Author's Note: No plot chapter! Be warned! And thanks for the reviews as always. I love reading them.

The sun finally started to set. Although the air conditioner was on the blistering summer sun was still noticeable inside Dan's new apartment. Her hand reached across Dan's stomach and hugged him tightly as the cool of the night started to affect her. She was worried about him. She was worried about his physical wellbeing. He seemed sick when he told the story and it took her nearly an hour to calm him down. So instead, Serena and Dan just stayed in bed all day long. Neither one of them moving very much, neither one of them saying very much either.

Serena leaned her head on the back of his shoulders. Dan had slept for most of the day. Serena had been too anxious. She needed to make sure he was okay. The first hour after he had fallen asleep Serena spent it rummaging around the new apartment for something to use as a puke bucket if the situation were to come up.

Serena had never had to care for anyone like this before. Sure there were times in her youth, during her wild and free phase that she puked on sidewalks and often needed someone to hold her hair, so she often returned the favor, but not like this. She wasn't just being courteous now, she wasn't just being kind, she needed him to be okay. She needed him to get well.

For the first time in her life, she was worried for someone's life, not out of guilt, or habit, or fear… but because she loved him.

After she had found a few buckets from the previous tenant and placed them near Dan's side of the bed she went into the bathroom. She grabbed one of Dan's t-shirts from his suitcase that he had brought with him earlier in the morning. She looked at herself in the mirror and stared at herself long and hard. Was she strong enough to do this? She wanted to be. Did she have enough love to see this through? She felt like she did. Could she love Dan the way that he loved her? She earnestly wanted to try.

She saw something in her own eyes. A glow, almost a twinkle, whatever it was it gave her the idea that she would rather be nowhere else. The apartment was empty, the bathroom needed remodeling, the air conditioning was either too cold or not strong enough in parts of the apartment, but she'd rather be nowhere else. Not Santorini, not Paris, not Madrid, not Buenos Aires… She peaked out of the bathroom at Dan sleeping on the bed, she'd wish she had been here long ago.

Serena got undressed and slipped into his t-shirt and jumped back into bed. She smiled as she slowly wrapped her arms around him. As her arms gently closed around his stomach, his hand, by instinct, placed itself over hers.

Dan woke up in a daze. Slightly sweaty and out of breath, he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Serena was alarmed by the sudden movement. She sat up and put her hand on his back. He recoiled sharply.

"I'm sorry Serena." Dan panted. "I'm really sweaty…"

Serena gave him a sarcastic look. "Dan, it's okay."

Dan didn't say anything. It took him a few moments to completely regain his senses.

"What happened?" Serena asked.

"I'm sorry… I had a dream about that night." Dan said as he looked at his sweaty palms. "I'm sorry Serena, I know you didn't sign up for this. This wasn't how I wanted you to spend your first night here."

"Dan." Serena said as she laid him back down onto his pillow. "I want to be here. I want to be nowhere else."

Dan smiled faintly as Serena leaned over and gently kissed him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She whispered.

"There's nothing to talk about." Dan said. "I think it will just take time for the feeling to go away."

"Dan, it's been nearly a year…" Serena said.

"I know, I know…" Dan said. "I will beat this… I just need… time."

Serena smiled at him. "There's no rush. I'll be right here, always."

Serena hovered over him. She looked away and asked. "So, tell me about Vicky."

"Serena…" Dan whispered. "She wasn't you…"

"I know." Serena said as she turned to look at him.

"You don't have to worry. I love you… and only you." Dan said.

"I know." Serena smiled. "I'm not worried about that. I just to know what affect she had on you?"

Dan sat up. "She was just… free and confident… and lively. She was fearless, always the first to say yes to adventure, always to first to throw her heart into something… maybe that was the problem…"

Serena stared at him as he tried to find the words without bringing back too many painful memories.

"Her heart floated… it never stayed in one place for too long." Dan said. "Her freedom was more important than love to her I guess…"

"Did she cheat on Antonio…" Serena began to ask. "with you?"

Dan looked at Serena startled. "No!" He turned away again. "She thought I was too sheltered, too pampered. I guess I spent a year of my life trying to prove to her that I wasn't. But she never saw me that way, no matter how hard I tried. She loved Antonio… and to this day I still believe it."

"How can you love someone and hurt them so much?" Serena asked.

