Timeless/Ch 9

Betty looked at the matriarch in shock. Apparently, nudity wasn't something Daniel's mother shied away from whatsoever. He told Betty the reason his mother had been "requested" to come to rehab in the first place. Something about her showing up sans clothing at a garden party? Nobody in Daniel's family seemed to be particularly shy about shedding their clothing.

She also knew about his late brother's gimmick of posing on the cover of Hudson magazine for the Valentine's Day issue wearing boxers with hearts.

And of course, Daniel himself had a whole section of devoted fans from his past page six exploits, many of whom were quite willing to talk about his penis. Something Betty found totally disturbing. He seemed to find it amusing to see if he could make her blush by bringing it up randomly for the shock factor, laughing at her expressions of discomfort.

Now seeing how cavalier his mother was about getting naked she could see where Daniel got his attitude perhaps.

She simply didn't see how people could be so casual about sex! She wasn't a virgin, of course, but so many people at Mode acted as if selling sex was perfectly normal. The scanty outfits the models and many of the female employees wore around the offices frequently made Betty feel terribly embarrassed.

She couldn't imagine dressing in those skimpy outfits. Not with her curves! She would never be a size zero (nor did she want to be). Betty was fine with who she was. But several of the more snarky fellow employees (like that Marc and Amanda) had taken it upon themselves to be the fashion police and tell Betty how terrible her taste was and how awful she looked. Marc took her picture every day and she was sure he was at the very least sharing it with Amanda and making fun of her.

Christina was practically the only person besides Daniel who was nice to her at Mode. And she had been helping Betty, along with Justin and Hilda to look and feel slightly better about her clothing. Honestly, Betty wouldn't even try to "fit in" with all the "chic-ees" as Christina called them (she also often called them bitches). But her nephew and sister had recently joined forces with her new Scottish friend to help Betty with her wardrobe, hair and makeup.

After "flashing" Betty thoroughly while she got into her own tub, Claire glanced at the girl, "Do you plan to get into that mud bath with your clothes

on, Betty? It's up to you, of course, but although they offer all sorts of services here, l don't believe laundry is one of them." She put one hand over her eyes, "I promise, I won't look!"

The older woman motioned for one of the staff to come and help them, "My friend here is a bit shy. Perhaps she can get a robe and change when she is finished. Oh, and send some champagne and chocolates for her. I'll have...a club soda. And chocolates as well. Thank you so much! And is Francois available for a trim today? It's been ages!"

"For you, Mrs. Meade? Of course! Actually, your son already scheduled an all day spa treatment for you and the lady."

"I see. Very thoughtful of him! You seem to have become an excellent influence on my son, Miss Suarez. Are you two sleeping together yet or are you keeping him waiting as long as possible?"

Betty was shocked by the forthright question, "NO! We...he...we're just friends!"

"Now that's not exactly true. He told me about your little matrimonial fantasy. I especially enjoyed hearing about the possibility of my becoming a grandmother! But you don't seem the type to be some sort of 'golddigger', out to trap him. And I'll be honest, I believe he could do far worse than to fall in love with a nice young lady such as yourself.

You are obviously a kind, hard-worker, who if my son is to be believed is extremely intelligent and somehow you've managed to turn him into a tongue-tied little boy. Which makes me like you very much. He deserves a nice young woman. And he needs someone smart and kind to keep him out of trouble.

Now, if you'll excuse me, dear, I'm going to get my hair done. Tell my son he doesn't need his new assistant/girlfriend to babysit me all day. I'll be in excellent hands here. In fact, why don't you two go out for lunch? He looked a bit...disheveled this morning. I think he must have had a very sleepless night on his own. He tells me you tend to fuss over him as much as I do!"

"Maybe a little. But it's my job!" Betty blushed again, but smiled. She liked how blunt, yet kind Claire was, "I guess...that would be alright. It was a pleasure meeting you after all this time. Are you sure you're okay, Mrs. Meade?"

"I'm finally out of that dreadful place and I'm sober! I'm fantastic! It was very nice to meet you, as well, young lady! You continue to keep Daniel on his toes-and out of your bed if you really want to see him squirm. But it's your call, of course. I know how irresistible those Meade men can be when they turn on the charm!" She stood up, giving Betty yet another 'show' and making her blush but giggle as the older woman left.

