Chapter Seven

A/N: Thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing. Each and every review means a lot to me!!!!

Betty stared out the window from her office at MODE and scowled. Perfect. The skyline was thick with dark gray clouds and she could hear thunder rumbling off in the distance. The weather seemed to match her mood perfectly. She hadn't seen or talked to Henry or Aiden for almost four days. The only thing she'd seen from them was a vase of pink Gerber daisies from Henry with a hand drawn picture of her attached to the vase from Aiden. Betty smiled for a moment as she had found an old frame and framed Aiden's picture, placing it on her desk right next to her monitor. Betty's uncharacteristic bad mood was being felt by everyone.

She had barked at Amanda when she'd arrived at work that morning, forestalling Amanda's planned wardrobe remarks to Betty. Then her sister Hilda had called, wanting Betty to baby-sit Hilda and Santos' daughter Rosa so they could go out. The sting of missing Aiden carried over the phone lines into Queens as Betty lashed out at her sister, calling her insensitive and selfish for not even asking if Betty might have plans. Hilda's "Whatever" and phone slam in Betty's ear didn't do anything to make her feel better.

The last straw for anyone at MODE had been when Daniel had nicely asked Betty to get him a coffee and a bagel. As she brought back Daniel's breakfast and slammed the coffee mug onto his desk, Daniel glared up at her.

"Betty, sit down. What the hell's wrong with you?" Daniel demanded.

"Can't I have a bad day like everyone else around here?" Betty fired back.

"Yes, but when you have a bad day, it's usually not because of something that happens here. Now what's going on?" Daniel asked. Betty rested her head in her hands as she spoke.

"Daniel, everything is a mess. I haven't seen or talked to Henry or Aiden in two days and I miss them so much." Betty sighed, looking up at Daniel.

"Why, what happened?" Daniel asked, "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Sort of." Betty said, "I took myself out of the picture for a while. Charlie's been looking for them. For Aiden." Betty finished. Daniel blew out a breath.

"Wow, I had no idea Betty." Daniel said, "but that doesn't mean you have to break up with Henry."

"I haven't broken up with Henry." Betty said, "He and Aiden just need time to figure out what they're going to do about Charlie. Without me around." Daniel gave her a critical look.

"Do you really think that's better for both of them? Or for either of them?" Daniel asked, "Can this be good for you? Look at you; you're ready to take anyone's head off who looks at you wrong today!" Daniel said.

"I can't Daniel….I CAN'T!" Betty said, "I can't sit by and watch Charlie win again. Who knows what will happen when she shows up in town this time."

"Hey, weren't you the one who said you needed to fight for what's important?" Daniel asked.

"There's no fight left Daniel. Charlie's already won. She'll always have a tie to Henry. She'll always be Aiden's mother. What do I have to compete with that?" Betty said. Daniel stood up and crossed over to Betty. He hunched down in front of her until she looked at him.

"Your love Betty, that's what you have that Charlie doesn't. Henry loves YOU, not Charlie. That's where your strength to fight comes from." Daniel smiled at Betty.

"Now, I want you to take the rest of the day off." Daniel said, pulling her to her feet and steering her towards her desk.

"But the layout for the upcoming shoots….."

"Will get done by the end of the day." Daniel said, "You just go home. Get some rest; take a walk, clear your head. I don't want to see you back in here until tomorrow." Daniel said mock-stern. Betty smiled weakly and saluted Daniel.

"Yes, Boss." She said as she left the office. Daniel watched her go with a small smile on his face as he turned to go into his office.

Henry sat on his couch, phone in his hand, trying to figure out exactly what to say to Betty. The past four days had been pure torture. He'd gone to work each morning with his feet dragging and his heart heavy. Aiden had been quiet and despondent since Betty had left their apartment. Henry knew he looked as bad as Aiden felt especially since Henry had talked to the lawyer.

Charlie's lawyer seemed nice enough. He indicated that Charlie had married an older man about two years after she'd left him. Her husband had quickly wanted children, so Charlie hurried up and had gotten pregnant. Their son was only two, but Charlie had broken down and told her husband about her first son. According to the lawyer, all Charlie wanted was to try and mend fences with Henry and spend some time with Aiden.

Henry didn't care about Charlie in the least anymore. She was only Aiden's biological mother, and even that was a stretch. Henry's feelings for her had died in Tucson years ago. Betty was the only one for him now, and he wanted to call her and remind her of that. He dialed her apartment, only to get her answering machine. As the beep sounded after her greeting Henry said;

"Betty, Hi it's Henry. I need to talk to you. I want to talk to you. Aiden misses you. I miss you." Henry whispered, "Please call me back. We'll be in all evening. Thanks. I love you, bye!" Henry hung up, not knowing that as Betty's machine rewound, the tape snagged and broke. The light clicked off on Betty's machine as the recorder switched itself off.

Betty finally made it home an hour later, after the subway was delayed because of the weather. As she shrugged off her chilly, damp clothes, she glanced over at the answering machine. No flashing light, she thought sadly as she dropped her clothes into the hamper. She had been hoping that Henry would have called by now. Changing into sweats and a t-shirt, she found a towel and began to towel dry her hair. Satisfied, she found her umbrella and a heavy jacket, combed out her hair and headed back out the door. She had only one destination in mind for tonight.

Henry wiped his hands on a dish towel as he finished cleaning up the kitchen. Aiden had still been quiet at dinner, but Henry had told him at dinner that he'd called Betty and that maybe she would stop by tonight. Henry walked out of the kitchen to check on Aiden. He was quietly reading his book propped up on pillows in his bed. Henry smiled at the little boy oblivious to anything but the characters in his book. A knock at the door startled Henry. He strode to the door. As he sprung the locks he grinned widely.

"I was hoping you'd come by……." He said.

He froze in place, smile still on his face.

TBC…………..