Disclaimer: I do not own "Gossip Girl."

***

Her shout takes the wind out of Nate's sails. He gapes at her, mouth still open in what would have been a retort—but suddenly isn't; because he hadn't totally expected her to affirm it, to admit to that…

"I know…" she repeats, softer, panting a little, "…what— what we were once…"

The soft words trail away into silence and they stare at one another; both more upset than either wants to acknowledge— neither knowing where to go from there, what to say to that—aware of the avid audience watching them.

"Well…" Blair's smooth voice slides into the stretching silence, "This is… awkward."

"Shut-up, Blair," Nate hisses at her, shifting to look at her, to glare at her— feeling relief, almost grateful suddenly, that she'd spoken, that she'd broken into the silence.

"Now, now Nathaniel," Chuck drawls, a trace of warning in his voice, "Don't lash out at her for your inability to express your sentiments appropriately."

"Stay out of it, Chuck!" Serena growls, turning around and scowling at her brother.

He frowns at her a little, not precisely upset, but a touch irritated as he says dryly, "Happy to, Sis— if only I had any faith in either of your abilities to rectify the train-wreck that is your relationship."

Blair sighs a little, nods in agreement.

"Right, because you're qualified to advise on relationships, Chuck," she snaps at her brother.

Blair bristles, "Hey—"

But Nate makes a scoffing noise over her words as he shifts his gaze to Serena and sputters, "What relationship? When have we ever had relationship?"

And Serena whirls back towards, fury in her eyes, "You have a girlfriend!" she spits at him for the a third instance; then adds vehemently, "All. The. Time! If not Vanessa than Jenny or—"

"But never you! Right, Serena?! It can never be you!"

"And whose fault is that, Nate?!"

The question hangs in the air, the living room wholly silent; just the four of them in this sunlit room and their quiet, stunned breaths.

"Mine… perhaps…?"

Blair's quiet response takes the breath out of both blondes. They turn to her in unison, staring at her with aghast expressions on their faces.

Beside her, Chuck stiffens, sends Blair a quick frowns. "Don't be absurd. You're not responsible for their utter inability to communicate about their relationship— or lack thereof."

Blair doesn't look over at him; her eyes stay on the blonde pair in front of her even as they both avert their gazes from her. She looks them over slowly as she speaks softly to Chuck, "No, I'm not… but maybe… for their reluctance to..." she proposes and there's a hint of something almost like regret in the pitch of her voice.

Nate shakes his head, looks about to speak.

Serena does the same, says, "Blair—" in a soft voice.

But Chuck interrupts his sister, a razor-sharp edge to his voice as he addresses his girlfriend, "I believe the case was they weren't reluctant enough."

It's a cutting reminder; and the tension mounts a touch higher. It's the second time this, that, has come up since they've gotten to this curiously, futuristic mirage and that's more than it has ever happened before. They'd talked of it in shouted cries, publically, or in quiet tones, two by two, or simply not at all; but never like this— never just the four them. And it occurs to each of them then, that they haven't spent quite this much time, just the four of them, together, in years...

No one knows exactly where to look until Blair sighs again, a little louder and a bit sadder, as she makes a motion with her hand, "Yes," she says to Chuck, eyes going back to Nate and Serena, "But that was then and this is—"

"This is no different," Nate's voice interrupts her, tight and a bit defiant.

He looks to Serena and adds, almost mockingly, "Because I have a girlfriend," he pauses, meets her widened gaze with a heated one of his own, "And you didn't come back for me."

Serena flinches, drops her eyes from his face.

And Nate's face falls despite the anger still marked there. "We should find Sunny," he says dully, moving to the doorway towards the den.

No one speaks. Serena's gaze stays fixed on the floor; her expression pained, her body still. She's lost in thought and makes no move to follow him.

A beat passes and Chuck takes a step in the direction Nate had walked off in, then he pauses, looks to Blair. She draws in a deep breath and gives him a quick nod, releases his hand. He presses a kiss to her lips, mutters, "They're such work…" as he moves off after Nathaniel.

She smiles at his back, until he's out of sight. And then her smile fades as she looks over at her own best friend.

"So what was that about?" She asks very softly, the cadence of her voice gentle, "What did he mean by that?"

It's a moment before Serena lifts her head, another before she turns it towards Blair, and still another before she meets her sister's gaze. "I said that—" she begins slowly, "To him… when I—came back… from boarding school…" she explains, swallows hard as she turns her body towards Blair now, faces her completely, "He thought— that I… that I'd come— and I told him, no. That I hadn't…" she trails off there.

