(Yikes, I'm not estimating the number of chapters anymore. Enjoy this chapter knowing that it's very close to the epilogue. This chapter will answer some of your questions, some big ones)
(Surprise)
If I could give you all the things you've been denied
Would it change you?
Would you feel alive?
But all that's left now are these words that I've been trying to say to you now
And together we'll get by somehow
And all you ever wanted was someone to find
The truth you hide from everyone deep inside
"Can you get the door sweetie" Dan finished setting the pristine dining-room table with the help of Brooke. They did everything the way Serena usually did. The tree, the table, the banister, even the mantle was decorated as if Serena did it herself. Julia was pleased knowing their mom's traditions were now her dad's and Christmas wasn't going to be that different. Julia slid to the door in her tights, munching on a candy cane she grabbed off the tree.
"Merry Christmas" she hugged Rufus tightly, letting him into the house. Always the first to arrive, Rufus needed to make sure the sweet potatoes were made properly.
"How're you?" he kissed gave her air kisses.
"Good" she smiled as he added a few gifts to the tree and went into the kitchen to greet Brooke and Dan.
"Dad, how many people are coming?" Brooke asked seeing the whole table was full of plates.
"Why's there too many?" he asked. The door bell rang and Julia slid over again and greeted her grandma Allison and her boyfriend Alex. Alex and Rufus were on good speaking terms and they had been for years now. Julia couldn't help but wonder if James and her dad were going to be friends someday. It was a preposterous assumption now, her dad obviously wanted nothing to do with James but still, would time heal all wounds like she had been told so many times before?
"Hi sweetheart" her grandma kissed her on the cheek. After they put their coats in the closet Julia could hear them all saying hello and hugging in the kitchen. Another door bell ring caused her to turn right back around to answer it.
"Merry Christmas babe" Jenny popped in and set her presents under the tree. "It's snowing" she told her niece before heading to the livingroom where everyone had congregated. Jenny hugged Rufus then Allison before moving to Dan. Julia collapsed into Rufus' lap.
"Where's that boyfriend of yours?" he asked his granddaughter. Rufus was very fond of Adam, he saw something in him, 'raw and natural talent' is what he told Dan.
"He's coming over later, he has a family dinner" she explained as the door bell rang again.
"I'll get it!" she jumped up and ran to the door for the fourth time.
"Merry Christmas" Blair and Chuck carried in piles of presents.
"I didn't know you were coming" Julia stood with the door open letting the Basses in to her home. Blair looked just as done up as usual, Holly dressed as a mini version of her. Chuck and the boys in suits.
"It's Christmas, isn't this what we do every year?" Chuck asked Julia's confused face. He was right, this was what they did every year but still she thought this was going to be different, her parents were no longer together and she was expecting this to be smaller. Julia took everyone's coats and hung them in the closet. Jacob, Bradley and Holly all went to greet everyone while Chuck and Blair put their presents under the tree.
"Miss Julia, Merry Christmas" Dorota and Vanya walked in with Ana.
"Oh hi" Julia was stunned, she grabbed their coats and noticed Eleanor and Cyrus at the door.
"Merry Christmas darling" they both gave her air kisses before greeting the large group of people that accumulated in her living-room. The noise was getting louder and louder, she walked in the room to see what she saw every year. Julia seemed to be the only one confused, her dad and Brooke didn't seem fazed by the amount of people. Dan had Holly sitting on his lap and Brooke and Bradley were exchanging gifts before they were given the go ahead. Brooke could never wait like everyone else. The door opened and Julia heard her bestfriend.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Tara yelled from the foyer, she was always drawing attention to herself.
"Hey buddy" Julia ran to greet her, they hugged.
"Is that Tara I hear?" Dan walked in the room to find them.
"Merry Christmas Archibalds" Dan and Nate hugged. Anne and the Captain both walked in with their granddaughter.
"Where's Steve?" Dan asked.
"Vermont"
"Really?"
"Yeah it's Vanessa's year" Julia heard Nate explain as Dan lead him and Alana into the livingroom. Julia smiled when Lily showed up at the door.
