RAIN WILL MAKE THE FLOWERS GROW
Summary:Betty finally makes it to Daniel's apartment; things start to get interesting.
Author's Notes: Many thanks for all the comments on the first chapter; I'd forgotten that reviews are like drugs. ;) Anyway, there's actually some dialogue in this chapter, and it's longer than the last one. I'm not sure how good my characterisation is, so I'd appreciate some feedback on that.
I don't have much of a clear ending to this story as yet, although I have the middle of it pretty much sorted in my brain. I'm hoping an ending will make itself apparent the more I write. I'm going to try and keep on top of writing this and try not to let it die like most of my other fics.
Finally, I just want to clarify something about my not allowing anonymous reviews. I always used to accept them, but over the years I've had my review space used by anonymous cowards (by which I mean they didn't leave an email address) who only want to flame my story as a way to vent their own frustrations about characters or the fandom. Quite frankly, it's annoying. I'm well aware that the Internet is a good thing to hide behind; by all means, flame me, but at least own up to your opinion.
That being said, here's the next chapter.
Rain Will Make The Flowers Grow
Chapter Two
It was only a short walk to Daniel's apartment building, so Betty didn't mind too much having to walk. She would have been infinitely more irritated had she discovered the meeting notes on the train, or – God forbid – at home, because she knew that no matter how far she was from the city, she would have to make her way back there, for Daniel's sake. Really, the drizzle was a minor inconvenience.
And then, as if to mock her, the heavens opened. Betty covered her head pointlessly with her arms and broke into a run, but it was barely worth the effort – she was soaked within seconds. She held her bag close to her to try and keep the precious notes dry, and aimed for as many shop awnings as possible along the way to hide under. The effort was futile, however: a speeding cab saw great opportunity in her as a moving target, and deliberately careered through a deep puddle in the gutter, drenching her even more fully.
She stood there for a moment, shocked into temporary immobility and mentally delivering all the worst curses she knew at the retreating cab driver. At that point, the rain started to dwindle a little and a chilly wind kicked Betty into action again. The apartment building was only a couple of blocks away, and she started to squelch her way there in soggy shoes, by now feeling ever more convinced she shouldn't have bothered at all...
She passed the Meade Publications building, where the doorman tipped his hat with a smirk. Several lights were still on within its walls, including on the MYW floor. Betty frowned a little in remembrance of what Sofia had done, and carried on.
She reached the apartment building and let herself in with the four-digit code on the door, without bothering to ring the buzzer for Daniel's apartment, and headed gratefully for the elevator, careful not to disturb the security guard snoozing at his reception desk. She dripped somewhat forlornly on the marble floor, trying to avoid her reflection in the mirrored walls, and waited patiently to reach Daniel's floor. Her glasses had steamed over, but she paid them no attention, listening instead to the dull intonation of the recorded voice as it listed floors.
The elevator came a smooth stop after a while, and the doors slid open noiselessly except for a soft 'ping'. Stepping out, Betty headed purposefully towards the apartment door – at least until she slipped on the parquet floor and landed on her backside. After struggling back to her feet, she played it safe and clung to the wall.
Betty only realised what a state she must have looked five seconds after she'd rung the doorbell and the door opened to reveal her boss, looking quite surprised to see her.
"Betty? Shouldn't you be at home?"
"My stupid train was late," she replied, redundantly. Daniel craned his neck to look down the corridor and smirked at the trail of wet footprints leading from the elevator. "Also," she added, "I thought you might need these."
She pulled the meeting notes from her handbag and waved them in Daniel's face with her very best 'the-things-I-do-for-you' expression. Daniel took the slightly damp paper from her and scanned it, a glimmer of recognition dawning on his face.
"Oh. Yes. Thank you. Um... this probably could have waited until..." He trailed off when Betty's expression darkened, and then added in a slightly strangled tone: "Would you like to come in?"
"Please..."
It was tempting to push past Daniel in her sodden coat and soak him in the process, but he gave her a wide berth, guessing her intention. He closed the door behind her and followed her through to the main room, where they both stood rather helplessly.
Daniel put the meeting notes down somewhere safe. He wasn't used to Betty being a guest in his home; normally she would let herself in. Betty struggled out of her padded coat, which was now carrying extra weight in the form of most of New York's rainfall, and Daniel moved over to take it off her. The coat was usually waterproof, but even the layers of quilting had succumbed to the downpour, and the pale blue lining was blotched with dark, wet patches.
