Chapter 1: The Morning After

Daniel drank. He drank because, in spite of all of his best efforts, Wilhelmina was still here. After all her scheming, all of her planning had fallen through, after being exposed for the fraud she was, she was still floating around the "congratulations Meade isn't going under" party like she owned the place. Laughing and making small talk with anyone who would listen. With Daniel's luck, he would never be rid of her. One day the sign on the door would probably read Slater Publications. No matter what Daniel did, it never seemed to be enough. So Daniel drank.

Betty drank. She drank because things had ended badly. Everything had been going relatively well then, for no apparent reason, everything had fallen apart. Shortly after realizing that they hadn't thwarted Wilhelmina, shortly after losing Christina (who Betty was immensely happy for, don't get her wrong), shortly after watching Daniel crumple into a defeated mess, she had received a voice mail from Matt. "Sorry, things just aren't working out," he had said. "If I'm ever going to make it, I really need to focus. It was really nice getting to know you. I wish you the best of luck." Betty had stared incredulously at her phone wondering what she had done wrong. She had wanted to scream, throw her phone, hit something (which was unfortunate for Marc who had been standing nearby), but Betty was too mature for any of that, or at the very least too stunned. She wasn't a big drinker, but this seemed like the night for it. So Betty drank.

That's really what started everything.

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Betty rolled over and slapped out where her alarm clock should have been when her hand didn't find anything she opened a bleary eye. Her head was pounding and she couldn't seem to focus. It wasn't inconceivable that she was just missing it. She squinted and stared at the little table in front of her. Her glasses were there. Her eyes widened. That was not her table. She looked down. These were definitely not her million thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. She felt a movement behind her and slowly looked over her shoulder. Behind her Daniel shifted into a more comfortable position. "Holy cow," Betty said quietly. She grabbed her glasses off of the table and put them on. Glancing down at herself, she realized that she was wearing her bra and nothing else. "Crap," she whispered. She carefully pulled away from Daniel and slid out of bed. She found her clothes and dressed quickly. For a moment she stood over the bed staring down at Daniel. She probably shouldn't run out like this. It was incredibly rude and not something that Betty Suarez would normally do, but she had no idea how she could face Daniel when he woke up. Shaking her head, she quietly let herself out of Daniel's apartment.

Her cab ride home was spent thinking about what had happened. She was frustrated that she couldn't remember. If she hadn't woken up in his bed, she might not have believed that it had happened at all. When they reached her house she paid the driver and went inside. "Betty where were you?" Hilda's voice jumped out at her from the dark. It was made shrill with worry. Betty jumped. "I expected you to come home some time."

Betty shrugged. "I'm home now," she said avoiding Hilda's gaze. Hilda put her hands on her hips and fixed Betty with her best big sister stare. Betty held out for as long as she could. Finally she let out an exasperated sigh. "Hilda, I don't know what happened." She threw herself down on the sofa. "I was at the party last night and I got a phone call from Matt breaking up with me…"

"Matt broke up with you?!"

"Hilda…and I guess I drank a little. This morning I woke up in Daniel's bed."

"What?!"

"Hilda, keep it down!" Betty hissed.

"I'm sorry, but you slept with your boss?" She looked at Betty as if Betty had told her she had sprouted another head overnight.

"I don't know what happened." Betty put her head in her hands. "I don't remember any of it. All I know is that I woke up in his bed completely naked."

"Betty!" Upstairs they heard someone stirring.

"Great," Betty got up. She looked up at the clock on the wall. "I need to get to work. Someone has to get Daniel his coffee and judging by the way he was drinking last night, he's going to need it."

"Betty?" Ignacio called down the stairs.

"Bye Papi! I'll see you tonight," Betty yelled back, wincing slightly. "Bye Hilda."

"Betty, those are the clothes you wore yesterday," Hilda pointed out. Betty looked down. Stamping her foot a little she ran up and changed.

"I'll see you later Hilda."

"What are you going to say to Daniel?"

"Bye Hilda," Betty said more firmly before walking out and shutting the door firmly behind her. Ignacio came down wrapped in his bathrobe.

"Was that Betty?"

Hilda shook her head. "Betty just went to have the most awkward day ever." Ignacio's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Come on Papi, let's go get some breakfast."

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Daniel woke up and immediately shut his eyes against the light filtering through his window. His head was throbbing. He looked at the clock. Shit! It was 8:30. He threw back the covers and his eyes fell on a piece of cloth laying in his bed. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Pink underwear? He ran a hand over his face. What had he done last night? He was sure it would come to him at the most inopportune moment. After a promise that he would never drink again, Daniel pulled his clothes on and made his way to the bathroom. As he splashed water over his face and tried to convince himself not to throw up, images of the night before flashed through his head. He was kissing someone. Someone who looked a lot like… No! He couldn't have. He was seeing Betty because he was feeling guilty about being late. He was sure to hear about it when he got to work. He probably had a hundred voice mails from Betty by now. He fished his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. Nothing. That was weird, but…she was probably busy. With work! He finished in the bathroom and rushed out, grabbing his jacket on the way by.

As the elevator reached MODE's floor he took a deep breath and composed himself. He hopes that the aspirin he took kicked in soon. The doors open and Daniel strolled down the hall towards his office. "Morning Amanda," he said as he walked past the front desk. The blond looked up and smiled.

"Good morning Daniel. How's Betty?" Daniel looked down at Amanda in confusion.

"I assume she's fine," he answered moving quickly past the desk. "Morning Be-" he was greeted by an empty desk. Stepping into his office he found a cup of coffee and a bagel sitting on his desk. It was all accompanied by a note.

Daniel,

I went out on an errand with Marc. I'll be back soon. I have my phone on me if you need me.

Betty

He sat down at his desk and stared at the coffee. Of course nothing had happened. She had still brought him coffee, she had left him a note. Everything was so normal. But Amanda… He rubbed his temples. It was becoming vitally important that he remember what happened last night. "Nice of you to join us, Daniel." He jumped. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't seen his mother enter the room. She took a seat in the chair across from his desk. "Daniel, we have to figure out what we're going to do about Wilhelmina." Daniel nodded, but continued staring off into space. Another flash of last night ran through his head. He was definitely making out with someone who looked an awful lot like Betty. "Are you paying attention at all?" Daniel looked up at his mother, stricken.

"Mom, I think that I may have done something bad."

A/N: This story was bugging me all day so I finally had to sit down and write it out. It's my first Ugly Betty fanfic. I hope it's okay. I think that I missed some episodes so I apologize if there are any errors in the story line. I'll try to update soon. Enjoy.