Betty was standing in the washroom preening. She was getting ready for the New Years Eve party at Claire Meade's. She'd brushed and styled her hair, put on a little make up and now she was examining the way she looked in the new Christina McKinney original she was wearing. Christina had made it for her and it was beautiful, if not a little more risqué than Betty was normally acquired to with her modest style. It was a beautiful shade of blue and made of the most exquisite silk. It had a low cut front and an even lower cut back that tapered at the waist and then fell elegantly to the floor.

Daniel came walking down the hall and noticed her – the door was open.

"Wow!" He was stunned. "Wow. I mean…wow."

"Very eloquent, Daniel." She teased. "I can see why you were Editor-in-Chief of a fashion magazine for four years."

"Three years and ten months actually - there was that stint at Player…remember?" He grinned at her.

She pulled at the front of the dress to bring the coverage a little more to her liking but as it wasn't designed that way, it didn't stay and fell back to its original position as soon as she let go. She frowned slightly.

"I swear Christina has this thing about showing off my boobs." She commented, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah…remind me to thank her the next time I see her." Daniel said.

Betty gave him a look and tried to pull the fabric together at the front again. She'd loved the design when she'd tried it on at Christina's but now that she was actually going out in public with it, she felt a little self-conscious.

"You're not going to do that all evening, are you?" He teased her.

"I was thinking of pinning it." She said seriously. Daniel was horrified as he imagined the hideous broach that might assume a place at the front of Betty's chest.

"Stop…don't you dare! It looks gorgeous." He chuckled. Then he said more seriously "You look gorgeous." He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. Betty gave him a kiss.

"Thank you." She said softly. Changing her tone she said "You will tell me if I start falling out of my dress and flashing everyone won't you?"

"Unless it's me you're flashing and I'm enjoying it too much." He promised. She shoved him playfully.

She turned back to the mirror and pulled off her glasses. She squinted at the reflection that she could scarcely see. Daniel was amused. He'd never seen Betty so vain before.

"I was thinking of going without my glasses. What do you think?" Betty asked him.

"Don't you kind of need them…to…uh…see?" Daniel wondered what kind of evening she'd have with little vision.

"Well…I thought maybe I could just hang onto your arm all evening." She grinned. He wasn't quite sure if she was serious or not.

"Not that I would mind that…" He replied smiling. "But I kind of like you with them. You look more…sophisticated…more like you." He said sincerely.

She put them back on and turned to him with a beaming smile. "I love you Daniel." She gave him a huge hug.

"I love you too Betty." Daniel responded, amazed that he'd apparently managed to say the right thing for once. He kissed her softly on the forehead.

"What's with all the fussing anyway? It's not really like you to be so vain."

Betty's mouth dropped open and she looked slightly offended. "I'm not being vain. I just want to look nice." She added more hesitantly "It's a big social event. There will probably be photographers and reporters there…"

Daniel understood. This was their first official outing together in New York and there were bound to be paparazzi hounding them as soon as they stepped out of the town car. The paparazzi had been merciless since the episode a few days ago. And, naturally, the pictures of Betty coming home from the hospital were not particularly flattering. She was trying to make up for it…and boy, did she ever tonight.

Betty grabbed her overnight bag as they left. It was the one night she wasn't staying at her dad's house. They would be in Manhattan probably until well after midnight. It only made sense that she just stay there.

Daniel opened the door of the town car for Betty.

"Um…you get in. I'll just be a minute." She walked around to the other side and spoke to the driver for a minute while Daniel climbed in. Then she got in the other side.

"What was that all about?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing." Betty said sweetly and, Daniel noticed, also a little secretively. He decided not to pursue it.

They drove a little way before Betty said "We're not late are we?"

"No…It's not even close to midnight yet." Daniel wasn't sure what she meant.

"I mean…I've never been to one of your mother's New Year's Eve parties. Is there stuff we need to be there for ahead of time…before midnight?"

