Wow, thank you for all the feedback! You have no idea what it means to me, you're the best!

I'm sorry it took me a while to update but I finally got to it now :) I have been through every emotion while writing this - fun, pain, love... I hope you feel the same way reading it. Please let me know, will you?^^

I almost feel bad that it's already over but maybe I'll write another Dair Story someday. Anyway, enjoy the rest of this one! :)

Chapter 2

"Thank you, for doing this." Blair said as they walked up the stairs. Apparently Henry was terrified of elevators so Blair had some unintentional work-out every time she went somewhere with her son, where there were stairs.

However, as much as Henry was afraid of elevators, he didn't like climbing stairs either. Of course he also didn't want his mother carrying him because apparently he could do it alone. He had his own mind about a lot of things already. Blair had barely been able to convince him to let her at least hold his hand while Henry was exercising really hard to take a single step. But it was good that he did, it meant Dorota wouldn't have any problems getting him to sleep. Henry was very picky that way, if it wasn't either one of his parents he wouldn't go to sleep, unless of course he was so tired that he couldn't tell his stuffed animals from his parents.

Dan nodded. "You're welcome."

"Although..." Blair said as she helped Henry up who had fallen down. "You do kind of owe me."

Dan took a short laughter. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, come on, like you didn't try to destroy my reputation for 5 years in an online blog, because you were feeling left out."

"Ah. That." Dan scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering when it would come up."

"Yes. That! Just because you hide out on Rome doesn't mean your actions are forgotten in New York." Blair looked up but kept her poker face on. She wasn't mad at him, not anymore, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy the look of guilt on his face. Still, she needed to make it go away because Dan had nothing to feel guilty about. Not really. "You know, Humphrey, I'm not going to lie to you. There was a time were I wanted to take that laptop of yours and shove it down your throat, or up some other body part... but... I'm over it." She smiled at him.

A smile, he quickly returned, saying "Lucky me."

"Besides." she said. "Everything you ever did suffers in comparison to... well..." she looked at Henry. "Things someone else did. And those things someone else is about to do."

Dan bit his lip but didn't say anything.

When they reached the end of the stairs Henry got tired of walking himself and Blair had to carry him. Usually she didn't give in when he was being a diva, but she didn't want him to get in a bad mood as long as Dan was here. This could be the only time he ever met her son, she wanted him to keep it in good memory.

When they reached Dorota's room Blair tried to put Henry on the ground while looking for the key card to open the door but Henry started to whine the second she tried to. "Sweety, mommy has to look for the key. We can't walk through the door."

"Well, we can try. I'm sure he'd enjoy watching us walking into it." Dan said and Blair stared at him for a moment.

"Dan... would you mind taking Henry for a second? It won't take long."

He hesitated but as he took a deep breath he nodded. "Okay, but I should warn you, I have never been good in handling male Bass'."

Even though Dan made a joke she didn't appreciate it. "He isn't like his father." she replied with a serious voice but when she talked to Henry again it was soft again. "Sweety, I'm going to give you to Uncle Dan for a moment, okay?"

Henry seemed uncertain but slowly nodded and Blair dared to make the transfer. Dan looked incredibly insecure with Henry on his arms but she found it adorable. She quickly found the key card and opened the door.

"Dorota! We're here!"

"Oh, finally! I have missed him so much!" she stopped when she came around the corner and saw that Blair wasn't alone and her cheerful smile vanished.

"Relax, it's not him. It's Dan. You remember Dan, right?"

Henry moved around on Dan's arm and now Dorota could see him. The smile came back on her face, she was obviously glad to see him. "Of course... How could I forget Lonely Boy. Or should I say Gossip Girl?"

Dan shook his head. "No. You shouldn't. But you should probably take the kid before he falls asleep in my arms."

He was right, Henry was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. "Of course. Of course..." After Dorota had taken Henry she smiled at Dan. "I need to borrow Miss Blair for a moment, he needs to see her when he lies in bed."

"That's fine, I was going to leave anyway."

