Dan hadn't spoke to Blair in about 3 weeks. He often sent the odd text message to her asking to come and pick up his stuff. The last time he had seen her was the day she came to the loft and all hell broke out. Dan sighed closing his laptop. There was no way that he could concentrate on his work now. He glanced at the time. He was supposed to be going to see Serena in an hour. Dan had grown so close to Scarlett over the past three weeks and she had actually stayed with him over night for the first time last week. Dan took her out on a regular basis which was to much relief for Serena.

Serena had brought a new apartment on the Upper West Side for her and Scarlett. This gave Dan the opportunity to spend more time with Scarlett while Serena was moving them into their home. Serena had all her and Scarlett's belonging shipped over from LA to Manhattan which had been in storage. The first night Scarlett stayed at Dan's was when Serena had been decorating and setting up furniture. Serena hadn't made Scarlett's bed up so she asked if Dan could have her for the night. Dan was thrilled with this even though he was nervous about looking after Scarlett all night. Jenny's bed was still at the loft so Dan made the bed up for Scarlett to stay in. The next day Dan helped Serena decorate Scarlett's bedroom a teal, pink and orange room. It was a mermaid themed bedroom which she loved. Dan loved doing things that made him feel like a proper Dad. He was still getting to know his daughter so the little things he did for her like painting her bedroom and telling her he will buy her a bike so they can go to the park made him feel better about the job he was doing, because to be honest he didn't have a clue if he was doing a good job at being a father.

Dan liked living on his own and not having to answer to anyone. Dan avoided Blair at all costs. Dan had found out something that devastated him. He couldn't trust Blair anymore. He couldn't even be around her.

"Dan the baby may not be yours"

"What? What do you mean it may not be mine? I am your husband Blair" Dan shook his head.

"I slept with someone the night I found out Serena had a child. I thought it was Chucks and I went out drinking and I remember waking up in someone's bed and sneaking out. I am so sorry Dan"

"I cannot believe you Blair. You know how much I cant tolerate cheating. Look what happened with my mom and dad. I never wanted to turn out like that. You don't even know if your own husband is the father of your child. What a slutty thing to do Blair. I always thought you was better than that. You detest those sorts of people Blair and look at you now" Dan was fuming now.

"Oh like you care anyway Dan. So what if this baby isn't yours? Then we will both have kids by other people. You have a daughter by your first love Dan. How does that make me feel? You cannot blame me Dan"

"Blair I never had a daughter with another woman while we was married though Blair. You cheated on me. You had sex with another man and now your pregnant" Dan screamed.

"Well I'm sorry Dan, I'm sorry I'm not perfect but we can get past this. The baby could be yours Dan but I'm not sure. We are still a married couple. And I still love you Dan. I am sorry and I want to get past this. I forgave you so why cant you do the same for me?" Blair sighed.

"Blair can you just leave? I need time. I need to think about this. I will ring you when I want to see you but please just leave me alone and don't ring me" A tear ran down Blair's cheek.

"Dan. Please"

"No Blair just leave please" Blair picked up her bag and left. That was the last time he had seen her in 3 weeks.

Dan wasn't ready to face her now. He could only concentrate on his work and Scarlett now. Dan was heading over to Serena's now. He had formed some sort of friendship with her which they had never really managed to achieve before. But they needed to really for Scarlett's sake. He was going over to discuss custody arrangements over the little girl. They didn't want to do this legally. They were adults and Scarlett was the main priority in all of this. Dan and Serena wanted to work out what was best with their job schedules and times. Serena was starting a new job on Monday at some publishing company. She was so excited about this because it would be her first proper job since finishing college with a journalism and English degree. She would only be working part time and have assignments for home to complete. She started work at 9.30 and left off at 2.30. This was handy because she would be able to take and pick up Scarlett from school. Dan worked from the office at the New Yorker but a lot of his work was done from home, which would be handy when he looked after Scarlett.

Dan smiled at James the door man of Serena's apartment building. Dan had been over a lot in the past 2 weeks which Serena had been living here and Dan had got to know James.

"Hey James, how are you today?" Dan asked.

"I'm good thanks. What about you sir?"

"I have told you, call me Dan. And I'm great thanks, just here to pick up the little one. See you later" Dan smiled as he got into the elevator and pushed the button for Serena's floor.


