Ugly Betty

It Takes A Village

A/N: This is so disturbingly cliched and I can accept that but I just wanted to update. This is so different to how I originally had the story. Owen was going to marry Betty and Daniel was going to marry Ashley and in like fifteen years, they would FINALLY get together. Also Sybella was going to play a much bigger part in the story so now that the plot bunnies have changed things, she will start to play a bigger part it in now. This is meant to be a story about Betty raising her of course. Oh I am bad. Hope you enjoy!

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

Chapter Fifteen: Calmly and Rationally

"Daddy," Sybella asked as she ate her mashed potatoes. She held her fork awkwardly and Daniel smiled at her fondly.

"Yes, Bella," he replied.

"If you're Daddy and Mama is Mama and most mummy and daddy's live together then why dont you?" she asked innocently. Daniel froze and opened and closed his mouth. He moved his chair closer to Sybella and blew softly on the little girl's face. She giggled and ducked her head. "Daddy, don't!"

"You know when you were a tiny, little baby we lived together," Daniel said. Sybella listened and continued to eat. Instinctively, Daniel cut her meat up as he talked. "It was a long time ago but it was a happy time."

"Why did you move?" Sybella asked. Daniel chuckled.

"I didnt. You and Mama did," he answered. "Mama and I had a bit of a fight and she decided to move out before we made things worse."

"I would like to live here all the time," Sybella said. "If Mama did."

"I would like that too," Daniel admitted softly. He looked at the time and down at Sybella's food. "Eat your food up, baby girl. Don't let it get cold."

"If Ashley moved out then me and Mama could move in," Sybella continued.

"Eat your food," Daniel sighed.

"Hey, Dan, are you okay?" Ashley asked. Daniel's face darkened and he muttered 'Daniel' under his breath. "What?"

"I said it's Daniel," he repeated. "And I'm fine. Belle was just really wound-up after pre-school and she talked and talked and talked."

"What did she talk about?" Ashley asked. She slipped into bed and nestled up next to Daniel. He didn't move away but he didn't move to put his arms around here either.

"She asked why Betty and I didnt live together if we were her parents," he answered. He felt Ashley tense up slightly next to him.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"I told her that we used to live together but we moved out when we had a fight," he answered. "It seems like so long ago now."

"You miss living with her?"

"I miss having a family here and I miss what it was like back then. I only see Sybella three times a week now and I never get to spend time just me and Betty. Amanda and Christina are always there and I love them to death but things are just different," Daniel said honestly. He didn't really care what he said to Ashley at this point. He was so mad at her that he hadn't even been able to confront her about the conclusions he had made. "I loved having Betty and Sybella live here. This place felt like a real home."

"We'll have a family of our own here one day," Ashley murmured. "Maybe even a little Sybella of our own. It'll be even better because they'll be ours."

"Ash, you cant even take ten minutes off work to discuss a wedding date let alone taking three months off work to have a kid," Daniel snapped.

"I'm sorry but work has been really busy lately. I just had to take on half of Len's cases because her mother died or something and she had to take some time off work. It wont always be like this. I promise," she replied. "And if you're so intent on setting a date, let's do it right now."

"Right now?" Daniel asked, shocked. "You want to just pick a random date right now?"

"It doesn't really matter what date we get married on, does it? It's just date. It's the marriage, the vows. They are what's important," Ashley sighed. Daniel stood up and walked over to the door without a word. "Where are you going? You're the one who wanted to set a date."

"I think I can hear Sybella," he answered.

Things were frosty in the morning. They didn't talk as they showered and dressed. Daniel entered the bedroom after doing his hair but when he left the room he found Ashley sitting at the kitchen table, hair done but make-up-less, with Sybella chatting about something he couldnt quite hear. He joined them with his cereal.

"OJ?" Ashley asked, pushing the jug towards him. He grabbed himself a glass from the centre of the table and filled it. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's fine. I shouldn't have stormed out on you," Daniel answered. Ashley stood up and kissed him on the forehead..

"I have a meeting at work this morning but I thought I'd take the afternoon off," she said as she continued on her way into the kitchen. "Maybe I can meet you for lunch and we can have a talk? We should set a date because it is important. I mean, the exact date isn't but it would be nice to know one. We know we're having a spring wedding so that narrows it down a bit."

"Sounds good. Call me when you're ready," he answered. She smiled brightly at him from the kitchen and although his smile was dimmer, he smiled back.

