A/N: Shame on me for starting a new Dair fanfic when I'm already writing another one, but I was having insane writer's block and then this idea came to my mind and just would let me rest until I committed it to page. This fic is based on the movie Before Sunrise, which you should really see if you haven't already because it is absolutely brilliant. The basic plot is the same as the movie and there will be some direct references to it (some of you may have already caught the title reference), but as you will see events will play out differently. I'm really loving writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it! Of course, I own nothing and this is written purely for mine and hopefully your enjoyment. Reviews are very much appreciated.

In the ideal movie of Blair Waldorf's life, the beautiful scenery outside her window would have a musical accompaniment as it rushed past while she sat comfortably in her seat in First Class. It might perhaps be a romantic French song and probably something from the 80s, easily her favourite decade in music. It would most likely have lyrics that reflected her state of mind, and a steady beat which would almost match the rhythm of the train speeding along on its way to its destination. It would definitely not, however, be anything even remotely resembling the sound of a screaming baby.

She had tried everything she could to block it out. In the beginning it had been relatively quiet and she had been able to distract herself by burying her nose in the copy of Jane Eyre she had brought along with her, but that tactic hadn't worked for very long. The baby's crying had only gotten louder and louder and she'd had to resort to putting her headphones in her ears and switching on her music player in hopes of providing her own ideal soundtrack to her journey. The shrill sound of the baby seemed to be capable of piercing even Pat Benatar's dulcet tones, however, and she found herself incapable of thinking about anything apart from how incompetent the baby's mother was for not being able to console her child. Her patience was dwindling fast and when not even Cyndi Lauper was enough to drown out the noise, Blair decided it was the last straw. She sat up straight and delicately removed one ear bud and then the other, storing her music player in her handbag as she stood to her feet. After smoothing down the slight creases in her skirt, she stepped out into the aisle between seats and made her way to the end of the carriage, shooting a glare along the way at the mother of the baby as she finally put a face to the horrible sound that had been disturbing her. The bar car at present seemed like a very good option.

Blair was less than amused by the irony of the fact that she had been sitting in what was supposed to be the quiet car and yet it was quieter outside it than inside, despite the fact that the train was pretty full. On her way through the train to the bar, she walked past a few empty seats – and one containing nothing but a coat and an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel – but she also walked past many people, including a couple sharing a kiss and a woman sitting in dark sunglasses who looked as if she was still regretting the previous night. The atmosphere in the other cars just seemed peaceful, and there was even a man who'd fallen asleep leaning against the window. Blair continued on through and eventually found herself at the bar, which looked like it was just beginning to get lively now that the day was slipping into late afternoon. She took a seat on her own, two seats away from a couple of women who were talking to each other in hushed tones in French and one seat away from a man of around her age with dark hair and brown eyes who appeared to be staring at his glass of beer. She could tell almost immediately from his choice of clothing that he wasn't European, and she had a strong suspicion he might be American.

Before she'd even had the chance to order herself a drink, Blair heard an all-too familiar noise and for a brief moment she was worried that the sound had just been etched into her brain from the repeated exposure she'd had from it only a few minutes ago. It turned out, however, that much to her distaste the mother with the screaming baby had in fact followed after her and was now making her way past the bar with her baby still screaming at the top of its lungs. Blair rolled her eyes and took a deep breath but thankfully, just as she found herself seriously contemplating asking around to see if anyone had a pair of earplugs, the woman walked through the other door of the car and continued on her way. It seemed as though she was just passing by.

"Some people really shouldn't procreate," she muttered, shaking her head slightly. She was a little surprised to hear the sound of a chuckle and turned her head as she realised it had come from the man sitting next to her, who was no longer staring at his drink.

"I think that statement might raise a few eyebrows," he commented, glancing up at her with a small smile on his face. He accent gave away that he was most definitely as American as she had suspected.

"That doesn't make it any less true," Blair responded bluntly, "The world population really doesn't need to keep growing and parents who have no idea what they're doing really shouldn't be helping it along."

"Well, over here things aren't so bad," the man pointed out, "Doesn't Germany have a negative population growth or something? And France I'm sure is growing a lot more slowly than the United States."

"Well, we have a lot less space over here," Blair noted, tilting her head at him, "Although in the United States it might also help matters if there weren't people in government waging war on women's reproductive rights."

"I sometimes wonder if some people in government don't feel it's their job to wage war on the wrong things," he commented, earning him a smile from Blair. His eyes remained on her as she turned away from him and towards the bartender to order herself a drink.

"I'm no expert, but that sounded pretty fluent for an American," he spoke up again before extending his hand towards her, "I'm Dan, by the way. Dan Humphrey."

"I've had a lot of practice," Blair responded, smiling again. She reached out and firmly shook the hand that had been offered to her as she added, "I'm Blair. So what brings you to Europe, Dan Humphrey?"

"Oh, you know, the usual story. Mostly looking just for inspiration. Secretly hoping that I'll 'find myself'...whatever that means," Dan replied with a wry smile of his own, "I'm actually coming from Rome. I had some...stuff going on in my life and my dad decided that the perfect antidote would be to visit Europe for the first time, so he got me the plane tickets for my birthday. How about you?"

"I'm on my way home. I live in Paris," Blair explained, "But my dad also has a house near Lyon and I just needed to get away for a little while. I guess I was looking for some inspiration myself." She paused for a moment before raising her eyebrows at him and asking, "So...who's the girl?"

Dan let out a gentle laugh. "How did you know?" he questioned.

