A/N: I obviously do not own Ugly Betty. But please keep reviewing! It makes me so happy.


37.

Daniel didn't know how he had gotten to this point. It wasn't something he'd meant to do or something that he'd planned on. He'd found himself in the middle of it before he knew that he'd begun. But looking back, there had been signs that this was coming. There had been his reaction to her decision to keep dating Henry even when he had gotten Charlie pregnant. A friend doesn't tell a girl that she's stupid but a guy who is in love with his best friend would say that. A best friend will try to protect his friend but not to the depths or lengths that he had gone to. But now he was sitting at his desk staring at his assistant when he should have been looking over the Book one early spring afternoon. Betty was answering calls and sorting his mail. She was too smart for that; she could do so much more. She didn't go to college just to sort his mail and tell him when to go to meetings. But she didn't want to leave him; he was too important to her. But she probably just wanted to be his friend. He wasn't her type; she went for guys like Henry and Gio. He didn't know what she saw in them but regardless they were the kinds of guys she dated. She didn't date playboys. She loved her career but at heart, she really was the marriage and family type. And while he did want a wife and a family, most people didn't think that he was. Betty might be his best friend but she probably still didn't see him like that.

"Daniel," Betty's voice broke through his thoughts. "Here's your mail."

"Thanks," he said holding out his hand but without looking up.

"Are you all right?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I'm just busy, stressed; you know how life around here is."

"You could take a vacation sometime," she told him. "You are allowed to do that."

He shook his head. "I have to get this place running right and we have to get this issue finished."

"And you have to go to some charity ball on Friday night."

"I don't want to," he replied, finally looking up at her. "I want to eat pizza and watch a movie."

"And your mom wants you to find a date."

"I really don't want to go anywhere with any dumb model that will just sit there and tell me how many tic-tacs she can eat without breaking her diet."

Betty smiled. "Well, I can't help you."

"Yes you can," he replied with a sudden smile. "You could be my date and then we could sneak out early and go back to my apartment and eat pizza while watching a movie. Please?"

He knew his assistant couldn't resist his pleading blue eyes and eager smile. "Fine," she said. "But you're paying for my dress and shoes; you know I don't own any fancy clothes."

"Fair enough," he replied. "I'm giving us the rest of the day off and we're going shopping now."


38.

Even that moment should have told Betty that her boss wanted more than just friendship. But Betty Suarez was blissfully oblivious to the fact that Daniel Meade was probably as in love with her as she was with him. She, however, was still convinced that Daniel Meade just wanted to be her best friend and watching movies was just a friendly activity. Silly girl, she should have known that Daniel adored her. He hadn't been on a real date in ages and he seemed to prefer spending his weekends watching movies with her to chasing models. And now he was taking her shopping when they both should have been working. Most girls would have seen what was going but not Betty Suarez. She was still ignorant to the fact that Daniel Meade's dreams revolved more around a curvy Latina spitfire than they did around any twig-like model. And he wanted marriage and a family, two things that few people ever would have associated with him a few years earlier. But now he was walking around Bloomingdale's looking at dresses with his assistant. And he was patiently waiting for her to try on the dresses instead of trying to get some with the nearest hot blonde. Betty was really starting to wonder who this man was and what he had done with Daniel Meade. But here he was helping her pick out a gorgeous navy blue gown with silver shoes and then he was arranging for her to get her hair and make-up done by someone with whom Mode had connections. This new Daniel was a sweetheart and he was paying for all of this. Damn, she was a lucky girl to have him as her best friend.

"How long do you want to stay?" Betty asked Daniel on Saturday night as the car pulled up in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He shrugged. "It's eight now and I want to be home by ten-thirty. Did you bring clothes to change into?"

She shook her head. "I forgot."

"It's okay; you can borrow sweats and a t-shirt from me. And then just get them back to me sometime. It's no big deal."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not going to let you get pizza all over that dress; that's for sure. And it can't be too terribly comfortable for just lying around watching a movie."

She smiled. "It's not terribly comfortable for anything."


39.

Daniel looked at his assistant who was currently sprawled out on his couch wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that were far too big for her and a burgundy Harvard t-shirt that was basically drowning her. She was so cute with her still perfect hair and make-up clashing against her comfortable apparel. Daniel was wearing black sweat pants and a white undershirt but realized that it was a little chilly in his apartment. "Do you want a sweatshirt?" he asked.