"Hey, Belle, are you almost done?" Ashley called out. The little girl nodded and carried her empty bowl over to the table. "Why dont you go and grab your backpack and put your shoes and socks on while I put my make-up on and then I'll take you to school."

Daniel sat at his desk and watched Betty work. It was easy for him to remain unobserved as he observed. He had no idea what to do. No idea. He knew that he loved Betty and he knew that he wanted to marry her but he didn't know what to do about Ashley. It had been barely 48 hours since he had realised this and it wasp pretty much a big deal. For starters, he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Betty loved him back but he also knew that a life with Ashley would not make him happy. He had broken up with girls before but that had been easy. He simply stopped returning their calls, stopped calling them and then eventually came the expensive bunch of flowers. That was the final act of the 'break-up' but Daniel had never broken-up with a fiancee before and he had a feeling things were very different when you were leaving the person you were meant to marry, were meant to spend the rest of your life with.

The only catch was this; Daniel wasnt meant to marry Ashley. He was meant to marry Betty. And that made things easier and harder.

Ashley swept into the office just past midday, unannounced and in a rush. She stopped at Betty's desk and waited impatiently for Betty to finish her phone call.

"Hey, Ashley. What's up?" she asked, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

"I need to see Daniel right away," she puffed. "Where is he?"

"He's meeting with Favia but they shouldn't be much longer. I just saw a bunch of her cronies racing to the lobby. You can wait in his office if you want," Betty answered. Ashley nodded and muttered something Betty didn't quite catch before she practically ran into Daniel's office. Betty watched as Ashley paced, sat down, jumped up and paced again. She was fidgety and restless. Betty looked up and saw Daniel leaving the conference room. She waved him over.

"What's up?" he asked, looking nervous and guilty.

"What is with you today?" Betty asked."You and Ashley are both acting weird."

"What about Ashley?" Daniel replied.

"She's in your office and she seems nervous or something. She keeps pacing and fidgeting," Betty explained. She gave Daniel a strange and confusing look. "You are both being very weird. What are you hiding? Is she pregnant?"

"No way," Daniel answered. He noted that Betty looked very, very relieved at his answer. He looked up just as Ashley noticed him. She rushed to the door and waved at him. "I guess I'd better go in there."

"I'll hold your calls," Betty replied. She watched Daniel and Ashley take a seat on opposite sides of the desk and she sighed. She picked up the phone to call Christina.

"The Closet," Christina answered.

"It's me. Find some excuse to come up here and pick Amanda up on the way. Ashley just turned up and something is going down," Betty whispered.

"She managed to get away from work?" Christina asked. "I never thought I'd see the day. I'll be up in a minute."

She hung up and Betty watched Ashley and Daniel through the glass. They were involved in a very intense conversation and neither looked willing to compromise. It wasn't long before Ashley was leaving. Amanda and Christina hadnt even made it to her desk yet.

"Ashley?" Betty called out after the blonde. Ashley turned around and smiled at Betty.

"You should go in there and make sure he's okay," she said. She gave Betty a quick hug. "It was nice to know you. Good luck with everything."

"Umm, good luck to you too?" Betty offered unsure what was going on. Amanda and Christina walked over. Ashley nodded at them both before leaving.

"What happened?" Christina asked as they watched her retreating back.

"I don't know," Betty asked. The three women looked at each other and then walked into Daniel's office.

"Daniel, what happened?" Amanda asked, going to her brother's side. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder briefly and then sat on the desk. Betty and Christina took the seats on the other side of the desk. Christina's eye caught something shiny and she picked up the engagement ring.

"It's Ashley's ring," she pointed out. Nobody made a joke about the obviousness of her statement because they were too surprised to see it.

"She gave it back to me," Daniel answered. "We aren't getting married anymore."

"Why?" Betty asked from across the table. He looked up at her and Amanda and Christina froze when they saw the charged glance between them. It was as if everybody in the room had vanished and it was just them.

"I think you know why," he said.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Daniel asked, kissing her on the forehead. She clung to his jacket for a brief moment and gave him a kiss on the lips. They parted and took a seat on opposite sides of the table.

"Daniel, I have something I need you to talk about," she started. She was playing with his stapler and looking everywhere but him.

"Hey, Ash? I'm over here," he stated.

"Sorry," she answered. She put the stapler down and looked at him. "Daniel, I've been offered a VP position with the firm."

"That is awesome. Congratulations," Daniel smiled. Ashley smiled for a moment but then her face fell.

"It's good news and bad news," she said. "There's just one problem. I've been offered the position with our firm in London."