"I just had a hunch," Blair responded with a grin, "What happened? Did she break up with you?"

"Sort of," Dan admitted, "We'd been dating since we were sixteen, but there just wasn't...I don't know. We'd been best friends since we were little before we started dating, and I guess after we got together I never really felt that spark I'd expected to feel. I kept trying to tell myself that I was in a stable relationship with someone I cared about and that everything was fine, but I guess I didn't want to admit I wanted more than that. Then I got into college and we were living in different places and we tried the whole long-distance thing but...I guess she wanted more too because when I tried to surprise her one weekend I ended up finding her with someone else."

"Wow," Blair commented, having raised her eyebrows again at Dan's story, "I, um...I actually dated someone for a long time who I'd known since I was a kid, too, and I found out – eventually – that he cheated on me with my best friend, who by that time had moved away and I never ended up speaking to again. At the time I didn't want to admit it, but now when I look back I think there was definitely something missing. I don't know...I have all these different thoughts about what love should be, but I definitely think it has to be based on a lot more than just having grown up together. Then I look at the example I've had from my parents – divorced, both happy but not with each other – and wonder if I know anything about love at all."

"Tell me about it. My dad's divorced and since my mom he's never really had any serious relationships, but there's this one woman he sometimes talks about," Dan said, leaning in ever so slightly closer to Blair, "He met her back in the days when he was in a band and it's like he's never been able to forget her. I mean, mostly I think it's a shame because obviously they never ended up together, but there's this part of me that kind of hopes that I'll love like that someday. And if I don't, I think I'll have really missed out on something. I don't know if that even makes any sense."

"I think it does. But I don't know if I believe everyone gets to experience that kind of love," Blair mused. Her drink had arrived and she was sipping on it elegantly as she continued to speak. "I think few people are lucky enough to have that happen to them, and even fewer get the opportunity to actually spend their lives with the person they feel that way about," she continued, "I always try to believe in the possibility of it and it is a big world, but if in our lives we only meet a small fraction of all the people out there, how likely are you to meet someone who you have a connection with? Whose flaws you can live with and who can live with all your flaws? I figure that at my age at least I'm lucky to have time on my side."

It took both of the two people sitting together at the bar a good few seconds before they realised an announcement was being made on the train, and they both fell silent to listen. Dan didn't know all that much French, but he was able to distinguish the word 'Paris' and could deduce that they were being told they were approaching the destination of the train.

"I didn't realise we were so close," he commented as the announcement finished, his mouth twisting slightly.

"Neither did I," Blair admitted quietly. A pause lingered between them for a moment before she ventured, "So are you staying for a little while in Paris?"

"Not really. I have a flight late tonight," Dan explained, "It was cheaper to get the train and fly from Paris for some insane reason, so I thought I'd make the most of it and do a little sightseeing for a few hours before I went home."

"Good luck with that. You can't possibly appreciate Paris in only a few hours," Blair said, shaking her head derisively. She finished off the last of her drink and slowly put the glass back down on the bar before glancing at Dan. "I guess I should go back to my seat and get my things," she commented, standing up from her seat.

"Of course," Dan replied, meeting Blair's eyes for a moment as he admitted in an almost surprised tone, "It was...really good talking to you, Blair."

"You too," Blair admitted, sounding equally surprised, "Goodbye, Dan." Her gaze lingered on his for a few seconds longer before she forced herself to turn away and headed in the direction of the door between carriages.

The screaming baby from before seemed to have disappeared elsewhere and was gone completely from Blair's mind as she made her way back to First Class. Instead, all while making her way through the train and even as she took her bag from where she'd stored it and double-checked to make sure she had everything, she found herself thinking back to the guy at the bar. She wasn't even entirely sure how they'd even ended up talking in the first place, but even stranger to her was the feeling of wishing that the conversation had never ended.

It wasn't very long before the train was pulling up at Gare de Lyon in Paris, France, and Blair's high heels were stepping down onto the crowded platform. All around her parents were embracing their children and lovers were embracing their significant others, while Blair stood alone clutching her suitcase and debating whether to call her father or get a cab home. Her gaze ended up drifting to the people still emerging from the train and amidst all of them she caught sight of one particular individual, her lips parting slightly as he also noticed her. He gave her a small, shy wave and a smile and she found herself waving and smiling back seemingly of her own accord. Before she had too much time to think about it, Blair was crossing the platform and making her way towards him. Dan Humphrey, meanwhile, was furrowing his brow at her and looking very confused.

"Hello again," he said, still apparently in slight disbelief, "Is everything OK?"

"Everything's fine. You said you only have a few hours to spend in Paris, right?" Blair questioned, "The only way you're going to see what needs to be seen in this city in that amount of time is with a guide who knows it well."

"That sounds very good to me. Do you happen to know where I can find one?" Dan ventured, raising his eyebrows and smiling at her.

"Hilarious, Humphrey," Blair commented, rolling her eyes at him, "You're lucky I don't have any time commitments for the day. Come on, let's find somewhere to store our luggage for now."

Dan opened his mouth to say something, but he was having trouble finding the right words and instead settled for offering his hand to carry her bag for her. He had already been preparing himself to write off Blair as the enigmatic girl on the train he'd had an all too short conversation with and never seen again, but all of a sudden she had returned to his reality and was offering to show him around Paris. It was the kind of thing that only occurred in movies and novels, and decidedly not the kind of thing that occurred in the life of Dan Humphrey of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. Blair seemed to know where she was going so for the moment he thought it best to just follow after her, still looking as if he wasn't entirely sure what had just happened.