Chapter 22

The day had been spent much in the same manner as their breakfast, the family passing back and forth between Ignacio's room and the cafeteria. Merely hours into the day they shuffled down the hallway again and began to realize that they couldn't spend every day this way. It was an insufferable limbo. This early on there wasn't anything they could do but let Ignacio's body recover, which mainly included rest. The doctor made regular visits on the hour, scheduling tests and the family had nothing else to do but sit quietly, well as quietly as they could, watching and waiting for any small sign of improvement. Evening hours rolled around as the sky began to darken quicker.

Betty and Daniel had fallen asleep in the plastic waiting chairs leaning on each other, their bodies used to London time, while the others watched on admiring them. If only they could see what everyone else saw, or knew the extent to which everyone surrounding them could tell that they belonged next to each other. It was adorable, for lack of a better word. Almost so revoltingly cute that it brought out a somewhat violent side, much in the same way one wants to squish a puppy or kitten upon discovering how much love a tiny furry face can hold. Hilda stood there debating about smacking the two on the head, but thought better of it. They had not been able to talk very much, spending their time with everyone else, so they had settled on small touches and closeness in the form of a human pillow for one another.

Daniel's arms were crossed as he slumped in his seat with his legs stretched far out into the walking space in front of his seat, holding Betty's coat in his lap using it as somewhat of a makeshift blanket. His head rested on Betty's as she leaned onto his shoulder, arms folded into her lap, hair falling forward. If one looked close enough they might detect the drool coming from both their mouths. And the snores, well, let's just say that when one would snore the other would respond in kind resembling a type of slumbering conversation. Hilda decided it would be best to reach out and tap a shoulder, but deciding who to wake up first was actually somewhat of a challenge. They looked so content and obviously in need of the sleep.

"Daniel?" Hilda whispered, softly shaking his shoulder trying not to scare either one. "Daniel, it's time to wake up."

He slowly opened one eye looking in the direction of the voice and when he realized Hilda was standing there smiling at him with an expression he wasn't sure he could translate. He slowly opened the other to take in his surroundings. He felt a pressure on him and looked over to see Betty leaned on him, still snoring and he couldn't help but to smile contentedly.

"Hey." he managed to say his voice even more gravelly than usual having just woken up looking back up at Hilda.

"Visiting hours are over, I think we should head out." She told him softly. She smiled down at Betty.

"Okay." He simply replied. He stretched out his arm on the side Hilda had shook him, but knew he didn't want to make any sudden movements and risk scaring her awake. He reached over with that hand and took hold of one of Betty's. He squeezed gently and tried not to let his heart leap at the feeling of her squeezing his back in her sleep. "Betty?" he whispered gently. "Betty it's time to wake up." He said a little more loudly but still in dulcet tones. He shook her hand, trying his very best to not make any sudden movements, but discovered he did need to move his shoulder that was trapped beneath her. The ache that set in was worth it, much in the same way one would let their arms fall asleep before jostling a sleeping infant. Not that he thought the reaction to being woken would be remotely similar he simply didn't want to be rude. Who would enjoy being woken up by yelling or being shook suddenly? "Betty?"

"Hmm? What?" she looked up at him, trying to adjust to the florescent lights. She put her glasses back on and stretched releasing his aching shoulder and as much as he hated to have her move away from him he was grateful.

"Visiting hours are over." Hilda said to her. She looked up to find her sister, Bobby, and Justin standing over them. Elena was back in Ignacio's room, saying goodnight. She exited and came up to meet the rest of the group. "He's sleeping now." She informed the group. Betty looked a little disappointed at not being able to say goodnight, but smiled thinking back to her earlier conversation with him. That would hold her over for now. She looked over at Daniel, hiding her blush beneath her hair. He caught her eyes and smiled back. He didn't know what it was for, but having her smile at him was enough.

They all collected their things and walked out of the hospital. This was yet another part he hadn't planned. He didn't want to leave her but couldn't think of a good excuse to hover around the family any more. He also wasn't exactly sure where he would be staying. His old bachelor pad had been sold the year before, and he had sub leased his newer place when he moved to London. He thought about getting a hotel room, but had stayed in too many hotels in his life, not really feeling like something so impersonal would suit him anymore unless out of absolute necessity.

Little did he know that Betty was now racking her brain trying to find a good reason to ask him to stick around. She didn't want to be away from him, not even for a second. She could feel it too, something had changed between them. She wanted to be with her family, but there was something deeper working within her. All their late nights working together and living mere feet away from one another had created this unspoken safety zone that when outside of it left her feeling completely lost and abandoned. It was no wonder neither had been able to sleep properly until back together.

Daniel slowed down as he watched the family walking in front of him. Justin was charging the front, Hilda and Bobby wrapped in each other's arms as they walked and Elena was beside them talking with Hilda. He and Betty had followed behind the group, walking a little slower trying to wake up fully. Pulling out his phone he knew who he would call for a place to stay tonight.

"Hey Betty, I'm just going to make a quick call if that's alright?" he asked as they stepped out onto the pavement just underneath the awning to the entrance, his voice echoing so that the others heard him too. They all paused looking back as Betty nodded her agreement and walked over to the rest of the group.