"Is that why you've been spending all of your time over there lately?" he asked, his face pinched. She didn't answer. "You knew about this. You know that they were going to offer the job to you."

"I didnt know for sure but I knew that there was a chance," she admitted.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" he snapped.

"I'm telling you now," she snapped back. "I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Happy how? I cant just up and leave New York because you've got a job there," he answered.

"We're getting married, Daniel, and marriage is about sacrifice," she explained angrily. "I could have taken any number of transfers in the over two years we've been together but I haven't. I've stayed here with you."

"Something else you never told me. It's only a sacrifice if I know you're giving something you want up," he said.

"How about we compromise then? We'll spend five years in London and then we'll come back for another five years and we'll go back to London or something like that," Ashley suggested.

"And leave Sybella? By the time we get back, she'll be all grown-up. I don't want to miss that," he said.

"She isnt even your real daughter," Ashley said again. "We'll have children of our own and you can watch them grow up."

"I'm a little bit sick of you saying that," Daniel spat. "When was the last time you saw Gabe around? I'm the realest father Sybella has."

"I know. I'm sorry. Can we just calm down and talk about this like rational adults?" Ashley asked.

"I don't think we can," Daniel admitted. "I am too mad. You've already taken the job, haven't you?"

"Yes," Ashley said, looking a little guilty. "I didn't think. I just assumed you'd be okay with it."

"Be okay with uprooting my life and just moving to another country?" he asked. "Ashley, my family is here and my job. I cant just leave."

"What do we do then?" she asked. They both looked at each other sadly.

"You and I cant get married. It would just be wrong," Daniel said, finally. It was the right thing to do.

"I know," she admitted. She blank back tears and Daniel was surprised to realise that they were both quite upset.

"I'm sorry," he shrugged.

"I'm sorry too," she replied. "I really do love you."

"And I love you but this isn't right," he answered. "You love your job too much and I love my family."

"And Betty," Ashley said. Her voice wasn't accusing or angry. She was just stating a fact. Daniel opened up his mouth to apologise but she shook her head and held up her hand. "I know you didn't mean to and I know you only just realised. It's okay. It happens."

"I'd be pretty mad if the guy I was marrying was in love with someone else," Daniel pointed out.

"I am a little bit but I kind of always knew this was going to happen. Besides, if I tell the honest truth, I'd rather be in London. I like it there. I fit in there," she shrugged. She pried the ring off her finger and placed it gently on the desk. "I hope you're happy, Daniel. I only want the best for you. Will you tell Sybella I said goodbye and I love her very much."

"Of course," he answered, still a little shell-schocked. He hadnt imagined it would be this easy or that things would work out this conveniently. "I hope things work out for you, Ashley."

"They will," she said. "Are you at least a little bit sad about this?"

"I'm very sad about this. I honestly thought I was going to marry you for awhile there," Daniel answered truthfully.

"Me too," she said. She stood up and pasted on a smile. "I'll see you, Daniel."

"I'll see you, Ash."

Betty tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth but then she closed it. Christina and Amanda left the room quickly. Daniel stood up and walked over to Betty's side. He knelt down and looked deep into her eyes before sighing. He had to say this before he lost his nerve and before he became so caught up in ending his engagement that he shut her and everybody else out completely. It might be deemed 'to fast' to start a new relationship but this was different because this was Betty and this was right.

"Betty, I couldn't marry her. Not when I'm in love with you and not when I know that you're the one for me," Daniel said. He waited for her reply.

"I'm in love with you too," she replied, a small smile crossing her lips and lighting up her eyes. "And Owen broke-up with me because of it."

"I know but none of that matters now," he smiled.

"I'd have to get a new job. It's just be to distracting with us here both together all the time. We'd never get anything done," she whispered. Daniel smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"You don't have to get any job. We'll get married and continue a family and you can stay at home with our children," he said. Betty smiled happily and he couldn't help but beam back. "Sounds nice, doesn't it?"

"I just love that you said 'continue' a family," she answered. "Do you think Sybella will be happy?"

"She told me this morning that she wanted us to live together so I think she'll be ecstatic," he answered.

"Who wouldn't be coming home to you every night?" she asked.

"Are you flirting with me?" he joked. She giggled and he couldn't help himself. He leaned in and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back, hungrily and happily tasting him. They were interrupted by clapping and cheering from the doorway. Christina and Amanda rushed in, giggling like school-girls. They both threw their arms around Daniel and Betty and pulled them into a group hug.

It was cheesy and it was lame but somehow it all fit.