Staring down the makeshift aisle in the Central Park Boathouse, decorated by the red roses that clung to the end of every row of pure white chairs, twenty year old Dan waited patiently for his bride to arrive.

The small group of guests, dressed in designer gowns and suits, growing restless with each passing minute as they sipped on their flutes of complimentary champagne that was flowing freely, had been seated for the past twenty minutes, and nervously the young author watched as sole bridesmaid slash maid of honour Blair Waldorf rushed in and out of the closely guarded room, the soft beige silk material of her dress bunched in her hand so she couldn't trip on the material.

Young Eric was standing next to him, acting the role of Best Man, dressed in an almost identical suit to the waiting groom. He patted Dan's shoulder reassuringly as his weight shifted from one leg to the other. "She'll be out soon." He promised. "You know how she is."

Then, as if it was designed that way, the slow iconic chords of the traditional bridal march started and everybody's heads turned as one to watch his white clad, blonde angel appear from the back of the idyllic wedding venue. Accompanied by no one except for Blair, several steps ahead of her, she glided down the aisle with ease, her infectious smile brushing past the small group of family and friends as she made her way towards him…

Dan jolted himself awake, shaking himself from the unexpected dream that he had fallen into; guilt-ridden and shocked that he dreamt about his long past wedding day.

Rolling over in bed, through sleep glazed eyes he glanced up at the glowing alarm clock to find with dismay that it was only quart to six in the morning; there was no logical reason for him to wake at this time, but he would find it near impossible to fall asleep again.

The other side of his massive bed was empty. Olivia might have spent every night warming the space next to him in his bed since their fast-pace relationship started the week before, but she had meetings that had ran late into the night and messaged him close to midnight, just as his head was hitting the pillow, to inform him that she would be crashing in her own apartment that night, since she lived closer to the offices.

That was fine with him, he thought as he reluctantly crawled out of bed; his best work came when he was away from any distractions. He shuffled into the kitchen to pour himself a fresh cup of steaming coffee before shuffling on to his office; hoping that his recent run of literary inspiration would continue today.

"Dan?" The words had flowed freely from the embattled author all day, and without being consciously aware of it, he had spent all day typing away at his laptop; pounding down on the small black keys with an incredible force and speed.

He was pulled away from the fictional land that he was fast creating for the protagonists for his story when his name was called out from the front of his large home; a voice that sounded honey sweet and joyful, like she didn't have a worry in the world.

"I'm coming, hold on a second." He called back, pressing at several keys to first save the fast-filling document where he'd been mapping out the technicalities of the story and second to close it from any spying eyes.

"I've got so much to tell you." He had barely made it down the stairs when two tanned arms flung around his neck and a chaste kiss was placed on his cheek, leaving a faint shine from the clear, sparkly lip gloss she'd been wearing.

Dan pulled away and smiled at his girlfriend of a mere week. Olivia Burke, seven years his junior and the lucky actress to have claimed the role of Serena V, in the movie that he'd originally penned.

"I met Max today." She squealed without prompting, pulling away from Dan to move into the kitchen and the vintage bar stools that lined the counter. "We read through the script."

She brandished the thick document, that Dan had only read through once, from inside her black designer laptop bag that had been slung over her shoulder. Every night since she'd officially won the role, she had spent half the night slowly reading through the script, asking Dan questions and making notes every so often.

Searching through the liquor cabinet that was kept under lock and key, he emerged with a bottle of familiar brown liquid and two tumbler glasses, pouring a drink for the both of them.

Olivia's enthusiasm was endearing and after seven years of dramatic relationships and flings that were better described as friends with benefits he had finally found someone that he could be himself around.

"So, what did you do today?" Olivia suddenly stopped talking about her most recent meeting with the movie Dan and the production crew to talk about the shooting that was to begin in the next couple of weeks, and looked up.

Dan shrugged, playing down the fact that he'd spent another whole day working; that he had only stopped because she had walked in and called out to him. He felt positive about the story and the characters that he'd created so far, and he didn't want to risk jinxing his current run of inspiration by talking about it.

"Have you had a chance to talk to Emily again?" Olivia asked gently, as Dan downed the tumbler of Whiskey he'd poured for himself, passing Olivia hers. It had been a week since Emily had broken down over the phone, distraught at the news that he and Olivia were actually together.

Tomorrow night, Friday night, was the beginning of a 'Dad weekend', and he had no idea if his little girl was coming or not.

Dan shook his head, obviously not used to the fact that Emily and he were fighting with each other. Emily had been his whole life for so long, and it was slowly cutting him up inside when he knew that he was the reason behind her tears.

"She'll come around." Olivia smiled, pushing the script away and rubbing her soft hand up and down his arm, thinking of the little girl she had so far only seen in the photos that decorated Dan's place. "She's your daughter and she loves you."

Dan nodded, sitting down on the bar stool next to his lover, picking her soft hand up in his and kissing the back of her palm softly. Her understanding and compassion, even with something as sensitive as Emily was one of the many beautiful things about her.

G~G

Out of the many traits that Serena had passed on to her daughter; the perfectly straight honey blonde hair, the sparkling blue eyes and flawless complexion, the stubbornness, it was important to not discount the fact that the nine year old could hold a grudge just as long, and just as viciously, as her mother.

"Are you going to your dad's tonight or not?" Serena asked with her iPhone in her hand. She didn't have a problem with her ex-husband and his barely legal girlfriend; she had no reason to care. She had spent the last week tirelessly explaining to Emily that her father was allowed to date who he wanted, that he still loved Emily; that he still wanted to see Emily.

"Will she be there?" Emily asked with a sneer on her small, pink lips and a tone of contempt in her voice. Serena sighed; they were battling an uphill battled, one that was near impossible to win.

