Hey folks! Let me set some things straight. This is me writing a new character into this world and having her interact with the GG characters. Mainly to try and find Nate his gal. this might be her! I've played with some timelines and adjusted some backstory. Here's what you need to know:

Mackenzie is between Dan and Jenny. Consider 15 months between Dan and Mackenzie, then another 15 months between Mackenzie and Jenny.

Mackenzie moved to Hudson with Alison. Spent some time in NY some summers. Was at most major events, just not important to GG plot.

Okay, I think that covers it. No, this is not a Mary Sue. This is me writing a character I love and have already developed into a show. This is also me wanting the best for Mr. Nathaniel Archibald.

If you don't care about O/Cs, move on.

TWO YEARS AFTER FINALE PART A

Mackenzie Humphrey was trying to make risotto.

The recipe in her mother's old cookbook was hard to read - splatters of decade old sauce and spices were fossilized on the page. But, she was trying. She did not want to become one of those New Yorkers who orders in all the time. She was determined her late lunch was going to be made by her own hands.

She stood at the island of her father's loft and grated cheese, slowly. She was trying to savour these quiet moments of her life and enjoy the process. Her classes usually left her swamped but this free weekend ahead was to be enjoyed.

She had her mom's hair - long, flowy. It was Humphrey brown though. She had it pulled up into a messy bun to avoid a mess while cooking. She wore a black and white striped t-shirt, paired with ripped black skinny jeans and wool socks. The November air was just starting to cool down the city so the socks were keeping her temperature warm.

She was the same height as her sister, but that's where most of their resemblance ended. Mackenzie was always bigger, with wide hips and a proportionate chest, most of her extra body weight landed in her tummy or booty. She was lucky to always have a waist, but she knew she did not fit into her sister's designs or her brother's socialite friend circle. She wasn't sure she had ever met someone plus sized in her few times visiting the Upper East Side. That was the land of personal chefs, regimented fitness routines and detox programs.

Her mom always told her she could blame her genes on the Rioux side. French, carb loving souls.

Mackenzie was grateful her mother never forced obscene diets or standards of body image on her. That didn't stop the inadequate feelings of having a model sized sister or being the funny friend instead of the pretty one. It had been an ongoing battle her whole life.

Her headphones were nestled into her ears and the sound of The Lumineers flowed as she cooked. She glanced over at her brand new Bluetooth speaker, lying useless on the kitchen table.

Mackenzie was convinced she had an aura about her when it came to electronics. And that aura was throwing off some serious crisis vibes. She could hardly operate her Macbook without it freezing on her. Technology and her just did not get along. Her inability to properly set up new pieces of tech in her life was frustrating but she made it work. Although, arguably, she knew most music would sound a lot better coming out of a speaker and bouncing off the walls of the old Brooklyn loft.

It also would make the apartment feel less empty and lonely.

Truth be told, Mackenzie had hardly lived in this apartment until now. She had a longing for how her brother and sister grew up here with their dad. Her heart pulled her to the few weeks of summer spent in the loft over her teenage years, but it still wasn't the same.

Life became a little complicated for the Humphrey family after the divorce. Mackenzie went with her mother to Hudson just before seventh grade.

From an early age, Mackenzie was the smartest in her class, especially when it came to numbers. Gifted. Incredibly so - her intellect was growing and her aptitude for mathematics set her light years ahead of her peers. After leaving her husband, Alison Humphrey took a position teaching art history at a private school in Hudson and Mackenzie's grades landed her a seat in the classroom.

Her whole life, Mackenzie knew she was book smart. She could balance any budget, analyze any spreadsheet, read about macroeconomics from sunrise to sunset. But her life skills were definitely lacking.

The problem with being a genius in a public elementary school AND being overweight was endless ridicule. It didn't help that Mackenzie's sister, only a year below her, was thin, blonde and beautiful. It was around the end of sixth grade that her panic attacks developed. Dealing with anxiety became a regular facet of Mackenzie's life. Her doctor blamed it on puberty and hormones. Moving to Hudson helped, but some of that childhood trauma, some mild and some damning, remained.