"Elena, why don't you just stay with us tonight? Come on, we've got plenty of room. We're heading back to Papi's anyway since its closer to the hospital. We'll make a quick trip into the city to grab some clothes and things, come on stay with us." Hilda pleaded.

Elena searched their faces and smiled. "Okay, okay yeah sure. That would be nice, thank you." She hugged Hilda and Bobby leaned in too. Justin clapped in excitement.

"Thanks so much, mom. I'll be there soon." Daniel's voice came up behind the group, hanging up his phone, half hearing the end of the group's conversation. He came up to stand next to Betty, and they leaned into one another but kept their arms to themselves, nervously figuring out how to approach the subject of who was staying where tonight. Betty gave him a questioning look and he knew exactly what she was asking.

"Oh! I'm going to stay at the old Meade mansion." He said sheepishly. "Mom isn't there. She'll be at her apartment tonight and it's been sitting empty for a little while. I don't really feel like staying in a hotel." He added.

"Oh, okay." Betty said, looking somewhat defeated. Suddenly her eyes lit up, an idea forming in her head. If only Daniel knew what was coming next. "Alright, well I'll see you guys in the morning then." Betty addressed the rest of the group.

"What?" Daniel asked, his voice rising a little too high to come across as cool in any way. Hilda looked at her like she was crazy but after sharing a couple of glances she figured out what Betty was hinting at. Bobby was oblivious for a moment, but looking between the two sisters it dawned on him what was transpiring. Justin just smiled, rolling his eyes.

"Elena you can use my old room." Betty reached out to her and all Elena could think to say was "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Daniel and I need to go over some things for work and I can't really do that around all of you. I need some peace and quiet." Her joking manner let them know she wasn't trying to be mean, just trying to reason it out.

"Oh, okay, well then." Hilda said, a little disbelievingly. She wasn't entirely convinced there wasn't far more going on between the two, but just like their embrace this morning, to others it might appear as if they were already together from how they acted with each other, but knowing better she just smirked thinking of the contents in her purse and discreetly palmed a tube of lip gloss to sneak into Betty's coat as they hugged goodbye. "I guess we'll see you in the morning then?" she asked.

"Yes of course. I just need to take care of some loose ends for Dunne." She assured her. They all began saying their goodbyes and hugged sometimes twice not realizing they had already done so.

"Here, Betty." Hilda said as she gave her one last hug and slipped the lip gloss into her front coat pocket. "Just in case." She whispered. Betty's eyes went wide as she realized what Hilda had put in her pocket, blushing furiously. She was a grown woman, but it would never cease to be embarrassing having her family knowing so much about or even hinting at her sex life. She wasn't sure she would need it, but the small moment between the sisters made her believe that maybe things would alright; she just didn't want to put any pressure on anything. All she wanted was to spend time with him. The rest could come along as it felt right.

"Bye." She waved to everyone as she took hold of the crook in Daniel's offered arm. If only she knew the way his heart was pitter pattering. He couldn't believe it! Betty had just invited herself over. He didn't even need to suggest it, she took the reins and he had to admit, it was a little bit sexy. He tried to shake off the thought, wondering if she had been serious about working on things for Dunne. It's not like they had to go back to Ignacio's anyway because she had her overnight bag with her laptop in it. She hadn't been sure why she had brought it because she knew she wouldn't get any work done at the hospital, but that morning she hadn't known Daniel was in New York so she grabbed it thinking she might be able to work while they waited around. Of course the laptop never came out of the bag the whole day, happy to be there with her family and Daniel.

They walked over to the town car that Daniel's mother had sent. The others had left a while ago and the two had stood there for a few minutes, shuffling nervously, not sure what this had meant exactly.

"Do you mind if we make a quick stop in the city?" Daniel asked her, as the car started down the highway.

"No, not at all. Where are we stopping?"

"You'll see." He smiled at her, knowing she would like where they were going.

Street lamps lit their way, and Daniel couldn't help but admire how the honey shaded glow flickered over her as they passed through street after street. It didn't take her long to realize where they were headed. She gasped as the Meade building came into view. "Mode?" she asked excitedly. He could only nod and giggle at her excitement. It may have been dark but it was still only early evening hours. She wondered why on earth they were stopping here, but found she didn't care. They stepped out onto the street and she couldn't help breathing deeply, her heart beating a little faster as they walked into the building. This was where it had all began, and she thought back to the last time she was there at her going away party. Her smile was twinged with a slight sadness remembering the way that night had felt. Her heart was breaking having to leave them all, but she knew she needed to go, she had just wanted to say goodbye to Daniel. Now they were walking back in together, and she couldn't deny how right it felt walking in on Daniel's arm. She missed the smug smirk he now had plastered across his face as they entered the elevator. He pressed the familiar floor's button. They settled in against the back of the elevator, never moving away from each other. The doors closed, and they began their ascension to the Mode floor. Why are we here? Betty couldn't help her curiosity, but she wasn't worried. She would find out soon enough.

Well my loves? What do you think? I know sometimes my drawing things out can be frustrating but I tend to just let the story go where it wants to take me. Leave a review and let me know how I'm doing! Much love, and don't worry much more to come! xxx