"Hi Grandma!, how're you feeling?" she asked. Lily shook her head to get the snowflakes out and smiled brightly.
"I feel wonderful. Merry Christmas sweetheart" she kissed her on the cheek and went into the living room to find her only other grand baby. "There you are" Lily found Brooke, who immediately jumped up from her seat to give her a hug.
"I think she should sing us a Christmas song" Jenny smirked at her niece.
"No,...no" she shook her head.
"Come on sass" Lily urged her. Dan heard Lily's voice and walked over to greet her.
"Lily" he held his hands out.
"Hi darling" she gave him an air kiss.
Lily and Jenny continued to urge Brooke to sing a song, Chuck and Nate made drinks for everyone, Eleanor and Cyrus were laughing about something with Rufus, Holly was playing with Bo and Dan was running back and fourth figuring out what time they should serve dinner.
Julia smiled seeing everyone having a great time, it was exactly how it usually was, but there was one thing missing, there was no one running back and fourth with her dad.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"I think we should do presents" Nate suggested.
"We're going to eat in like ten minutes" Dan told him.
"Why're you being so quiet?" Jenny asked Julia with a nudge, it wasn't like her to be so quiet.
"I don't know" she said. "I'm just taking this all in, it's nice"
After a few minutes she felt someone tug on her hair. She turned around in her seat to see Serena "Mom?" she was so surprised she jumped up from the chair she was sitting on.
"What did you want me to ring the doorbell?" she smiled.
"I can't believe you're here" Serena kissed her on the cheek and brought her into a warm hug. Dan stopped talking to Nate and watched her. Nate continued the conversation but Dan was completely tuned out.
"Mommy!" Brooke ran over and hugged her mom. Dan masked his smile with his glass of wine.
"Merry Christmas" she kissed Brooke.
"Nate, you'll have to hold that thought" he stopped him mid sentence. Dan walked over to Serena, Brooke and Julia watched him intently. They weren't sure what terms their parents were on at this point.
"Hey, Merry Christmas" he gave her an air kiss, she returned it back.
"Um" she took a breath and just smiled at him.
"You..you...want some wine? or a martini?" Dan asked her with his hand on the small of her back.
"..." She smirked at Dan. "I'd love one" she said through gritted teeth. Dan shot her a goofy smile, he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Mom come sit beside me" Brooke pulled her into the dining room. Dan set Serena's glass next to her at the table and sat as far away from her as possible. This table was only ever full on Christmas, Serena always wanted a table that sat thirty plus, she never knew why but at Christmas time it always seemed like a good idea.
"I'm going to grab some more wine, anyone else?" Lily asked. She picked up Serena's glass. "Neat right?" she asked her daughter. Dan jumped up from the table and grabbed both glasses from Lily.
"I got em" he said. "Dirty,.." he looked at Serena, he knew her the best. "and red Lily?"
"Oh, yes thank you" she was a little stunned, she sat back down with a laugh. "You can tell he used to serve"
Plates and glasses clinked, cutlery chimed as everyone dug into the enormous meal in front of them.
"Thank you" Serena smiled at Dan when he set down her glass. Everyone was pleased with how civil they were being, no one more than Julia.
"Serena how are you?, I haven't seen you in forever" Eleanor said. Dan watched her and Julia watched him.
"Oh,...," she was caught off guard. "I'm good" she smiled. Julia watched her dad shift in his seat a little before he opened his mouth.
"That's good,...everything is good?" he asked then looked down at his napkin trying to make it seem nonchalant. "Just um,...in your life, everything is just fine? you feel okay? nothing we should be umm worry about?" his tongue poked at his cheek. This questioned seemed strange to Julia but everyone else was too busy with other conversations and the food in front of them to notice. Blair laughed to herself and shared a smirk with Dan.
"No, everything's...great" she smirked into her 'martini' glass.
"fantastic,..umm,...Blair you feeling okay too?" she laughed out loud knowing it was Dan's attempt at hiding his awkward questions for Serena.
"I'm feeling good, nothing you should worry about" she smiled at Serena.
