A/N: This takes place after "A Thousand Words by Friday". It was supposed to be a Henry/Amanda fic with just a hint of Gio/Betty. But of course, once I started writing Gio and Betty sucked me in and now it's just as much about them; more so right now. It'll probably be several chapters before I get to the Henry/Amanda aspect.
Oh, and I'd like to thank Wooster182 for being a wonderful beta and giving me the idea for the Henry/Amanda pairing.
I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 1
It was Friday and Betty was sitting at her desk at Mode, sending out a couple of emails from Daniel, and making plans in her head about what she and Henry would do with their weekend. She was so caught up in what she was doing, she didn't realize someone had walked up to her desk and was standing over her until she heard a male voice say, "Hey, I haven't seen you around for a while."
Betty looked up into the grinning face of Gio Rossi. Two weeks had past since the Phil Roth debacleand her promise to Henry that she'd stop seeing Gio in order to make their last months perfect. Betty still didn't understand why Henry was so jealous of Gio, but she was willing to do whatever it took to make Henry happy and comfortable. And until now, Betty had been successful in avoiding Gio.
"Hi, Gio," Betty greeted, looking around to make sure Henry, or anyone who might tell Henry, wasn't around.
"So, you haven't had any sinks that need moving or girls that needed to be picked up lately?" he asked her with a cocky smile in place, oblivious to Betty's uneasiness.
"No," she told him. Betty figured now would be just as good a time as any to tell Gio her promise to Henry. "Gio," she started.
"Yeah?" he asked. He was still smiling and his dark eyes were dancing. It was obvious he was expecting a witty comeback from Betty.
Betty looked him in the face and she found herself thinking of when she threw a trash can into the window of his deli… and how instead of pressing charges he took her to the hospital. He didn't even make her pay for the damage, which had to be a considerable amount. Gio had been good to her, and to tell him that she didn't want him around anymore seemed cold.
You could call Betty Suarez a lot of things, but cold wasn't one of them.
So instead of telling Gio to get lost liked she'd planned what she said was, "Well, if you stick around, you can write these emails for me."
"No, thanks," he told her. He held up a bag, "I've got to deliver these then get back to the deli. Catch you later," he said as he strolled off.
As she watched him leave, Betty decided that although she wouldn't call Gio for any more favors, she didn't have to stop seeing him. When Henry wasn't around she could even stop by Gio's Deli and get one of his sandwiches. Betty felt herself perk up at the thought of not having to give up Gio's Deli. Henry's chicken salad just didn't compare to Gio's, and it'd be nice to have it again. As a matter of fact, she wanted it right now. But she'd promised Henry she'd go down to accounting on her lunch break and eat with him. Betty felt let down; she really wanted that chicken salad. She made up her mind to get a chicken salad sandwich on Monday, even if Christina had to order it and she had to eat it in the bathroom to keep from getting caught.
"Betty, I've been thinking," Henry said one lazy Sunday morning, during their last month together. "We don't have to break up when I move to Tucson."
"What?" Betty asked. She looked startled.
Henry hoped she didn't think he was going to beg her to come with him. He'd never do that to her. He'd be making her choose between him and her family. He told her what had been going over and over in his mind recently. "People make long distance relationships work all the time. Why couldn't you and I do it?"
"Henry, people who are in long distance relationships plan on moving to be together eventually. I can't leave New York, you know that. My family and my job are here."
"I know that. And I'd never ask you to leave all that behind. But circumstances could change and there could be the chance that you'd be able to move in a year or two from now. Maybe even Charlie would be willing to move back to New York." Henry doubted the latter, but stranger things had happened.
"I don't know," she said, an unsure look on her face.
"Betty, I know we can do this. We love each other. We can make this work. We deserve to make it work."
Betty smiled at him. "You're right. Let's do it," she told him.
Henry smiled back and then kissed her lightly on the lips. He was so glad that she'd agreed. He didn't know how he would have handled losing Betty; she was the best thing in his life.