Serena paced around the kitchen biting her fingernails. It was a habit which she had picked up when she was nervous. Serena glanced at Scarlett, who was sat on the sofa surrounded by toys, watching the little mermaid again. It was her favourite film of all time. Serena felt scared. She was scared Dan was going to demand he had Scarlett the majority of the of the time. She knew he would want to see her more than the occasional sleepover and days out. She was his daughter as well and he had already missed out on 5 years of her life so it wasn't fair to deprive him of anymore time. She knew she was being selfish because she was the one who had decided to stay away and not tell him that they had a daughter, but she didn't want to miss out on any of Scarlett's life either. She wanted to be there when she learned new things and went new places. Serena didn't want to miss out on all the events in Scarlett's life, which her mom had missed out in her life. She wanted to be there for Scarlett 24/7. The blond haired, brown eyed beauty had been Serena's everything for 5 years now and Serena had been her everything. The tiny little being had consumed Serena's every minute of everyday since the day she was conceived. Serena had looked after her from the very beginning and it was hard for Serena to let go and share that responsibility with someone else. Serena's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock at the door.

"Daddy!" Scarlett exclaimed. She grinned as she jumped off the sofa and ran to the front door. Serena sighed and followed Scarlett to go let Dan in. She opened the door and Dan grinned at Scarlett.

"Daddy!" Scarlett threw herself at Dan's leg hugging him. Dan bent down and picked her up giving her a kiss on the forehead. Scarlett giggled as Dan's stubble tickled her. Serena smiled at herself. She loved the interaction and bond between father and daughter. It made Serena glad that Dan was the father of her child and no one else. She knew now that no matter what, Dan would always be there for their daughter. Serena knew that with Dan she wouldn't have to explain why daddy didn't come to see her anymore. He was always going to be apart of her life now.

"Hey Serena. How are you?" Dan smiled at her.

"I'm good thanks, you? Come on lets go inside" Serena stepped aside so Dan could come in before shutting the door.

"do you want anything to drink? Tea? Coffee?" Serena asked gesturing towards the kitchen.

"No I'm good thanks. I'm not planning on staying long. I was thinking that after we have talked that I could take Scarlett out. My dad is doing dinner for us Humphreys and jenny is actually going to leave Nate at home with Ethan for once, to come and have dinner with us so I figured it would be a good opportunity for My dad and Jenny to get to know her better. But if you two have plans that's totally cool, we can just do something another night" Rufus had recently brought a small loft in Brooklyn without Dan or Jenny's knowledge. He was moving back to the city for 3 months before he went on a tour of America with his band.

"No Dan, that's fine, really. I still have tonnes of boxes to unpack. We only have two of everything in the kitchen because the rest is still packed away. I still need to unpack everything for my room as well so you taking Scarlett will give me and opportunity to do so. We are having breakfast at my moms tomorrow so she needs to be back before bedtime so I can bathe and put her to bed early-ish"

"Yeah dinner is at 5 so I will bring her back about 7" Dan smiled. Serena looked at Scarlett.

"Scarlett can you go an play in your room please. Me and your daddy need to talk in private" Serena looked at Scarlett who was pouting.

"I don't want to go though mommy. I want to stay with daddy" Serena sighed.

"How about you go upstairs and find two toys that we can take to grandpa's to show him and jenny while me and your mommy talk and then we can go and meet jenny before going to grandpa's" Scarlett nodded.

"Okay then daddy" Dan placed scarlett on the ground before she ran off to grab some of her toys from the sofa and ran toward the stairs.

"Be careful on the stairs baby. Wait! I think the stair gate is shut anyway so let mommy help you" Serena called out.

"Make yourself at home" She smiled to Dan. Serena gathered up the rest of the toys Scarlett had left and followed Scarlett up the stairs. Serena went into Scarlett's room and placed the toys on her bed.

"We wont be too long baby" Serena shut the door behind her and climbed down the stairs. Dan was stood at the wall near the kitchen and living room. The wall was covered in black photo frames of all different shapes and sizes. The majority of the photos were of Scarlett but there were a few of Serena and Blair and the NJBC. One photo caught Dan's eye. It was a photo of him and Serena at senior prom. Serena had her arms wrapped around Dan's neck while his were round her waist. They were kissing in the photo and looked so in love.

Serena cleared her throat making herself present. Dan whipped round looking at her.

"I…Umm…I love these photos of Scarlett. They are brilliant. I was wondering if I could have a few copies so I can hang them in the loft"

"Yeah sure" Serena walked towards Dan and began looking at the wall with him.