XOXOXOXOX
After dinner, Serena wanted nothing more than to cuddle up beside Dan as Brooke and Julia opened presents but they managed to keep their secret this long, it was worth keeping for a little longer. Lily arranged a large family picture with everyone. Serena stayed to the side as they all got together. "Get in here, it's just a picture" Lily told her to stand beside Dan as if she'd hate the idea. Dan looked unfazed by this as he straightened out his suit. Once all the pictures were taken they all parted. Dan quickly put his hand on Serena's back. "Do you know?" he whispered. Serena shook her head and pulled away from him so nobody would catch on.
Around eleven everyone started to head out Serena was the only one left. "You want to stay?...umm,...I mean for some pie, I think Adam is stopping by" Serena took a deep breath pretending she wasn't about to laugh. She could never help herself when he acted nervous like that.
"No, I should go, but thank you" she put her coat on.
"...Uh you sure?" Dan was fishing, he put his hand on the back of his neck and gave Serena an intense stare, she knew what he was alluding to but she had a better idea.
"Bye mom" Julia rested her head on Serena's shoulder. "I love you" she wanted to go home with her but told Adam he could come over for pie.
"I love you too" she rubbed up her arms.
"I'm really glad you guys decided to celebrate christmas together" Brooke hugged her mom.
"Christmas in this house is tradition and I think we're civil enough to have a dinner together" Serena explained to her daughter, she looked over at Dan and smiled lightly.
"Goodnight" she kissed Julia on the cheek and reminded her what time she'd pick her and her sister up for shopping the next day. Everyone had said their goodbyes and it was time for Serena to leave.
"Come here" Dan held his hands out, Julia and Brooke smiled as their parents shared a friendly hug.
"Ok,...bye" she smiled before she headed out the door.
Dan rested his hand on the door frame when she left.
"Do you think Adam will want apple or pumpkin?" Julia asked Dan before going to her cellphone to text.
"I'm not sure" he was frozen.
"What kind do you want?" she asked.
"...Oh,..I'm stuffed, don't worry about me. I'll be back" he said as he headed through the house. Slowly he opened the back door and walked to the side of the house.
"OOoo, it's cold" he smiled seeing Serena leaning against the brick. There was a small amount of white fluff on the ground that had melted around her feet.
"Why aren't you wearing a coat?" she asked amused.
"I thought it might look suspicious" he smiled.
"We should have just told them" Serena sighed as Dan's hands took hold of her hips.
"I wanted to. I really wanted to but,...I think we're doing this right. We'll make sure everything is resolved before we tell them,...how bout New Years?" he suggested.
"Sounds good" she gave him a peck.
"Mmm" Dan deepened the kiss and pushed her against the house.
"I got you something"
"...we weren't suppose to get presents" Serena pouted knowing she didn't get him anything.
"It's okay, it's not really for you anyway" he kissed her neck. "I'm going to sneak you in the house in a minute" he whispered in her ear. Serena giggled as he continued kissing her.
"Maybe I should just go" Serena saw how much of a hassle it would be to sneak her in the house.
"No, I want you to stay" he put his hands on her face and brought her into a deep kiss.
"I miss this" she wrapped her arms around him.
"Okay let's sneak our way to the front of the house, I think they're in the kitchen so we should be just fine" Serena laughed at his tone, he seemed to excited about her being his secret. At the front door they stopped to makeout.
"Wait,...we could light candles and...,mmm,...we could be warm" she giggled at the freezing railing she was leaning against while Dan silenced her with more kisses.
"Hello?" they heard a voice and it was too late to pull away from eachother Adam saw them.
"Oh no..." Serena bared her teeth knowing he definitely saw them.
"Adam!" Dan ran after him after prying himself away from Serena.
"Hey, that's fine, i'm sorry I...I didn't mean to walk in on...uh anything. I'll go through the side door"
"No it's fine, it's just,...we are keeping this on the down low so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say anything to anyone especially Julia" he spoke seriously.
"Oh..., I won't"
"Okay, do me a favour, go find Julia and keep her in the kitchen until I come in"
"Okay..." he walked into the house.
