Thank you all for the reviews! You all leave such insightful comments and I love hearing your thoughts and hopes for the story. To answer a question left by a guest reviewer, yes this will definitely be a slow burn. I figured it's been a while since my last story like that so it was time for another. Of course, there will still be plenty of Dair scenes and tension in the meantime. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Two nights and one hangover later from the incident that 'never happened', Blair's dull day at the office wishing she had more patients is interrupted by one very blonde, very tall, very eager teenager. "Oh my god, so it's true… Blair Waldorf is living in Pearl Island!" The girl shrieks, blue eyes wide and disbelieving. "Ah, this is the best thing to ever happen to this town. I cannot even tell you how much I admire you. And your mom. Well your mom's work, sorry it's just- Oh my god."
Blair stares blankly at the girl, not understanding, at all. Not only has she never seen this girl before in her life, but she also is confused as to how on earth the Waldorfs still have fans. Let alone fans that are sixteen-year-olds from a small town in Rhode Island. "I'm sorry, are you a patient?" Blair gestures the girl into her office and after a moment, she takes a seat across from Blair.
"No, sorry. I'm Jenny-" The girl's long, lithe arm stretches across the table to shake Blair's hand. "Jenny Humphrey."
Blair's brows crease, "Did you say, Humphrey?"
"Mhm," The girl, Jenny, nods. "My brother is Dan, he rents the cottage next to yours."
Blair feels instantly suspicious. Certainly, no sibling of Dan Humphrey's can be good news. But the earnest smile across the girl's fresh face forces her to fight the urge to kick her out. Maybe not all Humphreys are bad? Blair muses. "Yes, we've met."
Jenny blushes, "He's sort of lame, I know. I mean he does own a Cabbage Patch Kid named Cedric-"
"Wait," Blair latches on to this vital piece of information. "A Cabbage Patch Kid? Dan Humphrey, my neighbor, owns a Cabbage Patch Kid?"
"Yeah, refuses to part ways with him even though he outgrew it about a decade or two ago." She rolls her eyes. Then she flushes and Blair detects a bit of embarrassment at having shared that which is confirmed by what Jenny says next. "We're really different."
"I can tell," Blair says in a friendly tone, smiling. Suddenly, she sees quite the benefit to this teenager's adoration. "I love your dress, by the way." Although Blair has decided to change tactics, this compliment she does mean. The dress has satin ribbons for straps tied along Jenny's sharp shoulder blades and has a delicate sweetheart neckline.
"Thanks," Jenny brightens. "I made it myself."
Blair nods in approval. "The town's fashionista then, I presume."
Jenny looks down, modestly. "I don't know if I'd say that. I am the town's blogger though. That's actually why I'm here… I was hoping I could interview you for my blog. I'll tell everyone to come see you and make you their doctor!"
Blair seizes on this. "Actually, that would be of interest to me." Her leads to success in this town are about zero at the moment so if she has to rely on a seventeen-year-old for help so be it. "How about we do the interview over lunch? My treat."
"Sure!" Jenny glossy lips spread into a smile. "Saturday?"
"It's a plan." A plan so well formed, Blair is already memorizing all her interview answers. She just found her ticket to a more than full patient quota.
A very sizable glass of wine, ordered online of course because Blair can no longer bear the town market's cheap selection, is well deserved by Friday evening. She has the perfect night in store in fact. There's olive oil popcorn cooking in the microwave, a movie ready on her laptop, the AC keeping the cottage at an idyllic seventy-eight degrees and she's just dug the screw of her electric corkscrew into the bottle of Cabernet. The only thing hindering her night is the sound of an amplified guitar, but that's okay, she'll just plug her noise canceling headphones into her laptop and the movie will drown out the music. But as she presses the button of the corkscrew, which should result in the screw going deeper and eventually pulling the cork out, it stops abruptly. There's a shorting out noise that she hopes she imagines and she thinks she hears the screech of an amplifier. Still, she presses again, but then it's darkness. Literal darkness. The lights in the kitchen are off, the popcorn has stopped popping, and the only light comes from the glow of her laptop screen.
"What the fuck?" She says to no one. She marches around the cottage, flicking lights on and off to no avail. "Ugh!"
Suddenly, Nate's warnings about the generator come back to her and she's acutely aware of the fact that it's gone eerily silent. No more faint buzzing of electricity, no more hum of the fridge, just the sound of crickets and waves crashing in the distance. She narrows her eyes in fury as she jams her feet into a pair of Bloch ballet flats and storms out the front door. When she's halfway to Dan's cottage, she realizes she's only in pajamas. She looks down at her lavender silk-satin piped PJ shirt with matching shorts and thinks about turning to change but then remembers how her perfect evening was ruined enough by Dan Humphrey and proceeds on.
