spinning to kick him in the head when he tried to get him, punching him in the face, knocking him out.

Beck and Eric were very impressed with all of them. Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Beck and Eric snuck their way to the control room.

X • O ° X • O

NYU - Ellis's Office

Blair was sitting at Ellis's desk.

Ellis walked around his desk to sit in his chair. "Now, Miss Waldorf, if this is about letting you give the freshman toast, like I told you last week, I'd love to help you out, but..."

"Actually, Mr. Ellis, I'm here to help you," Blair told him. "Simply put, Vanessa Abrams is a tired cliché from the 718. The preachy I-hate-the-man toast she no doubt has in mind won't inspire the kind of deep pocket donations this school needs. You need a speaker more like, well, me."

"Miss Waldorf, yes, last week, I narrowed my search down to two candidates, but just moments ago, our first choice, Olivia Burke, accepted our invitation," Ellis explained.

"Then why does activist Abrams still think she's giving the toast?" Blair asked.

"Vanessa was the other student that we were considering," Ellis answered. "You see, initially, Olivia wasn't planning on attending, but then luckily for everyone, her new boyfriend convinced her otherwise."

Blair nodded, looking away. "Yes, she is very famous." Ellis nodded. Blair looked at him. "But she's a two quadrant speaker. is it smart to lose everyone over 25 on parents' weekend? Besides, actresses are notoriously unreliable."

Ellis leaned forward. "Miss Waldorf, even if Olivia's schedule did change, Vanessa would still be my next choice." He stood. "So, I'm very busy."

X • O ° X • O

Hallway

Vanessa was sitting in the hallway, on the phone. "I'll see you soon, Mom." Blair walked out of the office. Vanessa stood, hanging up. "Oh, no, mm-mm. You are not trying to steal my toast."

Blair smirked. "Nobody told you. Olivia, your dear roommate, is giving the toast. Poor Vanessa, always the understudy, never the star."

"Olivia is the other girl?" Vanessa asked. Blair hummed, walking past Vanessa. "And I was the one who told Dan to bring her."

Blair and Vanessa turned to face each other.

Blair tilted her head. "Irony certainly can be cruel. Did I overhear your long absent mother is coming to hear you speak? Tragic."

"Well, I'll just tell Olivia how much this toast means to me and then she'll step down," Vanessa told her.

Blair nodded sarcastically. "Yep, probably. Though then again, she might not."

Vanessa scoffed. "Nice try, Blair."

"Well, I'm just saying," Blair told her. "We all know Olivia loves the spotlight. She is an actress."

"Then I'll ask Dan not to bring her," Vanessa told her.

Blair scoffed. "Another idea with some merit. See, that's where you and I are different. I would never put my fate in someone else's hands and that's why I always win and you lose. So good luck with your honesty. Maybe you and Mom can take in a show instead."

Blair turned around, walking away.

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Brooklyn, Dylan, Thyra and Wyatt were talking.

"What am I supposed to do?" Dylan asked.

"Well, there's not a whole lot we can do unless Angela comes back on her own," Thyra pointed out. "But you got to ask yourself this, Dylan. How much do you want to be involved?"

"I don't know what I want," Dylan admitted. "Last year when Dad died, and Wyatt and I were broken up, I wasn't thinking. I was drinking all too much, I was not in a good place. Otherwise I would have not done something stupid."

"Oh, there's always room for you to do something stupid, Dylan," Brooklyn told him.

"Not helping, Brooklyn," Wyatt told her.

"I'm still figuring out my life, while all of you, and most of our friends and family, have already figured out what they want to do," Dylan told them. "They see what they want and they go for it."

"Dylan, don't worry," Thyra told him. "We're going to find Angela and get to the bottom of this and figure everything out."

"What if we don't find Angela, Thyra?" Wyatt asked. "Not because she doesn't want to be found, but what if she's d..."

They knew they couldn't bring themselves to think that Angela was dead.

"Then Dylan's got another option," Brooklyn answered. "He could give Theo up for adoption."

Dylan slowly shook his head. "If I do that, then I'm not a father anymore, and Theo has no father, and a mother who had to leave him in order to save him. I don't... I don't want that for him."

"You're not alone with this, you know," Wyatt told him. "Just like I said."

"You know we're gonna help you," Brooklyn told him. "And you're gonna be able to learn how to handle it yourself, too."

"You really believe that I can do this?" Dylan asked.

"It doesn't matter what we believe, Dylan," Thyra pointed out. "Even though we do believe in you, it doesn't matter if you don't believe in yourself."

Dylan knew that she was right, but was very worried.

X • O ° X • O

Ship

Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Eric and Beck found their way to the control room, looking over all the plans and layouts of the boat.

"I think they took Carter below deck," Sadie told them. "Sub level two."

Beck nodded in agreement, pointing to the door controls. "Okay, so see here? All the checkpoints got their own security doors. And if we press those two buttons, the whole thing goes on lockdown mode."

"So you can open and close doors for us so we can find and get Carter," Alex finished.

Beck nodded, taking off his jacket. "That'll be Eric's job."

"Yeah, I got that," Eric agreed. "Beck and Sadie are hacking."

"Beck will be hacking the security system so that no one can catch us or you guys so we can get through this with the highest chance of success and without getting hurt," Sadie told them. "And I will be taking control of the whole boat and get us back on track if anything goes wrong."

"Okay, but if you run into any trouble, you get out of here," Aurora told them. "Sadie, I know you and Zaya never stopped training, but with your heart, you could still be in danger, and Beck and Eric can't defend themselves."

Zaya was worried for her sister and cousin. "Sadie. Eric."

"We'll be okay, Zaya, I promise," Eric told her. "Just be careful out there. There's like a thousand guards out there."

James shrugged. "But you know we're awesome."

Sadie smirked. "Well, go be awesome then."

Beck chuckled. 

X • O ° X • O

Café

Dan and Vanessa were sitting at a table.

"You're kidding right?" Dan asked. "You're the one who told me to invite her."

"I know," Vanessa told him.

"Remember the whole 'people like you more when they meet your family' thing?" Dan asked.

"Well, exactly," Vanessa told him. "You don't want to be outshone by your family, and not to mention, she's been in Japan for ten days. I mean, she's probably having reverse culture shock."

Dan nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, okay, all right, so do you have any non-insane reasons?"

"Well, I'm just saying," Vanessa told him. "Why don't you do something more casual, but also romantic? Dinner with just the two of you. You can make your special chicken."

Dan laughed. "My special chicken? What? Vanessa, what is going on?"

"Nothing," Vanessa lied, taking a drink of coffee.

"Uh-huh," Dan said sarcastically, holding up his empty mug. "I gotta get a refill."

Dan stood, walking away to the counter.

Vanessa stood, walking toward Dan. "Okay, but you have to promise me you won't say anything because this officially makes me the worst roommate ever."

"Just tell me," Dan told her.

"Olivia's freaking out about meeting your parents," Vanessa lied.

"What?" Dan asked. "I--I talked to her like two hours ago and she said she was looking forward to it."

"I guess she changed her mind, or doesn't wanna hurt your feelings," Vanessa told him. "She just feels that it's way, way too soon."

Dan sighed, nodding. "Uh, you know, I knew. I knew this was gonna happen."

"Really?" Vanessa asked. "I mean, yeah, of course. And I know that this is my fault, but... tell her you want to have a great night, just the two of you."

"And make my special chicken?" Dan asked sarcastically.

"I'll give you a recipe," Vanessa told him.

Dan chuckled. "Okay." Vanessa walked to the door. Dan turned to face her. "Hey, Abrams, thank you for, uh, the heads up."

Vanessa forced a smile. "What are friends for?"

Feeling guilty, Vanessa walked out.

X • O ° X • O

Warehouse

Noe and Marie were playing PJ and Malchus, as Serena, Hope, Nate and Harry stood behind them.

PJ showed his cards. "Trip queens. It just--it just doesn't feel right. You know, taking money from two beautiful women."

Noe and Marie stood, turning to face Serena, Hope, Nate and Harry.

"You weren't lying when you said that you were good with cards, Marie," Serena told her, impressed. "You've been crushing Malchus."

"As long as I can keep my expressions clear," Marie agreed. "That's the hard part for me."

"But PJ's crushing me," Noe told them.

"Hey, don't worry," Nate told her. "PJ's on tilt. This is where you hook him."

"You want to call it a night?" Malchus asked. "We can spot you cab fare."

Hope looked at Noe and Marie. "Just get them to bet Carter."

Harry walked toward the table, putting the money on the table. "Actually, we're gonna buy make in."

"But we're upping the stakes," Serena told them.

PJ smirked, looking Noe and Marie over. "What are you thinking of playing for?"

Nate glared at PJ, but Noe put out a hand, glaring at PJ.

Marie narrowed her eyes at PJ. "Yeah, not likely. How about Carter Baizen?"

PJ nodded. "Oh, I get it. You're--you're Carter's girl." Marie didn't answer. "You're the girl that he came with us willingly for."

The others reacted in surprise.

"Wait, what?" Marie asked.

PJ smirked smugly. "Oh, you didn't know that, did you? Of course you didn't. Why would you? Your boy came with me, my brother and our cousin, without a fight, if it meant that we would leave you alone, since Bree threatened you." Marie looked away, shallowing. Noe, Hope, Serena and Nate looked at her in concern. Harry was also concerned, glaring at PJ for playing on that. "So you coming to save him is a little poetic. Well, bad news, sweetheart. Carter's debt is a lot more than you're showing."

Marie got angry, glaring at him. "Don't call me sweetheart. I would love to insult you, but I'm afraid I won't do as well as nature did."

PJ chuckled. "I see I hit a nerve. Good."

Serena put a hand on Marie's arm. "It's okay."

"You know, can we get some, uh, some privacy?" Harry asked. Malchus nodded to the guards behind them. The guards walked some distance away. Harry looked at Malchus specifically since he was in the running for politics. "I'll tell you what. You two bet Carter, and I bet a photo of Tripp Vanderbilt..." He slid over the picture. "From the night of his bachelor party."

Hope looked at Nate and Harry. "Your family will kill you. That'll cost Tripp the election."

Serena looked at Noe and Marie. "Like I said, don't lose."

The picture was of Tripp doing drugs.

Malchus smirked, nodding. "Let's play some cards."

Marie was stressed out enough to where she was having trouble not dissociating.

Noe noticed this, stepping closer. "Marie, hey. It's okay."

Marie breathed deeply. "I cannot switch right now."

"Just breathe, Marie," Hope told her. "It's gonna be okay. I promise."

Serena stroked Marie's arm in concern and worry. Hope and Harry looked guilty for not telling them the whole plan but knowing they couldn't without putting everyone in more danger.

X • O ° X • O

Ship - Hallway

Aurora was walking. A guard tried to attack Aurora. Aurora spun to kick him in the head, making him fall unconscious. Two more guards ran closer. Aurora punched Guard 2 in the face. Guard 3 tried to punch Aurora. Aurora ducked, punching him in the face, grabbing his arm, twisting it around, flipping him to the ground. Guard 2 drew a knife, trying to stab Aurora. Aurora raised her hands to block the move, pushing his hands away. Guard 2 tried to stab her. Aurora caught his wrist, kicking him in the stomach, flipping him to the floor. Guard 3 tried to get up. Aurora threw the knife she had taken from Guard 2 into Guard 3's hand, making him groan a scream of pain, before she kicked both guards in the head, making them both fall unconscious.

X • O ° X • O

Hallway 2

Zaya was walking.

"Zaya, you're about to have company," Eric told her.

Zaya smirked. "I got this." A man walked around a corner, seeing Zaya. "Hey, I was invited here by a Beck Boardman. Have you seen him? I really need to see him."

"Lady, I think you have the wrong place," the man told her. "This is a private trip."

"No, I know I got the right place, and it's not private to me if I got an invite," Zaya told him.

The man grabbed Zaya's arm to try and push her back. "Ma'am--"

Zaya slammed her hand straight on into the man's hand on her arm to make him let go, twisting his wrist and spinning him around to twist his arm behind his back hard enough to nearly sprain or break his arm, kicking him in the knee, making him fall to his knees, punching him hard in the head, making him fall. "I'm a way too young to be called 'ma'am'."

X • O ° X • O

Hallway 3

Alex was walking. A guard walked around a corner to try and attack Alex. Alex grabbed the guard, slamming his head against his knee repeatedly, making him unconscious, tossing him to the floor. Another guard ran toward Alex, trying to kick him. Alex raised his arm to block the move, turning to elbow him in the face, flipping him to the floor, kicking him hard in the head to knock him out, before walking along.

X • O ° X • O

Hallway 4

James snuck up behind a guard, slamming his head on the wall, making him fall. A guard ran closer, trying to shoot. James ducked, pushing the gun up, twisting his arm to make him drop it, kicking him in the stomach. The guard tried to punch him. James ducked, leg sweeping his legs out from underneath him, making him fall. Another guard ran closer with a gun. James spun to kick the gun out of his hands, standing, spinning to elbow him twice in the face, flipping him to the floor.

X • O ° X • O

Control Room

Sadie and Beck were working on hacking, and Eric was opening the doors that Alex, James, Zaya and Aurora would need open so they could get through the ship hopefully without getting caught.

X • O ° X • O

NYU - Vanessa/Olivia's Dorm Room

Vanessa returned to her dorm.

Olivia was in the middle of a conversation on the phone with Ellis. "I'm sorry to cancel on you like this, Mr. Ellis. You have a backup speaker, right? Okay. Good. All right, uh, goodbye."

Olivia hung up.

"Everything okay?" Vanessa asked.

Olivia turned to face her, holding a big fluffy monster claw from Japan. "Um, Dan has decided to cook dinner for me instead of going out with his parents."

"He probably just wants some more one on one time," Vanessa told her. "I'll bet he has something special planned, like chicken or something."

Olivia held the monster claw toward Vanessa. "Uh, I brought you this. It's an anime goblin claw. They are huge in Japan right now. I just thought it was kinda funny."

"Thanks," Vanessa told her.

Olivia put her hands to her head. "I shouldn't be freaking out, right? I mean, I can meet his parents any time."

Vanessa nodded. "Yeah." Her phone rang. "I'll--I'll be right back."

"Okay," Olivia agreed.

Vanessa walked out.

X • O ° X • O

Hallway

Vanessa walked into the hallway, answering her phone. "Hi, Mr. Ellis. Um, no." She saw Sophie down the hallway bringing coffee to Blair's room. "I'd still love to give the toast. Thank you." She hung up, speaking to Sophie. "Tell Machiavelli I hope she enjoys my toast."

X • O ° X • O

Blair's Dorm Room

Sophie walked in to talk to Blair and Amalia. "Vanessa's giving the toast again. And she's got some big pink claw thing."

"Well, I don't know about that," Blair stated. "However, phase one is complete."

"But even with Olivia out of the way, you still don't have the toast," Amalia told her.

Blair acted like she just realized that to mock Amalia. "Oh, my goodness. You're right. Thank you, Amalia." She tossed her books into Amalia's lap. "When are you going to learn to have a little faith?" She walked toward the window to look outside, making a call. "Chuck, my love. I was thinking... Remember our game from the summer? Well, I have the perfect target already picked out."

X • O ° X • O

Driton Dominatrix - Dominic's Office

Dominic was at the computer.

Laureen walked in, leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, smirking, tilting her head. "You wanted to see me?"

Dominic looked up at Laureen, smirking, standing, shrugging, walking around the desk toward her. "Always."

Laureen chuckled. "You said that you found something."

"Yeah," Dominic answered. "The day before the wedding, when you came here with Zaya and Sadie, and the little genius set up her little program to help find out what we were missing about Amanda Stry... this morning, I did find something out."

"I would've been here sooner but I had to work," Laureen told him, pushing away from the doorway, walking closer. "What did you find?"

"Amanda Stry didn't just move, Laureen," Dominic told her. "She died." Laureen processed this, nodding, looking away. "That explains why your husband's been so adamant about keeping hold of you, Zaya and Sadie."

"Saying that he can't lose us like he lost so much before," Laureen agreed. "That the world's a dangerous place and that we need him. How did Amanda and her baby die?"

"House fire, a terrible one," Dominic answered. "It apparently started when she was asleep. She never had the chance to get out."

"And the baby?" Laureen asked.

"Well, when she died, it was while she was pregnant, only a little before she was supposed to give birth," Dominic answered. "The baby never had a chance to be born before they died."

Laureen nodded, processing, looking betrayed. "Amanda was Richard's affair, and she was pregnant. He got her pregnant. He was going to have another child. This was before he went completely crazy."

"I'm so sorry, Laureen," Dominic told her.

