Daniel's plane landed, and he took a cab to his sister's home in Provence. Memories of the time he spent there flooded him, but he pushed them away. There was no time for him to wallow in the past now, to let those feelings of pain and regret take over. Not when he had to try and figure out where his nephew had gone.
DJ might technically only have been Daniel's nephew, but he might as well have been his son as far as he was concerned. His feelings for the boy had certainly never diminished over the years, just because the biology didn't work out in his favor. And he felt pretty sure that his nephew felt the same.
He tried not to let the worst case scenario play out in his head. He told himself that DJ was fine. He just had to be! He couldn't let himself imagine losing the kid!
The boy was more than likely just acting out and trying to get his mother's attention, to get his own way by ignoring everyone's calls. Although it pissed him off that DJ was not taking HIS calls, either! He thought he was the one DJ always turned to whenever he had a disagreement with his mother or anytime something was bothering him.
He and Alexis decided to each take a list Alexis and Becks had gathered from DJ's friends of possible places they thought he might go or other friends he might seek out. Daniel looked down at his list of clubs, museums and arcades, as well as friends' names, phone numbers and addresses and sighed, ready to head off to the first name on the list.
The police had also been notified and Becks had volunteered to go check the local hospitals, just in case. This totally sucked! DJ was going to get it! At least...Daniel prayed he had the chance to yell at the young man!
He jumped when his phone went off, and saw the number, knowing immediately who it was, in spite of it being so long since he had spoken to her. Perhaps because of all the many lonely, drunken nights he had stared at his phone, arguing himself out of calling her. He answered hesitantly, "Uh, this is Daniel. Betty, is that you?"
"Hey, Daniel. Yes, it's me."
"Oh. Um, listen, I'm so sorry, but now is REALLY not a good time! I actually would love to catch up any other time, but right now I'm in the middle of…"
"Being worried about DJ?" she offered.
His eyes grew wide, "WHAT? Wait, how did you know? I'm sorry. IS THAT LITTLE SHIT THERE with you now?"
Betty laughed softly, "Yes, I'm afraid so. He's right here. Do you want to...yell at him?"
"You're damn right I do! Yes, please! Thank you for calling, Betty! Please put him on!"
Daniel heard Betty practically forcing a sheepish DJ to take the phone from her, "Eh, Dan-yel! How's it going?"
"HOW'S IT GOING? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? You think this is a joke? DJ, JESUS CHRIST, KID! Do you have ANY idea how worried your mom and Becks and I have been? We thought you were….you had…
Your poor mom has Becks checking fucking hospitals here in Provence, and she notified the police to put out a missing persons report on you! I don't care how pissed you are at her, you DON'T do that, young man, EVER! Answer your Goddamn phone from now on, whether you're in the "mood" to talk or not, you don't "ghost" your family, YOU GOT THAT Deej?"
Betty noticed that although the young man was appropriately chastised and humbled by Daniel's outburst, he seemed almost happy to realize how much his mother and stepfather and especially his uncle were so concerned for his welfare, "I'm really sorry, Uncle Daniel. I didn't think. I didn't mean to worry you guys. I'll call mom and Becks right now, okay?"
"You're damn right you will!"
DJ looked concerned himself as he had a thought, "Did I worry Grandma Claire, too?"
Daniel let out a breath, trying to calm himself down now that he knew his nephew was alive, "No. Your mom was afraid to tell your grandma you were missing, because she didn't want to scare the shit out of her, too and cause her to have a heart attack or something! She's not young anymore, you know?
Hell, I think you just aged me another ten damn years, too! DJ...we all love you. PLEASE don't do that EVER again, okay? Promise me, you'll call, text, or send a carrier pigeon, something, the next time you decide to take a little road trip?"
DJ nodded, fighting back tears as he sniffed, "Uh huh. I promise!"
Daniel sighed, as he told the driver to head to the airport, "Where is YOUR phone? Did you lose it?"
"No. I forgot my charger, though and I ran down the battery."
"Don't you have money to get a burner phone or something?"
"A what? Burner phone?" he laughed, "You've seen too many Jason Bourne movies, Uncle Daniel. Nobody really calls them that. You mean a cheap phone? Well, no, actually. I don't have ANY money! Except my charge card that she said is "only for emergencies!" That was why I fought with Mama."
