A/N - After all this lack of DS in recent episodes, I couldn't help but think what would've happened if Serena had found Dan when he was tied up to the column at Yale. So here are my thoughts. Thanks to Luli for pushing me to do it :) and everyone else at FF who read and encouraged etc!

Just a one-shot at this stage, but reviews are very powerful things!

Walking back through the college, ready to catch a cab to her hotel, Serena recognized the small near-naked frame tied to the column instantly. His head was down, leaning against the marble of the pole, but she didn't need to see his face to know who it was.

She hesitated as to whether she should go over. They hadn't talked in weeks now and she wasn't sure that approaching him chained to a pole on their potential college campus, in his underwear no less, was the least awkward place to start. Thinking it was best to wait until they were at least back in the city for their first encounter since the bar, her strides became longer and more certain as she continued walking along the walkway.

Suddenly the image of him left behind her, tied to the pole made her turn on her Louboutin stilettos and shake her head to herself. Maybe they were no longer together, and maybe they were trying to take some time apart, but could she really leave the one she had loved, and maybe still loved, tied to a pole in the middle of Yale at 10:00 at night?

As she got closer, the familiar pattern on the boxer shorts made her smile to herself. She didn't want to shout out his name and embarrass him, so waiting until she was just over a meter away from him to make her presence known.

"Hey"

The soft, friendly tone of her voice made him jump a little, instantly jerking his head up to see her standing their in all her beauty. The dress she was wearing hugged her flawless body and showed off parts of her that Dan still wished were for his eyes only. Her hair looked dishevelled and eyes glassy, her eye makeup not as perfect as it usually was.

The stone of the column had left a red line across Dan's forehead where he had obviously been leaning on it for some time. His mouth was agape at her standing in front of him, his eyes wide open, so relieved, yet so embarrassed to see her.

"I uh… this… it's worse than it looks, really" he stuttered.

"How long have you been standing here like this, Dan?" The concern in her voice warmed his heart.

"I'm ah… I'm not exactly sure, but long enough, that I know."

Without responding, Serena took a step forward and turned all her attention to the knot that had him bound there. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and bottom lip pouting out a little, she lifted his hands to figure out how they had been tied.

The contact of her delicate fingers on his hands sent a shiver down his spine, as he reluctantly told her "don't worry. Really, I'll get someone to help, it's fine. You've probably got somewhere to be, I just… don't worry, Serena."

She looked up at him with that sweet disbelieving face he loved.

"Are you kidding? Dan, you're tied to a pole, in the middle of Yale, in your boxer shorts. You think I'm just gonna run along home?"

The rush of embarrassment ran through him at the words "boxer shorts". He felt his face heat up as he looked down to check his boxers were, in fact, still in tact. Sensing his embarrassment, she took her eyes of his body which she wished she could stare at all day, and focussed once again on the knotted rope.

"Let's just get you out of here," she said matter-of-factly, still not looking at him.

"Thanks."

He whispered without meaning to, relaxing when she turned her face to nod and smile at him.

After a minute or two of quiet, Serena tackling the knot as best she could, and Dan trying hard not to stare at her adorable concentrating face as she did so, Serena decided to break the silence.

"So do you want to tell me how you ended up like this? Orrr…"

He couldn't help laughing. And she was glad, because it lightened the mood and made it okay for her to chuckle out loud at how cute he looked in his little spotty blue boxers, his bare feet going up on tip toes every now and again to see how she was going with the knot.

"Funny story actually. If you hadn't already heard, my name is Nate Archibald this weekend,"

The smile on his face was so contagious, and Serena raised her eyebrows in interest.

"and turns out his dad screwed some of these Secret Society boys over, or their dads over, so the trust fund brats lost their house in the Hamptons or whatever, and so Chuck told them they could have me, well Nate, but I am Nate, so they got me, and well I guess that's how I ended up like this!"

Serena laughed at Dan's rambling explanation.

"That's horrible, I'm so sorry, I just…" Her sentence was punctuated with giggles, which brought a beaming smile to Dan's face. Noticing that, he tried to remember if he had smiled so genuinely like that since him and Serena had ended it. The picture that kept coming to mind was them playing and joking flirtatiously in and outside the elevator at Blair's party. Definitely not since they broke up.

"Okay can you just quit laughing and detach me from this stupid pole already?" Dan joked, making Serena laugh even harder.

Secretly though, Serena didn't want to finish untying the knot. Sure she felt bad for him, and didn't really like the idea of everyone walking past seeing Dan in just his boxers, but she kept thinking what happens when I finish untying him. Is that it? Do I just have to walk away and we just pretend it never happened? Or do I take him to wherever he's staying to get some clothes? Or can we hang out, go get ice cream or something? Unfortunately she couldn't pretend anymore, though. The rope fell loose and he was freed.

