A/N - Thank you all so much for the reviews. I can't tell you how much it's appreciated! Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. Please tell me what you think - review, review, review!

Disclaimer: As per usual, I own nothing.

Ever since the scene in the hall, it seemed like everyone had jumped on the avoidance train. Serena was avoiding both Blair and Dan. Blair was avoiding the penthouse, trying to give Serena her space and Dan was avoiding his dad and Lily for fear of running into Serena (or Chuck for that matter). But when his dad calls and invites him to 'family brunch', he can't really say no and he can only pray that everyone will make it through in one piece. So, being the good son that he is, Dan agrees to be at their place later that morning.

"Great. And Dan…" Rufus pauses for a second. "Be sure to let Blair know that she's invited too." Rufus hangs up and Dan stares at the phone in his hand before closing it and looking across the room to where Blair is wrapped in a blanket on his couch, nursing a cup of coffee, lost in an old Audrey Hepburn movie.

Clearly someone had told his dad (and most likely Lily) about him and Blair. His money was on Eric, who probably wanted to give their parents fair warning of what was happening. Although he wouldn't put it past Chuck to tell them and try to spin it in someway to make him and Blair look bad. In any case, they knew and now he and Blair were invited to brunch.

"Hey, what are you watching?" Dan makes his way to the living room and Blair leans forward so he can slide in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder when she lays back against him.

"Sabrina." Blair murmurs, settling herself in his embrace. "What did Rufus want? I assume he and Lily know everything."

"Yeah." Dan nods, kissing her neck softly. "I don't know who told them but they know - or at least my dad knows so I guess Lily does too." Blair nods quietly, turning her gaze back at the television but he knows she's not really watching it. "Um, he invited us to brunch."

"Rufus invited us to brunch?" Blair looks back at him, her expression sceptical.

"Well, brunch was probably Lily's idea, but Dad made the call." Dan acknowledges and Blair nods. "It's a family brunch. Before you agreed to go, I wanted to tell you that. I mean, I don't know if Serena is going to be there but I didn't want to blind side you just in case she was."

Blair's quiet for a long moment before plastering a determined expression on her face.

"Your parents invited us to brunch, Dan, and it would be rude not to attend after you've already agreed. And if Serena is there then maybe it will give us a chance to talk. If not, we can only hope that she'll be civil because of Rufus and Lily."

Blair nods her head with an air of finality but Dan can hear the trepidation in her voice. He knows how hard this if for her; how much she misses Serena but he doesn't know what to do to fix it and he's half afraid he'll make it worse and send her running if he tries.

"I should get home and change." Blair hesitates for a split second before standing and he knows that she's worried about running into Serena. But as quick as it's there, it's gone. "I assume we're expected around 11, so you can pick me up at 10:30." Blair reaches for her coat but Dan beats her to it, holding it out for her to slip on. "Dan Humphrey, such a gentleman." Blair turns around to face him, pulling her hair out of the coat. "I'll see you later." She leans forward, her lips poised for a kiss and Dan happily obliges.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Dan pulls back to look down at her and Blair shakes her head.

"No, I need to stop avoiding Serena anyway. So if she's there, she's there." Blair says with conviction. "Besides, don't you need to get changed yourself." She motions toward him and Dan looks down at his clothes.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" As soon as the words leave his mouth Dan knows that he said the wrong thng because Blair just looks at him.

"The question would be what isn't wrong with what you're wearing." Blair shakes her head. "Honestly Humphrey, it baffles me that after all of these years you still think jeans and a lumberjack shirt are acceptable attire." She looks at him half amused-half appalled.

"I like this shirt." Dan pouts and Blair rolls her eyes but finds herself smiling at the sight of his bottom lips jutting out like that.

"Yes, I know you do. You have about 15 other shirts exactly like it hanging in your closet." She crosses her arms with a smug smile.

"They're not exactly the same." Dan says, a little defensively and Blair just pats his arm.

"Plaid is plaid, Humphrey." She turns away, making her way into his bedroom before coming back a few seconds later with a box in her hands.

