Dorota approves.
Dorota realises what is happening when Miss Blair begins to agonize over her outfit options (even more than usual) whenever she has plans with Mister Dan.
The sight of outfits strewn across her young mistress's room is a familiar sight. Dorota has had to put up with it when Miss Blair was dating Mister Nate, then when she was sneaking around with Mister Chuck, then when she was seeing Mister Nate again, then when she wasn't seeing Mister Chuck but was spending a lot of time flirting with him, then when she had run back to Mister Nate again, and of course when she had finally been dating Mister Chuck for real.
When Mister Nate had been Miss Blair's boyfriend Dorota had been charmed by his aura of wholesomeness and boy-next-door qualities. During the years of drama he and Blair had spent in a cat-and-mouse game of one-upmanship, Dorota had been beguiled by Chuck's charisma and the overwhelming gravitational pull he seemed to feel for her young mistress.
But when Miss Blair begins to so spend the greater part of her free time with the shambling boy from across the bridge, for the first time Dorota feels simple, unconditional approval, free of the reservations she has felt about Blair's romantic adventures in the past.
She approves because Mister Dan never simply drops Blair off in the lobby of the apartment building, but always insists on riding the elevator with her all the way to the top floor, not taking his departure until she is safely ensconced inside her own home. Mister Nate had usually sent Miss Blair home from their dates in his car service alone. Mister Chuck had always personally dropped her off on the sidewalk, but had only come up when he was planning on staying the night. But Mister Dan seems eager to seize any excuse to remain in her surrogate daughter's company. Sometimes the two will say their goodbyes in the hallway, and end up standing there talking for another half hour, as if they don't really want to say good night.
She endorses them because Miss Blair never seems less than herself when Dan is around. She doesn't have to compromise who she is because, even though both of them refuse to admit it, they are actually very much alike. They are able to trade insults by making references to obscure historical facts no one else has ever heard of. They discuss (well, debate) the merits of various literary works that would have had Mister Nate scratching his head vaguely. They go to film festivals that Mister Chuck would have refused to attend because going to the movies was just 'too plebeian'. And in winter, they both prefer hot chocolate over coffee. Dan rises even further in Dorota's estimation when Dan discovers Blair prefers hers from a particular cafe a few blocks away where they put a little chilli powder in it, and brings one too her every time he comes over without fail, even though this takes him out of his way.
Dorota approves because Dan makes Miss Blair smile. Not always intentionally, it's true. But he has enough humility to laugh at himself when Blair makes fun of him. Sometimes he even seems to go out of his way to be a dag so that he can enjoy watching her amusement at his expense.
But most of all she approves because he never, ever makes her cry. (Well, she ends up crying one night when they watch All This, and Heaven Too together snuggled up on the couch; but in fairness Dan's eyes are watering quite noticeably as well.) He always picks her up on time, and is never distracted from her side by some domestic drama or existential crisis. He teases her, but is never truly cruel. And when she does sometimes cry – over various calamities involving her mother, or Mister Chuck, or her endless need to be the best – it turns out he has shoulders that seem to have been specifically built for her to lean on.
So Dorota puts up with Miss Blair's ravings about having nothing to wear every time Dan comes over quietly and stoically. And when she suggests Blair wear the Scala platinum paiette cocktail dress to the George Cukor retrospective, she has the pleasure of seeing Dan's eyes pop as he stutters hello.
Yes, she approves of Daniel Humphrey.
Thanks again for all the terrific reviews guys! They mean so much. By the way, anyone who loves old romances and hasn't seen 'All This, and Heaven Too' starring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer, should check it out. It makes me cry every time, and I could totally see Dan and Blair watching it. Also fellow Dair fans, I've been thinking about the whole question of whether Dair could really be endgame. I think the producers are probably reluctant to make Dan/Blair too epic or put them in a committed relationship because it will complicate their Season One canon pairings, wrongly believing that endgame couples must have had romantic history throughout the series. But then I thought about Dawson's Creek and Pacey and Joey! They didn't get together until late season three but attracted such a large fan base it completely threw off the plans for Dawson/Joey endgame. So maybe if Leighton/Penn have enough chemistry – and I think they do – and win enough people over, we will get our wish of some serious Dair action after all! To see the cocktail dress I mention go to .