"They do too call them that! Whatever! And I'm sorry, but having a way to call your family IS a fucking emergency, you crazy kid! May I ask exactly why are you in London with Betty, anyway? Apparently you had money to take a train! Or chose that as your "emergency"! What are you trying to pull, DJ?"
"Nothing! I just...wanted to talk to her. She always calms me down. I missed her. We used to have very nice conversations back when I visited you years ago and you lived here and thought you two were going to…"
"Let me talk to Betty again for one minute? And then, ask her to use her phone to call your mom. Deal?"
"Deal. Yes, sir! Here's Betty. Sorry again to...worry you."
"It's o...well, it's not really OKAY. But, I'm just glad you're alive and not hurt! I'll see you soon."
DJ handed Betty back her phone, "Hey, Daniel. I think, whatever you said to him...got the message across."
"You mean you couldn't hear me screaming from across the room?"
She laughed, "Well, maybe a little. Anyway, I'll let DJ use my phone to call Alexis and tell her he's okay of course."
"Thank you. Um...so, how have you been?"
"Good, thanks. And you?"
"I'm fine. Uh...listen, I'm really sorry he got you involved in the middle of whatever game he's playing, Betty. I don't know what the hell he was thinking bothering you like that!"
"It's no bother. It was nice to see him. Not that he worried you guys, but otherwise, I was happy to see him. He's always welcome."
The awkward silence hung in the air, and finally, Daniel cleared his throat, "So, uh, I guess he needs to call his mom. Thanks, again for making him call me, Betty! I appreciate you talking sense into him."
"Oh, sure, no problem! I know you've been there for Justin before when he needed somebody to talk to other than his family."
"I hate to be a pain here, but...where are you exactly? Can I come get him? I'm on my way to the airport right now and I'd like to see him one more time before my sister kills the kid once I bring him back to her!"
She laughed, "That's fine. I'll go on my laptop and email you my address while he's using my phone. Are you still at your same email?"
"Yeah, I am. Okay. Thanks! Bye!"
"Sure, Daniel. No problem. Bye." she hurried to get off, feeling her cheeks flaming slightly.
When she hung up and handed her phone back to DJ he smirked, as he gestured towards her face, "See? Tu rougis! You are blushing, Betty! And you're welcome! My mother may murder me but...if it brings you and Daniel together finally, it is worth it to me! Ah! Allo, Mama? It's me. I'm fine. So sorry to worry you all."
"DJ? WHAT THE HELL? Where are you?"
"My phone died. I had to borrow one from a friend."
"A friend...in London? This is a UK number! Who the hell do you know in England?"
"Uh...Bet-ty!"
"Betty? Betty Suarez, you mean? Your Uncle Daniel's Betty?"
DJ grinned, nodding, mouthing to Betty, "Oui. That is correct. Uncle Daniel's Bet-ty! She let me use her phone. She insisted I call my family instantly when she realized I may have forgotten to let you know I was not hurt. Daniel was...very angry with me. He told me about everyone there ...looking for me, thinking I had died or something. I didn't mean to scare you, truly! I didn't think things through."
He heard a sigh of relief and his mother's voice softened, as he could tell she was choked up, "I'm still really upset with you, DJ, but...I'm SO happy you're alright! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't do that again to us, okay, honey? You scared the hell out of us!"
"I know. I will borrow a charger for my phone perhaps from Betty and call Becks, also. I'm sorry he was thinking I am in a hospital!"
"Yeah. We all did! Put Betty on the phone for a sec, okay, Deej?"
After Betty got a relieved thank you from Alexis, she told DJ to come with her to her flat, where she handed him a charger skeptically. "So, you're telling me you didn't think to use that credit card you have to buy a new charger once you realized you forgot yours?"
He shrugged, looking guilty, "What can I say? It did not occur to me before!"
Once she made him a sandwich, she changed into jeans and a tee shirt, then came out and switched on her television, curling her feet under her, then glanced at DJ, who appeared nervous, "So, did your mom say if she's coming here to get you...or is it...just your uncle?"
"I'm thinking probably just Uncle Daniel. Mama and Becks are packing, getting ready to leave Provence to move back to New York."
"Permanently?"