"Thanks..." she said. Her indoor clothing wasn't too bad, Betty realised, but her hair was now starting to feel very uncomfortable indeed. Its usual thick mass was hanging heavily down her back, and it would need taming quickly before it turned into a halo of uncontrollable frizz. She was suddenly very thankful Hilda had talked her into carrying a hairbrush around with her, even though it had seemed a rather vain and pointless exercise at the time...
Daniel made his way back over to her. He waved his arm to indicate she should sit, and opened his mouth to say something.
"You-"
His words were obliterated by a sudden clattering above them as a noise like a machine gun sounded overhead. Betty started and covered her ears; Daniel gave up talking and laughed at her terrified expression.
"What the Hell is that?!" she shouted, struggling to speak over the racket.
Daniel cupped his ear. "What?"
Betty got the distinct impression he was mocking her. "I said, what the Hell" – the noise subsided again, as quickly as it began – "is that?!" Her yell resonated in the high-ceilinged room for a moment, and then Daniel smirked, amused.
"This is a penthouse apartment, Betty," he explained. "It has a flat roof. And judging by the state of you, I guess you already know it's raining out there."
She looked at him, slightly confused. "A penthouse?"
He nodded. "I thought you'd realised. I live on the top floor."
She shrugged. "Oh. I figured there was attic space." She gazed at the ceiling for a moment, concentrating, and realised that she could hear the rain even now, very quietly pattering on the roof. "Only the best for you, Daniel."
"Precisely," he said. "Anyway. As I was about to say, you really didn't have to come all the way over here just to drop the notes off. It could've waited until morning."
"I didn't want to risk it," she said. "I thought you'd want to be prepared; it's an important meeting tomorrow."
"To be honest," he admitted, "I was just going to relax tonight. I'm trying to keep Mode at the office, and so should you."
It was at this point that Betty surveyed her surroundings more thoroughly and took stock of the DVDs lying on the couch, and the various bowls of snack foods on the table. Daniel had clearly been planning a night in front of the TV when she'd turned up on his doorstep.
"Oh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, worried she might have disturbed his quiet night in. "Sorry, I guess I should've called first. Just, what with the weather and all..."
"It's okay, Betty. I'm glad you thought to come over."
She gave him a small smile. "No problem. But I really should be getting home. Dad'll be worried."
Daniel seemed quite appalled by the idea. "No. No, I can't let you go back out in the rain. It's almost Biblical out there."
"I'll be fine," she said, dismissively, moving over to get her coat. "Really. It's already stopping."
As if in reply, the clattering began again, though not so aggressively as before. Looking heavenward, Betty grimaced. "Doesn't that drive you crazy?"
"Actually," he said, "it can be quite relaxing."
She looked mildly incredulous. "I'll take your word for it..."
After a somewhat redundant pause, she made to move, to find Daniel in her way. "Please, Betty, I'd feel awful knowing I let you out again in this weather." He blocked her path to the front door. "At least stay until it holds off."
She sighed, but conceded. "Okay..."
Smiling, he ushered her back into the main body of the apartment. Looking over her bedraggled appearance a second time, he asked, "Do you want a towel or anything?"
"Actually, um..." She looked a little embarrassed to be asking him for anything. "I could do with some dry clothes..." Fearing he might refuse, she corrected herself: "But a towel would be good, too. A towel would be great..."
"Stay there," Daniel commanded. He disappeared into the bedroom and then reappeared moments later with some towels and a bathrobe, which he handed to her. "Here," he said. "The bathroom is through there. I'm afraid I don't have a bath, but feel free to use the shower..."
She looked at the towels and bathrobe; they were good quality, expensive. The robe was a deep, plush velvet, monogrammed with his initials. Judging by the way it was folded, she suspected it was once a gift and had never been worn. Taking a warm shower had never even entered her mind, but now the idea was planted, it sounded very tempting. She didn't want to outstay her welcome, however, and tried to hand back the items.
"Really, you don't have to do this..." she began. Her protests were futile, however: he was already ushering her bodily towards the door he'd pointed out.
"No arguing. Get." He gave her a final, gentle shove, and she turned to look at him.
"Thank you..." She gave him a grateful smile, then shut the door behind her.
To be continued...
A/N: The next chapter is going to be mostly character introspection and currently, I hate it... but I'm going to try and fix the glitches and get it up as soon as I can, and then move onto a more interesting chapter afterwards. I hope this instalment was up to standard, anyway. Reviews are welcomed with cookies.