Double Trouble

Summary: Follow Dan and Serena's twin daughters Celia and Daisy as they navigate the ups and downs of their teen years.

Author's Note: Chapter one chronicles their lives from birth to the end of junior high school. Chapter two onwards deals with life at Constance. This is dedicated to Where's Waldorf and the ever amazing Diane. My DS comrade in arms.

Chapter One: Two of a kind

They said everything came easily to Serena Van Der Woodsen-Humphrey but no one knew the falsehood in that statement more than her husband Daniel Humphrey. He saw how her father's rejection had affected her and how desperately she wanted to give him children, but 6 years after the wedding Serena had yet to carry a baby to term. Three miscarriages and what felt like a billion heartaches later, she learnt that she was pregnant again. Serena wasn't nervous this time. She knew this time would be different. It was a balmy fall evening when she broke the news to her husband.

She placed the results of her pregnancy test on plate and covered it with silver lid. "What's all this?"Dan asked.

"Why don't you look and see."

He lifted the lid and picked up the test gingerly. Once the meaning sunk in he looked at her with a twinge of hope. They'd both decided put off trying again because hoping always seemed to lead to heartbreak.

"Have you spoken to the doc?"

She reached over and caressed his face. "I know this sounds strange, but I just have a feeling that this will be it.

Three months later, Dan held her hands as the doctor poured some jelly on her stomache and they waited to find out the sex of their baby. Serena smiled down at him. He'd been a wreck for the past two months, but Serena was more than certain that this time would be different. The doctor smiled at them and said, "well this certainly is a surprise."

"What?We don't like surprises?"Dan said nervously.

"You're having twins," the doctor said with a big smile.

Serena's eyes widened and as she looked towards Dan she saw him go pale and before she'd realized it he had hit the floor. She started to laugh. Once Dan had recovered from the shock of the news, he clung to his wife and kissed her all over face. "We're having babies, as in more than one."

The months before the birth of the twins were torture for Serena. Between Dan, Blair and Lily, she had enough people to make her go crazy. By the time she reached her last trimester she was ready to kill someone. Movement was difficult and Dan kept insisting that she stay in bed and all she wanted to do was go outside, get herself a smoothie and buy an outfit. Eventually, Eric came over and took her on an emergency trip to Bendel's.

"You are the best brother in the world."

"I know. How are you holding up? You ready to kill anyone yet?"

Serena smiled that bright smile of hers and said, "a thousand times over."

"Have you thought of names for the girls?"

Serena nodded and said, "We picked them out a little after we found out we were having girls."

"And?"

"You'll have to wait till I deliver to find out."

Celia and Daisy Humphrey were born on beautiful spring day. Serena was spending the day with her mother when her water broke. Lily rushed her to the hospital as she texted Dan to meet them there. The girls were born five minutes apart with Daisy arriving first. She barely cried and Serena was instantly taken with her. Celia on the hand wailed loud enough to wake the patients down the hall. Dan held her in his arms and she immediately quieted down. Everyone gathered around to see the new addition to the family. Audrey and Henry bass were particularly excited to meet the new arrivals. The two girls would be doted on by family and friends and while Daisy managed to remain aloof to what went around her, Celia lapped up the attention. The two girls were inseparable despite the differences in their demeanor. Audrey who was the closest of the basses in age was still a good 4 years older than them. When the twins were five, the Humphrey's mood from their UWS apartment to a brownstone in Tribeca just a few blocks away from where Nate and Jenny were living with their young son, Stefan. Stefan was two years younger than the girls and Celia loved leading him into the path of trouble. One day she got him to sneak into her father's study and help her carry a couple of his books into her room. The two of them began coloring in them and when they were caught Celia simply said, "The pages were just black and white. I thought it could use a little color."

"Celia, you know better than to play with daddy's books. What did I tell you?"

"Books are treasures of the mind. But, Daddy they're boring."

