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Daniel stared into the nursery of the maternity ward, trying to focus on his child rather than facing what had just happened to his wife. Their families (including Alexis, DJ, and Christina who had just arrived for the weekend) were all in the private surgical waiting room trying to pass the excruciating time. He had to get out of there though.

He couldn't just sit and read one outdated magazine after another or watch the morning talk shows. Ignacio, Bobby, Tyler, Alexis, Austin, and DJ were content talking about sports – that is until Tyler disagreed with them about the Knicks. Over the past month, his mother had unfortunately taken up knitting again. But he figured it was better than drinking, so he'd hinted to her to make baby blankets instead of scarves this time.

He really couldn't take listening to Hilda, Christina, Amanda, Marc, and Justin argue over the 'Who Wore It Best' spreads. At one point, Hilda threw her orange juice at Amanda for not agreeing that J-Lo was classier than Beyoncé and insinuating that her ass was bigger than both artists' combined. Bobby and Tyler were forced to separate them, while Christina and Justin quickly got rid of any hot beverages that were within reach. Everyone was obviously more than a little strung out, considering Hilda and Amanda usually got along. It had definitely been his que to leave and find somewhere more peaceful, though. At least, he assumed it was peaceful.

"'Former MODE Editor Gives Wife Kiss of Death', 'Meade Heir Cursed - Will Wife #2 Survive? Is MODE Next?' Really, Daniel, I could do without all the negative publicity for my magazine," Wilhelmina entered the area and flung the tabloids at him. "Although, I suppose any publicity could be deemed good publicity as long as we're getting on page 6."

"My wife is still in surgery and her life is hanging in the balance. The least you could do is show some god damn respect!" Daniel snapped.

"It isn't me, Daniel - it's those shit-for-brains tabloid writers! I swear they must have spies all over the place and access to a printer 24/7 as fast as they whip out this trash! However, this trash does affect my business. And even though I've grown to tolerate your peppy, pudgy, little wife – perhaps even . . . like her - business still comes first. Let's hope for the both of us that MODE isn't affected in a negative way," she told him.

"Oh, save it, Willie - you leaked this yourself! You've done it before. Only this time, you exploited my wife in order to serve your own motives. What's wrong, sales numbers not as good as before? Or are you just getting bored, not having any evil scheme to pull?" he accused.

"Honestly, Daniel, maybe you should get some sleep. All of this drama is making you paranoid," she suggested, surprised at his accusations. She briefly put her hand on his shoulder. "I realize I've been cold in the past, but I truly wish you and your family no harm. I already have what I want – I merely wish to keep it alive . . . as you do with Betty."

Daniel almost believed she was being sincere.

"I apologize, Wilhelmina. You've actually been really supportive this past month. I guess it's just not easy for me to get used to this side of you without expecting some sort of hidden agenda," Daniel admitted.

"I'm not all bitch, Daniel. I have a heart, too. And that girl of yours is a pistol – a butterfly-wearing pistol - but I digress. If there's any way to survive this she will. Please let me know of any news – she'll be in my thoughts," Wilhelmina said before leaving. "Oh, I almost forgot to congratulate you. Which baby is yours?"

"The girl – right there," he pointed.

"She's surprisingly quite beautiful," Wilhelmina backhandedly complimented.

"Thank you – I think," Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Almost makes me wish for another child . . . A chance to make things right," she wistfully pondered, staring at all the newborn babies through the glass window.

"Maybe you should talk to Connor," he advised. "He might be open to it."

"Maybe I will," she smiled at him.

"Just do us all a favor and get one the legal way, this time," Daniel joked.

"I'll admit I deserved that," she conceded, laughing a little.

The new borderline-friendship between them was extremely odd, but Daniel still found it better than being enemies.

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Betty slowly opened her eyes. Her throat was dry and scratchy and she felt disoriented for the second time in two days.

"Daniel?" she called out, her eyes searching the room for him. "Daniel? Could I have some water?"

Daniel immediately stopped what he was doing and got her a cup. She drank it eagerly and handed it back to him.

"Betty! Thank god you're okay! You've gotta stop scaring me like that!" he scolded before kissing her.

"What happened? That last thing I remember is kissing you and then passing out?" Betty asked, still groggy from the anesthesia. "Where's the baby? Is she okay?"

"You had what's called a primary post-partum hemorrhage, or PPH, and lost multiple pints of blood. According to the doctor – not the quack, but the surgeon – you had a retained placenta. The placenta didn't come out within 30 minutes after birth, like it should have. That Mick guy didn't even think it was important to monitor," he explained. "Our daughter's perfect. She's in the nursery. The nurse is going to bring her by in half an hour, if you're feeling up to it."

