Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ugly Betty characters or rights to the show.

A/N: It's a little lengthy...but it couldn't really be helped...I needed to explain the background in one chapter. The flashback portions take place a few months in the future...like February 2008 or so. Alright I think that's it. ENJOY!

Daniel's thoughts in Italics

Summary: Betty and Daniel meet up for dinner almost eight months after she's moved to Chicago. They have a very interesting discussion...

Daniel glanced back at his watch again, adjusting his blazer. He glanced out the window of the Soho restaurant, watching as people walked by. Had he told her the right time? Had he told her the right restaurant? Of course he had. He'd only been planning and anticipating seeing her for months now. Maybe she was lost? Just as he thought to pull out his cell phone, someone tapped him on his shoulder.

He turned and gazed down, speechless at the sight of her. She smiled brightly at him, causing him to do the same. "Wow," he finally managed to say, "you look great, Betty." And she did. She wore conservative gray slacks with a very colorful (very Betty) button-down blouse and belt to complement her figure. Her hair was shorter than he remembered and she'd long since gotten her braces removed. "Thank you...so do you," Betty blushed, pushing her black frames up the bridge of her nose.

He grinned down at her and moved closer, wrapping his arms around her. Daniel closed his eyes momentarily, her light scent reminding him of the last time he'd held her this close...

- - - -flashback- - - -

He leaned against the door frame, unable to move his eyes away from her. Daniel watched as she placed the remaining items on her desk into the box she'd be taking with her…away from Mode. Away from him.

The uneasiness he'd felt before was now magnified a thousand fold and he had to take a deep breath. Betty glanced up as he stood upright, stuffing his hands in his pockets and clearing his throat. She gave him a small grin, one Daniel immediately recognized as more of a forced sad one…nothing like the genuine smiles that brightened his gloomiest days.

"That was some goin-away party huh? Guess more people liked me than I thought," she chuckled softly.

He nodded, taking a few steps closer to her desk. "Yeah… as hard as they tried to dislike you, they never really could. You have a tendency of growing on people." You've certainly grown on me.

Betty reached across the desk, putting the lid on the box. She sighed, patting the top with her hand. "Well…I think that's it. Hope I'm not leaving anything," she glanced through her desk drawers one last time.

You're leaving me, Betty. Daniel slightly shook his head, finding it hard to believe that he wasn't going see her in the morning.

"Wow… I'm gonna miss you," Daniel said quietly, pulling her into a hug. Lord knew he didn't want her to leave, and when he met her honest brown eyes, Daniel knew she felt the same way.

"I'm gonna miss you too Daniel," her sad voice reached his ears, making him feel even more uneasy.

--- --- --end flashback-- --- ---

Daniel held Betty's chair out for her after the hostess had led them to their table. He sat across from her, having a hard time tearing his eyes away. He found himself mesmerized by her every move- from the way she brushed her dark locks behind her ear to the way she still bit her lower lip. Some things never change...

"What are you grinning about?" Betty wondered, glancing at him curiously. Daniel caught himself, shaking his head slightly. "Was I grinning?" he asked sheepishly. "Yes silly," she smirked at him, opening her menu. "Oh. Maybe you just put me in a good mood," he shrugged, causing her to roll her eyes and look at him skeptically.

"If you say so," Betty raised an eyebrow at him. Her brown eyes focused on the menu, surveying it for anything she found interesting. Had she always been this beautiful? "So what's good here?" Daniel had heard the question, but was too preoccupied with thoughts of her to answer. They hadn't seen each other in so long...far too long for Daniel's liking.

"Daniel? What's wrong?" she'd sat her menu to the side and was looking at him concerned. I missed you like crazy and can't stop thinking about you is what's wrong... "Umm...it's- I was just thinking. What were you asking before?"

--- --- ---flashback--- --- ---

They both stood there in the nearly vacant office, staring at one another as a thick silence settled over them. He watched her remove her glasses and wipe at her eyes, wondering why he had to force himself not to reach down to wipe them away.