She shook her head. "When is the pizza going to get here? I didn't eat anything at that dinner."

He smiled; moments like this made him want to grab her and kiss her. She didn't fit perfectly into the world of high society but she was still beautiful and smart and absolutely wonderful; and she didn't know it at all. "It should be here in about half an hour. But I have some pretzels or ice cream if you want something now."

"The pretzels sound amazing. So what movie are we watching?"

He ran into the kitchen and grabbed the bag of pretzels along with a bag of tortilla chips and sat down next to her on the couch. "We have options," he replied, handing her a stack of DVDs from the coffee table.

"Mulan, Blazing Saddles, Gladiator, The Little Mermaid, or War of the Worlds," she read. "Well, violence scares me and I don't really feel like Blazing Saddles right now."

He pulled The Little Mermaid out of the pile. "I think we both know that this is your favorite movie, so we'll watch it."

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" she asked kissing his cheek.

"Umm, no," he replied. "But I'm glad I know now. And I'll be sure to use that against you in the future."

"Shut up and put the movie in the DVD player," she said, slapping him.

He hugged her and took a brief second to smell her hair, which smelled like hairspray and not his sweet Betty. Then he jumped off the couch and loaded the movie.

When the pizza delivery man rang the doorbell about half an hour into the movie, Daniel realized that at some point the past thirty minutes, Betty had curled up against his chest and he had wrapped his arms around her. Some people might have taken this as a hint that their relationship had gone farther than friendship but this wasn't the first time that this had happened to Daniel and Betty and they always seemed to just blame it on the fact that they were best friends. But at times, Daniel found himself wondering if they did it because they were friends and they really were that comfortable together or if they did it because they wanted something more or they knew that there was something more than just friendship between them. He knew that he had fallen for his best friend and he needed to talk to her about it. But he didn't know how to do it without ruining everything.


40.

"Did you know that Wilhelmina once told me that she thought I could be like her?" Betty asked Daniel one night a few weeks after they started dating.

He looked at her and shook his head. "I know she changed herself but I think that she had always been that person on the inside; she just needed an outside to match. You're too sweet to be like her. You actually care about people."

Betty smiled. "I had this nightmare of becoming like her. And it scared the crap out of me. In it, I ignored you and I just abused people for no real reason except appearances and my own whims. And I can't imagine kicking you out of my life just because we don't work together. I can't imagine my life without you at least as my friend."

"So don't ignore me," Daniel replied, kissing her cheek.

"But you don't mind that I've changed my hair and my clothes, do you?"

He shook his head. "I care more about the interior, the Betty on the inside; the exterior is about what makes you happy. But if you don't mind my asking, why did you do it?"

"I thought that people didn't take me seriously enough."

"I took you seriously."

"After you got to know me, you did. But when you met me, you didn't take me seriously at all."

"I was also an asshole then," he replied. "I didn't take anyone, including myself, seriously."

"That's true but first impressions matter, Daniel. And people laughed at the way I looked. I didn't mind it but I wanted to move ahead in my career and I saw my exterior holding me back."

"You want to move ahead in your career but you refuse to stop being my assistant."

She looked at him. "Daniel, I worry about you. I know that I'm being silly but I feel a need to protect you and keep you safe."

"So you can do that as my girlfriend."

"Am I your girlfriend?" she asked looking up at his face.

"Do you need to ask?" he teased.

She sighed and pulled away from him so she could see his face better. "Daniel, I'm asking you a question, now will you please answer it? I'm asking you if I'm your girlfriend, therefore I must not be clear as to whether or not I am your girlfriend. I'm not going to ask you cutesy questions or play dumb; I want to know if we're dating or not."

"I'm sorry. I'm not good at this whole being a boyfriend thing; I'm not used to having to taking things beyond one stupid night."

"I know," Betty sighed. "But I'm willing to work with you if you're willing to work with me. Now, I'm asking you a question, Daniel Meade. Am I your girlfriend or am I just some stupid fling that's going to end when we both come to our senses?"

"You're my girlfriend," he replied. "I think I came to my senses when I finally started dating you."

"Aren't you all cutesy and romantic?"

Daniel laughed. "I know, I know, but I'm used to using it to get girls."

"No, no, I like it sometimes. I think I might like it when Daniel is romantic."

"Yeah, well, I think I like saucy Betty; it's a little bit sexy."

"Oh shut up," she replied. "You know you're going to have to behave yourself at the office."

