Authors Note: Here is the new chapter, finally! I wrote a longer chapter than usual because you guys had to wait so long but I wasn't really inspired to write this. I got a lot fewer reviews than usual and I want to focus more on my other story. But keep the reviews coming so I know that people are still reading :)
You get to know a bit more about Dan in this chapter which enjoyed, it's kind of weird writing him as an UES but I hope I did a good job.

Enjoy and please review and I'll update sooner!

Blair rushed through the hospital doors as fast as her high heels would allow. The fast clicking against the floor matched the furious beating of her heart. The cab ride had taken what felt like hours and Serena hadn't answered her phone. Blair feared that something really serious had happened.

"Excuse me," She asked a nurse in the reception "could you tell me where Nate Archibald is?"

The nurse gave her a quick smile before typing on the keyboard in front of her.

"He's in room 1216, he has a concussion and a couple of broken ribs, but he will be just fine. And he's being released later today" She smiled as Blair sighed relieved then proceeded in giving Blair brief directions to where Nate was. Blair didn't really feel like she needed them, she had been in this hospital more than a few times because of an injury at Victor Victrola or Serena or Nate's drunken tactics which somehow had ended up with somebody in the hospital. Sometimes Blair wondered why she still hung out with these people. She made her way to the room she had been directed to and opened the door cautiously.

Serena was sitting next to a sleeping Nate, her hand holding his on both of hers and a glum expression on her face. Her eyes were red and puffy as silent tears were still running down her face.

"Serena." Blair whispered careful not to wake up Nate.

"Finally, you're here." Serena wiped the tears quickly "What took you so long?" The blonde got up to hug Blair tightly. "I was so scared B." She cried.

"What happened?" They sat down in two chairs speaking in hushed tones.

"I'm not sure, it happened so fast." Serena began "Carter came over yelling about yesterday and how he almost lost his job. How it was Nate's fault. I got him to calm down but he kept pushing Nate's buttons. Then he asked where you were and Nate told him that you were on a brunch date with Dan out of anger."

Blair felt a chill spread through her body. She cared about Carter and wanted to tell him about Dan herself. She most certainly didn't want him to hear it from Nate.

"And that's when the fight started." Serena concluded

"I need to talk to Carter." Blair said "Fix this mess. I mean we have to work together, I don't want him to be upset."

"Fuck Carter."

Both girls turned to the bed where Nate was now laying awake.

"Fuck Carter, he got me here, to the freaking hospital." Nate continued angry "He's an ass and doesn't deserve any form of explanation or apology from you. You deserve so much better than that rat."

"Yeah well if I was ten years old, that reasoning might have made sense, unfortunately I'm not playing tit for tat. I'm glad you are alright though." Blair got up and gave a careful hug while making sure not to lean in his chest.

"Besides, you were friends."

"Blair, he kicked me so hard he broke my ribs, we are well past being friends." He muttered.

She sighed as she looked at Nate with sadness. She wondered when things got so screwed up, when they had become what she assumed was adults.

"You fought about something stupid," she started hesitantly "and you need to fix it if you ever want to come back to Victor, Victrola. It's already a miracle that Blaine didn't ban you."

"Oh B, speaking of the club," Serena said making Blair gaze from one blonde to the other "I'm supposed to work tonight…" She trailed off looking at Blair unsure.

"Yes?" She didn't like were this conversation was headed.

"But I don't want to leave Nate alone tonight, he needs help when he gets home. Would you possibly consider…?"

"No." Blair interrupted "Absolutely not."

"Blair please…" Serena tried but once again got interrupted by Blair.

"You don't want Nate to be alone, he has parents doesn't he?" When Serena looked at her with her big eyes she softened slightly. "S, we have school tomorrow, I really can't." She crossed her arms across her chest.

"They're away. I will cook you dinner every night for a month and get you out of the bachelor party in a couple of weeks." Serena practically begged. "Please Blair I'm asking you as a friend."

The girls looked at each other in silence for a while. Sad ocean blue orbs met determined hazel brown ones.

"Alright fine." Blair finally gave in reluctantly. "But this is never happening again. And I expect real food, not take out or any frozen crap."

Serena smiled brilliantly and Blair knew that she had been manipulated.

"Deal." Serena shook her hand with a smirk.

"Alright, I guess I should head to work soon then. Nate talk to Carter." She said to him with a stern look before hugging them both and headed out.

"Why do I have to fix things?" Nate sulked in the bed.