Hilda was in the kitchen making breakfast before she started the day at her salon. She'd already seen Justin off to school, and now she was thinking about her appointments for the day. Mrs. Fiorelli was supposed to be in today and she was always good for some gossip and a laugh. Hilda chuckled to herself as she cracked an egg into a skillet, remembering the last time she'd seen Mrs. Fiorelli. She was popping a piece of bread into the toaster, when she heard the padding of feet behind her. She turned and saw Betty slowly making her way to the table. Her eyes were red and puffy beneath her glasses. Hilda knew it was from both lack of sleep and crying. Henry left for Tucson a week ago, two days before his son had been born.
"Morning," Hilda said gently.
Betty let out a dull, "Good morning" as she sat herself at the table.
"How are you feeling?" Hilda asked. Betty was looking down at the table, unblinking. Since Henry left, Betty barely got out of bed. Well, she got up and went to work, but then she came home and went right back to bed and waited for Henry to call. She didn't even eat.
"Betty, maybe we should go out or something tonight," she suggested.
"Hilda, I can't go out. Henry is suppose to call at ten tonight," Betty said, finally making eye contact with her sister.
"Henry calls every night. And it's not like you can't take your phone with you. I'm sure he doesn't expect you to sit at home every night pining away for him."
"I'm just not up to it right now, okay," she snapped. Hilda gave her a look. The one that said I know you are hurting, but don't take it out on me. Betty had the decency to look apologetic and added, "Maybe some other time."
Hilda sighed and slid her eggs and toast on a plate. She grabbed herself a glass of orange juice and then headed towards the table. When she got there, Betty was staring off again.
"Papi had to run to the post office. Would you like me to make you something to eat?" she offered.
"No, I'm not hungry," Betty told her.
Hilda sighed again. She hated watching her sister this way. She knew Betty didn't know it, but Hilda could hear her crying all hours of the night. She was trying to be supportive during all of this, but sometimes Hilda couldn't help but wonder if Henry was worth all the pain he was causing Betty.
They sat in silence, Betty not really looking at anything while Hilda ate her breakfast. "You're sure you don't want me to make you anything?" she tried again.
"Yeah. I need to head off to work anyway," Betty told her. She got up and left, leaving Hilda sitting at the table alone.
"I'll see you tonight," Hilda called as Betty headed out the door.
Hilda sat in the empty house, trying to make a decision. This sadness was sucking the life out of Betty. It was time for a change. Hilda walked over to the phone. She had been thinking about doing this for a while, but wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. She didn't want to interfere in Betty's life, but something had to happen to help her get through this. She looked at the piece of paper in her hand. It had the words "Gio's Deli" and a phone number scribbled on it. Hilda sighed; she hoped she was doing the right thing.
It was almost time to open the deli and Gio was rushing around, making sure everything was in order. All the veggies and condiments were out. The meats and cheeses seemed to be in place. He knew that the tables were cleaned and wiped down by Tony earlier. Everything seemed to be good to go. He was walking towards the sign hanging on the door, ready to switch it from "Closed" to "Open" when the phone rang. Gio figured it was a customer calling in a large order early; lately that seemed to be happening often. He knew Tony was in the back stocking the refrigerator and probably couldn't hear a thing from there, so he quickly turned the sign and walked over to the phone.
"Gio's Deli," he answered, "This is Gio speaking."
"Hi, Gio. This is Hilda. I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I didn't have any other number for you," she told him.
Gio was honestly surprised to hear Hilda on the other line, but he was pretty sure he knew what this was about. He let Hilda continue.
"You know Henry left to go back to Tucson, right?"
"No, I didn't," he told her. Although he had figured as much, he knew Egg Salad was due to leave any time now.
"Yeah, about a week ago," Hilda went on.
Gio was unsure about where this conversation was going. He was well aware that Henry and Betty were going to keeping dating while Henry was in Tucson raising a baby with his ex-girlfriend. But he also knew that Hilda realized how he felt about Betty. Wearily he asked, "Your calling to tell me this why?"
"Betty's a wreck, Gio. She could really use a friend right about now."
Gio sighed. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see Betty. What he wasn't sure about was whether Betty wanted to see him. She'd been pretty distant the last couple of months. She didn't call him for favors anymore. And when she ordered a sandwich, she had that Scottish chick call it in for some reason. If it wasn't for the fact that she was still stopping by his deli every now and then, he'd swear she was trying to avoid him.
