Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Ugly Betty.

A/N: Glad everyone is loving this story...I'm still writing it, but I already think it's taken its place as my favorite. Thanks for reading!

July 2010

"Thanks jeanette. Oh and make sure Keith finishes that article by Thursday. I wanna put a rush on this thing," Betty told her assistant, who hurriedly walked back to her desk. "Sure Betty," she heard Jeanette say as she was sitting back down at her desk. "Umm...Betty?"

"Yes?" Betty didn't look up from her schedule. "You have Daniel Meade on line 1," Jeanette said. "Oh," Betty gave a brief smile, "thanks, I got it. Hello?"

"Hey superwoman. What are you doing?" his voice immediately calmed her nerves.

"Uh...I'm a little busy. I'm feeling frazzled today because I have a few deadlines to meet," Betty put a hand to her forehead and rubbed her temples.

"I know how you feel. You'll get through though," Daniel reassured her.

"Why are you calling me on my work phone anyway? What's up with you?" Betty leaned back in her chair.

"Well I'm kind of busy myself today. We had a run through first thing this morning and I have a few meetings this afternoon. I was calling to see if you wanted to meet me for lunch," he suggested.

"I wish I could...i'll probably end up having Jeanette get some takeout..." Betty paused, wishing she had more hours in the day. "What about Thursday?" she suggested.

"No good for me, I have to go out of town," he replied.

Betty sighed, "Geez. I don't think our schedules will ever be in sync."

"Guess it's a good thing I thought to bring some lunch to your office today then, huh?" she could hear him smirking through the phone.

"What?" she sat the phone down and walked out to where Jeanette's desk was. Daniel stood by it, holding his cell phone and wearing a smile.

"Hi," he greeted her, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Daniel! What are you doing here?" she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. This was a surprise to say the least.

"I'm here for lunch. Knowing you, we won't get to go out for lunch until Thanksgiving, so I figured bringing the restaurant to you would expedite the process."

Betty shook her head and chuckled at him. Jeanette glanced knowingly between the two with a smirk. "I'll hold your calls, Betty," she told her.

"Thanks," she replied, though her attention hadn't left the blue eyes of her unexpected guest. "It wouldn't have been Thanksgiving," Betty grinned, leading him into her office and closing the door.

"Wow. Now this is livin' right here," Daniel glanced around at the decor, dodging Betty's hand. "What? This is nice. It's not you though, too many neutral tones," he smirked, pulling out the contents of the bag.

"If memory serves me correctly, that smells like my favorite pasta from my favorite place..." Betty raised an eyebrow.

"Your memory is pretty intact, my dear," he sat the food on the small round table in the corner of her office and pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you. How did you know I was craving chicken parm?" she put a napkin on her lap as he made himself comfortable in the opposite chair.

"Well let's see...this is the day of the week that ends with the word day right?" he questioned jokingly, watching her roll her eyes.

"Okay, maybe I'm always in the mood for pasta," Betty grinned at him.

"I know everything about you, remember?" he reminded her with a small smile, meeting her gaze. She had twirled some spaghetti around her fork and held it above her plate, studying him.

"Yeah...I guess you do," she broke eye contact, taking the bite off the fork. The moment was gone as soon as it came, but Betty still felt it. The knot in her stomach wasn't hunger. It was something else.

Something she'd have to decipher when she wasn't shoving delicious carbs down her throat.

- - - - - -

November 12, 2010

"AaaCHOO!" Daniel brought the kleenex to his nose just in time. "AAACHOO!" Another sneeze made every bone in his body ache. This wasn't just your average everyday cold. He had the flu and he knew it.

Man, he hated being sick. He yawned and pulled the blanket around him some more. Was the heat even on? He grabbed the now lukewarm theraflu drink off the table and brought it to his lips.

"Ugh," he cringed. Needed some honey. Too bad he couldn't move.

Knock-Knock-Knock.

