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Everything was going smoothly. Lindsay had been very accommodating regarding the pregnancy and genuinely happy for them both. In August, Daniel and Betty had had a beautiful, intimate wedding ceremony with only their closest family and friends in Paris, dodging any media. After having talked with England National Football team captain Rio Ferdinand, who was a big supporter of his music, Daniel had even managed to pull some connections and get new artist Ed Sheeran to sing at their reception.
They honeymooned in Paris for two weeks, taking walks along the Champs-Elysees eating at cafes and purchasing some of the latest fashion trends. They viewed the Eiffel Tower, explored the Louvre, saw the Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, and Notre Dame as well as many other iconic landmarks. Of course they also spent an abundant time in bed enjoying French pastries, cuisine, and each other. It was so perfect that if they hadn't had the pictures to prove it, he would have sworn it was a dream.
Months later, Betty's and Daniel's magazines continued to be successful. Betty and their baby were a healthy eight months along and growing. Neither of them could have asked for anything more.
"So. I already gave you the flight times and I'll be on the Dunne jet with Amanda, Stella, and James. We'll be at the United Nations most of the time, covering the launch of UN Women. And Amanda and I are staying with Papi - you already have his number . . ." Betty went over the list in her mind.
"And you should be back on Sunday morning at 6am. Got it," Daniel said. "Remind me again why Amanda's going? She's not even a Dunne employee."
"She claims I need a personal stylist since I'm married to a celebrity and am becoming one myself because of Perception," Betty rolled her eyes. "Plus, she wants an excuse to see Marc and her dad."
"Well, at least she can keep an eye on you and the baby and make sure you don't overdo it," Daniel replied.
"This is Amanda we're talking about, right?" she gave her husband a skeptical look. "And she's five months pregnant, herself. If anything, I'll be the one looking out for her."
"You have a point, as usual . . ." he conceded. "I still can't believe that you and Amanda and Hilda are all pregnant at the same time. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you girls had some sort of conspiracy going."
"Ha. Ha," Betty smirked, unamused.
"So do you -" he began.
"Have my pre-natal vitamins? In my carry-on," she read his mind.
"And the -" he started to add.
"Ipod with the songs you sang for the baby?" she finished. "Also in my carry-on, along with some pressure stockings just in case my legs start bugging me."
Daniel leaned down and caressed her rapidly growing stomach. At 32 weeks along, she barely made the cut-off regulations for flying.
"Now you listen to Mommy and don't make her sick on the plane. Be good and stay safe. I love you, little guy, and we'll talk when you get back," he told the baby.
"Still maintaining it's a boy, I see," she observed, amused.
"The odds are greater, given the history of the Meade family," he argued. "And every time you've had an ultrasound, he's been in such weird positions we haven't been able to tell for sure."
Betty rolled her eyes at him, and went back to worrying if she'd forgotten to tell Daniel anything else.
"I guess it's a good thing we painted the nursery light green with pale yellow accents and have a zoo animal theme. It'll work for a girl, too. But if you go out buying any more giant realistic stuffed animals, the baby won't be able to even sleep in there. He or she's already got a full menagerie plus everything else we need, thanks to the amazing shower Christina threw for the three of us. And of course Marc had to get a mama gorilla with glasses and a red poncho named Bettyzilla," she mused.
"He wouldn't be Marc if he didn't," Daniel smirked. "Don't forget Amanda and the mama elephant named Betty."
"Yeah . . . They love us, though," she smiled.
"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? I could take off a few days?" he offered. "I just worry about you traveling so late in the pregnancy. I don't want anything to happen to you two."
"No – don't even think about it! I'll be fine," she insisted as they got into the elevator. "It's a private plane, so I can stretch out as much as I want and don't have to worry about flying with a bunch of annoying, germ-carrying strangers. And Lindsay made sure we're taking the new jet that has the beds installed in it – which was very sweet of him."
"It was," Daniel agreed, grateful that their boss was such a kind and caring man.
"You have that shoot with David Beckham that you had to fight Spirit Sports for. I can't let you miss that," Betty said.
"Guess it pays to have connections with his wife," Daniel smiled.
"Very true. And don't forget, you promised me that autograph since I'm going to miss meeting him," she reminded him.