Gio thought of Betty closing herself up at her house, crying over Egg Salad. He hated the idea of Betty hurting. "Okay," he told Hilda. "What do you want me to do?"
As the last several months that Betty had with Henry passed, she and Gio fell into a casual, semi-friendship. So, when he had stopped by her house with a paper bag in hand about a week after Henry left, Betty had been surprised. And not just because she had been moping around in her pj's .
"What's this?" she'd asked him curiously.
"I heard that Henry left and you could use some company. I'm not intruding am I?" Gio looked almost nervous and not nearly as reassured as usual. Betty wondered if he'd had a bad day at the deli. Maybe someone insulted his sandwich making skills.
"No, come on in," she told him once she realized that he was still standing outside and she hadn't invited him in.
"I brought you a Ham and Swiss on Rye."
"Why?" she asked him skeptically.
He sighed. "It's called being a friend, Betty. I thought maybe you could use the food and someone to talk to."
It suddenly clicked in Betty's mind why Gio was there. "Hilda put you up to this, didn't she," it wasn't a question so much as an accusation.
"No," he said. Betty gave him a look. "She may have called, but I wanted to come over or I wouldn't be here. I'm sure that Scottish friend of yours would have done the same if she wasn't knocked up."
"She does have a lot going on right now," Betty admitted. "But I could understand why she'd come over. You surely have somewhere better to be… a date or a club or something."
"Hey, if you want me to go, I will," Gio said defensively.
"No. Stay," Betty told him. "I could use the company… and the sandwich," she said as she grabbed the paper sack out of his hand. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, and a sandwich from Gio's Deli sounded marvelous. "And if it'll keep Hilda off my back for a while, it'll be worth it," she added.
It'd had been a month since Henry moved back to Tucson to be with the baby. Betty was glad that they had decided to keep seeing each other long distance, but she was still finding it all difficult. She was sitting in the living room with the TV off, staring at it blankly wondering what Henry was doing or if he was with Charlie when the doorbell rang. She forced herself off the couch and made her way to open the door.
"Hey, Betty." It was Gio. He wore a smile on his face and was holding a sack that Betty knew contained sandwiches. For the past three weeks, every day Gio had stopped by Mode or her house with a free sandwich to try to help cheer her up about Henry.
"Hi, Gio," she responded stepping aside to let him in. "You know, if you keep bringing me free sandwiches, I'll never be able to make up for that window I broke."
"Don't worry about it. Once you're feeling a little bit better, I expect you to order three times as many as usual though," he told her with a grin.
"Okay," she agreed, "What'd you bring me tonight?"
"A tuna melt. Extra cheese, just the way you like it."
"Oh, yum," Betty said, cheering up a little at the thought of her sandwich.
"I just stopped to drop this off," Gio told her, setting down the sandwich.
"Oh," Betty said again, this time in a completely different tone. "You're not staying?" She was disappointed and she knew it. Gio typically stuck around and ate with her and then they would talk, usually about Henry. Gio was surprisingly good at listening and reassuring Betty that everything would work out.
"No, I promised Antonella that I'd take her to see a movie. She claims I haven't been around lately since I've been 'helping out the girl with braces'," he said.
"Well, of course you should spend time with your sister. I'll just… see you later then," she told him, walking him back to the door.
"See you tomorrow, Betty," Gio told her.
Betty smiled as she told him good-bye. Somehow knowing she'd see Gio the next day helped.
Gio turned to leave and before he got to the door, he turned back around. "Betty, do you want to go out somewhere tomorrow instead of eating here?"
Betty was thrown off guard by his question. Gio wasn't asking her out, was he?
"Just as friends," he told her, as though he read her mind.
"Um, I don't know," she said uncertainly.
"Come on, you've gotta be getting sick of my sandwiches," he tried.
"Gio, I could never get sick of your sandwiches," she told him honestly.
He grinned at her in response. "You're not going to get out of going out by flattering me," he told her, despite the obvious delight he'd taken in her comment. "Come on, it'll be good for you to get out of the house. I know you haven't been out once since Henry left. You never know, it might even take your mind off of things a bit."