"Don't say anything" Dan warned him.
"I won't" Adam laughed.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"I can't believe i'm sneaking into my own house" Serena laughed once they were in their bedroom and the door was locked behind them.
"It's fun isn't it?" he smiled widely. "Now you'll just have to get up early, get dressed...go outside and ring the door bell"
"Is that the plan?"
"Yeah, they'll never suspect a thing" he took hold of her arms and brought her closer to him.
"I hate everything about this room" Serena confessed she hated the decor.
"We'll fix it soon I promise" he knew she didn't like the new bedding or the colour of the walls, she didn't like how it seemed to be Kelly's bedroom now.
"Where are all out pictures?" she sighed realizing there was only a couple of Brooke and Julia. "Did she throw them out?" Serena suddenly felt her heart race.
"I still have them" he kissed her temple, calming her nerves. "We'll put them up very soon"
"I'm ripping down the drapes too" she leaned into him. "Oh,..." she took a deep breath remembering something. "Dan,...did she stage every room?"
"Yeah" he said slightly ashamed with himself for letting it happen.
"The nursery?" she bit her lip hoping he'd say it was untouched.
"...,i'm so sorry" Serena closed her eyes knowing they turned it into a guest room.
"Serena,..." he looked straight at her.
"I guess I have a new project" she smiled lightly. "Maybe we'll get to buy blue paint this time" she laughed.
"Oh I hope so" he joked pulling away from her. "Can it just finally be a boy?" he looked up at the ceiling.
Serena laughed "you're funny" she laid down on their bed.
"I'm going to go downstairs and let Adam know the coast is clear, it's been awhile" he remembered what he told him.
XOXOXOXOX
"Stay here"
"Why?" Julia started to feel like Adam was keeping her in the kitchen for a reason.
"You said we were going to have pie"
"We are, but I want to give you your present first" she smiled pulling on his arm.
"Julia, just wait..." he stood firm.
"Hey Adam" Dan walked in happy to see Adam was doing his job and there was no way she would have seen Serena.
"Hey" Adam smirked at him.
"Can I see you in the living room?"
Adam looked at Julia who was more than confused.
"Dad?..." she started to worry he was going to give him 'the talk' she didn't know that he already had taken care of that.
"Just for a second" Dan explained.
"Sure thing" Adam followed him. Dan handed Adam a few sheets of paper once they reached the living room.
"What's this?" he looked down at them.
"What does it look like? It's not a christmas present I was just going to throw it out and I figured you might want it" Dan explained taking a seat on a couch.
Adam's eyes were downcast for awhile, he flipped through the pages and started to smile.
"This is good" Adam looked up to see Dan.
"What you shocked?" Dan laughed lightly.
"A little. I can't take this" he handed him back the stack of papers.
"Why not?, take it"
"You don't want any credit?"
"No. I was just about to toss it"
"Dan this is really,...I like this"
"Then it's yours" he said simply.
"It feels like stealing" Adam confessed.
"Adam, just take it" Dan was exhausted with the back and fourth. "It was originally a letter. I wrote it when we first broke up, but somehow it's not really that sad"
"Maybe you always knew you'd get back together"
"Maybe" Dan nodded.
"I didn't know you played"
"I grew up with guitars, but you should add drums,...maybe bass" Dan stared at the paper.
"yeah" Adam knew his bassist and drummer we're awesome. Julia poked her head out to the living room.
"Adam, I cut you a piece of pie" she tried to relieve him from her dad.
"Umm, be right there" he was still reading through the pages.
"You and I have a very similar dynamic" Dan said.
"How do you mean?"
"The guy from Brooklyn and the girl from Manhattan..." he laughed lightly.
"I keep forgetting about that" Adam laughed.
"You know some times that might make it really tough, but you have to remember that women like Serena and Julia are worth the complications"
"Well, it took me a long time to get used to this" Adam looked around the livingroom.
"Hey, you and me both" Dan bit his lip. "Adam, do me a favour and put away the 'humble artist' morales for tonight" Adam looked confused.