"Done!" she smiled as he pulled his hands back and shook them a little in front of himself.

"Wow it's funny how weird it feels having hands I can do whatever I want with!" Dan exclaimed, soon realising how silly his comment when Serena chuckled at it.

"Okay that sounded funny, I just mean it's funny how you don't appreciate what you have, and then when it's gone, you…"

His voice faded along with her laugh as they both interpreted an alternate meaning from what Dan had said. After her emerald orbs stared into his chocolate ones for a few seconds, she looked down and bit her lip, her hands clasped in front of her. Dan looked away also, bringing a hand to his chin and rubbing it.

"I should let you get back to your hotel. It's late, and dark. I'm sorry to have bothered you. But thank you, really, for helping."

She shook her head "no, no it's fine. Really. Are you sure you're right to get home though? Where are you staying? Maybe I should walk to get a cab with you, I mean you're not exactly wearing clothes!"

Delighted that Serena had lightened the mood again, Dan smiled.

"That's true. That would be… nice, thanks."

When they finally got a cab, Serena instructed the driver to take them to Dan's hotel first, he was wearing only boxer shorts after all.

"Are you sure? I mean I can…"

"What are you doing tonight?" She spoke quickly as she cut him off mid-sentence.

Flustered, Dan blinked rapidly. "Wha... wha… t-tonight?"

Not knowing if she should be doing this, and worried that she was completely freaking him out and crossing the line, Serena looked down at the cluth in her lap as she continued.

"Well I mean we're both here, in New Haven, going home to our hotels at 10.30, I just thought maybe… I dunno… nothing, nothing. I'm sorry that was stupid of me I shouldn't have –"

"No, wait. Nothing. I'm doing nothing. Did you want to, I don't know, get a drink or something?"

The butterflies in her stomach fluttering as if they were about to escape told her the answer to his question. She felt herself smiling as her eyes finally looked up at his and without saying anything, she nodded reassuringly, telling him there was nothing she'd rather be doing.

They got in through the service entrance of Dan's hotel. It wasn't the most expensive place in New Haven but he still didn't feel comfortable entering the lobby in just his boxers. It only took the doorman one look at Serena in that perfect-fitted dress for him to let them in that way. It was Dan's idea, and Serena rolled her eyes initially, but then had fun flirting a little with the old man with Dan watching. The whole elevator ride up they giggled and talked like old friends, both trying to alleviate the memory of their last elevator ride together from their minds.

"Here we are, room 104. Now I'll just get changed if you..."

"Sure. I'll just sit here. Cedric around?" She deadpanned as she asked, but burst into laughter as soon as he broke into a "screw you" kind of smile.

"So not funny, Serena"

"Oh yes it was. Now get changed already I'm starving!"

"Okay okay. Hang on a sec"

Serena placed herself on the bed facing away from where Dan had his bag with all his clothes. However it wasn't until he had obviously decided to change boxers after standing out in the cold in them for hours, that Serena noticed the mirror on her right which showed her everything she wasn't meant to be able to see. Her face flushing at the sight, she remained silent and tried to act calm, pretending she hadn't even realised the mirror was there.

It wasn't until Dan was ready to walk out the door in jeans and a t-shirt and shoes on, that he too noticed the mirror in the corner. Not having a care in the world if she saw him getting changed, Dan casually asked Serena if she was ready, and they walked back downstairs to the street to get another cab.

In the cab they remained silent for minutes on end. It wasn't an awkward silence so much as contemplative. They both sat on either side of the back seat of the cab, thinking hard about what they were doing. It wasn't a date. It was just hanging out. Or was it a date? It wasn't like there'd be anyone else there. But they hadn't planned it or anything. Both of their minds were whirling with questions; excitement and anxiety building up within each of them.

"Are you sure this isn't too weird?" Her voice was shaky and nervous and broke the silence.

"What? No. It…it's just… we're just hanging out, you know? As friends."

"Yeah" her voice was breathy and she felt relief. She sounded more confident as she continued,

"I just didn't want you to feel pressured, or strange, or I dunno…"

"No no no. It's been fun, you know? And I mean what else are we going to do tonight? Sit alone in our hotel rooms all night?"

"Well if it weren't for meee, maybe you wouldn't have even left the college campus by now" Serena cooed.

"True."

Breaking down the nerve barrier that had temporarily been erected in the limo, the two were back to laughter and conversation in no time. They decided to check out the bar at the hotel where Serena was staying. She heard it was nice and neither knew of any other places to go to in New Haven, so that's where they headed.