She raises her fist to the door, pummeling all her anger into each knock. She doesn't stop her assault on his front door until he swings it open a minute later. "You caused a power outage, Humphrey."
Dan gives her a sarcastic look. "I caused the outage? So what were you up to just now, not using any electricity yourself? Reading Little House On The Prarie by candlelight?"
Blair glares harder at him. "You were the one blasting that wretched music. It was your fault."
"I wasn't blastic music, I was playing guitar with Aaron." Dan corrects, gesturing behind them. Blair can see over his shoulder a guy with greasy hair lightly strumming even though he's sitting in mere moonlight.
"You have a friend, how surprising. And here I thought you were the town's social pariah." Blair bites back.
"It wouldn't be the first time you were wrong about this town, would it? How is Nate's arm healing by the way?" Dan retorts.
Frustrated and tired of tossing insults back and forth, Blair exhales sharply. "Are you going to help me reset the generator or not?"
"Fine," Dan turns back to his cottage. "I'll be right back Aaron."
"I don't think he's too worried." Blair remarks as they walk around the cottage into the courtyard where the generator is. Dan glares at her before opening the metal box.
"Pay attention, I don't want to come out here every time you blow a fuse. It's easy enough that you should be able to do it." Dan flicks a few switches and then Blair hears the sound of running electricity once more. Once he's latched it shut, he turns back to her, eyeing her. "Nice PJs, by the way."
Blair tries her best not to let his remark get to her, or worse yet to make her flush. She doesn't care what Dan Humphrey thinks about her attire. So instead, she just gives him a blasé look and then turns down the path toward her cottage without a word.
The Ivy Veranda, the town's local hotspot for lunch, turns out to be an upper-level restaurant attached to Rufus Humphrey's bed and breakfast. Blair expected some quaint diner affair but is pleased to discover it's quite classy. The view from The Ivy Veranda directly overlooks town square and the menu actually looks rather sophisticated. Taking a cue from Jenny, who's currently eagerly sitting across from her chatting away about her love of fashion, Blair also ordered a wedge salad. Unlike Jenny, who's years from being of-age, Blair also ordered a glass of Riesling.
Her taste buds practically sing at the contact from the sweet yet dry liquid, obviously a nice bottle. She raises her eyes from the glass back to Jenny. "Have you ever been to New York Fashion Week, Jenny?"
"I haven't. I've never even left the state." Jenny flushes.
'Well, I'll take you next time I go. We'll sit front row." At least, she hopes. There's no telling if the scandal will ever blow over and her mother certainly won't be invited to the show coming up in September. It'll take a year, minimum, but Jenny doesn't need to know that. She somehow can't bear to horribly mislead this girl so she tacts on, "Someday."
"So how long do you plan to stay in Pearl Island for?" Jenny's question catches Blair off-guard. She surveys her, looking for traces of malice like she saw on Dr. van der Woodsen's face when he asked her the same. Jenny seems to sense Blair's suspicion so she hastily apologizes. "Sorry, I just wondered for my article? I thought the town might want to know how long their new doctor will stick around for. I personally hope you never leave!"
"You're the only one hoping I'll stay, everyone else in this town is hellbent on driving me out." Blair says instantly, then regrets it. "Sorry, I guess that's a little cynical. I just can't seem to make a good impression on anyone around here."
"That's not true," Jenny placates. "All the girls at school are talking about your style. Actually, more than half of them showed up with headbands on because they saw photos of you wearing them in some old magazines."
"Those must have been some really old magazines." Blair laughs, thinking back on the last time she wore a headband. She was fairly certain she ditched those as soon as she got to med school. But not permanently. "I probably still have a few from those days. If you want a couple to impress the girls with a Waldorf-original. If that can even be considered impressive these days." She tries for a self-deprecating tone.
"Oh my god," Jenny gasps. "That would be amazing."
"Then it's decided, stop by the cottage tomorrow and you can pick whichever ones you want." Blair smiles brightly. "Now, should we get back to business?" She gestures to Jenny's hand which clutches her pen tightly, waiting to meet the still blank piece of paper. "I think we've got an interview to finish, right?"
When the check arrives, it's delivered by a girl who definitely wasn't their server. This girl is not wearing the pastel blue retro uniforms like the staff, instead, she wears a black sheath and is holding out her hand to Blair. "Hi, I'm Ivy, the owner here. How was everything?"
Blair takes her hand and introduces herself. "It was wonderful actually. I was worried I would only be eating fried fish and fries since I moved but you proved me wrong."