"Whatever she gives you for Christmas,...you have to accept it, trust me it's easier if you do, if you don't she'll be upset"
"...okay" he nodded.
"Okay, i'll talk to you later" he got up and grabbed a wrapped box from under the tree, then started up the stairs. "I need you to keep that little thing a secret" he reminded him.
"Absolutely I wont tell a soul"
"What secret?" Julia walked into the living room with a piece of pie on a plate.
"You'll see" he smiled and melted her.
"My dad is keeping a secret? tell me!" she waited.
"...It's good, you'll see"
"..."
"Julia,..trust me, you're going to be so happy"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"You didn't fall asleep on me, did you?" he locked the door.
"Almost" she yawned. Dan climbed up on the bed.
"Here" he handed her a wrapped gift box.
"I'm not happy about this, we said no gifts"
"I already told you, it's not for you" he watched as she ripped open the red and gold paper and opened the box underneath. Serena smiled light as she pulled a tiny little dress out of the wrapping.
"It should fit her by Christmas" Dan smiled. "I figured you gave Blair all your little dresses, who knows where they are now" Serena put her hands on his face and leaned in for a little kiss.
"What happened to the 'let this one be a boy' ?" she whispered.
"Let's be realistic" his lips touched hers.
"Five days" Serena reminded him that in five days they could possibly find out that soon.
"I can't wait. I wish I could go with you"
"It would be kind of funny if we anticipate a girl for the first time and it's a boy" Serena giggled. "Although I think you kind of like the idea of a girl" he eyes squinted as she held up the dress.
"No"
"No?"
"No, I love that idea. Why wouldn't I?"
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Hey Serena!" the girls at the front desk greeted her with smiles, they hadn't seen her in nearly a year and were entirely surprised. "Why're you here?" Christine asked politely. People stopped and stared at her like they were seeing a ghost.
"I have some important news to deliver to my husband" she laughed lightly. The girls looked at each other wondering what happened in the last few days as she headed for the elevator.
"Serena?" a guy questioned as he passed her smiling face.
Serena watched Dan stand in front of about 10 men in suits. He turned around and saw her bounce a little, he knew she was excited about something.
"What are you doing here?" he looked around to make sure nobody saw him. "come in here" he took her into a private room.
"I'm here with a purpose" Serena said with something behind her back. Dan made sure the door was closed.
A wide smile took over Dan's face and made Serena giggle, she knew what his next question would be.
"So you know?...is it a boy or a girl?" Dan knew they didn't have to wait three more weeks. He pulled back from her so he could see her face. She took hold on his hand and played with his fingers.
"Ok so tell me" he couldn't wait any longer.
"You know how we only make girls?" she asked him. They said it all the time, everyone said it about them, it was their thing.
"yeah..." he wondered why she said that, was she trying to trick him?
"Well,...we only make girls" she said seriously, her eyes widened with excitement.
"it's a girl?" he asked with an amused expression, still wondering if she was tricking him.
"Mhmm" she showed him the Baby Girl Humphrey caption above their baby's sonogram.
"Of course it is" he nodded hugging her tightly.
"Of course" she mimicked snuggling closer to him.
xoxoxo
It was finally New Years eve and Dan and Serena had finished their couples therapy. Everything ran smoothly, during the first session the therapist asked if they were joking. They seemed to have no issues and anything they had a problem with had been talked to death at this point, all they wanted was to be back together, to start new.
"Can I have champagne tonight?" Brooke asked her dad as they pulled up to The Palace.
"You can have one celebratory glass of champagne" Dan explained as both his daughters stood outside waiting for the Basses. Dan pulled his phone out about to text Serena, when he noticed the door of the limo open from the other side.
"You're not suppose to be in here" Dan looked over at Serena who had slipped in. "Hey, they're right outside" he pointed at Brooke and Julia who just hopped out. Serena didn't care she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him forcefully sending him back against the seat.
"We're going to tell them soon anyway" she nibbled on his ear.
"We're telling them tonight" Dan asked as Serena placed little kisses on his bottom lip.