But there's a glint in Blair's brown eyes suddenly; a resolve for something Serena can't quite understand. "That you hadn't come back for him," she finishes the blonde's sentence.

Serena doesn't meet Blair's gaze. "Yes," she says lowly.

"S." Blair calls after a moment of silence.

And Serena blows out a deep breath, looks at Blair, her expression resigned. It isn't the first conversation they've had about this and she thinks it won't be the last. It'll haunt them, she knows, haunt her. And for that betrayal, it's a price she's willing to pay.

"Did you?" Blair asks her.

And Serena starts a little. "What?"

"Did you come back for him?"

She blinks. "Wha—? No! Blair— you know that— that Eric— I didn't… no."

Blair takes a step towards Serena; reaches out and takes her hand. "I know," she says, "I know Eric needed you and you came home because of that," she agrees before adding tenderly, "But was it for Nate? You can tell me."

Serena shakes her head, "Blair—"

"I know," Blair says and there's something unraveling inside her as she thinks back to that time. It's only been two years, but she feels a lifetime removed from it; and wants suddenly for Serena to feel that too. "I know I was dating him and that I loved him and that you wanted me to be okay, you wanted me to have him and to have you and to have everything be okay— the way it had been before… before all of that…" she acknowledges, "I know..."

Tears fill Serena's eyes and Blair tugs her a step closer, there's barely an arm's length between the two girls now, and Blair stares intently into her sister's gaze as she continues, "And thank you for—"

"No, B, don't thank—" the plea is ragged, a denial of absolution.

And Blair doesn't heed it, "—for that, because I needed that then. I really did. To be okay, I needed to have him and to have you and to have a just a few more days of before." There are tears in her brown eyes now too as she leans into Serena, presses her forehead to her best friend's temple.

Serena nods, a tear slipping. "I know… and I'm sor—"

"Don't," Blair whispers fiercely into her ear, "Don't apologize again," she tells her, "Not anymore."

She lifts her head, uses her free hand to reach up and turn Serena's face towards her, to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. They stare at each other for a long moment then. Friends and rivals, sisters and enemies, Blair and Serena, Serena and Blair— everything they wanted and feared and loved and hoped known to the other, used by turns to bolster or debase the other; they were as giving to each other as they were cynical, as kind as they could be cruel, and all it amounted to was this, they loved each other.

"I'm okay now," Blair tells her simply, hoping her words will free her, "And he's always loved you."

Serena shudders at the gentle words, pulls back, draws in a deep breath as she swipes at her eyes. "Blair, it's not—"

Blair straightens too, blinks back her tears. "What? Not true?" She interrupts, "Not true that even when he'd accidentally miss my calls, he never missed yours? That even when he'd be too busy to see me or talk to me he was never too busy for you?"

Serena looks miserable, "No, B, that's not—"

"Just because I never did anything about it doesn't mean I didn't see it, S."

And Serena's mouth snaps shut.

It's not bitterness in Blair's voice though, its wryness; a tone of bemused understanding and that's what keeps Serena's gaze on her face.

Blair reaches out and takes her hand again, tugs her to her side as she turns in the direction of the den. "I want you to be okay, too," she tells the blonde as they walk very slowly towards the doorway.

"I am," Serena says, draws in a breath; but Blair speaks again before she can continue.

"Uh-huh, is dancing on tables and giving strip teases for reporters all over Europe the definition of okay now?"

Serena huffs, frowns. "I was having fun. It doesn't mean anything."

Blair sends her a sidelong glance full of disbelief. And then she looks forward again, says softly, "I don't want you to be afraid," she says carefully.

"Afra— of what? There's nothing—"

"Of Nate. Of being with—"

"I'm not," Serena denies, "And we're not like that, we— augh," she sighs, "I'm not even sure why Nate blew up like that. We haven't—"

"Then answer my question."

Serena stops walking, "What?"

"Did you…" Blair begins very steadily, "… come back for Nate?"

"No."

And Blair contains her eye-roll; no one ever said Serena wasn't stubborn. "Not even a little bit?"

Serena yanks her hand from Blair's, "Would you stop it!" She cries, anger flashing over her face, "Why are you doing this!? Why can't you just leave it!?"

"I told you why," Blair answers, forcing herself to not yell back, "Because I want you to be okay and not afraid and give what you have with—"

"We don't have anything!" Serena shouts, voice cracking a little, "We haven't ever! Not what you're talking about, not something like that! It's always been quiet, hidden, wrong even, and I don't know how to do—"

"Well obviously you should and it's not now and you need to learn then don't you think."

