A/N: I know a lot of you are waiting on me to finish "Through the Glass Window" but I just couldn't get this idea out of my head today, so I had to start it! I spent almost all weekend watching my Season One dvd and man...I have tons of new FF ideas now! My whole issue though, is...how long is this writer's strike going to last?! I'm starting to get nervous!
Anyways...enjoy this chapter, and please R&R! Thanks!
DISCLAIMER: Ugly Betty isn't mine, so don't sue me. I don't have anything you'd want, anyways.
Daniel's stomach grumbled as he signed off on the last page of The Book. 'I hope Betty hurries up with lunch...I'm starving,' he thought as he closed the book and slid it to the corner of his desk. He looked at his watch. It had been over an hour since he had called the town car to pick up Betty to drive her across the city to his favorite Japanese restaurant because he was craving their yakisoba noodles. He reached for his phone and hit her speed dial number.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. "Hi, you've reached Betty Suarez. I can't make it to the phone right now, so please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can," she said in a cheery voice.
"Betty, it's me. You didn't actually go all the way to Japan to get those noodles, right?" he laughed. "Hurry up, I'm starving!" He looked out the window at her desk and saw Amanda briskly walking towards his office.
When she made it to the doorway she stopped for a moment, not saying a word. Finally, she spoke, "Daniel..." she said quietly.
A sinking feeling came over him as he looked up at her. She was biting her lip the hands that were usually stuck on her hips with attitude and sass were limply hanging by her sides. "Amanda...what's wrong?"
She walked forward, stopping at his desk she put her hands down and braced herself against it, "It's Betty...her town car..." she stopped and closed her eyes. "The police are on line two," she whispered as she sat in the chair facing his desk.
Suddenly, his mouth went dry and his hands began to tremble. He sat motionless for a few seconds and finally looked down at the white phone sitting in front of him. Line two was blinking. He looked back at Amanda who was now looking down and biting her nails. Finally he found the strength to reach over and pick up the phone. "This is Daniel Meade," he said quietly.
"Mr. Meade, this is Sargent Olsen. I'm sorry to tell you that a town car registered to Mode Magazine was just involved in a pretty serious accident down here at the intersection of Roosevelt and Fifth and --" the voice on the phone began.
"Is she okay? Is the passenger in the car okay? Is she...alive?" Daniel interrupted.
"The passenger was taken down to St. Vincent's," the voice said. "I'm sorry but I haven't recently gotten an update on her condition, sir."
Feeling slightly relieved that his worst case scenario hadn't been confirmed, Daniel said "Okay, thanks. Bye," as he hung up the phone and looked over at Amanda, who was still biting her nails.
"What'd he say?" she said as they both stood up.
Daniel turned and took his jacket off the back of his chair and began heading for the doorway, "The guy had no information on her condition, but she's down at St. Vincent's. I'll be down there the rest of the day. If you need anything, call Alexis," he said as he rounded the corner, leaving Amanda alone in his office.
He sat in the back of his town car, watching the blur of the scenes outside as he whizzed by. 'If she doesn't make it out of this...I'll never forgive myself,' he thought as a lone tear fell from his eye. He quickly wiped it away and slightly tilted his head back, hoping it would help keep anymore tears from falling. He then realized that he would have to call Betty's family. He took out his cell phone and went to 'Betty – Home' but the thought of having to tell Mr. Suarez that he had sent his Betty out across town to get him noodles, and now she was lying in a hospital bed, was too difficult. He scrolled down awhile more until he reached Hilda's number and took a deep breath before pressing the call button.
"Hello?" she answered after the first ring.
He paused, "Hilda, it's Daniel," he said shakily.
"Daniel? What are you..." she stopped. "Where's Betty? Is she okay?"
"No, she's been involved in an accident," he replied, his voice cracking on the last word. "She's down at St. Vincent's. I'm on my way down there right now."
Hilda was quiet. "Okay, I'll call Papi and we'll meet you."
"Okay...bye," he whispered as he felt another warm tear sliding down his cheek.
Hilda could hear the pain in Daniel's voice, "Daniel," she said.
"Hm?" was all he could manage.
"It's Betty. She's a fighter. She's gonna be okay," she said, hoping it would soothe him.
He took a deep breath, "I know."
"Okay, bye," she whispered, trying to hold back her tears until after she hung up.
"Bye," he replied.
As soon as the town car pulled to a stop outside the hospital, Daniel leapt out and started for the door. When he walked through the doors he walked up to the desk. "I'm looking for a Betty Suarez. I just got a call that she was involved in an accident and was being taken here," he said to the woman behind the desk.
"Suarez?" she asked as she turned to her computer.
"Yeah, Betty," he replied as he rested his elbows on the counter top. He watched as the woman typed something on her computer. After a few clicks she finally looked up at him, "Ms. Suarez is in surgery right now. Who are you?"
'Surgery?' Daniel thought to himself as he cradled his head in his hands. "I'm Daniel Meade," he said without looking up. "Her boss."
The woman's heart went out to the man on the other side of her desk. "Well, Mr. Meade she's up on floor sixteen. She'll probably be put into ICU, at least for a little while after she comes out, which means only family can visit. But you can head on up there if you want...do you need me to bring you?"
Daniel finally lifted his head and looked over at the woman. Forcing a small smile onto his face, he said, "No, I should be able to find it. But thank you," as he turned to walk towards the elevators.
"No problem. Good luck," she replied as she watched him walk away.
As Daniel exited the elevator on the sixteenth floor the scents and sights of the busy hospital rushed to his senses, reminding him of the last time he had been here, when he lost his father. He paused and finally sat in the nearest chair that faced the elevator, so that he'd be able to catch Betty's family when they walked in. He rested his chin in his hands and lightly closed his eyes, lost in thought. 'I am such an idiot, why did I have to have those stupid noodles today? And why'd I send Betty? She's your assistant, not your slave, you dumbass!' he chided himself. He squeezed his eyes tighter, hoping to close off the path for the tears he knew were ready to come rolling down his face. He was about to start in on himself again when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
He looked up. "Mr. Suarez," he said, surprised. "You made it here quickly."
"Hilda was almost home when you called, so she called me on her way and Justin and I just met her at the car. Have you heard anything about Betty yet?"
"No, I just got here, myself. They said she's in surgery, but they probably won't talk to me because I'm not family," he explained, as he stood up and put his hands in his pants pockets.
"Okay, well I'll go try to find something out. You stay over there with Hilda and Justin," Ignacio said as he motioned over toward the elevator where the mother and son were standing, huddled together.
As Mr. Suarez turned away, Daniel took a deep breath and began walking towards Betty's sister. As he came nearer he noticed the smudge of makeup underneath her eyes where she had been crying. Hilda saw him walking over and let go of Justin and softly smiled over at Daniel, "Hey," she said quietly. "Have you heard anything?"
"No, your dad went to ask," he said as he greeted Justin with a firm grasp on the shoulder. Justin looked up with a half hearted smile for a second before looking back down at his feet. Hilda gave Daniel a sympathetic look and put her hand on Justin's other shoulder. Daniel looked down at the young boy and squatted down, looking up at his face, "Hey, Justin. She's gonna be okay. It's Betty, she's a fighter," he said, echoing what Hilda had told him earlier on the phone. Justin nodded and turned in toward his mother and buried his face in her shoulder.
Daniel stood and gave Hilda a smile as she stepped toward her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and closed his eyes. After a moment, she quietly said, "Oh, look, here comes Papi."
Daniel opened his eyes and looked ahead to see a very anxious looking Ignacio Suarez coming towards him.
