Jenny figures it out too. She pouts and glares and only thinks about what ramifications this might have for her.

She might have remained blissfully ignorant, hidden away in Hudson, as she barely even bothered to respond to Dan's regular emails anymore.

Because it turns out moving out of Manhattan doesn't simply erase the chaos and confusion from your life when you're a naturally chaotic and confused person. Especially if you're a chaotic, confused teen, with a penchant for panda makeup and a wardrobe that would make an Eastern European hooker proud.

And having established a life filled with new petty dramas in her mom's university town, Jenny, true to form, begins to regard her saintly sibling as little more than a nuisance, or a chore.

It is an ongoing pattern. Whenever Jenny reaches a point in her life where she is able to delude herself that she is actually the sh*t, then Dan automatically reverts in her mind to this loser-ish dork who just doesn't get it. She begins to avoid talking to him, because it was annoyingly like having a conversation with a conscience, and Jenny didn't like to be troubled by one of them.

But whenever she reaches a point where she is forced to admit she's in trouble, or realise the gravity of her mistakes, that is when Dan is the first person she calls. Suddenly she sees the value in having a brother after all, when he once again becomes her saviour.

So when a friend of her mother's – the wife of the man Jenny has used to pass the time during her exile – coolly informs her that if she doesn't get her hands on a sizeable chunk of the VanderBass fortune she will go public with the sex tape of Jenny with her husband – Jenny's first call is to Dan.

As she expects, he turns up at her doorstep a few hours later.

What she doesn't expect, is the sight of Blair Waldorf by his side.

When Jenny indignantly demands to know what Dan is thinking by dragging Blair Waldorf into her life, Blair raises an eyebrow and bitingly interjects that she wasn't exactly thrilled either that Jenny's suburban squabbles had dragged them away from the Degas exhibit, especially as it was in its closing weekend.

Jenny is shocked by this intimation that Blair and Dan had been on some sort of date when she rang. The only way Jenny can make sense of it is by assuming that Blair is preparing to use Dan as a pawn in some sort of master plan (though she can't decide whether the scheming is most likely to be directed against herself, or Chuck, or even Serena).

Jenny therefore remains hostile and sceptical when Dan explains that he thought it best to bring Blair with him, as she really has more expertise in dealing with these kinds of situations than he does. (This is said with a sort of horror over the fact that his sister's life has come to this, and Blair pats his arm comfortingly and tells him not to worry, she had got Serena out of a similar situation several years before.)

Even though, as Blair readily points out, Jenny is in a mess of her own making, it doesn't stop her being moody and defensive, and generally ungracious about accepting the help she had asked for.

Jenny had hoped Dan would simply front her the money she needed so she could pay off the blackmailing bitch and retrieve the tape.

Dan points out several flaws in that plan. Firstly, although he is far more well-to-do these days since becoming Lily's stepson, he still doesn't have access to the kind of funds Jenny requires. Secondly, paying the blackmail would only open them up to repeat demands.

So, instead, Blair lays out a plan for turning the tables on the scorned wife. Dan interjects the occasional comment, while Jenny sullenly watches them.

She can't help but notice that Dan no longer seems revolted by Blair's scheming. Instead, as Blair expounds her strategy, Dan becomes animated, and a goofy smile settles on his face. He eagerly accedes to her plans, and even offers some suggestions of his own, which Blair smirkingly approves, remarking that he is quite adept at this for a relative novice.

Their plot unfolds perfectly, and Jenny is off the hook.

But she is left with a queasy feeling in her stomach. Because Blair and Dan's interactions have got so easy, so natural, that it's like they're working on the same wave length, constantly anticipating each other's thoughts and moves. Oh, they still bicker; but instead of both rigidly maintaining their positions and refusing to give way, their arguments now have the quality of a well-choreographed dance routine: they fluidly move through them, each taking turns to respond to the other's lead.

To Jenny, initially this seems disastrous – her brother and her nemesis have paired off together.

But then Jenny realises the situation offers her a potential upside. I mean, how long could the Queen B maintain an exile order on her potential future sister-in-law?

Thanks to all of those who have been reviewing, especially the Chair lovers who have still been willing to give my fic a go and have passed on positive feedback. Part of me, too, would like to see Chuck and Blair redeemed, as their relationship was epic; but it's not happening for me at the moment. I know some people swooned over their thirty seconds of screen time together in the latest episode, talking about how they have so much more sexual chemistry than Dan and Blair, but it just made me sad. Chuck and Blair have chemistry it's true – they always have had, that's not the problem – the problem is their history, which it seems to me won't be resolved any time soon. And the way they looked at each other to me just expressed that sadness, that sense of nostalgia for how things were. Despite Chuck's comment that the plan is working, I don't see either of them being ready to move forward anytime soon, because even if Blair becomes her own person, it won't erase what Chuck did to her, or the cavalier attitude he has taken to their relationship since. So for the moment I'm hoping the writers will bring on more Dan and Blair because I like their fun, angst-free dynamic. Also more Damien and Eric, because Eric is a great character who delivers great one-liners and who I've wanted to see more of since season one, and Damien is just rocking it too. In fact in season three I sort of saw him as the new Chuck Bass with his cynicism and plotting but the occasional hint of someone likeable beneath; I thought if he and Jenny got together properly it might change him the way Blair had changed Chuck. But maybe it will be Eric who changes him? If Damien turns out to be bi, he will be more like the Chuck Bass in the books too. Anyway, please review!