Laureen sighed, holding her head. "Okay." She took a deep breath, letting it out. "Losing Amanda, losing his baby... that has to be the cause of the psychotic break. Breaks in the mentality can be caused over less. This..." Dominic nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Dominic. I don't want to use this against him, but if I have to..."

"If you have to to get yourself, Zaya and Sadie free," Dominic finished. "You do what you have to do, Laureen." Laureen sighed heavily, nodding. "I still can't understand how you could be married to that monster."

Laureen sighed. "Richard wasn't always so terrible. We met in LA, but his family lived in New York like mine. We met during a time where he wanted to rebel from the von Miller family expectations, like I wanted to rebel from the Rhodes family expectations of mine. He was so relaxed and charming and he showed me a wonderful time. After LA was over, we went to the airport and--and took the first flight to anywhere. Ended up in Paris. We had a lot more fun, partying and dancing and drinking. Until I realized that I couldn't do it anymore."

"Zaya," Dominic realized. "You were pregnant. And then later on came Sadie."

"Yes," Laureen answered. "We were happy for so long, until his psychotic break, and... I loved him, Dominic. And he loved me and our daughters. He had his demons, but we had some very good years before they took over."

Dominic took Laureen by the hand. "You don't have to talk about it more than you have to."

Laureen sniffled. "Right. Well, I'm the therapist. It's not what I'm used to, having to talk to someone else about my problems."

"You help the Crew and everyone else with all of their issues and so much more," Dominic told her. "Let me be the one that can help you." Laureen managed a small smile, nodding. Dominic put his arm around Laureen. "I hope you can move on, when you're ready to."

Laureen nodded. "So do I."

"When all is said and done, I am truly happy that you, Zaya and Sadie can make it through, Laureen," Dominic told her, taking her hand, kissing it. "I wish the best for all three of you, even if I can't be there with you."

Laureen managed a small smile. "Thank you, Dominic."

They looked at their hands still holding the other's.

X • O ° X • O

Night - Ship - Below Deck - Sub Level 2

Carter was tied up on a chair in the middle of the room, guarded by three men. He was not in good shape, slightly beaten up with scratches on his face and wounds in his abdomen, but he could handle the pain, mostly annoyed by it.

They heard a woman's voice. "I think there's been a breach. You've got eyes on Baizen?"

"He's sitting right here," Guard 1 answered.

"Initiate lockdown," the woman told them.

Guard 2 hit a lockdown panel on the wall to make all the lights go off and alarm lights flash red, as an alarm started to blare. Carter looked up as the red lights flashed over him.

X • O ° X • O

Hallways

In each hallway, Zaya, Alex, James and Aurora all paused when the lights went off and the alarms went off, the red lights flashing. They each made move to go faster, making sure they stayed out of sight.

X • O ° X • O

Control Room

Sadie, Eric and Beck were working.

Eric couldn't open the doors. "Lockdown."

"I've still got the security cameras under control," Beck told them. "Sadie, start the hack for the system."

Sadie was typing away. "Working on it. Initiating. Now. They're trying to lock me out. They just rebooted the boat's command system."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eric asked.

"In Laymen's terms, they just stopped Sadie from carjacking the boat," Beck answered.

"Well, I'm gonna get it back," Sadie told them. "I can tap the network and counter hack them. Keep the boat from flowing into the water. They're good, but..."

Beck slid closer to help Sadie with the hack. "But we're better."

Sadie smiled. "Damn right."

Beck and Sadie were both typing up a storm.

"Okay, how do you like this?" Beck asked. "Remote link has been separated."

"We're regaining control," Sadie stated. "They're trying to take it back. Oh, that's cute. They think they're slick. They're gonna have to do better than that. We're back in."

Beck did a little cheer. "Yes!"

Beck and Sadie high fived.

Eric smiled at them. He saw that James was close to getting to the sub level. "James, you're almost there. Down the stairs, last door to the right."

"Copy that," James told them. "Heading to the sub level two."

"Just take a right," Eric told him.

James couldn't hear him the lower he got. "What? Eric, I can't hear you. You're breaking up."

Sadie, Beck and Eric all tried to talk to him. "James."

Eric saw that a man was approaching James in the corridor through the security tapes, hitting a button on a mic for the intercom system in the boat so that they could hear him. "James, there's a guy behind you."

X • O ° X • O

Hallway

James turned to see the guard. The guard tried to punch James. James ducked, punching him in the face. The guard spun around to try and backhand punch James in the face, but James caught his arm, twisting his arms around to throw him into the wall, making him fall. The guard jumped up, kicking James in the leg, twisting his arm around, punching him in the side, grabbing James in a headlock. James grabbed his arms and pulled until the guard had to yell in pain, flipping him over his head to the floor in front of them, kicking him.

Sadie spoke to James through the mic, an the intercom system. "Just down the hallway to the left, James. You're almost there."

X • O ° X • O

Sub Level 2

Carter could hear them from where he was tied up, smirking slightly. "You hear that? That's the sound of the most advanced tactical team in the world taking over your ship."

X • O ° X • O

Warehouse

(Song:) See Through You - The Meeting Places

Noe and Marie were playing PJ and Malchus.

PJ looked at Marie, taunting her again. "You're the secret Rhodes-Humphrey sister, isn't that right? Marie Rosson. So what's a sweet girl like you doing with a guy like Carter Baizen, huh? You heard what happened to my sister, right? Heartbroken, 30 pounds fatter. Didn't stop Malchus from marrying her though." Malchus smirked. PJ pointed at Noe. "And didn't you used to date Carter, too, Noe? And the two of you are sisters."

"Recent revelation for most of us," Noe replied.

PJ pointed at Serena. "And yet your other sister Serena over there, she's dating James Baizen." He pointed at Hope. "Your stepsister Hope is dating Alex Archibald." He pointed at Noe. "You're dating Nate." He looked at Hope. "I heard your mother Aurora Diamond is the best friend to Harry Vanderbilt right here. Looks like James and Carter Baizen, Alex and Nate Archibald and Harry Vanderbilt all have a way with you Rhodes and Diamond girls."

Hope, Serena and Noe glared.

Nate gave PJ a death glare, setting his jaw, not happy, though not willing to let PJ get under their skin, fixing his jacket. Harry put out a hand to calm Nate down.

Marie just glared at them, not letting them get to her, tossing out some chips. "Bet."

Noe set out some chips, as did PJ and Malchus.

"$20,000," Malchus told them.

Marie bit her lip, pushing all of her chips into the middle, setting the picture on top, sitting back in her chair. "All in."

Noe pushed her chips in, sitting back.

"You sure you want to play this hand for Carter?" Malchus asked. Marie raised her eyebrows. "Fine. I'll call. You know, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, an election. At least it means I'll win for sure."

"Don't be so sure about that," Noe replied.

The guards walked closer after receiving word from the ship.

"PJ," Guard 1 said. "Malchus."

"What's going on?" Malchus asked.

"We have a security breach on the ship," Guard 1 answered. "Several fighters and two hackers are taking control. They came for Baizen."

Hope and Harry exchanged a look, knowing that they had to fight now.

"Wait, what?" Marie asked. "Who came for Carter?"

Malchus glared at them in realization. "Don't play dumb. This whole game is a distraction, isn't it?"

"Distraction for what?" Noe asked.

"What is going on?" Serena asked.

Nate frowned, looking at them. "Guys."

Hope and Harry didn't answer.

Malchus looked at the other men. "Get them."

The men walked closer to attack, while Hope, Harry and Serena readied for a fight. Serena could only do a little, but enough to where she could defend herself. Nate stepped closer to Noe and Marie, making sure they were safe.

Man 1 tried to attack Serena. Serena ducked, pushing the man into a railing, slamming his head into it, knocking him out, pushing him to the floor.

Man 2 tried to attack Harry. Harry blocked the hit, punching him in the face. Man 2 kicked him in the leg. Harry jumped on Man 2 to tackle him down, punching him in the face hard enough to knock him out.

Man 3 ran at Hope. Hope stepped on a chair, jumping on Man 3's shoulders, spinning around him and flipping him to the floor with her, to slam him down, sitting up, kneeing him in the face, punching him in the head to knock him out.

When Man 4 ran up to Nate, Noe and Marie to try and hurt them, Nate stepped in front of Noe and Marie, punching Man 4 in the face, slamming his head on the wall, elbowing him in the face, making him fall, kicking him in the head to knock him out. He clearly did not know how to fight like the trained ones did, but he had strength and knew how to knock someone out.

Man 5 ran at Hope. Hope ducked, sliding between his legs over the floor, punching him in the crotch on her way behind him, turning to face him in a crouch, standing, running closer to kick him into the wall, slamming his head into the wall, knocking him out.

Man 6 tried to punch Harry. Harry raised an arm to block the move, punching him twice in the face, elbowing him in the face, trying to punch him. Man 6 ducked, trying to punch him. Harry ducked, twisting his arm, spinning around, pushing Man 6 into the wall. Man 6 tried to shoot Harry. Harry caught his gun, aiming it up at the ceiling as it shot, making the others duck, punching Man 6 in the stomach, kneeing him in the groin, spinning closer to elbow him in the face, making him back away, taking the gun from him to hit him in the head, knocking him out.

Malchus and PJ both stood to try and do something about it, drawing guns.

Noe grabbed Malchus's wrist to make him stop, twisting it, making him drop the gun, punching him in the face, making him fall onto the table, pushing the gun away. She looked down to the side at Malchus, looked relieved and smug she took Malchus down like that, raising her head, turning it to look at the others, tilting her head slightly, pulling her hair to the side over her shoulder as it cascaded down.

Marie kicked PJ in the leg before he could fire, making him fall to his knees and making him hit his head on the table in the process, kneeing him in the back, pushing him to the floor.

Nate reached toward Noe to make sure she was okay as she stepped closer to Nate. "Let's get out of here."

"Come on, we gotta go," Hope told them.

"Come on, come on," Harry told them, leading Marie over to Serena.

Nate, Noe, Hope, Marie, Serena and Harry walked out together.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Uh-oh. With all the violence and scheming, are Noe and Marie's mind states going to be wrecked, and will Nate and Serena be pissed, or will everyone thank Hope and Harry that because of their omission, they all got out safe?"

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Ship - Sub Level 2

Tied up, Carter heard Sadie's voice over the intercom. "Aurora, Alex, Zaya, careful. More guys are coming your way."

Carter, knowing that those were some great fighters, smirked, laughing lightly.

"Something funny?" a guard asked.

Carter revealed that he had been working the ropes with a nail in the chair, pulling free, waving his hands at the guard. "Now it is."

Carter stood so fast he made his chair fall. The three guards aimed their guns at Carter.

A Buckley brother (PJ and Beth's brother) walked closer. "Don't. He's mine. After what he did to my sister..." The guards lowered their guns. "I was disappointed that you came with us without a fight. But did so because of a girl. So we didn't hurt her. So the heartless man can fall in love."

"People can change," Carter replied.

The Buckley man sneered at Carter. "Maybe you can, but I can't. After what you did to my sister, imagine what I'd do to your girl."

Carter glared at him. "You want to fight me? I'm right here."

Buckley swung at Carter. Carter ducked, kicking his leg spinning to kick his head, making him fall. The Buckley got up, trying to kick Carter. Carter ducked, kicking him in the head, flipping through the air to try and kick him again. The Buckley ducked. Carter landed in a crouch. The Buckley kicked him in the head, making him fall. Carter stood. Buckley tried a series of punches and kicks. Carter ducked or dodged to deflect or block the moves, kicking Buckley to the floor. Buckley stood, running closer, trying to kick Carter. Carter ducked, kicking Buckley in the shoulder, spinning to backhand punch him in the face. Buckley tried to punch him. Carter backed away enough to make him miss, grabbing him by his shoulders, kneeing him in the stomach twice, flipping him to the floor.

James came in from behind Guard 1, twisting his gun out of his hand before he saw him, using the gun to hit him in the head, punching him in the face, using the gun to hit the gun out of Guard 2's hands behind him. Guard 2 tried to punch James. James ducked, kicking Guard 2 in the stomach, elbowing him in the chest, hitting him in the chest with the gun, pushing him into a table.

Carter and Buckley were still fighting. Buckley tried to kick Carter. Carter raised his leg to block the move, punching him with either arm. Buckley tried to punch him. Carter ducked, kicking him in the chest, punching him in the face, making him back away, kicking him in the leg, spinning to kick him in the chest, then the head, making him fall, unconscious.

James lifted Guard 2 up, turning to throw him into Guard 1, making them both fall to the floor, hitting them both in the head with the gun, knocking them out.

Guard 3 tried to shoot both James and Carter, making them duck. James shot his gun at Guard 3, making him duck as well. Carter ran closer to kick Guard 3 in the head, kicking him in the stomach, elbowing him in the face. James hit Guard 3 over the head from behind with his gun, knocking him out.

Carter looked at James, smirking. "Took you long enough."

James smirked. "Yeah, you're welcome." James held out his hand. Carter closed his hand around James's, as they both did the boyish handshake and hug after that most boys did, both relieved to see each other again. "Come on, we gotta get to the bow and the lifeboats. We're getting out of here."

James put Carter's arm around his shoulder since he was feeling more weaker after the beating along with the fighting, which irritated his wounds and weakened him, and they walked as quickly as they could out of the sub level.

X • O ° X • O

Control Room

Sadie, Beck and Eric saw that James and Carter were leaving sub level two.

"All right, we did it," Beck told them.

Sadie stood, speaking through the ear piece. "Let's get the hell out of here." Sadie had full control over the ship and made all the doors unlock so that even when they were leaving, they could all go through the doors without having someone to have to open them from the control room every time. A guard bust into the room at the last second. Sadie looked at Beck and Eric. "Lift me."

Beck and Eric lifted Sadie, so that when the guard ran closer, Sadie jumped onto him, doing a rotating spin around his head to use his momentum to flip him to the floor, somersaulting over the floor, standing, picking up a pipe, using it to hit the guard in the head, making him fall unconscious.

"Let's go," Eric told them.

They walked out.

X • O ° X • O

Ship - Bow

Zaya, Aurora and Alex were already getting into a life boat. Carter and James ran closer from one side, and Sadie, Beck and Eric ran closer from the other. They got into two other life boats, and hit eject on each one so they would fall into the water. Aurora, James and Beck were each driving one of the life boats, so they could get away from the boat with no more issue.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Looks like Zaya, Sadie, Alex, James, Carter, Aurora, Beck and Eric are going down the river, and the Buckleys are going up in smoke."

X • O ° X • O

X • O ° X • O

Day Two

Morning - Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Hope walked in, seeing Thyra. "What's going on with you?"

"Me?" Thyra asked. "What's going on with you? You're the one that was on a mission with Noe, Alex, James, Marie, Zaya, Sadie, Harry, Aurora, Serena, Nate, Eric and Beck all night. Did it work? Is Carter okay?"

"He's fine," Hope answered. "Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Eric and Beck got Carter out, while Noe, Marie, Harry, Serena, Nate and I were providing a distraction. Without Noe, Marie, Serena and Nate knowing what else was going on, so I feel bad about that, but it kept us all alive, so... Carter went to rest at his suite because he was not in good shape."

Thyra sighed in relief. "Carter's okay. You're all safe. That's all that matters."

Hope nodded in agreement. "What about you?"

"Well, everybody was so busy yesterday that we never had the time to tell anyone about the baby," Thyra told her.

"Baby?" Hope repeated. "What baby? Who had a baby?"

"I'm gonna cut you off right here before you go into one of your rambles," Thyra told her. "Dylan had a hookup with Angela last year, remember? Twice, when Dylan and Wyatt were broken up. Angela's a mercenary, and she's on the run, and Chuck, Dylan and Carter helped her go into hiding. And then a baby appeared in the elevator up at the penthouse yesterday morning."

Hope was in shock. "Oh, my God. Dylan has a baby?"

"Yeah," Thyra answered. "He's about three months old, and his name is Theo. And Dylan doesn't want to give Theo up, but he doesn't believe in himself enough to be able to take care of him."

"But Dylan doesn't want to give up Theo," Hope stated. "How did Theo even get to the elevator? What happened to Angela? Where did she go? What happened to her?"

"She left a note saying that the Silence was still after her, out to get both Angela and Theo, and she had to give him up in order to protect him," Thyra explained.

"So Angela sent Theo to Dylan so Theo would be safe," Hope said.

"Yeah," Thyra answered.

"Well, are you guys looking for Angela?" Hope asked. "What does Mom say?"

"She's working on that too," Thyra explained. "She's looking for Angela. And Carter needs to heal from the Buckley drama, and Aurora's trying to find any lead she can. And she wants me, Brooklyn, Harry, you and Alex to come with her if she finds Angela. Are you in for something like that, Hope?"