It wasn't a question. It was Blair with an arched eyebrow and her dark gaze fixed on Serena's face expectantly.

And Serena scowls at her, "What do you want me to say, Blair!? Oh sure, great idea, why didn't I think of that?" She hisses, "Because I can't do that! It's not that easy! I can't just stop—stopping myself, okay? I—"

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not! I'm just—"

"You are."

"No—"

"Then what is it exactly?"

And it's just like Blair to force Serena to narrow it down; to slice through the ambiguity and fog she loves to float through. She blinks at her, feels the rush of anger that had buoyed her up vanish as suddenly as it had appeared. A lump rising to her throat and so much uncertainty she has to look away for fear of Blair seeing in her eyes exactly what she's spent the last few breaths denying—fear.

"I don't—I don't know. We're just not…" she trails off, eyes fixed on the windows at the far side of the room. And she expects to hear Blair's voice then, expects her to ask not what? But the brunette remains silent, still, and Serena licks her lips, presses on; trying to put into words something she's never even let herself fully think of, "There's always been… something there," she admits so quietly she can't even be certain Blair can hear her, "Between us… always been… something that's… us…"

It's the best she can do— doesn't even know where to begin to put into words what she feels when she's with Nate; how to describe the quiet magic that thrums between, the way everything slows down, turns brighter, feels realer…

She turns to Blair; finds warm brown eyes studying her profile. "He sees all of me, you know…" she says softly and she thinks Blair does know, thinks Chuck's always seen all of Blair, the way Serena has; the way Blair's always seen all of Serena. "And I… was sure once that I… that I loved him… and sometimes… I think… that I could…" she trails for a moment, lets her gaze shift from Blair's face, "But he's…he's always…" she trails off for good there; voice tapering away and not picking up again; her eyes sad as they stare off into space.

Beside her, Blair sighs, a touch frustrated. "He's what?" She asks the blonde.

Serena draws in a deep breath, "Nothing, B. Let's just go find Sunny, we need to—"

"He's what?" Blair snaps, not moving.

Serena frowns. "Just drop it, Blair."

"No. I don't want to," comes the almost flippant response, like she's declining an offer to go get coffee together, "I want to know what it is exactly that keeps you from him when you loved him enough to dupe me."

Serena starts, and then sighs. "God Blair. You realize you're going to NYU in the fall, right? And that their mascot is not a bulldog."

"He's what?" Blair asks again, "Not your type? Not compatible? Not—"

"No! No, it's nothing like that! You know it's not like that…. it's just… he's…" she looks into Blair's eye then and puts the word into her gaze; knows Blair will read it there.

Yours.

Brown eyes widen a little. "He's what? Mine?"

It sounds wrong said out loud, not exactly the way it does when she thinks it and Serena shakes her head, "Well no. I mean, he's his own person obviously—it's just… I don't want to…" she blinks, brings together the words to tell Blair what it is she means, "… to be with him… if you—if you decided that you wanted— like you did, this year, to—"

Blair scoffs before the blonde can finish, her lips quirking upwards in a little smile as she reaches out and takes Serena's arm, tugging her towards the doorway again. "I'm not going to decide that, ever again," she says firmly as they begin to walk, "But even if I did—it wouldn't matter. Not if he's with you."

Blair squeezes her sister's arm a little, "He's not mine, never was, I think, not really."

"But…" she continues primly, after a pause, the small smile still hovering over her lips, "… if you what you need is for me to… officially bequeath him to you— then consider it done."

Serena stops them in the doorway, looks over at her, "You can't just bestow a person on me," she tells her, but there's a small smile on her lips too. Because of course Blair would think that this would resolve everything.

"Why not?"

Her smile widens a little, "Because… you just… you can't…" she says, but there's a thread of amusement in her voice.

"And yet," Blair says brightly, "I just did. He's yours. If you choose to let what's yours perish in the dredges of Brooklyn then really—"

A surprised bubble of laughter escapes her as she cries, "Blair!"

"What? "Blair responds with the shrug of one shoulder. "I'm serious. If his ventures into outer boroughs isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is. It's obvious, he needs you."

He needs you.

The words bring to Serena's mind the scenes she had witnessed beside the pool, the way her future self had clung to her husband; the way he had looked at her— and her smile turns wistful. "You should have seen them out there, B. The older me and him—they… they're really in love."

