Set after the whole Georgina / Baby mystery has been solved due to an Epic smack down by Blair Waldorf. Season 4. Let's say 4x05.
"Like a riot in the heart and nothing can be done. Come ruin or rapture."
Chapter 1 : "You deserve to be with someone who makes you happy."
Gone.
He was gone. Like someone just cut him out of his life leaving behind a big fat hole that could not be filled again.
And he felt... so lost... and angry and confused and disappointed and relieved and so many things he couldn't even find the right words to describe them.
Words. He used to feel so comfortable with them, they used to be his friends.
Now. Righ now. Words fail him.
He used to look at words and find a new meaning in them every day. Now all the words just seem dull and worn out. People have used those words too often and now they all lost their meaning somehow.
Dan closes his eyes for a moment, resting his head on his hands. He is sitting on the floor of his room, his back resting at the end of his bed.
Merely a few hours have passed since Blair's epic take down of Georgina Sparks.
She had not only revealed that Georgina was hunted by the Russian Mufia for various reasons, one of them being her continuing addiction to cocaine...
No Blair had also revealed something else entirely. Something life-changing.
She had revealed that Dan Humprey jr. wasn't really Dan Humphrey jr.
He was some Vladimir -he didn't even remember the last name of- jr.
Maybe he was better off being russian.
Maybe he would be the next Dostoevsky or Tolstoi.
This was probably even better for him then being the next Hemingway, all bitter and sad. Or Scott Fitzgerald. Alcohol abuse. Depressions.
Maybe he would be the one to revive the russian literature.
Maybe one day without knowing he -Dan- would walk into a book store and find the book of Dimitri whatsoever on the top shelf.
He would buy it, and at first he wouldn't realize, he would turn the pages, soaking up every word like water after a long period of drought.
He would feel inspired and different and everything.
And then he'd know.
That this was the book of his son.
Only he wasn't his son.
He had held this little life in his hands, looked into the brown eyes and it had been like he never knew himself until right then. Looking into the babies eyes just made everything clear.
It had -
Knock, knock.
He turns his head and sees Blair standing at his doorstep, holding a cabbage patch doll in her hand. Blair fucking Waldorf, her brown hair falling in slick brown curls on her shoulders. She had changed since he had seen her this morning. She wore a rather simple blue dress and black tights, white pearls clung around her neck.
She looked as stunning as ever.
She smiles the smile that is so Blair. The smile that tries to hide how nervous or uncomfortable she is but she never suceeds, because her eyes always betray her.
She holds up the doll, the smile crumbling at his lack of words.
"I thought Cedric might need some company."
She smiles again and this time it's honest and warm and Dan feels like he was a little boy again, lying in bed being sick and his mom is bringing him his favourite candy.
He doesn't even realise he hasn't said a word to her, until there is quiver in her leg, showing that she hates standing still on High Heels.
Blair is watching him warily.
She would find his misery adorable if it wasn't so sad.
And yes, a little bit pathetic.
But she isn't gonna say that.
Because god knows how many times she has said the most pathetic things with Dan Humphrey around and he never judged her. Or at least he didn't show it.
She feels like such an idiot now for actually asking and taking his advice on matters with Chuck. He had been so nice and kind to her, he had listened to her and genuinely tried to help.
And let's be honest there haven't been a lot of people in her life like that.
Dan. It is quite adorable, how he is sitting there in his denim jeans, and the plaid shirt he has worn all day, arms crossed like a little boy who is angry with his mother's punishment.
And the expression on his face... so sad and vulnerable.
She has never seen him this way.
And though they are not nearly close friends she felt like she has already seen a lot of Dan Humphrey.
Maybe too much.
He is a part of her life. And he had been there for her when things had been rough. Now it was on Blair to return the favour.
She believes she knows how he feels.
Suddenly there is this someone who wants to be a part of your life and you're not even sure if you want this person in your life. Is it the right time? And suddenly you don't have a choice anymore because you love this someone so much and you want to keep him in your life forever.
Then one dayl life breaks you apart and there is nothing you can do about it. Nothing at all.
Slowly she moves and places Audrey next to Cedric in the shelf.
She tenderly touches Cedric's head as though he would be in need of comfort too.
She slips out of her high heels and slowly sits down next to Dan.
Blair doesn't really know what to say. She could say something epic. But right now is just not the time to epic.
She doesn't know why she feels so comfortable being that close to him and she realizes, that she has never been this close before.
"You got to see the good side of this whole debacle, Humphrey. At least you didn't help Satan breed."
It escapes her lips before she can even really think about it. She looks at him, wary, hoping she didn't upset him.
She smiles at the little laugh that escapes his lips.
"I guess.", he says then, staring at the wall before him.
"Also, if you managed to somehow inherit him your talent he is probably better off in Russia.
Maybe he will even revive the russian literature.
Just imagine him being the next Hemingway all bitter and sad.
Or Fitzgerald, totally in love this girl but can't marry her because her family doesn't approve. He works his ass off, becomes famous and marries her. Thing is, she went a little crazy. She sleeps around..."
She stops for a moment. This story sounds familiar. It was like ... But NO. She shakes her head and skips the rest of the story.