Hope nodded. "Of course I am, Thyra. But Dylan and Theo... most of this depends on Dylan and what he wants to do if we can't find Angela."

"Exactly," Thyra agreed. "Do you want to come with and talk with me while going back? Wyatt, Brooklyn and I got to pick up baby supplies, and I could use the help."

"Of course," Hope answered. "Come on."

X • O ° X • O

Rhodes/Bass Apartment - Living Room

Vanessa walked in.

Rufus smiled. "Hey, you made it."

Vanessa smiled. "Hey."

Rufus and Vanessa hugged.

Gabriela walked in behind Vanessa. "Rufus! Come here." They hugged, pulling away. "Would you let me look at you? Lay off the caffeine, huh? It's giving you wrinkles."

Rufus waved them off. "Ah." He led Vanessa and Gabriela along. "I'm sorry Arlo couldn't make it."

"He says hello, he had to finish installing the solar panels on the chicken coop at the co-op," Gabriela explained. "We have been so busy organizing the local 72. The, uh, the union for the Burlington cheesemakers."

"Uh-huh, yeah," Rufus said.

Lily walked closer.

"Mom, this is Lily," Vanessa told her.

Lily offered her hand. "Oh, it is such a pleasure to finally meet Vanessa's mother."

Gabriela shook her hand. "Gabriela. Oh, Rufus, we're not in Brooklyn anymore."

Rufus chuckled. "I'm--I'm still moving in. It's Lily's place."

Lily turned her head to Rufus. "Oh, it is both of our place."

"Uh, Mom, didn't you bring that for Lily?" Vanessa asked, looking at a gift bag.

"Oh, yes, I did," Gabriela answered, handing the bag to Lily. "Homemade strawberry rhubarb."

Lily sounded impressed. "Thank you. Wow. Well, you and your husband must be so proud of Vanessa."

Vanessa smiled.

Gabriela nodded. "Oh, yes, Vanessa has always been a very thoughtful and driven young woman."

"This school is the perfect fit for her," Lily told her.

Gabriela looked down. "Well..."

Vanessa was annoyed. "Here we go."

Gabriela forced a chuckle. "To be completely honest, my husband and I don't believe in private universities. Knowledge should not be for sale."

Rufus and Lily were both awkward, commenting on the strawberry rhubarb.

"Well..." Rufus trailed off.

"Yes," Lily said.

"Who's hungry?" Rufus asked.

Lily nodded. "Lovely."

They walked away.

X • O ° X • O

Bar

(Song:) Strangers - Dirty Secret

Chuck and Blair were standing together.

"I must confess, I've missed our little game," Chuck admitted. "Though it appears your lady is late."

Blair looked behind Chuck. "Actually, there she is now."

Chuck turned to follow her gaze to see Ellis walking up to the bar. He looked at Blair. "She's a guy."

"Who took my speech at the freshman dinner and gave it to Vanessa Abrams," Blair told him. "He double-crossed me and I--"

"Demand satisfaction," Chuck finished.

"You still up for it?" Blair asked. Chuck smirked, nodding. Blair stroked his cheek. "Mm, my wonderful man. I'll just go powder my nose for ten minutes?"

Chuck looked over to Ellis, scrutinizing him. "I only need five."

Blair smirked, walking away. Chuck walked over to Ellis, clearing his throat.

"Can I help you?" Ellis asked.

Chuck nodded. "Oh, definitely."

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Political Office

Noe, Nate, Alex, Harry, Serena and James were talking.

"So we got Carter out, thank God, and none of us got hurt," James told them.

"It was a hell of a risk though," Alex told them.

"You know what else was a risk?" Serena asked. "Not telling me, Noe, Marie and Nate about the second part of the plan."

Alex and James were both confused.

"Wait, what?" Alex asked. "Hope and Harry were supposed to tell you guys."

"Yeah, well, they didn't," Nate told them.

"We couldn't, Nate," Harry told him. "Look, Noe and Marie had to play the game, and if PJ or Malchus picked up a tell from them, or you and Serena that we were playing them, then they wouldn't been ready, and they could've stopped Alex, Aurora, James, Zaya, Sadie, Eric and Beck on the boat and they could've killed them or Carter, and you, Hope, Noe, Marie, Serena and I could've been killed at the poker game."

"So instead you made Hope lie to us and risk Noe and Marie's mind states when everything was going down," Serena told him, clearly angry and protective.

Noe sighed. "Oh, great. Here comes bitchy protective sister."

"It's not funny, Noe," Serena told her. "You could've had an episode, and Marie was barely hanging on at it was. All of you saw that at the game."

"Marie handled herself well," Harry disagreed.

"I mean, Marie did take down PJ, and Noe and Marie are both okay," Nate agreed. "I don't like risking their mind states either, Serena. But everyone's fine now. The Crew's fine. Carter's safe. Aurora, Harry, Eric and Beck are okay. Everyone got away without getting hurt."

"We all thought that you would know what was going on," James told them. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, if it means everyone's safe," Noe told them. "I mean, being apart of a literal gamble was not fun in the least, but, uh... if it means everyone's safe..."

"Yeah, well, you might be able to forgive that, and Marie might be able to, but I can't, Noe," Serena told her. "You're both my sisters and both of you have issues and gambling those issues, and gambling with Sadie's heart issue, even if she and Zaya were fully aware, not to mention Eric..."

"I wasn't gambling those issues," Harry told her. "I was making sure that no one would get hurt or killed."

Serena shook her head, walking out.

Alex sighed. "Great. What about the picture you gave PJ and Malchus?"

"They think they won the picture, and we left it there," Nate answered. "We have the real one."

"The real picture?" Noe asked.

Nate took out the original picture, which did not have the drugs or the bong.

"Why would you leak a fake photo?" James asked. "Are you trying to destroy Tripp's campaign?"

"No," Alex answered. "That's going to win Tripp the election."

"What are you talking about?" Noe asked.

"Once Malchus and the Buckleys leak it, we'll release the real photo," Harry told them. "It's gonna look like they planted the fake one. People are finally gonna see them as the villains they really are."

"And Malchus won't win the election, so at least he'll have less power over Beck," Nate told them.

James nodded. "Okay. Good. I'll talk to Serena. Maybe get her to calm down. I get why she's mad, but the Crew's safe, so are Harry, Aurora, Eric and Beck, so at least we all got out okay."

They all nodded.

X • O ° X • O

Rhodes/Bass Apartment - Living Room

Rufus, Lily, Vanessa and Gabriela were eating. Lily and Vanessa were sitting on the couches facing each other, while Rufus and Gabriela were sitting on the floor at the low table.

"Gabriela, this strawberry rhubarb jam is to die for," Lily complimented.

"Thank you," Gabriela told her. "It's the agave. I refuse to use sugar. Oh, Rufus, will we be seeing Daniel at the dinner?"

"I had hoped so, but unfortunately not," Rufus told them. "He has a date tonight."

"With Vanessa's roommate, Olivia Burke," Lily explained. "Didn't she tell you?"

Vanessa tried to stop her. "Lily--"

"She is a very famous actress," Lily explained.

Gabriela held up her hands. "I'm afraid I don't worship at the alter of shallow Hollywood celebrities. But apparently your school does."

"Mom, can you not do this right now?" Vanessa asked.

"Honey, these institutions are businesses first," Gabriela told her. "I mean, was this girl even qualified to enter? Or was it purely a publicity stunt?"

Vanessa's phone rang. She checked the Caller ID. "Well, that's my shallow Hollywood roommate, and also one of the nicest, smartest people I've met at college. Excuse me." Vanessa stood, walking away into the hallway to answer her phone. "Hey, how is your date?"

In the loft, Olivia was dressed nicely as Dan was cooking. "Great. Dan's making Indian chicken."

"Moroccan, actually," Vanessa corrected.

"Oh," Olivia said. "Uh, look... I know I shouldn't be asking you this. I was just wondering, why--why did Dan change his mind about me meeting his parents? I must have done something to scare him off. You can tell me the truth, I promise."

"No, you didn't do anything," Vanessa told her.

"Well, I must have," Olivia replied. "You know what? I'm just gonna ask him."

Vanessa desperately tried to stop her so she didn't get caught in her lie. "No! Look, Dan's parents are just really judgmental and they're always going on about celebrities and the dumbing down of culture."

Olivia frowned. "So he's worried his parents will think I'm some shallow Hollywood pinhead?"

"No," Vanessa answered.

"Like Dan's embarrassed to introduce me to them?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia, Dan just wants to protect you from them," Vanessa told her.

"You know what, Vanessa?" Olivia asked. "You don't need to make excuses for him, okay? I get it. I gotta go."

Olivia hung up.

X • O ° X • O

Bar

(Song:)  Unfinished Business - White Lies

Ellis and Chuck were sitting at a table. 

Ellis was stroking Chuck's hair. "So where do you get your hair cut?"

"Oh, uh, Trumper's, off Piccadilly," Chuck answered. Blair stepped up behind a wall, watching them. Ellis leaned in to kiss Chuck, but Chuck turned his head away. "Ah, tut, tut. I'm not that kind of girl."

Ellis chuckled. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Not exactly," Chuck answered. Ellis leaned in again. "Wait."

"What for?" Ellis asked, leaning in.

Chuck moved his head. "Ah..."

Ellis finally kissed Chuck.

Blair walked closer, putting on the act of a shocked, enraged girlfriend. "What the... Mr. Ellis."

Ellis also put on an act. "Blair Waldorf. Oh, Lord. I--I have to go."

Ellis stood, walking away.

Blair went after him. "Don't you run away from me." They went into the next room, where Chuck couldn't hear them. "Hey!" Blair used her bag to hit Ellis in the back lightly. "Have you no sense of decency?" She lowered her voice to a normal, inside voice volume. "Well, you got your kiss."

Ellis smirked. "The number 27 on the Tribeca scavenger hunt. Kiss the Chuck Bass. Check."

Blair spoke loudly again. "I expect more from a representative of a college." She hit him in the arm with her bag. "And the toast?"

"Oh, a deal's a deal," Ellis told her. "It's all yours." Blair sighed wistfully in victory. "I should call Vanessa, break the bad news."

Blair smiled. "Allow me. We're rivals, but friends at heart. Until tonight." She hit him in the arm. "Out, you cable-knit queen!"

Ellis ran off, leaving.

Chuck walked closer to Blair. "You were late."

Blair turned to face him. "I got caught in a text flurry with Wyatt. He said that he needed to tell me something after the freshman dinner."

"Brooklyn's been texting me nonstop about something she, Dylan, Thyra and Wyatt need to tell me too," Chuck agreed. "I'm about to head over there to see what's going on."

Blair nodded in agreement. "You do that. I got the freshman dinner. Tell Wyatt he's supposed to be there too."

"Will do," Chuck agreed.

"I'm sorry I was late," Blair told him. "Are you upset because... you kissed a guy?"

"I'm upset because I kissed somebody that wasn't you," Chuck answered. "You really think I've never kissed a guy before? Brooklyn and Dylan aren't the only two Basses that have kissed both genders before."

Blair raised her eyebrows, smiling nervously. "Love me?"

"Always," Chuck answered, giving Blair a kiss, before walking away.

Blair reached into her bag to pull out her phone, making a call, but Vanessa didn't answer. Blair took her phone from her ear, hand held out, shrugging. "Oh, well, I tried."

Blair turned around, leaving the restaurant.

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

The Downing - Carter's Suite

Carter was laying in a lounge chair, still in bad shape from the Buckleys, but he could handle the pain. He was on the phone with James. "I'm fine, James. You can stop checking in on me."

James was on the other line, in a limo driving. "You can't blame me for still checking, Carter. How are you?"

"I just told you," Carter pointed out. "Fine. But also tired of you having to clean up my messes."

"Caroline and I got used to doing it," James replied.

"Yeah, well, you can get used to not doing it anymore," Carter countered. "That was the last time. Got it?"

James nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, okay."

Carter shook his head. "No, don't say it like 'yeah, okay'. You sound like you don't care what I say and you're gonna keep doing it."

James tilted his head. "Yeah, well... I can't just stop, Carter."

"Well, you can if there's no more messes for you to clean up," Carter retorted.

James smirked, scoffing a chuckle. "Oh, I'm sure there's another or whatever. Look, just relax and rest up and heal, okay? And if you're planning on taking off to keep me from cleaning up more messes or thinking that you're protecting anybody, including Marie, don't, because you're not protecting anybody if you take off. And if you do, I'll just call Angela De Los Caballeros again to track your ass down a second time and bring you back."

Carter smirked. "Oh, I don't doubt it. Don't worry, James. I'm not going anywhere. At least not permanently."

"Better not," James told him. "Get some rest."

"Don't tell me what to do," Carter replied, hanging up.

James scoffed a laugh. "Dick." His phone rang again, and he answered. "Wyatt?"

(Song:) Take Me Home - Jess Glynne

In Carter's suite, Marie hesitantly walked in. "Carter?"

Carter looked up at her, only slightly surprised to see her. "Marie. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check in on you," Marie answered. "Are you really surprised by that?"

"Not really," Carter answered. "But, uh, we didn't exactly leave off at a good place at the wedding."

"I know," Marie agreed. "But James explained more about what happened. I know you could've stopped those guys from taking you. PJ said something about why you didn't fight back, but I want to hear it from you. Because I don't know if he was just messing with or not to get in my head, and..."

Carter sighed heavily, sitting up a bit. "He was messing with you, but he wasn't lying. They threatened you." Marie walked closer, looking down. "They were going to hurt you. I wasn't going to let them. I said that I would go without a fight... if they left you alone."

Marie sat in front of Carter. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did," Carter replied. "But James told me about what you did. You and Noe playing PJ and Malchus for me, taking them down while Nate, Harry, Hope and Serena took down the others. While Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Eric and Beck came to save me. You helped save me. You didn't have to save me either."

Marie used his words. "Yeah, I did." Carter managed a small smile. "I didn't know about the second part of the plan with Alex, James, Zaya, Sadie, Aurora, Eric and Beck, by the way. Harry didn't want me or Noe knowing, or Nate and Serena, so that they couldn't tell that we were setting them up. Hope wanted to tell us, but she couldn't without putting us at more risk. But if I had known, I still would've done what I did."

"I know," Carter agreed. Marie managed a small smile. "The Buckleys wanted to hurt me at first. They thought that settling debts would be better for public image. I'll settle it. Eventually. It's my mess to clean up. To take responsibility for. It's probably the first of my messes that I've actually wanted to."

"Proof that you have changed," Marie pointed out.

They smiled a bit.

Carter sighed, thinking. "Remember when I told you that I would rather leave than let my history make you worse?"

"Your life cannot make me worse because it's not my baggage, Carter," Marie told him. "It's yours."

Carter tilted his head at Marie. "My ex-fiancé married the father to Beck Boardman, who is the crush to your half brother Eric. Not as distant as you make it."

"That still has nothing to do with me," Marie countered. "I'm sorry about the way I reacted to you at the wedding."

Carter shook his head. "I deserved at least that. I didn't want to drop that on you at your parents's wedding, Marie. I just needed you to be aware so you were a little more safe."

"And you kept me safe," Marie told him. "You went with them without a fight to protect me. You really thought I wouldn't fight to get you back?"

Carter knew she had a point, chuckling barely. "Touché." Carter and Marie both managed a small smile. "Why are you still here? After what I told you... and you have too much to worry about already. You, your alters, you getting better. I know you're scared of letting people in and trusting people because of Vincent Sinclair and your parents and other people."

Marie tried to find the words. "You've... been there for me more than anyone else. Ever, in my life. Besides Andrea. I've been getting better and less afraid because of you. You helping me, with me, with my family. Even if that went in a way neither of us expected. You even gave me a place to stay and helped me get the job that I actually want, and made sure that Vincent couldn't really track me down if he's still out there somewhere. I honestly don't think I would've made it this far without you. And I told you that I would find a way to make it up to you. You didn't do anything to me, Carter. I just want you to know that."

Carter managed a small smile, resting a hand on Marie's cheek, and Marie relaxed at the touch, tilting her head so she could rest it in his hand.

"That's the last of my messes to clean up," Carter told her. "I promise. James always used to clean up my messages. Like Caroline did. Caroline was already killed because of one Baizen screwing things up, and James almost died too because of our father screwing up, and for a while, he broke up with Serena so that she would be safe, before she picked up a couple moves that might help defend her along with his protection. I'm not having anyone I care about getting hurt because of this. I get it now. Why James broke up with Serena to protect her. Before everything. Why Alex and Brooklyn learned to fight for Hope and Thyra."

