Moments of Christmas Part 3 (December 2009-Season 4)
"I am."
It was a simple text. Daniel never thought these two words would cause a flood of intense emotions to course through his being, but they did. Anger, sadness, hatred, jealousy, and extreme loss all began to consume him. Somewhere deep within him, his heart began to break on a level deeper than it ever did with Molly's death. A silent mournful scream wanted to ebb up and be let loose. Now he understood keening. He had finally come to terms with the death of Molly, yet the end of something great loomed ahead.
He looked at the text from Betty again. Without her typing more, he knew. That morning he had been curious about her eating his bagel yet claiming that she was nauseous before coming to work. He wanted to ask her more and was about to do so when Hartley had entered with the new creative director. So when she called him in a panic on her bus ride to tell him how a man thought she was pregnant, his mind returned to his earlier thoughts on the matter. Daniel helped her calm down as much as he could over the phone. He told her there was only one way to be sure and that was to take a test. Now her quick two words text, made his stomach hurt, his head dizzy, and his breath come in quick gasps. Was he having a heart attack? He needed to see her, but he still needed to find a way to deal with his business issues. His mind was in a whirlwind that consisted of business and Betty.
He typed back: "Want to talk?"
It was a while before she answered: "Can't. Dinner."
That was right. Tonight was the infamous dinner she was having with her family and Matt. That name made Daniel queasy. He hated the fact that Betty re-started her relationship with Matt after the way Matt had treated her. He also hated the fact that she went back to Matt just as he was started to really see her differently.
The Bahamas. Ugh! Sure, his thing with Amanda was simple—no attachments, but he had found Amanda on his way to find Betty. His failure to perform with a stranger had left him wanting to seek out the woman who knew him best. He wasn't thinking about having sex with Betty, though the idea had crept across his mind several times throughout their friendship; he had wanted to stroll down the beach with her and talk. He wanted to be near her in the different setting, with the sunset before them on the horizon. He wanted to hold her that day, but Matt had found her first. Amanda gave him all the details, so Daniel went for the familiar with Amanda instead. It was empty of lingering emotions but fun.
Now Matt Hartley had gotten Betty pregnant. There was no way he'd be able to get rid of the Hartley connection into his life and business if Betty's life would be permanently tied to Matt's…unless Daniel gave her up. He couldn't think about that, so he pushed himself through to think about business.
Hours later he received another text: "I'm not."
Daniel let out a breath that he had been holding since his cell vibrated and he saw her name again. It was late in the evening, so Daniel figured the dinner must have been over. He returned the text: "Can I come over?"
Betty read Daniel text as she finished hanging up her coat. She texted back: "Yes."
Daniel threw on his coat and called for his car to wait downstairs. He didn't trust himself to drive with the crazy emotions running around within him, but he didn't know how long he was going to be and he hated the idea of imposing on his driver this late on Christmas Eve. As he drove, he realized that joy as well as curiosity was mixed into the batch of emotions he had earlier. When he arrived at Betty's house, most of the lights were out, but he saw her face in the window waiting for him. Betty was at the door before he could knock.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," she responded and looked up at him.
Before he knew it, he had grabbed onto her and pulled her into a warm hug. Betty melted into him, and Daniel couldn't help but notice how right this felt. She was smaller than usual since she was wearing fuzzy socks with Rudolph on them, but Daniel didn't care. He loved the feeling of having Betty in his arms. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, before he asked, "Are you okay?"
Betty pulled back and looked at him. The tears she had been holding back throughout the evening now threatened to spill over as she looked into the tender blue eyes of her best friend. She couldn't answer that question because she really didn't know fully what she felt.
Daniel took the hesitation to pull her back into his arms for another long hug.
Finally, Betty pulled back again and wiped her wet cheeks. "I made some hot chocolate. Want some?"
"Is there a candy cane in it?" Daniel smiled down at her.
"Of course. I know you like yours that way," she smiled back.
He playfully nudged her. "And who was the one to get me to drink it that way in the first place?"
"It's the only way…well, with lots of marshmallows, too," she giggled. "Go have a seat. I'll be right back."
Daniel was glad to see her slowly returning to her cheerful self. She left to get the mugs as he put his coat on the rack. From the sofa in the living room, he was able to see Betty as she entered the room with two mugs in hand. Her Rudolph pajamas made him smile. It was so her. Being a man, he couldn't help but notice that she made sure she had on a comfortable bra and panty underneath her pajamas for this Christmas visit.
Betty handed him a mug before sitting next to him on the couch.
"So I take it that everyone has gone to sleep?" Daniel questioned.