"You know what the best part is though ? Zelda Fitzgerald spread the rumour that Hemingway and her husband were having an affair. You wouldn't want this for the child that has been your son for a couple of weeks, right?"
And suddenly he bursts out with laughter and he laughs so hard like she never heard anyone laugh before.
His laughter is infectious and soon she is laughing too.
She knows her comment was witty and somewhat funny, but that's not why she is laughing. It is because he is laughing.
Dan isn't laughing because she finds her funny either.
Though it ultimately would have been funny if he wasn't so depressed.
It is because it amazes him how alike they are when usually thinking the worst of each other.
She put into words exactly what he was thinking, like she knows him inside out.
Like she knows him better than Vanessa or his dad ... or -and it pains to even think it-, Serena.
None of them would have made the connection he made in his head. None of them. But she did.
He laughs because this is probably the most absurd sequence of his life.
Dan Humphrey and Blair Waldorf hanging out in Brooklyn, sharing a good laugh only a few hours after Blair revealed that his son really hadn't been his son. A child, that he has been taking care of for about 2 months. The child's mother being Georgina Sparks, one of the biggest psycho bitches the Upper East Side has ever seen.
And he is sad and depressed and needs a friend. And the one person he never expected to show up, is sitting by his side trying to make the pain less. At first he thought she might be feeling guilty, but that's not why she came. Blair Waldorf doesn't feel guilty.
There might have been one time or the other where she had been one of his least favourite persons in the world.
It simply doesn't matter now though.
She is there, next to him.
And Dan is glad it's her. He would be pissed if Vanessa or Nate or Rufus were sitting next to him right now and tell him how sorry they are or how he is better off this way having no more responsibilities, that he was too young anyway. Making a sad face as though pretending to be as sad as him would make it better.
Because it doesn't.
Some people would probably be hurt or irritated if someone made jokes about their misery, but this is Blair and it is their thing and that makes it all okay.
They are still in their post laughter, cheeks red, breathing heavily phase, when Blair turns her head towards him.
"What a pretty carriage." She muses with an ironic smile on her lips.
She does not even know why she said that out loud, but she can't help it.
He smiles back at her. "Everytime I see you, you happen to be all over again. Ellen, you might be the most honest woman I've ever met."
Of course both of them still know their lines perfectly. They are Dan and Blair. The biggest geeks Constance Billard has ever seen.
"Oh no!", she bursts out theatrically, "But one of the least fuzzy."
"We did an awesome acting job, didn't we?", Dan says and she knows he means it. And he is right, they did.
"Yes we did. I can't believe there weren't any offers."
She is joking of course and maybe even a little flirtatious. She just can't help it. It comes so naturally when she is around him and for once in her life she doesn't have to prove anything anymore. Or be a total bitch to gain respect. Or pretend she totally hates his guts.
Because she doesn't.
At all. She likes him. More than she would ever admit to, and still she can't deny it.
She likes that he read all of her favourite books and watched all of her favourite movies . She likes that he loves them just as much as she does.
Of course they never really talked about this.
But she knows.
"It probably would have helped if you didn't try to kill me during our hot make out session."
Blair remembers that very absurd day, where she was seeking revenge on basically everyone. She laughs again.
What she cannot remember is the last time a boy has made her laugh so much or the last time she didn't feel like her heart would drown in sorrow.
She is enjoying herself. Probably more than she should.
Their arms brush and she feels her skin tickling with joy. It feels good to be around him and it is so easy.
No angst, no drama, no games, no complications. Just hanging out.
They don't say anything for quite a while. Blair closes her eyes and listens to her heart beating in her chest.
She remembers the last time she has been here. She had supposedly come by to visit Dan and the baby with Serena but actually wanted to take closer look at Georgina's new life. No one even asked her to. But she felt that Dan deserved better than Satan and so she started her investigations.
And now they were sitting here.
Georgina gone.
Baby gone.
"I'm starving.", Dan mumbled all of a sudden and Blair turned her face towards him.
"Me too.", she admitted while blushing a little at his intense gaze.
Dan moves to get up and then offers her his hand.
"In that case, I really do hope some pretty carriage will bring us something decent to eat."
She hesistates for a moment, then she takes his hand. and gets up on her feet.
Dan's eyes travel across the room for a while, his gaze meets Cedric and Audrey.
"What's your cabbage patch's name anyway?", he asks bemused and points at the two charming dolls.
Blair is rolling her eyes cause he is missing something so obvious.
"You have three guesses."
He narrows his eyes at her wicked smile.
"I will need something in my stomach first. What do I get if I guess right?"
Her smiles become mocking.
"That's a surprise."
Dan reaches to grab the phone to dial the same old number he always calls when he is too lazy to cook.
All the while he is talking to the woman on the phone, he watches Blair walking around in his appartment, taking in every detail.
He still can't believe she is really here. Or that they get along so well. Or that he is ordering dinner for them now.
Or that actually she both ruined and fixed his life in one day.
Today.
"OMG Humphrey! You have an original copy of "Play it as it lays" by Joan Didion! I can't believe this!" She sounds somewhere in between laughter and fury.
Dan puts away the phone, grinning from ear to ear.
It's time to tease the Waldorf.