Marie was very confused. "What are you talking about? Why would James breaking up with Serena protect her? What does Alex and Brooklyn learning to fight for Hope and Thyra have to do with anything?"

Carter sighed heavily. "There's one more thing that I have to tell you, before things go any further between you and me. I won't let my past destroy your future. So..."

"Carter, whatever it is, you can tell me, and leave the decision about what I want up to me," Marie told him. "Please. I had my choice taken away from me so many times."

"And I won't take your choice from you," Carter told her. "But you need to know this so you can be aware and at least a little more safe. Until everything's finished."

"Carter..." Marie trailed off. "What is it?"

Carter took a deep breath, ready to tell her. "There's this thing called the Silence. And it's the reason why Caroline is dead and why James almost died."

Marie nodded, patiently waiting to hear the explanation.

X • O ° X • O

Street

Beck and Eric were walking together.

"We couldn't have pulled yesterday off without you, Beck," Eric told him. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I don't know Carter that well, but he's James's brother, and family to Hope, Thyra, Wyatt and Blair. And my half-sister Marie clearly likes him. And he clearly likes her."

"I'm pretty sure it's more than like, since Carter went with Beth's brothers just to make sure that they left Marie alone," Beck pointed out. "But you're welcome, Eric. Anything to screw over my dad and my step family that I absolutely hate. Which is why I'm glad that Alex, Nate and Harry set them up with that picture of Tripp Vanderbilt so that when my dad leaks it to try and win, it'll make him lose instead."

"And he'll have less power over you," Eric finished. "I'm really glad that you get further away from him because of this, Beck."

Beck smiled. "Me too, Erickson. And you've gotta admit, being apart of a Crew mission with Aurora Diamond and Harry Vanderbilt, even if all the Crew wasn't apart of it... it was super fun."

Eric smiled. "Yeah, it was. And I'm glad that we all got out okay." He frowned. "Though I get why Harry made Hope not tell Noe, Marie, Serena and Nate what we were doing, I just wish that it hadn't been almost like gambling with Noe and Marie's mind states."

"I know," Beck told him. "But they're okay, right?"

"That's what they said, since the Crew, not all of them, Aurora and Harry, you and me got out okay," Eric answered. "And since the Vanderbilts have a leg up on the Buckleys and Malchus, I think we'd all be better off, right?"

Beck smirked. "Right. Eric, we won."

Eric smiled. "We won."

Beck and Eric looked at each other, smiling.

Beck looked away, chuckling. "Ever think we'd go on an adventure like that again?"

"Oh, God, I don't think I could handle another one like that again," Eric admitted. They laughed. "But we'll see."

Beck and Eric walked down the street, smiling at each other.

X • O ° X • O

Street

Zaya, Sadie and Laureen were going for a walk, eating ice cream.

"So we never go for ice cream unless you have something important to tell us, Mom," Zaya told her.

"Well, that's because I do," Laureen told them. "But first, I wanna hear what you two were up to yesterday. I didn't hear from you until late at night."

Zaya and Sadie exchanged a look, clearly not telling Laureen about what they did the day before because Laureen would have been in overprotective mother mode.

"Uh, you know, just hung out with some of the Crew, Eric, Beck," Sadie lied, licking her ice cream. "Aurora, plus Harry Vanderbilt were looking after us. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Laureen narrowed her eyes at them.

"Mom, what's going on?" Zaya asked, changing the subject back to Laureen so that she didn't ask questions. "You said that Dominic told you something."

"Oh, did the program I set up for Dominic work?" Sadie asked.

"Yes, it did," Laureen answered. "But, uh... what Dominic learned... you two might not be ready to hear."

Zaya and Sadie turned to face Laureen.

"Mom, come on," Sadie told her. "We can handle a lot more than you know."

Zaya raised her eyebrows. "Like more than you can imagine."

Laureen sighed, giving in, nodding. "Okay. You know about your father's affair."

"Amanda Stry," Zaya stated.

"Yes," Laureen agreed. "Dominic and I found out what happened to her."

"Really?" Sadie asked. "Well, what?"

"She was caught in a house fire," Laureen answered. "She was pregnant at the time with her baby, and..."

Zaya and Sadie realized what she was saying.

"They died," Zaya finished. "And you think that the baby was Dad's, don't you?"

"It seems likely, yes, considering how personal your father's been taking this," Laureen answered.

Sadie nodded sadly. "And it explains the psychotic break." Laureen nodded. "Amanda was pregnant with our half-sibling, wasn't she?"

"I think so," Laureen answered sadly.

"And Amanda and her baby died," Zaya stated. "So Dad lost his mind and refused to let us go too. That's why he keeps saying that we need him. That it's dangerous out there. But he's completely psycho that he likes the pain it causes us."

Laureen looked down, nodding sadly.

"Mom, was it worth it?" Sadie asked. "Falling for Dad?"

"The first 14 years?" Laureen asked. "Absolutely."

"Even with the way things turned out?" Zaya asked. "He's insane now, and we're more than hurting."

"I was happier for 14 years than I thought possible, Zaya," Laureen told her. "And I got you and Sadie. I hate him now. I do. The pain now is not worth it, but you, both of you as my daughters, are. But, I mean... being in love. That's how you know you're alive."

"Right," Sadie said. "But how much can our hearts take?"

Zaya, Sadie and Laureen looked at each other sadly, taking each other by the hand.

Zaya looked at Laureen. "Well, there's only one way to find out. Mom, we know that you have strong feelings for Dominic, okay? And he clearly feels strongly for you."

"Mom, open yourself up to Dominic, if you want to be happy again," Sadie told her. "You don't need a guy to make you happy, but you're clearly hurting when you're fighting what you feel for Dominic."

Laureen was embarrassed to be put on the spot like this by her daughters, smiling lightly. "Zaya. Sadie."

"No, we're serious," Zaya told her. "You don't have to wait to pursue this thing with Dominic until this thing with Dad is over, because we have no idea when it's actually gonna be over, and you and Dominic deserve a chance now."

"And plus, wouldn't you rather take a chance than always wonder what could have been?" Sadie asked. "You did that already with Dominic, remember?"

"And I don't think you want to do that again," Zaya told her. "You or Dominic."

Laureen sighed, nodding. "I've wondered what could have been with Dominic ever since going to see him again, yes. So I don't know."

"Maybe it's time to find out," Sadie told her. "Time for you and Dominic."

Laureen smiled a bit. Zaya and Sadie embraced Laureen tightly, and Laureen held her daughters close to her, stroking both their hair.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "As for Zaya, Sadie and Laureen von Miller, I suspect these days are strictly a family affair to remember. Let's pray these three Rhodes girls don't fall prey to affairs of the past."

X • O ° X • O

X • O ° X • O

Rhodes/Bass Apartment - Hallway

Vanessa was still in the hallway.

Gabriela walked toward Vanessa. "I guess I should, uh, work on keeping my opinions to myself."

"You think?" Vanessa asked.

"I just wanted to say, tonight, I will promise to keep an open mind about your school, about everything," Gabriela told her.

Vanessa smiled a bit. "When you hear my toast, I think... you'll understand why this is the right place for me."

Gabriela nodded. "Okay. Come here."

They embraced.

X • O ° X • O

Humphrey Loft - Kitchen

Dan put the very badly burnt chicken on the counter, taking off his oven mitts. "So, what do you think about going out to eat tonight?"

Olivia walked closer, chuckling. "Or we could just go to the parents's dinner."

"Are you sure?" Dan asked. "I mean, my parents are... they're gonna be there."

Olivia shrugged. "Well, then I better be on my best behavior. Pick me up in an hour?"

Dan nodded. Olivia left.

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Thyra, Brooklyn, Wyatt and Hope were coming back. Thyra and Brooklyn had baby necessities, while Hope and Wyatt had food and such.

Chuck walked closer. "Hey."

"Hey," Thyra told him.

"Where's Dylan?" Chuck asked. "Dylan left me another message about this kid and I got here as soon as I could. Theo, right?"

"Yeah," Brooklyn answered. "And considering that Theo is our nephew, Chuck, I would refrain from calling him 'this kid' especially in front of Dylan."

"Whatever you say, Brooklyn," Chuck told her. "Our brother can't raise a baby. Not on his own. Dylan is... Dylan."

"For one, you don't know that he can't do it," Wyatt told him. "And for two, he's not alone."

"Go easy on your brother, okay?" Hope asked. "None of this can be easy. Especially since Dylan didn't expect it to happen."

"I'm surprised it hasn't happened to you, Chuck," Thyra told him. "Considering you sleep with way more girls than Dylan, including my cousin Hope here."

Hope reacted in exasperation. "Can we let that go?"

The others smirked.

"He's up there alone with Theo," Brooklyn told them. "I think that we should get up there."

"Yeah, and I promised him that he wouldn't have to do this alone," Wyatt added. "I mean, he doesn't think that he can handle a baby, but..."

Hope got an idea. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait."

Thyra mimicked Hope to tease her. "What, what, what, what, what?"

"Dylan doesn't believe that he can take care of Theo, but we got to prove to him that he can, without help," Hope pointed out.

"I'm hearing a slightly surprising amount of scheming in your voice right about now, Hope," Chuck told her. "What do you have in mind?"

Hope frowned. "It's not a scheme if it helps him."

"If we're doing it in secret and basically getting our way, or whatever, it's a scheme," Brooklyn told her. "Like the scheme that you, Noe, Alex, James, Marie, Zaya, Sadie, Serena, Nate, Harry, Aurora, Eric and Beck did to save Carter just yesterday."

"Yeah, Hope, I think you still got to realize that scheming can be both good and bad, and this sounds like one for the good side of things," Wyatt told her.

"Typical of you, since you only get involved with a scheme when it comes to helping people or protecting them, even if it means exiling someone, or doing something bad, like yesterday with Noe, Alex, James, Marie, Zaya, Sadie, Serena, Nate, Harry, Aurora, Eric and Beck to save Carter," Thyra pointed out. "Isn't that right?"

Hope rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The idea is, we do nothing."

"Nothing?" Chuck repeated.

"For night now, we leave Dylan up there with Theo," Hope answered. "Wyatt, Thyra, Brooklyn and I pretend we're still out doing errands, and Chuck, you can go to your meeting, or tell Blair everything, or whatever."

Thyra realized where Hope was going with this, smirking, impressed with her cousin. "So that Dylan has to learn how to take care of Theo on his own, and prove that he can believe in himself."

Brooklyn nodded, also impressed. "I like it. Good idea."

"Not bad," Chuck agreed. "Though I would love to see Hope Diamond do more of the dark side of scheming eventually. Darker than what you did yesterday with Noe, Alex, James, Marie, Zaya, Sadie, Serena, Nate, Harry, Aurora, Eric and Beck to save Carter."

"Keep dreaming, Chuck," Hope replied.

Chuck smirked. "It'll happen eventually, trust me. Especially since you know you're a Diamond now."

"Eventually, you are gonna do something darker than what you did with Noe, Alex, James, Marie, Zaya, Sadie, Serena, Nate, Harry, Aurora, Eric and Beck to save Carter," Wyatt pointed out. "I really don't know if I can leave Dylan and Theo up there."

"You have to if you want Dylan to believe in himself when it comes to taking care of Theo, Wyatt," Brooklyn told him.

"This is the best thing we can do for them," Thyra pointed out. "I mean, if Dylan is convinced he can take care of Theo, he'll believe in himself, and things will get better. Easier."

Brooklyn nodded in agreement. "And then we can help them."

"Let me know how your little goody-scheme goes with Dylan and Theo," Chuck told them. Hope scoffed. "I'm going to tell Blair everything."

Hope nodded. "Good luck with that."

Wyatt took a deep breath. "You know, I need some fresh air. I'll be at the park. Just... I need some time alone."

Wyatt walked out before they could respond.

X • O ° X • O

Night - Freshman Dinner

(Song:) The Gentle Rain (RJD2 Remix) - Astrud Gilberto

People were arriving to the dinner.

Vanessa looked at Gabriela. "I'll be right back. I just have to find someone."

Blair saw Vanessa, walking with her. "Don't you just adore the National Arts Club? It's so 'Age of Innocence'. Are you looking for Mr. Ellis? Because he asked me to give a message. Now what was it?  Oh, you're not giving the toast. I am, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"What are you talking about?" Vanessa asked.

Blair smiled. "I won, like always."

"Please, don't do this," Vanessa told her.

Blair was surprised, pleased. "Oh, my God. Are you begging?"

"My mom is here, and you have no idea what this speech means for me," Vanessa told her.

"Please, you're embarrassing yourself even more than usual," Blair told her. "When will you learn? Some people are simply better than others."

Blair walked away, leaving Vanessa humiliated and determined to get back at her.

X • O ° X • O

Elsewhere

Olivia and Dan walked through the party.

"Don't worry," Dan told her. "I'm sure they're gonna love you."

"So you think they're gonna want my autograph?" Olivia asked.

Dan chuckled. "I doubt it."

They walked up to Rufus and Lily.

Rufus smiled. "Dan, what are you doing here?"

"Please, miss the freshman dinner?" Dan asked. "Dad, Lily, this is Olivia."

Rufus shook Olivia's hand. "Rufus Humphrey. Dan has told us so much about you."

Lily smiled. "Oh, that dress is beautiful. I recognize it from the Herve Leger show."

Olivia was putting on an act of a shallow Hollywood movie star. "Oh, yeah? Except it wasn't on the runway, so that's kind of impossible. Max Azria's like one of my best friends. He does me crazy favors."

Olivia swept a hand across her forehead. Rufus and Lily reacted awkwardly.

Dan looked at Olivia. "Are you feeling okay?"

Olivia nodded, looking around. "Totes. So anyone famous here? I mean, besides me."

X • O ° X • O

Elsewhere

Chuck walked into the party, looking around for Blair to tell her about Theo and everything. He saw Amalia, turning to look at her. "You there. You're one of Blair's new minions, aren't you?"

Amalia smiled. "You're Chuck Bass. Blair said you weren't coming."

"Change of plans," Chuck explained. "I have something important to tell her. Where is she?"

"Probably getting ready for her toast," Amalia answered.

"Keep up, Bambi," Chuck told her. "Blair's not giving the toast."

Amalia nodded. "Uh, yes, she is. Mr. Ellis promised if..."

Amalia cut herself off when she realized.

"Promised what?" Chuck asked.

Amalia looked behind Chuck. Chuck turned to follow her gaze, seeing that Blair was laughing and talking with Ellis. Amalia ran off.

X • O ° X • O

The Downing -  Carter's Suite

(Song:) Broken - Foxlove and Genelle

Marie was processing everything Carter told her about the Silence. "My God."

Carter nodded, looking down. "I know it's a lot."

"Yeah," Marie agreed. "I don't see how you handled finding out that your father's the reason why Caroline died like that. Why James almost died. Why there were guys coming after you like that."

"That's why I was spiraling when I met you," Carter explained. "But, uh, you helped me then, the first night, even though you turned me down. So..."

Marie nodded in understanding, holding her head. "Okay, so, James broke up with Serena before she learned a little to defend herself, so that she would be safe. But all of you tried to stop him from being a martyr like that."

Carter chuckled. "Yeah. I taunted James like hell over that. Little did I know that I would get why he broke up with Serena, now. Because of you."

Marie managed a small smile. "And Thyra's parents might have been killed by the Silence. And Aurora had to give up Hope, and Thyra's parents had to leave her with Blair, Wyatt and Eleanor, or Alex, Nate and their parents, to make sure they were both safe. And that girl you talked about, Angela De Los Caballeros. She... she's the one that slept with Dylan but she's a mercenary and she had to go into hiding to make sure that she could stay safe while looking for answers for all of you, including what happened to her sister Giselle."

"Yeah," Carter answered. "You okay? It's a lot."

"Yeah, it is, but..." Marie trailed off. "I'm pretty sure I got it. I tried to scare you off from wanting to be with me the second night I stayed here, remember? We were drinking, and I was telling you about all the difficulties that being with me would come with, including the alters."

"Yeah, well, you didn't scare me off," Carter replied. "In fact, we hooked up right after you tried because try as we might have, we couldn't fight it anymore."

Marie chuckled. "Yeah. But if you're trying to scare me off now, it's not working this time either."

"Marie, if those guys come after us again..." Carter trailed off. "The Buckleys were nothing compared to them."

"I don't care," Marie replied. "I wanna be with my family. And I wanna make sure that you stay okay. The way you make sure that I stay okay." Carter and Marie managed small smiles. Carter took Marie's hand to kiss it. Marie placed a hand on his cheek as they looked at each other. "What are you gonna do? About trying to find out about who had James and Caroline's crash happen? Or trying to find out about Thyra's parents? Or anything about Angela?"