"Possibly," Serena answered as truthfully as possible. She wasn't about to flat out lie and have her daughter hate her too if Olivia was there. "I'm sure your dad would love you to meet her."

"I don't want to meet her." Emily said after a couple of beats of silence, even though there was an obvious weakness in her firm tone now.

It was seven thirty in the morning, and Emily was sitting on the couch opposite her mother in their lavish living room. Already dressed in her conservative and impeccable Constance Billard uniform, Serena was about to whisk her away for a final day of study before the welcome two day break.

"I'll let your father know you're coming." There was a tone of finality in Serena's words. Emily was going to Dan's tonight if she enjoyed it or not.

Serena didn't let Emily pout for long; she knew that the little girl would pull all the tricks out to get Serena to change her mind on the living arrangements for the weekend.

"What happens if she's there?" Serena and Emily had made the short walk from their gloved-doorman apartment building to the elite school hidden behind the high stone walls. Now that they were standing just outside the delicately designed iron-wrought gates, Emily was reluctant to leave.

"Then you're going to smile, and be nice to her." Rearranging the pale pink knee high skirt she had put on that morning, she knelt down to her height. "Your daddy is still your daddy. Your daddy likes Olivia, and he would like it if you could at least try to like her." Serena tried to place her words carefully.

Emily pouted a little more and the finally, slowly, she nodded.

G~G

With his grey trench coat in one hand, and one foot practically in the elevator, read and waiting to whisk him down the twenty-odd floor building, Dan glanced back at Olivia who had settled herself down on his couch with her laptop balanced on her lap.

"Are you sure you're okay here by yourself?" He asked for the third time in the last five minutes. He needed to go pick his daughter up from school, and Olivia had decided that it would be a million times easier if she wasn't there.

"I'm fine." Olivia smiled, flashing two rows of perfect white teeth, an occurrence that was becoming a welcoming regularity. "I have emails to catch up on." She patted the top of her computer. "Go, get Emily. Have some one-on-one time with her."

They both knew the return was not likely to be pretty.

Ignoring the curious glances and whispers behind the back of raised palms of waiting parents, au pairs and nannies outside the communal gates of Constance Billard and Saint Jude's, finding a welcome and needed friend in Vanessa Abrams-Archibald, Dan waited patiently for the final bell to echo out of the school's wooden doors.

"So…" Vanessa was just about to initiate conversation with her silent friend when the bell finally sounded, followed by the younger students flying down the stairs before the swarm of upper class-men.

"Daddy." His blonde girl squealed; separating from her friends, her smile brightening when she saw he was alone; her earlier argument with him almost forgotten.

"Hey baby girl." Dan smiled, bending down on one knee so he could properly hug his daughter. "It's so good to see you."

"I want to do so much this weekend." Emily didn't need any more prodding; she was off at a million miles a minute as she mapped out the weekend. Dan managed a goodbye to Vanessa as she was whisked away by her own son before he started to follow Emily.

"That's great." Dan smiled down at Emily once she'd stopped talking; they were almost back to his building. "There's something I want to do first though…" He started gently.

Emily stopped dead, starling other Manhattan-ites as they bustled around the father-daughter duo in a rush to their next destinations. She looked up at her dad slowly and the enthusiasm disappeared from her eyes. She had promised her mother she would be nice to Olivia, but it didn't mean she wanted to do it.

"Is Olivia at your place?" She asked quietly as they started walking again, Emily at a much slower pace.

"She really wants to meet you." It was an answer and a reason. Emily didn't reply, but at least she kept walking and didn't bolt in the other direction. "You're gonna like Olivia." Dan kept trying to make conversation on the way back to his building, but Emily wasn't biting so they kept the walk silent.

G~G

Emily pressed the emergency stop button as the lighted numbers high above the elevator doors slowly neared the end, the only one that wasn't a number, the P, sending the small space into a silent darkness.

Her dad hadn't said a single word to her once it was obvious she was disappointed with the presence of Olivia. He was tired from fighting against the obvious resistance.

"What's wrong now Emily?" Dan sighed; the argument was going around in circles; with no end in sight.

"Do you still love me daddy?" Out of all the questions Dan had considered she'd ask he hadn't actually been expecting that one.

"Of course I do." He answered without hesitation. "I'm always going to love you Em."

"Then why aren't you with mommy?" If you loved me, you'd still be with mommy; Dan could almost hear the silent accusation.

"Because…" Dan started and then stopped to think. "Your mother and I are very proud and stubborn people." He answered vaguely, offering no other immediate explanation for the complicated question.

"It's been a long time since your mom and I divorced Em." Dan slid down the wall of the elevator to sit on the floor, pulling Emily onto his lap. "We both moved on a long time ago." He wasn't about to explain to his daughter his past, and until now secret, relationships. "Remember, your mom married Julian and Carter."

Emily looked like she wanted to argue a little more, but even she knew she couldn't come up with a winning argument.

"Please, I want you to meet Olivia. I really do think you'll like Olivia."

Emily cuddled up against her father, "Fine." The word was muffled by his coat. She had admitted defeat, and she was ready to meet the woman that was apparently claiming her dad's heart.

G~G

So…this would have been up earlier today but as I've learnt it's probably a good idea to keep consciousness once you're awake and standing…otherwise you get a killer headache that no amount of water/Tylenol can save.

I know there's a lot of Olivia/Dan in this story as well but I gave you guys Derena in the morning, and there's a lot more Derena coming in the coming chapters. (You have to get through the characters you don't like before you can get to the ones you love) And you all know who end game is going to be =D

Review, and I'll update again really soon, I'm finally on a roll with this story is again =D

Casey xXx