As the days passed on, there was a gradual change in Serena. Dan abandoned his afternoons in his study, choosing instead to ply Serena with surprises. One particular morning, he had woken up only to find that instead of being at his side, she was nowhere to be found.

He dragged himself out of the bed, confused. "Serena," he called, his voice thick with sleep. He blinked wearily, trudging into their bathroom. On the mirror was a post-it note covered in her handwriting.

"Hey sleepyhead, if you've found this then you're on the right track. Let's play some hide and seek. For your next clue, go to the place where you rarely spend time in anymore."

Dan straightened up, his mind racing. Library, it was the library. No, it was the study. Yes, the study. He quickly walked through the door of his bedroom, flying down the stairs. "Serena?" He called again, hoping that maybe he'd hear a giggle or two. He dashed into his study, almost missing the post it note on the door.

"You're catching on quick, baby. Your next clue is inside and I'm only giving you one hint. Look through your recent documents."

He chuckled, knowing it was her way of making him look at the novel he had left to comfort her. He made his way over to his laptop, sliding one finger against the track pad so that the screen turned on. Opening his files, he skimmed the last documents opened and saved. Coincidentally, there happened to be a file named 'For Danny' that was definitely not there the previous day.

He clicked on it, growing more and more anxious with each passing second. "Come on, load."

"Hey there Danny boy. Having fun? I hope you are because it won't be fun for me if you don't have fun. I promise there's one clue left and only one. Come find me, Danny. Find me where you made everything better, where you gave me that wonderful surprise."

He grinned, jogging out of the study and headed for the deck. He caught sight of the hammock and his grin widened as he saw the girl laying there, earphones plugged in, eyes closed. There couldn't be a more beautiful sight. He padded towards her, his movements slow so that she wouldn't hear him amidst her music.

He reached for her, his fingertips brushing against her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and a lazy smile appeared across her face. "Hey you."

He leaned down, pressing his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. "Good morning sweetheart. Thanks for the surprise."

"Oh that wasn't the surprise."

He raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Then what is it?"

She leaned over the side of the hammock, pulling up a picnic basket. "I made breakfast and it is 100% edible."

"Are we talking about you because you know I could just eat you up." He brushed his nose against hers, his voice husky.

She blushed, giggling as his lips swept across her neck. "Danny!"

"Yes baby?" He murmured, nipping at her collarbone.

"Breakfast." She stretched the word into two syllables, her attempts at fighting him off getting more and more lazy.

"What do you think I'm doing?" He laughed, bringing his lips to hers. "Okay, okay."

"Thank you," she giggled, pecking him on the cheek. She reached inside the basket, fishing out a plate wrapped in foil. "Your favorite breakfast food."

"Oh really? Since when do you know my favorite breakfast food?"

"Since I said so."

He laughed, and tore off the foil finding that it was indeed his favorite breakfast food, strawberry pancakes. "Did you make these?"

"Actually, yeah I did." She giggled, kissing him on the nose. "You need to have more faith in me."

He raised an eyebrow at her and gently tore off a piece of pancake, popping it into his mouth. "You're right, I should." He kissed her cheek and settled down on the hammock, careful not to rock it. "Hey," he murmured, fingers playing with her golden curls. "I love you, sweetheart."

She smiled and pecked his lips. "I love you too."

--

Later that day, Dan was forced back to his study to focus on the book, on Serena's orders of course. However, that didn't stop her from waltzing in at the most random of times.

"Dan, there's a ball coming up," she said, plopping onto his lap with a handful of mail. "Do you want to go?"

"Do you want to go?" he murmured, looking up at her.

"Only if you want to." She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Serena." He cast her a look, raising his eyebrows.

She giggled and sighed, kissing him again. "Fine, make me decide." Her eyes scanned the invitation again, scrunching her nose at the formal words. "Sounds like fun. It'll be good to see some of my old friends."

He smiled up at her, one hand gently tracing circles on her thigh. "I take it this means we have to go shopping."

"You know it."

He groaned, his head falling back against his chair. "More bank emptying," he joked dramatically.

"Shut up," she murmured, bringing her lips to his. His arms wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer as he deepened the kiss.

He pulled away from the kiss with difficulty, his dark brown eyes turning serious. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay?"

"Anthony isn't going to be jailed. There isn't enough evidence against him. I'm sorry," he said, eyes locked on her, watching for her reaction. "He's on probation though and he isn't allowed to go 200 feet near you."

Serena's chest tightened and she closed her eyes, trying to keep in control. "You'll keep him away from me, right?"

His arms tightened around her and he kissed her forehead. "I'll kill him before he gets near you."

Her breathing slowed and the tension left her body. Dan would keep her safe, she knew he would. "Good, I'm glad." She stroked his cheek, thumb smoothing down the stubble. "I know I'll always be safe around you."

"I love you," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper.

"I love you too."