Summary: Blair Waldorf and Dan Humphrey come back from Yale. Nothing can come between them now, their in love. But how will New York change them?

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeiger (sp?) and The CW.

A/N: I just though of this today. I hope you all enjoy it!

Blair looked out the window. Her native New York City was coming into view. A smile grew on her face. It really had been too long. She looked beside her at a sleeping Dan Humphrey. She gently stroked his cheek, causing him to wake up. His eyes opened slowly, but in a matter of seconds he was up.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice still dripped tiredness.

"We're almost there. I can already see the city." Blair said, beaming.

Dan smiled at her. He grabbed her hand and gave it a small kiss. She smiled at him. Neither one looking away from the other.

Their relationship surprised even them at times. If someone had told them before they went off to Yale that they would be dating by the end of freshmen year, well both of them would have called that person crazy. But yet here they were, sitting on a first-class flight back to New York, holding hands.

They had actually started out as friends. They had spent so much time in the English department together that they couldn't get away from each other. And then things started to heat up and before either one of them knew it, they were having sex in the library. And then things started to build from there.

For the most part, their relationship had been kept private. There was no "Gossip Girl" stalker at Yale, so life with out that cyber bitch had been great. The only people that knew about their relationship were their friends at Yale and their families.

They felt the plane descended and pretty soon they had landed. They grabbed their carryon bags and exited the plane. They walked through the airport, towards the luggage carousel. After grabbing their suitcases, they walked outside. Blair had arranged for a limo to pick them up. The limo driver grabbed their suitcases and put them in the trunk, as Blair and Dan sat down in the limo.

Their hands were linked as they drove towards the city. Blair got more and more excited as the familiar sights and sounds of the city surrounded her. Dan looked as ecstatic as she did. The limo stopped a short while later. Dan looked out the window. They were on the Upper West Side. What where they doing there? He looked at Blair and gave her a confused look. She giggled.

"I'm going to go see Serena and catch up. Could you make sure my stuff gets back to my mother's penthouse?" she asked.

"Sure. Have fun with Serena." Dan told her.

"I will." Blair said as she closed the limo door.

She watched as the limo drove away. Once it was out of sight, she turned around and faced the large apartment building in front of her. She took a deep breath before entering through the front doors. She walked into the elevator. She pressed the button for the penthouse suite.

She had called Dorota a few weeks back and asked her to get information of where Serena lived. And Dorota had done so. It was like having her own Hungarian private eye. The elevator reached the penthouse floor. Blair exited the elevator and made her way to the front door.

She took a deep breath before knocking on the mahogany wood. She waited patiently. She heard footsteps on the other side of the door. The doorknob started to move and pretty soon the door flew open, showing a still beautiful Serena van der Woodsen. She looked at Blair, but didn't say anything. Blair smiled.

"Hey Serena." she said, holding out her arms hoping for a hug.

Serena, however, wasn't so happy. She raised an eyebrow at Blair.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Blair was taken aback. What was with Serena today? Maybe she's just a bit tired. After all her acting career is just taking off, Blair tried to convince herself.

"I came to visit you. Isn't that what friends do? They visit each other." Blair said, hoping to get on Serena's good side.

"Well, friends don't do shitty things like you do." Serena responded.

"Excuse me?"

"I know about you and Dan. Did you honestly think you would be able to hide it from everyone? Blair, I don't know why you're here and I frankly don't care. I don't need a friend like you in my life." Serena said coldly.

Blair looked at her 'best friend'. What happened to usually bubbly Serena? When did she become a bitch? Blair composed herself. She put her game face on.

"I don't know what I did to be greeted with such a cold welcome." Blair said.

"It wasn't a welcome."

"Guess fame changed you. But I'm not surprised. You have no backbone in you, so you let whatever come at you, take over you." Blair told her.

Serena's eyes became colder. She crossed her arms and stepped closer towards Blair. She towered over the petite brunette.

"You bitch. You man stealing, useless bitch!" Serena screeched at Blair.