"I don't know, I like sneaking around" she smirked. Throughout the last few weeks they had been secretly going on dinner dates and meeting for Serena's ultrasounds, everything was super hush hush and nobody knew but Blair, who promised she wouldn't tell a soul.
"I really just want to tell them" Dan urged. "At midnight?"
"No not here, let's go back to the penthouse, this is a private matter"
"Good call"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Dan once again found himself surrounded by colleagues and wall streeters
Julia sat with Tara as they watched Adam and Jay's band set up. "They're only covering songs tonight and taking requests so don't expect another Julia love song" Tara pushed her playfully.
"You're just jealous your boyfriend doesn't sing or write the music"
"Hey, he sets the beat, without him they'd be nothing" They both laughed and moved on to their second glass of champagne hoping their parents wouldn't notice.
"This is dedicated to someone very special" Adam began.
"Another one for you, geez" Tara groaned. When Adam started singing Julia noticed it was original, this wasn't a cover.
Dan turned away from the band and faced the bar.
"It's good!" Tara got up. "It doesn't sound like it's about you, maybe it's about me"
Julia laughed and listened harder to the music.
"I think...," she thought for a moment. "it's about my mom" Julia smiled.
"Adam is not writing songs for your mom" Tara laughed.
"No,...I think my dad wrote it"
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you read my dad's book?"
"Oh yeah!,...I think you're right. But why would he...? they're getting divorced"
Adam let go of his guitar and put both hands on the mic, he sang softly now and looked directly at Julia making her blush. "You're the only one I want"
When the song was over Adam jumped off the stage, Julia ran up to him. "That wasn't about me"
"Whoa, does everything have to be about you?" he joked putting his hands on her waist.
"Who wrote it?" she demanded.
"I can't say" he looked away from her.
"Adam"
"...let's get something to drink"
"No, tell me"
"Julia, I can't say"
"Adam Pierce,...who wrote this song?" she was persistent.
"Adam Pierce?" a gentleman walked up to Adam.
"Yeah" he looked confused as he shook his outstretched hand.
"I'm with universal records and I was wondering if you have any more original songs"
"I have tons..." his heart started racing.
"I'd love to hear them tonight"
"Umm, yeah we'll probably play a few originals" he nodded.
"I enjoyed your last song, do you write all the music?" Adam took a deep breath, he looked up to see Dan nodding. "Yes sir" Julia looked confused.
Nearing the end of the night Julia and Tara continued to dance around to their boyfriend's play original songs. Blair, Serena and Alana sat together and enjoyed their night.
"Julia,...is your mom by any chance pregnant?" Tara asked.
"What?"
"she looks bigger" she gestured to her stomach.
"Tara, that's so effing rude. I'd like to see you in the middle of a divorce. She's stressed"
"Okay, okay" Tara gave up. "but she doesn't look stressed to me" Julia looked over at her mom, she looked the happiest she's seen her in months.
XOXOXOXOXOX
"So that was some song" Serena whispered as she walked by Dan.
"How could you have possibly known?" he followed her into the coat room.
"I recently read every letter you've ever give me,...there's a line that is very familiar" she smiled softly. "Thank you"
"I wrote it when I had the divorce papers written up"
"Can we pretend that never happened?" she asked.
"We can" he agreed. Dan wanted nothing more than to kiss her but it was too crowded to without someone seeing them.
'FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR!'
Serena heard Dan walking up behind her "I don't care" he said pulling her into him and giving her a heated kiss. When they pulled apart they noticed Julia on her tip toes kissing Adam and Brooke in the corner pecking Bradley, everyone else was too busy kissing to notice them.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Serena looked at her daughters, they were both exhausted it was nearly 3 am. Brooke still had confetti in her hair and Julia had tint sparkles all over her dress and face, the ones that never want to come off.
"Can you come over here" Serena asked Julia to sit with her and Brooke.
"What?" Julia asked with a yawn. "I just want to go to bed"
"What if I said that your dad and I have decided that..."
"Mom, I don't care, I'll live where ever you want. I'm not choosing who to live with can we just stop talking about it?" she knew they were suppose to have a meeting in a few days about custody and living arrangements.
