Well, well, well. It's been a while. I never intended to abandon the story and I'm not going to get into all the reasons why real life got in the way, but it did. In my mind it was always something that I was going to get back to and, about a month ago, I finally did. I didn't want to publish this straight away, because I didn't want to leave the story unattended for a long time again, I wanted to wait until the story was finished and then publish the rest of it all at once. So that's what I've done.

It might feel a little different, my writing has probably changed a little bit, but it's still the story I wanted it to be. Luckily, I wrote out very detailed chapter plans, and I always knew what the very last scene was going to be, so it wasn't that hard to get back into it, it's just that my style might be a little different.

So, for anyone who had read the beginning of this story and has stuck with it all this time, thank you and I sincerely hope you enjoy the rest of it.

"Where have you been?" Jenny's voice made Dan jump as he tried to sneak into the loft.

"Me? Nowhere." He stuttered. "I went for a run. Round the block. I just woke up and was in the mood for…you know, sometimes, it's just nice to get out there."

"You went running?" Jenny said, not fully convinced.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "And now I'm all sweaty, so I'm going to shower."

"Okay, but make it quick. We've been summoned to the Van der Woodsen's for breakfast." She called over her shoulder as he made his way down the hall.

They were at the penthouse within an hour and Dan couldn't hide the fact he felt a little nervous. Euphoric from his night with Blair, but nervous. Nervous someone would know, nervous about what would happen next and nervous because both he and Jenny were very aware that rushing to the Upper East Side for breakfast before school was not in the usual at all. Something was up. Rufus had been sleeping there a lot and when Dan saw him and Lily together, they already seemed like a married couple. Neither said anything to the other about it, but both Dan and Jenny were expecting an engagement announcement. It was only a matter of time.

When they arrived Dan knew he shouldn't have been surprised that Lily had gone all out for breakfast, but it still took him aback. He didn't think he'd ever get used to the Upper East Sider's and their inclination to excess. Still, Dan calmed down considerably as he looked around the room, if Rufus and Lily were engaged or moving in together, it would be a much grander affair.

"Lily, I can't believe you made breakfast." Dan said after he'd greeted everyone – everyone except Serena, who wasn't there for some reason – and began to pour himself a glass of orange juice.

"Oh, I just toasted some bagels and fried some bacon." She replied, as Dan eyed the arrangement of strawberries. It was no big deal at all.

A moment later Serena came bounding in, shopping bags in tow and her trademark smile.

"You guys didn't start without me, did you? You didn't tell her yet?" She asked, beaming as usual.

"No." Lily replied, just as excited.

"What? Tell me what?" Jenny asked, her eyes darting from one blonde to the other.

"Well, I wanted to tell you in person, all of you-"

"-we are planning a sweet sixteen party for you here tomorrow night!" Serena cut in.

"Fantastic caterer and beautiful flowers-" Lily continued.

"-DJ, the perfect guest list. We wanted it to be a surprise though-"

"-but we heard you had one of those last year and it didn't go so well."

"Oh, Jenny cake." Eric cringed.

Dan's mind flashed back to Blair and her role in destroying Jenny's birthday last year, for all of a third of a second, then it flashed to what it was like to hold Blair in his arms the previous night. How her lips tasted, and what it was like to run his fingers through her hair and feel her body mould to his and feel her breathing on his neck as she slept in his arms-

Somehow, he'd missed half the conversation. Jenny was slightly overwhelmed, but excited, as were Serena and Lily. The three of them chattered away as everyone sat down to eat, talking about music, flowers, balloons, invitations, dresses and so on. Not that Dan took a whole load in, the only thing that had helped him to stop thinking about Blair was when he thought that Rufus and Lily were engaged, now that he knew they weren't – for now – he lost all self-discipline and replayed the events of last night in his mind over and over again.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked Dan, snapping him out of his trance.

"What? Yeah. Yes. I'm fine." He replied breathlessly.

"Really? Because you've been kind of quiet. Did you…" Serena paused as Lily picked up her plate and moved to the kitchen, then lowered her voice as she asked "did you talk to Blair last night?"

"No. Yes. No, I…I called her." Dan stuttered. "But, she didn't answer. You know Blair."