"Oui. My mother and Daniel are going to be running the company now that Grandmere is married and traveling with retirement."
"Oh. I see. Your grandma mentioned that might happen soon when I saw her back in April. Are you glad your whole family is going to be in the US while you go to college there? Or will you be homesick for France?"
DJ shrugged, and finished gobbling down his sandwich, causing Betty to laugh at how fast he ate, "I'm not sure until I go there, I suppose. It was nice when I lived with Daniel years ago in New York and we thought he was my father. I liked it there very much. The city is so exciting! He said now I can come stay with him while I am taking courses for as long as I want. He said he will not bring any dates home while I am there."
Betty pretended not to pay any attention to that last part. She merely nodded. "Oh. That's nice."
After a few minutes, she asked, "Are you still hungry, DJ? I can order us a pizza or something if you are."
He brightened up, "Are you sure you don't mind? I am...still a little hungry! Thank you, Bet-ty! That is very kind of you. You were always so nice to me!"
"You don't need to butter me up, DJ. I'm on your side. But I can definitely see why your family is mad at you, too! So, what do you want? Cheese, pepperoni or...everything?"
"EVERYTHING! Except no black olives or those horrible anchovies!" he made a face.
She laughed, and went to order them pizza. After an hour, she got up to answer the door, laughing at DJ, "Here's the yummy pizza I got with extra anchovies and olives!"
He made a face, "EWW! No! I said NO olives and NO anchovies!"
She shrugged, pulling out some cash as she opened the door and waved it in Daniel's face, "Oh, well, I guess I'll have to eat it all myself, then! Here you go! There's a tip, too! Wow, that was fast! OH! Uh...DANIEL! You're not the pizza guy!" she asked dumbly, unsure what to say as she faced him.
He gave her a smirk, "Nope. Sorry...I take it you felt you had to feed this bottomless pit? After this latest little stunt of his, I think I would have just threw him to the curb and told him to find his own food! You're way too nice, Betty!"
She smiled, finally finding her voice again and gestured him to come inside, "Of course! Uh, DJ's in the living room. Why don't you go get caught up? I could look the other way if you want to beat him."
"Haha! She is joking, you know?" DJ entered slowly, looking penitent.
"Yes, I got that, thank you! Although I can't say I'm not tempted after the way you acted! You'll see! Someday when you're older. You have no clue how insanely scared you had us! Get over here and hug me, you little jackass!" Daniel pulled him close to hug him tightly.
As Betty watched, touched at their affection, she jumped when her buzzer went off again, this time with the pizza and she put it on her kitchen counter, getting plates down from the cupboard and handed one to Daniel and DJ.
DJ wolfed his down quickly, then went to get two more pieces, as Daniel smiled, holding his up and taking a large bite, "Thanks! I guess...traveling all night and day and being scared shitless, I forgot to eat something!"
She nodded, gesturing for him to sit down, while DJ continued to work on the pizza in the kitchen.
Daniel gratefully finished his piece and Betty started to get up, "You must be starving! Let me get you another piece before DJ eats it all!" But he grabbed her wrist and stood up, standing so close she could smell his cologne, "I'm good, Betty. Just...wait. Please? I think...we need to talk."
She didn't answer. But shook her head, as he allowed her to go sit back down, looking down at her pizza as if it held the answers she was seeking as to what to say to the man after all this time. When those answers didn't come she took a bite, trying to avoid his steady gaze.
After a moment of watching her, he came and sat down beside her on her couch, and smiled at her, then reached over to wipe away some sauce she obviously had on her mouth with his napkin, because she was...well, still Betty, after all! Why would she think she wouldn't be a slob around the man?
He saw DJ had taken his own phone now that it was charged and left them to talk alone. He wasn't an idiot. He knew this was all some elaborate set up by his nephew to get him and Betty to talk. He also knew DJ had some crazy ideas about his love life that involved his former assistant and him picking up where they "left off" years ago when he had naively followed her here, thinking that's all it would take for her to see...well, how he had felt about her back then.
But that was then. This was...now. And he felt...confused. Seeing her again after all this time was strange. He had been telling himself he was totally over her. He knew things weren't meant to be between them. They had been friends. And she didn't want to take him out of that "zone" then. But did she still feel that way? Was it too late to...even think about...well, them?
