The dinner had been broken up by the waitress coming to take their orders, Dan and Blair deciding to split a salad and a pasta dish, and had fallen into an uncomfortable silence. No one seemed to want to break the quiet that fell over them in case it came with a fight.

Finally Serena, who had visibly been squirming as the group continued to not talk, broke the peace. "So, Harold, how long are you in town for?"

"We fly out the day after tomorrow. A short trip to see Blair for her birthday."

This was the wrong thing to say as the entire table turned their heads and zoned in on Harold. Dan had half the sense to say something, to change the subject, and try and get the heat off of Blair's father. Even though he was uncomfortable at the table, even though he was uncomfortable with the grouping that had gathered at the table, he would have rather gone on in silence than let Blair unleash.

Instead of responding, Blair let out a small laugh and picked up a piece of bread from the middle of the table. Instead of eating the roll, she started to pull it apart. Dan watched as crumbs fell on to the table cloth and the table switched from looking at Harold, to looking at Blair.

"Do you want to step outside?" Dan said, trying to whisper to Blair but with the entire table looking at them, it was impossible for his words not to go unheard by everyone.

"That's a great idea, Dan," Roman said, clapping his hands together. "Why don't you two take a stroll before dinner comes? It's a beautiful night. We should have planned better and dined somewhere with tables outdoors. Maybe on a rooftop somewhere-"

Dan looked gratefully at Roman, who seemed to be the only one trying to preserve the peace at the table. "Do you want to, Blair?"

"No," she said, refusing to elaborate besides with a small shake of her head. "I'm fine where I am, Dan, but if you would like to take a walk you are more than welcome to."

Dan shook his head, slouching down in his seat a bit.

Blair looked at him from the corner of the eye and her lips turned downwards. "You know what, I changed my mind. Let's go."

Before Dan could speak or change his mind, she was up and pulling his arm towards the entrance. "We'll be back in a few minutes."

Dan stood, his hands shoved in his pockets, as Blair handed over her credit card to the man at the convince store. "Blair, you don't smoke," Dan said, protesting as she took the pack of cigarettes from the man.

Blair shrugged, "I know."

"Then why did you just buy a pack?"

Blair led him outside, they were a block away from the restaurant, and leaned on the bricks of the building. "I used to, when I was just starting high school- when my dad was still home." She hit the pack against her hand before tearing off the plastic and handing it to Dan who obligingly put it into his pocket. "My dad hated it. I don't think I've ever been yelled at more than when he, well Dorota, found a pack under my bed. I had so many lectures and it was back when I thought that my dad was a demigod. I didn't think he knew anything but the answers. So, when he said stop, I did." She shrugged, taking out the matchbook she had gotten from the store, and put the cigarette in her mouth. "I haven't touched one since. Well, maybe when I was drunk a couple of times but that doesn't count."

"So you decided this was the time to start again?"

Blair put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it, holding it between her fingers once it was lit. "God, no. I'm not the stupid to go and start smoking again. I just want the smell on my clothes. I want him to think I am smoking, that I disobeyed him."

"Blair-"

"Don't, Dan. I don't need you to apologize for how my dad is behaving. I don't know what has gotten into him. I tried to ask what he was doing on my birthday that was so important that he had to come down a month before- he had no answer." Dan could see her eyes starting to glisten and he reached out to take her free hand. "I'm between that he truly just forgot what month I was born in or that he just didn't care and took a cheaper flight."

"I'm sure he has something going on," Dan said, looking down towards his feet.

Blair rolled his eyes, "You don't have to defend him." She flicked the ashes off the cigarette but continued to hold it. "You don't have to say anything really." She leaned her head against his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. "I think he still knows exactly what is right for me. He still sees me as his little Blair Bear, that I'm ten years old."

"I think all parents are like that," Dan said. He didn't want to necessarily defend Harold and had a few choice words that he would personally like to say, but he knew the pain of losing a relationship with a living parent and didn't want to see Blair have to go through that- even if Harold was going to continuously try and wedge himself into their relationship.

"I think it's kind of funny though," Blair said, flicking her finger again and letting the cigarette burn down. "Nate really put a wrench in his plans when he brought Serena."

Dan gave a half-hearted chuckle, throwing his arm around Blair's shoulders as she stubbed out the cigarette on the wall. "Well, I think they are both two men that are used to putting their needs and wants first."

"I don't know what either of them are doing," Blair said, frustration lacing her words. "It makes me so mad. Nate parading Serena in front of me and my dad parading Nate in front of me." As they started to walk, Blair stopped, "Exactly how hungry are you?"

Dan pulled out Blair's seat to the table, the food having already arrived but theirs was absent. Blair put her bag on the table briefly and Dan could see her hand tap the bottom of her bag so the freshly bought pack of cigarettes (with most of them thrown into the trash) tumbling out.

Harold's eyebrows shot up, "Blair, are you smoking?"

"Oops," she said, shrugging her shoulders lightly before pressing the pack back into her bag. She slung the bag over the side of her chair and moved closer to Dan.