"Here." She holds the box out to him. "When I was shopping yesterday I saw this sweater and thought it would look nice on you. I was going to give it to you later, but clearly this is an emergency."

"You bought me a sweater?" Dan looks at the box for a second before lifting his eyes back to her, a smirk playing on his lips. "Ms. Waldorf, are you trying to buy my affections?" He sets the box on the counter before moving closer to her.

"Whatever…" Blair rolls her eyes again. "Just wear the sweater." She picks up her purse, slinging it over her shoulder. "And remember, 10:30. Don't be late." She pecks his lips quickly before disappearing out the door and Dan smiles as he turns to lift the lid off the box

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Blair gingerly steps off the elevator into the penthouse and stops when she finds herself face to face with a distressed looking Dorota.

"Miss Blair…" Dorota glances over her shoulder nervously.

"Is Serena here?" Blair's eyes dart to the staircase and she half expects to find the tall blonde waiting for her.

"No, no. Not Miss Serena." Dorota shakes her head before leaning in to whisper. "It's Mr. Chuck."

Blair freezes and looks at Dorota. She must be hearing things.

"Chuck is here?" Blair feels a little light headed. "Where?"

Dorota points upstairs silently and Blair rushes up the stairs as fast as she can. She turns the corner into her room and stops dead in her tracks when she sees Chuck sitting on her bed.

"Chuck, what are you doing here? It's barely 9:30 in the morning." Blair asks, shaking her head as she looked at his dishevelled state. "Have you been drinking this early?"

"Define early? Does it count if it's a continuation from the night before?"

"You've been drinking since yesterday?" Blair stares at him, conflicted. Her first instinct is to go to him and wrap her arms around him but she fights the urge.

"Where have you been?" Chuck finally seems to realize that she's just gotten home as he eyes her coat. "Did you just do the walk of shame from Brooklyn?" He says the last word like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. "It certainly didn't take you long to hop into bed with Humphrey, did it?"

Blair closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out in an attempt to stay calm.

"Not that it's any of your business, Chuck, but yes, I did spend the night with Dan and no, I did not do the walk of shame because Dan and I haven't slept together yet." Chuck's eyes light up at the revelation and Blair immediately regrets opening her mouth.

"You spent the whole night in Humphrey's bed and he didn't try to sleep with you? Is that what you're telling me, Blair?" Chuck rises to his feet and slowly comes toward her.

"We don't want to rush it." Blair's voice comes out with a lot less conviction then she intended and she glances toward the door in the vain hope that Dorota would appear.

"Maybe. Or maybe you're little Brooklyn boy isn't as over Serena as he wants you to believe." Chuck leans forward to whisper in her ear and Blair can smell the scotch on his breath. "Maybe he took one look at Serena's broken hearted face and just couldn't bring himself to touch you."

His fingers dance on her hips and Blair slaps them away with a glare.

"Not everything is about Serena!" She snaps, heat rising in her cheeks and she silently curses the slight hitch in her voice.

Blair would be lying if she said the thought hadn't crossed her mind. Of course she wondered if Dan was still in love with Serena. But she couldn't bring herself to ask him because she didn't think she wanted to know the answer. It wasn't like Blair could be upset with him if he did still have feelings her best friend, considering her own lingering feelings for the billionaire in front of her so she figures, for right now, it's better not to know.

"You don't seem too convinced, B." Chuck eyes her and she turns away from him. "Let Serena have him if she wants him because you can't honestly tell me that Dan Humphrey knows how to make you feel the way that I did." Chuck is suddenly pressed against her back. His hands are gripping her hips tightly and his lips are brushing against her neck as he speaks.

Blair can't stop her eyes from closing but the second they do, Dan's face flashes through her mind and a wave of regret hits her like a ton of bricks.

"Chuck, stop!" Blair pushes away and spins around to look at him, her eyes flashing. "You can't do this to me anymore. This isn't high school and we're not in the middle of a blackout. I'm not going to do this to Dan. I won't do this to Dan."

