Cyrus finds out just a few days after Eleanor, who would have mentioned it to him, but she is wrapped up in the stress of fashion week.
It happens because Blair gets sick.
Eleanor of course does not have the time (or for that matter the necessary patience) to nurse her.
It turns out Serena is something of a germaphobe (rather ironically given the indiscriminate number of people she has shared saliva and other bodily fluids with over the years) and she flees the Waldorfs to seek refuge from the potential epidemic.
Normally Dorota would take care of Blair, but as baby Anastasia still has not had all her jabs, it is felt that it is best she steers clear of Blair until she is on the mend.
Knowing all this, Cyrus decides to leave work early to spend the afternoon with his favourite stepdaughter. (That is what he always calls her, oblivious to her eye-rolling response that she is in fact his only stepdaughter.)
Eleanor tries to dissuade him, pointing out that Blair isn't the easiest person to deal with when is well, and being ill does not tend to improve her disposition. In fact sick Blair was something of a fully-fired up virago, cursing the world's injustice in bringing her to such a state.
Cyrus doesn't mind. He has an uncanny insight into Blair's quirks and he understands why she really hates being sick. It is because the rigorous standards Blair sets in life don't just apply to her minions or the people around her; there is no one she is harsher on then herself. She believes that she has to be perfect: anything less simply isn't an option. Blair sees being sick as a sign of weakness, and views it as a black betrayal on her body's part. A taunting failure of her rigorous routine of daily vitamin supplements and low-impact aerobic exercise.
Cyrus doesn't mind dealing with angry and sick Blair because he knows she only lashes out when she feels vulnerable. And he has a knack for getting behind Blair's defences and making her smile again.
That afternoon he discovers that Dan has the same knack.
Dan knocks on the door to Blair's bedroom but receives no reply except for the sound of a dry, hacking cough. He tentatively enters.
Blair is hunched up in bed, one hand searching for something on the bedside table whilst the other covers her mouth as the nasty-sounding coughing continues. The bedspread is bunched up and it is obvious she has been tossing and turning for a while. For once Blair is wearing proper pyjamas, rather than her usual babydoll nighties. Her hair is pulled back roughly in a ponytail to keep it off her face, which is even paler than usual. She looks very young.
She finds the bottle of medicine she has been searching for, and as she grabs it turns to glare at Dan.
"Humphrey, I am definitely not in the mood to go to a movie, which, as it seems I have to remind you again, was only a one," she pauses and looks a little shocked when she does the math, "or twelve-time thing. There is no need for you to keep inflicting your presence on me."
As usual Dan remains unfazed by her hostility.
"Actually, I came over because I heard you were sick," he replies calmly, as he moves further into the room.
"So what, you're here to add to my torture?" Blair quipped acerbically, frowning as she tosses back another pill.
Dan ignores her comment, simply sending her a wry grin. "Serena was the one who told me you were ill. For the interim she's seeking refuge in my part of the city, or more precisely with my room-mate. And since it was definitely shaping up into a three's a crowd moment I decided I'd visit and see how you're doing."
Blair sinks back onto the pillows. "Well, as you can see I'm doing awful. I've been completely abandoned by my family and best friend to waste away and die. Dorota didn't even make me her special, drives disease away chicken soup before she left," Blair adds a bit woebegone, before once again glaring at him bitchily.
"So now you've received a full status report on my dying condition, you can take yourself off again. It might be the practice in your family to turn your home into a half-way house at a moment's notice, but I don't believe in offering shelter to every stray off the street. Vamoose," she tries to point a finger to the door authoritatively, but the gesture is undercut a little by the fact that her hands are trembling from the fever.
Instead of turning to leave, Dan moves forward, an expression of concern on his face. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed beside Blair. Her jaw drops at his temerity, but before she has time to ask him what in the name of Louis Vuitton he thinks he's doing, Dan has pressed a hand gently to her forehead.
His skin is cool against hers and Blair is suddenly very, very aware of him, and of how close he is too her. Something seems to pass between them, and she knows that he feels it too. Their eyes lock as his hand lingers longer than is necessary for the purposes of temperature checking. He strokes his thumb across her brow, leaving a tingling pathway in its wake.