"Man stealing? I wasn't the one that fucked my best friend's boyfriend." Blair said, her temper starting to soar.

"That was years ago. Besides, at least I didn't love Chuck Bass. Now that's something to be ashamed of." Serena said.

The Van der Woodsen-Bass marriage hadn't lasted long and it was over mid Senior year. Bart had been caught cheating with a young secretary of his. Things between the Basses and the Van der Woodsen's were never the same again.

"Why did I even come here? I should have known you were still self-centered." Blair said.

"You are the queen on mistakes."

"That would be you."

"Just leave Blair. Have fun with Dan and leave me alone. I don't need a bitch like you in my life." Serena said, glaring at her former best friend.

"I'm leaving. I don't sit waiting around in trashy apartment buildings for future C-listers." Blair said as she turned away.

She walked into the elevator and quickly pressed the button for the ground floor. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She grabbed a handkerchief from her purse and carefully dabbed her eyes, so her makeup wouldn't be ruined. The elevator doors opened, and Blair walked out. She shoved her handkerchief into her purse. She walked out onto the street and hailed herself a cab. She got in,

"Where to miss?" the cab driver asked.

"The park." she said as she buckled her seatbelt.

The taxi started to drive towards the famous park. Blair sat quietly. She looked at the passing buildings through the window. They arrived at the park a short time later. Blair got out a few dollar bills and passed them to the driver before leaving the cab. She entered the park. She smiled. The memories of New York coming back to her.

She walked past the fountains, the playgrounds and the zoo. She found herself a park bench and sat on it. Taking in the feeling of being back in the city. Back home.

"Blair?" she heard a familiar voice call to her.

She looked up and saw none other than Chuck Bass looking at her. She smiled. She had missed him. He smiled back at her. He started to walk towards her. She got up from the bench.

"Chuck, it's great to see you." she said.

They hugged and separated. He couldn't stop smiling. He didn't know why. It was as if this energy had taken over his body and made him feel invincible.

Blair couldn't stop smiling as well. The butterflies which she hadn't felt in forever, were flying crazily in her stomach. Stop it, Blair. Your with Dan now, she mentally scolded herself. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Chuck. She felt like the eighteen year old girl she had left behind in New York. But now she was twenty two and in a serious relationship. No time for being a kid.

"I heard you went to Yale. That must have been great, going to your dream school and all." Chuck commented.

"Yale was absolutely perfect. It really was a dream come true." Blair replied, her smile never wavered.

"So I'm guessing you've graduated then."

"Yes. Me and Dan are back in the city. We're both English majors." Blair said.

She had thought that she would emphasize that she knew Dan. She also thought that saying Dan out loud would remind her over her relationship. Dammit, why was it with Chuck she would forget everything in the world?

"Dan Humphrey?" Chuck asked in disbelief.

"Yes. We've actually been dating since freshmen year. I'm in a really happy place right now." Blair said, trying to get through her.

She was in a happy place now, but sometimes she had to convince herself that. Sure she loved Dan. She loved Dan. But what was with Chuck. He always had that effect on her. She wanted to kill him.

"Well congratulations, Blair. Happiness is something hard to come by." Chuck said.

"Thank you, Chuck." Blair said sweetly.

Chuck looked at his watch. It was a quarter to four.

"Look, I have to go. A business meeting." Chuck said.

"Wow, Chuck Bass the business man." Blair teased.

"I know, hard to believe." Chuck said with a laugh.

"Well, I guess you better be on your way." Blair said.

"Yeah. It was nice seeing you again. It really was." he said.

"Yeah, it was." Blair said, smiling.

Chuck turned around and started walking the opposite way. He looked like a male model as he walked away. His suit pressed perfectly. His hair combed just right. His walk was made for the run way. Stop it Blair, Blair's mind kicked in. Blair blinked and shook her head. She had Dan. She had Dan Humphrey. She doesn't want Chuck Bass. She doesn't need Chuck Bass.

"Wait, Blair." she heard him call.