She tried to get out of the mud bath but kept slipping and the staff seemed to all follow Daniel's mother, leaving her alone. "Help!" she called as she slid around in the mud, holding up her hand. Her phone went off and she tried to answer it, but was wearing mittens and dropped it into the bath, "HELP!"

She continued to try and get out of the deep tub but her body was so slippery, she wasn't making any progress. After several unsuccessful attempts to escape her mud bath, she felt strong arms around her, and heard Daniel's familiar, soothing voice, "What in the heck are you doing? Playing in the mud here? Where's my mom? You were supposed to keep an eye on her, Betty! She can't fall off the wagon already. OH! Sorry! I didn't know you were...um…naked!"

As he helped her out of the tub of mud, his hands slid on her naked, mud-covered body. He stepped away suddenly, somewhat taken aback by her nudity, causing her to slip on the floor, and he dove to save her, but she fell on top of him.

They both stared in shock at their precarious situation. He took a deep breath, trying desperately not to flash back to his earlier sex fantasy about her, "They're not lopsided at all!"

"Lopsided? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing! Definitely not your um...boobs...I promise, I wasn't staring at your boobs ...wow, I said that out loud, didn't I? Sorry! But...your boobs are...they're kind of...in my face. Not that I'm complaining! Quite the contrary! Wow, sorry, I can't seem to stop saying boobs! But I can't help it. They're pretty um…big...and really, really beautiful...totally...spectacular! You look great naked! I mean...in mud!"

"Daniel! Could we please forget this happened?"

"I doubt that! This is definitely not something I'm going to want to forget! But maybe you should….we should...you know, get up? And try not to slide any more? Here, you roll off me and I"ll stand first, then help you up, okay? Just...roll. Onto your...back. I'll go get you a towel. I think I saw a shower right over there." His mind went straight to his fantasy earlier and he found himself grinning at the thought, "Do you need some help?"

"NO! No...thank you! I think I can shower myself!" She made a grimace, trying not to laugh herself at the situation as he helped her stand and led her to the shower, handing her a towel. She tried to wipe the scene out of her head that had just happened, but unfortunately, there was very little left to his imagination from her mud-covered body.

After a few minutes of reflection, and enjoying the hot shower, she called out, "Daniel?"

"Uh huh?"

"This NEVER happened, right?"

"Sure thing, Betty! Whatever you say, dear." he teased.

"Shut up!"

He laughed, "Sorry! No, but, I promise, I'll TRY not to bring it up. I refuse not to THINK about it, though! By the way, mud suits you!"

"DANIEL!"

He chuckled softly, "I'm just saying….say, listen, where is my mother? Did she...give you the slip?"

"Very funny, Mister! No! She went to get her hair done by some guy named ...Francois? That is a guy?"

"Yeah. He's a well-known hair stylist that works here. I set up the appointment for mom. She's used him for years. Okay, great! IF...you don't need any more help getting dressed, I'll go say hi to her and see if she wants me to check her into a hotel or if she's going home."

"A hotel? Why would she go into a hotel?"

"Well, remember how I told you about me...with doctors and hospitals?"

"You mean...Mr. Sickington? That's so silly, Daniel!"

"Hey, I didn't make fun of you for wrapping yourself around trees to avoid getting a shot!"

She huffed, "LOTS of people don't like needles!"

"True, and lots of people don't like doctors or hospitals, either."

"I suppose. They just lack the resources to check into a hotel everytime they get sick!"

What Betty found rather sad about Daniel's admission to her that he checked himself into a hotel rather than stayed home when he was sick was that she could tell he was basically doing so to avoid feeling vulnerable and alone when he got sick. It didn't take a psychiatrist to figure that one out.

Clearly, his mother shared the same type of fears of not receiving the type of support she really needed from her husband when she returned from her most recent stint in rehabilitation. It made her extremely grateful for her own close, loving family. What the Suarez family lacked in money they more than made up for in support and love for one another.

After several minutes, she came out of the shower, with the towel wrapped around her. He gulped slightly, his mind going back to the steamy shower and multiple times he had fantasized about having sex with this young woman. Get a grip, Daniel! She's too young; she's way too naive and sweet and...NOT the right person for you!

