Hey everyone! After the Season Finale, I got some ideas for a story that would be what happens in Season 3. So I hope you enjoy it! This goes to my Getty girls especially! Please leave reviews, I love them.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything revolved around the Ugly Betty world

Risking It All

Chapter 1: Daydreams and Reality

"Mode has just won the charity softball game!" Suzuki St. Pierre shouted through the microphone as the Mode team erupted into cheers. Well, all but three erupted into cheers. It was the calm before the storm. Even though she had made her decision, she had yet to voice it out loud. It could be nerves, it could be guilt, it could be shock, or it could be she knew that the damage was already done. And that was not going to change one bit. She knew she couldn't do it there, in front of the cheerleading squad aka Amanda and Mark. She had to do it separately, letting the decision be known without one gloating over the other.

"Betty!" both Henry and Gio cried as they chased after her as she hurriedly walked off the field. She turned around to see them both glaring at each other every so often, both frustrated with the other.

"You can't keep playing it safe Betty, not anymore," Gio called softly to her, the hurt etched in his face and his voice broke her heart. She knew that this was going to be tough.

"Look, I'm not going to do it here, or now. I will call you both when I've collected myself. Give me a few hours, that's all I ask."

"Miss…… Miss!"

"Huh… what?" Betty said as she looked away from the window as reality came crashing back.

"Something to drink?" the lady asked sweetly.

Betty pondered for a moment before responding back with "Just water," as she turned and looked back out the window.

Henry. Her first true love. The first man she felt alive with. He was her oxygen, her support system, and the start of her growing up from the young girl that she had been in college to the young woman that she was becoming at Mode. They were so much alike, enjoying the simple things in life, and he tried to do everything in his power to make her happy.

"Henry, I'm ready to talk," Betty said as he opened up his bare apartment, with some straggling boxes that littered his floor, ready for the impending move that was coming.

"Betty, hi! Great, come on in," he said with a smile, some nerves disappearing as he closed the door.

Here he was, standing there looking at her with hope and devotion in his eyes. Love shining through as he gave the little smile that Betty fell in love with the first moment she met him, and the first moment she fell in love with him. No bit of nervousness was evident, KNOWING that things were in his favor. It was his one weakness: his over-confidence. It was not something that many would see, but he was always so sure of his way, or what he knew, or what he did. Betty could handle it, at first.

He walked over to give her a hug and envelope her in his arms, but she pushed him back before walking across the room. Henry's face dropped a little bit. "I don't understand, you're here, don't you want to give your boyfriend the proper hello."

"Henry, you aren't my boyfriend. We broke up, mutually, when you went to Tucson, remember? I cried for days. It wasn't an easy decision, but I knew, and I thought you did as well, that it was the best decision to make. You have a baby Henry, and Charlie, who you have to be there for…."

"But I want to be there for you Betty. I love you," he said pleading as he grabbed her hands, not even aware that he just cut her off from talking.

Betty looked down at their hands, what once felt like the perfect fit felt so foreign at that moment. An intruder. Her sweaty palms were dry, the butterflies were gone. The love of the idea of having the fairy tale prince had finally passed, and she really was finally moving on.

"Things change Henry. You have been gone, you haven't been the same since Charlie and the baby when you came back. Unconsciously I have seen it all along, but I was too blinded by how much I love you, and the idea of you."

Henry looked at her in disbelief, "This isn't about me it's about Gio, isn't it?" Jealousy screamed across his face, his demeanor calm, though his eyes betrayed him.

"Will it ever stop between both of you? And no, somewhat. Yes, Gio has been there while I've been down and he has picked me up," Betty said, at which Henry scoffed, "but he never just jumped in the second you left. He was my friend. Just like Hilda, and Daniel, and Christina were all there for me when you weren't. I've been compromising a lot for you, bidding your wishes, but what about mine? You come here asking me to move hundreds of miles away from my family to be with you."

"Betty, I…." but she never gave him a chance to finish.

"Or what about my writing? My career! I know I'm working for Daniel as his assistant, but did you know I just got my first article published in Claire Meade's new magazine Hot Flash? Or how Daniel and even more so Gio both pushed me to get back into my writing since that is what I plan to do."

"But I offered….."

"You know the best opportunities are here in New York. And I know you can't leave Nate to just Charlie. You want to be there for him as his dad, and I admire that Henry."

"So what are you saying?" Henry said in a small voice, looking down and defeated.

Betty placed her hand in her bag before pulling out his dreams. The fairy tale life he always wanted, and the one that she always dreamed of before then. She placed the ring in his hand before closing his palm, and closing the door on the future that they could have.