"What if I told you i'm selling the penthouse?" she asked cautiously.
"Why? are you moving?" Brooke's eyes widened.
"Yes" she said softly.
"To...LA?" Julia questioned her eyes started to feel heavy thinking her mom was finally going to move to Hollywood.
"No..." she shook her head. "Back into the house" she smiled lightly.
"Why? is dad moving?" Brooke's eyes were enormous and full of worry.
"No" she smiled wider now, only triggering Julia's immediate instinct.
"What do you mean?,...are you?" Serena nodded.
"I KNEW IT!" Brooke yelled. "I knew you loved each other!" she smiled from ear to ear and leapt out of her seat to hug her mom. Serena squeezed her tightly and moved her back and fourth in an excited motion.
"And no more moving out...not anymore" she promised her with Brooke's face in her hands. Serena frowned when she saw Julia's face. Serena knew she had the hardest time with the whole situation and was just overwhelmed. She got up from her seat and held her hands out.
"Come here baby" she walked closer.
"For real?" she squeaked.
"Yeah" she pulled her into a hug and ran her hands up her back. As she held Julia tightly and wiped away her happy tears she whispered to her "Don't cry, be happy" . A knock at the door had Brooke leap out of her seat to answer it. She knew who it was going to be. Brooke ran quickly and opened the door with a loud thud as it swung and it the wall.
"Hi!" Dan grinned. Brooke jumped up and Dan caught her as she wrapped her arms around him. "I guess you know" he kissed her on the cheek and put her down. He moved to Julia who was standing with her arms crossed lightly across her stomach. When he noticed her she smiled brightly before squeezing him in the tightest hug she's ever given him, Dan lifted her lightly off the ground before he went up to Serena and kissed her, for the first time Julia and Brooke watched and smiled instead of walking away grossed out.
"Happy New Year" Dan smiled, Serena nodded knowing it was definitely going to be a good year.
"Did you tell them?" Dan asked Serena.
"Tell us what?" Brooke sat down and the rest of them followed suit.
"Well..." Serena rubbed her hands together. "...we're...having a baby" she said flat out, it sounded like a joke, it was so monotone and dry.
"...You've been saying that forever" Brooke smiled.
"No really, there's a baby" Dan touched Serena's stomach.
"Get out here!" Brooke looked at them both wide eyed. Julia looked down at the floor realizing Tara was right.
"no, it's true" Dan nodded. Serena grabbed her purse off the floor and pulled out the sonogram to show them.
"Oh my god" Brooke laughed and looked at her sister who just stood stunned.
"Come here" Serena looked at Julia waiting for a response. She was all together too quiet.
"I told you I didn't want you to have anymore kids" she said seriously to Dan. She cracked a smile not being able to hold it in.
"Well that's too bad, and I'm going to love this one more than you" Dan joked as Julia climbed up on to his lap.
"So is this my baby sister or baby brother?" she asked inspecting it.
"Sister, it has to be a sister, is it a sister?" Brooke looked at her parents. Dan and Serena looked at each-other before they nodded in unison.
XOXOXOX
"So we come to the issue of gender, you know already right?" the tech asked them. "I just don't want to let something slip without making sure you already know or not" the woman made sure before continuing.
"we know" she answered. "I had that ultrasound a week ago" Serena explained as the woman watched the monitor.
"Umm..." she bit her lip and looked closely at the monitor. Dan saw Serena tense up. "I can't seem to..." Dan grabbed Serena's hand tightly not believing this might be happening again. This was exactly what happened the last time, she went in for her third ultrasound and they couldn't find a heartbeat, she was sent upstairs to a specialist who still couldn't find it, that was when they told her, the baby was gone. She was much further along this time, this would have a larger impact. As the woman continued to search for it Serena closed her eyes, and Dan continued to stroke her hand, trying to calm her.
"Oh there we go" she smiled once she finally got a heartbeat. Serena relaxed when the rapping noise rang in her ears, the most beautiful sound she's ever known.