Who was he kidding? He was the last man on earth who needed to be fantasizing about...some happily ever after with a girl like Betty Suarez! Daniel was well aware that he was about as far away from the Prince Charming type as they came! He was a womanizer, he was a spoiled, lazy, rich jerk who used to make fun of girls like Betty back when he was in high school and college. But then again, that was then. Things change. Thanks to Betty, he wasn't really "that Daniel" anymore. Was he?

"Betty?" he looked down at her, desperately trying to keep his mind out of the gutter. Not an easy feat when she was standing in just a towel. He took her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly, but told himself to make it brief, for both of their benefit, "You really are a very special girl." He brushed back a strand of her hair, looking into her eyes. "I...don't really deserve you. A girl like you should have a man who isn't…"

"A manwhore?"

He laughed at her use of the word but nodded, "Yeah. I hate that name, but I have to admit; I deserve it. I've been a real asshole to women, Betty. I honestly don't think a nice girl like you...would or should even be interested in a big...you know. What you said. I know IF I were a father, I'd definitely tell my grown daughter to stay far away from a guy like me!" Okay, where the HELL did THAT come from, he inwardly berated himself. Because he had DREAMT he had a baby, now he was giving Betty fatherly advice NOT to even consider him as a date? WTF?!

She blushed, touching her lips after his tender kiss, becoming acutely aware of her state of undress, as she looked down at herself. "Um...maybe you should go check on your mom while I get dressed, Daniel. I'll be right out. I really do think she's okay. But of course, I understand your concern, considering...well, you know. How she's been."

"A drunk? Yeah, well...my family is not exactly the Cleavers. Listen, I'm sorry about what I just said. I honestly don't know where that came from! I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I desperately need a LOT more caffeine! How about you? Did you get some rest after you got home? It was really late."

She smiled, shrugging, "My sister was still up. She lost her job and had some crazy idea to try and make her own business selling cupcakes!"

"What's so crazy about that? It actually sounds like a good idea. You said she doesn't take instruction well. Maybe she'd be better off as her own boss."

"Well, yeah, maybe. She might be okay as an entrepreneur. But cupcakes? Only IF my sister could cook any better than I can! She practically burnt the house down! My Papi is the only one in our family with any culinary skills, trust me!"

He laughed, as he left to go find his mother to make sure she was behaving herself.

Betty still couldn't get Hilda's warning about "going on an all-night date" with her boss being a crazy idea. What did Hilda know? She didn't know Daniel. She didn't understand what kind of a man he was or how well he and Betty got along. She just thought her kid sister was being ridiculous, not keeping to her "own station" or something like that.

But Hidla just didn't get it. Reading magazines that opened up her world and gave her hope for a future that was different and exciting, that was exactly WHY Betty did the things she did. It was why she got up in the morning and kept picking herself up, no matter how many times she got made fun of at school.

Nobody puts baby in a corner. Or Betty. Who knew; maybe the idea of her and Daniel wasn't totally crazy after all? The man was telling her she was too good for him! Of course, that was idiotic. Anybody could see it was completely backwards to say that. Even with her rather dramatic new look, Betty was still painfully aware just how far out of her league Daniel was. He was her uber-rich, totally hot, thirty-two year old boss who could get any woman he wanted. And frequently had.

She, on the other hand...well, she looked in the mirror. She looked much prettier, but even being as kind to herself as she would be to anyone else, Betty was a short, curvy, poor Latina girl who had a great attitude and was smart and used her good-nature to try and help people as much as she could. She now wore the "cast-offs" from The Closet that Christina found for her that actually fit her and her sister and nephew helped her with hair and makeup.

And she had practically no experience...with men! Should she get a boyfriend? To...what, become better at sex? Okay, that was completely crazy! There was no way she was going to do that. There was that tall, skinny accountant with the glasses who always smiled at her and seemed almost nervous around her when he brought Daniel's expense reports. But there was something she didn't quite trust about the guy. He almost seemed too nice.

After she got her clothes back on, she texted her handsome boss and met him outside. She slid in, beside him in the town car, "So, I trust your mother was doing well, getting her hair done?"

He nodded, smiling, "Yeah, she's fine. She insisted we should go get lunch, that she would be here for a long time. Are you hungry? Where would you like to go?"

She bit her bottom lip and glanced up at the driver to make sure he was too occupied to overhear and whispered in his ear, "Daniel, will you teach me...how to be more sexy?"

His eyes widened and he tugged at his collar, glancing up towards the driver himself, "Hey, Dave, take us home, will you? Right now!"