"Blair…" Chuck reaches for her again and she pushes him away roughly.

"Stop!" Blair stares up at him, silently pleading. "Chuck, please just stop. You're drunk and you need to go. I have to be at Lily's in a hour and Dan's picking me up soon. You can't be here when he shows up. Please just go."

Blair gives him one last look before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her, leaning against it as she lets out a shaky breath. When she emerges, fully dressed awhile later, she half expects to find Chuck still waiting for her but her room is empty. Glancing at her watch she quickly grabs her coat and purse and heads downstairs where she finds Dan waiting patiently in the living room.

"You're late." He says with a smile as he stands and she notices that he's wearing the black cashmere sweater she bought him.

"Sorry." She sends him an apologetic smile before motioning toward the sweater. "See, you should let me dress you more often. That sweater looks great on you."

"Yeah, it's not bad." He slides his arms around her waist with a smile and Blair looks up at him. She has to tell him, she knows that but she really doesn't want to. "Hey, what's going on?" Dan lifts her chin to look into her eyes. "Is it Serena? Was she here, did you have a fight?"

"No." Blair shakes her head. "Serena wasn't here when I got home, Chuck was." Blair braces herself for Dan's reaction. He just stares at her for a second, almost like he's trying to process what she just said to him.

"Chuck was here? Chuck? As in, Chuck Bass?" Dan's jaw tightens and Blair nods. "And what was Chuck doing here?"

"Just being Chuck…" Blair shakes her head, not going to into further detail because she knows that it will only serve to upset Dan even more. "Don't even think about it, OK. I just didn't want you find out somewhere else and think I was keeping it from you."

"I'm glad you told me." Dan kisses her temple.

"Come on. We need to get going or we're going to be late." Blair slips her hand into Dan's and allows him to lead her to elevator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you ready?" Dan looks at her as they ride the elevator to Lily and Rufus' apartment, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Blair takes a breath as the doors open and they step inside to be greeted by Eric.

"Hey guys." He gives them a uncomfortable smile.

"Hi Eric." Blair looks at him for a second. "What's that look about? What's going on?"

"I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about something…" Eric glances over his shoulder anxiously. "See…"

"Serena's here." Dan supplies and Eric looks at him.

"Well, yes, but that's not all…" Before Eric can finish the sentence Chuck comes sauntering down the stairs.

"Well, if it isn't the happy couple." Chuck smirks as he stops in front of them, taking a long sip from the glass in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Blair hisses, which causes Chuck to smirk again.

"Well it's a 'family brunch', Waldorf. Lily was kind enough to invite me, I couldn't refuse." Chuck turns to Dan, his eyes full of disdain. "You're pretty happy with yourself right now, aren't you Humphrey? Well, you should enjoy it while you can because it won't last. One of these days, Blair is going to realize that she and I belong together and you're going to be left out in the cold where you belong. So you should really prepare yourself for that."

"Chuck!" Eric grabs his arm, pulling him away from the couple. "What is the matter with you?"

"I'm done anyway." Chuck looks at Dan and Blair once more before heading into the living room to sit down. Blair closes her eyes for a second and she wills herself not to break down.

"Hey, don't worry about him." Dan whispers in her ear, wrapping his arm around her and she relishes the warmth that spreads through her.

"Daniel! Blair! You're here." They both look up at the sound of Lily's voice and find her coming in from the kitchen with Rufus and Serena behind her.

"Hi, Lily. Rufus." Blair greets them with a smile and she hesitates for a second as she looks at Serena. "Hey, S."

"Blair." Serena quickly turns away, pouring herself a glass of juice.

"Well…" Lily says after a brief moment of silence. "Now that everyone's here shall we eat."

The meal is awkward at best, downright awful at worst. Between Chuck's constant jabs and Serena's complete silence, Blair is exhausted by the time they're finished eating. Sighing heavily, Blair slipped outside to the terrace for some air. She shakes her head when she hears the door open and Chuck steps out.

"I can't do this right now, Chuck. I'm too tired." Blair sighs again and turns to go back inside but Chuck grabs her arm gently.