Daniel pulled his girlfriend into his lap. "Yeah but I'm not at work right now. And therefore, I don't have to behave myself, Ms. Suarez."

"I feel like I might regret this but just shut up and kiss me, Mr. Meade."


41.

"Daddy, I need you!" a sad voice cried as Daniel Meade sat at the dining room table with his laptop one Saturday morning in early December.

"What's wrong, Vivianna?" he asked as he removed his reading glasses and walked towards his almost five-year-old daughter who was coming down the stairs with her teddy bear clutched tightly against her chest.

"Daddy, Nikolas told me that Santa Claus is dead," she sobbed. "Tell him to stop lying."

Daniel picked his daughter up and kissed her forehead. "Why did he tell you that Santa died?"

"I asked Sarah to write a letter to Santa for me and Nik said that Santa died a long time ago and we're stupid to send him letters because he can't receive them anyway."

"Santa isn't dead," her father told her, carrying her to the couch.

"That's what I said. But Nik said I'm stupid and I should just come ask you; you'd tell me the same thing. He said that you and Mommy buy all of our Christmas presents and just pretend that there's a Santa." Her tone suddenly became very accusing. "He said that you lie to us. You and Mommy wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

Daniel had known that this moment would come at some point in his youngest daughter's life. He and Betty had been forced to have this conversation with each of their four older children and it was never easy. And he'd never had to explain this by himself; Betty had handled Sarah and they had this conversation jointly with each of their three sons. But now he was alone with his daughter who had firmly believed in Santa Claus until that day. "All right, Vivianna, now you're a big girl," he began slowly, looking his daughter's bright blue eyes. "And Mommy and I haven't been lying to you."

"So Nik was lying!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

He took a deep breath; explaining Santa was one of the harder parts of parenting. "Nik was lying, in a way. But Mommy and I haven't been telling you all the truth either."

"I'm fused," she told him.

"I understand that. I was confused too when I was your age." Unfortunately, Alex was his brother and Alex was a lot crueler about revealing the truth behind the "Santa Myth" than Nik. "But I'll try to explain carefully. Santa Claus isn't dead. But Mommy and I are the ones who buy your Christmas presents. Santa Claus is a name that we give to the spirit of giving and sharing at Christmastime."

"So you lied to me," she said. "You told me stories about an old man in a red suit who came down the chimney to put presents in my stocking but really you were just lying."

Daniel was really wishing that his wife wasn't out having coffee with Christina just then. She really could have helped him out a lot. But he was alone and he could do this. "Vivianna, most parents tell their children about Santa Claus. My parents told me about Santa Claus."

"So they lied to you too?" she asked. "Did Grandpa Ignacio lie to Mommy too?"

He sighed. "I wouldn't say that it is a lie but rather an explanation for something. Would you rather that we just told you that we were buying your presents or did you like Santa Claus better?"

She frowned and looked at him sternly. "Daddy, do you love me?"

He smiled. "Of course I love you, pumpkin. Why wouldn't I?"

Vivianna shrugged before climbing into his lap. "You told me about Santa Claus."

"And you, my dear girl, accused me of lying to you."

She nodded. "And you might not love me anymore."

He kissed the top of her head. "I could never stop loving you. You're my Vivianna, my little angel."

"Am I stupid?"

"No," he replied. "You're not stupid at all."

"I'm going to tell Nikolas you said that," she told him as she scrambled out of his lap.

Daniel laughed. "Go ahead. And then tell him I want to talk to him."


42.

"None of our children believe in Santa anymore," Daniel told his wife that evening while they were making dinner.

Betty frowned. "I was afraid of that day. I liked it when they were young and innocent."

"I know," he replied as he shredded lettuce for the salad. "But Lucas and Vivianna still believe in the Tooth Fairy. And Vivianna still wants to be tucked in every night. They're still our children."

"But Daniel, my baby doesn't believe in Santa Claus anymore. They grow up too fast." She looked up at him with big brown eyes. "Can we have another baby?"

Daniel smiled and shook his head. "Sweetie, let's review a few things about babies. Do you remember two o'clock feedings?"

She nodded and smiled. "But I was the one who had to feed them. You could sleep if you wanted to."

"Do you remember diaper changes?"

"Those stink."

He laughed. "Do you remember morning sickness and labor?"

She grimaced. "I didn't like those parts. But the babies are cute and sweet and they believe in Santa Claus."