Blair quickly turned to him, placing her hand on his arm. "No. Please. Stay... I mean... I'm sure Nate is still looking for you somewhere downstairs you can't disappoint him."

As Dan looked at her he narrowed his eyes just a bit and Blair swallowed hard. "I should go say good night to Henry. But... you'll still be here when I get back, right?"

He slowly nodded. "Knowing me, I will be, yes." He sounded annoyed by his own personality but Blair was thankful for it.

She followed Dorota into the bedroom and watched her putting Henry in his bed.

"Miss Blair, what is Lonely Boy doing here?"

"It's a reunion Dorota, I explained to you what it means."

"Yes. I know. I meant what is he doing up here, with you and baby?"

"I... had a problem and needed help. Dan was kind enough to step in."

Dorota nodded. "He has always been good boy."

Blair smiled. "Yes, he has."

"Miss Blair", Dorota said and stepped right in front of her, looking her into the eyes. Henry was already as good as asleep but she whispered: "I hope you know what you're doing. Mister Chuck will not like Lonely Boy around his child."

"I don't care what Mister Chuck thinks about this. Henry is my child, too, and I get to decide who is around him just as much as he does. And at least I don't have to pay for my company!" Blair replied in a whisper as well. She then walked past Dorota, stroke Henry's cheek and bend down to give him a kiss on his forehead.

"Good night, Sweetheart."

x x x

"Knowing me, I will be, yes."

When Blair closed the bed room door Dan added in a low voice: "And knowing you, I'm going to regret this."

Exhaling he ran his hands through his hair. What was he doing here? He was being sucked right back into the world he had run away from so many years ago. A world, that revolved around Blair. The problem was – as much as she'd hurt him back then, ripped out his heart and gave it to Chuck for dinner... it was nice being around her again. He felt like an addict who had taken his first shot after years... it was so familiar, it felt wonderful but he also knew he was in deadly danger if he continued it. Not just because Blair had hurt him before, but because her husband was Chuck Bass. He would not be happy if he heard who his wife had spent time with tonight.

The bed room door opened again and Blair stepped out of it, closing it again behind her.

"He got asleep this fast?" Dan asked.

"Usually it takes longer. But I mad sure he'd be exhausted tonight all day."

A moment of awkward silence later Dan said: "We should go back downstairs."

"Yes... you're right." As they left the room Blair added with a smirk on her lips: "We can even use the elevator now."

Without even realizing it Dan returned the smirk. "Well, that's my evening being rescued."

However, the way to the elevator turned out to be pretty darn awkward. Silent, that was. Both of them knew that once they were downstairs, their meeting was over. A meeting Dan for one, enjoyed and he was sure Blair did, too. Otherwise she wouldn't have asked him to stay. Speaking of...

As they entered the elevator Dan asked: "How did you know Nate would be looking for me?"

The doors closed and Blair pressed the button for the ground-floor as she replied: "I talk to my friends, you know. He said he ran into you and told you to come here."

Dan shook his head with a disbelieving smile. "I didn't think that was possible but being married to Chuck actually made you a bad liar..." Suddenly it seemed clear to him. "Blair, did you scheme for me to come here tonight? Did you lock Henry into the car?"

"What? No! I would never use my son to get what I want!"

"But you did want me to come!"

She swallowed hard. "Okay... yes. I saw you in the city but didn't know how... I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk to me. So I asked Nate to go see you and make sure you'd come to the reunion."

When Dan snorted something in Blair must have snapped because she pressed the stop button on the elevator. Once it stopped she turned around to him. "I did that, because I wanted to see you! To talk to you! But I didn't lock my son into the car. I wanted to talk to you but I didn't want you to think I'm still a spoiled little girl who can't take of herself or her child."

It was happening again. As he looked at Blair he felt that his entire being was focused on her and the pain she was in... not being able to take care of Henry, or people thinking she wasn't, terrified her to no end. He could see it, he could basically feel it. Blair used to have that effect on him... her pain always made him feel like it was his. He didn't mind the pain but he didn't want her to be in it.