Ivy breathes a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how good that is to hear. I kept hearing about this fancy New Yorker that just moved to town and was worried you'd stop by and declare my restaurant an abomination or something." She chuckles nervously which Blair finds rather endearing. Or maybe it's the fact that finally, someone is making her feel like her opinion matters.
"Well, thank you for such great food and service. I will definitely be returning." Blair and Jenny rise from the table and as they exit the restaurant, Jenny comments, "See you're already making friends!"
Blair thinks about commenting that she's not exactly sure that was the beginning of a friendship but decides better of it. Instead, she gives Jenny a tight hug and tells her she will see her tomorrow. Afterward, she heads over to Dorota's where she's planned to spend the afternoon.
When Dorota opens the door, little Emil practically bounds out of the door. He wraps his little arms around her legs, shouting "Auntie B!" and Blair is left standing rather awkwardly, unsure of how to react.
Dorota tears him away, profusely apologizing. "Oh no, so sorry Blair, I tell Vanya to take kids out but he got extra shift at work. I so sorry."
"Dorota, it's fine." Blair gingerly pats the child's head before stepping into the house. "I should get to know the children. I haven't even met Celestyna yet."
"Okay," Dorota says skeptically. "I introduce you to baby. This way,"
Dorota leads Blair into a nursery which clearly doubles as both of the children's bedroom. One half has a tiny bed perfect for a three-year-old while the other contains a white wooden crib with little wood birds dangling from it. Dorota reaches into the crib, retrieving Celystena who cooes happily at the contact. "You meet your Auntie B, now. Say hello," Dorota mimes waving with Celystena's tiny, pudgy hand.
Blair walks over and leans over to her, "Hi C, I'm Blair. You're going to be seeing a lot of me, I hope we'll be friends." She doesn't use a baby-voice, that would be ridiculous. But she does soften her tone, if a little.
"You want to hold?" Dorota outstretches the child, "She walk too but maybe too afraid. She run away."
Like everyone else that makes contact with me, Blair thinks to herself. "Uh, sure." Blair hesitates but reaches out. As soon as the child is in her arms, she realizes how big she is. This kid is heavy and she struggles to find a comfortable way to hold her. But then, Celestyna's eyes meet hers and the way they stare at her make her smile, eager to reassure her. Blair thinks she sees a tiny smile back before Celestyna burrows her face in Blair's shoulder, clearly shy.
"She like you," Dorota comments.
"Me next! Me next!" Emil shouts coming into the room and observing the scene. He clearly has a jealous streak, Blair muses.
"Emil, you too big." Dorota laughs.
"But I want Auntie B to hold me. I don't want her to like baby sister more than me." Emil's face contorts into a frown and Blair has to admit it is pretty cute. She passes the baby back to Dorota and walks over to Emil, kneeling.
"How about a hug instead?" Blair asks him, trying not to think of how his sticky hands might stain her pastel pink Elizabeth and James sheath dress.
"Okay," Emil lunges at her, surprising Blair. Over his shoulder, Blair meets Dorota's eye and she sees something of amusement etched across her face.
"That's enough Emil," Dorota says after a minute. "Blair, come into the kitchen I have something for you. Emil, I'll put on Paw Patrol for you."
"Yay!" Emil squeals and races ahead into the living room. As they follow him, Dorota thanks Blair for being patient with them to which she just shrugs. She's dealt with worse as a doctor. Though she wasn't in pediatrics, plenty of patients would bring in their kids and she had to witness countless tantrums. Besides, it wasn't like many other people had been eager for her affections lately so it was rather a nice change.
Once Emil is planted in front of the TV, zoned out on his program, Blair and Dorota wander into the kitchen. Dorota goes to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of rose and Blair's eyes widen in recognition. "Where did you get that?"
"I special order online for you. I never forget your favorite." Dorota hands her the bottle. "You have rough week, this help."
Blair takes it, feeling emotional all of a sudden. She reaches out, without meaning to, and envelops Dorota into an embrace. "Thank you, Dorota. You have no idea how much your support has meant. I mean, I thought I had no one after-" Blair breaks off. "And I know I showed up here unexpectedly. You didn't have to help me but you did and I just am so lucky. I would feel like I had no one if it wasn't for you."
Dorota pats her soothingly on the back. "Anything for you, I miss you every day since I leave New York. I'm so happy you here."
"Really?" Blair can't help but ask. "Because I know you have so much going on and-"
"Of course, really." Dorota cuts her off and smiles warmly.
"Well, I want to pay this back someday. So if you ever need anything, a checkup, a friend to talk to, or a babysitter-" Blair says this last part a little disbelievingly. "Anytime."
