There was a stillness, and in that stillness was a humming. That annoying humming of an old elevator recently refitted with new pulleys. How he knew that? Well he didn't, he was just speculating. In that last month he had been here more than he had for the first four years of knowing this woman. Repugnant, condescending, not to mention just plain old mean, and all of that was still true he figured but yet there he was; standing in her elevator.

The door opened smoothly and he stepped out and looked to the left. The place was oddly dim. He poked his head around and quietly made his way into the house. Other than the main foyer light, none were on. But there was a candle though. And as he squinted his eyes and focused on the dimly lit figure lying on the couch.

There she was silent and peaceful as he had ever seen her. He had the feeling that she and peace were not well acquainted. And he didn't have the heart to disturb that. But as he turned away he could feel movement behind him.

"Dan?" A familiar yet new voice came from behind him.

He spun around on his heel.

"Hey, I know you skipped out on the party tonight but I was wondering if you were still up for a movie?" Dan asked.

And as if the statement was completely idiotic Blair silently signaled Dan's attention to her lap. And there laid a baby girl, just a little under one year old. Her name was Ana and Blair adored her.

"I know and that's why…" Dan said confidently as he stressed the end up of his sentence and reached into his bank and pulled out three DVDs. "I brought Wall-E, Cars, or The Lion King."

There was a silence.

"Fine. You can stay." Blair finally said as she held out her hand for the DVDs.

Dan walked over and handed her the DVDs. Blair started ready through the descriptions on the back. Dan picked Ana off the couch and cradled her in his arms. Ana's head naturally fell onto his shoulders and without a single audible noise started to fall asleep.

"Wow…." Blair said as he watched Dan with Ana. "You're really good at that."

"Well… four months of practice." Dan said with a half-smile.

Blair got up as she continued to read through the description.

"Seriously? You've never seen The Lion King?" Dan asked as he walked with a gentle sway for Ana.

"Oh course I have, and the musical as well. It's these other two that I'm not familiar with." Blair said as they started to ascend the stairs.

"Well, Wall-E is actually pretty good but Cars is considered one of Pixar's worst movies." Dan said.

"Then why did you bring it?" Blair asked as if he was stupid.

"For whatever reason, children under 8 seem to love it." Dan answered.

"Oh boy, we're in for a long night aren't we?" Blair asked.

"Not that long." Dan replied swiftly.

The screen turned dark and so did the room. The credits began to roll on the screen as Blair, Dan, and Ana remained motionless. Blair sat up against the headboard as she cradled the sleeping Ana at her side. Ana laid peacefully in Blair's arms as one of her hands gripped Dan's hair. Dan had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the latter half of the movie, partly because he had already seen it before and partly because he was lying flat on the bed.

But now the movie was over and it was time to put Ana to bed.

"Alright, I think I'm gonna put Ana to bed now." Blair said as she tried to pick her up.

"Ouch!" Dan let out in a low growling tone as if to compensate for volume.

Blair looked down and realized that Ana's hand had still been gripping his hair.

"Awww… don't touch that! It's dirty." Blair whispered to the sleeping Ana as she untangled her small fingers from Dan's hair.

As soon as Blair had left the room Dan collapsed back onto her bed. He stared at the ceiling of a building that was part of New York's rich history. He wondered to himself how he got here. How he ended up in a bed, babysitting a girl with the person that hated him most in high school. Dan was never one to believe in fate but what else could explain how he ended up here?

The room was perfectly cooled, the air was crisp. And although he did not approve of Blair's taste in décor, or her oversized closet, or the fact that just on the other side of the bathroom door was the girl who was too free for him to be with, he found a meditative peace in being in this strange unexpected place.

She returned with the gentle clicking of glasses. She held them perfectly leveled on a tray. She placed it down gently on her bed. There sat two tall glasses with one crystal pitcher and a bucket of ice. As she sat down on the bed she picked up the prongs and started to load up each glass with ice cubes.

"This is all I had prepared tonight." Blair said focusing on the task in front of her. "Do you want coffee? It's not too late, we can still go out for drinks."

Dan sat there, silent with a handsome smile on his face, an expression that went unnoticed by Blair. It was fine, Dan didn't want to seem too obvious anyways. But as Blair talked on idly, Dan counted each and every word and nothing her voice spewed the venomous tone of her past self. She was a little more docile at night. But Dan had always known that who people were in the dead of night are who they truly were. This was Blair. And he was not disappointed.

"No, it's fine." Dan said. "Water sounds great."

She handed him the glass and as he reached to grab it his hand came in contact with hers. She was warm and soft, qualities that would no doubt come to mind if anyone had just looked at her but Dan had overlooked that for so long. She was beautiful. Simply beautiful. How did it take him four years to realize that?

"So… babysitting." Dan said. "And what's worse, you seem to be good at it."

"Did you always think of me as a monster?" Blair asked.

"Ask me that again tomorrow and we'll see how I respond." Dan retorted.

"I know I'm a bit erratic." Blair admitted. "Sometimes I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Dan asked.

"I try not to think about it…" Blair said as her voice softened into a feint whisper. "It's painful."

"Chuck?" Dan asked.

"I know I said I forgive him but…" Blair stumbled on her words. "But part of me always wonders… in these moments, if I really am just settling. Because I'm scared."

"It's okay to be scared." Dan said. "It's okay to feel like you deserve more."

"Is it? Am I really any better than him? After what I did to him and Eva? Him and Raina?" Blair asked.

"You don't need to be perfect to deserve love." Dan answered.

"Save me your quotes for your stories." Blair said sarcastically but with a genuine smile on her face.

"You were pretty good with Ana tonight." Dan said.

"It's easy after she falls asleep." Blair said. "What about you? She immediately fell asleep in your arms."

"Well, Ana's nowhere near as energetic as Milo." Dan replied.

"Boys." Blair said simply.

"Exactly." Dan confirmed. "So what are you going to do now? You know, now that W is over."

"Focus on school I guess." Blair answered plainly.

"What about Chuck?" Dan tried to ask casually.

There was a moment of silence. A pause, in which Blair took the time to consider all that had happened and all that had been said, the moment was brief but it was noticeable. Blair was getting tired and Dan could see it even if she wasn't willing to admit it just yet. So he waited. And he was patient with her. She seemed like she needed a patience ear right now.

"I think I am done with Chuck for now." Blair said with a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked cautiously.

"Better than expected." Blair answered.

And again there was a silence between them but this time it was serene. It was peaceful.

"Wanna go see the Joseph Beuys exhibit tomorrow?" Dan asked.

"Hmmmm…" An uncertainly came over her voice. "I'll think about it."