Chapter 14: Knight in Shining Armour

He lit the last of the candles, and stood up to watch his masterpiece. Perfect. The specific smell coming from the kitchen let him know it was ready. He knew she would love it; seafood paella. It smelled of cold evenings, sea and reconnection. He made sure everything was set nicely on the table before glancing at the clock again. She was late; only by a few minutes, though. He wasn't worried. He sat on the sofa and waited.

Something wet and rough grazed against his cheek, forcing his eyes to open.

'Thank you, Sandy,' he muttered, pushing the Labrador off his lap. 'Where's Serena?' he asked the dog, watching her stare at him, confused. 'I guess I'll find her, then.'

He searched for her, and he found her, and although he knew better, he couldn't help it. A much too familiar pain in his stomach confirmed the jealousy.

'Hey, honey. I didn't know you were home,' he spoke through stiff teeth, possessively kissing her cheek.

'You were asleep when we got home, so Ben thought it would be a good idea to cook for you before you woke up. He was just teaching me some of his tricks that he learnt as a sous chef at Cipriani's. He's a great cook! They wouldn't manage without him...'

'Yeah, congratulations on your new job, by the way,' Dan spoke, barely managing to contain the hurt from reaching his eyes. He knew she'd notice straight away. He thought about the food on their dining room table; it was probably cold, and he had to remove it before she'd find it.

'She's exaggerating. I get by.' He smiled back at her, and the sight seemed sickening. He hated himself for feeling that way; he knew there was no justification. Yet it was in his nature to judge, scrutinise, over analyse. That was his weakness, and as much as he tried to overcome it, sometimes he could just not be careful enough.

'I still don't know what he's cooked. Just please tell me it's not the beef roulade! Do you remember when you cooked that for me and I pretended to like it, because I didn't want to hurt your feelings, but ended up throwing everything up in front of you? I don't think I apologised enough for that...' She giggled, and wiggled herself out of Dan's embrace, leading Ben to the dining room.

He darted after her, but he was too late. She saw everything, and she just stood there, the smile on her face gone. He wished it hadn't. He wanted her to always be happy.

'Sorry, let me get that. It's probably cold anyways,' he muttered, and removed the bowl of paella, blowing out one of the candles that was threatening to burn the tablecloth. He took it to the kitchen and dropped it on a counter, his free hands then gripping the sides of it. He dropped his head. He felt stupid. He had no reason to be angry or upset. In some way, it was his fault too. If he hadn't fallen asleep, then he could have surprised her when she came home, even if she was a bit late.

He had no idea she was watching. She stood underneath the door frame, and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't move towards him. She felt bad; worse, she felt awful. She knew she was in the wrong, and wished desperately she could go back in time. Make it home in time. Timing was never her strong suit. She finally started walking, her feet not making any noise.

She placed her palm against his back. It startled him. 'Dan, I'm sorry...'

He faced her and smiled. Fake, forced, not the smile she knew far too well. 'What? You have no reason. I just dropped something on the counter and was looking for it. It's very small, you might not see it now. I'll look for it later. Let's go and eat. Ben's...waiting.'

She let him finish, and then wrapped her arms around him, kissing his neck as he embraced her.

'I'm sorry I was so late... You prepared my favourite meal to surprise me, and I just ruined it. I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to wait until it was final...'

'Serena, you don't have to answer to me. You were out, and came home a bit late. So what? It happens. Now let's go and eat; we've left our guest alone.'

He tried to walk around her, but she stopped him. She knotted her fingers around his, and watched his eyes close, as he sighed, defeated.

'Hey, stop. I want to tell you... You know the job that Blair's mom offered me a few weeks ago, when she came back from Paris. I had an interview today. You're looking at the new senior editor of Cosmopolitan.'

His eyes opened in disbelief. 'What? Oh, my God, Serena, that is amazing!' he said, and picked her up in his arms. She laughed as he spun her around, and for a second, the happiness of the moment overpowered the anger of the fact that, yet again, he jumped to conclusions. He was damn good at it. And as much as he would have liked to kick himself for being a jerk one more time, he chose to celebrate with her and for her.

He set her down and kissed her, his lips hard against hers.

'Congratulations,' he whispered in her ear, before pressing his lips against her cheek and temple.

'Thank you. But I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want to make a big deal out of something I wasn't sure about, and end up being wrong. We both know what can happen, and I didn't want to disappoint you again.'

He watched her eyes drop, and her hand instinctively touch her flat stomach. Without a word, he picked it up in hers, and brought it to his lips, then smiled at her comfortingly. She met his gaze, and his smile caught on, her face lighting up.

xoxo

He cut the cake in four, setting the slice for their guest on Serena's 'special guests, but not dinner parties' china.