"I know," he replied. "But Betty, I'm fifty-two years old; I'm almost fifty-three. If we had another baby now, I would be in my seventies when the kid graduated from high school and college. I can't survive without my reading glasses and I know my eyes are getting worse. And then there's my heart to consider; I don't want to die on our kids before they're married. We're not getting any younger, sweetie."

Betty frowned and leaned against her husband's chest, noticing for the first time that Daniel had gray hair around his temples and that some of the chest hair peeking out from under his shirt was gray where it had once all been dark brown. And recently she'd found a few gray hairs on her own head. "I'm forty-three years old," she said out loud. "I can't have another baby right now. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking that babies are cute, sweet, and innocent. And they are. But I think we're done with babies. Now we have to raise teenagers."

"I'm glad Vivianna still lets us tuck her in," Betty said. "Daniel, promise me you won't leave me for a younger woman who will still have babies with you."

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Honey, I don't want any more babies. I like the family we have here. And I couldn't find a better woman than you."

"You're too sweet," she said.

"Yeah, well, don't let dinner burn," he replied.

She laughed and kissed his cheek before going back to making dinner.


43.

"Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you." Nineteen-year-old Lucas Meade said, walking into his parents' bedroom. His mother was reviewing the Book for Mode while his father was looking over finance reports from a few of his magazines.

"What's up, Luke?" his mother asked, setting aside the Book.

"It's kind of serious," he replied.

"Is it serious like a heart attack or someone dying or is it serious like you made a stupid mistake that's going to cost me a lot of money?" his father asked.

Lucas sat down on the edge of his parents' bed. "It's a little bit of both."

"And what is it?" Betty asked as her son took a deep breath.

"Beth's pregnant," he said slowly.

Daniel squeezed his wife's hand as he took a deep breath. "When did you find out?"

"She told me today," Lucas replied. "She's about two months along; she's due in July."

"And what are you two going to do?" Betty asked.

"She's going to have the baby but I'm not going to marry her or anything. I don't like her enough. She's pretty and really nice but she's not someone I want to get serious with."

His mother sighed. "But what are you going to do about the baby?"

Lucas shrugged. "I'm not sure. She wants to keep the baby and get married but that's not what I want. I'm still hoping that Jack and I can get the band thing to work out. And everyone knows that a rocker can't be tied down with a wife and family at nineteen or twenty."

Daniel took a deep breath. "So if you're not going to marry her and help her raise the baby, is she going to raise the baby alone?"

His son shrugged again. "I don't know, Dad. I'm nineteen years old; I don't want a baby. I didn't want this to happen."

"Lucas, let me explain something to you. If you're having sex, there is a possibility that the girl could end up pregnant," Betty said. "So regardless of whether or not you wanted this, you have it now. This baby exists and if Beth is keeping the baby, then you two have to figure out a way to take care of this child."

"But I didn't want the baby. And she's talking about how this could be our chance to save our relationship and make everything perfect with a wedding and a baby."

"Have you two discussed adoption?" Daniel asked.

"She just wants to keep the baby and get married. That's all she wants to talk about."

"I want to talk to Beth," Betty told her son. "Can you tell her that?"

"I can give you her cell phone number," he replied. "Then you can talk to her yourself."

"We'll talk about it in the morning after we've all slept on it," she said simply. "But I want to talk to Beth."

"I do too," Daniel added.

"Does this mean that I should go to bed now?"

"Or at least leave our room so I can talk to your mother, please."

"We're going to be grandparents," Betty told her husband after their son left the room.

"And yet, I have a feeling, we're actually about to become parents," he replied.

She looked at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Betty, you've met Beth before. She's very nice but we both know that Lucas was dating her because of her looks, not her brains. And I love Lucas; he's my son and I'll always love him. But he's not ready to be a father; unfortunately, he's about to become one, and he isn't prepared. Now, he has seven months; they both do, but I can't see either one of them being a responsible parent."

"So you think that we're going to end up with the baby," Betty said.

Daniel nodded. "Beth's parents aren't going to want to help with the baby. And she sees this baby as her chance to get Lucas to marry her but we both know that won't happen. Honey, I'm sixty years old and I'm really not looking to become a father again. But if someone has to take care of this baby, I have a feeling it's going to be us. Lucas won't do it; Beth won't. And unfortunately, they probably won't put the baby up for adoption either."

"So we're going to become parents again."

"And I was really getting used to sleeping through the night," her husband replied.