The only thing he wanted less than that, was being sucked back into his whole ball of unhealthy feelings he used to have to her. And, on some level, they were still there. He'd known it from the moment he saw her again. But feelings for Blair were doomed to lead to him being miserable and fleeing into another country so he decided to keep those feeling where he'd put them seven years ago – into a small (or rather huge) box, hidden inside of his heart, locked, with the key nowhere to be found.

"Whatever." He said and tried to walk past her to get to the button to restart the elevator.

Blair didn't let him. She stepped sideward and looked at him, her eyes all shiny. When she spoke her voice was fragile. "Why did you move to Rome?"

He could swear she was afraid to ask that question but he also thought she needed to know. She'd always had the possibility to talk to him if she'd wanted to but she never had. Dan had always assumed she'd forgotten about him. That she'd moved on with Chuck and didn't even care about where Dan was or why. But looking at her now, he knew he'd been wrong. She hadn't not cared... she'd been afraid to ask him, because she was terrified of the answer.

"I needed to get out of here."

She lowered her head and didn't look at him as she said: "You never called."

Dan took a deep breath. He needed to keep this conversation on a rational level, otherwise this box of feelings he'd been thinking about... it would burst. "Yes, I realize that."

"Why not?" At that she looked up again. "Did it never occure to you that I might miss you?"

"No, it didn't. And even if it had what good would it have done? It was hard enough to put myself back together after what happened even without calling you and hearing about your marriage with the biggest asshole I have met in my entire life! So excuse me for not putting myself through this!"

"Oh, so you were being selfish?"

Dan was speechless. "You know, when you're the damsel in distress I always come to your rescue but when that's over you throw me away like a used tissue. I don't know why I even let you talk me into helping you tonight, because you being thankful lasts for about ten minutes and then you're back to the girl who deserves being married to Chuck Bass, whatever it is he has done that makes you feel so miserable."

"But-"

It was too late. He didn't even let her finish. The box had blown up and Dan was confronted with all his feelings and the past and everything he had avoided thinking about those last years and boy, he was pissed!

"YOU CHOSE HIM, OKAY? YOU CHOSE CHUCK OVER ME, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL ME! Damn it Blair, I had to find out by a TIP, sent to GOSSIP GIRL! So whatever mess you are in now, you're just going to have to deal with it, you brought this on yourself!"

"I MADE A WRONG CHOICE, DAN! And I'm paying for it every single second of every day of my life! What do you want from me?"

He took a few breaths to pull himself together again and tried to think clearly. Yelling did not help the situation. "Nothing. I want absolutely nothing from you." He walked past her, and this time Blair didn't try to stop him. Before he could push the button, though, she said something else.

"He is going to take Henry away from me." Her voice was fragile and filled with desperation.

Dan stopped and turned around. "What?"

"Chuck and I... we're separating. And considering the last years of doing nothing except for being Mrs. Bass I have none of those so called contacts left, you've mentioned earlier, while Chuck has every kind of source he needs. He... he is going to take everything from me. And he can do that! He as the best lawyers and they're trying to proof that I'm not a good mother. I don't even care about the money and the houses or this life... I don't want any of that. But if he takes away Henry... I'm going to die inside. He is the only good thing I have done with my life. The only thing that keeps me going, that makes me get up every day and face Chuck Bass." Tears were running down her face by now. "So please... please Dan... I know you're mad at me. And you have every right to be. But whatever you do please don't say I deserve this. Serena's told me, Nate's told me... Chuck has rubbed it into my face, but I never believed it. But when you say it... I'll start believing it. And once I do I won't be strong enough to fight anymore."

Silence.

Dan's eyes had started to tear up as well but he didn't know what to say. Was he sorry for her? Of course he was. Did he wish he could take her into his arms and make her problems disappear? More than anything else in the world. But if he'd cross that line he wouldn't be able to walk away from her anymore.

"What about your mother?" he finally managed to ask. "And Cyrus. He's a lawyer, he must have contacts."

