March, 2018

A pink plus sign.

Serena couldn't tell if her tears were tears of joy, or tears of worry. They hadn't talked about kids, not seriously anyway. The only time it came up was during pillow talk, or wishful thinking, or the one time it slipped out and she said "someday when I'm a mom…" and Dan teased her and they laughed and her cheeks flushed red because she didn't mean to say that out loud. But then again, they'd never talked about not having kids. She knew Dan would make the best dad, a little overprotective, but she loved him for that.

She stood in the bathroom lost in thought, when she heard the front door open and the sound of footsteps on the loft floor.

"Serena, babe, I'm home," Dan called. It was pretty quiet, he thought to himself. Normally Serena was blasting music or watching television, or was on the phone with Blair giggling like two teenagers.

Serena was frozen in the bathroom, suddenly not sure of where to go or what to do. She grabbed the pregnancy test and decided to tell Dan. She knew that if she didn't do it now, she never would. She opened the door to walk into the kitchen but bumped into Dan, immediately colliding with him.

Dan laughed slightly when she bumped into him, but he noticed that she tensed up a bit. "Hey, did I scare you?" He asked laughing as he pecked her on the lips.

"What? Oh, no. You didn't sorry I'm just um gonna go to the kitchen and start on dinner" Damn it she cursed herself as she made her way to the kitchen. She knew she wouldn't be brave enough to tell him.

"Since when do you cook?" Dan asked teasingly as he followed her to the kitchen. Something was going on, and he was going to find out. But if there was one thing he knew about Serena, it was that she wouldn't open up to him if she felt ambushed.

"Since today", Serena answered quickly. She opened a couple of cupboards but she didn't even know where Dan kept the cooking supplies, seeing as he was the only one of them who knew how to cook.

Dan watched her, concerned yet amused. "Are you okay?" he decided to finally ask. "You're kind of scaring me right now".

Serena turned to face him and took a deep breath, "I have to talk to you". She fiddled with her hands, a nervous habit of hers.

"Okay," Dan grabbed her hand and led her over to the couch and waited patiently for her to speak.

His hand on her leg was reassuring so she decided to just say it, even though she was scared, "I'm pregnant" she said, showing him the positive test. But before he had a chance to answer, she kept talking, "I'm so sorry, I know this wasn't planned and we've only been married for a few months, just please don't leave me I cant do this on my own-"

"Wait, seriously?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," she said timidly.

"That's great! Why would I be mad? This is amazing!" He moved his hand to her waist and kissed her hard.

"Serena pulled away slightly, "you're not mad?"

"Of course not, I'm excited and I hope you are too," Dan said, his eyes showing his honesty.

"Yeah," she nodded smiling slightly "I am". Her smile grew bigger and she laughed a bit.

"We're gonna be parents!" Dan said excitedly. "We have to buy a crib and-oh I read that you should play classical music when they're in your stomach and-" He was interrupted by Serena placing a kiss on his lips.

"You need to stop rambling, and kiss me" she said and placed her lips back on his.

Dan smiled, "gladly." He leaned in farther to the kiss and pushed her back slightly so she was lying under him. Her hands found his hair and they spent the rest of their night and half the morning in that position.

December, 2018

They stared in wonder at the little girl wrapped in pink that was theirs. Her navy blue eyes were framed with dark black lashes and her head had just the tiniest bit of blonde fuzz on top.

"Welcome to the world Brooklyn Lily Humphrey" Serena cooed to her baby girl. She looked up at Dan who was sitting on the edge of her hospital bed, he couldn't take his eyes off his baby girl, and she placed a soft kiss on his jaw and gazed up at him with nothing but love in her eyes.

"We made this, we made a person. A real, living, breathing person" he said with such wonder in his voice.

She giggled a bit at his amazement, "I know, it's amazing".

Dan looked down at her, and their baby "you're amazing, I love you so much".

Her heart swelled and she replied with a simple "love you too" because she knew she'd cry if she said more.

September, 2024

Serena was kneeled down to her daughters level, "Okay, so you're sure you have everything, your lunch? Your books?"

Brooke laughed, a laugh that was identical to her mothers, "Yes Mommy, I'm positive, I'm completely ready for my first day of school!" Her golden blonde hair fell to the middle of her back and blew in the wind.

Serena let go of her daughters hand and stood up slowly, "Okay, have fun at school, I'll miss you" she grabbed Dan's hand for moral support.

"I'll miss you too Mommy, but don't be sad" Brooke said, frowning slightly.

"Don't worry about me, its just hard for Mommy's to say bye to their babies on their first day of school, but I'll be okay," she said, offering her a smile.

This response made Brooke smile, relieved that her mom wasn't too sad.

Dan stepped in, "Have fun at school honey, I know you're going to be smarter than all of the kids there". He ruffled her hair a bit and smiled down at her.

Brooke giggled. "Thanks Daddy". Her smile was genuine and excited when she smiled brightly up at him.

They waved goodbye and Serena hugged her one last time when Brooke spoke again, "Wait! I have to say bye to my baby brother and sister too!" She said running toward her parents.

Serena laughed and knelt down to allow Brooke to have easier access to her stomach.

Brooke leaned in and whispered to her mother's stomach, "Bye babies, be good for mommy and daddy okay? I love you guys. Bye bye" She patted Serena's stomach and gave them a big wave and then ran off into school.

Dan spoke up, "that was quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot of cute things. I mean, I'm married to you, and a parent to the cutest little girl in the world, but that moment topped them all."

Serena smiled and blushed slightly, she then hugged him tight. Her hands knotted around his lower back and her cheek instinctively found his shoulder. She lifted her head up for a moment to whisper, "I love you, so much. You're a great dad and an even greater husband".

He was kind of shocked by her sudden declaration of love, but he held her and together they walked home, hand in hand, ready to take on whatever the world threw at them.