"We don't have to." Daniel suggested. Certainly they could work something out…he could pull a few strings and get her a job at a magazine in Manhattan right?

Betty put her glasses back on and frowned. "What?"

"We don't have to miss each other. Don't go…stay here." He'd blurted it out before he had a chance to think. 'Where is all this coming from?' Daniel searched his mind for a plausible answer. He'd known she was leaving. Hell, he was the one that told her to pursue her dream in the first place. But now…something had overcome him. Something he couldn't explain.

--- --- ---end flashback--- --- ---

"So..." Daniel began taking a small bite of his salad. "So..." Betty sipped her tea, urging him to continue. "How's Chicago treating you?" Chicago. He hadn't wanted to bring it up, but figured it wouldn't be right not to.

"It's umm...interesting. Windy, for one," she smiled, causing him to chuckle. "But honestly...it's going well. I like my job, I like the city...I really have nothing to complain about," Betty explained, picking her fork back up and playing with the onions on her salad.

"Hmm...that's good," Daniel swallowed his bite. Stop lying, Meade. "I read your first article...it was great. Just like you," he watched as she blushed for the third time that hour. It was nice to know he still had that effect on her. "Thank you," she replied.

"And how are things at Mode?" Not the same without you. "Fine. Except the whole, 'getting someone to replace Betty' process. It hasn't been a very smooth ride...mostly because it can't be done," he smirked at her, watching her grin. "Aww...it can't be that bad..." Betty said, scratching her temple.

"I don't know...this is the fourth assistant I've been through since you left. I'm honestly thinking of letting her go. She's just not...she's not you." His blue eyes locked with her brown in that moment, an unspoken tension settling over the table.

--- --- ---flashback--- --- ---

"Daniel…I-I can't. This is a great opportunity for me," she found his eyes.

"I know, I know that…it's just that- Mode needs you…and I need you, Betty." Daniel admitted, suddenly feeling his heart start to race. Wait…what did I mean by that?

Betty blushed slightly, turning away from him momentarily to grab another small box. "You'll find a great assistant Daniel…I know you will." But I wasn't talking about at work... Daniel quickly realized.

"What is it?" Betty had turned back around and was probably wondering why he was just staring at her. "It's umm…nothing."

"Come on Daniel…don't give me that look," Betty put her hands on her hips.

"What look?" he wondered.

"The puppy dog eyes. That look...you know I don't like that." She crossed her arms.

Daniel shrugged, letting out a defeated sigh. "I can't help it…you're moving to Chicago. How else am I supposed to look?"

"You're supposed to put on a smile, Daniel. I'm the one who's supposed to be crying," tears had filled her eyes as she forced a grin. "See?"

Daniel tilted his head to the side, empathetically looking in her eyes. "Don't cry, Betty…" She moved into his open arms for the second time in a few minutes, closing her eyes to relish the moment.

"I'm sorry…I said I wasn't gonna cry until I left the building. I'm a mess," she wiped at her tear-streaked face.

Daniel was unable to fight the urge this time and he brought both hands to her face. "No you're not," he said softly, gently caressing her damp cheeks.

Betty suddenly felt rooted to the spot, her heart beating faster by the minute under Daniel's intense eyes. So when she felt herself being magnetically drawn to him as his face inched ever so closely to hers, she didn't move.

Daniel closed the space between them, their lips coming together in sync. He kissed her tenderly, unknowingly sending shivers up and down her spine. Daniel's mind screamed at him as Betty gave him full access to explore her mouth. What am I doing? This is Betty…I'm kissing Betty! But she's kissing me back…and very well for that matter.

Daniel pulled her as close as possible and deepened the kiss, his tongue massaging hers. He felt her break the kiss, somewhat moving away from him. Daniel took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything but how his lips were tingling. He needed to explain his actions.

"Look Betty, I…" He began, only coming to a loss for words. You what, Meade? You gonna tell her you didn't mean to kiss her? That it just happened? Yeah that sounds real believable. Of course you meant to kiss her...you've wanted to kiss her for a long time.