Daniel slowly turned his sore head towards the door. Only one person had that knock. It happened to be the one person he wanted to see, so he forced himself up. A wave of dizziness swept through him and he held on to the couch for support.

Knock-Knock-Knock.

"I'm coming," he said tiredly, although it sounded a bit like, "I'm cobing" because of his congestion. He'd made it to the door after what felt like an eternity, unlocking it and opening it carefully. Betty stood on the other side, her smile immediately turning into her classic worried face.

"Hi Beddy," he moved aside, letting her in.

"Aww, Daniel. You look awful," she sat whatever was in the bag down and put her hand to his forehead. "Ahh! Cold hand!" Daniel moved away from her touch.

"Oh, sorry," Betty blushed sheepishly. "You told me you just had a cold," she looked at him sternly, hanging her coat up.

"Well...I thought I did," he sniffled, tightening his robe around him and making his way to the couch. She washed her hands and warmed them a bit.

"When's the last time you took your temperature?" she asked coming towards him.

"Beddy wait! Don't cob any closer," he held a hand out. "I don't want you to get this."

Betty craned her neck to the side, looking at him sympathetically. "Don't worry about me, I have an immune system of steel. And unlike some people, I wasn't too stubborn to get my flu shot this year," Betty sat next to him, bringing her hand to his forehead.

"You know how I feel aboud needles," Daniel gave her a serious glance.

"Daniel, you're burning up," she sighed. "Have you taken anything?" she glanced at the theraflu box on the table and picked up his mug, carrying it into the kitchen.

"You do realize you have to drink all of this while it's hot don't you?" she smirked, putting it into the microwave. Daniel shrugged, "you know I'm not a fan of reading directions."

He heard her let out a snort, "yep...that's common knowledge. I brought you some soup, but you need to drink this first," she put some honey into the mug and stirred it a few times.

Daniel watched her from his position on the couch, smiling at this. "Hey, whad are you dressed up for?" he frowned as she walked back towards him, wondering how he didn't notice her knee length black dress as soon as she stepped in. She looked breathtaking...which probably wasn't safe in his condition.

"Thank you," he took the drink from her and sipped the hot liquid. "Well...I actually kind of have a dinner date. I wanted to check on you first, but I'm not sure if I should leave now," Betty answered, looking at him with worry in her eyes.

A date? Daniel almost choked. "A date?" he reiterated his thought. "I didn'd know you were seeing anyone," Daniel wondered if his facial expression paralleled what he was feeling inside.

"I'm not really. I met him about a month ago. His name's Jacob. He works at the Review with me." For some reason Daniel's gaze was making her feel guilty. Maybe because his eyes were red and watery and he was giving her the puppy look.

"Oh," Daniel nodded and continued to sip his drink.

"But I don't want to leave you here by yourself. Besides, it's been a long week and I'm tired and-"

"No, Beddy. Don't stay because of me. I feel ...AACHOO!" he grabbed some more tissue. "I feel bedder already," he blew his nose, not missing the skeptical look from the woman beside him.

"Nonsense. It's freezing outside anyway. Plus, you know you're absolutely helpless when you're sick," Betty grinned at him, making him smirk.

She did have a good point. And he could use some company. And she wouldn't be dining with whats-his-face-at-the-review. He started to open his mouth to protest again, but she put a finger to it, already on the phone to cancel her date.

"All done," she announced with a smile, making something inside of Daniel do a little flip. She removed her heels and sat back down.

"Now finish drinking that so I can put you to bed," she said and Daniel's mind started thinking of wildly inappropriate scenarios with that statement. "I mean...you know. So you can get some rest," Betty restated. Daniel didn't miss the faint blush on her cheeks as she searched for the remote. She was cute when she got embarrassed, he remembered, turning his attention back to the warm liquid in his mug.

He could get used to this. Someone fussing over him, he corrected his thought. Not Betty always being there. Or having her take care of him. That's not what he meant.