He wasn't sure why he lied. It was simpler and a lot more appropriate then throwing his fists in the air and shouting 'I slept with Blair last night', which is what he really wanted to do. Even a little bit of the truth would be a long story, which he didn't have time for right now.

"Sorry." Serena said, placing a hand on Dan's arm. "I'm sure you'll get a chance to talk to her today though, and if not, then I'll make her come to Jenny's party tomorrow night."

"You would do that?" Dan knew that Serena was okay with the idea of him and Blair, but, until now, he hadn't thought that she could actually root for them.

"Sure, why not?" She smiled, gently shrugging her shoulders.

Dan paused. He really wanted to be able to talk to Serena about all of this, to ask her what she really thought of him and Blair together, if she thought he could make her happy, if she thought that Blair really did have the same kind of feelings for him that he had for her. All the questions balanced on the tip of his tongue and he knew that if he asked just one, they would all come tumbling out. But now was not the time.

"We better get to school."

His heart was pounding all morning, every corner he turned he anticipated seeing her. Blair. He pictured it in his mind, maybe he'd stride towards her and kiss her then they'd walk hand in hand through the school, not allowing anyone's shock penetrate their happiness. He was optimistic, but not that foolish, he knew that would never happen. And a part of him really liked how private his and Blair's relationship – or friendship, when that's what it was – had been. He knew that what he felt for her was a soul-quivering, ground-shaking, change-the-entire-course-of-your-life kind of thing and it belonged to them only.

When he did turn a corner and saw her standing at her lockers, that dreamy bliss was quickly jolted out of him. Chuck was right there over her shoulder. She kept her back to him, irritably rummaging through her locker as Chuck talked at her. She slammed her locker shut, said something back to him then stormed off in the other direction. Chuck watched her go, then turned back and his eyes fell on Dan. Dan wished he had been more aware of the fact that he had been just standing there staring at the two of them.

Chuck marched towards him. Dan panicked. He knew. He had to. Chuck knows everything about Blair, hell, he probably has hidden cameras in her bedroom. Or…the elevator! There had to be cameras in there, and Chuck bribing someone who worked in Blair's building to keep tabs on her really wouldn't be uncharacteristic at all.

"I hope you enjoyed The Age of Innocence performance, Humphrey. It's the closest you're ever going to get to Blair." Chuck snarled in his breathy tone as he continued right past Dan.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Chuck didn't know. He thought that was a good thing, then wondered why. Would it be so bad if Chuck knew? If everyone knew? He knew Blair well enough to realize that if she wanted to make their…whatever it was public, then everyone would know before the end of the day. He didn't see her again, he waited for a Gossip Girl blast, but nothing. It would have cut, he would have taken it as a sign that Blair didn't have feelings for him after all, but he had felt it. She did, he was sure of it. But she was still Blair, still insecure and vulnerable and they still lived under the panopticon-esque influence that was Gossip Girl. So, Dan had to be patient.

But the hours went so slow. He read, he wrote, he studied and it was only six o'clock. He looked at the clock, checked his phone again and once again resigned himself to the fact that he had to wait, and assured himself that patience is a virtue. When he heard a knock at the door, he jumped up so fast and practically ran into it as he rushed to see who was there.

"Hey!" Serena beamed.

"Serena…what are you doing here?" He couldn't hide his disappointment.

"She's picking me up." Jenny explained as she emerged from her bedroom and pulled on her coat.

"We're going dress shopping for her party tomorrow night!" Serena clapped her hands together. "Do you want come with?"

"Really not." Dan replied slowly. "You came all the way to Brooklyn to pick Jenny up just to take her back to the city?"

"Well…" Serena said slowly. "I also needed to tell you something. But, it's a surprise. Jenny, can you leave us for a moment?"

"Oh, I like the sound of that." Jenny said as she disappeared back into her room.

"Okay, I talked to Blair." Serena blurted out, her tone completely changing as soon as Jenny was gone.

"Oh, you did?" Dan asked nervously, wondering how much she knew.

"Yes. And I'm sorry that she wouldn't talk to you today, but I bugged and bugged her and got her to agree not only to come tomorrow night, but she promised me that she will talk to you."

"Really?"

"Yes! But…just don't, you know, get all Dan about this."

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his brow.

