Disclaimer: I own nothing Ugly Betty.

AN: First Ugly Betty fic (probably last). Only seen a couple episodes. This idea got stuck in my head. Please don't judge me. Review me with if you'd like to see me continue this or not.

Jodie Papadakis had always been a bit odd. She was crazily passionate, and not just about fashion. Yes, she had made it to be the editor-in-chief of YETI, but she wanted more than that. She wanted to be on top. She wanted to be the best. She hadn't dedicated her life to fashion for nothing.

There was a new side to be seen though, and a deeper relationship to bond between Jodie and Betty, far out enough neither of them could predict it was coming, when tragedy struck.

Of course it was New York, and of course crazy things went down all the time – but there was nothing Jodie could have done that would prepare her. A couple nights after her boyfriend dumped her, and as she was preparing a YETI project, she was attacked. There was no way to know if it were random or not – but either way the aftermath was the same.

Feeling terribly frightened, and not wanting to be alone, Jodie frantically flipped through her address book, looking for Betty's number. Betty looked up to her, so who better to have for company, right? After finding it she grabbed her cordless and dialed the number, her tears blurring the numbers together. She'd managed to successfully dial the numbers, though. She curled up on a plush arm chair as she listened to the phone ring.

"Marc didn't change his number again," was Betty's answer. If Jodie had been in a better state she might have laughed. Or gotten angry, whichever came first. She wasn't even trying that hard to get Marc anymore. She knew he wasn't really what she wanted.

"That's not why I'm calling."

"Jodie, is something wrong?"

Jodie let out a trembling sigh. "Yes."

"What happened?"

Jodie tried to explain but she couldn't control her voice. She was beginning to break down, and Betty couldn't understand her. Jodie managed to say, "Just come over," before hanging up.

When she closed her eyes, the memory flooded back and she snapped her eyes open again. The memory was still too fresh in her mind as it was. She didn't need visuals to go along with it.

She had no idea how long it took before Betty showed up, but she was still traumatized.

"Oh my god, Jodie. . ." Betty was surprised to see the state Jodie was in. The unlocked door should've been a hint that something was really wrong, because Jodie had a tight sense of security and in the best state of mind would never leave her apartment door unlocked.

Jodie had stopped bleeding from the attack, but she was still a complete mess. Her tears hadn't stopped.

Betty didn't care if she would get snapped at, she gave Jodie a hug. She'd called her for something, hadn't she? The only reason Betty could think of why she had was that she sought comfort. She didn't seem in much of a protesting mood anyway.

Betty was right. Jodie did need comforting, very much so. She accepted the hug and returned it strongly. Betty let her cry into her, feeling slightly uncomfortable because the woman who usually had a strong presence now looked so vulnerable. Not to mention she'd been her idol, and in a way still was. Rubbing her back silently, Betty waited for her to calm down.

Jodie raised her head from Betty's shoulder and stared intensely into her eyes. Even though Betty had her own quirky sense of style that was teetering on the line of do's and don'ts, she couldn't deny her beauty in that moment – the beauty of her eyes. Suddenly, before either of them noticed what was happening, their lips had met. It wasn't exactly clear who had started it, but they both returned the kiss. Both were compelled to not break away, as if it would hurt the other.

Was it just something that had occurred in the heat of the moment, or was it something more?