After the divorce, Dan and Jenny chose to stay in town with their dad. Rufus moved the kids to the loft and eventually got them into well established private schools of their own. He welcomed Mackenzie on the holidays and during the summer, but his relationship with her was always difficult.

The reason behind Rufus and Alison's divorce was never clear. As they delivered the news to their children, they used words like 'fallen out of love' and 'different views'. Dan, Mackenzie and Jenny all knew the real word behind their demise was 'infidelity'.

After she finished high school in Hudson, Mackenzie took a gap year and lived in Australia. When she returned, her deferred acceptance into Northeastern University in Boston was waiting for her. Major in Economics and minor in art history.

As she packed up her things to move to her first dorm, Mack came across some paperwork that changed her life.

Paternity test.

A handwritten letter, from her father to her mother, broke Mack's heart. It was dated eight years ago. Months before their divorce.

The words were burned into her heart: "Alison, we have to face the facts. You owe me this."

Rufus believed Alison's infidelity started after their first born son. After Rufus left on what turned into one of his last tours. He claimed that Mackenzie's conception and birth, just a year after Daniel, did not align with any of their moments in bed. That she must be someone else's and how could she do this to their family. He never claimed to have doubts about Jenny being his daughter. Perhaps he and Alison had worked out their differences eighteen months later. But with Mackenzie, he was convinced she was not his child. Her hair was straight and a honey brown. Her smile was unknown to him. She was built differently - she was always the heaviest girl in her class. Alison had an intense friendship with her studio manager Luc around the same time. Rufus had been on tour so often, it could make sense.

That was the last straw for Alison.

At the time, Mackenzie didn't know what to believe or who to be more angry at. Her father, for creating such a void and strain in their relationship for believing this for so long.

"Mackenzie, can you ever forgive me?"

Or her mother, for somehow getting the test with talking to her daughter about it. For wanting to prove her fidelity to Rufus. For never telling her kids about it. For letting Mackenzie find out through secret, hidden paperwork.

"Honey, you don't understand."

Or her brother and sister, who both found out by accident one summer and failed to fill her in years later.

"Mack, come on. How could we give you this information? Dad almost cried when he saw that we found the original test..."

"Kenzie, please. You've gotta understand. It wasn't our place."

To say things were strained was an understatement.

Mackenzie and her family did their best to repair was her biological father, after all the drama that came out of it. And they were slowly but surely getting back to normal. She had to admit she may have handled some things incorrectly and grown up since first finding that information four years ago, but it was hard.

Life had not been easy the past few years. Growing up in a split family can be hard. Finding out about her half brother Scott was another wrench in trusting her father, too. Her time at Northeastern did not come without hardships and not having her family for support the whole time, even by her own choice, was regrettable. The things she went through during her last year of undergrad were still coming to a head. The national news highlights...the unshakable memories.

Mackenzie blinked and brought herself back to the present.

Risotto.

She glanced down at the recipe book. Mushrooms! She approached the fridge and paused. It was covered in photos. She was pretty impressed at her father's collection of his kids' achievements.

Jenny, surrounded by models in her new line at her recent show for Waldorf.

Dan with Serena, smiling happily at the camera during a family brunch.

A review from Dan's recent bestseller, clipped from the Times.

Mackenzie's graduation photo from Northeastern last spring.

Then the last photo - of Dan, Mack and Jenny, aged 6, 8, and 9, holding his old guitar horizontally in front of themselves. Jenny was missing her two front teeth. Mack was pudgy as ever. Dan's hair was long and unruly. Scrolled across the top in Sharpie were the words 'soundtrack of my life'.

Mackenzie smiled to herself and opened the fridge.

Mushrooms.

Xoxoxo

"Marie, can you move my 2 o'clock to Monday morning?"

"The advertising meeting with the Lakeside group?"

"Yes, that one. When you have Al on the phone, offer him the Nicks tickets for tomorrow night, too."

"I'll see what I can do, Mr. Archibald."

Nate Archibald released his intercom on his desk phone and leaned back in his chair. It was a quiet Friday afternoon and he was checked out. Monday's content for The Spectator was on schedule for full execution and his weekend staff were prepped for content creation and his journalists had weekend projects just being finalized.