"You know, don't overthink this. Don't try to plan what you're going to say, because once you start…well, you don't stop and then you're just rambling. Just stay calm and let Blair figure things out for herself, okay?"

"Okay." He nodded.

"And wear your gray shirt, no tie and don't go overboard with the aftershave, okay? Jenny you can come out now!" Serena hurriedly instructed, pasting her big smile back on the moment she summoned Jenny back.

Jenny emerged again and the two girls went on their way, Dan smiling gratefully at Serena as she glanced back at him on her way out. He felt relaxed, he was right that Blair had needed some time and a day really wasn't that much longer to wait.

He was ready for an evening of editing his latest chapter on Blair, when the phone started to ring, interrupting his plans.

"Mr Humphrey, it's Gail from Brooklyn Realty. I wanted to schedule a time for our appraiser to come out to your loft. Is this a bad time?"

"Uh, yeah. You know, I'll call you later." He mumbled, wanting to get off the phone and weigh up what this meant. He hung up quickly, and looked around at his home. Then let the anger sink in, he realized that it made sense, that if his dad was going to move in with Lily then there was no point keeping the loft. But to start arranging the sale of his family home without even telling them? Dan was furious.

Suddenly, the nice gesture of throwing Jenny a big, fancy birthday party seemed a little sinister. It was probably to butter her up before they told her that she would be living on the Upper East Side. When Jenny returned home later, thrilled with her new dress, Dan couldn't tell her. He wanted to let her enjoy her birthday, so he kept it to himself. Even when Rufus came home and decided to spend the night at the loft for the first time in a while, Dan didn't say a word. But he made sure to give him the cold shoulder, all night and all the next day too.

He dressed just as Serena had instructed and fought all his natural instincts to picture what he might say to Blair when he saw her. Luckily, the latest revelation about the loft gave him something to focus on again.

"You look nice." Vanessa told him as the two of them, along with Jenny, prepared to leave for the party.

"Thanks. I…really? You sure?" Dan stuttered as he smoothed down his shirt.

"Yes." She said slowly, narrowing her eyes at him. "Why are you being so weird?"

"I'm not. I just…it's Jenny's sixteenth birthday, I want to look nice."

"Dan's probably just freaking out because Blair will be there." Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Still?" Vanessa sighed. "Have you talked to her?"

"Not since the kiss." Jenny answered for him.

"Can we just go?" Dan asked, already ushering the two of them out the door.

Jenny went on and on about what was going to be at her party, the things she had chosen herself and the rest that Serena had told her about. But the entire cab ride over and then the elevator ride up, Vanessa kept looking questioningly at Dan.

As soon as they arrived, Jenny absolutely lit up and pulled Serena into her arms, then the two of them disappeared into the crowed. Dan looked around casually, then saw Blair, looking stunning as usual, hanging out with Nate. He had expected to freeze, to be nervous again and to turn into the sputtering, nervous idiot that he always is around Blair. But he just watched her, imagining hearing her laugh as he saw her giggle at something Nate had said. Her hair was pulled up, revealing her bare neck. He remembered running his thumb down the path under her jaw.

"You know, there's a thin line between romantic gazing and creepy leering." Vanessa cut through his thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry, I…you know, I just haven't seen her in a while. Forgot how pretty she is." Dan explained, not as embarrassed as he knew he should be.

"You're lying." She smugly accused him. "You are smiling way too much. You should be all nervous, what's wrong with you?"

"I am…I…I can only be all awkward around her for so long before I adapt, right?" Dan quickly tried to cover up, but still couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"Maybe someone else would, but not you. Something happened between you two didn't it?"

"Vanessa-" Dan started, trying to come up with a decent lie.

"Oh, my God. What happened?" Vanessa began to whisper excitedly.

"Nothing."

"Sure. By the way, I just saw Blair wonder into Serena's bedroom, so if you wanted to talk to her about…nothing, then you should go after her." She told him, nodding towards Serena's bedroom.

"Will you be alright on your own?" Dan asked, after a moment's debate with himself about whether he should continue to try to lie, or just go after Blair and accept that Vanessa knows and will grill him about it as soon as she gets the chance.

"I'll be fine. Now go." She replied, pushing him away.