"Because you were the idiot that got wasted and almost caused both him and me our jobs." Serena said "But don't worry, she will yell at Carter much more than she did at you."

Blair was just coming out of the shower, a white soft towel wrapped around her body as her wet hair dropped small dribbles of water down her skin and onto the towel when she heard her phone beep. Checking she saw a message from Dan and a smile immediately came to her face.

Dan: Everything alright with Nate?

Blair contemplated telling Dan everything that had happened but decided against it. It was too long to text and they had already had their fair share of drama for the day.

Blair: He's ok. Broken ribs but he's going home later today.

She didn't have to wait more than thirty seconds before her phone beeped again.

Dan: Sounds serious. Want me to come over tonight?

Blair: Sorry can't. Have to work :(

Blair stared at the phone for about a minute waiting for a reply but it didn't come. She started to blow dry her hair thinking of reasons why he wasn't answering, she narrowed it down to two reasons: one, he was pissed because he knew that she was going to see Carter, two: he hadn't checked his phone yet. Blair prayed that it was the latter; she couldn't date a guy with jealousy issues. Looking at the clock she saw that it was almost five, she needed to eat and then head to the club.

She quickly heated up leftovers in the microwave before getting dressed, looking at her phone again and saw that she still hadn't gotten any message from Dan she sighed heavily.

After eating and getting ready she headed for the club, her mind still on Dan. The walk that took about ten minutes seemed to pass effortlessly as her mind was somewhere else. Making her way in through the back door she quickly scanned the club to see who had arrived, to her surprise only the girls who were working and Blaine were there.

"Hey Blaine, where's Carter and Ed?" Not seeing either bartender there she looked around the room to see if she had missed them.

"Ed's sick and Carter is coming soon, something about his hand." Blaine mumbled not even looking at Blair as he read through some papers.

"Hey Blair, where's Serena?" Emma asked as she stretched on stage.

"Oh, I'm working instead of her," She turned to Blaine "that's not a problem is it?"

"You should know that I'm not too happy with her right now, so that's definitely not a problem." He gave her a quick look "Now start stretching and then change. Quickly." He turned and walked back to his office.

"He really is an ass huh?" Emma looked in the direction where Blaine had disappeared. "Oh well, what happened to Serena?"

Blair got up and stood behind her as she started stretching her legs.

"Nate and Carter got in a fight, Nate ended up in the hospital and now Serena wants to play nurse."

"Doesn't he have parents to take care of him?" Emma, like everybody else knew that Blair never worked if she had school the next day or studying she needed to do.

"That's exactly what I said." Blair groaned angrily "But I'm her best friend and she got me out of the bachelor party."

"That's a pretty good deal though, I know how much you hate being in the private rooms." Emma who had been sitting on the floor stood up next to Blair. "What were they fighting about anyway?"

"Nothing worth fighting about." Blair decided not to tell the girl the truth. She liked Emma a lot but she was the gossip of the dancers and Blair didn't want her private life to be out in the open.

Suddenly the words Emma were saying faded away as she saw Carter walking in carrying a case of beer toward the bar. His hand was bandaged but he didn't seem to be any pain which Blair was both happy and pissed about. She didn't want him to hurt but at the same time he deserved some pain considering what he had done to Nate.

"Excuse me, I'll see you later." Blair quickly walked off the stage and to the bar where Carter stood unpacking different cases. He didn't notice her until she was standing right beside him.

"Hey." She bit her lip nervously.

Carter looked at her up and down with narrowed eyes.

"What are you doing here?" He continued to but beers in the fridge.

"We need to talk."

"About?"

"Are you serious? Are you really going to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about? How immature are you?" The nerves were gone and replaced by anger, she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Blair, we're at work. Let's not do this here." Carter finally stopped what he was doing to look at her. "I might have overreacted today but how do you think it feels to hear from Nate that you're on a date with that Upper East Side loser?" His blue eyes stared her down, dared her to lie or argue with him.

"You broke two of his ribs Carter! That's not a little overreaction, that's insane." Blair tried not to raise her voice.

"Fine, I made a mistake. But don't try to get out of you cheating on me, it's because f you Nate's in the hospital." He whispered spitefully.

Blair slapped him causing a crack to be heard in the room. The few people turned to stare at the couple with wide eyes yet nobody dared come to close.

"Don't you dare blame this on me." She hissed through clenched teeth.

Carter was staring at her in disbelief as he touched his stinging cheek, a red mark appearing on his skin.

