*Note* This is pure fluff. It's a part spec on the upcoming episode, "The Backup Dan" and it's part wish fulfillment.

*Second Note* Happy Birthday Beth.

Dan cringed inwardly as they stepped through the door and into the dimly lit room. One bed. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"Humphrey, what's-" Blair started to snark before her eyes were drawn to the same place Dan's had been. "You have got to be kidding me. I give you one simple task and you still manage- Hey! Watch it! The contents of that bag is worth more than your loft. What do you think you're doing?" Dan had dropped the extra large bag containing her dress, shoes, and jewelry, and was currently taking his shoes off and preparing to get comfortable in the bed.

"I'm pretty sure I am hiding out in a hotel until my flight to the Dominican Republic with an escaped princess."

"You can do that on the couch. Out!" Blair ordered, finger pointing to the short piece of furniture in the corner."

"I can, but I am not going to."

"Who do you think you are?"

"I think I am the person who just stole a car so you could escape your own wedding reception, bought you a plane ticket so you can get a shady divorce, and paid for your hotel room so you didn't have to sleep in a plastic chair. I am also the person who-"

"Fine, but stay on your side. I don't want to wake to find your Brooklyn hands groping me." Blair's last comment hung heavy. She felt a familiar tingle in her stomach that she quickly squashed back down.

"I would never. I mean not that there's anything wrong with you. It's just you know that I um think maybe uh" Dan stammered, a light shade of pink creeping up his neck.

Blair laid down, messed with her pillow, and decided to steal Dan's, "Shut up and lay back, Humphrey." She stared up at darkness, trying to make sense of the confusion her life had become. Chuck, Louis, the baby, the pact, the vows. Blair halted at the last thought.

Dan felt Blair's weight shift as she turned to face him, and mirrored her movement.

"Louis told me about the vows."

Blair heard Dan's breathing stop for a moment before he replied, "Sorry, I didn't say something, he asked me not too."

"They were beautiful," after a moment of contemplation, "they were perfect."

"You're Blair Waldorf, would you have accepted anything less," he couldn't see her face, but he could feel her smile.

"I suppose not."

Quietness filled the room again.

When Dan finally spoke, it was so quiet and so different from his usual self-assured voice Blair thought for a moment that she might have imagined it.

"Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Serena told me she offered to run away with you. Chuck-" she heard his tone change. It was colder. It was sadder. It was something she didn't want think about too much because- "Chuck would have been there less than five minutes. So, why me?"

"I don't know. I grabbed a random phone," she heard Dan let out a small chuckle, "and I called you. You were the first person I thought of."

"Oh."

Blair stayed silent for a few moments before moving closer. "And for some ridiculous and bizarre reason, you are the one person right now that I trust to have my best interest in mind. Serena means well, but since last year," images of dark foyers, pink dresses, and strong cheekbones filled Blair's mind, "she has been on Team Chuck. Chuck is Chuck. Of course he would have whisked me away in an instant, but I just- I needed something safe and...and...and..." tears began to fall down her face.

Dan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She buried her face into his shoulder and cried. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she should be disgusted by this level of intimacy with Dan ugh Humphrey, but somewhere even deeper, she enjoyed the feel of his warm body pressed close to her and the way his deep voice whispered reassurances.

Dan continued stroking her hair after the tears stopped and her ragged breathing steadied. When she started whimpering and shaking in her sleep, he pulled her closer, wanting to protect her from whatever subconscious demons were chasing her in her dreams. Only after Blair had stilled and slipped into a deeper sleep, did he let his weary, heavy eyes close and begin dreaming of a world princesses and paupers, and romantic escapes.