"I always dreamed of this moment. But this is reality, and things are a lot more complicated. And it wouldn't be fair for either one of us for me to move to Tucson, and for us to get married. I'm moving on, and so should you. I know you will be so happy and that god things will come for you Henry. But I'm not it, I'm not the princess you have been looking for," Betty said softly, a sad smile on her face.

Betty turned away from the window. "Thank you for flying with Delta today. We are about 25 minutes from JFK. The time is 5:23PM, and the forecast is sunny and humid, with the temperature being 87°F. I hope you enjoy your stay," the pilot said over the intercom before it clicked off. The flight didn't seem as long as it was. But Betty was glad to finally be back home. This past month had been long and tiring from being so far away from family. But she needed to escape. But even more so, she needed to GROW.

Saying goodbye to her family was tough. Knowing that she was going on a trip without them was hard, especially this kind of trip. Before this moment, she hadn't gone anywhere big besides Mexico, and that was to see family and she went with her family. This was different. Papi was upset, sure, but knew he had to let his little girl spread her wings. Even if he did pack some food for the road. Hilda and Justin were sad as well. It was time for her to grow up. Betty turned to look out the window, watching the plane's descend down into New York.

"Take me to this address," Betty said as she handed over a piece of paper with a familiar smiling pickle smiling at her as the driver took in the address that was scrawled in his messy handwriting.

When she arrived, she stepped out of the taxi before taking a deep breath and turning to the building she had recently become familiar with. She ran up the stairs in the complex before reaching the door that she wanted. Her heart was racing, her cheeks were flushed, and when he came to the door, her breath was almost taken from her. She must have caught him either working out or changing because he came to the door in a pair of loose sweatpants and a wife beater.

"Betty! What a surprise, what brings you here?" Gio said as he opened his door to allow for her to come in. She walked in and walked around. She could smell him cooking something, delicious from the smell, and knew that he could always get to her.

"We should talk," Betty said as she walked toward the living room and sat down on the leather couch.

"Something to drink?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

Gio checked his dish that he was cooking before coming around and sitting across from Betty. A worried look was imprinted on his face as he sat down and he gave a nervous chuckle. "This isn't about me knocking you out when I ran into you earlier this afternoon is it? My competitive side sometimes gets the best of me."

Betty laughed. Of course Gio would try lightening the mood. Everything had really just gotten so messed up this whole week. Trying to take things slow while the attraction was far too strong. And then Henry coming back, bringing back old feelings that had been buried deep down inside, resurfacing with its ugly head. Originally Betty thought keeping Gio in the dark would be ok, for her to just let her freak out side to subside before telling him, knowing that he wouldn't be happy.

"Obviously your competitive side does get the best of you sometimes."

Gio frowned more, "Look, I know Henry and I really don't see eye to eye. But I can't help it; he's poison to you Betty, always bringing you down, keeping you from your dreams. I can't just sit back and watch it. And if you are going to go with him, then you aren't the girl from the neighborhood that I thought I knew." He was shaking from where he was sitting, and Betty couldn't tell if it was from anger or from nerves.

He was still rambling on when Betty cut him off, "Gio! I'm not going with Henry." She paused to look at him, to gauge his reaction to the news. Shock and surprise were evident, but happiness shone through his eyes. "It's not the right thing for me. Like you said, what Henry and I had isn't what it once had been. I can't go across the country for him when what I want is here, in the city."

"Right," Gio said as he leaned a little closer to Betty.

Betty jumped up before pacing in front of him. "You know how you have your 5-year plan Gio? And how you asked me to go to Italy during the one month that you go, to help your 5-year plan? It is a great opportunity and I think you are going to learn so much from it."

"I can sense a 'but' in this sentence."

"I need to focus on my 5-year plan Gio. Claire Meade was the one that told me that I can't play it safe anymore. And I can't. I need to get refocused on my writing. I need to explore, learn more about what is going on out there in this big world. But more importantly, learn more about myself."

Gio got up from his chair and grabbed her arms. "So I take it you aren't coming to Italy with me then?"

"I need to go on my own. See the world, explore what is out there. Obviously what happened between Henry, yourself, and myself isn't something that a confident girl that knows what she wants would do."

"So what are you saying exactly Betty?"

Betty grabbed his hands and looked him in the eyes. She wanted him to know, to understand that this wasn't about him. This was about herself and digging deep into her soul. She needed time to think. For she wanted Gio to have her whole heart, instead of just the pieces that she could only offer now. She WANTS him to be the guy, but at this moment he can't be.