When he went inside, he saw her standing in front of the painting Serena had on her wall with her back towards him. He took note that she didn't flinch when he shut the door. He walked to her side, his eyes on that same painting. They had stood that way many times before.

"You should really come by the gallery soon, my dad's taken on this Matisse-like artist. It's exactly the kind of thing that you love to insult." He remarked, surprised that this is what he comes up with when he's trying to be spontaneous.

"So, I should go to Brooklyn specifically for art that I won't like?" She asked, her eyes still focused on the painting.

"I know how much you enjoy critiquing." He replied, easily falling into their old dynamic.

"Speaking of, I read the latest Claire Carlyle chapter. I think it was much…sharper and concise than the previous chapters."

"I told you that I didn't have much input on the latest chapters."

"Well, then that's probably why."

Dan laughed and turned towards her. "You know, I uh…I've almost finished my latest chapter on the real Claire Carlyle story. I found myself suddenly very inspired yesterday."

He watched as she smiled and glanced down as she blushed, before she turned to face him too.

"Serena told me I had to talk to you. That it was only fair after everything that's happened between us."

"I know. I assume that…that she didn't tell you that after she left yours the other night, you know, when you read my journal? That she called me? That's the reason I came over." Dan explained, watching Blair's expression carefully but she gave little away.

"No, she didn't." Blair admitted and Dan thought he could spy annoyance under her mask.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked apprehensively, her brief streak of resentment reminding him that he needed patience.

"Not right now. Not here."

"And about the rest?"

"Not here." She repeated, but this time it sounded like begging. There was a desperation in her voice that Dan couldn't understand.

"When?" He asked, just as controlled as he had been the entire conversation.

"Tonight. After…"

For the first time, Dan felt a little nervous, but before it could swallow him the commotion outside distracted him. Serena's voice spread through the penthouse, calling everyone over for Jenny's birthday cake. Dan and Blair joined everyone else in the living room as they sang happy birthday to her. Dan watched her glowing as she glanced around the room, in disbelief that she was the centre of attention, she blew out the candles and laughed as everyone applauded her. Dan felt relieved, if they were going to have to move to the Upper East Side, Jenny would be okay.

The crowd started to disperse again and Dan noticed Blair looking around nervously, like she didn't really know who to talk to or what to do with herself. That wasn't like her at all, but he assumed it was because she was at Jenny's party and the two of them didn't exactly have the best history.

"Do you want me to take you home?" He asked her.

She looked up at him and nodded.

They exchanged few sentences on the way to hers, and even fewer in the agonizingly slow elevator ride up. Dan wondered if he was supposed to kiss her again, if that's what she wanted and even expected. But they said they'd talk. So, they had to talk.

"So, where's your mom anyway?" Dan asked as his footsteps into the foyer echoed round the dark penthouse.

"Belated honeymoon with Cyrus. She'll be home for graduation." Blair explained impatiently as she shedded her coat.

"Are you okay here on your own?"

"Humphrey, I don't live in Brooklyn. I'm perfectly safe."

"That's not what I mean, I-"

"My mother goes on twenty business trips a year, I'm used to it." She snapped.

"O-kay. Sure." Dan took a deep breath. "So…we're going to talk."

"Yes, talk." She replied.

"About?"

"Yes?" She responded.

"Wow, I don't get why this is so hard." Dan sighed, amused with the situation. "You know how I feel about you, right?"

"I think so." She said, fighting to control her voice.

"You know, considering how much I talk it's so much easier for me to write about how I feel." Dan seemed to say to himself, before turning back to Blair. "I would ask you, but…I'm betting, despite the fact that you agreed to talk about it, that you're not actually ready to. Am I right?"

"Yes." Blair admitted.

"That's fair. I mean, how can we talk about what's happening here when we haven't really given ourselves the chances to truly feel it yet? So, how about instead, I just…kiss you?" Dan stepped towards her, his hand falling to her shoulder.

She held his gaze, taking her time to respond.

"I suppose that would work." She agreed. "So…kiss me."

A smile broke across Dan's face, they hadn't said a lot, but from what she had said, he had the confirmation that he needed. He instantly reached out and cupped her face, pulling it to his as he kissed her. He felt her lips curved into a smile against his.

He stopped only to scoop her legs up into his arm, the other wrapped tightly around her back as he carried her upstairs.