'Do you need any help?' It startled him; the voice was not only unexpected, but also male. He looked up, and his jaw tightened. He forced himself to relax; uncalled for, immature, unreasonable were among the words he mentally used to describe his behaviour. And yet, they weren't strong enough to calm him.

He was civil. 'No, thanks, I'm almost done here.'

'Look, Dan, I understand why you would be reticent towards me.'

'Well, you are an English teacher with years of experience. Of course you would understand what reticent means.' He looked at Ben as if he was his equal, yet he knew that wasn't true, and the old Dan would feel ashamed of himself for behaving this way. But the new Dan didn't care; he wanted to protect his relationship with Serena, and past taught him that you can never be too careful. He was continuously alert.

'I am not here to take her away from you.' The tone of his voice, wise, old, knowing, forced his eyes to lower. He just listened. 'I knew Serena a long time ago, and during that brief time, I've learnt to easily read her.' Yeah, Dan knew that feeling. But he wouldn't tell Ben that. He didn't dare.

'She loves you, Dan. There is no way she would want anyone else, and I really don't understand why you can't see that.'

'I know,' he muttered, slowly lifting his eyes.

'She's so happy with you,' Ben continued, smiling in the slightest. 'Happier than I have ever seen her; carefree, but in the good way. You bring out the best in her.'

Dan looked up. 'You two have a history. I can't risk losing her again; you have to understand why I would be...cautious.'

'I do. I just wanted to let you know that you can let your guard down around me. You have nothing to worry about.'

He watched Ben's arm extend in front of him, and he shook his hand, hoping his eyes would match his smile.

xoxo

He watched her as she sat in the middle of their bed, her fingers ruffling Sandy's smooth ears. He couldn't help but gaze over the delicate curve of her waist, defined perfectly by the tight top she wore. She was so beautiful... He couldn't believe she was his. After everything they had been through, the hurt, lies, Georgina, Vanessa, Nate... The fact that they withstood all of it had to mean they belonged. And he couldn't be happier about it.

He walked slowly behind her, and pressed his chest against her back, his knees resting on either side of hers.

'So what did I say about the dog, our bed and Egyptian cotton sheets?' he asked, and placed a soft kiss to the back of her neck. His arms wrapped around her waist, helping her lean into him.

She giggled. 'You know I couldn't resist those puppy eyes.' Her hand reached backwards, knotting in his thick black hair.

'Well, you're going to have to learn, because she needs to go,' he said suggestively, and kissed her shoulder, slowly moving up her neck. 'We have something to celebrate, don't we?'

She wriggled in his embrace, facing him, and she kissed him long and hard, her arms locking around his neck, her hands resting on her elbows, something she always did. He rested his palms on her hips, and his thumbs slipped underneath her top, caressing the soft skin there.

She pushed him gently into the mattress, her knees pressed against the sides of his thighs, but their kiss didn't break. He dropped a hand to her calf, slowly moving its way back up, following the contour of her thigh. She pulled at the end of his T-Shirt, and helped him wriggle out of it. They took a second to just smile at the other; a warm, genuine smile. A smile to say 'I love you' when words couldn't be uttered. Then, while holding a palm against his beating heart, she united their mouths once again, this time in a slow, deep kiss.

xoxo

Although they were only covered in a thin sheet, it was much too hot. Their breaths slowed, yet the hand she kept on his chest let her know his heart was still fluttering. So was hers. His fingers stroked her waist and stomach, aimlessly, lightly, without even having to think about it. It was natural. Their legs lay tangled in the same way as they always did.

'So explain to me, how come you steal some of my writing tips and get a job at a top magazine, while I struggle to get published in the NYU Weekly?'

She laughed. 'Is there such a thing as NYU Weekly?'

He smiled. 'Think of it as a general concept.'

'Ok, then you can think of it as me borrowing some of your genius.'

He kissed her forehead, allowing his nose to skim over it. 'Flattery will get you nowhere.' They laughed together, and Dan thought about how nice it was to hear hers so often. He remembered moments when he wished he could listen to her childish laughter, moment when he would despair over the fact that she was so broken, she couldn't even smile. The thing he was most grateful about was that she was happy again, smiling, and laughing, and sharing it with him. That was the most important; it was with him.

'I'm so proud of you.'

'I couldn't have done it without you.' She didn't need to explain any further. It wasn't just the writing inspiration that he had offered her. It was his support, and his heart, and his teenage years that he had given her, his love that helped her become who she wanted to be. Her knight in shining armour that pulled her from the dark side. Her better half, in every sense.

A/N: Here we go, another chapter. Thanks for reading, and please consider reviewing. Thank you to my regular readers; you're what keeps me writing. MASSIVE THANKS! xx