Ugly Betty

It Takes A Village

A/N:Yes, I know I am bad at updating. Life is just very busy.It's also on the short sidebut it's still an update. Forgive me? Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Ugly Betty in anyway.

Chapter Twelve: Doesn't Mean Everything

"I hate him," Daniel breathed. Amanda smirked and Christina held her breath but Betty simply grinned.

"Well, I do and that is all that matters," she replied.

"But he's all-"

"Handsome and wonderful?" Betty asked. She rolled her eyes playfully. "Daniel, Owen is nice. Give him a chance. You might find you actually like him."

"I doubt that," Daniel scoffed. "Very much. And what about Sybella? What does she think of him?"

"She loves him as much as a two year old can," Betty shrugged. Daniel glared at the ceiling and Betty swallowed a smile. "Daniel, she loves you more and she always will."

"This isn't just about Betty, is it?" Christina whispered to Amanda.

"I don't think so," Amanda whispered back.

"Can you two give us a moment alone?" Daniel asked. Christina and Amanda scampered from the office and sat at Betty's desk.

"You are being totally insecure," Betty continued. "And selfish. I mean, I didn't act like this when you started dating Ashleigh. I gave her a chance and now I expect you to give Owen one. He is never going to replace you just like Ashleigh hasn't replaced me. I'm still Sybella's mum and your still her father. We are still friends and nothing has really changed. Please, for me, just give Owen a chance."

"Fine," Daniel said. "I will."

"Good," Betty said with a final nod. "Because he is coming to dinner with us tonight and I want you to promise to be nice."

"I can't promise that," Daniel said.

"Daniel," she said, raising an eyebrow at him and sending him a 'look.' He rose his own eyebrow back and she sighed. "Daniel, please. All I want is a chance to have what you have, to have what I should have had with Gabe but didn't."

"Fine. I promise I'll try to be nice," he said finally.

"That isn't good enough," Betty said.

"It's the best I can offer," he shrugged.

"Fine," she said. She stood up and made her way over to the door. Just before she opened it, she turned to him and gave him a look he couldn't quite read. "I just want you to know that it means a lot to me that you like Owen but it doesn't mean everything. And I'm not going to stop seeing him if you don't so try or don't try, I don't care but it means more to me that I like him and I do."

"Betty, what did you say to him?" Christina asked. "He looks like, like-"

"Like he just got told Armani stopped making suits," Amanda supplied.

"I just told him that I didn't care if he liked Owen or not that I was going to keep seeing him anyway," she said, shooing Christina out of her seat. "You guys like him don't you?"

"He seems wonderful," Christina shrugged.

"I love him. I'll have him when you're done," Amanda agreed.

"I might not be done with him for a very long time," Betty replied. "How long are you prepared to wait?"

"So this is serious then?" Christina asked.

"It's only been three months but I don't know, it feels good. It feels like it could be something long-term."

"Well, good for you, love," Christina said, looking as if she didn't mean it at all.

"Yeah, good for you, Betty," Amanda parroted.

"You guys don't seem too happy," Betty pointed out.

"We aren't unhappy, it's just, we're shocked," Christina replied. "We didn't realise it was quite so serious but we're happy for you, aren't we, Amanda?"

"Of course we are," Amanda agreed. Betty rolled her eyes at them but she smiled.

"Good. I'm glad because he really is nice," Betty re-affirmed. Christina and Amanda glanced at each other as Betty went off on a tangent. "And he's gorgeous and he is so good with Sybella and he makes me laugh and he never makes me feel uncomfortable and he can tell when I'm having a bad day but he just makes me feel so much better straightaway and I'm gushing, aren't I?"

"Like a waterfall," Amanda said. "But it's, uh, fine."

She and Christina pasted on bright smiles and tried to look interested but luckily they were saved by the ringing telephone.

"MODE Magazine, Betty Suarez speaking," Betty chirped brightly. She smiled gooily and her voice seemed to raise ten octaves. "Hey, we were just talking about you. No, it's all good stuff."

Amanda and Christina took the opportunity to stand and scamper away leaving Betty to bask in her own glow.

"I swear, her and Daniel are the thickest human beings on the planet," Amanda huffed as they reached her cirular desk.

"Tell me about it," Christina agreed. "He is quite yummy though."

"So what? Daniel is yummy too," Amanda said. "And I can say that as a sister. At least after a lot of time and therapy I can. Anyway, Sybella is calling Daniel 'dad' but if another man is in the picture then..."

"Okay, we have to stop this. We know that Daniel and Betty are meant to be together but because they are so stupid, we have to support them in their stupidity, okay?"

"Do we really have too?" Amanda whined. Christina silenced her with a look and Amanda rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"Swear?" Christina asked, holding out her pinky.

"Swear," Amanda groaned, linking her pinky with Christina's.

"Well, I'd better get back down to the closet," Christina said.

"Oh, don't forget you said I could borrow that killer Alaia dress to wear out to dinner," Amanda called after her friend.

Without turning around Christina yelled, "I got you a pair of Loboutins to wear with it."

"Awesome," Amanda breathed to herself. "I am going to look amazing."

"He's late," Betty said to herself. She checked her watch again just to double check but yes, she was right. He was late.