"Okay," she nodded, giving in. What could it hurt? She hadn't been anywhere except home and Mode in the past month. Well, she went out to run the occasional errand for Daniel, but somehow she didn't think that counted.
"Great," he said happily. "I'll pick you up here at eight tomorrow."
"That sounds good," she told him.
"Okay, I've gotta run now. Antonella will kill me if I'm late," he said heading back towards the door.
"See you tomorrow. And have fun with Antonella," she called as he left.
As soon as he was out of sight, Betty immediately began to question what she'd just agreed to. It's no big deal, she tried to reassure herself, Gio's been a good friend to you lately. Why shouldn't you go out with a friend? It'd be like going out with Christina for drinks…if she wasn't pregnant. All the more reason to go out with Gio instead of her. It's not like Henry has to know. And who knows, maybe he'd be okay with it if he realized how much Gio has been helping you recently. Okay, probably not. He still thinks you haven't seen Gio at all for the past five months. It'll be okay, Betty reassured herself, what he doesn't know won't hurt him.
It was a typical Monday at Mode for Amanda. Right now she was filing her nails. As soon as she was done with that, she planned on leafing through some magazines she'd picked up that morning.
Finished grooming her left hand, she was starting on her right when she spotted that sandwich guy that likes Betty, Gio something or another, walk past her desk. Amanda smiled to herself, proud that she'd remembered something like the sandwich guy's name. She didn't have anything better to do at the moment so she let herself watch him. He was scanning the room, clearly looking for someone or something. Finally his eyes came to rest on Betty and he smiled and walked towards her. Amanda still didn't know what Gio saw in Betty. With Henry, it was obvious. They had this whole little nerd love thing going on. But Gio didn't look like the type of guy that usually went for the frizzy hair, red glasses, and braces thing. But it was clear to Amanda that Gio liked Betty… a lot. First it was the looks he gave her, then once Henry moved to Tulsa, or where ever it was that he went, he started stopping by practically every day.
Amanda watched as Betty greeted Gio. She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but Gio held up a paper bag and made a sweeping gesture with his free hand. Betty was looking hurried and she shook her head. Gio was smiling down at Betty, and it looked like he was trying to coax her. Betty took the sack from him and then walked away in a rush. Once she was out of sight, Gio turned to leave.
"What, no cozy lunch with your secret lover today?" Amanda asked him as he passed by her.
Gio stopped and looked at her, appearing surprised at her presence. He stared at her for a moment before he said, "Nah. She's busy helping Daniel make the deadline for a shoot today." Then he turned and left, leaving Amanda annoyed that her "secret lover" comment hadn't gotten to him.
Amanda thought about it, maybe Gio was Betty's secret lover. Whenever Gio stopped by, Betty got twitchy and kind of paranoid. It was almost like she was guilty. Something was definitely going on between Gio and Betty, Amanda just knew it. She decided to corner Betty the first chance she could get and grill her about it.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Amanda sighed. She hated it when those stupid calls interrupted what she was doing.
"Mode Magazine, this is Amanda speaking."
"Amanda, this is Gene Simmons."
"Daddy," Amanda cooed into the phone.
"Amanda, I thought we agreed you'd stop calling me Daddy once we realized I wasn't your father." It was true. Gene Simmons wasn't Amanda's father. About a week after she performed her song for him and they went for their talk, he remembered he didn't have a Tweety Bird tattoo. But he had promised her that he would help her find her father.
"Yeah, okay," she said, "Did you find my dad?" she asked him, getting to the point.
"No. But I know who he isn't. He's not any of the guys in the band, our old manager, or my publicist."
"Oh," Amanda said dejectedly.
"But I'm going to keep looking. If I have to check every ass in New York City for that Tweety Bird tattoo, I will," he promised her. "It's the least I can do for Fey's daughter."
Amanda thanked Gene Simmons and then hung up. It wasn't until she had left work that she remembered that she planned on making Betty spill about Gio. Oh, well. Amanda was only interested in Betty when she was bored anyway.