"No. People just mingle around and there's music and some people dance a bit. No big announcements or speeches or anything like that." Daniel still wasn't sure if that's what she meant.

"So your mom isn't expecting you at any particular time this evening?"

"Not really." Daniel thought Betty was acting very strange.

"Good." She smiled like a cat that had just eaten the canary.

Again Daniel decided to just leave well enough alone. It wasn't until they pulled into Hilda's driveway that he realized maybe he should have pursued his line of questioning a little further. Betty must have told the driver to bring them to this address.

"Why are we here?" Daniel wondered.

"Uh…I just have to tell Hilda something." Betty was evasive.

"And you couldn't use the phone?" None of this was making any sense.

"Come with me."

"To tell Hilda something? I don't have anything to tell Hilda."

"Just come with me." She insisted, grabbing his hand. He obliged and got out of the car to walk with her to the front door. The car drove away.

"Hey…" Daniel tried to yell at the driver to stop but the car was too far away.

"Don't worry…we'll call a cab." Betty said. She kept walking to the house. Pulling out a key she unlocked the door and opened it. The house was dark. Daniel thought there was definitely no way Hilda was home.

"Um…Betty. I don't think your sister is home." Daniel said as they walked inside.

"I know." She smirked and closed the door behind her and put her bag on the kitchen table. "She gave me her key." She walked into the living room and turned on the lamp. "She and Bobby are at Bobby's cousin's and Justin's at a New Years Eve party with Austin." Daniel was starting to get the picture.

"Hilda's a bit of a romantic…I'd say." He smiled.

"Definitely." Betty said laughing a little. "Not to mention she owes me, big time, for years of covering for her when she was sneaking in and out in high school."

"I don't think I ever realized you could be quite this sly, Betty." Daniel smirked.

"You're kidding, right…breaking a celebrity out of rehab, stealing your father's will, aiding and abetting a kidnapper…none of those count?" Betty cringed a little thinking about it. "And what about the time Marc and I stole that dress back from Elle?"

"Alright, alright, I take it back - you're a regular Jason Bourne. So tell me…why are we here and not at my mother's New Years Eve party." He asked as though he didn't already know.

She walked up to him and placed her hands on his chest. "I just missed you." She said sweetly.

"Oh. Is that all?" He said as he took off his overcoat and placed it on the chair. "Just a chance to do a little catching up." He smirked. "You know we are going back to London in just two days." He teased her as he helped her take off her coat.

"I couldn't wait two days." She said. She seductively unbuttoned his shirt up to where his tie got in the way. "I was having trouble waiting just one afternoon, after I'd planned it with Hilda this morning." She started loosening his tie.

Daniel couldn't stand it any longer. The sensual way she was loosening his tie, that she'd been wanting him…couldn't wait to have him all day, the idea that she'd planned this little encounter because she needed to have him…all of it was driving him crazy. Not to mention the fact that they had done little more than cuddle and hold hands for about twelve days. He bent down and kissed her hard and urgently, his right hand cuppedthe back of her head and he started walking her backward toward the wall behind her, planting kisses on her lips, her cheeks, her neck. Over a week and a half of Daniel's pent up sexual frustration was about to be unleashed and he didn't want to wait another second. He backed her up against the wall and reached behind her, fumbling for the zipper of her dress.

"Daniel wait..." She said as she pushed him away from her. He looked at her, the confusion evident on his face…this was her idea in the first place…what was she doing? Why was she stopping him?

She grinned up at him and said "We are still going to your mom's party. I can't arrive there looking like I was worked over by a bunch of randy sailors. Let me hang my dress up so it doesn't get wrinkled." She walked down the hall into one of the bedrooms.

Daniel chuckled, relieved she wasn't really stopping him, but mostly because he couldn't believe she'd thought that far ahead. On second thought…of course he could.

"You know we should hang your suit up too. It wrinkles really easily." Her voice drifted down the hall from the room she was in.

He just shook his head grinning and followed her into the bedroom.