"I won't. I know my wife would kill me if I didn't get a memento from her celebrity boyfriend," he teased as they got off the elevator.
"Yes she would. But there's no need to get jealous, because you are my real celebrity husband," Betty teased his bottom lip, pulling him closer to her one last time - well as close as possible given her protruding belly. "I'm going to miss you."
"Not as much as I'll miss you," Daniel muttered into her lips and gave her one final send-off kiss she'd never forget. Not to mention giving their sweet, elderly neighbor, Mrs. Lockhart, an eyeful.
"Sorry, Mrs. Lockhart," Betty apologized, blushing.
"Yeah, sorry," Daniel said.
"Don't fret about it, loves. It's refreshing to see two young people madly in love. And be sure to bring that little one by to see her Granny Mary once she's born," the older woman replied.
"We will," they promised before she left.
"There you go, driving me crazy again," Betty shoved his chest.
"Mission accomplished," he flirted, running his hands all over her again.
"Easy there, Tom Cruise. I want to be able to still catch my flight without people knowing why I have a stupid grin on my face," she kissed his boyish smile.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," Daniel innocently shrugged.
"What am I gonna do with you?" Betty smiled.
"Anything you want, baby," he replied with a sexy stare.
"You're incorrigible," she shook her head and pulled him toward the door. "C'mon, before you end up getting me in trouble."
She carefully walked down the steps of their building, maneuvering herself into her Dunne town car with her husband's help.
"I love you, D," Betty said, staring into her husband's entrancing blue eyes.
"I love you, too, B," he told her. "More than anything."
Even after all this time, she still blushed at those words. Damn, she was adorable.
"I'll call you when I get there," she promised.
Daniel nodded, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her stomach before letting go.
"Bye, butterfly," he smiled and closed the door.
As he watched her car drive off, he already missed her.
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It was 5pm and Daniel wondered why Betty hadn't called him yet. Her flight was supposed to get in at 3:30pm. Maybe she'd gotten distracted with getting settled at her dad's or the schedule for the day? No, it wasn't like her not to call him. Even before they were together, she would always call to let him know she'd arrived safely. He'd tried leaving her messages, both text and voice, but no response.
Maybe this was payback for him not answering hers when she first decided to move to London? No. Betty had never been the vindictive type – at least not with him, anyway. Kimmie Keegan had been another story. He'd been snowed by her at first, but after a while he could see the bitch had it coming. He understood why Betty, Amanda, Marc had teamed up against her – even then, Betty had tried to save her from sabotaging herself in the end.
Speaking of Amanda, he'd tried to call her, Betty's assistant, and the photographer and nothing. Was there another blackout? He hoped not. It was February and freezing outside. He was about to call Ignacio when his phone rang.
"Betty?" he said, without even looking. "Baby I was so worried, what happened?"
"No. Daniel, it's Tyler," his brother said.
Daniel knew that if his half-brother was bothering to call him, something was really wrong. It's not that they were on bad terms anymore. They had been civil for a while now – even with the ring fiasco. He was mature enough to know it wasn't Tyler's fault. But they weren't exactly best buds either.
"Tyler. Oh. Sorry. Hey, have you heard from Amanda?" he asked.
"No. I was just calling to see if you'd heard from Betty," Tyler answered.
"No. I've been trying to reach her all afternoon. I was just about to call her dad. She usually lets me know she's made it by now," Daniel said.
"Amanda's not as reliable about those kinda things. Which is why I thought I'd call you," Tyler explained. "Betty seems to be more . . . put together if you know what I mean."
"Yeah . . . I guess that's why she made such a good assistant. I could never keep my schedule straight if it wasn't for her. She had calendars and lists and all kinds of crap," he mused. "I still have to buy a gift six months ahead of time to make sure I don't forget her birthday."
"That's pretty bad, man," Tyler laughed then went back to their problem. "Do you think we should be worried?"
"I don't know. Let me call Ignacio and -" Daniel told him when he was interrupted by his assistant rushing into his office. "Hold on a sec."
"Daniel?!" Harry said, frantically. "Flip on the telly - now!"
Daniel did as his assistant requested then froze for a moment in shock.
"T-Tyler, y-you'd better sit down . . . and turn on the TV. I think we might have the answer about our wives," Daniel said, his heart sinking to the ground.