"Hey, hey," Owen said from behind her. Betty whirled around and grinned when she saw him. He leaned in for a kiss and was very handsomely rewarded.

"I thought maybe you chickened out," Betty said.

"Hey, I would never stand you up," he replied. He pushed her back off her forehead and peered closely at her. "You okay? You look a bit pale."

"Oh, I just had a long day at work," she shrugged.

"I think you work too hard especially trying to raise Sybella on your own," he said.

"I'm not alone," she said. "I have Amanda, Daniel and Christina. Speaking of, they are probably dying of hunger as we speak so let's go."

"Hey, before we go in," Owen said. Betty turned to him and he leaned down to give her another lingering kiss. "Just wanted you for an extra moment to myself."

"So, Owen, what do you do for a living?" Daniel asked. He looked away almost as soon as he asked the question but he looked back when Ashleigh, a tiny ash blonde advertising manager, trod on his toe with her heel. He even managed to paste on a smile when he felt her tiny hand on his shirt.

"I'm in insurance," he said. "Business insurance, mostly. I actually work for my father now but until a year ago I worked at a firm over in Chicago."

"Why did you move back here?" Daniel asked. He sneaked a glance over at Betty who was looking at Owen lovingly. She had a glint in her eye that Daniel had briefly noticed when she and Gabe had first started dating but this time, it scared him. It could have been the candlelight. She was glowing in it and her loosely falling hair which softly framed her face and made her look beautiful, that was all it was. Maybe there was no glint or no affection in her look, Daniel tried to tell himself. But he knew he was wrong and he knew he should be happy for his dearest friend so he tried to listen to Owen.

"My dad had a heart attack," Owen explained. "And I moved back here so I could help him run the business."

"You're a Carter?" Ashleigh asked. She turned to Daniel. "You know Roland Carter, right? Of Park Avenue?"

"I know many people on Park Avenue," Daniel pointed out. "You'll need to be more specific."

"Daniel, Roland Carter, isn't he the guy who almost tried to seduce Fey before she and Bradford took up together?" Amanda asked. "I remember her saying something to my dad about it."

"If it is then there must be two of them because my father is Roland Carter," Owen interrupted. "My dad has been faithful to my mother his whole life. I'd swear on it."

"Oh, that was Roland Cavanaugh," Amanda corrected. "My mistake."

"It really is a small world, isn't it?" Betty mused. She pushed her fork through her mashed potato. It seemed to be the in thing to have a side-dish at all the restaurants in Manhattan that weren't fast food venues.

"You okay?" Owen asked her quietly. She turned her face to him and smiled brightly.

"No, I'm fine," she replied. "Like I said, I'm just a little tired."

"I think you might be working Betty too hard," Owen said to Daniel. The two locked eyes and for a split second there was tension between the two.

"Slave driver," Ashleigh laughed. She tenderly brushed a lock of hair off her boyfriend's face and with it, brushed away some of the tension. "You could have been a little bit nicer to Betty today. You knew we were having dinner tonight."

"There was a lot to do," Daniel shrugged.

"The big Christmas spread has to be done by Thursday," Betty explained to the two non-MODE employees.

"But it's October," Owen exclaimed. "There aren't even decorations up in the city yet."

"The issue goes on sale on the fourth of November so we don't really have that much time," Betty explained. "Everything in magazine land is at least two months ahead of the rest of the world. We have to be or we kind of have no reason to be here at all."

"Makes sense," Owen replied.

"You're lucky that they are even here at all," Ashleigh told him. "Magazine people are always doing overtime and always have something huge going on. It's hard dating one of them because you don't always get to see them but it's worth it. Especially for Betty."

"I think he knows how great she is," Daniel said.

"I do know how great she is," Owen said. Betty smiled and blushed sightly. Owen grinned at her and kissed her cheek. He looked at the rest of the table. "Besides, I was the one who was late tonight."

"Speaking of late," Christina said, breaking her long silence. She had been silently watching the way the two different couples interacted. "If everybody is finished their dinner, maybe we could head on back to someones apartment for a nightcap."

"You and your nightcaps," Daniel teased her good-naturedly. He missed Owen and Betty glancing at each other. "You can all come back to mine and Ash's."

"Actually, Owen and I have other plans so we're going to have to take a rain check," Betty said.

"Another time but, for sure," Owen agreed. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and then proceeded to pull a large wad of notes from it. He placed it on the table. "It's our share of the bill."

"That's more than enough for all of us," Ashleigh noted.

"We like to split it evenly," Daniel said, his voice not staying quite so even.

"It's really okay. I'll get the bill this evening. It's not a big deal. I wanted to meet you, Daniel, so it should be my treat," Owen replied.

"I insist," Daniel retorted.

"It's fine. You can just get it next time," Owen said.

"I'm saving for these new Dior sandals. The ones with the ostrich feathers on them so I don't mind if Owen pays," Amanda said, trying to break the tension.

"Daniel, just let him pay," Betty said. She sounded tired and when Daniel looked at her he felt his heart wrench. Daniel nodded and shrugged. "Thank you. I'll see you all at work tomorrow, okay? Come on, Owen. Let's go."

"It was nice to see you all again," Owen said, waving at everyone. He averted Daniel's eyes until the very last minute. They locked and both men suddenly knew. It was war and the prize was Betty Suarez.