- - - - - -

December 23, 2010

"Keep 'em closed," Daniel warned, closing the front door of his condo. "Daniel, I have a blindfold on. Not much to see here," Betty replied, with a laugh. "Very good point, Suarez. Okay sit down right here," she did as she was told. Daniel glanced around, making sure everything was in place.

"I can't take the suspense, come on!" she smiled. He sat next to her and removed the blindfold. She let out a gasp at the candlelit dinner set on the table before her. "Oh my gosh! Daniel! Is this for me?" Betty grinned widely.

"It sure is," he smirked at her expression. "Did you really cook all of this?" Betty was amazed. He nodded, puffing his chest out a bit with pride. "Daniel, you barely know your way around the kitchen," she raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Well I can't tell you everything. Then I wouldn't be able to see the shock and awe on your face," he told her. She laughed at this, still blown away by what he'd done. "Wow...well it smells delicious," she gave him a huge smile. "Thanks. But before we eat, I've got something else for you," he reached over to the other side of the compact table, handing her a small box.

Betty glanced at him uncertainly. "What's this?" she asked, her eyes searching his. "Open it," he told her. She unwrapped the box, careful not to make a big mess with the paper. Her eyes got big and she put her hand to her mouth in awe. "Oh my...Daniel. I can't accept this. This must of cost you a fortune..." she gaped at the expensive gold earrings inside the Bulgari case.

"They're beautiful," she admired the pearl and blue topaz pendants. "Good. I'm glad you like them. And they're a Christmas gift. Don't worry about the cost," he reassured her.

"I don't know what to say," she looked up at him, unshed tears in her brown eyes. "Thank you Daniel," she leaned forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're quite welcome," Daniel told her, as her gaze locked with his. His cool demeanor was a contrast to the whirlwind inside. Betty glanced back down at the earrings and back at him, the two sitting in silence for a few moments. "You're probably wondering what this is about," he said, letting out a sigh.

"Well," she blushed, "maybe. A little."

Daniel grinned at her bad attempt to lie, sitting upright in his chair. "We've been friends for...what? Five years?" She nodded, "well four and half if you want to get technical, but yes," she smiled and he couldn't help but to smile back. He had to stop letting her do that when he was trying to be serious. "And you know how much I care about you. How much you mean to me, right?" his palms felt a tad sweaty as she nodded. "Well...I umm..." Daniel took a big gulp of the water he'd poured earlier, his mouth suddenly dry as a desert. He stood from his chair, walking over to the window.

"The thing is Betty... I feel like something's been happening between us...for awhile now. I was in denial about it at first but...I'm not anymore," he admitted, turning around to face her.

"I have feelings for you. I don't wanna just be your friend anymore." He heard himself let out a sigh, not realizing he'd been holding it. "It took me a long time to be able to admit that to myself, but I'm glad I did," Daniel glanced at the hardwood floor and back to her brown eyes, waiting for a response. Maybe he'd said too much.

"I mean-I'll completely understand if you don't...you know, feel-"

"Daniel," she interrupted his rambling, standing up."That's not it. That's not it at all. What you're feeling...it's not one-sided," Betty grinned, and his heart was beating normally again. She took a few steps toward him.

"It's not?" he asked, swallowing over a lump in his throat.

She shook her head,"definitely not. It's hard to pretend I don't feel a certain way when you're nearby. Or that I don't miss you when we both get busy and don't see each other for weeks," the admission struck a chord with him.

"Me too," he said, realizing that sounded weird. "I mean, I...think about you all the time. When I'm with you and when I'm not. But maybe you're in my head for a reason."

Daniel watched her lips turn upward in a smirk, her eyes fixated on his. He loved when she looked at him like that, with a mysterious glint in her eyes. It made her all the more mesmerizing to him. "Well...whatever this is, it's not going away anytime soon."

He grabbed her hands, placing them in his. "I don't think I want it to," Daniel told her.

Some of you may have wanted a kiss at the end, but I decided to end it there. Don't worry, plenty of kisses in future chapters :0)