Over the years, Nate was happy to have grown his small operation into a successful operation - slowly but surely growing as a reputable source for news online in the big apple. His staff had been trained and aside from his role as editor in chief and his weekly opinion column, The Spectator thankfully ran itself most days.

Without Marie, his assistant, and Leo, his junior editor and office manager, The Spectator would fall apart. But he was pleased with his success and couldn't wait to see the newspaper grow even more in the future.

Even his grandfather was proud of him for his success, although he didn't tell Nate directly. But he knew. The way he boasted about The Spectator at every social function from the city to the Hamptons, Nate was happy to have his grandfather on his side.

"You're all clear, boss." Marie's voice came through the phone confirming the meeting had been moved. Nate sighed, relieved. He was looking forward to an afternoon off.

He could see a long run, some old records, pad thai and a hot tub in his near future.

He glanced down at his phone and saw a text from Serena:

Dan and I are stopping by in a few moments! I have my next draft for you.

Ten minutes ago.

Second later, there was a knock at the door. It opened slowly and Serena popped her head in.

"Hey!"

She came into his office and dropped down into the chair across from his desk. "Dan's checking your archive for something. We won't be long!"

"That's okay. I need to ask him something anyway. How's your Friday?"

"Good." She beamed at him. "Here you go!" She pulled a small stack of papers out of her purse and left them on his desk.

"You know most of my contributors just email me their columns to edit."

"Yes, but most of your contributors don't know your preference for editing with real red pens."

He laughed quietly and grabbed the stack off his desk. "You're right." He slid the paperwork into his briefcase. "I'll look this over tonight."

"Are you on your way out? Enjoy your afternoon. Read it tomorrow." Nate was grateful for his friend's attitude. Serena knew Nate was overworking himself.

Dan appeared at the door next, an old Spectator issue in hand. "See, I told you it went up last July." He glanced at Nate. "Hey, man."

"What did we post last July?"

"My short story about the Hamptons house mystery."

"The entire drive down here he was debating with himself about the timeline." Serena pursed her lips, holding in a laugh as she rolled her eyes to Nate.

Dan stood behind Serena and let his arm fall behind her back. "So, how did last night go? I picture a loose modern retelling of three men and a baby. Only it's two men and Henry instead."

Nate laughed, defending himself, "I'll have you know, Chuck and I managed just fine with little Hen. He fell asleep around 8 and was still in bed when I left. Blair's first night out away from him was just fine." He paused. "Although, Dorota did a lot of the work."

"She also called home at least five times." Serena noted, recalling her girls night with Blair the evening before.

"I am just really looking forward to a quiet night tonight." Nate conceded, getting up to put on his coat. "Oh, Dan, I meant to ask - can I drop by the loft and grab those records you set aside? I just haven't found the time until now."

"Oh yeah, they're in a yellow crate in the office. My old room."

"Key?"

"Same hiding place."

"Thanks, man."

"Well, we've gotta go, babe," Serena said to Dan. "We've got a date at Barney's."

"Oh, great."

"That sounds like a nightmare. Why?" Nate laughed. They all headed out of his office now, into the foyer of The Spectator.

"I have headshots coming up next week for my new book jacket. So apparently that means a new blazer. And even new socks? Somehow?"

"Dan, it's a whole outfit. I bet Nate has fancy socks on right now."

Nate hesitated then grabbed at his pants, pulling them up slightly to reveal a white, blue and pink argyle sock. They continued down the stairs to the outside office where Dan and Serena's cab was waiting.

"Hey! Come by tomorrow night if you want. I told Dan I want to have a 80s movie marathon."

"How is that what your Saturday nights look like now?" Nate joked to her as she got follow Dan into the backseat of the taxi.

"Hey! You know how I feel about Molly Ringwald." Nate smiled and waved at them as he walked towards his car and driver.

Serena turned to Dan, "Hey, wait. Should you have told Nate that Mack is at the loft?"

"Uhm," Dan hesitated, "No, it's fine. I mean, I think she's at class today anyway. He can pop in and out no problem." Serena gave him a look. "Okay, I'll text him."

xoxoxo