AN: Thanks to those who review/alerted or put the story on favorite, you guys rock :). I've decided to continue the story (even if I'm way out of my league :D). I can't promise completely regular updates, but I'll try my best for -at least- once a week :). Also, still no beta, so please excuse bad errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty etc. etc.

Just as she pressed the submit button to update her blog she heard a knock on the door to her hotel room. On her way to the door she quickly checked the mirror to see if nothing was extremely out of the ordinary since she last checked 10 minutes ago. She was so excited to have the night off and spend it with Daniel of all people that she practically launched herself at him in a hug upon opening the door. In retrospect, maybe she was a bit too excited. When she first saw him earlier that day, she was having trouble processing that it was actually him in London. Later she was afraid she may have come across as a bit standoffish to him and although she had been a bit upset at first about him not saying goodbye, that wasn't in any way the reason for being somewhat distant. She simply couldn't believe that it was really happening. It didn't fully sink in that he was really here until she was walking away from him after their brief meeting. But now wasn't the time to dwell on what had or hadn't happened, he was here now. And for however long that he was going to be here, she intended to fully enjoy his presence. She would just have to schedule in some free time. She hadn't been joking about needing that assistant, although the thought of the great Daniel Meade being her assistant still made her laugh. Laughing sheepishly she stepped back from Daniel and gestured for him to come inside.

"Come in. Umm…don't mind the mess. It's been crazy and I haven't really had time -"

Daniel walked in while taking in the 'messy' hotel room with stacks of files, papers and books lying everywhere, a laptop open on a small desk and a small pile of clothes draped over a chair.

"Betty, the state you've seen my apartment in several times over the past years…this doesn't even come close"

Betty turned around and smirked at him, "That's true, but I don't think anything can beat that."

Daniel snorted and couldn't help but laugh. She had a point. Their normal banter took away some of the nerves he felt, although why he was nervous he wasn't sure. This was Betty. The only person aside from his mother and Alexis he felt completely at ease with. Even if he wanted to explore this new dynamic in their friendship, she was still Betty. He didn't have to be anyone but himself with her. Besides, he may be interested in trying to find out if there was more to their friendship then just…well friendship, but he didn't know if Betty wanted that too. So for now, just catching up as friends was the way to go. Besides after what he pulled, he first needed to make sure their friendship was still as solid as it was before. No matter what, he didn't want to lose her friendship. He looked at Betty, who was currently babbling away about her new job and her new colleagues while trying to find her left shoe, and he couldn't help but notice how incredibly beautiful her newfound self-confidence made her. She was positively glowing. He could see better than ever, that right now she was exactly where and who she was meant to be. Suddenly something occurred to him, "Betty, why do you still live in a hotel? You've been here for almost 3 months."

Hunched over to look under the bed for her shoe she answered slightly out of breath, "Uhmm, I haven't really had time to properly look yet. I mean I've tried, but there's so much to do for the magazine. Plus I don't know the neighborhoods and such, so it takes a lot of time just to check out one apartment. Ah! Found it. Okay I'm ready, where are we going exactly?"

He had tried really hard to not check her out when she was grabbing that shoe, but…well…he was still a guy. And she looked good. Feeling slightly guilty, he covered not being able to say anything for a moment with a cough before he remembered where he was taking her.

"Oh, it's this restaurant near Covent Garden. According to Alexis it's one of those places you have to have gone to at least once."

When he helped her with her coat he was a bit surprised she'd chosen both a black coat and a simple, elegant black dress. So used to seeing her in all kinds of patterns and colors, and not always ones that actually combine well, this was definitely, distractingly different. Huh. Then he saw Betty throwing him an amused glance while holding the door open from outside her room.

"Are you coming Daniel, or did you want to stand there all night?"

Not sure how to reply to that he decided it wiser to not reply at all. He quickly follower her out and to break the tension he jokingly held out his arm for her in an exaggerated formal manner. Laughing she took his arm and resumed the conversation on their way down to the waiting taxi.

Dinner was going good. They had just been catching up for the most part, and just joking around and laughing. It felt like they were back in New York and having one of their work dinners or friend lunches. Betty smiled at the memory that they never did get much work done during those dinners, they were usually too busy joking around and just chatting. As they finished their main course, they started reminiscing about the time they first went to dinner together. Laughing at the impromptu dinner when she saved him from public embarrassment by simply pretending it was a business dinner between boss and assistant and the evening with karaoke that followed. She realized that night was probably the true start of their friendship. Betty was thoroughly enjoying herself and dreaded the end of the evening. However, something did feel a bit off about Daniel's behavior to her. Daniel was behaving like normal for the most part, but occasionally he'd shift uncomfortably in his seat, or she'd catch him glance at her with a somewhat worried expression. When the waiter asked him if 'he and his date' were ready to order dessert, and he almost choked on his scotch, she'd had enough.

Waiting until the waiter left she threw Daniel an exasperated look and asked him in that tone she used only on him, "Daniel, what's going on? You've been acting a bit weird all night." When she saw him give her the 'deer-in-headlights' look she decided to put him at ease a bit. Whatever it was, it probably was nowhere near as bad as Daniel had convinced himself it was anyway. Smiling gently at him she added, "Don't make me force you to sing karaoke again."

