Disclaimer: If I owned any part of Ugly Betty, the show wouldn't be facing possible cancellation due to poor ratings...

A/N: Hello All! I've been working on this story for awhile...I honestly don't know where I get my ideas (probably a combination of too much Lost, SVU and the Matrix) but I do hope you like it. It's an AU future fic set around January 2010. The story will likely be around 15 chapters...I'm on 12 now. Also, this chapter is kind of lengthy...sorry. The others aren't really this long. Okay, enough with the talk, enjoy!

Daniel felt the weight on his chest intensify with each breath he struggled to take. He suddenly felt very weak…dizzy even. He struggled to make his way over to his office door and leaned against the frame for support.

Rebecca, the new assistant, glanced up at him from Betty's old desk, quickly doing a double take as her eyes grew wide. "Mr. Meade…what's wrong?" she quickly ran from where she was standing, moving to his side. He drew in another painful breath, leaning against her.

"Oh my God…someone call 911!" Daniel held on to her as the room spun around. "Help!" Rebecca shouted as he felt his legs getting heavier and the room getting smaller. All he could think of was her…and the argument they'd had just hours before...

-

"How dare you tell me how to live my life!" Betty yelled angrily, her eyes shooting daggers into his.

"Someone needs to! This guy is trouble, Betty. I just have this feeling-"

"So I'm supposed to stop seeing him because of you? And this magical 'feeling' you have? You didn't like Michael from day one. I'm tired of hearing negative things about him from you. Why can't you just leave it alone?" she asked frustrated. Daniel stared down into her fiery brown eyes, usually bright and conveying happiness. But tonight was different.

He'd only seen this look in her eyes after their first couple days together when she'd quit. It made him feel lousy then, and it seemed that its effect four years later was the same.

He started to speak, wishing he could tell her the real reason he didn't want her moving in with this Michael guy. But it was hard for him to explain. Why was his feeling about him so strong and most importantly, why couldn't he leave it alone?

"You know what? Just get out, Daniel!" Betty grabbed his leather jacket, shoving him towards her apartment door.

"But Betty-"

"No. I don't wanna hear it. Unless you have something nice to say, don't bother talking to me, Daniel."

-

Betty burst through the doors of the ER, breathing heavily. She walked briskly to the nurses' station, getting the attention of the receptionist. "Can I help you ma'am?" the woman looked up expectantly.

"Yes. Umm…Daniel Meade...he was brought in here and I- well I need to know where he is. I need to see him. Is he okay?" Betty asked nervously, her words running together. "I can only allow family members to see patients. Are you related?"

Betty swallowed hard, "well…no…not exactly but-" Betty heard her name being called from the other side of the emergency room. "Mrs. Meade!" Betty moved towards the distraught older woman. "Where's Daniel? Is he okay?"

"They're taking him to ICU. Something's wrong with his heart…" her voice broke as she started to cry. Betty but a comforting arm around her shoulder in an attempt to ease her fears, at the same time hoping she could keep the tears at bay.

-

Betty stared through the thick glass window of Daniel's room. Mrs. Meade and Alexis were to her left, chatting with the doctor about every detail of his condition. Betty was too lost in thought to pay attention to every word. She'd caught the gist of it: Daniel had been diagnosed with a heart condition that, like most medical problems, was aggravated by stress.

Being editor-in-chief of a successful magazine like Mode did of course have its stressful moments, but he'd been doing it for so long, he rarely allowed the job to stress him to such an extent anymore. She had a nagging feeling it had something to do with the argument they'd had the night before. One of many arguments Daniel and she had surrounding her boyfriend Michael.

It was always something- they'd been dating for close to seven months but Daniel just hadn't taken a liking to the guy. He was a free lance photographer from Oregon that had decided to move to the east coast a couple years ago. It'd taken him some time, but he'd finally landed a steady job and was doing okay financially. He was polite, hard-working, and a good boyfriend. She just wished Daniel would stop giving him such a hard time.