"I don't know yet," Carter admitted. "But I do know that if they call, I have to go to them to keep up appearances. Sometimes they call for business reasons or shady reasons or... mere parties across the world that are like gatherings of the most dangerous people in the world."

"I don't want you getting hurt," Marie told him.

"I don't have to worry about that as much as you do," Carter replied.

Marie nodded in acknowledgement. "I, uh... each alter of mine, they can learn a skill that sometimes the others don't remember learning and they don't know how to do. Like Brittany with dancing. Lacy, Andrea and I can't dance like she can, and obviously Nick doesn't want to."

Carter was wondering where she was going with this. "Okay."

"But sometimes, it happens without us realizing, because of muscle memory, not mental memory," Marie explained. "That's why I knew what to do to take PJ down at the game yesterday. Nick knew a little self-defense, small moves. And when I needed to, it happened, even though I don't remember learning that."

Carter realized, tilting his head. "So you think that if you learned more, all of your alters to make sure that you'd all be safe, that you could be."

Marie nodded. "There's no rush in trying to teach me, okay? Any of us. I know it would take five times as long to teach us as anyone else because of the amnesia barriers. But if that makes you feel better, then that's what I'll do. Besides, learning to be strong like that would make us feel not so weak anymore."

Carter placed a hand on Marie's cheek. "You're not weak."

"Whatever," Marie replied. "But if we learned, no matter how long it takes... if Vincent's still out there and he comes after us, even though he's a damn good fighter... at least we'd be able to defend ourselves more against him so he can't hurt us anymore."

Carter nodded in agreement. "Don't forget, you're in a more powerful place now than Vincent has ever been in his entire life. Your family, the Crew by your side. His parents can't protect him anymore. Not here. Especially not now. And you can make sure he stays away from you."

Marie smiled a bit. "Right. Yeah. Gonna have to get used to that."

"Used to what?" Carter asked.

"The feeling of knowing I have power," Marie answered.

Carter and Marie managed small smiles.

Carter was thinking. "If you had a chance to live without DID, would you take it? Or have you grown too attached to the alters, the system, and would not want to leave them behind?"

Marie pondered the question. "That's a really big question. And it's not the first time I've heard that one, either. If I had the chance to live without DID, if there was a magic pill where I could live without it, I wouldn't be myself.  I wouldn't suddenly just be Marie and no other alters, because my mind is separated.  If I didn't have DID, I would have all of my memories. I would have a complete coalesced personality. Like somebody without DID. That means I would remember all the past experiences I've had, both bad and good. And that would make me a different person, like suddenly learning something really massive about yourself makes you change, a different person." Carter nodded in understanding. "Like if I integrated, I wouldn't be myself. And there are things to think about like my memories. If I did integrate, it means that I would get all my memories back, and honestly, most of the time, I don't want my memories back. I don't want to remember all of the trauma. I know enough. That's hard enough."

"Right," Carter agreed.

"When I think about what it would be like to have those memories and learning to live with it alone..." Marie trailed off. "I don't think I would be able to handle that myself as Marie. But if I didn't have DID, not only would those things never have happened, but I would have all the strength of all my other alters. Brittany's confidence, Lacy's way of words, Nick's strength to defend, Andrea's stubbornness. So would it be easier for me to deal with it like that?"

"There would be nothing to deal with," Carter finished. "Because if those things didn't happen, you wouldn't have developed DID."

"Exactly," Marie agreed. "But they did, and I did, so... very complicated. I don't know what it's like not to have it. If I could rid of the amnesia interfering in daily life, if I could just live normally, and not having to worry about being second guessed or considered crazy, or having issues with driving, or people denying me basic every day things once they know that I do have the disorder. To not be considered dangerous, to be taken seriously, to being able to study where I want, to have the jobs that I want. To not be in pain all the time, to not have PTSD, horrifying flashbacks, and the burden of that kind of knowledge. If I could have all my memory intact and know what I did through the whole day, isn't that about as close as anyone can get? But I wouldn't be me. I don't know what it would be like to have a mind that is completely silent. I don't know what it would be like to deal with a life where I can't ask someone in my own head to step in to help. I lived a life like that before I knew I had DID, but they were still stepping in to help. I could still hear them. I just didn't know what it was, so I disregarded it."

Carter nodded in understanding. "What was it like, before you knew?"

"My mind was like two magnets, pushing away from each other," Marie answered. "It took a while to realize that I didn't remember most of my childhood. That my mind wouldn't go to the place where I had trauma. It just... wouldn't think about it. The question is more than just asking what I would do if I was the only one, if I was the only one in the body and making decisions. It would be... who would I be? I would have a different life. If I didn't have the past that I had, then my life would be different. DID is what gave me the life that I had and it allowed me to survive. Yes, there are things about the disorder that are horrifying and I wouldn't wish it on anybody, but it's also who I am. In some ways, it's a brilliant coping mechanism. I still get to see my sister, even though Andrea's dead, because I have an introject of her in my head."

Carter looked down. "I get that part. If James and I had the chance to keep seeing Caroline..."

Marie nodded sadly. "I've accepted that I had DID and everything that came with it because of my sister. And even though it would be easier without it, I don't think I would want to be anything different than who I am now. With Lacy, and Brittany, and Nick, and Andrea. I do want to succeed and live the life that I want to. I don't want to be ashamed of it, and wishing it was different isn't gonna make anything better."

"But maybe your life now..." Carter trailed off. "Maybe it will be better now."

"Maybe," Marie agreed.

"You're gonna be okay, Marie," Carter told her.

Marie smiled a bit, nodding. "I know. So are you. You told me when I first told you everything about DID, that I wasn't the only broken one you knew. But you weren't just talking about the Crew, were you?"

Carter shook his head. "No. In some ways, when I've been called the 'broken bad boy', it's not wrong. We're all broken in some way, Marie. Maybe there's some charm to that."

Marie nodded in agreement, standing from the table, to sit on the couch next to Carter. Carter put his arm around Marie, and Marie leaned into him as they held each other in their arms.

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Café - Outside

Harry was sitting at a table outside a café, waiting.

Aurora walked closer. "Hello, Harry."

"Aurora," Harry replied, standing. "It's a nice spot for a romantic breakfast. Or is it strictly business?"

"I have some intel for you," Aurora told him.

Harry nodded in amusement. "Business it is." He pulled out Aurora's chair for her. "There you go." They sat down to have their breakfast. "Banner day for all, huh?"

Aurora nodded. "The Crew's safe, we got Carter back. You got to pay the Buckleys back for what that bitch Bree did to you, using you to get to Carter and threatening Marie. How are you after that?"

Harry sighed. "I'm fine. I didn't like her much anyway." 

Aurora noticed Harry was distracted, taking his hand as if she didn't realize she did it. "I am genuinely sorry about Bree. I know you wanted more."

"It's for the best," Harry assured. Harry and Aurora both looked at their hands touching, pulling their hands away. "What did you call me here for so late, Rory?"

"I've been trying to track down Angela De Los Caballeros for Dylan, Brooklyn, Thyra and Wyatt," Aurora explained. "I thought that I would have a location on her by this morning, but I haven't, and I need help."

"Why are you looking for Angela De Los Caballeros?" Harry asked. "She's that mercenary from the Silence, right?"

"She's on the run from the Silence, yes," Aurora answered. "But last year, Angela slept with Dylan, twice. And then a baby popped up in the penthouse with a note from Angela explaining that this baby, Theo, is Dylan and Angela's, and she had to leave Theo here to protect him since the Silence was closing in on her."

Harry processed this, in shock, but nodding in understanding. "Dylan has a son. And Angela needs help. Got it. Then we've got to find her, for Theo."

"Exactly," Aurora answered. "I have contacts to call, but... you want to take care of calling more?"

"Eh, I'll take it," Harry answered. "Calling more anyway. But not before I take you out for breakfast."

"It's 10 at night, Harry," Aurora told him.

Harry smirked. "Then we got some time to kill."

Harry and Aurora both chuckled, meeting gazes for a moment before looking away, drinking their coffee.

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Wyatt's Room

Dylan was alone with Theo, sitting next to him in his baby carrier, on the phone. "Wyatt, it's me again. I need you, or Thyra, Brooklyn or Chuck or God knows anybody else around here." Theo was fussing loudly, and Dylan was using a baby voice to try and cheer him up. "Theo's hungry or thirsty or tired. I don't know. I don't speak baby."

X • O ° X • O

Living Room

Noe walked into the living room, seeing Brooklyn, Thyra and Hope sitting in there.

"Noe," Brooklyn called her over.

"What is going on?" Noe asked. "Hope was rambling on my voicemail about Dylan and his baby named Theo and I got lost. Dylan and Angela had a baby? Theo is Dylan's son?"

"We'll explain everything," Brooklyn told her.

"Just don't go upstairs," Thyra told her.

Hope nodded. "We've got a plan."

Noe frowned. "Are you scheming?"

Hope made an exasperated gesture. "Why does everybody think this is a scheme?"

Brooklyn smirked. "Because it kinda is. And you're the one that came up with it, and you were apart of a huge scheme yesterday, so get used to scheming, Hope Diamond."

Noe looked around. "Where's Wyatt?"

"He said that he needed some time at the park, alone, to get some fresh air," Thyra answered. "He's taking this whole thing way too calmly, and..."

Noe nodded in understanding, looking away. "You don't think he really is."

"And I know that he doesn't want to talk to me about it," Thyra told them. "I just wish I could help Wyatt."

Noe nodded. "Stay here. I'll go see if he'll talk to me."

Hope, Brooklyn and Thyra nodded in agreement. Noe walked toward the elevator.

X • O ° X • O

Freshman Dinner

Olivia was with Dan, Lily and Rufus, on the phone, still putting on her act of a self-absorbed, shallow, annoying Hollywood actress, very obnoxious. "No, I'm doing the Mother Teresa movie. Yes, yeah, Leo's playing my boyfriend."

Dan looked at Lily and Rufus. "I'm sure she'll be just a second."

Olivia spoke into the phone. "Well, let's just meet at your pad in the Bu." She looked at Dan, Lily and Rufus. "The Bu. The Bu is Malibu. Oh, yes."

"You know what?" Dan asked. "Just give us a moment, please."

Dan led Olivia away.

Olivia sighed. "Oh, wait, I--I gotta go. I love you too, bitch."

Olivia hung up.

"What--what are you doing?" Dan asked.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"You're referring to the Bu," Dan answered. "You're calling your astrologers. Since when do you even have an astrologer?"

"I guess when I became another shallow Hollywood celebrity," Olivia told him. "You know, the kind that you were so afraid your parents wouldn't approve of."

Dan frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Vanessa told me that's why you disinvited me," Olivia told him.

"Vanessa?" Dan repeated. "I--I blew this dinner off because Vanessa told me that you were freaking out about meeting my parents."

"What?" Olivia asked. "I never said that." Olivia and Dan looked across the way, seeing Vanessa by a huge bowl of roses, as she was grabbing the microphone and putting it into her purple bag. "Oh, my God."

X • O ° X • O

Another Room

Blair was getting ready for the toast. "The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue. The lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue." Sophie was holding a mirror for Blair to see into as she applied lip gloss. Vanessa walked in behind Blair. Blair saw her through the reflection. "Please tell me you're not coming here to grovel."

"You really think you're that much better than me?" Vanessa asked.

Blair looked like she could laugh. "Oh, I think we both know the answer to that."

Blair scoffed.

Amalia ran in. "Blair, I have to talk to you."

Blair rolled her eyes. "Not now."

"Just listen," Amalia told her. "I--"

"Quiet!" Blair snapped. "God, I've had just about enough of you. Sophie, you're minion number one." Sophie smiled. "Amalia, you're number two."

"So tell me,  once and for all, what makes you better than me?" Vanessa asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Blair asked.

"Yeah," Vanessa answered.

Blair stood, turning to face Vanessa. "Everything." Vanessa held up her bag naturally, but she was making sure that the mic inside was getting everything Blair was saying. "Generations of breeding and wealth had to come together to produce me. I have more in common with Marie Antoinette than with you." Everyone in the main room could hear Blair. "And granted, you may be popular at some step-Ivy safety school, but the fact is, the rabble is still rabble and they need a queen."

"You stole the toast," Vanessa told her.

"I was willing to do what was necessary," Blair told her. Everyone in the main room listened to Blair. "Including lying to Chuck, one of the only people who trusts me more than anyone. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to give my toast."

Blair walked past Vanessa.

Vanessa turned after her. "Actually, Blair..." Blair turned to face her in exasperation. Vanessa took the mic out of her bag. "Congratulations, you just did."

Realizing, horrified, Blair ran out of the room.

X • O ° X • O

Main Room

Blair ran into the main room of the party, seeing that everyone was silent and staring at her. Amalia and Sophie walked in from behind Blair.

Blair saw that Chuck was in the crowd, realizing he heard what she said, looking horrified. "Oh, no."

After a cold look, Chuck turned around, walking away.

X • O ° X • O

Other Room

Vanessa was alone, smiling at her victory over Blair, but turned around when she heard two people walk in, seeing Olivia and Dan, realizing they caught her in her lies. "Oh, no."

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Sorry, ladies. Le jeux sont fait. [Chips are down/Die is cast]. Thanks for playing, each other." 

X • O ° X • O

X • O ° X • O

Vanessa was trying to explain to Dan and Olivia. "I know I shouldn't have lied. It's just when Mr. Ellis asked Olivia to give the toast instead of me--"

"Wait, you were the other girl?" Olivia asked.

Dan looked at Olivia. "Wait a second, you were supposed to give the toast? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you with this nice toast about being here with your parents," Olivia answered. "And then you disinvited me."

Dan pointed at Vanessa. "Well, I did that because you lied to me."

"Why couldn't you just tell me you wanted to give the toast?" Olivia asked. "I mean, I would've given it to you."

Vanessa nodded. "I know. I let Blair convince me if I asked, you'd say no."

"When I called and asked why Dan didn't want me to meet his family, you said it's because they looked down on Hollywood people like me," Olivia told her.

"And they probably do now, you know," Dan told her. "I mean, you were--you were pretty annoying."

Olivia put a hand to her head in regret.

"I am so sorry," Vanessa told her. "I substituted my awful family for his amazing one." Behind Vanessa, Gabriela walked in. "I love Rufus and Lily and I wish they were my parents."

"Vanessa?" Gabriela asked. Vanessa and Dan were both surprised. Vanessa turned to face her mother, knowing she heard what she had said. "I just wanted to wish you luck."

Gabriela walked out.

Vanessa went after her. "Mom."

X • O ° X • O

Main Room

Blair walked through the party. "Chuck?"

Lily walked up to Blair. "Chuck is gone. He came so that he could explain something to you, about Dylan, and what he's been dealing with today and yesterday, while you were busy with all this. He had Brooklyn, Thyra and Wyatt's help. And now Noe and Hope's, but... I think you should get home when you can."

Blair frowned. "What's going on?"

"I'll let them explain," Lily told her.

"But I need to talk to Chuck," Blair told her. "I need to explain."

"Blair, whatever you needed him to do, do you really think he would have refused you?" Lily asked.

Blair shook her head sadly. "No. He'd never say no... to anything. I messed up, didn't I?"

"Yes," Lily answered. "Yes, you really did."

Blair frowned. "Lily, you're supposed to say 'everything is going to be fine'. Where did you learn how to give a pep talk? Guantanamo?"

"Blair, I understand a thing or two about ambitious women, but without trust, you're lost," Lily told her. "Let Chuck lick his wounds. You can talk to him tomorrow. But you need to talk to Wyatt, Thyra, Brooklyn and Dylan tonight."

Lily turned around, walking away. Blair was left puzzled by what she meant, turning around, walking away.

X • O ° X • O

Park

Wyatt was sitting on a bench, lamely feeding the ducks, looking thoughtful and confused. He heard footsteps coming, turning to the side to see walking closer, standing up. "Noe?"

"Hey," Noe greeted, stopping a few feet away. "I heard about Dylan and Theo. And Brooklyn, Hope and Thyra told me what you said and that you went for a walk. So I didn't know if you didn't want to be with anyone."

"I didn't," Wyatt answered. "But don't worry, that doesn't apply to you."

Wyatt walked toward Noe, needing a hug, so Noe and Wyatt both embraced.

Noe smiled a bit. "Good, because I wouldn't care even if it did."

Wyatt smiled, and both remained in the close embrace.

X • O ° X • O

Noe/Nate's Apartment - Guest Room

Serena was lighting some candles, still irritated after earlier.

James walked closer to the doorway, leaning against it. "Serena."