"Blair, those are deadly. You are practically begging for a disease."

"Do you have any other fatherly advice for me?" Blair said, looking over to her father. "Any good lessons on loyalty or honestly?"

"Blair, honestly-"

"There's the word," Blair said, smirking.

"Blair, what has gotten in to you?"

"Are you fucking joking?" Blair asked, practically laughing in his face.

Harold looked around and back at his daughter, "Blair, language."

"Dad, I am turning 20 years old, I think I'm allowed a fuck or two when the situation calls for it."

"Blair-"

"Roman," Blair said, putting her hand up. "I really do like you but please just stay out of this. I don't know what this facade of a birthday dinner was about, but it wasn't about me or about celebrating my birthday. It's a month early, for one, and on the guest list is my ex-fiance and his plus one. Let me remind you, in case you forgot, who his plus one is. She happens to be the woman who Nate decided that he couldn't live without that he had to have both of us while not having the balls to tell me it was over."

Dan tore his eyes away briefly from Blair to look at Nate who was looking like he just got punched in the gut. Serena, however, looked slightly relieved to not be receiving the brunt of Blair's fury and vitriol.

"I was just outside wondering how am I going to sit through this dinner when I realized, I don't have to. I'm almost twenty years old and I no longer need to sit here just to please my father when he did practically everything in his power to make it a terrible dinner for the rest of us."

"Blair," Harold said, his voice straining as he reached out to cover Blair's hand with his own.

Blair ripped away her hands quickly and stood up. "No, I'm done. If you want to get in touch with me, you know how to reach me but until you grow the fuck up and realize that your dream of merging the Waldorf family with the Archibald family has gone up in flames, I'm done. Don't you think your daughter deserves better than a cheater?" Blair let out a slightly cruel laugh. "Actually, don't answer that. I think I deserve better than that and while he might not be your idea of a Prince Charming, he suits me just fine. Come on, Dan, I already asked up front to put our food in take away containers."

Dan stood up, his head slightly bowing at Rufus as he did not know what the proper protocol was in this situation. "Um, thank you… for the dinner."

Blair laughed lightly as she grabbed him by the elbow and led him away from the table leaving four very shocked faces in their, well really her, wake.

Blair pressed the key into the hole and turned the door knob, leading Dan into her apartment. Dan let her walk a couple of feet into the apartment, closing the door behind him, before he pressed her against the hallway door and kissed her. Blair let out a quiet noise in surprise before pressing her hands against either side of his face.

"What was that for?" she asked, as he pulled away. His hands moved down to her body and rested on her hips.

"You are just so hot when you're mad," Dan said, pressing his lips against her collarbone. "I mean, it's not hot when the anger is directed towards me but man, I do not want to get on your bad side."

Blair giggled, arching her back slightly off the wall as Dan played with the hem of her dress. "Aren't you hungry?" she said, using her head to point at the bag that contained their food on the floor, where Dan had dropped it.

"It can wait," he assured her, turning her around to slowly unzip her dress.

Blair rolled over in bed at the sound of her phone going off. "Fuck," she said, pulling the sheet away from Dan to cover herself as she looked at the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Dan asked, rolling against her, rubbing his chin against her shoulder.

Blair showed him the phone which was lighting up with a picture of Blair and her father. "I feel like post-coital is not the time to talk to my father about what just happened."

Dan shook his head, "No, probably not."

Still, Blair looked guiltily at the phone as it continued to light up before it finally turned to black. She turned over on her side, her chest pressed up against Dan's. "Do you think I should talk to him?"

Shrugging, Dan traced a pattern on to her back. "I don't know. It's up to you. Do you want to talk to him?"

Blair bit her lip, "I don't know. He goes back to France in a couple of days and I don't want him to leave with us mad at each other. He is my dad."

"I know," Dan said, nodding along.

"I did say what I wanted to say."

"And quite ferociously."

"Do you think it was too much?"

"I don't know, Blair. I think your dad is overstepping his boundaries a bit and you were rightfully mad."

Blair pursed her lips as her phone lit up again to show a voicemail. "I will at least listen to the message," she said, nodding her head as though she has just made an important decision. Blair pushed herself off the bed, taking the bed sheet with her as she exited to the bathroom.

Dan, feeling quite exposed now, stood from the bed and fished around for his boxers and pulled them up. Sitting back in the bed, he pressed his back against the wall and watched the doorway from which she came.

Blair came back, dragging the sheet behind her. She rumbled through her drawers and finally pulled out a top and some pajama bottoms. "I'm hungry, I'm going to heat up the pasta. Do you want some?"

Dan raised his eyebrows, surprised that she hadn't come back with at least a debriefing of the voicemail but he had learned quickly with her not to press an issue that she didn't want to talk about. "Yeah," he said, trying to act nonchalant, "I guess I can go and set the table."

"Great," Blair said. "I'll be down in a second. I just need to make a call."

Dan stepped out of the bedroom and as soon as he was passed the threshold, Blair closed the door behind him.