"I know," Dorota nods and then gestures out to the living room. "Come on, we watch Breakfast at Tiffany's in other room. I have TV in bedroom. You drink wine and we watch."
So they did. Except instead of calming her and giving her a sense of peace that watching Breakfast at Tiffany's always did, it just made her homesick instead. She missed the city, the parties, having friends, having a- She cut her thoughts there, forcing herself not to think of him. As she leaves Dorota's that night, she forces herself to focus on the present. It's the only way she can move forward.
Bearing bagels, Blair Waldorf knocks on the door to the Archibald residence on Sunday morning, right at breakfast time. A moment later, Nate swings the door open sporting a smile. "Blair, come in. I'm glad you made it!"
Blair follows him in, "And I didn't come empty-handed." She proffers the box of bagels. "Since you once lived in New York, I'm sure you can remember how there's nothing like a bagel fresh from the city."
Nate opens the box, seemingly taking in the intoxicatingly bready smell. "Tell me you didn't drive all the way back to New York just for these. Although I have to admit I won't be too sorry even you did, I've dreamed about these."
Blair laughs, "No, I had them delivered. Where can I set them?" Nate directs her toward the massive kitchen's marble island and she sets it next to the fruit platter. "Will I finally get to meet Serena?"
Nate shakes his head, "No, sadly, she's at her weekly brunch with the Pearls." When Blair looks back in confusion, he elaborates. "It's a women's group she runs, it's been going since the foundation of the town in 1702. They take a hands-on role in this town, planning parties, organizing charity fundraisers, things like that."
"Wow, how very…" Blair searches for a word other than antiquated. "Quaint." She's saved from having to discuss the topic any further by the back door to the kitchen opening. She had presumed it would just be her and Nate given Serena's absence, which she would not mind at all. But no, it looks like this breakfast won't be nearly as enjoyable as she had thought. "Humphrey,"
Dan eyes her warily. "Waldorf." He turns to Nate. "How generous of you to have Blair join us."
Nate laughs, "Of course, she's welcome anytime. You eat here practically every week, why shouldn't she?"
"I can think of a few reasons," Dan says under his breath, avoiding Nate's detection. He turns to the food and nods approvingly, "Bagels," He looks pleased as he reaches for one.
"Courtesy of Blair. Fresh from NYC." Nate supplies and Blair watches as Dan's hand reels back faster than had he been scalded.
"Oh relax Humphrey, they aren't poisoned. If I knew you would be eating one, perhaps I would have though." Blair says, piling fruit onto her plate.
"Still, I think I'll pass." Dan's plate is quickly stacked with pancakes instead and Blair feels insulted. How dare he reject her peace offering. Well, a peace offering of sorts, if it wasn't intended for him she still didn't dismiss the idea of him having any as she had contemplated. No, she had even encouraged him to eat one but he couldn't even be nice and take one like any polite person would. She rolls her eyes as she sits down at the table, a full three seats between her and Dan. Nate sits opposite of them, nearest to Blair, leaving Dan the odd one out.
As they all eat, her and Nate chat easily about the city and his time there. Nate's cousin, Tripp had apparently given him an internship after college working his campaign. From there, his path toward mayor was formed with his grandfather strongly encouraging it. Apparently, that side of the family was eager for him to take the next step and run for Senate but he was reluctant it seemed. He had already put down roots here and feared he wasn't cut out for serious government work.
Blair listens politely, nodding, and adding her opinion when necessary. Every now and then, she glances over at Dan who stares fixedly at his plate. He only joins the conversation every now and then to disagree with what she says, in typical Humphrey fashion. Instead of engaging with him, Blair decides to be the more adult one and ignore him altogether.
Once her plate is mostly clear, Blair rises from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I should get going. I have plans with a friend this afternoon," She continues on, ignoring Dan's incredulous snicker. "Thank you, Nate, for having me. It was great to get to know you better." As she reaches the back door, she turns to Dan with a smug expression "Humphrey, I'll give your sister your regards."
When the door is firmly closed and the sound of Blair's heels clacking has receded, Dan stares down Nate. "So should we expect her presence at breakfast to be a regular thing now or…"
Nate waves him off, "She's harmless. If you would've just eaten one of the bagels she brought, maybe your little feud could end."
"Don't you see Nate?" Dan leans forward, his tone hushed. "That's exactly what she wants."
Nate blinks at him, "And? How is that a bad thing?"
Dan rises, "You just don't get it, man. That's not how this works. By the way, should you really be encouraging her to get so settled? Because we're going to have a problem when it's time to renovate my cottage and what would have been my temporary home, is now occupied by her."
