Author's note: I came up with an ending to this that differed from the show, but I thought that was unfair to those of you who were expecting this to follow the series, so I wrote two different endings. You can let me know which one you prefer! Thanks for reading and for the feedback.
Ending I
At the end of the first full week without Betty, he feels as if he's been through battle. He wonders how long simply functioning will be this hard.
His temp brings him the Book late in the afternoon on the following Monday. He doesn't want to look at it. Rather, he doesn't want to look at the words Betty's written about him. Her last duty before leaving Mode; the last thing he asked of her. He told her that night they made a great team. He realizes now she was going to tell him she had taken another job in another country.
He flips through the pages and scoffs at his own reflection staring back at him. "You're doing your fishy face thing," he hears her telling him. "That's just my face," he replies to her voice in his head. He skips past her profile of him, deciding he can torture himself with it tomorrow.
He briefly thinks of his father, who was responsible for bringing Betty into his life. If he only knew how that would turn out, Daniel muses, would Bradford have acted differently. In the beginning, all he wanted was his father's approval. As he flips the page, and sees himself next to Wilhelmina, he questions whether his father would approve of his running the company with someone outside of the family. Probably not, he thinks.
And then, like a flash of lightning, it hits him. It doesn't matter what his father would say. He and Wilhelmina had kept the company afloat when it seemed impossible. Daniel knows he's made a difference at Mode, at all of Meade, and he realizes that, in the end, he's made himself happy. Maybe he never could make his father proud of him when he was alive, so why keep trying now that's he gone?
Why was he here, he asks himself? Why was he sitting here, miserable, when he could so easily change the course of his life? He had spent so much time thinking about Betty leaving New York that it never occurred to him that he didn't have to stay, either. Looking back at the photo of him and Wilhelmina, he realizes that Wilhelmina deserves the one thing they fought so hard to keep from her. Why had they done that? Sure, she was a bitch, but she knew Mode inside and out, and she had worked her way to the top. Mode would survive in Wilhelmina's hands, if not flourish.
Suddenly, Daniel feels lighter. The answer was so simple; he wonders why he didn't think of it sooner. He takes the Book over to the Art Department, gives them instructions. Then he heads back to his desk to write what will be his last letter from the editor.
By the end of the week Daniel has packed up his own office and left Mode. The contracts have been signed, turning editorial control of Mode over to Wilhelmina and giving her authority to make the day-to-day decisions at Meade. He still owns half the company, but will be a silent partner.
His mother took the news surprisingly well. If she was upset at the thought of him being so far away, she kept it to herself. She also turned out to be extremely helpful, calling Betty's office for him and finding out not only the address, but also getting Betty's schedule for the following week.
Daniel finishes packing his suitcase, taking a look around his apartment. He had been tempted to box everything up, but in a rush of nerves decided to wait until after he sees Betty, gauges her reaction.
He has no idea what he's going to do in London, or even how long he'll be there. He just has a one-way ticket and a hotel room booked for one week. He's surprisingly calm about those details, about what will become of the rest of his life. The only thing that concerns him is what he will say to Betty, and what she will say in return. He knows she's hurt, and probably angry, but he's banking on the fact that she never could stay mad at him. Besides, actually showing up in London is a huge gesture. And he's always known how to handle women.
Only this isn't just any woman. It's Betty, and he marvels for the millionth time how much has changed between them. He wants to be happy again, and he knows this is the best way to make that happen. The idea that it's the only way to make that happen is too frightening to think about.
There's a knock on the door. It's his mom, come to take him to the airport.
"I'm proud of you, Daniel," she tells him as the town car maneuvers through New York traffic.
"For what, throwing away my career and chasing after my former assistant?" he asks snidely.
"Yes, actually," she replies, smiling. "You are choosing your own path in life and following your heart."
He smiles back at her, but he can't help but feel a little nervous as he draws closer to the unknown. "Yeah, well, if I follow my heart into a brick wall, you're the one who's going to have to pick up the pieces."
Claire pats his hand, almost dismissively. "Oh, honey, you don't have to worry about that. You've given your heart to the one person who will never break it."
Daniel pictures Betty literally holding his heart, cradling it as if it were fine china. It's creepy and comforting at the same time.
He turns to Claire, and says, "Mom, thank you, for putting up with me these last couple of weeks, and for always listening."
He sees her face soften as she simply replies, "It's my job."
They hug goodbye at the curbside check-in. He manages to survive the security line, the wait to board and the loading of the plane.
As they rise above the clouds, Daniel looks out the window and says goodbye to New York, goodbye to Mode and goodbye to the past. In a matter of hours he will be breathing the same air as Betty, standing in the same time zone, planning how he will get to her. For now, he chooses to dream of her, and they are once again dancing at Hilda's wedding, and everything is right in the world.