Blair stares at her a moment, and she rolls her eyes and pulls the other girl into the den. "News flash, Serena, I've seen what you and Nate look like in love."

And Serena laughs; softly and not nearly as bright as usual, but genuine nonetheless. There's such certainty in Blair's voice, such confidence in her gaze as she says those words— it relieves something inside her, soothes her.

She doesn't need Blair's permission, never had. But it was nice to have her blessing.

Not that she knew what to do with it; or Nate.

Or what to do, in general, really...

She shoves Blair a bit in the shoulder, rolls her eyes at the girl. And her best friend smiles in return.

:

Nate had walked through the den on the fumes of his righteous indignation, on the memory of her uttering those words at him, of the way she had walked away. And when they had tapered off, he had faltered, had found himself in the game-room, alone, and anxious in a way that made him want to take that dog for a run. Serena was right to be confused, hell, he was confused by his sudden bursts of anger. He didn't know why her soft surprise had bothered him so much, why seeing her look at their future selves with such wonder had set his teeth on edge—but they had. They had made him want to shout and shake her and tell her there was nothing surprising about it, that he had made it clear in a hundred different ways that he loved her—until she had asked him to stop.

He had paced the game-room then, ran a hand through his hair, walked over to the glass the doors and had been seriously considering going out and doing laps in the pool—wondering vaguely if his presence would be noted in the water—when Chuck had made himself known.

He'd cleared his throat and had walked forward; leaned back against the armrest of one of the sofas, folded his arms across his chest, and then proceeded to do nothing. Nothing, but stare at his best friend with dark, impassive eyes.

Nate held the gaze for a long time, not wanting this conversation to start; and finally had to look away, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair.

He mutters, "What?" now, already irked by what's surely going to be an irritating conversation.

Chuck smirks at him, glances at his watched. "Almost five minutes, not bad."

"I'm not in the mood, Chuck. Just say what you want to say."

"You are in a dreadful mood," Chuck points out, arching an eyebrow.

And Nate huffs, "Right. Thanks for agreeing with me then. Can we skip the talk part and just go find the kid now?"

Chuck's expression clears, but his gaze remains intently fixed on Nate. "Your kid," he says after a beat.

Nate blinks at him, gritting his jaw a little. "Yes," he agrees reluctantly, "My kid. Can we find him, so we can figure out—"

"— with Serena," Chuck presses, interrupting the other boy.

"Chuck—"

"Your kid with Serena."

And Nate's fists clench. "Right— whatever. We still need to—"

Chuck's lips twitch as if he were restraining a smile; mostly because he was. "Because in the future… you're in love…"

A slow inhale of a deep breath and then Nate says forcefully, "Look, Chuck— really— not wanting to talk about this."

Chuck blinks at him, straightening a little, "But it's what you said. Am I wrong?"

Nate glares, "No, but—"

"And in the past— you were also… in love."

"No, I don't want to—"

"Oh, so you weren't in—"

And Nate steps towards him, grimacing in anger, "You know I was!" He yells, frustration bubbling over.

And it was true, Chuck had always known. He'd seen the way every shred of focus his best friend had, would be ensnared by the giggling blonde; seen the way Nathaniel's gaze had followed Serena's every movement. Once, he knew— Nathaniel might have loved Blair; but he had never been fascinated, enthralled by her, the way he'd always been by Serena.

"Yes… I do know," he admits softly; admits to seeing it all play out long ago, to standing aside watching the players, the game, unfold, and doing nothing to stop it.

He moves then, to stand in front of his friend. "In love in the past," he begins, voice a touch mocking; because really, this shouldn't be all that difficult to put together—even for the two of them. "And in love in the future… what does that tell you, Nathaniel, about the present?"

"That I'm stuck in some kind of psychedelic hallucination and suddenly no one seems interested in getting us out of it?" He snaps, eyes narrowing.

Chuck makes a motion with his hand, "You love her."

And hearing it said like that, point-blank, no qualifications or florid explanations, makes Nate start; his expression going blank, as he stares at his best friend.

Chuck stares back; silent and knowing.

And then Nate shrugs; sighs again, feels inexplicably sad by it all. "You don't have to tell me," he murmurs.

"But you have to tell her."

"I have told her," he says imploringly.

Chuck smiles a little, because really— these two are as easy to figure out as a paint-by-numbers. "Maybe…" he says slowly, meeting Nathaniel's gaze, "She thinks things have changed."