Serena turned to face him. "If Harry wants to try to explain again, or if Alex, Hope, Noe or Nate try to get me to understand, it's not gonna work. I'm still mad that they didn't tell me, Noe, Nate and Marie. I know that you thought they were going to, James. And so did Alex, Zaya, Sadie and Eric."

"You don't have to be mad," James told her. "Everyone's safe now."

"Yeah, but playing a scheme like that without all the entail, it could've really messed up Noe and Marie's minds," Serena told her.

"I know, but it didn't," James pointed out. "And Noe and Marie are just glad that everyone's okay. And that we got Carter back."

Serena sighed heavily, not wanting to talk about it anymore. "What about Carter? Is he okay?"

"Marie's with him," James answered. "Carter's telling her everything about the Silence, about Thyra's parents, about Angela De Los Caballeros and her sister Giselle, about Caroline, leaving the choice up to her about what she wants to do."

Serena nodded in relief. "Good. Can this please be the last thing we have to deal with for a while?"

"No," James answered. "Uh... I got a call from Thyra and Wyatt, actually. Brooklyn, Dylan, Thyra and Wyatt got a shock yesterday, and so did Aurora. Noe and Hope are with them now, but, uh... you remember when Dylan hooked up with Angela a while back?"

"Yeah," Serena answered, frowning in concern. "Dylan and Angela hooked up when Dylan wasn't with Wyatt. Why?"

James sighed heavily. "You're not gonna believe this, Serena. But, uh... Angela ended up pregnant." Serena looked at him in shock. "She was in danger from the Silence finding her, and her baby. A name that Dylan and Angela both chose during a game when Chuck, Dylan and Carter helped Angela when the rest of us had to deal with the play. And, uh... Theo. That's his name."

"Theo?" Serena repeated.

"Yeah," James answered. "Theo was dropped off at the penthouse, and Angela's nowhere to be seen."

"Theo is..." Serena trailed off in shock. "Dylan has a son." James nodded. Serena was in complete shock. "What about Angela?"

"The note Angela left said she had to leave Theo here to protect him," James explained. "But, uh, Aurora's trying to locate Angela right now, with Harry's help. We don't know where she is or if she's okay. But..."

Serena processed all of this, as both of them were reeling from the news.

X • O ° X • O

Ostroff Center - Laureen's Office

(Song:) If You Wait - London Grammer

Laureen found a bouquet of blonde dragon flowers in her office, looking in awe, picking them up, smiling slightly.

X • O ° X • O

Driton Dominatrix - Dominic's Office

Laureen walked into Dominic's office. "I received your gift. And this one I haven't come to return. The blond dragon flowers. My favorite. It's thought to be extinct."

Dominic shook his head. "Almost. But the blonde dragon... it's a perfect description of you. Laureen Rhodes. Since I know you, Zaya and Sadie still want to change your names when this is over. Uncommonly beautiful. You've nearly escaped one mad king who would have you fearful, submissive and furtive."

Laureen sighed. "But I was naïve enough to think that I could save him."

Dominic tilted his head. "But you gained strength and courage, emerging as a natural leader adored by many. Honorable, compassionate, but can be harsh and vengeful against those who seek to harm you and the ones you love."

"And are you one of them?" Laureen asked.

Dominic stepped closer, still looking enchanting and charming. "Are you asking me if I'm one who seeks to harm? Because I am not. You know me better than that. But if you're asking if I'm part of the ones you love... well, that's your question to answer, Laureen. Not mine."

Laureen and Dominic looked at each other intensely for a long moment, before Laureen finally gave in to what she felt and what she wanted when she took Dominic by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. They met halfway in a fierce, passionate kiss. Dominic held the back of Laureen's head, and Laureen wrapped an arm around his neck as they continued to make out.

X • O ° X • O

The Downing - Carter's Suite

Carter had fallen asleep after the couple long talks with Marie earlier, resting like he was supposed to after all he endured while with the Buckleys.

Marie let him sleep after everything, typing on her laptop, looking at four recorded videos from before, and editing them a bit. 

Carter woke up to see Marie working on the laptop, sitting up. "What are you doing?"

Marie turned her head to look at Carter in surprise. "You're awake." Carter raised his eyebrows. "I thought you would sleep through the night."

Carter chuckled. "You know I don't get a lot of sleep, Marie."

Marie smirked a bit. "If you're making innuendos, I know that you're better than I thought."

Carter smirked. "What are you up to?"

Marie took a deep breath, licking her lips. "I'm actually putting together these videos that me and the alters did when we were trying to find you, before Beck told us that he knew he had a way to get you back. They're like little introduction videos of each alter, each personality. We did this so that..."

Carter nodded in understanding. "Everyone would know. The Crew. Your parents, Laureen, Eric, Dan, Jenny, Aurora. Even Harry Vanderbilt."

"Exactly," Marie answered. "Brittany, Lacy, Andrea and Nick already did theirs. I never did mine though. I guess I was just waiting... to know that I actually would've gotten this far with my family."

Carter chuckled. "I get it." He slid closer to Marie. "Well, you can do your video now."

"You're gonna sit here with me for me to do my video?" Marie asked.

Carter shrugged. "Why not? I don't have anything better to do. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing all these personally. Knowing everything that we all need to know about you."

Marie smiled, chuckling. "I'm glad then." Carter took her hand to kiss it, as they both looked at each other. "I still can't get over that you're one of the only people I know that doesn't look at me like you feel sorry for me. I hate getting that look."

Carter chuckled. "Yeah, well, you won't get it from me. And I know I won't get it from you, even after what happened with the Buckleys."

Marie nodded in agreement. She looked at Carter thoughtfully. "We're not gonna try to scare each other off again, are we?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to," Carter answered. "I know you can handle more than people think you can. And as you can see, I don't scare off."

Marie smiled. "I know."

Marie and Carter looked at each other for a moment, as Carter brushed some of her hair back. Marie leaned in to kiss him lightly, softly, but passionately. After a moment, they deepened the kiss, until they finally pulled away with slight smiles.

Carter gestured to the laptop. "You gonna do this?"

Marie looked like she forgot about doing the video for a split second. "Oh, right."

They both laughed lightly, before Marie hit the record button. 

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Park

Noe and Wyatt were sitting on the bench, eating fries, drinking milkshakes.

Wyatt held up the fries container, turning it upside down to show that it was empty. "Well, that's all the fries."

"Because you ate them all," Noe told him.

Wyatt chuckled. "Good point."

"So you wanna tell me how you feel now?" Noe asked.

"Who says I'm feeling anything?" Wyatt asked, in denial.

"So you're fine?" Noe asked skeptically.

"I am being supportive, because that's what Dylan needs right now," Wyatt told her. "Not anything else."

"That's not what I asked," Noe told him.

Wyatt gave up. "How is that you see right through me?"

Noe shrugged. "It's my superpower."

"So resurrection is what?" Wyatt asked.

Noe tilted her head to think about it. "Close second."

Wyatt chuckled, shaking his head. "Sure."

"So are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Noe asked, taking a drink of her milkshake.

Wyatt hesitated, dreading what he really felt. "You're gonna think I'm horrible."

Noe tilted her head. "Come on. I think it's clear now there is nothing that would make me think that."

"It's just this whole thing with Dylan..." Wyatt trailed off. "I mean, he has a son."

"He does," Noe agreed.

"Like a literal, living child that is going to get bigger and bigger every day and will depend on him for everything," Wyatt told her. "And he has this kid with a girl he doesn't even actually truly know. I mean, we've been together three years, and we never discussed children, and he spends a couple hours here and there with a mercenary and they're talking baby names because Angela wanted to be normal?"

"Wyatt," Noe told him.

"What?" Wyatt asked.

"I love you, and I'm glad that you're letting me listen to you, but we both know you're deflecting, 'cause that's not what's wrong with you," Noe told him. "You're better than that."

Wyatt took a deep breath. "You're right."

"I know," Noe told him.

Wyatt released his breath slowly. "Dylan and Angela have a child. They're tied together in a way he and I will never be. In a way I don't even know he would want to be with me."

"So why don't you just say that to him?" Noe asked. "That's why you guys went to therapy with Laureen, 'cause you didn't want to fall into old habits and bottling your feelings like that."

Wyatt stood, pacing. "I can't, okay?"

"Why not?" Noe asked.

Wyatt stopped pacing, turning to face Noe. "Because this isn't about me. And if I said something and it influences whether or not he wants Theo in his life, I could never forgive myself."

"You know you could never do that," Noe told him. "Dylan would want to know how you truly feel."

"He wouldn't, okay?" Wyatt asked, tears in his eyes. "I know Dylan. He is gonna spend some time and he is gonna fall in love with the kid and he is not gonna let him go."

Noe frowned, confused. "So you don't want him to keep Theo?"

"No, of course I do," Wyatt answered. "Theo is just a kid. He should be with his family and have a good life with people that would love him and give him all the love in the world. Angela couldn't do that because of the Silence chasing them both down and she had to bring him here so that he could be safe and loved, and I get that. I just..."

Noe stood, starting to understanding. "So you're not afraid that Dylan's gonna leave Theo. You're afraid he's gonna leave you."

Wyatt shook his head. "I know it's dumb and stupid, but what if we do have a future, but he wakes up one day and realizes that he wants to be with the mother of his child and not me?"

"Wyatt..." Noe trailed off in concern.

"And I want what's best for him," Wyatt told her. "I want him to be happy, Noe. But it hurts that I know that I would rather for him to leave me than to leave Theo."

Noe walked closer to comfort him and reassure him. "Hey, don't say that. Okay, I know Dylan too, okay? And I know he loves you so much. Come on, I mean, you guys are Dylan and Wyatt. You belong together." She rolled her eyes slightly to tease him and make him feel better. "You guys are endgame, right?"

Wyatt scoffed softly. "Seriously?"

Noe smiled, taking Wyatt's head in her hands, shaking it slightly to prove her point. "Yes. So get out of that Wyatt-worried hole and come back. Don't focus on the future or what might happen yet. Focus on the fact that Dylan is here and he needs us. So does Theo. I mean it, okay? You can just talk to him when you can and you guys will be okay. I promise."

"Really?" Wyatt asked.

Noe nodded. "Yes." She let go of his head. "I mean, you should know by now I'm always right."

Wyatt smiled in relief, reassured. "You are. You always know what to say."

Noe tilted her head smugly, thrilled that she could help. "Well, of course I do. Don't you get it? I'm your soulmate, duh."

Wyatt smiled, chuckling. "Thank you, Phoenix."

Noe nodded for Wyatt to come with her. "You ready to go back?" Wyatt took a deep breath. "Come on." Noe held out her hand. "I'll be right there holding your hand. I promise."

Wyatt smiled, taking Noe's hand, and kissing her head, as they started to walk away, making her smile. "I'd be lost without you, Noe."

Noe smirked. "I'm so glad you know that."

Wyatt chuckled as they kept walking.

X • O ° X • O

Freshman Dinner - Stairwell

Vanessa followed her mother down the stairs to try and talk to her. "Mom, please. I'm so sorry."

Gabriela turned to face her. "Vanessa, we are so hard on you because we want you to challenge yourself to be your own person.  Are we really wrong to--to question your decision to attend college here? I think it's time for you to consider who this place is turning you into."

Gabriela stroked Vanessa's hair before walking away.

X • O ° X • O

Main Room

Dan and Olivia walked through the party, looking for Lily and Rufus.

Olivia sighed. "Your parents hate me. I hate me."

"We'll just explain what happened," Dan told her. "You'll be fine."

Rufus had his back to them so he didn't see them. "Maybe she's different when they're alone. Maybe she's totally different." Lily saw them, clearing her throat. Rufus turned to face them. "Oh, hey. We missed you guys."

"Yes, very much," Lily agreed. "I should really be going soon. Dylan's in a bit of a way."

Olivia looked down. "Oh, God."

"Dan, was that Blair on the PA?" Rufus asked. "She really should have run that speech past someone."

Dan nodded. "Uh, yeah, you know, I-I-I'll get to that, but, uh, before, when Olivia was... I don't know, I guess she was being all... Hollywood."

Lily shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rufus played clueless. "What?"

"Oh, my God, I have to explain," Olivia told them. "I'm so sorry."

Ellis spoke through a mic. "Ladies and gentlemen. It's time for this year's freshman toast. And it's my honor to call upon Olivia Burke."

The crowd applauded.

"What?" Olivia asked. "I was not expecting this."

A young girl walked up to Olivia. "Olivia, can I get a picture?"

Another young girl walked up. "Me too."

"Oh, sure," Olivia answered.

The two girls led Olivia up to the podium.

As they were about to leave, Blair and Vanessa both stopped when they saw Olivia about to give the toast.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Nice try, ladies. You came out swinging but never stood a chance against a Hollywood heavyweight."

Blair looked at Vanessa. "Why did we do all this?"

Vanessa sighed. "You tell me."

Olivia spoke through the mic. "Hi. Um, I'm Olivia Burke."

X • O ° X • O

X • O ° X • O

Waldorf Penthouse - Living Room

Noe and Wyatt walked out of the elevator, and when Noe saw that Wyatt was nervous again, she took his hand.

Hope, Brooklyn and Thyra were waiting for them.

Thyra smiled in relief, standing. "Hey, there you are."

Thyra walked closer so that she and Wyatt could embrace.

Wyatt smiled a bit. "Thanks, Thyra."

"How are you?" Hope asked.

"Better now, thanks to Noe," Wyatt answered.

"Thank you, Noe," Thyra told her.

Noe smiled. "You're welcome."

Hope pulled Wyatt closer. "Come here."

Wyatt and Hope smiled as they hugged.

"I'm fine, Hope," Wyatt told her.

"Yeah, I've heard unconvincing 'I'm fine's before from Noe, and today from Marie, so..." Hope trailed off in reply. 

"Bite me, Hope," Noe replied.

Hope and Noe both smiled at each other.

Hope looked at Wyatt. "But you are gonna be okay, Wyatt. Right?"

Wyatt nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I am."

Brooklyn smiled a bit at them. "Do you think it's time to go check on them?"

"Yeah," Hope answered. "Yeah, I think it's time."

Noe nodded. "Okay, let's go."

Wyatt was more courageous and more at ease, though still nervous, nodding. "Yeah."

X • O ° X • O

Wyatt's Room

Dylan was with Theo alone, sitting next to him in his baby carrier. "Okay. So it looks like it's just gonna be you and me, huh? Guess we're really gonna do this thing. Okay. Hi, Theo. Come on, it's okay." He picked Theo up, holding him. "Okay. Okay. It's okay. It's okay, Theo. Daddy's here. It's okay." He put Theo down to change his diaper, hesitant but getting better at it. "See? There you go, Theo." He put the diaper on Theo, sitting down, holding him. "You're so cute."

Later, Dylan was playing peekaboo with Theo, causing him to laugh. Noe, Hope, Thyra, Brooklyn and Wyatt walked in.

"Hey," Wyatt told him.

"Hey," Dylan replied.

"You okay?" Brooklyn asked.

"Yeah," Dylan answered. "I think I want to do this. Even if we can't find Angela, I can't let Theo go. I love him."

They smiled.

Thyra tilted her head. "We knew you would say that."

Noe walked closer. "How you doing, Dylan?"

"Better than before," Dylan answered. "Thanks, Noe."

Hope smiled. "This could work."

"Yeah," Wyatt agreed. "This could work."

They smiled.

X • O ° X • O

Day Three

Morning - Café

Vanessa was sitting at a table, answering her phone. "Hey, Mom. I'm at the place. I ordered you a croissant."

Gabriela's voice was on the other line. "Oh, honey, thank you, but I'm already on the road. It's such a long drive, and I wanted to get an early--"

Vanessa looked upset. "No, I get it."

"And you know I can't leave your dad alone for too long," Gabriela told her.

Vanessa had tears in her eyes. "Yeah, tell Dad I said hi."

"I will," Gabriela agreed. "Love you."

Vanessa nodded. "You too."

Vanessa hung up, crying.

X • O ° X • O

Rhodes/Bass Apartment - Living Room

(Song:) Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Marie and Carter stepped out of the elevator.

Marie had her laptop. "Is it bad that I'm like really nervous for the Crew and the family to see these?"

"Not at all, but things are gonna be fine," Carter answered.

"Thank you for coming, Carter," Marie told him. "It means a lot. I mean, breakfast with my family. Serena, Noe and Hope inviting James, Nate and Alex... And Dylan has Theo and Wyatt here, Thyra's here for Brooklyn, and Blair's here even though she's fighting with Chuck, and I have no idea about Zaya, Sadie or Eric, or Laureen, or Dan and Jenny, or if Aurora's coming, or if Harry Vanderbilt needs to know any of this..."

"Yeah, it's a lot, but we're both used to a lot by now, right?" Carter asked.