She looked up as he ran towards her. He stopped in front of her.

"How about we do dinner, tomorrow night?" he asked her.

Blair tried to find the words in her mouth, but they couldn't come out. She was speechless. Did Chuck just run to her and ask her out to dinner? She felt the butterflies multiply. She blinked.

"Um, sure. As friends." she said, emphasizing the word friends.

"Yeah, as friends." he said.

"So, yes. Tomorrow night. Dinner." she said.

Chuck smiled and waved to her before he left. Blair smiled. Dinner with an old friend. What could possibly go wrong. She heard her phone's ring tone. She took it out and looked at the caller ID. She smiled. It was Dan. She put the phone up to her ear.

"Hey, sweetie." she said sweetly.

"Hey. So, we're still on for tonight, right?" Dan asked on the other end.

"Tonight?" Blair asked.

"Dinner. Remember?"

"Oh yeah." Blair lied. How could she have forgotten?

"I knew you would. So how did things go with Serena?" he asked.

"Awful. She's become a twenty-four seven, PMSing bitch. Well from what I gathered in the three minutes I spent with her." Blair informed him.

"Maybe she's having a bad day." Dan suggested, trying to make her feel better.

"No, I think she's angry. Who cares though. She's just one person in the city of millions." Blair said, although the sadness in her voice was easily detected.

"Don't worry. Dinner tonight will cheer you up." Dan said.

"I know." Blair said, smiling.

"Bye Blair."

"Bye Dan."

"I love you."

"Love you too." Blair said before hanging up.

Now all she had to do was go home and change for dinner. She walked through the park some more. She loved being back. God, she had missed the city.

Dan shoved his phone back in his pocket. He loved hearing her voice. He loved her. He was sitting in the kitchen at his dad's loft. His father walked into the kitchen.

"My son, the Yale graduate." Rufus beamed.

"Dad, you've been saying that every five minutes for the past half hour. Why don't you just write a song about it already." Dan said sarcastically.

"Can't I be proud of my son?" Rufus said, grabbing a glass from one of the cupboards.

"Well, yes, but can't you do it in a subtle way?"

"Like how?"

Dan sighed. His father sometimes reminded him a little brother. Something he never wanted. Dan sat nervously at the table. He played with his hands. Rufus looked at his son.

"Something wrong?" he asked, pouring himself some orange juice.

"No, just nervous." Dan said.

"What do you have to be nervous about?"

Dan grabbed the small box from his pocket and placed it on the table. Rufus's eyes widened and glass of orange juice dropped from his hand and shattered on the floor. But he ignored it. He walked towards his son. Dan opened the box and showed his father the ring.

"You're going to propose to Blair?" Rufus asked.

"Yeah, I just love her so much." Dan said.

Rufus picked up the ring from the box. It was an exquisite piece. A silver band with a diamond in the middle and two smaller diamonds on either side.

"Wow." Rufus said looking at the ring.

"You think she'll say yes?"

"I don't think she has a reason to say no."

Dan smiled. He had just needed some reassurance. Rufus put the ring back in it's box. Dan closed the box and put it in his pocket.

"That's a nice ring." Rufus commented.

"I picked the nicest one I could afford. The job at Scholastic is going to help pay off this one." Dan told him.

Rufus placed his hand on Dan's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze before walking away. Dan smiled to himself. He was going to propose to the girl he loved in a matter of hours. He sighed. He needed to calm down before he did. He got up from the table and grabbed his coat. He walked out of the loft.

He walked down to the coffee shop slash art gallery where Vanessa worked and now co-owned. He walked inside and sat down at one of the tables. He saw her writing down food orders. She walked up to his table but didn't look up from her notepad.

"Can I take your order?" she asked.

"Yes, a cup of dark coffee." he said.

She looked up from the notepad and squealed. He laughed and got up from his seat. She hugged him, nearly suffocating. They separated and sat down at the table. Her smile was still huge.

"When did you get back from Yale?" she asked.

"Today, actually."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Vanessa said, playfully smacking him on the arm.