"Luke always was our free-spirited child."

"Yeah, well, I'd like him to put the rock career on hold for a while and actually do something for this baby. I would really like it if he would go to school and find a back-up plan for his rock career, but I don't see that happening. So, I think we're going to end up being parents to our grandchild."

Betty sighed and leaned against her husband's chest. "Did we do something different raising him than we did with the other four?"

"Yes, his middle name is Bradford. And we both know what my father was like."

"He didn't have any illegitimate children."

"That we know of," Daniel replied. "Remember, when he was nineteen, if a guy got a girl pregnant, they just would have sent off to the country for nine months and then given the baby away and no one would have known."

"Daniel, you're a little bit weird."

"No, I just know what my father was like."


44.

The following July, Reese Cassandra Parker-Meade was born. And her father had custody of her from the day her mother was released from the hospital. Beth Parker took off to become an actress and make her fortune in Hollywood, leaving her daughter with Lucas Meade, who really just wanted to be the next Bruce Springsteen. And so, true to Daniel's predictions, he and Betty found themselves raising a sixth child. "I'm sixty-one years old. I should be thinking about retirement," Daniel said one night as he got Reese ready for bed.

"You're preaching to the choir," his wife replied. "I thought that when I was fifty-two, I'd be working and raising Nik and Vivianna, not changing diapers."

"I'll be eighty-three when she graduates from college."

"I'm sorry, sweetie."

"That's disturbing," he said. "I want Lucas to take responsibility for his daughter, not to spend his evenings in our basement playing guitar while I change his daughter's diapers."

"So take Reese and stick her in his room until he takes care of her."

Daniel kissed his granddaughter's forehead. "No, I like Reese a little too much for that. I don't know when Lucas would finally get around to noticing that there was a baby in his room. He's a lot like I was at that age and that worries me. I didn't grow up for a long time after that."

"But you were born to be a father. The minute I gave you Sarah for the first time, you knew instinctively what to do with her."

"But I kind of wanted to get old and spend time with my wife."

Betty took Reese from her grandfather and put her in her bassinet. "I know, sweetie. I was looking forward to the day when Vivianna moved out and we could just spend time alone together."

"And what if I die? My father was younger than I am now when he died. And I have the same heart condition."

Betty took Daniel by the hand and led him back to their bed. "I really do understand, Daniel. I worry about this stuff too. And I want to slap Lucas upside the head and tell him to take care of his own daughter."

"Maybe we should do that."

Betty found herself leaning against her husband's chest and running her fingers through his hair. "Maybe we should. I'm just afraid of what he might do."

"The worst that can happen is that we still have Reese with us and the best is that our son would take responsibility for his actions."


45.

Daniel Meade was sitting in the living room late one night in December feeding little Reese. Sarah and her fiancé, Logan, were visiting for the weekend and he knew that Logan was in the kitchen getting a late night snack. Then he heard the kitchen door open and close. "What the hell are you doing?" Logan said to the person who had just entered.

"I was just out having drinks with my friends."

"You're not twenty-one yet; you can't legally drink."

"Oh, no one gives a shit about that anymore. And I'll be twenty-one next month."

"Lucas, your dad is in the living room right now feeding your daughter. He should be sleeping; he's her grandfather. You're her father; you're the one who should be staying up late and doing midnight feedings."

"But I didn't want the baby. Let Mom and Dad deal with that shit. It's just so stupid and boring and lame."

"Umm, it's called taking responsibility for your actions. You had sex, your girlfriend got pregnant, and now you have a daughter. Your father is in his sixties; he shouldn't be doing this kind of stuff. It's not good for his heart."

"He doesn't care. Mom and Dad like the baby; they can deal with her."

Logan sighed and Daniel smiled to himself. Where he and his wife hadn't been able to get through to his son, his soon to be son-in-law was trying to lecture his errant son. "Lucas, this is your child. And you're taking advantage of your parents. Get over yourself and grow up. Take responsibility for your daughter and her life."

"You're such a lame old man," Lucas said before storming out of the kitchen to his room in the basement.

A few minutes later, Logan came out into the living room. "Did you hear that?" he asked Daniel.

The older man smiled and nodded. "Good job, Logan," he said. "You're in the same league as me. I've been a lame old man for years now."

"I don't understand him."

"Welcome to the Meade family; this is how we live."


A/N: Please review! And keep giving me ideas; I think I currently have close to twenty, including the episodes I just did.