Sometimes Dan wondered how he ended up with a daughter who was more like his sister than himself. She'd inherited his nose, but everything else about her appearance came straight from her mother. Both girls had wavy golden hair and piercing blue eyes and smiles that could melt and iceberg. Daisy on the hand was quieter and less mischievous than her sister, but she had the same sunny demeanor. She liked to sit in a corner and color and would smile up at her parents with a grin, but she had an air of mystery that often left them baffled. It was hard to know what was on Daisy's mind. She had this habit of keeping her thoughts to herself while Celia was an open book. "She's just like you," Serena said to Dan.

"Me? But, I talk too much. She barely talks at all," Dan said quizzically.

Serena smiled at her husband. "You ramble, but you are so quiet and you're always stuck inside that head of yours. A girl can go crazy trying to figure you out."

"You make me sound like an enigma wrapped in a puzzle,"he says as he wraps around his wife's shoulders. "No, it's not that. But, it takes you time to open up. Give Daisy some time, she'll come out of her shell."

"Have I told you lately what an amazing mom you are."

Serena smiled and laid her head on his chest.

The girls stayed close until they reached middle school. Everything changed in the seventh grade. Celia being the open that she is quickly made new friends and one in particular, Dominic Baizen. Daisy watched with curiosity as Dominic followed her sister around. She didn't trust him, he had dark skin and light eyes and her parents didn't seem to like his father. Daisy tried to warn her sister, but Celia immediately got angry. "You're just jealous because you have no friends. I don't even know why you wear those stupid glasses. You can see. I don't know why you pretend like you need glasses."

"I am not jealous. I just don't trust him. He looks scary."

Celia put her hands on her hips. "Daisy why are you always so judgemental."

"It's not judgemental when it's the truth."

Celia walked away in a huff leaving her sister frustrated and angry. She just couldn't understand why her sister was leaving her. She had been her companion since birth and now she felt like Celia didn't find her fun anymore. Daisy couldn't help the fact that she wasn't as interesting as some of the kids at school. Making friends didn't come easy to her. She never really thought about it before because she always had Celia. Daisy sighed and took out the Gibson that her grandpa Rufus had bought her last Christmas. She fiddled with the keys. She'd only had a few lessons, but that didn't stop daisy from experimenting. Her dad didn't play. He was a writer, but she always preferred music to words. Her favorite subject in school was music. Her teacher Mrs. Wilder had frizzy brown hair and her eyes always looked like they were in a perpetual state of shock. By the end of seventh grade, Dominic had become a regular fixture in the Humphrey home. Celia and him would rush up to her room to draw or play with her Tarot cards. She'd bought them at flea market downtown last summer. There dad wasn't into that stuff, but their mom thought there was no harm in letting them try new things. "If dad finds out you have these, he'll flip."

"So? Mom doesn't care."

"Yeah, but that's mom. Nothing bothers her. Dad thinks this stuff fills your brain with silly ideas."

"Dad is uptight. That's why it's a good thing he's married to mom."

Daisy frowned. She felt like her sister was always so hard on their father and it almost felt like she was making fun of her in some small way. "Why are you always so mean about daddy?"

"I'm not mean. You know I love dad. I'm just different. I'm not like you guys."

Daisy didn't say anything because she knew that she was being irrational and that Celia was right. She was different. Celia saw things in technicolor while she preferred the quieter things. Her sister was always seeking the latest adventure whereas she just enjoyed the simple pleasure of being with her family. She loved her talks with her mother as she brushed her hair or flipping through her dad's records as he worked away on his ancient typewriter.

"Daddy can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, what's on your mind? Dan asked.

"Why do you use an old typewriter instead of a computer?"

Dan chuckled softly. "I used to use a computer when I was younger, but there is something special about using a typewriter like I have generations of writers guiding me. Does that make sense?"

"You mean like my guitar. It's really old!"

Dan ruffled her blonde hair and said, "Exactly."

