AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story starts at Episode 3.01 "The Manhattan Project". I've incorporated some original elements from cannon to place this story, but the change is obviously going to bring some differences in the how everything played out in the episode. From this point on, this story is an A/U. (I guess. I'm still unfamiliar with a lot of the fan fic terminology!) Fair warning – between real life and my writer's block, I might not be updating this story as frequently as I did The Pursuit of Clarity.
DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Ugly Betty, it's characters, or any ideas, concepts, or storylines originating from the show. Oh yeah, this chapter also contains a few lines of the original script. I don't have any rights to those either, but I needed to borrow them for the placement of this chapter. I do, however, own the right to any original characters or storylines that divert from those in the show.
Naïve. Her father's words echoed in her head as she sat alone at her desk after work hours, skimming the pages of her idea book. Like the burden of her misguided dream of city living, she was getting tired of carrying around this cumbersome book of ideas that would never come into fruition while working for Player Magazine. Betty blinked rapidly and swallowed hard trying to will away the tears that threatened the façade of maturity she was trying to maintain.
How could Papi say she was being naïve for wanting to grow up and have her own experiences? It seemed more naïve to stay under her father's shelter well into her adulthood, living in New York and missing out on the life that pulsated throughout the city. She finished college, got a great job, saved money, and still managed to help out Papi financially. It didn't seem fair that she was forced to grow up much quicker than her peers and then treated like a child when she wanted to make grown up decisions. The more she thought about it, the more hurt she felt that her father disapproved of her plans to get her own apartment and even more so angry that he may have been right.
"Betty? What are you doing here this late?" Daniel's voice cut through her thoughts. "I thought you'd left already."
Betty closed her book and straightened her glasses. "Oh, umm, I'm just transferring the ideas in my book to file. It was getting sort of ridiculous carrying this colossal binder around everywhere I went."
"Well, my mother, Alexis, and DJ are coming down here soon. I bought some dinner since we were all working late. You're welcome to join us," Daniel offered as he placed the bags of take out on the conference table. He glanced over at the Facebook profile inhabiting Betty's computer screen. "And maybe you can tell me why you're really hanging out at work late doing nothing?"
Betty scrunched her face and shook her head, hoping to convince Daniel he had nothing to be suspicious of, but the look he'd come to recognize well only convinced him she was hiding something. He returned her expression with raised eyebrows and a piercing stare – a look Betty had learned meant she was backed into a corner.
She exhaled sharply in surrender. She reached up under her glasses to rub her eyes as a preemptive measure then leaned forward to cradle her head in her hands. Her voice was an indistinct moan behind her palms.
"What was that again? You sound like the adults in the Peanuts comics," Daniel joked to try to lighten her mood.
"I said, 'I'm here because I can't go home.'," Betty admitted.
Daniel grabbed a nearby office chair and rolled it next to hers. He placed a supportive hand on her knee as he straddled the chair backwards.
"What do you mean you can't go home? What happened?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.
"It's just… after my vacation I was feeling invigorated and empowered, so I told my family that I wanted to move out and get my own place in the city," Betty began to explain as Daniel's eyes widened in surprise. "See? I know it's not very 'Betty-like' to want to do that, but that's precisely why I thought it was time for me to make that leap. I'm 24 years old. It's not that unusual for someone of my age to live on her own."
"True. By the time I was eighteen, my parents had practically kicked me out of the house…"
"Daniel, that's terrible! I'm so sorry about that." As was her custom, Betty immediately shifted her attention toward Daniel's issues.
"No, it was fine. They let me live in one of their other properties, practically rent-free, and I got to do whatever I wanted without them watching my every move," he answered with a nonchalant shrug.
"But I just can't imagine being forced to leave home – ready or not. Eighteen still seems so young to me."
"It was a little scary, but… hey, weren't we talking about you?" Daniel caught on to Betty's diversion. She responded with an embarrassed smile.
"Yeah… so when I told my Papi I wanted to get a place in the city, he said," Betty paused to suppress the impending tears that were working their way to the corners of her eyes. "He said I was being naïve! And on top of that, Hilda saw the dump of a place I signed up for – sight unseen – and called me 'stupid'!"
"Wait, you got a place already?" Daniel asked incredulously.
Betty turned her chair to avoid the judgmental looks she would inevitably get from Daniel once he knew what happened.
"Depends on what you mean by 'got'. Did I sign a lease agreement? Yes. Did I put money down? Yeah. Do I have a place to move into? Not unless I was a rat, roach, or toad."
Daniel wanted to berate her for being so impulsive about signing a lease on a place she hadn't seen. At the very least, he wanted to stare at her with his mouth agape, but he knew the last thing Betty wanted or needed was another person telling her she made the wrong decision. She was at work, afraid to go home, because she already knew she was wrong.
"Hey, you're the bravest, smartest person I know. Getting your own place… that's your rite of passage. It's great that you want to branch out on your own," he attempted to comfort her.
"Yeah, look where it's gotten me. A dirty, infested apartment with broken pipes and two inches of water on the floors!" Betty buried her head in the crook of her arm, fogging up the glass top of her desk with her heavy breathing.
"Oh, you didn't mention the indoor pool! That's a plus, right?"
"That's not funny!" her muffled voice snapped back at him.
"Sorry. Too soon." Daniel bit his lip. "So is the landlord going to do anything to repair your place or refund your deposit?"