"This one is my favourite" Serena pointed to one of Scarlett and herself. Scarlett must have only been about 3 years old. She and Serena had their faces pushed together. They had wild grins on their faces. Scarlett had ice-cream all around her mouth. They both looked so beautiful and happy.

"Yeah I like that one too. My favourite is that one" Dan pointed to another photo of Serena and Scarlett. Scarlett was a tiny bundle of pink wrapped up tightly. She must have been newborn. Serena was sat in a nursing chair in a white and pink nursery. Serena's blonde curls were tied loosely into a side pony. She looked wonderful for someone who had probably given birth days prior. She had a huge smile on her face as she cradled her baby. She looked natural and in love with the tiny bundle of joy in her arms.

"I look awful. That was my first day home with her. I had given birth 3 days before and I was exhausted. How can that be your favourite? There are such better photos of scarlett as a baby on this wall"

"Well I like it because of the fact that I can see how much Scarlett means to you and how much you love her. I can see in this photo how precious Scarlett was as a newborn and how much she depends on you as she is looking up into your eyes. I can see how much you have done for her in this photo and no matter what you will always love her. I don't want to take her away from you Serena, you do know that right? You are a brilliant mother and I don't want her to be without you"

"Thank you so much Dan. I was worried that you would try to take her from me and say that I was an unstable mom. I am not used to sharing her with someone or having anyone else look after her. I am so scared of letting her go. I don't want to lose her. She is my baby"

"Serena all I want is for her to be happy. I want for us to have a fixed agreement that we both agree on. I don't want to wake up one morning to find you both gone again. I want to be a permanent in her life. I want to be there for her and I want to be a dad. I promise I won't take her away from you as long as you promise you won't take her away from me"

"I know Dan, I promise. We aren't going anywhere. This is our home. I was thinking about our arrangements. You could pick her up from school on a Friday afternoon and have her Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and then on Sunday night you can drop her off at mine and then you wont see her again till the Friday again" Serena suggested. She wanted to give him more time and that seemed reasonable.

"To be honest Serena, that sounds brilliant. I only expected to have her one day a week. Thank you Serena, really" Dan hugged Serena tightly. She rested her head on his chest and inhaled his scent. Dan smelt exactly the same as he always did and Serena loved that scent. Dan smelt the top of her head. She still used the citrus shampoo which she always had. It reminded Dan of times when they would often shower together as teenagers. Dan loved the smell it always gave her long blond locks. Dan heard a giggle and him and Serena quickly broke apart looking guilty. Scarlett was stood half way up the stairs.

"Scarlett, I told you that we would get you when we had finished talking" Serena folded her arms.

"Yeah but you said a little while and it has been a little while" Scarlett jumped down the rest of the stairs. One hand holding onto the banister and the other clutching a cabbage patch doll called faith Alana. Dan had brought her it three weeks ago.

"Scarlett how about you go and get your shoes and coat and put them on. We have to get to Grandpa's soon" Scarlett grinned and skipped off to fetch her belongings.

"Scarlett is starting Trinity Elementary school on Monday so that can be our first week with the custody. There isn't much point Scarlett staying at yours this week. Then we will be able to get her into a routine. I will pack her some clothes and toys that she can keep at yours. Don't worry I will make sure that they are Brooklyn appropriate. I will have them ready for when you drop her off later" Serena smiled

"I can buy her some clothes…" Serena cringed. Dan laughed at her expression.

"Okay well I can give you some money to buy her some clothes. She is starting trinity hey? Our baby is a genius. Have you paid the tuition yet?" Dan asked smiling.

"No you have to pay for the first semester when we go for the induction on Monday or you can pay the whole year upfront"

"Well I will pay the tuition"

"Dan don't be stupid. Its 35 thousand dollars. You shouldn't have to waste your money on that. You don't need to pay for her tuition"

"Serena seriously. I insist. She is my daughter and you have been paying for her for 5 years. I will pay for her school. I have already set up a college fund for her. And a trust fund. I want to help Serena" Scarlett came running back into the living room interrupting Serena.

"Ready Daddy" Scarlett smiled. Just as Serena was about to speak again Dan butted in.

"I will bring the check over later"

"Come on Scarlett" Dan grabbed her hand and led her towards the front door.

"Bye mommy" Scarlett called as Dan opened the door.

"Bye Serena" Dan called as they closed the door behind them.


Hey Im sorry this is a long chapter. I started rambling and it was in fact longer than this but i have cut it down.

This is just building up to the big story line that i have planned.

I hope you enjoyed

Please Review

xoxo DerenaGG