Just to clear some things up, the third baby is indeed Hannah and this chapter will definitely explain all the blue. Enjoy and don't forget to review.
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Present
"You want to come to the zoo?" Dan asked Brooke while carrying Holly piggyback.
"…umm" she thought for a moment. "No, it's okay" she went back to her magazine.
"Suit yourself" he smiled before they both left her room. Brooke always felt somewhat neglected when Holly was around. A few moments later she felt eyes on her again, looking up she saw her mom watching her intently.
"Sweetie?" Serena stood in her doorway.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"For the hundreth time, yes" she smiled at her mom who was growing more concerned about her daughter by the day.
"Okay, just making sure" she left feeling like she was overreacting.
Flashback
A tiny little Brooke moseyed to the counter with a box of Smarties in her little hands. Standing on her tippy toes she placed them on the counter. When the girl scanned them she handed them back to Brooke who smiled excitedly.
"Thank you" she said sweetly to the cashier who was already in love with the little four year old, wearing a skirt and tights. Her hair neatly in pigtails that Dan was truly proud of. Serena and Julia had been gone for a few days visiting Serena's dad in LA and Dan took it upon himself to dress Brooke exactly how Serena would, pig tails and all. Standing beside Dan she shook the box up to her ear.
"Ooooo, thems shakin' " she let everyone know that passed. Dan watched her amused.
"You're silly" he said to Brooke who made a funny kissy face to her dad then talked to everyone that passed her.
"I gots Smarties" she showed people.
"Hi!" she waved at an older couple that had a small dog. When she saw the dog she shrieked with delight.
"DADDY!, hims little!" she giggled.
"he is little" he agreed looking at the tiny Chihuahua.
"Look, I has some Smarties" she held the box up to the lady. The cashier bagged Dan's items while laughing at what Brooke was saying.
"Okay you" Dan picked her up.
"Shhh, Daddy listen" she held the box up to his ear and shook the box feverishly.
"You're right!…thems shakin'" he mocked her, getting a smile from the cute cashier. Dan then watched her scan his hand for a wedding band, which of course was there.
"Daddy what's that for?" Brooke reached out and touched the woman's nametag which was uncomfortably close to her left breast. Dan's face went an instant shade of red.
"Whoa, don't touch her. I'm so sorry" he apologized. Brooke's face looked sad knowing she must have done something wrong.
"It's okay sweetie, It's a name tag, my name is Brittany" she said.
"Oooh, thas a perdy name" Dan laughed, Brooke only said that because it was everyone's reaction when she told them her name.
"What's your name?" Brittany asked her.
"Brooklyn Jennifer Allison Humphrey" she told her with complete confidence. Dan wouldn't have been surprised if she recited her address and phone number now.
"That's a pretty name too" the cashier smiled.
"I know" Brooke said.
"No, say thank you" Dan urged her to be polite.
"Thank you"
"I just need you to sign here" Dan quickly wrote his signature and thanked the girl.
"BYE BRITTANY" Brooke waved.
They walked in the door of their still over heated apartment,Dan usually wouldnt have been home from work for more than a couple days but Chuck gave him permission since their new babysitter was fired a few days prior. Serena didnt like her and was convinced she was stealing things. Brooke proceeded to sit up at the kitchen table and sort her Smarties by colour.
"I lub lello" she said pushing all the yellow ones to her side.
"How many yellow are there?" he asked her.
"Five!" she said excitedly.
"Count again missy"
"One, two, three, four…five…thix!" she giggled heartedly.
"Oh, I'm thilly there's thix" she put her hand on her forehead and laughed at how ridiculous she was for counting five. Brooke lined her smarties up, and as she counted them Dan would eat the first one in the row, frustrating her and making her start over. "one, two, three…one two…Daddy sssstop" she whined.
"Whhhy?" Dan spoke with his mouth full and then opened his mouth to show her all the Smarties he was holding on to.
"Daddy, thas rude!" she put her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, will you forgive me?" he said sadly.
"hmm, okay!…pology esscepted" Dan instantly laughed.
"Daddy, why is you laughing?"
"Because you're funny" Brooke smiled widely pleased that she could make her daddy laugh.
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"Mommy and I have a big surprise for you when she gets home" Dan said as he pulled the covers up to her chin.
"Oooh" she sounded interested. Dan looked at her little face and gave her a little kiss.
"Do you miss mommy?"