"It's not you Gio. I need to prove to myself I can do this. And I need some time alone, to think, to clear my thoughts, and get myself back on track. I like you Gio, but right now I can't be the girl you want me to be. You need to focus on your 5-year plan, and I need to focus on mine."

Gio pulled her into a hug. His cologne engulfed her as the tears welled up into her eyes. Everything was not what she expected. Henry was always her fairy tale prince, yet Gio was probably the closest she would ever get to it. And she was turning away from it right now. Her skin was on fire as he held her close, her heart beating mad. She didn't want to lose this moment.

"So I guess I will see you when I get back?"

"You'll see my bright and shining face at the deli, ready to tell you all about my adventure. Goodbye Gio." Betty said while kissing his cheek and walking towards the front door, knowing that it was the last time that she would see him until she got back.

And boy was it ever difficult to leave him behind. Sure they were in the "exploratory phase" of their relationship, whatever that was, but it was the start of something good between them. There was a lot of chance for it to grow into something. She never felt more alive than when she was with Gio, and she started to reflect that while abroad. She would have never done something like this, travel alone, if she hadn't met Gio. She threw caution to the wind and took chances. She was like a kid while at the same time becoming the woman that she was supposed to be. The saying always goes, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder" and she missed Gio more with each passing day.

The plane reached the terminal gate as she waited for the seatbelt sign to turn off. Turning on her phone, she saw one lone message, details of the town car that would be there to pick her up. She got off the plane and headed back into the world she once knew. But her whole perception had changed. She reached the driver as he took her bags to bring to the car.

"Where to miss?" the driver asked as he opened the door.

"Gio's Deli," was all Betty could respond as the butterflies flew within her stomach.

The car took her through the familiar streets of the city. She watched the scenery fly by, almost like her life in the past few weeks. She marveled at what had changed. But so did she, she couldn't tell what was the difference. Slowly the green pickle she had grown to love came into view and she almost jumped out from the car as it was pulling to a stop. Running through the door, she heard the familiar 'ding' as she walked in, admiring the changes that the deli had gone through. The experience in Italy must have changed Gio as well.

"I'll be right there," the voice said from the back which sounded like music to her ears. It only heightened when she saw Gio walk out, apron and all, carrying a box of different condiments and the like.

"I told you I would meet you here," Betty said just above a whisper, not sure what to say at that moment.

She saw him stop in his tracks as the box almost slipped from his fingers. Obviously he was surprised that she would come back to his deli right away after all this time. He placed the box down slowly on top of one of the tables that were closest to him before he turned to look at her. She watched his eyes roam all over her, drinking in the sight of her as if he hadn't had a taste in forever. He looked up into her eyes, searching hers for some answers. Betty's heart stood still in this never ending moment that exchanged between them.

And just as the moment started, Gio broke the gaze as he turned to look away from her, as if to compose himself. She realized that now probably wasn't a good time to come see him, it was dinner hour and he probably did get a good amount of orders at that time.

"I just wanted to come say hi, see how you were doing. As much as I loved the food where I went, I never got the right sandwich like I got from you. And I wondered how your trip went for your discoveries as I had made mine. I have so many ideas for pieces to write now that I've experienced so many new things. I can't even begin……."

"It's great to hear how great of an experience it was. But I have to go, I have a huge order and I really need to concentrate on it and can't have any distractions," he said as he started pulling out items and setting up a large work station.

"I can stay and watch."

"That probably wouldn't be best, but I thank the offer."

"I'm that much of a distraction to you?" Betty said, half jokingly, half flirting.

Gio chuckled to himself as he started cutting some of the bread. "Stop by tomorrow in the morning. We can catch up then."

Betty was slightly disappointed that he didn't flirt back with her. She wasn't used to that side of Gio, since he always seemed to be throwing out comments to her. "Sorry, I should have figured as much. I just figured I would stop here before going home," at this his eye brows rose, learning that she saw him first. "I will stop by in the morning. Have a good night."

"Bunoa notte," was all he replied as he got busy to work. Betty smiled weakly, not sure just what happened. A month ago Gio was itching to spend every waking moment with her, but now he was treating her like….. like…. Like how she had. Not getting too close, keeping distance and caution to the wind. Did Gio learn to keep his feelings in check in Italy? Betty took a breath and stopped walking. Did he finally get over her with their month apart and had she risked it all to lose it? One thing for certain was that Betty wasn't going to give up.

A wise person had once said, "Love doesn't come around often and I want to make every second count."

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