Their little walked led them to an illuminated fountain nested in a small road side park just a couple blocks away. Serena had gotten tired of walking so they decided to stop by the water to rest. Between the trickling of the fountain and the infinite sound of New York traffic they found a place of harmony; a place where they could talk, a good place to start, a good place to figure out where to go from there.

Dan tugged on his tie and cleared his throat.

"You can take it off." Serena giggled. "You don't have to keep it on for me."

"Thank god." Dan let out as he quickly undid the tie and wrapped it around his hand.

"Thank you… for being so patient with me." Serena said in a calmer voice.

"It's not your fault." Dan said simply.

"No, it really is." Serena said as her gazed trailed off. "I could be better…"

"You don't need to be." Dan said as he held out his hand.

Serena looked at his hand then up into his eyes. "I do." She said as she reached out to his hand and pulled herself up.

A kiss landed on his lips. Instinctually he closed his eyes to enjoy her warmth. He was awoken from his living dream by her words; "I do need to be better".

"I missed you." She whispered as the faint honks of car horns accented her words.

"I missed you too." Dan returned them with a smile.

"So… how was your first experience at the ballet?" Serena asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Wonderful." Dan said boldly.

"Okay, now tell me what you really thought of it." Serena said with a smile.

"It was… surprisingly good. I found myself enjoying it." Dan said honestly.

"I think there's a little more Upper East Side in you than you're willing to admit." Serena teased.

"Let's just say I've been feeling less guilty lately." Dan said. "For a while, for a long while, I was afraid of what happened to my family. You know, my dad and your mom. I was still coming to grips with the idea that the Upper East Side wasn't just a passing phase in my life, a story from my youth that I would later pass on. But as I realized that our lives were going to be intertwined even after high school, I suddenly realized that I had become what I hated most. I don't blame you for this…"

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you had to be anyone else than you were." Serena said as she held onto him tightly.

"No, it wasn't you who made me feel that way. I did that to myself." Dan said as he looked down. "It just took a while for me to allow myself to be happy."

"Is that why you didn't fight for me?" Serena asked.

"You mean…" Dan started.

Serena nodded.

"Serena… that wasn't just me. We decided to end things mutually." Dan said as he took her arms and wrapped them.

Serena's eyes betrayed her composure.

"Wait… is that what you wanted me to do?" Dan asked.

"I'm sorry Dan." Serena said as her words came out with an accent of sorrow. "I'm so sorry."

Dan step forward and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay… you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Dan… I was selfish. I wanted you to fight for me. I was jealous of Ms. Carr. I wanted you to chase me as you once did." Serena said as her tears hit his shoulder.

They stood there still as the radiant stars of the night sky illuminated their little place in the world. As the fountain sang to them their water song. As the traffic of the streets guarded their privacy from pedestrians and onlookers. They stood there, waiting to for what was to happen next.

"I would've fought for you." Dan said finally breaking their silence.

"I should've have tested you like that." Serena whispered.

"I know, but I still would have." Dan said. "And I still will."

"No. Dan, don't." She said as he created a little bit of space between them so she could look at him.

"Earlier today, I asked Colin to fight for me. I've been asking men to fight for me all my life because I thought I deserved it." Serena said. "It's time I fought for you. Because you deserve it."

Because you deserve it, she thought.

"I'll wait outside for you, would it be cheesy for me to say for however long it takes?" She said with a faint optimism. "Bye."

Her phone blackberry LCD turned off. The silence of her phone echoed around her. Would he show up? Would he forgive her for what she put him through? It takes about twenty five minutes for him to get to here from Brooklyn, plus the ten or fifteen minutes he would spend trying to decide if he would come, plus the time to get ready. Serena estimated that it would take him at least an hour.

An hour. An hour felt like an eternity.

She was nervous. She replayed that fictional piece of history of the night's events over and over in her head, recrafting every detail to perfection. Had Colin not shown up, had Colin not kissed her outside, had she chose Serena when Dan confronted her about it. Had she just been a little faster, a little less scared, could she have spared him that pain?

In her mind, she finds Dan first and Colin sees them from a distance. In her mind, they have a wonderful night together with no Juliet and no Vanessa. In her mind, she confessed to him what the last year and a half of her life was like and how much she missed him. In her mind, he forgives her. In her mind, they are happy.

In her mind, she is better than she is. But right now she is trying to be better, trying to set things right. What else could she do?

So what could she do but wait. Wait for him… for however long it takes.

Author's Note: I had fun writing this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. And thanks for all the kind reviews.