"…a lil bit" she said. Dan smiled at her.
"she'll be home tomorrow" he let her know as he put her stuffed pig beside her bed.
"Goodnight sweetie" he shut the light off.
"Daddy?"
"Mmhm?" he looked at her as he turned her night light on.
"I lub you"
"I love you too baby" he kissed her again on the forehead.
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The next day
"WE'RE HOME!" Julia yelled when she walked in the door. Dan turned around the corner to see his little girl and wife standing in the door way with all their luggage.
"Hi!" Serena smiled before hugging and kissing Dan who she hadn't seen in five days. Serena pulled away from him and made a face.
"Air conditioning still isn't working?"
"Nope" he sighed before picking up Julia and twirling her around.
"Hi beautiful, How was your trip?" he asked.
"Fun!" she smiled.
"I see you both picked up a little tan" Dan noticed that Serena and Julia both looked bronzed. Brooke shrieked upon seeing her mom.
"HI MOMMY!"
"Hi baby!" she bent down and hugged her before noticing that the French braid Dan attempted, Serena laughed quickly pulled it out. They walked over to the kitchen and Dan placed Julia on the counter.
"Daddy" Brooke stood by his pant leg as Dan and Julia talked about her trip.
"What else did you do?" he asked her. Julia went into every little detail, from where they ate to what they saw and everything in between using her hands to talk.
"So you didn't miss me?" he asked her.
"…umm, yeah" her blue eyes sparkled as she told a little white lie.
"You liar, you were having too much fun" Julia giggled.
"Daddy!" Brooke rested her hand on his leg and looked up at him. Dan instantly remembered something he had to ask Serena.
"Did you tell your dad…about our good news?" he smirked.
"I had to, he kept pushing martinis on me" she giggled. Dan laughed and remembered a phone call he recieved.
"Daddy"
"Oh, he contractors will be out by Thursday" he said to Serena not hearing Brooke.
"Why I called and said that they need to be out by Wednesday at the latest?" she asked slightly frustrated.
"I don't know, that's what they said"
"Ugh" she sighed.
"Daddy" Brooke called again, only to be ignored.
"It's fine because we wont be packed by then anyway"
"Why not?" she said concerned.
"Umm, have you looked at our apartment?" Dan laughed, pointing out that hardly anything had been packed.
"We have two whole days" she said with her eyes widening.
"DADDY!" Brooke screamed frustrated.
"What? what, what?" he asked looking down. Brooke threw her hands in the air for him to pick her up. Serena gave him a look as he picked her up.
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One day before the big move
Already glowing, she skipped into their stark and nearly empty apartment holding on to about ten shopping bags. She smiled when she saw her husband labelling boxes and packing some last minute items. The air conditioning still hadn't been working, Dan was wearing an old wife beater and swim trunks, trying to keep cool.
"How was the shopping?" he wiped his forehead. Serena set all her purchases of the day on the floor.
"Fantastic" she gave him a quick kiss and began looking through the cupboards and cabinets.
"I'm starving…. and we don't have any food" she sighed realizing most of the cabinets were empty.
"I packed everything away,…hey, you should be helping me" he said looking at their disaster of a home.
"I'm pregnant" she said as if that was an excuse for not helping him, and sat herself up on the counter. Dan laughed and moved her purse and bags off the floor. Something caught his eye and he pulled a few items out of a bag.
"Serena, do you know something I don't?" Dan asked as he looked through all her light blue purchases.
"What do you mean?" she asked snaking on some crackers she found.
"What is all of this?" Dan asked while holding up the bag.
"Baby stuff"she said as if he was a complete idiot.
"I know, but why all the blue?" Serena didn't say anything she continued to dig into her crackers.
"I don't want you to have your heart set on a boy only to be let down, this baby could very well be a girl" he said before Serena snatched the bag away from him and put the blue hat and booties back into the bag that he pulled them out of.
"Let's not buy anymore things until we know for sure" he gave her a small kiss before dumping all the bags into a closet and Serena shook her head with a giggle.
"But, it's a boy!" she smiled widely, wanting Dan to accept the fact.
"I think he's a Tyler" she put her hands on Dan's shoulders and smiled, Dan could help but smile back, she was so cute.
"Well,… I think Tyler's a girl" he said making Serena pout.
"You're making me mad" she sighed taking her hands off him. Dan pulled on her arms until she was facing him.
