I wanted to get this published before the new season of Gossip Girl starts this October. I wasn't too pleased with how this past season ended, and I wanted to give Dan/Blair some of the closure they deserved. I was inspired by the song which is responsible for the title of this story because it is perfectly tragic, and I strongly urge you to listen to it at least once. There's a decent amount of time jumping in this story, so if it seems confusing at all, please let me know! Obviously I want to deliver the best story possible, so let me know what you think! I can't wait to read your reviews!

The story starts five years after the preface and goes back and forth after that. Also, it may seem like there won't be a lot of Dair action in the beginning, but there will be lots of flashbacks, so just stick with me. Okay, I'll shut up now and let you read :)

xxx

Preface:

"Good evening, New York. It is 11 p.m. on this 17th day of June 2028. I'm Karen Jones, here with tonight's top stories.

Breaking news from the city tonight: business mogul Charles Bass and wife Blair Waldorf-Bass were killed tonight in a tragic automobile accident. The two were being driven home from a dinner in Manhattan when a semi driver lost control of his truck and slammed into the Basses' towncar. Mr. and Mrs. Bass were killed instantaneously. They are survived by their 15 year old daughter, who is reportedly in the custody of Mrs. Bass' longtime housekeeper. No word on who will replace Mr. Bass as CEO of Bass Industries or Mrs. Waldorf-Bass as head of Eleanor Waldorf Designs ."

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It had been 20 years since Dan first moved into that house. It was an escape, a breaking with the past, and yet, the past lurked around every corner. The doorway where they had stood to dodge the rain, the sofa he had placed her upon after she wrapped her legs around his waist and refused to let go, the dim light above the bed that made them feel open to the world, but protected the intimate secrets that passed between them.

Yes, Dan had bought the house to forget her. But he had also bought it so if one day, she chose to remember, she would know exactly where to find him.

But she wasn't the only one who would come looking.

The knock on the front door startled him. After all, the only people to ever visit him were the mailman and the electrician. The power in the house was shaky at best, but it fit the mood he always seemed to be in. Numerous times the electrician had offered to fix that light above the bed for him, but he always said no. He knew she found comfort in the darkness and he didn't want her ghost to vanish when he turned on the light.

As he made his way toward the door, he halfheartedly attempted to tame the disheveled mess atop his head, but it was to little avail. It didn't bother him much, though. The visitor would be gone in a second and he would return to his world where he was frail, but untouchable.

But, oh, how wrong he was.

"Dan Humphrey?"

The woman standing in the doorway looked to be no older than 20, and she looked oddly familiar. She was practically a reflection of the girl who once stood there with that same sense of apprehension.

And he knew exactly who she was before the words came out of her mouth.

"My name is Audrey Bass. I'm Blair Waldorf's daughter."

He was stunned. Say something, Humphrey. Find out why she's here.

"I…"

"I know it must seem strange, me coming to you out of the blue like this. I mean, we're strangers. But, I found some diaries of my mother's, and…" She stumbled, clearly feeling slightly embarrassed about just showing up at the house of a man she had never met and rambling like a fool. She composed herself and requested simply, "I'd like you to tell me about her."

xxx

When he would look back on this first meeting, Dan would barely remember letting her in the door or making her coffee with cream and two sugars. He would remember scolding himself for not cleaning up better, but then thinking, how could he have known that Blair Waldorf's daughter would show up on his doorstep? He forgave himself for the mess as he sat down on the couch across from the hand-me-down chair from a local thrift store that he offered her. He noticed her slight apprehension, and couldn't help but smile at yet another aspect of her mother shining out of her.

"Believe me, it's the safest thing in the house. Everything else was constructed by me and well…let's just say, the only good I do with my hands is with my writing."

She smiled politely as she took a sip of her coffee. "Now, I'm sure that's not true."

She had Blair's mischievous eyes and he couldn't help the warmth he felt spreading on his cheeks. He cleared his throat, "So, uh, tell me about these diaries. What exactly did you read?"

"Let me just start by saying, I loved my father. He was a great man, and he left behind a great legacy. But he and my mother, well, they weren't exactly the images you saw in the paper, you know, the "great woman behind the great man" and all that."

Dan knew all too well. He didn't know how to tell this girl that her father had ruined the best woman he had ever known. He tried gently, "I'm sorry, Audrey, I just don't know if I'm the best person to talk to. I wasn't exactly your dad's biggest fan, and your mom, I…"

"You loved her."

He laughed nervously, "I did. Very much. But…"

"But what? You loved my mother, but I don't know you! How can I trust anything she told me if there was this man out there that made her happier than my father ever could? How can I even know if I made her happy?"

"I just need to know you'll be there for me."

"Always."

Dan sat further up in his chair and looked in Audrey's eyes. She was tough, like her mother, but that didn't change the fact that she felt slightly unnerved by a stranger looking at her like he was practically trying to bore into her soul.

"You did. You have to believe me. You were the best thing in her life. Even after I stopped seeing her, she would call me on occasion and every other word out of her mouth was about how great you were. Everything she did, she did for you, Audrey."

She cast her eyes on the ground, clearly feeling guilty and Dan instantly felt the same. His goal wasn't to make this girl feel bad about questioning her mother's love. Rather, he wanted her to know without a shadow of a doubt that Blair's greatest love was for her daughter.

He sighed, "Okay, I have a deal for you. I'll tell you about her, but I want you to tell me about her too. The last time I saw her was years ago, but…" She's always been here, he wanted to say, but he didn't know how much Audrey had read of him, or of them. But the diaries she mentioned, they had to say something important. Why else would she have felt compelled to come all the way to Rhode Island to see him?

She nodded, "I can do that. I don't know if you realize how big of an impact you had on her, well, at least from what I can gather."

Dan collected himself and sat back up, "So, where should we start?"

"Were you guys friends in high school?"

He laughed, half scoffing at how far the question was from the truth and half imagining what it would've been like if they actually had been genuine friends during those years, instead of only sharing Serena as a connection. "No, not at all."

Audrey looked slightly confused, but pressed on, "Okay, what about in college?"

"Thanks for bringing me, Humphrey."

"I would just like to think that if I needed it, somebody would do the same for me. Although, let's be honest, we both know it wouldn't be you. Oh, and no headbands in college, okay?"

He smiled fondly, "Closer."

She seemed exasperated, "Well, you're gonna have to give me something, Humphrey!" Her hand instantly flew to her mouth, embarrassed, but Dan just smiled knowingly.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely your mother's daughter."

She stiffened, "I do take that as a compliment, you know."

He nodded, "As you should. Your mother was opinionated and bossy and insufferable, but she was also the most incredible woman I've ever met. And I'm laughing because she used to call me Humphrey, too." He offered her a small smile as a peace offering.

"Well then, Humphrey," she smirked, "where do you think we should start?"