"Good, I can't wait to hold her again. And she doesn't even have a name yet! I feel so bad . . ." she groaned.

"It okay, B. I thought we'd get to that once we saw her again, together. I've been spending time with her while you were in surgery – our families, too. I wanted her to know we didn't abandon her," he told her.

"Good. Thank you," Betty smiled.

"I have a name in mind, but there are still the ones we thought of before the accident, too," he said, pulling a list out of his pocket. "And of course anything else you come up with, now."

"What were you thinking?" she asked, curious. She was also crossing her fingers it wasn't something ridiculous that only a celebrity, or a moron, or both would name their kid - like Orange or Tree.

"Scarlett," he suggested. "Scarlett Rosa."

"Oh, Daniel, it's perfect. I don't even need time to think it over," she smiled, tears forming in her eyes that he not only thought of their conversation during her labor, but also of her mother. "So you obviously Googled 'Gone with the Wind', because I know you didn't have time to read or watch it, right?"

"Yeah, but I knew it must've been a movie you really liked or you wouldn't have yelled at me for not knowing it," he joked.

Betty smiled, embarrassed.

"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized.

"It's okay. I love how passionate you get about little things like that," Daniel grabbed her hand.

Betty laced her fingers through his, rubbing her thumb along his hand.

"So am I okay now? I don't feel any worse than I did before," she asked.

"Betty . . . I'm not sure how to tell you this, but you won't be able to carry a child again," he informed her.

"W-What? H-How?" her stomach plummeted to the floor.

"In order to repair all the bleeding, the doctors had to remove your uterus in what they called a partial hysterectomy," he explained.

"Oh my god! I mean, I'm glad I'm okay, but what about having more children?" Betty started to cry. "Daniel, you've already been through so much. I completely understand if this changes things between us. I know you've told me before how you wanted multiple kids. I can't even remember how we made the one we have. I can't remember carrying her – they say that's a special bonding experience no one can replace . . . And I can't remember us. I'm still getting used to there being an 'us'."

Daniel wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb and gently kissed her hand.

"Betty, I don't care about any of this. If I don't have you to share it with, it means nothing to me. You are my world," Daniel insisted. "I'm so lucky to have you and our baby girl. And since it turns out we can't have another child naturally, we can always explore other options. The doctor told me you still have your ovaries. Your eggs can still be harvested. We can still conceive a child of our own – it'll just be with IVF and a surrogate. Even if we don't have any more children at all, I'd still be happy as long as I had you."

Betty's heart melted. Her mind was racing with thoughts of nightmare stories she'd read about surrogates and adoption. There was even what had happened to Wilhelmina with Christina and William. But hearing Daniel say those words to her made everything better. She knew that if they decided to have another child in the future and couldn't for some reason, he'd stand by her no matter what happened. How could she be so lucky to have found such an amazing man?

"You really mean it don't you? You love me enough to sacrifice like that?" she questioned, finding it hard to believe that any man would love her that much – especially not one who could have any woman he chose.

"I'd do anything to be with you, Betty. I love you," he reassured her.

"I-I don't know what to say . . . except I don't want to hurt you. You're the sweetest man I've ever known. I love you so much as a friend and I'm beginning to feel more for you than that," Betty confessed. "Only, I don't want you to get your hopes up that one day I'll remember everything, because I might not. I can't be the wife you married when I don't even know who she was."

"Baby, stop," Daniel told her, putting his other hand on her cheek.

Betty took her free hand and gently pushed it away.

"No, look at me, Daniel – really look at me. I'm not the same person. I don't wear glasses anymore, I left my family and friends, I took a job in another country where I run an entire magazine, I got married – I don't know how long our engagement was but obviously not very long, and I was pregnant and now have a baby. All that happened in only a year. I've changed too much," she insisted.

"Betty, do you remember – and it's okay if you don't – but do you remember when I punched Matt and we got kicked out of the photoshoot you were supposed to run?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" she wondered.

"We took a walk and you told me you were afraid of changing. And I told you that change can be good. I'm telling you that now – sometimes it can be scary, but when you get over that fear, change can be really good," he said. "You took a huge chance when you moved to London, but think about all it's gotten you. I know you don't recognize yourself, right now. But trust me - you have turned into an amazing, sexy, confident woman who can achieve anything you set your mind to. And you're still you - the same loving, quirky, selfless, peppy ray of sunshine you've always been."