"We'll know in three days, and then you can go shop crazy" Dan kissed her on the forehead. Serena sat herself back on the counter and Dan stood in front of her with his hands on his hips, she knew he really wanted her to help him.
"It's so hot!…and I'm so hungry" she whined hoping he wouldn't make her.
"Ok, let's go out" he suggested watching Serena stand in front of a fan.
"really?" she said confused knowing that they only had one more night in that apartment and the packing still hadn't been finished.
"Yeah, you're hungry, I'm hot…let's get out of here" Serena giggled and looked him up and down. Before poking her finger in a hole she found in his shirt.
"Okay, but you have to change first" she smiled.
"What's wrong with this?" he asked aware that he wasn't fit for leaving the apartment to get the mail, let alone going out for dinner. "I'll slip some socks and sandals on, and we're good to go" he joked.
"Ooo, socks and sandals? What's the occasion?" she played along.
"Maybe even black socks" his eyes widened making Serena giggle.
"Hmm, cute!...I just don't think they'll let you in Butters wearing that attire" she smiled up at him.
"Butters!?…do you think I'm made of money?" he smirked before finding himself a crisp suit.
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Three days later
Antsy to say the least, Serena fidgeted in her chair while Dan casually skimmed through a magazine.
"Serena?" a woman called looking through the waiting room.
"Oh, yes that's me!" she stood excitedly before her and Dan followed her into a room to have her ultrasound.
"and there's your baby" she said showing Serena where the heart and head was in the monitor.
"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Dan asked eager, he really didn't want to wait any longer and even though he had this strong feeling it was another girl he wondered what it would be like to find out they were having a boy.
"Umm,…yes I can. Do you want to know?" The technician asked while scanning the monitor.
"Absolutely" Dan answered quickly giving Serena a glance.
"Looks like we have a healthy baby…" boy boy boy Serena chanted in her head.
"Baby girl" The technician smiled at the couple.
"HA-HA!" Dan smacked his hand happy he won the bet.
"Oh…" Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing, she took a breath and didn't partake in the little celebration Dan and the technician were having.
"I'm going to die at an early age." Dan said with a smile, to be honest he was happy and not just because he won the bet.
"Sorry?" The technician was confused.
"We already have two girls" Serena said as if the woman made a mistake.
"Just wait till their teenagers" the woman laughed.
"I can't wait" Dan said sarcastically while watching the monitor closely.
"I really thought it was a boy" Serena said quietly to Dan.
"We only make girls" Dan said before he leaned over and gave her a kiss. Serena was so frustrated by that statement. That wasn't true how could it be true?. Grabbing his arm she pulled him close to her, he leaned in to listen.
"Dan…I really think she made a mistake, can you ask her to do it again?" she whispered.
"really?" he said squinting his eyes at her absurdity.
"I'll be right back" The technician told Dan.
"Ok, thank you" he smiled as she left. Dan waited for her to leave before getting very close to his wife.
"Are you upset?" he asked seriously taking her hand in his.
"no" she answered quickly as she bit back a few tears.
"Serena,…" he wasn't convinced and was now worried about her.
"No, this is good" she lied nodding her head still trying not to cry. She was starting to feel sorry for herself as Dan rubbed her back.
"We can always have more babies" he smiled trying to make her feel better. Serena didn't want four children. Three was her magic number. The third one was suppose to be a boy. His name was going to be Tyler Eric Daniel Humphrey, and he was going to look just like Dan. She imagined him in her head and now he was gone. She didn't even have a name picked out for a girl.
"No, another girl is perfect" she smiled making Dan feel better but deep down she still needed to get used to the idea that the baby she was carrying was not her boy, but indeed another girl.
Giving up on their usual unconventional naming strategies. Serena and Dan both made a list of their top five from a book.
"I just hate all of these names" she huffed lying on a couch.
"You don't like Ella?"
"No" she rested her head on the arm rest.
"Alisha?" he suggested.
"Ugh, no"
"Serena this is your list" he laughed.
"I hate them all!" she rolled on to her stomach.
"Do you want to hear my list?" he rubbed her back. "Okay" she lifted herself off the couch so she was sitting up straight.
"Holly?"
"Can't use Holly that's for Blair.
"Blair isn't having anymore kids" he said.
"It's just the rule" Serena explained urging him to continue.
"Jessica?"
"Too close to Julia"
"Emma?"