By the time Celia and Daisy had finished junior high school, the awkwardness began to diminish between the two sisters. Celia started to spend just as much time with her sister as she did her new friends. Sometimes Dominic would listen to Daisy play the guitar as he waited for Celia to come home. "You know she's not going to be back for awhile," she said.

Dominic ran a hand through his dark curls and said, "it's okay. I like hanging out here. It's a lot like she described the Humphrey's house in Brooklyn. It's just super comfy here."

"Is everything ok at home?"

"It's fine. It's just quiet. It's just the three of us and gets a little boring that's why I like being friends with Celia. She's a lot of fun."

Daisy looked at him for moment before experimenting with a note combination that wasn't in her guitar books. Dominic reached into his pocket and took out a book and read as he waited for her sister to come back from a shopping trip with a few girls from school. When Celia came home her hands were full and Dominic rushed to helped her carry the bags up to her room. "You been here long?"Celia asked.

Sometimes she wondered if he liked her, but mostly he was just nice. A couple of the girls from school had huge crushes on him, but he never seemed interested.

"Dominic are you gay?"

His eyes bugged out and said, "What?Why? Why would you ask that?"

"Well, you never talk about any girls you like and we're almost done middle school. It's just a little weird."

He tried his best to control his temper. "First you're a girl and it's just weird to talk about my crushes on other girls with you. Second, what is up your butt?"

Celia walked over to him and asked gently. "Do you like me?"

"God you are conceited. I-Do-Not-Have-A-Crush-On-You. Anyways it's getting late," Dominic said before rushing out the door.

Celia stared after him in confusion. She wasn't sure what she'd done wrong, but she felt horrible. She ran downstairs and caught up with him outside. "Dominic wait!"

He turned back and said, "What?"

"I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

Celia placed her hands on her hips and said, "Umm"

"You don't even know why I'm mad. Never mind. Forget it," he said as he walked off. Dominic wasn't sure why he was so mad either. But, he thought things were even with them like they were real friends, but he was felt like he was nothing more than a nuisance to Celia. He was the one who came over to her house, who initiated their time together and she never seemed to appreciate. He felt like their friendship wasn't real and he wasn't even sure why that bothered him so much.

Celia stood on the street with tears streaming down her face as she watched her best friend walk away from her. She hated that he was mad at her and she didn't even know what she'd done wrong. Daisy came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her. "Come on. Let's get some ice-cream. I told mom we'd be back later."

The girls walked down the street, two girls hand-in hand who were mirror images of one another.

The summer before high school was a special one. It was like time had gone backwards and Daisy and Celia were little again. They spent all their time together. Their parents took them out to California to visit their grandmother's old ranch. Daisy and Celia both loved horses and they would race each other for what seemed like hours. Serena and Dan watched their girls with big smiles on their faces. "They're so beautiful just like their mother," Dan said as he kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm worried about Celia. She's not herself. I think it's great that she is with Daisy all the time, but I feel like something has changed."

"She's just growing up."

Serena shook her head, "It's more than that. Call it mothers intuition."

Dan put up his hands and said, "I'm not going to argue with that. Should I talk to her?"

"That' would be great,"Serena said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly.

"Gross, don't you two ever stop. I'm surprised we don't have like a zillion siblings," Celia said.

Daisy simply smiled. She thought it was sweet that her parents were still so in love after all this time. Later that day, they were sitting in their room at the ranch playing with Celia's tarot cards when Daisy worked up the courage to ask about Dominic. "What happened that day with Dominic."

Celia looked up at her sadly and said, "I don't know. We got into this really stupid fight over nothing, but it wasn't like usual. He was like really mad this time. I don't think he wants to be my friend anymore."

"I don't think that's true. I'm sure you guys will make-up when we get to school in the fall."

"God, it's so weird that we're going to school where Mama and Auntie Blair went," Celia said.

"And auntie J and Uncle Nate and Chuck," Daisy added.

"It can't be that bad. It's where Daddy and Mama met."

"And fell in love," they said in unison before breaking into a fit of laughter.