She waited patiently as Mrs. Meade and Alexis wrapped up their visit with Daniel and quietly entered the room, unnoticed by the two women until they turned to leave. Betty squeezed Mrs. Meade's hand as she left. Claire looked at her with weary eyes and forced a smile. Betty moved forward to Daniel's bed, watching as he let out a deep breath. His bright blue eyes looked over at her expectantly, as they usually did when he thought she was about to say something.

"Hey," was all that came out of her mouth for a few moments. "Hey." He replied, trying to read her face.

"How do you feel? What exactly did the doctor say?" she wondered, sitting in the nearby chair and resting her hands in her lap.

"I feel a little drowsy…from the medicine I guess. I'm supposed to take it easy. No work for a week…just me, the couch, and Sportscenter," Betty grinned at his comment.

"Sounds awful," she replied, crossing her legs. He smiled, letting out a small chuckle. "I'm sure it will be."

Betty's glanced back down at the folded hands on her lap, playing with a ring her mother had given her. She glanced back up, meeting blue eyes already focused on her. They stared at each other for a few moments, the silence between them becoming deafening. One of them would have to bring it up sooner or later. They just didn't expect it to happen at the same time.

"Betty I'm sorry-"

"Look about last night-"

"You go first," Daniel told her. "Last night…I didn't mean to get so upset with you. I know you're just trying to look out for me, and I appreciate it, but I can take care of myself. Don't worry so much. Okay?" Betty explained.

"Betty, I'm sorry I said those things about Michael. But you're gonna have to understand that I'll always worry about you…you're my best friend and I don't want anything to happen to you," he said sincerely, causing Betty to grin.

"I know you don't. But nothing's gonna happen to me. I'm a big girl, remember? I'm from Queens…I know how to defend myself," she reminded him with a smile.

"Yeah right…with a whistle and one of my tennis rackets?" he joked. "Haha. Very funny," she lightly hit his leg.

Daniel shook his head and grinned at her, but couldn't help but to be concerned. He knew she had a point, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right with this guy. Still, he had to respect Betty's wishes. He would back off…for now at least.

"Okay. I'll give Mikey a chance. Maybe we can double date in a couple weeks," he suggested. "It's Michael and I think that's a great idea," Betty sighed, adjusting her glasses.

"Nah…I like Mikey better."

"You better be glad you're sick," she held a threatening fist up. "Uh oh…looks like the Queens girl is coming out. Michael it is," Daniel laughed lightly, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

"That's what I thought. Speaking of your portion of the double date, where is Monica?" Betty wondered. Monica was Daniel's fiancée. She was a nice, sensible woman who was making a successful career as an accountant. A couple of years ago, when Henry had vacated his position, Monica filled it and sparks flew between the two. She was one of the only girlfriends Daniel had in the last couple of years that Betty actually liked, which was a good thing because the ring he'd put on her finger suggested she'd be around for awhile.

"Oh… she was visiting her sister in Virginia, but she hopped an earlier flight back this way when she heard about what happened. She'll probably be in tonight," he filled her in, stifling a yawn.

"Okay. Do you want me to let you get some sleep? It looks like the drugs are starting to take affect," Betty stood from her seat, meeting his tired blue eyes once more. He shrugged, "if you want. I guess I am getting a little sleepy. Or we could always play scrabble…that'll put me to sleep before I get my letters," he laughed lightly.

"Yeah, yeah. You know you love that game as much as I do," she teased, laughing with him. He yawned again and Betty knew it was time to go.

"I'll see you tomorrow sleepyhead…" she slipped her pea coat back on, letting her eyes wonder to the heart monitor and the IV in his arm. "Feel better…okay?" her tone sounded more serious than the playful one she'd had before.

"I do..." Daniel reached for her hand, covering it with his. "I think having you here does the trick."

Betty glanced down at their hands and felt him give her the same reassuring squeeze she'd given Claire earlier. She smiled at his gesture, looking into his eyes.

Somehow she knew everything was gonna be fine.

db-o0o-DB

Please tell me what you think...don't forget to hit the review button!

P.S. I put a little reference to season 1 episode 13, "In or Out" with Daniel startling Betty and her grabbing his tennis racket. I thought it was cute.