Nate gapes at him. "Why would she think that? When have I ever said that I stopped—"

"Well, she seems to be a bit perturbed by… what was it? Oh yes, your having a girlfriend."

Nate glowers at Chuck, "This isn't funny."

"I didn't say it was."

"You're amused."

"Well, it's been a rather droll morning."

"Chuck!"

Chuck shrugs at him. "I'm suggesting you tell her again."

"And then what, huh?! What's that going to change? It didn't change anything the first time I—"

"Then work for her Nathaniel— or at the very least, clear off your lap so she can fall into it."

He stares at Chuck, mouth still open in a mid-sentence that he'll never finish now. It couldn't be that simple…

But Chuck's smirking at him like it is and then the girls are walking into the room; genuine smiles and soft laughter and he closes his mouth and looks away.

"There you are," Blair says, eyes drifting to Chuck as they walk into the game room.

Serena's steps slow as they draw closer to where the two boy stand; but Blair moves towards Chuck, even as he takes a step towards her. Drawn together like magnets, they smile at one another, in on a joke the other don't see.

"I've had just about enough of this place," Blair announces a beat later. She's standing beside Chuck, their arms touching. Nate standing a few feet away, Serena just inside the doorway looking at them all with wide eyes.

"I agree," Chuck nods, "We'll find Sunny and seeing as he responds so well to you sister dearest, you will guide him into getting the information we need. Understood?"

Serena narrows her eyes, "Sure Chuck, sweet of you to ask."

He smirks at her.

"Let's go then," Blair says and slips her hand into Chuck's. The two of them step forward, intent on leaving the room.

Neither Nate nor Serena move; both stand there, gazes affixed anywhere, but on each other and Chuck rolls his eyes at Blair, tilts his head towards Nate. She shrugs a little, squeezes his hand and cuts her eyes to Serena.

"Would you two mind putting aside your fabricated issues until we're no longer in a fabricated reality?"

Blair gives his hand a painful squeeze now. "Chuck!"

He shrugs, "What?"

Blair makes a face at him.

" We don't have issues," Serena says softly, "Fabricated or otherwise…" she offers, eyes going to Nate; it's an olive branch, her giving him the chance to brush this all aside like they have so many other times.

"Oh yes we do," Nate says to her sternly, "But they're not fabricated," he shoots at Chuck a moment later.

The brunette opens his mouth to respond when the door to patio opens. They look over to find Cash gallantly holding it open for a young girl to precede Liam inside.

"It's really sweet of you, Cash," she's saying, there's a glass of orange juice in her hand and she's smiling at the younger boy kindly.

"Yeah," Liam agrees, says, "Too sweet," a little darkly.

She laughs and they notice Liam is holding her hand as she walks towards one of the sofas. Nate steps out of their way quickly, make a quick grimace as Cash's foot slips through his for a moment, before he steps safely away from the threesome.

"Oh!" Blair cries, lighting up a little as she looks to Serena and then back to the kids, "This must be the girl! Candace. The one Liam's seeing…"

"Oh!" Serena says, nodding and stepping forward, closer to the sofa, so she could study the girl. "She's pretty!"

Candace has long and evenly cut, coppery red hair that's held back away from her face with a thin white headband. She's a slim, tall girl with a small, straight nose, full lips and big, light green eyes. There's a smattering of faint freckles over her nose and she's wearing a white skirt with a pale green tank top and wide smile as she takes a seat beside Cash on the sofa.

"I just thought you might be thirsty," Cash says and all four of them start a little; because that's the voice of butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth they now knew to associate with the downfall of congressman.

Candace smiles over at him.

"You didn't think I'd could be thirsty?" Liam wonders, a bit sardonically as he perches on the armrest beside Candace.

Cash smiles over at his cousin. "Oh no, I didn't think— we just had brunch… sorry." There's nothing, but pure regret in the word and if the younger's boy's dark eyes weren't dancing with merriment, they could almost believe it was true.

"Right." Liam bites out.

Candace takes a sip of her juice.

And Liam continues, "You're not coming with us."

"Liam!" The girl cries, looking up at him with horrified eyes, "Don't be—"

"He's not."

"It's okay, I'll just stay here…" Cash says on a shrug, "I can wait for Annie, Gracie and Harm to get back."

"Great, sounds like a plan," Liam nods, offering him a mocking smile, his eyes glaring at Cash warningly as he stands and tugs on Candace's hand, "Come on we should—"

"We can't just leave him all by himself…" she says and sends Cash a quick smile before looking over at Liam.