"Ok, well everything looks great" she smiled after a few minutes, Dan looked at the monitor, he wanted to her to point out exactly where the baby was because everything he was seeing was blurry.
"What am I looking at?" he pointed at the monitor it didn't look like the previous sonograms he'd seen. "I've seen these things before, but this seems so confusing, what's this?" he pointed at a large outline, showing the tech what he was referring to, a dark ominous spot. "It's been at least nine years since I've seen one but I don't remember it looking like this" he pointed to the blurry shape again, his eyes squinted. Serena sat up a little trying to see better.
"That's baby boy" Dan instantly looked at Serena shocked, she even looked baffled, her eyebrows knitted together.
"No,...we were told it was a girl" Dan got her to check again.
"This baby is definitely a boy" she pointed to the monitor and even looked closer before nodding.
"Well then why were we told it was a girl over a month ago?"
"I don't know, because this is a boy," she pointed once again. "I can't mistake that" she smiled.
"Oh" Serena smiled lightly, she was slightly unsettled being that she already bonded with her baby despite being entirely scared and worried. She always wanted a boy but at this moment she felt like she just lost something. Dan looked over at her and she smiled up at him honestly to let him know she was happy. It didn't work, it was probably just her hormones but she couldn't fake a smile at this point, she started crying and they weren't happy tears, Dan knew the difference. Her bottom lip started to do that shaking that Dan hated.
"I'm sorry" The tech felt terrible for Serena seeing her cover her eyes with her hand feeling like she was being silly but she couldn't stop. Dan grabbed her hand."Hey, hey" he kissed her forehead.
"You always wanted a boy" he smiled at her teary face.
"I know" she squeaked. He couldn't look away from her face, he felt so terrible for her even though she had always wanted this.
"You're just shocked, when we get home you'll be happy" he promised her. Dan took a deep breath and looked at the technician who didn't know what to say.
"That's a boy?"Dan asked hoping she would check again for Serena's sake, his hand held hers tightly.
"This is baby boy" the tech repeated herself "and this is baby girl" she pointed to the shapes.
"Wait, what is it?" Dan jumped in confused.
"It's both" the tech looked at them confused. "This is your baby boy, and this is your baby girl...I don't know why they told you two girls because this is clearly a bo.." Dan cut her off.
"There's two?...there's two babies?" his bottom lip fell from the top.
"You didn't know you were having twins?...Oh my gosh" she put her hand on her forehead. "Sometimes they hide behind each other" she apologized.
"Ok i'll try again...I have some exciting news, you're having twins...a boy and a girl" Dan and Serena looked at each other with wide eyes.
"OH...my god" All they did was laugh and shake their heads at each other not believing the news. Serena wiped her tears but they really wouldn't stop now.
"I'm really sorry I assumed you knew" the woman really felt terrible.
"no thats,...incredible" Dan smiled. "Look!, she's there, she's still there" he said to Serena.
"She's bigger than him but they're perfect in size and everything looks really good"
XOXOXOX
"I knew you looked unusually enormous" Dan teased her as they walked up the steps of their home.
"This is so weird, this is unreal!" Serena giggled as they walked into the foyer.
"I'm literally shaking right now" Dan held his arm out to show her.
"Oh me too" she agreed this was much more than they bargained for.
"We're home!" Dan yelled hoping Brooke and Julia would race down the stairs so he could tell them the good news.
"How's my baby sister?" Brooke asked walking down the stairs with her sister following behind.
"she's perfect but aren't you going to ask about your baby brother?" Serena giggled.
"WHAT?" both girl's eyes widened.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
( Oh fluff,...I'm not usually a fan. I know you all wanted a boy but I just couldn't deprive Dan of that girl. I hope you enjoyed it even though it was fluff fest. Like I said i'm not going to estimate chapters because it just seems to get longer when I do that. Just know an epilogue is coming up and i'm so close to the end I can taste it. Review and let me know :) Does anyone else have issues with editing? Mine always seems to leave out half the things I edit at the most random times. I had to go back and remember all the things I changed, it was awful. ANyway, I hope you liked it, it's almost over. )
-Faryn Queens xoxoxoxox