He watched as she slightly bit her lower lip and ran her finger along the edge of her desk. "It's okay, Daniel...you don't have to explain," he heard her soft voice and met her eyes before he could speak again. I don't?

"I think...we just. Got... caught up, you know? In the moment," Betty pushed her words together, trying to make sense of it all. Daniel stood there, his blue eyes lost in hers. That's not it...that wasn't 'getting caught up in the moment'. It was something else...something burning deep inside him that he wasn't ready to define.

"Right." Daniel heard the words come out of his mouth, still unsure as to why he'd said them. He forced himself to take a small step back, stuffing his hands back in his pockets to keep the urge to hold her at a minimum.

"Well...I guess this is goodbye," she told him, giving him a teary-eyed smile. "I guess it is." He watched as she grabbed the small box off her desk. He let out another sigh, in an attempt to relieve the feeling in his chest.

"Don't go and forget about us," he smirked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. She grinned, "you know I couldn't do that." I hope you mean that, Betty. "Bye."

"Bye Betty," she turned and walked toward the elevators.

--- --- ---end flashback--- --- ---

Dinner was silent for the most part, except for a few comments here and there. "The food was delicious, Daniel. Thanks for inviting me," she turned toward him as they left the restaurant.

"Of course...I missed you too much not to," he said sincerely as they walked down the street. Betty paused, trying to ignore the way she felt when he gazed at her with those blue eyes. "I missed you too," Betty admitted, adjusting the purse on her shoulder. He let his gaze linger on her for longer than he intended, then turned his attention elsewhere. Just say it, Daniel. Stop talking around the subject and bring it up already.

He took a deep breath, "Betty ...I wanna talk...about what happened that night-"

"Well...what more is there to discuss?" she folded her arms over her chest and shrugged. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him, stopping her stride.

"I want to talk about it because I can't get it out of my mind. If a kiss is just a kiss then why can't I stop thinking about the way it made me feel?"

"You can't?" Betty asked surprised. "No. I can't. You're all I seem to be thinking about nowadays," Daniel watched as she sighed deeply. As Daniel admired the depth of her eyes, fullness of her lips, and smoothness of her olive skin, he realized the urge to kiss and touch her hadn't gone away.

"Tell me that you didn't feel anything," he'd said boldly.

"What?"

"Just tell me that you didn't feel anything when we kissed. If you didn't, I let it go," Betty opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her silence was all the courage he needed to slowly lean into her and press his lips against hers. Electricity coursed through his veins once he felt her respond to this kiss. He pulled away suddenly, staring into her eyes.

"Daniel...it doesn't matter what I feel- felt. Things are different now...that was seven months ago and-"

"Wait what? Of course it matters how you feel..." Daniel frowned, wondering why she was backing away from him.

"I'm engaged, okay! That's why it doesn't matter anymore. It can't matter..." Betty explained.

"Engaged? To who?" Daniel wasn't sure why he'd asked who. Not like it mattered anyway.

"He's a colleague of mine...we met shortly after I started working there. He proposed a few days ago...and I said yes."

I can't breathe...I can't breathe..."Oh. I see." Daniel felt an incredible pressure on his chest...like he was drowning and couldn't breathe. The same way he'd felt when he watched Betty walk toward the elevators that day.

"That's why this has to be it. Friends kiss all the time...it happens. Let's just let it be," she folded her arms again, her chocolate eyes avoiding his. He nodded slowly, "okay."

"I should probably be getting back to the house...thanks for dinner," she grinned slightly. "You're welcome...anytime."

"Bye Daniel," she turned away from him, walking towards the subway. But as he watched her retreating figure, he had a feeling this was anything but goodbye.

Are you interested? Love it? Hate it?

A/N: This is going to be a different kind of story...hope you liked the first part...The next chapter will have more of Betty's perspective. Now show me some love and hit the review button! Thanks!