Betty sat back up, dejection still apparent in her slumping posture. Her bangs fluttered upwards as she let out a drawn out, heavy sigh.
"Yeah. The pipes are all rotted and the water damage is pretty extensive, so they need to do some major repairs before anyone can live there. They said they'll have the place ready in four weeks. If it takes any longer than that, I can opt out of my contract. But that's a whole month before I have a place to live and they have all my money."
"There you go! The silver lining! It's better that this happened before you moved all your stuff in. At least everything will be new and improved by the time you move in, right?" Daniel said with forced enthusiasm.
"I know, but in the meantime, I have no apartment, no money, and I just can't go back to my Papi's house and tell him what happened. It's humiliating enough that he thinks I was being naïve. I can't jeopardize my chances of moving out by letting him know he was right!"
Daniel silently deliberated her options.
"You can stay with DJ and me until your place is ready," he finally proposed.
Betty cocked her head in confusion.
"Your place?" Daniel nodded. "Your loft? With you and your son?"
Daniel shrugged. "Yeah, why not? It's just temporary. Maybe it would give you and DJ some time to bond."
Betty scoffed. "Daniel, I'm pretty sure your place is crowded enough as it is with DJ moved in. I don't think you have any room at the inn for me. But thanks anyway for the offer."
The elevator doors chimed and slid open revealing the three generations of Meades coming to join Daniel for dinner. Daniel stood from his chair to greet his mother with a kiss.
"Betty! Hey, Daniel has you working late too?" Alexis asked when she caught sight of Betty there.
"Oh, umm, I…" Betty stammered.
"Yeah, I needed her help with some proposals I was working on," Daniel quickly swooped in to rescue her from having to explain her presence at the office. Betty flashed him a look of gratitude.
Alexis gave Daniel a hearty pat on the back. "Sounds like she deserves a raise, Danny!"
Betty gave him a playful nudge in the ribs. "I do what I can to put a roof over her head," he reminded Betty passively.
Claire had already started digging through the take out containers and placing them around the table.
"Daniel, dear, you didn't even get a dish for Betty and you're having her work late? Have I done nothing to teach you manners?" He blushed and shot Betty a scowl. Claire settled herself into a chair at the table and carefully placed a napkin on her lap. "Well, I'm famished. Let's quit standing around and eat already. Betty, you can share Daniel's chicken marsala."
"I can just go," Betty whispered to Daniel.
"I don't think you have a choice anymore but to stay. Come on, half my food has already been betrothed to you," he said as he led Betty to an empty chair at the table and took the seat next to her at the head of the table so they could share their food.
They had only exchanged idle chitchat about Player, Mode, and Hot Flash for several minutes when DJ turned his attention to his chocolate cake. Betty stuffed her mouth with a large piece of chicken and squirmed in her seat as she silently witnessed the normal father and son debate over whether or not dessert should come before or after a meal. Personally, she was never one to argue against life being too short not to have dessert first, but she was actually proud of Daniel for standing his ground with his son and making an attempt at setting some boundaries for DJ.
Suddenly, as their verbal argument started to become a physical tug-o-war over the cake – a scene not unfamiliar to Betty having grown up with a sister and her father's cooking – the slice of fluffy chocolate catapulted towards Alexis' silk dress which prompted DJ to cackle in typical 13-year-old fashion. Daniel was quick to scold him.
"No, it's fine. Chocolate on silk. That'll come out," Alexis responded passive-aggressively.
"What has gotten into you? Finish your dinner," Daniel commanded DJ sternly.
DJ pushed his plate away. "Je pas faim."
"Fine, you're not hungry? Go do your English homework." DJ glared indignantly at his father causing Daniel to raise his voice at him for the first time. "DJ, I'm not messing around. Right now! Go. Now!"
DJ ran off to Daniel's office, cowering from the newfound discipline his father had displayed. The dinner table fell awkwardly silent for a moment before Alexis got up to clean off her dress and Claire excused herself to answer a phone call.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Daniel said to Betty as he started clearing the food from the table.
Betty got up to help him clean up. "No, I'm used to family dynamics. It doesn't faze me."
"I can't believe I just yelled at him. I used to hate when my father would yell at us. I don't want to be that kind of a dad."
"Daniel, it's okay to raise your voice sometimes. I've been telling you over and over that you needed to start laying some ground rules with DJ. Kids need that. He needs to know that you care enough about him to make sure he's grows up to be a good person and makes good choices. And sometimes, that means telling him something he doesn't like hearing." Betty held out a trashcan for Daniel to toss the containers and scraps.
"Like when your children are being naïve?" Daniel hinted.
"DJ wasn't really being naïve. He was more in –" she stopped suddenly realizing the implication Daniel was making. "Touché."
"Well, look at you. You have a great, lifelong relationship with your dad and, yet, here you are hurt and upset and not wanting to go home. How's DJ ever going to forgive me?"
"Just remind him that you will always love him and be there for him. He'll come around and respect you more as a result."
Daniel dusted the crumbs off his hands then pulled Betty into a warm embrace. "Thanks. You're a big help. I don't know how I'm going to do this single-dad thing, but it's nice to have your support and advice." Betty squeezed his waist. "You sure you don't want to reconsider staying with us? I could use a buffer!"
"Thanks, but I think I need to go home and talk to my own father." Daniel nodded.
Betty packed up her bag and the burdensome book of ideas and headed back home to Queens.
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