They both smiled, walking toward where the Crew, Dan, Jenny, Eric, Lily, Rufus and Laureen were gathered. Dylan had Theo. 

Noe, Hope, Brooklyn, Thyra, Zaya, Sadie, Serena and Blair were doting on Theo and getting used to him, smiling and making him laugh, and causing Dylan and Wyatt to smile. Alex, Nate, Chuck and James were also getting acquainted with Theo, all of them reeling from everything, but more accepting and welcoming than anything.

Lily took Theo to hold, pointing at Dylan. "We are definitely talking more about this later, Dylan."

"Oh, I know," Dylan told her.

They all saw Marie and Carter.

"Oh, there they are," Alex said.

James walked closer, looking at Carter. "You okay?"

"I will be, since this is the last mess of mine you'll have to clean up," Carter told him.

James smirked. "Fat chance of that, but I'll be holding you to that promise."

Carter scoffed a laugh. They smiled.

Brooklyn took Theo to hold. "Marie, meet Dylan and Angela's son Theo. Chuck's and my nephew, but he's also the adoptive nephew to you, Serena, Noe and Eric, and adoptive cousin to Zaya and Sadie. Lily and Laureen are great adoptive grandmother/grand aunt already."

"Don't remind us, Brooklyn," Laureen told her.

They all chuckled.

Marie smiled chuckled. "Yeah, that's true. Hi, Theo."

Noe walked up to Marie. "Hey. How are you?"

"I'm okay," Marie answered. "Just, uh... nervous, you know."

"Yeah," Dylan agreed. "But you don't have to be, Marie."

"Let's talk toppings," Laureen told them. "We have whipped cream, strawberries, chocolate chips."

"And, uh, does anyone want coffee?" Eric asked.

"Eric, wait," Lily told him. "Um..."

Lily reached under the counter to grab several mugs.

Rufus smiled. "My 'Welcome Back, Kotter' mugs."

"Yes, well, it wouldn't be our home without them," Lily told him. She handed one to Marie. "Marie, you get the, uh, Vinnie Barbarino."

Marie chuckled.

"Hey, let's eat," Thyra told them.

"Yeah, I'm starving after the last couple of days," Wyatt agreed.

"You're starving?" Sadie repeated skeptically. "You didn't get to go on a James Bond mission."

Laureen frowned. "A what?"

"Nothing," Zaya told her.

The others chuckled, laughing lightly.

Sadie remembered something, picking up the neurology books that Dominic had given her in 3.05. "Oh, Wyatt, you'll never believe what I got from Dominic Driton."

The Crew, Lily, Rufus, Dan, Jenny and Eric all looked at Laureen teasingly, since they knew about Laureen and Dominic. Laureen gave them a sarcastic look.

Sadie handed the books to Wyatt.

Wyatt smiled. "No way."

Sadie grinned. "Yes, way. At least we have more material like from what Yale or Columbia would have with these."

Wyatt smiled. "Thanks, Sadie."

The others smiled.

Aurora and Harry walked in.

"Oh, Mom, you made it," Hope told her, walking closer so that Hope and Aurora could embrace.

Aurora smiled. "Hey, Hope."

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Nate asked.

"Tell me you heard something about Angela," Carter told them.

"Aurora and I've been looking for any leads on Angela and haven't found them," Harry explained.

"But I should be able to track her down soon," Aurora told them. "Angela might need help, so..."

"Right," Blair agreed. "You don't think Angela's in serious danger, do you? I mean, she had to give up Theo, but..."

"I think Angela's a badass, but if she had to give up Theo, things are definitely wrong," Chuck answered.

Blair looked at Chuck, but Chuck looked away, tensions between them very clear.

Blair walked closer to Chuck. "Can we talk?"

Blair led Chuck to the side to talk to him alone.

"What do you want, Blair?" Chuck asked.

"Forgiveness," Blair answered. "I'm so sorry, Chuck. I made a mistake. I know there's no excuse, but... it was just a kiss."

"The people... you manipulate, I know how little respect you have for them," Chuck told her.

Blair looked emotional. "But not you. I don't feel that way about you. And I won't ever do it again. I promise. It was a mistake."

"We need to get back to the others," Chuck told her. "You wouldn't want Marie to have to go through explaining all of this again because we weren't listening, would you? Because I ironically don't."

Chuck walked away. Blair sighed, knowing she deserved to be brushed off, but hurt.

"What kind of danger is Angela in?" Dan asked. "If she had to leave Theo here..."

"Just, uh, stalker stuff," Serena lied, since some of the ones in the room didn't know about the Silence, and they wanted to keep it like that in case it put them in danger.

Jenny frowned. "Aw. Poor Angela. Um, Marie, you wanted to show us your videos for the alters, right? All the introductions and explanations we all need so you don't have to keep repeating it."

"Right, yes," Marie answered. "Uh, we can watch while we eat. I don't know why I'm so nervous."

"You kind of remind me of Hope when she gets nervous, and if you start rambling..." Alex trailed off.

The others chuckled in agreement.

Lily touched Marie's arm. "It's all right, Marie."

"We're all here for you," Rufus told her.

Laureen smiled a bit. "And you know we can help."

Marie nodded, holding up her laptop. "Um..."

Hope took Marie's laptop. "I got it."

"Let's watch and eat," Noe told them.

Hope walked toward the large TV on the wall so she could use a HDMI cord to hook from the laptop to the TV so that the videos would play on the TV.

Zaya, Sadie, Noe, Hope, Marie, Serena and Brooklyn sat on the floor nearby the TV, looking up at it. Eric, Jenny and Dan sat next to them. Alex, Nate, James, Carter, Dylan, Wyatt and Chuck sat on the couches, while Dylan and Wyatt were doting on Theo to keep him happy and mostly quiet. Blair sat in a chair. Harry, Aurora, Laureen, Lily and Rufus stood behind all the kids so they could watch the videos.

The first on the video was Marie. "Hi, everyone. Crew. Family. The alters have been making videos like this for a few days now so that if this time ever came, at least everyone would be more aware of what they needed to be, and this video is done the night before I show you. So... I'm just gonna get to it. I don't just hear voices in my head. My other selves are able to project thoughts and feelings and images to me constantly so I know how they're feeling and we can communicate like that too. We're still trying to sort ourselves out. It isn't easy. We get confused. I will tell you this, though. I'm glad that I don't have to remember what happened to me. All the traumas. What Vincent did, what my adoptive parents did and let happen, like the bullying, the abuse. I see flashes of memory of what happened and they can be very triggering for depression and anxiety and panic, but other than that, I usually don't have to see anything that's been blocked out due to DID. And I'm relieved. I hate what happened to me even though I don't remember it because it left me broken, but right now, I don't feel broken. I feel happy. For the first time in a long time. And sometimes it feels good to just go to sleep and let someone else drive for a while. When I really need the break. I have four alters. One for each major thing that happened in my life, but this does not happen to everyone with DID. Most survivors have many more alters, but they don't come from each major event that happened to them. The first, Lacy, is from childhood trauma of being controlled and emotionally and sometimes physically abused by our adoptive parents and peer bullying which went way too far and traumatizing. The second, Brittany, comes from my ex-boyfriend Vincent's attempted rape, and then the one that actually happened. I got Nick from that. And then Andrea came after I lost her. It's been so many years of intensive ongoing therapy, and I continue to move forward. It was my family that kept me moving forward. My sister, Andrea, actually, since my adoptive parents were not very good with me. It takes strength to battle and a good therapist to guide us. I was at a crossroads, and I realized I couldn't stay where I was. I felt I would only go backwards or stay stuck. I chose to go forward with my life. That's why I came here. The journey is worth it to not feel rejected or filled with self-pity. Andrea helped me be able to love myself and take care of myself and the others inside me. But I am going to tell all of you what I told Carter before, and probably the exact thing I say to people who find out about this because I've had to do it so many times, I got it memorized. If you see one of my alters and you want to see another one of us, just be patient. We can't always switch, but we've been working on it for years. It's easier now more than ever, but it can still be hard. But please do not try to like 'positively trigger' for me to come out, because even though it's technically a positive trigger, like songs, or something, it's still very unpleasant because we have no control over the situation, and if someone tries to force me out, it's a huge betrayal of trust. Not only is it extremely hurtful if somebody is showing you that they don't respect or admire you as much as someone else in your system, it's a whole other thing to be... forced to enter a different state of being. There is dizziness, there is disorientation, sometimes since we're being pulled to the front from the back of the mind, it can make us feel very travel sick. That person is essentially robbing you of your memory, robbing you of your ability to control your body and robbing you of knowing what's happening. When a switch happens, sometimes it's complete amnesia, or partial. So whatever another alter has done while they're fronting, the other alters won't remember unless they've been co-conscious or there is very good communication. Which for us, there usually is very good communication. It's very, very violating. So please, please, please do not use positive triggers to try and force me or any of the others to front. No matter how good your intentions are, be careful and aware of positive triggers. And never ever do it on purpose. Only we can positively trigger each other because it's us and we trust each other and it's a bit more easy to do when we are the ones doing it since it is a consensual switch. But it doesn't always work. Sometimes it happens very easily with just one of us really wanting to come to the front, but other times it's really hard. If you have to, like if you absolutely need to, then you would have our permission, but please don't do it if you don't need to. To lose memories and stuff like that is really scary, to come back and be in a different place, like for example, if you've been blackout drunk or something like that, and you like wake up somewhere else, or you've got memories missing and all of a sudden you're somewhere else. It's like that all the time. And it can be frightening sometimes, especially if you don't know what's happened. You don't know if someone's hurt you."

They all know she was talking about Vincent, sad and sympathetic. Marie looked down.

In the video, since Carter was there with Marie when she filmed this the night before, he took Marie's hand to help her through doing this. Marie looked at him thankfully in relief, before going on with the video.

Marie: (on video)"You don't know if you're safe. You might not know where you are. You know, you don't know how people's opinions of you've changed. So if you have any questions, ask me, or ask one of the others. A lot of you already know stuff about me. I like to sing, sometimes, I like to learn guitar, and I would actually like to learn to fight and defend myself, but it would time five times as long for me, and the alters, to be able to learn so much, since the amnesia barriers, though muscle memory does sometimes help. I can't have a weapon on me in case I have an episode, because I could end up hurting myself or others. I can get very nervous and very paranoid, and it's hard for me to let people in, but I'm working on that. Though clearly I am very sarcastic and mean when I need to be."

In the video, Carter smirked. "I can attest to that."

Marie: (on video) "I didn't ask you."

Everyone kind of chuckled or laughed at this. Marie looked back at Carter on the couch, both of them smirking a slight smile.

Marie: (on video - While Marie was speaking about Carter and the way she felt, in the video, Marie and Carter were looking at each other while Marie spoke to record, both managing small smiles as they looked each other in the eyes) "I am demisexual, which means I do not have a sexual desire or drive for anyone unless I have developed a strong emotional bond with them first. That's one of the reasons why Vincent was so furious with me, why he... because I never would've done it willingly because there's no way we could have had a bond like that. With Carter, after seven months, with us helping each other, with bonding over Andrea and Caroline's losses, with Carter helping me with Vincent the day of graduation, with me knowing that Carter spent a summer talking to Laureen about how to help and giving me the summer of space, and then coming back and letting me open up to Carter in my own time, and everything else... What I feel with Carter was, and is, one of the most strong bonds I've felt, that I've allowed myself to feel with anyone. So thank you, Carter."

Carter managed a small smile. Marie was kind of embarrassed and sheepish about the words she said, looking down, but knowing they were true. Zaya, Sadie, Noe, Hope, Serena and Brooklyn looked at Marie, smiling a bit. The others looked at Carter and Marie knowingly, content that they did have someone they both cared for that deeply.

Marie: (on video) "And, uh, I think that's all you need to know about me. At least for now. But without further ado, this is Lacy, Brittany, Nick, and the introject Andrea and what they are like in order to help you all better understand us all and knowing which one of us is in control at the moment."

The next part of the video came up, and it was showing Marie/Lacy on the video, clearly able to tell it was Lacy's video because of her British accent, which everyone found interesting that Marie had a British accent in the video because of Lacy's personality fronting. "Hello everyone. Nice to meet you. It's very exiting to be here and enjoy what all of this could be like. I'm Lacy. I like girls. I really enjoy creative pursuits. Marie, Brittany, Nick and Andrea, and the real Andrea, and a lot of others call me the human embodiment of sunshine, which is really sweet. I have a lot of energy and happiness, and whenever one of the others switches with me, they are exhausted because they can't handle the level of my energy and enthusiasm. Pretty sure our body can't either, but... That's why I'm only out usually for a short bursts. Like half an hour to three hours. I'm very fond of affection, giving and receiving. I'm a very affectionate person. And I'm very passionate about raising awareness for mental illnesses. Especially ones like ours which aren't really understood very well, and that has a big impact on the way that we as people with this order have to live our life. And the resources that are available to us. I'm very much a believer in that everybody should be treated equally and that everybody should have equal rights on an equal platform, or on a platform that benefits as many people as possible, no matter where they come from or what color your skin is, what your religious belief is, what your sexuality is. I like movies that tell a story that can transcend time, movies that teach you something, old movies and musicals. I am drawn to femininity in other girls. I'm a romantic at heart and I can't change that. I like exploring our connections to the world around us, and the earth and nature and natural magic and things like that. I like feeling apart of the beautiful parts of the world that we're in, because sometimes it seems like it's few and far between, but I mean, there's... no clouds in the sky today and that's really beautiful and I think we should appreciate things like that more. It's the simple things I like in life. I can be free and spin and feel the air on my skin and feel the world around me and just kind of connect with it. I just want peace. For all of us. And uh, I actually want to get the facts out there about people like us. Alters and DID survivors. Taking the stigma and the myths out of it all and show people who we really are and what we can be like. I'm really passionate about that, I figured that it could be like on a platform online to where a lot of people could see it. The others, they're more willy nilly with it, but they know how important it is to me and how important it could be to others out there like us, so they were like 'whatever, go ahead, do it, just don't expect us all to want to be apart of it'. But they know that to make people listen to us, eventually they'll have to. We want to make a difference in the world. We want to make a change, we want to do something right. We want to make things better and... And I feel like with the voices that we get to share with all of you, and probably a lot more people, it would be irresponsible not to use that to do something positive."

Sadie smiled. "She is so sweet."

Marie smiled, nodding.

The next part of the video came up, and it was showing Marie/Brittany on the video. "It's Brittany... bitch." She laughed. "No, sorry, I just had to do that one time."

Brooklyn smirked. "I like her."

Dylan smirked. "Of course you do, Brooklyn."

Chuck smirked, chuckling.

Marie/Brittany: (on video) "Hi, everybody! So nice to meet you. There have been so many switches today, it's unreal. I feel like I've been put on, like you know, one of those little spinning things on like playgrounds or carnivals and stuff like that where you're just desperately holding onto the side. But whatever, let's get to the intro because I know that all of you just can't wait to get to know the real me. Since you really kinda have to since we're gonna be in your lives from now on. My role is to keep our mind from being overwhelmed and sad, which is why I'm always bringing the fun. I'm the embodiment of our childhood freedom and happiness that we didn't get to have. Me and Lacy are like the lovers of the system. The most interested in relationships and things like that. Marie, Nick and Andrea, they aren't really interested in relationships, except for Marie, especially lately since we've all been convincing her to give herself a chance at happiness with a certain Baizen, I'm not saying who. But I'll just say it's not James. Oops, sorry, Carter."

Marie hung her head, lightly tapping her head like she could hit Brittany. Carter smirked. The others looked at them in amusement.

Marie/Brittany: (on video) "Sorry, not sorry, Marie. It's not like you two are a secret anyway. You spent a long time fighting it, so me talking to Carter that one day when I woke up, I thought I'd add a little nudge."

Marie nodded sarcastically, scolding Brittany mentally, though she could hear Brittany laughing.

Marie/Brittany: (on video) "Anyway, back to me. I'm pansexual, which means I really don't care about gender at all. I mean, I respect your gender, I validate your gender, whatever it is. But it's not going to affect how I love you, so... if you're one gender, it's not gonna mean I'm any less likely to love you than another gender. It doesn't matter to me. It's the person that matters to me. Though I will admit this, Lacy beat me to the first lesbian experience that this body has ever had, and I'm still kinda salty about that."

Brooklyn, Thyra and Zaya smiled. The boys all smirked.

Marie/Brittany: (on video) "I am female. I'm 17 years old. I've always been 17 years old. I don't think I age. I haven't aged in forever. I'm immortal, bitches!"

Some of the family/Crew laughed.

