Betty and Christina chatted together while walking along the edge of a busy road. Betty was her usual happy self, but Christina had that little tone in her voice that left her company in no doubt that she was in a bad mood. The Scottish accent was coming through thicker than ever.

They had arrived in the Eagle State earlier that afternoon by Airplane. They had followed up their trip through the baggage collection area with a taxi ride which would have taken them all the way to Wisteria lane. However, as Betty knew only too well (and Christina would learn soon enough), something always went wrong when Betty left New York. The taxi had broken down toward the end of their journey and the driver had informed them that they would have to wait for another. Betty, after being informed that their destination was not far, had decided to walk, based on some questionable directions from the taxi driver. They had then proceeded to get lost rather quickly in the outskirts of Fairview.

"It'll be okay!" Betty said to her friend, trying to persuade herself as well. They had tried numerous times to flag down a car for directions and had even gone into a fancy-looking Restaurant to see if anyone knew where Wisteria Lane was. None of the cars had stopped and the Head Waiter in the restaurant had told them to buy a meal or get out. It had reminded Betty for a second of New York, and she had been momentarily calmer.

"What are we going to do now then, Betty?" asked Christina in her thick Scottish accent. She didn't sound worried or concerned; just annoyed that they were lost.

She heard a car pull up behind them and she turned around. Inside the car were two women. The driver was old but the passenger was a lot younger and had her arm in a sling. "You look lost" the driver called over to them as she wound down the window and Betty ran forward with Christina not far behind.

"Oh, we are!" Betty told them, cheering inside that they were saved.

"Where are you heading?"

"It's a place called Wisteria Lane. Would you happen to know where that is?"

"It's where we live" the woman told them. "Hop in, it's not far."

Betty got in the back seat of the car and scooched over so that Christina could get in too. When they were inside and moving again the women introduced themselves.

"I'm Karen and this is my neighbour, Lynette. I've just picked her up from the Hospital and we're on our way home".

"Oh, are you okay?" Betty asked Lynette, who twisted to face them.

"Yeah I'm fine. I was shot a few days ago but I'm okay now".

"Was that at the Supermarket shootout?" asked Christina quickly, straight to business. Betty would have liked to have kicked her for being inconsiderate, but it would have been too obvious.

"I take it you're the reporters that all my visitors have told me about, then" Lynette said, smiling. Betty and Christina looked at each other. They hadn't known that they were expected.

Karen saw their shocked faces in the mirror and spoke up "Gossip travels fast down Wisteria Lane. Those who go to the Fairview Country Club heard from the Mayor's wife, and everyone else heard from Edie Britt, the Estate Agent."

The rest of the journey was spent talking about trivial things, such as where they were from and how long they were staying. When they mentioned that they were from Mode Magazine, Betty was surprised when Karen knew of it but Lynette didn't. This was explained by the presence of her four children (soon to be five Betty understood, but didn't know the details yet), which gave her no time for reading magazines. Several pictures which Lynette had had in Hospital were passed around the car which featured these children. Karen announced their arrival and they pulled up outside a house which Lynette said was hers.

After she was enthusiastically greeted by her kids (one of the girls hung back in the shadow of the house), she arranged a time the next day to meet Betty and Christina so they could set up an interview. After this they began walking up the street in search of their house. They were consulting the letter that Christina was holding which stated the address when they heard their names being called from the porch of a house across the street. They looked up and saw a slim, pretty blonde waving at them and beckoning. They went over to her and she introduced herself.

Her name was Edie Britt and she had spoken to Wilhelmina on the phone a few hours ago who informed her that they would be arriving shortly. She seemed likable enough to Betty, but she kept catching her looking her up and down and smirking slightly, before looking away quickly. Betty got the feeling the Edie wanted Betty to see these looks. It was very obvious that this woman was just like the ones that Betty was used to dealing with every day at Mode: Opinionated and obsessed with beauty and big boobs. Betty was not happy to discover that Edie had been present at the shooting, and so would need to be interviewed too.

The first thing that Betty did when Edie finally left was go upstairs to an empty bedroom and hurl herself onto the bed. It was only late afternoon, but Betty was exhausted.

During the arrival of Betty on Wisteria Lane, Alexis and Daniel Meade had been stuck upstairs in their new home while their Mother entertained Bree Hodge and Susan Meyer with coffee and biscuits from the store. They couldn't risk walking around and making a noise, so they were stuck in the hallway upstairs, where they had been when the two women had manipulated their way inside thirty minutes before. Daniel suspected that they were merely nosy neighbours, but Alexis was suspicious and was constantly whispering in his ear about spies for Wilhelmina or bounty hunters sent out by the Police.