Nate frowns, "I didn't think of that." He brightens suddenly. "You can stay with your dad though, right? He always has a room open for you I'd imagine."
"Nate, it's June. It's peak tourism season, he's booked solid. That's how we ended up with a Waldorf occupation on this property." Dan points toward her cottage.
"Well, that's still a few weeks off. I'll think of something. Worse comes to worse, you just stay here, there are plenty of rooms." Nate shrugs.
"I thought both of your families would be coming into town for the wedding and will be staying with you." Dan doesn't think he should have to remind Nate of this fact but he was present when Serena had brought it up a couple of weeks ago and can attest to the fact that Nate was stoned, to put it bluntly.
"Oh shit," Nate runs a hand through his hair, clearly stressed. "I'll talk to Serena and figure it out. I'll find a solution that doesn't involve you or Blair being kicked out, okay?"
Dan decides to nod and leave it at that, not wanting to add any more to his friend's plate. "You're right, I'm sure you will."
Jenny Humphrey is mesmerized. Before her is an array of headbands spanning the entire length of Blair Waldorf's dining table. There's a headband in practically every color and they've all been organized meticulously by Blair. From left to right, the width of the bands increases along with the decorative fixtures like bows and crystals. The expensive fabrics and rich hues put the girls' at schools headbands to shame. In fact, once Jenny walks into homeroom wearing one of these she'll even make Emma Boardman look second-rate.
"Take however many you want," Blair instructs her, urging her toward them.
"Blair," Jenny breathes. "I couldn't. These are way too nice."
"I want you to have them. They aren't exactly appropriate for practicing medicine and trust me, I tried putting them over my scrub caps before, not cute. So it's not like they're getting any use." Blair picks up a wide black headband, affixed with a cluster of crystals. Then, she places it atop Jenny's head and fusses with her hair until it lays just right. She leads her over to the mirror on the wall and smiles, satisfied. "See? It's perfect for you. Much better with your blonde hair than my brown hair."
Jenny touches the headband and can't help but smile back at her reflection. "Thank you, Blair. So much, really."
"Come on," Blair guides her back to the table. "You have more to choose."
Jenny settles on taking 5 even though Blair insists on her taking at least 10. But she couldn't possibly. Jenny isn't used to having friends like this, or a mentor of sorts as Blair is turning out to be. Before Blair Waldorf arrived, Jenny's only friends were Elise Wells and her sewing machine, seriously. She's reticent to believe that her luck could change and that she could go from invisible to unmissable, as Blair is convinced she will become.
After the headbands are safely tucked into her tote bag, Blair suggests Jenny show her around town since she has yet to see what shopping options this town has. Stepping through the cottage courtyard, with her new headband glittering in the sunlight, Jenny's euphoria is halted by the sight of her brother, glaring, straight at them.
"Hello, Humphrey." Blair calls, jovial, although Jenny detects more than just a trace of sarcasm.
"What are you doing with my sister?" Dan takes another forward so he's directly in their path, narrowing his eyes at Blair in suspicion all the while.
"Oh, just indoctrinating her into my evil cult." Blair purposefully brushes past him, their shoulders colliding. Jenny follows along until her brother halts her.
"Jenny," Dan turns to her. "What are you doing here? And what are you wearing?" His eyes land on the top of her head and scan her outfit which she borrowed from Blair to match the headband. "You look like a clone of her."
Jenny rolls her eyes. "I'm hanging out with Blair, I didn't realize I had to ask for your permission."
Dan lowers his voice but Jenny knows Blair is still within earshot. "Jen, I don't think she's the best person for you to be seen with. She's not exactly popular around here."
"Neither are you, Humphrey." Blair retorts from a few feet away.
"She's right. See you tonight, Dan," Jenny follows Blair out, away from Dan's disapproving gaze. Once they're on the street and far away enough, Jenny apologizes profusely. "I'm sorry, I don't know why he was so rude."
"We didn't exactly get off on the right foot," Blair explains. "I think you're likely to be the only Humphrey I befriend in this town. Although, if your brother had his way I'm sure that wouldn't be the case."
"I'm sorry, he'll come around. He just is sort of," Jenny struggles to find the right word. "Judgey, I guess."
"Well, I'm glad you aren't." Blair amends. "Now, let's go do some retail therapy." She links her arm through Jenny's and the pair set off towards the shops.
TBC...
The next chapter will feature waffles with a side of Humphrey family bonding, aka Dan and Jenny disputing and Rufus refereeing. Plus, more of Dan and Blair feuding, of course. Expect the update on Monday :) Thanks for reading!