The moment is interrupted by another vicious spasm of coughing.
"That doesn't sound good," Dan comments anxiously. "And your skin is really hot. I'm going to get a cold washcloth, see if we can bring your temperature down a little."
She is too weak from coughing to protest as he leaves for the bathroom, but when he returns Blair glowers at him again.
"I've told you before, Humphrey, I don't like having you this close to me without a tetanus shot," Blair gibes as he raises the compress to her forehead. "And do we have to go over the no touching rule again?" Blair asks as he starts to use another washcloth on her arms.
"Sticks and stones, Waldorf. Besides," Dan says reflectively, as he carefully sponges her skin, "I know the reason you're sulky. Well, more so than usual."
Blair's mouth compresses into a straight line, but she can't resist asking, "Oh, pray enlighten me, oh wise one. Though most people would accept being ravaged by plague excuse enough to be a little irritable."
"Nope, that's not it," Dan retorts certainly. "The reason is that you think if you're off-putting enough no one will be able to stand to come near you, and that will mean no one will see you with your eyes all red, and your face all puffy and blotchy, and with snot coming out your..."
"Okay, you've done your Florence Nightingale routine, now it's time to scram," Blair cries grumpily, trying to push Dan off the bed. But he refuses to budge.
"Really, Waldorf, you're such a girl," Dan grins, pulling on her ponytail. "Besides, how can I leave you here all alone? This bout of flu is most likely a direct result of our snow fight the other day. Which means it's probably my fault."
"Well, I don't need you taking care of me because you feel guilty, or feel sorry for me, or because you don't want to be a witness to Serena's hot for teacher special," Blair snaps, batting his hand away.
Dan's brow furrowed. "Is that what you think?" Dan asks gently. He shakes his head slowly. "Blair, even if Serena hadn't invaded the loft I would still have wanted to make sure you were okay." He smiles. "And you make it absolutely impossible for anyone to feel sorry for you, or guilty about causing your enfeebled condition."
"Then why are you here?" she queries softly.
Dan's smile widens. "Because despite the red eyes and puffy face, you're actually quite cute when you're sick. I think I'll stick around for a while. Plus, this is the perfect time to continue our journey through classic American film noir with Laura and In A Lonely Place, both of which I picked up before coming over here."
Thus when Cyrus arrives home he finds the pair over them curled up in Blair's bed, her underneath the covers and him on top, watching old movies and bickering softly the influence of German Expressionism's mise-en-scène and Humphrey Bogart's merits as an actor.
But Cyrus sees Blair smile, and he knows.
More promise of Dair in next week's episode, yay! I'm hoping the events that unfold will solidify them firmly in the friend territory at least. I have to admit I loved the Chair banter in this week's episode. But these days I find it really hard to relate to Chuck as a character when he's not interacting with Blair, so the Chuck-Raina scenes were just a snooze for me. Great that Blair is becoming more empowered though – both with her (somewhat improbable) promotion and the way she feels secure enough in herself to help Chuck with the whole Raina situation. But in my opinion Chuck owes Blair for a lot more than just reconciling Raina to him, and I hate the way that aspect of their relationship keeps getting ignored. No matter how scintillating Chuck and Blair are together, I really can't get over the hotel thing. Not just that it happened, but that Chuck never really seemed to appreciate the gravity of what he did, and rather than really suffering from the loss of Blair blithely and immediately began to work his way through a queue of women again. Their whole relationship has been devalued somewhat for me now. And though I like seeing Chuck and Blair together as friends and scheming partners (which I wish we had got more of while they were actually in a relationship together), I feel like I'm also becoming increasingly sadistic in thinking of all the plotlines I'd like to see happen that would make Chuck suffer and regret his treatment of Blair. Dair meanwhile has the potential of lots of happy, fun, angst-free romance with extra helpings of sarcastic banter, which I love, as I tend to prefer the show's comedic elements to its moments of OTT drama.
Anyway, please read and review, because I love hearing from you all. Your positive feedback puts a big smile on my face all day.