Betty smiled modestly. She knew deep down what Daniel was saying was true. After all, she had changed before and that turned out to be for the better. It wasn't easy at first, but in the end it worked out great. She no longer had to deal with petty assistant tasks, was able to write her own articles and run photoshoots, and was still able to keep Daniel in her life as a friend. She had even gotten that offer in London. But how could she have left her family like that? How could she have left Daniel? They all needed her. How did they manage to forgive her? There were so many unanswered questions running through her mind. But she tried to focus on one at a time.

"So where does that leave us, now?" she asked.

"Well, we're married – unless you don't want to be?" he said.

His suggestion her hurt her more than she thought it would.

"No! Daniel, I do – I want to try," she assured him. "I just don't want you to have any false hope, that's all."

"Ok. No expectations – I promise," he swore. "And of course, we have our baby girl to think about."

"Whatever happens between us, Daniel, I want you to know that I will always be there for her," Betty vowed.

She hoped in her heart it would never lead to that. She loved Daniel so much; she couldn't imagine losing her best friend. She also hated thinking of raising a child in a broken home. But she had grown enough to be realistic. It was a possibility, even though she shuddered at the thought of it not working out.

Daniel nodded.

"So we're doing this? Whatever pace you need, I'll go," he assured her.

"Okay," she agreed and motioned for him to lay on the bed with her.

He followed her lead and faced her on the bed.

Betty took his hand and nervously placed it around her waist. His touch was warm and familiar even though she couldn't recall ever being in this position with him before.

"Why do I feel like we're doing something really wrong here?" she nervously smiled. "Like Wilhelmina or Papi's gonna catch us or something?"

Daniel chuckled.

"Hey, it's okay. I can go sit back in the chair, if you want?" he told her, attempting to get up.

She quickly pulled him back down.

"No, stay. I like being this close to you. I just have to get the warning sign out of my head that keeps telling me you're off limits," Betty explained, frustrated.

"You asked me to be your date for the wedding, right?" Daniel prompted.

"Yeah," she said, not seeing where he was going with that.

"So how was that any different? I was still your boss and your friend then. And you knew we'd be holding each other as we danced, drinking wine, and experiencing all the love that was in the air, right?" he recalled.

"Right. But I also knew what we were to each other – at least I thought I did. You were a safe date to a wedding because you were my best friend. You weren't some guy who was expecting more from the invite because weddings are a bigger deal than just eating at a restaurant or going to a movie. I knew we could have fun and spend time with each other without any pressure. Then Henry announced he was showing up and things got awkward," Betty explained.

"Oh. So I was 'safe'? I guess I never pictured myself as that guy," he face fell.

"Daniel," Betty touched his face, regretful that she'd opened her mouth. He looked so hurt. She hated that look. It made her want to hug him and never let go.

"No, Betty, it's fine. I guess I should've known better than to read too much into it," he scoffed, embarrassed.

"Did you honestly think I asked you because I had a crush on you?"

"No . . ." he said.

"So why are you being like this?" she wondered.

"Because I was really flattered that you asked me, and you didn't label me as your Plus 1 – you said I was your date. We hadn't had much time together to hang out. I was glad to be spending a night with someone who I didn't feel like there was something missing when I was with her. And maybe I was open for something new, something that could possibly go somewhere besides just the bedroom," Daniel confessed.

"And you thought that was with me?" she presumed.

"Maybe subconsciously," he admitted. "At least I think when I'm with you."

Betty giggled.

"You started acting all weird and protective when I told you I had to take Henry instead," she remembered.

"Yeah, I think my baser instincts were trying to tell me something," he admitted, chuckling. "I really hated that guy for what he did to you."

"What happened to Trista?" she wondered.

"You were right about her. You and I actually had a huge fight over her and Henry," Daniel recalled.

"Oh . . . So what happened?" Betty asked.

"We admitted to ourselves and each other that we were both going backward in our relationships and ended up going together to the wedding after all," he told her.

"Is that where we fell in love?" she assumed.

"No, that's where I realized I loved you without question, and where you accepted the job in London without telling me. I didn't know I was in love with you until after I found out you wanted to leave. That's when I almost burned down my office," Daniel explained.

"My head's beginning to hurt," Betty joked.

"Do you need some aspirin?" he offered.

"No – I mean this is all so confusing," she clarified. "Can we take a break?"

"Sure. It's a lot to absorb," he agreed.

"Thank you. I think I know enough to tell that we both were starting to fall for one another and didn't realize it. It's a really sweet story, actually. And I want to hear more, later," she smiled, taking her hands and carefully running them over his chest and abs before timidly drawing her lips to his in a tender kiss. Then she quickly pulled back.