Author's Note: First apologies for the delay. I had trouble with inspiration. Apologies for the brevity of this chapter. There are a few more to go and this one is a wrap. But, I'll be working on Mess I made and it's sequel :)

Chapter 12: Daddy Dearest

Serena's heart was pounding feverishly as she stood there staring at the one person she thought she'd never see again. All these years of searching, hoping and he was standing before her.

"Are you going to let me in?"asked William Van Der Woodsen.

Serena blinked and put on her game face. "Of course. I just wasn't expecting you."

William walked past his daughter and found himself staring into a pair of wary brown eyes. He assumed this was the boyfriend, but there was something oddly familiar about him.

"You must be the boyfriend."

Dan wrapped his arm around Serena's shoulder and said, "The name's Dan. Dan Humphrey."

"Humphrey? Why does that name ring a bell," William said. The kid obviously already had it for him. It was in his body language. At least he knew that his baby girl had people in her life that cared for her.

"Mom is married to his Dad. It's a long story," she said as she disentangled herself from Dan's arms. She looked up at him and said, "I'm glad you're here."

Dan went into the bedroom to allow them some privacy. As much as he wanted to be here for her, he knew this was something she needed to handle on her own. So, he got dressed and headed over to visit his dad.

Meanwhile, Serena smiled awkwardly at her father. She didn't know what to say or what she was feeling. This was the moment that she'd been waiting for, but somehow the words wouldn't come to her.

"You look just like your mother."

"That's what everyone says," Serena said politely. It was killing her that she didn't have the nerve to yell and scream and ask him why he didn't try harder?

"Why?" She finally croaked out.

William looked at her in confusion and asked, "Why what?"

"Why didn't you try harder?" She said as a single tear fell down her face. Serena wiped it away and stood up, but she couldn't look at him. It was too painful. She felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I should have. I was a coward. We were very young when we had the two of you. I thought giving you space was for the best. I started writing you hoping you'd come around, but you never did."

Serena turned around to face her father. "I never got the letters. She hid them. I found them in her closet a few months ago."

William hung his head in shame. He knew that she was right. He was too afraid of shaking up his own life to reach out to his two elder children."I'm sorry. There's really nothing else I can say." William reached for his daughter and held her in his arms as she cried.

Carter leaned back on Vanessa's bed in her cramped dorm room. She was working away on her laptop. He couldn't help, but check out her forms. She was pretty in that sort of bohemian way.

He patted the bed and said, "Come to bed."

She turned around and said, "I'm not sleeping with you."

"Again."

He made his way across the small room like an alleycat and his lips were tantalizing her senses. She pushed him away and said, "Let me work."

"Why so serious? You're far too tense. I can think of several ways to help you relax," He said with a smirk.

She turned and faced him. "I need to get this done, and we're supposed to be finding away to get our exes back."

"I'm bored," Carter said as he traced his index finger along her neck.

"You're a petulant child. If you're good, I'll reward you. Now, shut up and let me do this."

"Demanding. I like that in a woman," He said with a smirk on his face.

Dan walked into the Penthouse and grabbed a plate and started piling on enough food to feed a small army.

"Still a pig, I see. Doesn't Serena feed you?" Jenny said as she served herself.

"She feeds me," He said with a smile.

"I'm not sure I want to know what you mean by that."J enny replied as she sat at the table.

Dan took a seat next to her. He felt bad about his neanderthal act from last night, but he didn't know how to apologize to his little sister. As much as he knew that Nate liked her, it was just weird seeing his baby sister like that.

"About last night, I'm sorry."

"You should be. That was embarrassing," Jenny said.

"It's just I'm not used to seeing my sister grinding up against some guy."

"He wasn't some guy. He's Nate."

Dan took another mouthful. He gave her look that spoke volumes. Jenny patted his hand and said, "You can't protect me from everything. I really like him and he likes me too."

"I know. It's just weird."

Jenny reached for the strawberry on his plate, but Dan smacked her hand away. "You're so greedy."

"You know how I get about food," Dan said as he ruffled her hair. Rufus and Lily walked in and joined them at the table. "Where's Serena?" Lily asked.

"Um, she's busy," Dan said as he continued to stuff his mouth. Rufus looked at him suspiciously.

"You're a bad liar, Dan. What's going on, son?" Rufus asked.

Dan put his fork down. He didn't know whether he should tell them or not. It really wasn't his place. This was something Serena needed to discuss with her mother.

"She's with her father. He dropped by."