"Julia, Brooke and Emma" she said thinking about it. "No I hate that"
"Hey, what was that name you went by when we had that date?"
"What?" she looked at him confused not recalling.
"When we stayed at the Palace for the night. I was Mike and you were….?"
"H…Hannah" she said.
"Hannah!" Serena thought for a moment. "Julia, Brooke and Hannah" a smile crept up on her face.
"I love it!" she hugged Dan.
"Hannah Humphrey…that's so cute!" she looked pleased.
"So that's her name?" Dan asked making sure.
"I don't like it as much as I would have liked Tyler" she frowned.
"I know" he hugged her. After deciding on their new baby's name, they laid on the couch together and cuddled.
"I love you" Dan whispered.
"I love you too" she said weakly as she held on to one of his hands that were wrapped around her. Serena took a breath and pulled away from him.
"Where are you going?" Dan asked Serena as she sadly stood and headed for the kitchen.
"To make you some dinner" she said dryly and as if it was the most dreaded thing in the world.
"Serena,…Serena" he shot up from the couch and wrapped his arms around her from behind kissing her shoulder.
"Sit down" he whispered in her ear.
"Why?, I lost fair and square, I should be making dinner " she tried to pull away but Dan turned her so she was looking at him.
"I don't want you to make dinner, I don't even want you to do that thing you promised me." he laughed at how silly she was in promising something like that.
"I just want you to relax. " he pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her. Dan gathered Brooke and Julia before he got to work making dinner for his bet losing wife. Serena listened to them in the kitchen.
"I want to do it, I want to do it!" Julia jumped up and down.
"whoa, whoa, whoa, be careful"
"Ok, let Brooke do that, you can stir this" Serena giggled, as she watched Dan try and handle both of them in the kitchen.
"Mommy, I'm making you dinner!" Brooke said excitedly while Dan rolled up her sleeves, Serena nodded at her happily.
"Me too, me too!" Julia said with a big bowl in front of her.
"ME TOO!" Dan said wanting credit. He smiled at Serena in a way that made her giggle.
Maybe another girl wasn't going to be so bad. Serena thought as she dialled.
"Hi Blair…I'm going to need those dresses back" she sighed making Blair giggle on the other end. That night Dan packed away everything he could find that was blue and taped it up in a box to keep it out of Serena's sight. After dinner and both girls were tucked into bed Dan kept asking Serena questions.
"Are you still hot?" he asked moving the fan closer to her.
"I just want you to be comfortable" he looked at her with complete adoration.
"I am" she smiled sweetly. "We are about to be the parents of three girls. You're going to be so out numbered" Serena moved herself so she was sitting in his lap.
"I know…, and I have no problem with that" he kissed her.
"You know …you did win the bet" Serena said cheekily with her tongue running along the edge of her teeth. She moved herself so she was facing him.
"And what are you getting at?" he leaned into her knowing exactly what he meant. Serena ran her hands along his chin.
"that…thing I promised you…" she kissed him.
"…you don't have to do that" he kissed her back.
"I want to" she said naughtily. "You cant go back on a bet" she whispered in his ear.
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Brooke didn't take the news of a new baby well. Dan assumed she was just confused but still after more than three hours after being told, she cried and continued to express herself very vocally about not wanting a little sister.
"I don't want a little sister, and I don't want to be a big sister" she kept saying.
Serena tucked her in for the night, with a lot of tears in her eyes and sobs she finally fell asleep.
" In the morning she should feel better" she told Dan as she climbed on to their bed. For reasons obvious to Serena, Dan wasn't allowed to tuck Brooke in that night.
"I just feel like, maybe we shouldn't have told her yet." Dan said putting his book down on the night stand.
"It wouldn't have made a difference" she sighed.
"I'm going to quickly say goodnight" he started to get up.
"Don't even think about it!, if you go in there, you'll bring her back with you, she's fine…she just needs sleep" Suddenly feeling like she was being a little harsh she calmed her voice.
"She'll be fine." Serena whispered leaning over to kiss Dan who was still worried about Brooke.
"As soon as she sees her, she'll want to be a big sister, I know she will" Dan agreed with a nod, and got himself comfortable.
"You cant keep carrying her around though." she looked over at Dan who shook his head, fed up with the parenting books that Serena had been reading recently.
"Why?!" Dan asked as if Serena was ripping her away from him.
