Author's Note: I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed! I originally meant for this fic to be a oneshot, but since there was such a demand for more, I decided to make it a two-parter. This chapter is from Daniel's POV. Hopefully you all will like it!
Darkness. It was all he could see, all he could feel, all he could taste. He tried to move his head, but all that got him was a pain worse than anything he had ever felt in his entire life. He tried to swallow, but all that was in his throat was a stabbing dryness. He tried to open his eyes, but the darkness refused to leave him. When he spoke, he didn't recognize the voice that was calling out for the one thing that had always brought a light to his dreary life. "Betty…" the voice had said. He was vaguely aware of something in his hand, and he closed his fingers around it. It was warmth. It was life. And somehow he just knew that it was Betty. The darkness was slowly leaving him.
As Daniel's eyes came into focus, he saw Betty slouched over in a chair and heard her softly snoring. He wanted to smile, but his face wouldn't cooperate with him. He settled for a weak sigh and he just watched her sleep. He was wrong when he had told Alexis that he had nothing left. He had Betty. He would always have Betty, no matter how much he disappointed her. At least, he hoped that he would always have Betty. He couldn't imagine a life without her in it, and he couldn't remember how he had lived without her for the first 32 years of his life. Daniel's grip on Betty's hand tightened, an irrational fear bubbling up inside of him that if he let go of her hand she would disappear forever.
He laid there and watched her sleep for hours. Her red glasses were askew on her face, one leg of the frames tangled in her hair. Her mouth was slightly open and she had a steady drip of drool sliding down her cheek. She had a smeared line of mascara covering her other cheek. Her nose was red from crying. Her hair was in disarray. She was a mess. But for the first time, Daniel realized how truly beautiful she was.
He heard Betty take in a deep breath, and then he saw her eyes open. She stretched her free arm and then she straightened her glasses as she gazed out of the window at the rising sun. She swiped a sleeve across her face and made an "ack" sound. She straightened in her chair and looked at Daniel. Her eyes locked with his, and a slow smile spread across her face. She jumped out of her chair as she exclaimed, "Daniel!" and softly laid a hand on his cheek.
A warmth spread throughout Daniel's entire body when Betty gave him that glorious smile of hers. She was the only woman in the world who could make him feel like he was worth something with just one simple smile. He tried to smile back at her, but he just didn't have the strength. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much that he wanted her to know. He hated disappointing her. She was the best thing in his life. She was the only one he could trust. She was his greatest friend. She was his family. She was his reason to be a better man. In the end, all that managed to escape his mouth was a hoarse, "I'm sorry."
Betty's lip began to tremble as she stroked his cheek with her thumb. He saw her eyes flicker over the cuts on his face, and then with a shaky voice she said, "I'm sorry. I should have been there. I should have gotten you help."
Daniel mustered all of his strength to raise his arm and place his hand over hers. He closed his eyes and sighed as he pressed her hand deeper into his cheek. He cherished the feel of her soft skin against the raggedness of his own. "It's not your fault, Betty," he whispered. Daniel opened his eyes and let his arm drop back down to the bed.
Betty removed her hand from his face and pressed it to her chest as she said, "Yes it is! If I had been there for you this never would have—"
Daniel squeezed the hand that he was still holding and he whispered firmly, "It's not your fault."
Betty gave a defeated sigh and she sat back down in the chair. She looked down at their intertwined hands and tried to pull away, but Daniel refused to let her go. She gave him a questioning look, but he ignored her, not quite willing to let her know that he'd miss the closeness that he felt from simply holding her hand. He looked into her eyes, and once again he croaked, "I'm sorry."
Betty was silent for a moment, then, as a tear slipped down her cheek, she softly smiled and nodded her head as she said, "I know."
Daniel fought to swallow, then he said, "I need you, Betty."
"I know," she said again.
By some miracle, Daniel actually felt himself smile. Betty chuckled at him and got up and slipped an arm carefully behind his neck and managed to give him a hug. Daniel felt himself smile again as her hair tickled his nose. She pulled away from him and gave him a stern look as she said, "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Daniel Meade! When I got that call last night I was afraid that I was going to lose you!" Her voice had broken on the last couple of words.
Daniel raised his arm from the bed again and brushed the tears away from her face as he said, "You can't get rid of me that easily."
Betty laughed and hugged him again. "I need you, too," she whispered in his ear. And that was the moment when Daniel knew without a doubt that Betty Suarez would always be a part of his life.