Marie/Brittany: (on video) "I enjoy fun, being the center of attention, and being able to put people in their place when they need to be. So if you want to call me a bitch, go ahead and call me a bitch, because let me tell you something. I will be that bitch."

Zaya, Brooklyn and Thyra all pointed at Marie/Brittany on the screen. "I approve."

Sadie grinned. "Same."

"So do I," Blair agreed.

The others laughed lightly.

Marie/Brittany: (on video) "I do like arts and poetry and song and acting and dance. I love dancing. It doesn't have to be sexy dancing, it can be any kind of dancing. I love animals very, very, very much. I do like some of the guys that Marie chooses to be with, with the exception of you-know-who. May that bastard rot in hell. I've also made out with other guys and girls and non-binary, but managing a relationship as an alter is really confusing and conflicting for all parties unless there's an unified agreement between all parties. But coming here, we wanted Marie to have her family, our family, and build onto our own. We want to make the most of the opportunity that we've got and we don't want to let you down. And we hope that none of you let us down either. I love you guys and I prey you love me too."

Everyone smiled a bit.

The next part of the video came up, and it was showing Marie/Nick on the video. "I'm Nick. Obviously. I'm a guy, I am straight. I love food. I will get triggered for food. Meaning I will 'awake' for food. Any kind of food. When one of the girls are making or ordering food, I'm pushing through to the front like 'Let me drive! I need the food!' And I will steal any and every food they get unless it's something I hate."

"Yeah, he's not lying," Marie told them.

That received a few more laughs.

Marie/Nick: (on video) "I enjoy writing, learning new things and learning about medicine, about history."

Dan looked at Marie in realization. "Wait, so Nick was the one that wrote me that letter, wasn't he? And you just sent it before you realized you were our family."

"Yeah," Marie answered. "We look out for each other and do things for each other, and writing's important to Nick, so I sent it in for him."

The others accepted this with impressed nods.

Marie/Nick: (on video) "I don't think I've ever been in love. I've never been interested in any of Marie's partners at all, since, you know, they're all guys, and there's only been a couple since she's demisexual and paranoid on top of that, and she's scared to let people in because of that prick Vincent. And just to be clear, I'm not gonna like Carter all that much, but maybe Carter and Marie could be good for each other. Lacy and I have both kissed girls, while Marie was with someone, and Brittany and Andrea's kissed other guys and girls while Marie was with someone, and yes, it's gotten us into trouble, but we manage. Lacy's into girls. Brittany's pan, by the way. Andrea's a tease but she's aromantic, though not asexual. Sometimes when we need to be encouraged to do the switch, certain songs or sayings can help bring us forth, and keep us in the front of our trigger songs are still playing if we need to be in the front for a while. My role is to keep the body relaxed and defend it. Like a sexual protector. I make sure that Marie doesn't remember anything unpleasant. She doesn't want to remember, and I experienced things for her that were too intense for her to deal with, so... I'm the best built to deal with that trauma. I like to think of myself as one of the strongest, or well, toughest of us, since even if I'm in control, it doesn't make any of us physically stronger. Just my extremely easy anger and protectiveness give us the drive to be able to fight and push a bit better, plus I did take a few self-defense classes, so at least I know just a little about protection, even if the girls don't remember what I've learned, except for maybe through muscle memory or something. My job is to keep the system physically safe if somebody came to fight us or hurt us, cough cough, that dick Vincent who will not take a damn hint, or if we need to physically defend ourselves, I'm the one who would front. Then if more trauma happens during that time of a fight, it would be either Andrea or Brittany, or both, that would come out. I've got a very high pain tolerance. I'm good at assessing... mm, I mean, I think I'm good at assessing danger. Apparently I jump into it way too quickly. But hey, I'm getting better. All right? I'm trying my best. And if that's not enough, piss off."

Some of the family/Crew chuckled, but they were very understanding of that.

Marie/Nick: (on video) "Andrea, Brittany and I get along, and us with Marie. The three of us are the trio of executive protectors, while Lacy is more focused on trying to bring peace to us all. I am very proud that Lacy wants to start something to raise awareness of DID and its survivors and everything about it to help others. She's so dedicated in trying to change lives like ours has been changed. I find it inspiring and I think that we're lucky to have been given such a platform to be able to explore all of this. And if we're helping people along the way, then what more could we ask for?"

The next part of the video came up, and it was showing Marie/Andrea on the video. Andrea sat down on a chair with her leg on either side in a sensual and seductive but subtle manner, brushing back her hair from her face behind her shoulders, putting her arm on the back of the chair in front of her, leaning her chin against her arm, smirking, winking. "Mm, hi."

Zaya nodded. "Okay, so she's the sensual one."

Marie smiled. "Yeah."

Marie/Andrea: (on video) "I'm just gonna get right to the point here because I'm sure none of you want to sit through more of this. I'm Andrea. An interject, basically an alter that was based off of a memory of someone very close and personal in Marie's life. Obviously, her sister Andrea, taking shape and form and personality of her after she passed. I can identify as a ghost in her mind technically. I'm a protector but I'm more of an inner caretaker. I exist primarily to soothe Marie especially when she was having panic attacks or major depressive episodes. I care and soothe and nurture the system inside us. I am fierce in loyalty and protection, and if anyone was to hurt or threaten Marie, Lacy, Brittany or Nick, I would do whatever it took to protect her. Threaten or fight or anything need be. I am aromantic, which means I don't want anything to do with romance, but I do like to meet people and occasionally have a kiss or a hookup. In that respect, I am attracted to both girls and guys, so I am bisexual even while being aromantic. I like to think I'm a little bit mysterious. I like to be playful. Life is boring, and if we don't make it a little fun, then what's the point? I'd like to know about people. I like to discover things about people. I like to surprise people. I like to be a bit naughty. I get the system into trouble sometimes. I'm not the best behaved and they thank me for it. I'm not too much of a troublemaker. I like to think I am a good person. Brittany and I both have sharp tongues so we get along, and me and Nick are the most angry and protective. Lacy's the nicest one that is always down to earth and wants peace for everyone. Marie is navigating life and she's found our family and she can finally be happy again. I don't think I've ever felt any romantic attraction to anyone, so I consider myself to be aromantic. I do enjoy makeup but not that often. This isn't the makeup I would choose to do if given the choice. I like big cat eyes and dark red lipstick. When Andrea was alive, she did nothing but protect Marie, and have fun with her life, and as an introspect, or a ghost of her, I think I am doing well carrying out her legacy doing the same thing."

The video came to an end.

Marie stood, turning to face everyone. "So if any of you have questions about triggers, to avoid or to trigger when we say so, I can tell you."

"Yes, we should know so that we can help Marie avoid triggers and switches in the future so we can make sure that she feels comfortable and safe," Laureen agreed. "Not just avoiding switches, but flashbacks that can be very disorienting and painful and could cause episodes, like with Noe getting back her memories little by little."

Zaya, Sadie, Noe, Hope, Serena, Brooklyn, Eric, Jenny and Dan looked up at Marie from sitting on the floor in front of her. Alex, Nate, James, Carter, Dylan, Wyatt and Chuck looked over from the couches while Theo looked up from Dylan's arms. Blair looked over from her chair. Harry, Aurora, Laureen, Lily and Rufus looked over from behind all the kids.  Marie smiled at seeing all of them being understanding and there for her, relieved that she didn't have to feel alone anymore, though she looked upset about everything being in the video to explain everything and having to relive what she did remember, tears in her eyes.  Zaya, Sadie, Noe, Hope, Serena, Brooklyn and Eric each stood so they could give her hugs one by one. Marie smiled in relief. Jenny and Dan also stood to give her a hug. Lily, Laureen and Rufus also were very there for her, giving her an embrace each. Blair, Harry, Aurora, Alex, Nate, James, Carter, Dylan, Wyatt and Chuck watched in concern and sympathy.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "When it comes to family, we're all still children at heart. No matter how old we get, we always need a place to call home. Because without the people you love most, you can't help but feel all alone in the world."

(Song Ends)

X • O ° X • O

Unknown Country

Night - Street

A woman named Emilia De Los Caballeros was chasing someone on motorcycle, revving her engine as she soared down the street to chase after him, ramming her bike into his and making him fall, skidding across the street and falling to the ground. The guy ran to get on his bike, picking it up, and continuing on. Emilia chased him down. Two cars drove into the intersection they passed, and the guy on his motorcycle barely got passed, while the two cars nearly blocked Emilia's path. Emilia veered with precision, able to get through the path of two cars on her bike, continuing the chase. She intercepted the guy, ramming his bike down again, making him fall and land on the ground, and this time, it caused more pain and harm than it did before.

Emilia got off the bike, walking toward the man, glaring down at him.

"What do you want?" the man asked.

"You know what I want," Emilia told him. "I know you have a lead about where my daughter is. If she's still alive. Where the hell is Giselle De Los Caballeros?" She heard someone behind her turning around to see a man with a plank board, which he used to hit her in the side, making her groan in pain and fall into a building wall. More men were behind Man 1. Man 1 swung the plank at Emilia. Emilia ducked, making the plank hit the wall above her head, reaching up to twist the plank out of his hands, spinning it around to hit him in the head, making him fall to the ground. Man 2 tried to punch Emilia. Emilia ducked, using the plank to slam into his stomach, punching him in the face, using the plank to hit him in the face and making him fall, raising the plank over her head to hit him from above, making him fall. "What a bunch of idiots to come after me alone." Man 3 tried to shoot Emilia. Emilia caught his wrist, making him aim the gun at his own foot, making him shoot his foot, spinning them around so that she could put Man 3 in a choke hold from behind, and she had the gun aimed at Man 4, shooting him, but using Man 3 as a human shield as Man 4 fired a gun at them, making Man 4 kill Man 3, tossing Man 3's body to the side, thrusting her left arm to push Man 4's gun arm to the side, punching him in the face. Man 4 tried to punch her. Emilia ducked, spinning around to kick his legs out from underneath him, making him fall, crouched next to him, grabbing him, turning him over onto his back so he was looking up at her, grabbing the plank from the ground next to her, straddling Man 4 down, putting the plank to his neck. "What do you know about Giselle De Los Caballero?"

Man 4 tried to push her off but couldn't. "I don't know."

Emilia slammed his head on the ground, standing, but not willing to take him at his word, planning on making sure by even more horrible methods. "No one ever does."

X • O ° X • O

Mansion - Outside

Emilia grabbed a guard from outside, slamming his head against the wall, knocking him out, taking his key card to get inside, walking in, making her way around a corner. A guard was there, in the middle of drawing his gun when he saw her. Emilia caught his gun arm before he could aim at her, twisting his arm to make him drop his gun, punching him in the face, twisting herself and his arm around so she could flip him to the floor over her shoulder, ripping a wire off the ceiling, wrapping it around the guard's throat, strangling him out. Guard 2 ran toward Emilia, picking her up, trying to throw her down. Emilia spun herself around Guard 2's head to latch onto him and flip them both to the floor, rolling them over to where he was on the floor and she was over him, raising her arm back fiercely when she went to punch him in the face, knocking him out.

X • O ° X • O

Inside - Living Room

Angela was having dinner with a man named Jonny in his home.

Angela shrugged. "I think women can do anything."

Jonny chuckled. "Well, I mean, just because they can, doesn't mean they should, right? Think about women fixing cars, driving a taxi, installing a drywall."

"Why not?" Angela asked.

Jonny shook his head. "No. Look, trust me. A girl like you, you don't really want this."

Angela raised her eyebrows. "A girl like me?"

"Mm-hmm," Jonny answered.

Angela leaned forward in her seat, tracing her fingers along the bare skin of either of her arms to entice him. "There is no girl like me. I want all my options available so I can decide for myself."

Jonny was clearly drawn in. "Ah, Miss Independent."

"That's right," Angela agreed. "That's me."

Jonny laughed. "I love it. Except you're sitting here, eating my food, enjoying my view."

Angela pointed at Jonny. "By choice."

"Mm, I chose you to join me," Jonny told her.

Angela narrowed her eyes at him. "I chose to make you notice me."

Jonny shook his head. "Ah, mm-mm. That is not your choice, Sandra. That is God's gift to you."

Angela chuckled, tilting her head, eating a cherry. "But don't you think it's sort of what you do with those gifts that really matters? Every one of us. Men, women. We all just wanna fulfill our potential, live our heart's desires. That's the kind of world I wanna live in."

Jonny smirked. "Well, my world is me making millions with you by my side."

Angela leaned closer. "It's just that I'm so good at so many things."

"Oh, yeah?" Jonny asked.

"Yeah," Angela answered.

"Like what?" Jonny asked.

"At my job, it's actually considered a huge advantage to be a woman," Angela told him. "Yeah, if you're beautiful, nothing else is really expected of you. And if you're not, you're pretty much rendered invisible." She leaned closer to sit on Jonny's lap, taking drapes from nearby to wrap around him, as if in a seductive way, tying his hands together against his head. "And in my line of work, invisibility, low expectations, they come in very handy."

One of the guards nearby spoke in Portuguese. "Dona de casa, so como. [Housewife, sounds like.]"

Angela looked at the guards, speaking in Portuguese. "Nada de errado em ser uma dona de casa. Apenas nao e minha escolha. [Nothing wrong with being a housewife. Just not my choice.]"

"I don't speak Portuguese," Jonny told her.

Angela smirked, speaking in English again. "I know." She spun herself around on another drape, dangling herself upside down to whisper in Jonny's ear. "Did you know..." She flipped herself down to wrap her legs around Jonny's neck in a threatening manner. "That it takes men an additional seven seconds to perceive a woman as a threat compared to a man? Isn't that wild?"

Angela back flipped to land on her feet on the floor in front of Jonny, pulling on the drapes to pull him to the floor.

Jonny was straining for breath. "Who are you?"

Angela smirked. "Oh, me?" She grabbed a knife, flipping Jonny over to hold him in a restraint on the floor with the knife to his throat to keep the guards from shooting at them. "I'm just drawing attention to keep you and your people the hell away from my son."

Jonny elbowed Angela hard enough to make her let go. Angela took the drapes she had wrapped around him, standing, spinning them around so she could throw Jonny into the guards, making them fall.

The elevator doors opened, and Emilia came through. "Angela."

Angela looked at Emilia. "Mother? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Explain after," Emilia told her, ramming into Guard 1, twisting the gun out of his hands, pistol whipping him in the head hard enough to make him fall unconscious, then jabbing the gun forward to hit Guard 2 in the face, making him fall, kicking him in the head to knock him out.

Guard 3 tried to stab Angela. Angela ducked, backhand punching him in the face, grabbing his arm, slamming it over her knee to make him let go of the knife, which flipped in the air over their heads, and Angela raised her other hand to catch the knife, stabbing the guard in the stomach, letting him fall.

Emilia ran up to Guard 4, jumping up to latch her legs on his waist, punching him in the face repeatedly, flipping backwards to land in a crouch, spinning around to kick the legs out from underneath Guard 4, making him flip through the air and land on the ground, slamming his head against the ground to knock him out, standing.

Guard 5 tried to grab Angela, but Angela reversed the hold onto Guard 5, and as he swung her around, she kicked Guard 6 behind him, making him fall, flipping out of Guard 5's hold, spinning to kick him in the legs to take him down, knocking him out.

Angela and Emilia looked around, seeing that the only one awake now was Jonny.

"Oh, you're gonna regret this," Jonny told them. He looked at Angela. "I was gonna give you the world."

Angela smirked, tilting her head. "The thing is, you just talk way too much. You're super clingy, and you come on way too strong."

"Not to mention you're from the Silence," Emilia added. "You deserve everything that you get."

"Why are you doing this?" Jonny asked.

"We need leverage in order to get Angela back to her son, my grandson Theo," Emilia answered. "Looking to knock guys down like you until we find it and get Angela back to Theo." She looked at Angela. "Speaking of finding. Or lack thereof. The lead I was looking into for Giselle didn't pan out."

Angela nodded, sighing. "I figured."

"I don't have anything that can help you," Jonny told them nervously.

"Shame," Angela told him. "Doesn't mean we're gonna stop searching though." They heard a helicopter outside as it was approaching. "Looks like cops are here to take you away, Jonny boy."

"You too," Jonny replied.

Angela smirked, shaking her head. "No, not us."

Angela grabbed a crowbar, slamming it into Jonny's head to knock him out. Angela and Emilia ran to another room where a safe was, going through it to make sure that nothing was in it that could help them with their mission. Knowing that cops were getting closer, they ran to the window of the penthouse, jumping out into the pool, swimming away, and making their getaway before the cops could find them, making a stealthy escape.

Gossip Girl: (voice over) "Fortunately, misery loves company. XOXO, Gossip Girl."