"That's what scares me Serena. That's what keeps me up at night. That's why these nightmares keep returning." Dan explained. "I'm scared of the things people do to each other. I used to believe that if you were in love, it was this shield against all the terrible things people do to each other. But that's not true is it?"

"No, it's not." Serena said as she thought of Blair and Chuck.

"I'm afraid for us." Dan said. "I don't want to hurt you…"

Serena wrapped her arms around him. "I think what you meant to say is that you don't want me to hurt you… all you have to do is ask."

Dan leaned his head against hers.

"I can't…" He whispered.

"Dan. I can love you." She whispered. "But you have to know the only way love works is we care about each other, and when that happens there's always going to be the potential of being hurt."

"I thought…" Dan said. "If I could love you from a distance, that… you would never be hurt and I would never be hurt…"

"Is that true Dan?" Serena asked. "When I was dating Nate, what about when I was dating Carter?"

"I tried not to think about it." Dan answered.

"You may very well have enough love for the both of us." Serena said, almost starting to sound like Lily. "But that's what I want. I want to love you back."

"What about when you found me in Blair's dorm room with Georgina?" Dan asked.

"That was actually kinda funny." Serena answer with a light smile.

"Alright… I get the point." Dan smiled.

"No wait…" Serena said. "That doesn't mean I liked seeing you with Vanessa or Ivy… Dan, you have to know that I cared."

Dan mustered up a smile.

"You don't believe me." Serena said.

"No I do." Dan tried to say.

"No, you don't…" Serena said.

"Okay, maybe this is just me being a baby, but I really had a hard time seeing you with Colin and Ben. But when I was with Vanessa… you didn't care." Dan said.

"That's not true." Serena said.

Dan fell silent.

"Dan… all I can say is I'm sorry." Serena said. "If I could I would go back and change everything… but I can't."

"That means a lot to me Serena." Dan finally said. "And thank you for apologizing. I just didn't want to be a self-absorbed jerk about everything."

Serena pushed him back onto the bed and mounted him. She neared her face to his.

"You loving me does not make you a self-absorbed jerk." Serena whispered.

Serena reached over and stroked his hair. They stared silently into each other's eyes. There breathes mixing as they exhaled in sync. Dan reached down and slid his hands underneath his t-shirt and Serena's back. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Their lips neared and just as they were about to touch there was a knock on the door. Serena and Dan turned to see who it was. The door opened and a large man came in with several boxes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." He said as he looked away.

Serena dismounted Dan. "No, it's okay."

Two other men appeared with a few more boxes.

"Where should we put these?" The second mover asked.

"Just… anywhere is fine." Dan said as he got out of bed. "Is that everything?"

"Everything for today." The first mover said.

"Yeah, I have some furniture for this place and the rest of my wardrobe coming tomorrow if that's okay with you." Serena asked.

"Of course" Dan said as he wrapped his arms around Serena.

"Do you guys need us for anything else?" The mover asked.

"No, I think we can take it from here." Dan answered.

"Okay, well you two have a good night." He said as he signaled the other movers to head out.

"Night." Both Dan and Serena said simultaneously. They looked at each other and finally their completely their interrupted kiss.

Serena's phone rang. They broke their kiss and looked at it. Serena grabbed it off the counter and they both checked the message.

This just in boys and girls,

It seems that lonelyboy and our very own princess have made it official. Spotted at the corner of 101st and West End Ave, moving trucks with Serena's goods, looks like our famous author and Manhattan's favorite blonde are finally moving in together. Can't way to see how long this lasts.

Xoxo Gossip Girl

"Pfffhh." Serena laughed as she tossed the phone aside and wrapped her arms around Dan's neck and kissed him. "Now where were we?"

"Unpacking…" Dan said with an air of disappointment. "If we don't do it now…"

Serena flashed her disappointment smile. "Our first cohabitation challenge."

"We'll get through it, easy." Dan reassured her. "How about you order us some food and I'll get started on your boxes."

"I don't want to leave you alone with all of this." Serena said leaning on his chest.

"Serena…" Dan said as he held her in his arms. "I know this is going to be difficult. Trust me, I've lived with Vanessa. And this will have to be a partnership and we will work on that. And we will get through it. But these boxes are not a big deal. Just because I unpack your boxes doesn't mean we're gonna sink back into old habits."

"Okay…" Serena surrendered.

"Trust me Serena, we're going to be okay." Dan said.