They walked straight to the bar, Dan being a gentleman and holding the door open for her, naturally. Heads turned at the blonde beauty, the revealing dress like a magnet to the men's eyes.

"Can I help you?" asked the young guy behind the bar.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll… we'll have… Serena? What did you want to drink?"

"Oh, right. Um I'll just have a diet coke, thanks."

"Are you sure? You don't want something uh… you know?"

"What? No, no. Diet coke's fine." She smiled, not wanting to ask for anything mildly alcoholic in front of Dan since she scared him that night at the bar with Amanda.

"Serena, we're not… you know. I'm not your… You can drink whatever you want. Did you want, um I dunno… I think I'm having a beer?"

She smiled at his understanding, trying to accommodate for the Serena he thought could not possibly just order a diet coke. She wanted to say no to sort of prove him wrong, but a tinge of alcohol could help them relax and have fun, she thought.

"Yeah, well it's been a terrible day. I'd love a lychee martini, if that's okay?

Dan smiled as he turned back to the patient barman.

"What she said, with Belvedere, and a Budweiser please."

"Sure."

As Dan saw Serena fumbling around in her purse, he placed his hand gently on her wrist.

"Hey, I got it. Don't worry."

Looking at his hand on her and wishing he would keep it there forever, she smiled as she sighed a little and thanked him, barely any sound coming out as her lips moved.

Taking their drinks, they walked over to a 2-seater table at the front, Serena sitting in the chair facing out the window, Dan on her right on the cushioned seat along the wall.

At the end of Serena's third martini and Dan's fifth beer, they had been sitting for over an hour; chatting, laughing and catching up on each other's lives. They talked literally non-stop about Yale, Blair, Jenny, their parents, school, plans for next year and more.

The alcohol was certainly taking affect. They both just felt more at ease, things were funnier than they probably would have been otherwise, and they said things that they probably wouldn't have otherwise said.

"Shall I get us another?" Dan noticed the lychee sitting lone in the bottom of Serena's glass.

"Why not?" Serena giggled, her hand slightly misjudging where to place the stray blonde lock hanging in her face. Without thinking, Dan leant in and did it for her, causing her to scrunch her nose and pout.

"Those drinks. I'll be right back." Serena turned to watch him walk away, smiling to herself at him, the fun they were having, and the situation she had found him in earlier.

When Dan returned to the table, trying so hard not to spill either of the drinks he was carrying, Serena had taken his place on the cushioned bench.

"Hey, I do believe –" He placed the glasses down on the table as carefully as he could.

"Sorry I'll move back, if you want, it's just –" Serena stood up to allow him back on the chair. Unfortunately the vodka kicked in and she stumbled a little as her foot tripped over the leg of the table.

"No no no no no, it's fine, really, sit back down." Laughing at her clumsiness, Dan absent-mindedly placed one hand on her waist and the other on her arm to instruct her to sit. His touch sent a huge shiver up and down her spine, her hand automatically reaching out to grab his arm. She fell back to the cushioned chair, pulling him down with her. As soon as his behind hit the chair she wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled his face to hers, smashing her lips against his. The taste of the beer on his lips and tongue drove her wild as she closed her eyes and rubbed her leg up against his.

Sitting side by side, their hands were rough and needy, pulling each other into themselves. Dan breathed in deeply to smell her sweet familiar smell, which caused him to duel his tongue with hers even more competitively. He pulled her up and onto him, so she was sitting on his lap, both legs falling in between his. Her arms coiled tightly around his neck, she pushed her thigh up to where she knew he was feeling the most. With that, his hand dropped to her behind, squeezing it as he thanked God their side of the bar was dark and packed with people.

It was hot, messy and fast, and before they knew it, Serena was straddling Dan, her hands sliding up under his shirt. Dan pulled his mouth off hers for a moment to suck at her neck and kiss along her collarbone, her full chest heaving in front of his face. His needs not being able to be fulfilled in the bar, Dan suggested with a whisper

"We should probably get out of here." It was a statement, not a question nor an offer. And his breath was raspy and broken as he said it.

Leaning back to look him in the eyes, she bit her swollen lip and nodded, her hands teasingly pushing down as they rubbed up and down his thighs. Standing up off of him, Serena looked down and smiled as she saw what she had done to him. Leaning back down she kissed his lips, biting on his lower lip and whispering into his mouth "Hurry".

He stood up, and she grabbed her clutch, adjusting her dress and allowing him to take her hand in his. They walked briskly out of the bar and through the grand lobby of Serena's hotel, both so eager to continue what they had started.