"Uh yes, we can. The other kids will be back from lessons in like an hour. He's—"

"Cash, would you take this to the kitchen for me," Candace says, interrupting Liam and handing Cash the half-full glass of juice, "I'm all finished."

He smiles at her—all sweetness, as he takes the glass and hops up from the seat, "Sure thing!"The eyes he lifts above her head to Liam are laughingly mocking.

Liam's gaze narrows.

"I think your kid has a crush on Liam's girlfriend," Nate says as Cash leaves the room.

"Brilliant observation, Nathaniel."

"He's not coming with us," Liam says again before Nate can respond to Chuck.

Candace stands then. "You said it yourself that your family's been going through a lot lately, you really want to leave him here all alone?"

Liam's eyes go wide, "Yes!" He exclaims, "That's exactly what I want to do! If we bring him, we're not going to get a moments peace and his hand is going to end up your ass or boo—"

"Liam!"

He huffs. "It's true," he says and actually pouts a little.

"He's just a kid," she defends, "A sweet kid. And he wants to come to the movies with us, there's nothing wrong with that…"

"He's not a sweet kid. He's a…" Liam trails off, gaze fixed on her face; before shaking his head, she wouldn't believe him anyway. "He's just not," he amends after a moment. "He's playing you…"

"He's twelve and adorable."

"He's twelve and evil."

"You're exaggerating and being mean."

"You're underestimating him and being stubborn."

She waggles her eyebrows at him then, grins, "It's called tenacity," she corrects, "And it's a highly prized character trait."

He sighs even as he grins back. "How am I supposed to fondle you in a dark theater if my little cousin is around?"

"How am I supposed to have fun making-out with you if I know we left a sad little boy all alone all afternoon?"

"You are way too kind-hearted."

"Well, I've been seeing you haven't I?"

He gasps, still smiling as he lays a hand over his heart, "Candy, ouch."

She giggles. And then shrugs, says simply," I like Cash. He's adorable, always giving candy or showing me funny videos..."

"You know he only gives you candy because I call you Candy."

"Is everything about you, Liam?" She asks, smiling.

"He's trying to steal you away," Liam tells her very seriously despite his grin.

"Then you better up your game then, huh?" She says teasingly, biting her lip a little.

And Cash comes bounding back into the room at that moment.

"She is totally flirting with my son," Serena says, staring at the red-head, "I don't know how I feel about that."

"You did hear the part about fondling at the movie theater, right sis?" Chuck drawls, smirking at the blonde.

"Shut-up, Chuck!"

"You guys should get going," Cash tells them, all bright eyes and smiles, "You don't want to be late."

And Candace throws Liam a triumphant look before turning around to face Cash. "You can come with us, if you want, sweetie." She says.

Cash blinks at her, "Oh no, I think Liam would be mad."

Liam glowers at the younger boy.

"I think Liam would understand," Candace says sweetly.

And Cash lets his gaze slide from her face to Liam standing behind her, keeps his expression a picture of little-boy-indecision; and then he shakes his head ruefully, "Naw, it's okay… you guys have your date."

And she steps towards him, "Okay, but another day the three of us are going to hang out and play video games," she assures him, "Right, Liam?"

He rolls his eyes, "Uh-huh, yeah, sure. Can we go now?"

She shoots him a look over her shoulder and then turns back to Cash; reaches out ruffles his dark hair, "Thanks for the juice, Cash," she tells him and then leans in and presses a kiss to his cheek.

"She's a hussy!" Blair cries, scandalized.

Even as Liam scowls, looking outraged, "Candy!"

She laughs and turns back around to face her boyfriend, "Let's go," she says and takes his hand again, tugging him towards the patio doors.

As Candace pulls him out of the room, Liam looks back at Cash, still scowling, and finds the younger boy smirking at him, expression smug.

Chuck smirks too. "He's made himself quite a soft spot in her affections."

"Did you see that!?" Blair hisses, motioning towards Cash and the patio door where Liam and Candace had exited, "We have to find out that girl's last name and make sure she never comes near our babies!"

"Assuming this is real," Serena points out with a small smile.

Cash laughs into the empty room, looks completely delighted for a moment and then bounds out towards the den.

"I think it's real," Nate says then, voice completely serious, his gaze on Serena, "I think all of it is real… "

And they're silent then, each one considering those words, that concept; before Nate speaks again, "But we're still not supposed to be here… so can we just… find Sunny…"

"Yes," Serena agrees, "Let's find Sunny."

***