"You cheated on me." He said again, but now his voice wasn't as venomous as it had been moments ago.

"I was going to tell you." She finally said "But the timing didn't work and I wasn't sure where things were going."

"With us or with him?" He leaned in close, to close for her comfort and she moved away a couple of steps.

"Both." She said honestly. "You are not looking for anything serious…"

"How would you even know what I want? We never discussed it" Carter interrupted her. When Blair didn't say anything he sighed heavily rubbing his neck as he stared down at her.. "And he is?"

"I think so yes." She didn't know why she sounded so pathetic and she mentally kicked herself for it.

"Well, now I know. Why don't you go get ready."

It wasn't a question but an end to their discussion. He turned from her but not before glaring slightly. Blair knew that their discussion wasn't over but he was right, she needed to start getting ready. Sighing defeated she turned to walk to the dressing rooms, after walking a couple of steps she heard Carter mutter the word 'whore' and tears sprung to her eyes, but she didn't turn around.

Dan had just gotten home from hanging out with Chuck, Vanessa, Damian and Kati and he landed on the bed facedown with a thud. He was exhausted, emotionally drained from the shock of how his mother had acted and physically from prying Kati's hands away from him for most time of the afternoon. Slowly turning around with a grunt he fished out his phone from his jean pocked. He texted Blair and asked about Nate. When he got an answer much faster than he though he smiled before realizing that he must look like an idiot.

"Dan, come down here for a second please!" He heard his mom call from downstairs. He quickly texted Blair before exhaled noisily and got of the bed. Leaving the phone on the bed. When he reached his parents in the dining room he barely glanced at his mother.

"What?" He was swaying from side to side slowly as he watched his parents as they sat in from of him at the table.

"Look I realize that you're upset but you can't just come dragging in some random girl however you please." Alison said icily.

"Actually, I think I can. You might decide a lot mother, but not who I date." He matched her cold tone.

"Daniel, what has gotten in to you?" Both his parents seemed surprised by his behavior, Jenny had always been the rebellious one out of the siblings. Dan had always behaved like the golden son his mother had wanted.

"Nothing, but did you ever stop to think that the life you have planned for me isn't the life I want. And what about dad? He's from Brooklyn; you cannot seriously be this judgmental?" As he stared at Alison he saw Rufus getting up from the table mumbling under his breath.

"When we met, your father had already accomplished a lot. He wasn't selling his body for money."

When Dan's eyes widened at what his mother said she knew she had him.

"Jenny told me that she's a stripper. You know better than this Daniel."

"She's not a stripper!" Dan raised his voice "Stop believing everything you hear, especially if you hear it from Jenny, she's been lying and scheming since she was able to talk!"

"Dan." Rufus warned him with a look.

"You are all fucking unbelievable." Dan muttered as he turned around quickly walking away.

"You do not use that kind of language!" His mother said behind him which caused him to turn fast to glare at his parents.

"For 18 years I have done exactly what was expected of me. I study my ass off; I'm going to Dartmouth to become a lawyer, setting my own dreams aside for you. For 18 years I've been nothing but a great son and a great brother, a trophy that you can show off. And for 18 years I've been alright with that, but now I know what it is to feel something more than obligation to you, it took me 18 years to realize that I don't have to live my life according to your rules." Dan finished of his speech in a low tone. As his parents started to object he turned and walked to the elevator which arrived quickly.

He ran in to Jenny as she was smoking outside the building.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Dan walked toward her, causing the girl to jump.

"What are you talking about?" Jenny took a long drag from the cigarette and blew the smoke in his face.

"Don't tell mom about my life. It's none of your damn business."

"Oh, you're talking about the stripper. I thought that went really well." She smirked at him, her red lips curling.

"Go to hell Jenny." He said before turning to hail a cab. "Oh and since we apparently tell our parents everything about each other maybe I should tell them about Damian? And that you come to school high on a regular basis? I'm pretty sure I have a few pictures of you smoking pot too."

A cab pulled in in front of him and he quickly got in leaving his sister staring at him in a mix of horror and shock.

"Where to?" The driver asked.

Without thinking Dan said Blair's address as he searched his jeans for his phone. Letting out an irritated groan he realized that his phone was still on his bed. Hoping that Blair was home he tried not to over think what he had just said to his family, luckily the busy streets of New York kept him occupied. The long drive went by slowly though and Dan couldn't help but get more anxious the longer it took. When they finally drove across the Brooklyn Bridge Dan felt some relief, knowing that there was only about ten more minutes until he was at Blair's.