"No need to be a bully, Abrams. I have bigger things to worry about and bruise on my arm won't help." he said.

"Bigger things? Like what?"

"I'm going to propose to Blair tonight." Dan said.

He looked at Vanessa. Her smile had disappeared. Her eyes weren't as happy as they had been a few seconds ago.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"You're going to propose to Blair?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Since when do you love her? Just because you go to school with someone, doesn't mean you love them." Vanessa told him.

"Me and her have been together since freshmen year. Of all people, I thought you would be happy for me."

"But this is Blair. She's the reigning bitch of NYC." Vanessa said, causing a few heads to turn.

"You know what, coming here was a mistake. I have a dinner to get to." Dan said as he got up from the table.

"You're not in Connecticut anymore." Vanessa yelled at him as he left.

Dan tried to ignore the last part, but it stayed in his head. Damn that Vanessa. He sighed and made his way back to the loft. He needed to relax before dinner.

Blair walked through the Upper East Side. She really had missed it. She looked at her watch, it was four thirty. She should get ready soon. Dan always liked doing dinner early. She hailed herself a taxi cab.

The ride to her family's penthouse was filled with nervousness and joy. She arrived at the building in a matter of minutes. She walked inside and took the elevator to the penthouse floor.

She walked into the family penthouse and was immediately welcomed by a ecstatic Dorota.

"Miss Blair!" Dorota shouted, hugging Blair tightly.

"Dorota, oh how I have missed you." Blair said.

Dorota let go of Blair, but kept her hands on her shoulders.

"Miss Blair, you look happy." Dorota commented.

"Thank you Dorota, know I must get ready for dinner." Blair said.

She walked up the stairs. She went to her old bedroom. She smiled. It was still the same. She was glad to see all of her suitcases had been unpacked. She walked into her closet and picked out a strapless, red dress that hit just above the knee. Chuck looks great in red, she thought to herself. She shook her head.

"Stop thinking of that Basshole." she said to herself.

She got ready pretty fast. After slipping on her red heels and checking her makeup and hair for the hundredth time, she exited her room. She grabbed her white trench coat as she did. She descended down the stairs. Dorota came out from the kitchen and smiled at Blair.

"Miss Blair, you look very pretty. Like Audrey Hepburn." Dorota said.

"Thank you, Dorota." Blair said as she grabbed her clutch.

She walked into the elevator and placed her finger on the button for the first floor. The elevator doors closed. She checked her appearance once more in the elevator mirror. Once she reached the first floor, she took a deep breath before walking out of the elevator.

There in the lobby, stood Dan Humphrey in his best suit. He smiled when he saw her. She smiled back and ran towards him. Their lips met. They separated and Dan grabbed Blair's hand. He led her outside to a cab that was waiting for them. He shut the door behind them.

They made small talk, but he was far to nervous to talk and fortunately for him, she was far to busy remembering the city and looking at every building they drove by. Finally they reached Chelsea Piers. Blair gave him a confused look. He smiled.

"Well dinner isn't until seven. I thought we would go for a walk." he said.

Blair smiled and grabbed Dan's hand. He helped her out of the cab and walked her down the long pier. They walked past the boats and yachts.

"The city is so beautiful at night." Blair said.

"Not as beautiful as you." Dan said.

Blair blushed and they kept walking. They talked some more, mostly about how glad they were to be done with school. They finally reached the end of the pier. Blair sat down on the bench. Dan smiled at her, but kept standing. He put his hands in his pockets.

"This was a good idea." Blair told him.

He smiled at her. He was getting more nervous as each second passed. You can do it, he told himself. He sighed and got down on one knee. He got his ring box out and opened it. Blair gasped. She hadn't been expecting this. Dan looked up at her.

"Blair, I love you so much. Ever since freshmen year, I feel like I can't be without you. Can you make me happy and be my wife." he said, his eyes getting a little watery.

Blair looked at the ring and then at Dan. She was speechless. Oh shit, she thought.