They continued with this for another 15 minutes before they heard the front door open and shut. They sneaked downstairs slowly with Daniel in front. When they realised that nobody was downstairs – not even their mother – they ran over to the window and saw the two neighbours walking down the street at either side of Claire, whom they would later find out had been given an offer that she felt unable to refuse – afternoon tea with the Hodge's!

Betty's bedroom window had a magnificent view, and one could see right down to both ends of Wisteria Lane. As she walked over to have yet another look out, she saw the door to one of the houses just closing. She saw movement on the pavement below and craned her neck to get a better look. The woman from next door was walking up the path and Betty hurried out of the room and downstairs to open the door.

"Hi" Betty smiled cheerfully as she greeted the woman who looked only a few years older than herself.

"Yeah…hi" the woman replied, taking in Betty's appearance and fashion sense in one quick glance. A look of shock registered on her face, but only for a second and was gone the next, so that not even Betty noticed it. She continued speaking.

"I'm Gabrielle, but everyone calls me Gabby" she said, still looking her up and down every few seconds.

"Hi Gabby, I'm Betty. Come in" she stepped back and Gabrielle walked in. They both walked into the lounge and sat down. Christina had gone out shopping so Betty made some coffee that was in the cupboard and they sat down to talk. The topics ranged from the latest fashions (Gabby was amazed to hear that Betty was from Mode) to why there were bolts and chains in the basement and on the basement door of this house. Betty could tell that as they talked, Gabby began to grow considerably warmer and was obviously getting past her first impression. By the time that they were parting ways at the front door, 90 minutes later, Betty had received an invite for her and Christina to a dinner party at Bree Hodges house from Gabby.

After she left, Betty went outside to take photos of the street – some possible pictures for the article. Christina arrived home just as Betty had finished sending the photos to Wilhelmina from her laptop that she brought with her. They then headed upstairs to get ready for the party.

"It makes me sick" muttered Wilhelmina to herself as she looked through the photos that she had just received.

"What does?" asked Marc, who had sneaked in behind her with the intention of making her jump, but had thought better of it halfway over.

"Suburbia" said Wilhelmina through her teeth. "So boring!"

"What do you expect? They're all past it!"

"It's the thought that it could be me someday who has to live…" she stopped mid-sentence and brought one particular print-out close to her face. When she brought it down she had a gleam in her eye and turned to Marc.

"Do I know fashion when I see it, Marc?"

"What?"

"Can I tell the difference between a one-of-a-kind and a cheap knockoff?"

"Of course, you're the best in the business! But what's your point?"

"Before Alexis Meade turned into a bitch and screwed me over, I bought her a pair of one-of-a-kind Dolce and Gabbana knee-high boots as a get well present after the operation. There is no other pair like them. The last time that I saw them they were on her feet at that party that they were at the night they ran away. Until now!"

She showed Marc the photo, which happened to be a snap of a certain house in Fairview, taken by Betty without knowing the implications of her actions. Wilhelmina pointed with a perfectly manicured finger to a pair of one-of-a-kind D and G boots on the porch, and as she did, she smirked to herself.

"We have 'em!"

Henry walked up the path of Betty's home in Queens and knocked on the door. By this time, Hilda had arrived home and she, Justin, Ignacio, Santos and Constance had been watching TV. When they heard the knock, Hilda got up and answered the door. She recognised Henry from Fashion week.

"Hi, erm, is Betty home?" he asked.

"She's not here. She's been sent away by work for a few days. I can call her if it's important."

She could tell that he was thinking something over in his head. He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I may as well tell you. It can't wait and I need to tell her to her face that I love her and I want to be with her. I need to tell her now!"

Hilda was momentarily speechless. She then suddenly swooped down and hugged Henry.

"You'd better come in" she said, before walking in and speaking to everyone else.

"Do you have the address of the place where Betty is staying?" she asked her father.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because we're calling in on her. First thing tomorrow. All of us!"

Everyone looked at each other, then at Henry.

"Yes, this will be so much fun!" Constance whispered to herself. Hilda wished that she had been a bit more specific when she had said "All of us"…

Sorry that this update has taken so long, I've just finished all of my A-levels. Hope that you like it anyway.

The story is really picking up now and I hope to update regularly. Please comment, as I love reading what you all think of it. Thanks