Daniel took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself a bit. When that didn't work he just downed his scotch instead. Thanks to Alexis' oh so helpful restaurant recommendation, he was convinced this must look like a date to her. Alexis had recommended a restaurant that, as the waiter had proudly mentioned, was voted one of the most romantic restaurants in London. He was going to kill Alexis. He'd only wanted to take her out on a nice dinner, just catch up and hang out like in New York. This completely messed up that whole 'just hanging out' idea! Even IF there was potential for something romantic with Betty, sure as hell not this fast! He didn't want Betty to think he was trying to rush something, especially since she knew his history with women all too well. He'd started to panic when the waiter asked them if he 'and his date' were ready to order dessert. If she thought he'd intended this to be a date, and he was trying to rush her into something, he was absolutely sure she would end up hating him for putting her on the same level as all his former 'dates'. Sure she seemed fine so far, but this was Betty. She was probably just being sensitive and polite right now. When she asked him what was up he just knew this was it. He just hoped she would let him explain this was all Alexis' fault and really, it wasn't a date. Realizing he wasn't sure how to explain exactly that, he started to panic even more until suddenly, the dam burst and he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"This isn't a date!"

Betty gave him an odd look and then lightly laughed and said, "Of course I know it's not a date".

Daniel briefly closed his eyes in relief before becoming even more confused. If she didn't think this was a date despite the overwhelming date-like surroundings, did that mean she could never see him in a date-like setting? Not that he wanted this to be a date, but he wasn't sure how he felt about her easily dismissing the possibility that it actually could be a date. Even if it wasn't. It made him wonder if Betty felt there could be more to their relationship then just friendship, or if it was just him who felt that way. He decided that for tonight he would just let it go. It wasn't the right time to bring that up, he would have to see if her attitude towards him had changed in any way before risking her friendship.

"Daniel why is it such a big deal?"

Shit. Quiet for too long. Mentally flailing for a good answer he started rambling.

"I didn't want you to get the wrong idea…I mean, not that I wouldn't, it's just…uhmm...-". He stopped himself to calm down and start again more slowly. Determined to explain it right he went with a half-truth for now, "I was afraid that if you thought this was a date, that I brought you here for only one reason. Like the women I dated before. I didn't want you to get mad or worse give me that disappointed look of yours. " He had wanted to say more, but since she'd just grabbed his hand over the table and was currently giving him a 'that-was-sweet-in-a-dorky-way' look, he figured stopping there was good enough.

"That was sweet of you to worry about that Daniel", she said smiling, "I know you wouldn't do that anymore." Withdrawing her hands again from Daniel's she snorted and said while grinning, "Besides, like we'd even go on a date anyway. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be right back, nature calls".

She completely missed the hurt look on his face as he watched her go. That throwaway comment had hurt much more than he expected. Not sure how to deal with that, he resolved to talk to his mother about it. She knew Betty about as good as he did and she was the only one who knew why he was here, maybe she could offer some insights. Having paid the check before her return, they left the restaurant and took a taxi back to her hotel in a comfortable silence, only occasionally making small talk.

Back at the hotel Betty asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. She didn't want to let the night end yet. Relieved when he accepted, she steered them towards a small park near her hotel. They walked in a comfortable silence for a while, huddled together arm in arm to ward off the evening chill. Eventually Daniel broke the silence.

"If you want, I could help you look for an apartment? I know London pretty good, and you must be sick of staying in a Hotel for so long."

Considering it for a moment she came to a quick decision, "I would love your help! If you're sure you have time for it?" She didn't want to stand in his way of trying to start over, but it would mean having him around for at least a while longer.

He laughed, "I have no job at the moment remember? Besides it'll be fun."

Smiling her megawatt smile at his answer she was about to ask when he wanted to start looking when something occurred to her.

"Where are you staying anyway?"

Grinning sheepishly he replied, "My parents' apartment. They had one for when dad had to do business in the London office and they had to take us when we were kids. Mom felt hotels weren't suitable for small children for long periods of time. It hasn't been used in years, but mom didn't want to sell it. She said it was one of the few places she only had good memories of us as a family, no bad ones." Betty hugged the arm that was linked in hers closer as a sign of comfort when he ended that explanation sadly.

What seemed like a brilliant temporary solution when he first thought of it, he asked her before he thought it through. "Hey, why don't you stay at my place until we can find you something? It's in central London, and the apartment has 3 extra rooms. You won't even notice I'm there if you're working. We could be roomies!"

She laughed at his enthusiasm for being 'roomies' and definitely liked the idea of not having to pay for the cheap, small hotel room any longer while she was looking for an apartment. Still, she wasn't sure if it was such a good idea. What if he only offered to be polite? She definitely didn't relish the thought of being 'roomies' with Daniel if he intended to bring over women all the time.

Sensing her hesitation he quickly amended, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just thought, since the apartment is huge…You don't have to say yes if you don't want to."

The idea was growing on her by the second, especially when she thought of the small hotel room currently waiting for her. One thing still bothered her though.

"Daniel, are you sure about this? I mean, what if you want to….bring home a date or something? Won't that be awkward? I don't really want to be there if you do that."

He huffed, "That won't happen."

Unconvinced she gave him a skeptical look. "You sound awfully sure of that."

She was so close to him and so beautiful, cheeks slightly tinged from the walk and the chilly air. Staring at her with a soft look in his eyes he answered, "I am sure".

She sensed something had changed, but she wasn't sure what exactly. Dismissing it she decided to accept his offer. His answer convinced her he was serious and it would only be for a little while after all, what could go wrong? She smiled softly back at him, "Okay. Roomies."

They made plans to move her things to the apartment on her next day off, 3 days from now, on their walk back to the hotel. That night, back at their own respective places, they were both too restless and excited to go to sleep. In the back of both of their minds, there was a little nagging voice trying to tell them something. Betty was too excited to notice it; Daniel simply ignored it.