Finally, she grabbed her can of soda and gulped it down, then wiped her mouth with the napkin he had handed her, looking up at him and smiling, "So...how have you been?"
"Haven't we already done this? Betty, look...I don't know what the hell DJ has told you about...me and...you. But...I'm really sorry he got you…"
"Got me involved? I know. You said that before. He didn't tell me anything, really. I just figured out right away that he hadn't told you or anyone in his family he was here."
He nodded, "That was...really sweet of you. And thanks for feeding ...both of us!"
She shrugged, getting up and going back to the table to grab him another slice, "I haven't really fed you, yet! Sorry, I don't have any escargot! But you're welcome to another slice if you want."
He grinned, "Yeah. I want." He got up and followed her.
They went to see DJ had eaten the rest of the pizza, so he took a drink then held up the soda, "Uh, do you have anything...stronger for the adults?"
"I might. Let me check."
"I'll help you." he followed her into her kitchen, where she pulled out a bottle of wine that was almost full, "Will this do?"
"Now you're talking!"
When he opened her cupboard and got down two wine glasses, he stood in front of her, invading her space and making her extremely uncomfortable.
She bit her lower lip, holding up the bottle, "Shall we?"
He nodded, "Oh, hell yeah!"
He held the glasses up for her to pour the wine, "To...old friends?"
She held her glass up to her lips, looking up at him, "Is that...what we are?"
"You tell me. You're the one who…sorry, never mind!"
She took his glass and put it down, "No! Daniel...look, this has got to stop! You were right; we do need to talk!"
"Why start now? I don't know what the hell I was thinking! Just forget it, Betty. I was...grateful, okay? I'm glad you helped with DJ. But that doesn't change…anything, really."
"You mean between us?"
"There IS no us! There never has been! We used to be friends. Once upon a time. That's all. Nothing else. It...was all a long time ago, though. It's fine now. I'm fine now. I'm...over it. Whatever. You don't have to worry about me."
"Well what was DJ talking about? Why did he say…I didn't know how much you "suffered"? What did he mean by that? I hurt you? Why didn't you SAY anything? I feel like you've cast me as the "bad guy" here when I didn't even get a chance to…"
He shook his head, gulping down the wine, then gave her a look, "You knew. Don't try to tell me you didn't know why I came here! Look...forget it! Okay? We should probably go. Thanks for everything. It was good seeing you again. Take care of yourself."
She didn't know what to say or do to stop him. But she knew after all this time she couldn't simply let him leave again. She put both her hands on his chest, looking up into his eyes, "Daniel, wait! Please don't go."
"Sorry, but...I have to. I need to take DJ back home firs…"
He rolled his eyes, "Excuse me, but I AM over twenty-one. I do know how to get myself back home! I don't need a babysitter, Dan-yel!"
"Really, DJ? After the way you…"
He held up his phone, "Fully charged! And Betty gave me an extra charger till I get back to France. I'm good to go! You two...stay, catch up! I'll see you Friday, back in New York. Unless you...decide to stay here and let me crash at your place by myself!" he grinned. "I could take your place in New York as the 'bachelor-of-the-century'! Maybe use your credit card, too? Since Mom will no doubt chop mine up into tiny pieces!"
Betty laughed, and Daniel shook his head, "Dream on, goofball! Not happening!"
Betty looked at DJ, who was giving her his best pathetic, puppy dog eyes that reminded her of his uncle so much it made her laugh again. She rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh, as she glanced to the elder Meade man, "I could...take you to dinner, Daniel? Since DJ was so hungry we each only got one piece."
DJ practically bounded out the door, after quickly hugging both Betty and Daniel, "GREAT idea, Bet-ty! He shouldn't have a lot of pizza, anyway. Since he's an old man now, he shouldn't eat so much spicy foods!"
"Excuse me?" Daniel looked at his nephew, clearly annoyed by the kid calling him old.
DJ merely shrugged, "What? It's true! See you later this week, Oncle Dan-yel! Au Revoir! Have fun, you two!" he winked, leaving Betty and Daniel both standing there, staring at one another at first.
Finally, Daniel sighed, shaking his head at his nephew. He smiled and held out his arm to her, "Sure, Betty. Shall we?"