"she needs to realize that when the new baby comes you wont be able to carry her around the house all the time. You need to start now because once there's a new baby, her whole world will change without time for her to adjust."
"Serena, it keeps her happy, and… "
"Stop carrying her around Dan" she warned.
Dan carried Brooke every time he had a chance which entitled him to some nasty looks from Serena. Brooke even fell asleep on his shoulder from time to time.
"A couple weeks ago you said you didn't want to be a baby remember?"he rubbed her back.
"I want to be your only baby" she spoke tired and quiet.
"Just because there will be a new baby doesn't mean that we love you any less and it doesn't me you're not our baby" he promised her while laying her down on her bed.
Brooke sobbed with short breaths and it broke Dan's heart. Serena watched him as he kissed her over and over again.
"Daddy, I don't want that baby to has your eyes too." she looked up, her eyes glossy. Dan took a breath he wasn't sure what to say to her. Heavy tears streamed down her little cheeks, for fear of being replaced.
"…she wont baby, that's just you and me" he promised before kissing her again. That night Dan hoped and prayed that this new baby would have blue eyes.
Dan and Serena sat on opposite sides of the bed reading. Dan looked over at Serena a few times to see if she was reacting to the faint weeps that he knew they could both hear. Serena put her magazine down and closed her eyes, trying her best not to give in.
"Can I?" he said quietly.
"Go get her" a tear fell from Serena's eye.
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Present
"Hi" Serena smiled as Dan kissed her.
"We've been slacking with this baby making regime" Dan placed his hands on Serena's face. She pulled her lips off of his and took a breath.
"…I don't know if we should." she looked at the ceiling.
"Yeah, I guess we can wait till tomorrow" he said yawning. "We have all weekend" Serena shook her head slightly. "or Europe" he suggested.
"…no, I don't think we should…umm" she had a hard time with saying it. Dan shook his head and closed his eyes. "Serena, don't" he knew what she was going to say.
"I don't think we should,…look at Brooke we can't even take proper care of the two we have now" she frowned. Dan shook his head angry.
"You aren't working anymore, everything will be fine" he reassured her.
"I don't…," she began sadly.
'Don't say it!" he pleaded but she was never one to listen, he took both her hands in his.
"I don't want to" she said barely audible. "I do!" Dan yelled.
"I'm sorry" she whispered.
"I can't believe you, you are so indecisive" he looked away, letting go of her hands.
"we can't" she spoke sadly.
"Why not?" he really couldn't think of one concrete reason why a baby would be a mistake.
"Dan…" she knew he was angry as he looked away from her.
"I see the way you look at Holly, I know you cant stand it" he said.
"No,…you cant stand it." Serena said sadly, placing a hand on his face. "Honey, we can't have another baby to replace her, to fill the void…she's gone" as much as it hurt for Serena to say, she knew it was true, even if she had to convince herself of it.
"I know that!…it's been eight years" he pulled her hand off his face. "You don't think I know that she's gone?" he looked at her worn and frustrated, Dan took a breath and continued.
"I think about it all the time." he swallowed, Serena's eyes not leaving him. "That entire sham of a pregnancy, the ridiculous amounts of time you ended up in the hospital, the bed rest, the doctor appointments, the blood work and a long labour…for what Serena?" she looked at him with heavy eyes.
"A funeral?" he was heartbroken and Serena hugged him tightly, running hand up and down his back.
"I know" she said sadly before Dan pulled from her hug.
"Serena, you're making my head spin. I cant keep doing this. First you're yes and then you're no. Don't think about Brooke…ask yourself what you want." she thought for a moment before kissing him lightly.
"…I don't want to have another baby" with that said, Dan turned off the lights and turned over on to his side of the bed, as far away from Serena as possible.
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It was mostly a flashback but I hope you enjoy it anyway. The blue baby stuff becomes more significant in a few chapters. I have some questions. First, does it need more Chuck and Blair?. I like having them involved in the story but I don't really enjoy writing them together. I really like the flashbacks, so I wont get rid of them but I want to know if anyone really wants me to cut down on them. Would it be better If I wrote the flashbacks and present as their own separate chapters?
I've already mentioned I have written about three chapters that don't fit, I really wish I could post them but they will work out so much better if I write a few more before I post them. I'm trying not to give any spoilers of what's to come and it's so hard! Reviews are greatly appreciated as always. Thanks for reading, you all make my day J
-Faryn Queens xoxo