"Blair, you're too good for him." His voice is low and Blair looks up at him for a second before shaking her head.

"Funny, because that's exactly what he said about you." The two of them are stuck in a staring contest for a few moments before Chuck looks away.

"He's never going to love you the way I do. Just look at him." Chuck points to the window and Blair glances over to see Serena and Dan in a heated discussion inside. "He's always going to love her. Why would you want to be second?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just used to it, seeing as I spent years always coming in second with you. First it was your business, then Eva, then Raina…" Blair blinks back tears. "And you have the gall to wonder why I chose Dan. This is why I chose him. Because if the roles were reversed, Chuck, if I had chosen you, Dan would never do this to me. He would never try to hurt me like this. That's the difference between the two of you." She pushes past him, leaving him alone on the terrace. Serena's gone by the time she gets to the living and she finds Dan sitting alone on the couch.

"Hey." He looks up when she comes in and frowns when he sees the expression on her face. "What happened?"

"Nothing, just… Chuck." She glances toward the window and she sees Chuck still on the terrace, nursing his glass. "Where did Serena go? It looked like you guys were arguing?"

"Yeah, I was just making a futile attempt to reason with her." Dan shakes his head and Blair sits down next him. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this. I know how much it hurts you to be fighting with her."

"Yeah, well, Chuck's not exactly making your life easy either." Blair rests her head on his shoulder. "We both knew the risks when we decided to do this, right?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After they leave Lily's, Blair tells Dan that she's going to take a walk in the park.

"Did you want me to come?" He offers but Blair shakes her head.

"No. I just need some air. I'll meet you back at the loft, OK?" She smiles, leaning up to brush her lips across his. Dan looks at her and she can see the questions in his eyes. "I'm fine, I promise."

Dan reluctantly agrees and kisses her once more before heading toward the subway. Blair makes her way toward Central Park and she doesn't realize where she's going until she ends up in the same alcove where her and Serena met all those years ago, right after the blonde had gotten back from boarding school. Absentmindedly, Blair wonders if Serena still has the letter she gave her that day - not that it really matters.

Sighing, Blair sank onto the bench and leaned back, closing her eyes.

"Hey." Her eyes snap open at the sound of Serena's voice, who's standing not far away from her.

"Hey." Blair sits up straight as Serena sits down next to her and both girls are quiet for a long time.

"This thing with you and Dan, it's real, isn't it?" Serena asks finally and Blair looks at her for a second before nodding.

"Yeah, I think so." Blair says quietly. "I really need you to be OK with this, S, because I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to lose him either and I just don't know what to do."

"You could never lose me, Blair." Serena looks at her with tears swimming in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for not being the kind of friend I should have been; for not being the kind of friend that you deserved and I'm sorry for the way I acted. I had no right, especially considering everything that I've done to you. I was just so shocked and having to hear it from Chuck didn't help, not that that's an excuse. But, you know what, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Dan makes you happy and you deserve to be happy." Serena reaches over and rests her hand on Blair's. "You make him happy, too." Blair looks up at her and Serena smiles. "I was finally able to really see that when I was watching the two of you today. Your whole face lights up when you're with him. It's like watching a whole new you. And his whole demeanour changes the second you walk in the room. He gets this expression on his face when he talks about you. And the way he looks at you… in all the years I've known him, I've don't think I've ever seen him look at anyone like that, me included. He completely adores you, Blair. He would move mountains for you if you asked him to."

"Serena, are you sure? Because if you're not…" Blair blinks back tears as she looks at her best friend.

"I'm sure. I promise" Serena interrupts her, scooting closer on the bench and wrapping her arm around her, resting her head against Blair's.

"Thank you, S." Blair hugs her as tightly as she can. "Thank you."

"Of course." Serena smiles. "Do you think we could get out of here, though? I'm freezing." Serena asks and Blair nods wth a smile. Both girls get to their feet and Serena slips her arm through Blair's as they start walking. "So, are you going to tell me how this happened? I mean, it's you and Dan? There's gotta be a story there."