He gave the driver the money before quickly getting out of the taxi and made his way in to the building. Dan knocked on the door three times but no one answered. He knocked again and yet the door didn't open. Letting out an irritated growl Dan resigned himself to the idea of that no one was home. He slumped down on the floor next to the door, deciding to wait for either Serena or Blair to come home. Without his phone or anything else to keep himself occupied he began to count the seconds out of pure boredom. He had reached five hundred and seventy-five when he heard Serena's voice and Nate's grunting coming through the entrance. Dan stood up and walked down the two flights of stairs before seeing Nate leaning on a shaky Serena.

"Dan, what are you doing here?" She asked surprised and out of breath as she had Nate leaning on her on one side and a big black bag on the other.

"I came to see Blair, but I forgot my phone, I just thought she would be home by now." Dan quickly took Serena's place to help support Nate up the stairs.

"She's working tonight." Nate grunted "Serena forced her to take her shift."

"I did no such thing." Serena glared at Nate and resisted hitting him on the shoulder, reminding herself that Nate was in enough pain as it was.

"I thought Blair never worked if she had school the day after?" Dan was panting as they made their way up the second flights of stairs, holding up Nate as much as he could.

"She doesn't. I told you Serena made her." Even through his pain Nate managed to grin at them.

"Shut up, if I was working you'd be on your own." Serena unlocked the door in front of them.

"Where are your parents?" Dan asked as they made their way inside the apartment. Serena led the way to her bedroom where Nate tentatively laid down.

"On vacation, somewhere." Nate said as he pointed to the bag Serena had been carrying. "Pain killers, need them."

Dan opened the bag to see a few different items laying in there and the tablets he was looking for. Nate swallowed two quickly.

"Do you need anything?" Serena asked from the doorway.

"No, just to rest, it's kind of hard to breath." Nate said, with his eyes closed.

"Alright, call if you need anything." Serena and Dan made their way out to the living room. The first thing Dan noticed was the broken coffee table.

"Jesus." He said as Serena ignored the table and carefully made her way around it before sitting down on the couch.

"I know I should take care of it, but I'm exhausted." She said as she made herself more comfortable. Dan was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room looking around.

"I won't bite you Dan." Serena smirked "Sit down and wait for Blair with me."

Dan did what he was told and sat down on the plump chair next to Serena. "When is she getting home?"

"Probably around 3.30, she's going to kill me." Serena murmured, her eyes already drifting close.

"Great." Dan sighed as he turned the TV on and leaned back in the chair.

Blair muttered to herself as she dragged her tired body up the stairs. Her body ached, her feet felt dumb and her eyes were barely opened as she unlocked the door and threw her purse on the floor and kicked off her shoes. Walking across the hallway she heard light snoring from the living room. Even in her tired state her curiosity took over and she walked toward the sound. To her surprise she saw Dan half sitting, half lying in the chair sleeping peacefully and Serena lying on the couch looking at her tiredly.

"What is he doing here?" Blair whispered as she made her way inside the room.

"He forgot his phone, had a fight with his family and thought that you'd be here." Serena yawned. "Hey be careful, the table is bro…"

"Son of a bitch!" Blair hit her foot against the broken leg of the table on the floor causing her to cry out in pain. "What the hell?!" She jumped around on one foot while holding the other.

"What, what?" Dan jumped up at the sound of Blair yelling. "What happened?" He rushed to her side.

"I tried to warn you." Serena said.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Blair straightened and looked up at Dan. "Hey you." She smiled, the pain forgotten.

"Hi." He smiled back before leaning down to kiss her softly. Blair leaned in to the kiss, the horrible day she'd had forgotten in a daze of content and sleepiness.

"Good night S." She took Dan's hand and they walked to her room, completely obvious to Serena's grin.

They undressed in silence, Blair changed in to a tank top but decided against any bottoms, figuring that her underwear was enough and Dan stripped to his boxers. Brushing their teeth quickly and then getting in under the covers Dan spooned her. His front pressing against her back as he removed her chocolate curls from her neck and shoulder before kissing her soft skin.

"You know, I kind of like you."

Blair smiled and snuggled up even closer to his warm body. Turning her head to the side she kissed him tenderly.

"I kind of like you too." She whispered against his lips before turning her head again. "Goodnight Humphrey"

"Good night Waldorf."