"They're trying to help me but it doesn't look good. Cyrus is a good lawyer he doesn't know the sharks and the ones he does know he's not friends with. Chuck has access to them. It doesn't matter that he openly cheats on my by now. He pays most of the women, but he makes sure I meet all of them. It doesn't hurt. I'm used to it. He also has this one woman who pretends to be his girlfriend... because a judge would rather give a child to a happy couple than a single parent who isn't even able to take care of a child."

"No judge will take a child away from its mother. He'd need to proof that your absolutely incapable of keeping him alive for that to happen."

A sad smile crossed her lips. "Do you honestly think he won't find a way to do that?"

Honestly?

No.

It was a horrible thing to admit but it was the truth... Chuck Bass would make this lie look about as real as his spite was.

When Dan didn't give her an answer Blair nodded and wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you any of this... but you've always been able to... you were the only one I could be completely honest with without being afraid you'd hate me. That's the reason I chose Chuck... because I was afraid that if I didn't... if I stayed with you that one day you'd see me for who I really am and you'd hate me. And I wouldn't have been able to survive that. I knew that with Chuck it didn't matter what I did because I didn't care if he'd hate me.. But I never stopped loving you. And I miss you so much it hurts. I thought... I thought if I saw you tonight and got to talk to you, even about trivial things, it would make me feel better. That it would give me the strength I need to go up against Chuck because I have nothing left."

It took him a while to do anything. When he did he crossed that imaginary line he had drawn... he went over to her and took her into his arms. As he did, Blair sobbed and started crying.

"I'm sorry, Dan... I'm so sorry."

He placed his right hand on the back of her head, gently stroking it. He wanted to tell her that it was okay, that people made mistakes it happened... but he couldn't. Because no matter what was going on in her life right now it did not make okay what she did in the past. And yet, when he said "I doesn't matter anymore." he meant it. It didn't.

All this time she'd been in love with him.

That was all he needed to know that it was okay to have crossed the line. To not being able to walk away from her ever again.

When she raised her head Dan wiped away a few tears, looking at her. Not at Blair Bass... at Blair Waldorf. His Blair.

"I always saw you for who you were, Blair... and I fell in love with you anyway, which means my acceptance limit is extremely high."

She laughed and he smiled at her, stroking a hear out of her face.

"You said I'm the only person you can be completely honest with... and that is why I know that deep down, you're a good person. You just lose your way every now and then and now you can't even see it anymore. But I'm going to help you find it. Because I want you do be happy. I never wanted anything else. That's why I let you go... not because I hated you. Sure, I wasn't pleased with your choice but I would never have left if I thought you didn't love Chuck. I would have fought for you. But I guess it's not too late for that."

Blair shook her head. "You don't have to fight for me, Dan. I'm already yours."

He smiled and almost didn't recognize that he leaned down toward her, closing his eyes. When they're lips touched Dan sucked in air, almost as if he was in shock and he kind of was. He was in shock that he had made it seven years without Blair. The shock faded as they leaned into the kiss. It was gentle but emotional and it was what he had needed all this time. Dan had been fine in Rome but he had never been happy. Right now he was. Because he knew that he wouldn't have to be without her any longer.

When the kiss was over it took him a moment to remember how exactly speaking worked but then he said: "Oh and, by the way... I love you, too."

Blair smiled at him. "Yeah, I figured..."

They laughed and kissed again.

It took them several minutes to find their way back to reality. When they did, Dan said: "And about the lawyer thing, there might be something I can do."

Blair frowned. "Really? You?"

Shaking his head smiling he said: "You're doing it again..."

"Sorry. Go ahead."

"I know some people in Rome who might know other people... well, you know the concept. Bottom line: I think they can help. Besides... I'm sort of friends with Georgina. If anyone can take Chuck down it's her."

Blair sighed. "But if we can we should leave her out of this. I don't trust her to help me."

"She will, when I ask her to."

"Does she have a crush on you or something?"

He smiled. "Are you jealous?"

"No. Just... making conversation." She then walked around him, pressting the button to start the elevator again.

Dan turned around, grabbing Blair, saying "Sure you were. But just so you know... you don't have a reason to be jealous." before he leaned down to kiss her again.