"Yeah. It was a crazy night for all of us," she answered without looking up at him. She tried to change the subject. "Hey, I'm sorry we never had the chance to decorate or do something this Christmas."
"Well, being that it's a little after midnight, I would say we are doing something now for Christmas." Daniel smiled.
"Oh! It is. Merry Christmas Hanukkah, Daniel!"
Daniel laughed. "What?"
"That's what we've been saying all night since Papi's dating a Jewish lady."
"Okay. Merry Christmas Hanukkah to you, Betty." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.
Betty's eyes lit up. "What's that?"
"You have to open it to see," Daniel teased.
She carefully undid the white bow and the small robin egg colored box. This was the second time Daniel had ever gotten her something from Tiffany's; the first being an engraved business card holder that she kept in her purse. She opened the small box to find a pair of rose gold Paloma Picasso modern heart earrings with a small diamond in the center of each tiny heart. Betty's eyes welled up again and she jumped over and hugged Daniel's neck.
"Careful," he laughed as he tried to balance his hot chocolate and hold onto Betty at the same time.
"Daniel, they are beautiful." As she began to put them on, she asked, "So did Nigel pick these out?"
"No, I saw them and thought of you." Betty looked at him carefully, and Daniel squirmed. "Well, he pointed me in the direction of things he noticed you had liked over the years. Then I saw these and knew they were for you."
"Well, thank you, Daniel," she said before planting a soft kiss to his cheek, "No matter how you came up with the idea, they are perfect." Then she looked a little sad. "I probably shouldn't wear them around Matt though. You know how he feels about our friendship."
"True." Daniel understood more than anyone, especially since he had already punched Matt for the accusations Matt made about the two of them. "But I hope you'll be able to wear them from time to time."
"Oh, I will," she smiled a full Betty-bright smile at him. She got up and ran over to the tree to find his box. "Here."
Daniel opened his box to find a bottle of Burberry Brit for men. "How did you know I ran out?"
"You've been wearing your other cologne this week, so I guessed you were out and didn't remember to tell Marc to order yours. The other cologne is nice, but I like this one more," she blushed.
"Okay, then I'll make sure to wear it." Tired of stalling, he sat back with his hot chocolate and patted the spot next to him before putting his arm around the back of the sofa.
Betty sat back down, grabbed her cup, curled her feet up on the couch and leaned into him. Then Daniel wrapped his arm around her. "Now, tell me what happened tonight?"
As Betty began to share all that transpired that night and her feelings in regards to thinking she was pregnant and finding out she wasn't, Daniel was glad to listen and realize how much of a similar emotional roller coaster they had been on since they had spoken on the phone earlier that day. She spoke about everything in great detail, including letting him in on the fact that Hilda was pregnant with Bobby's child. Betty figured she couldn't explain the confusion without letting him know that specific detail. They sipped at their hot chocolate, ate what was left of their candy canes, and kept talking. Daniel let Betty in on what was happening at Mode and the situation with Wilhelmina. Eventually, they fell asleep on the couch with Betty curled up into Daniel's side.
That was how Justin found them in the morning when he came down to open his gifts. To him, this would have been the best Christmas gift ever. He liked Daniel much more than Matt anyway. But he knew he couldn't leave them like that for his grandfather and mom to see, so he tiptoed over to Daniel and whispered in his ear, "Daniel, wake up."
Daniel opened his eyes and looked at Justin. "Hey, Justin."
"Hey," he smiled. "You might want to go before Grandpa and my mom come down. They would be full of questions after last night."
"You're right." Daniel looked down at the still sleeping Betty and smiled. He really liked waking up with her close by. She looked so peaceful and happy even in her sleep. "Hey, Justin. Can you help me here?"
"Watch and learn." Justin went over to his aunt and lightly tickled her. She shifted enough in her sleep for Daniel to move and gently place her head on a pillow.
"Thanks, Justin. Let her know that I had to go."
"Sure thing." Justin said as he walked to the door. Daniel grabbed his coat and started to leave. He took one last look at Betty snuggled on the couch as Justin said, "Thank you for being there for her. I'm glad she had you to talk to about everything."
"No problem, Justin," Daniel answered. Something stopped him from what he felt like saying but Justin wouldn't have understood the depths of the confession. Daniel was just starting to realize it for himself before he pushed the idea away again, but he knew it was true…he would swim across the East River in January for her. Did that mean what he and Betty spoke about years ago? He couldn't let his mind go there. Not now.
He pulled his scarf and the collar of his coat closer. "Merry Christmas, Justin." He stepped outside and heard the door close behind him. As he walked to the car, he whispered, "Merry Christmas, Betty."
