A complete crush.

Disclaimer: None of the characters/ familiar storylines are mine.

A/N: This fic ignores all episodes that come after Burning Questions.

Again, many thanks to the reviewers! You guys, abovetherim, didi6, JackSam, BennuBird, Owl Emporium, AndromedaAiken, vinhallen, chasing-heartbeats, abelard, Xira34, are my motivation. Seriously. :)

This chapter doesn't really have any Daniel thoughts in it, and not much Dettiness. Apologies. It's kind of setting the scene for the rest of the story. And remember to review - any thoughts on how this story might turn out? Thank you guys so much.

"Are you sure your family won't mind me?" Daniel said, as they exited the Mode building.

"Positive," Betty said. She laughed at the worry on his face, but softly. He had such a fear of rejection, which was strange yet understandable at the same time. He was Daniel Meade, but he was also Daniel, her best friend, constantly stuck by the bad luck that seemed to find him alone.

Yes, her best friend. Because he had become that in recent weeks; she felt the closest emotionally to him outside of her family. It used to be Christina, but Daniel had changed; he wasn't That Boy anymore, it was true.

She drifted back to the present, where Daniel was still looking concerned.

"Oh, come on," she said. "Look, I'll phone my dad if you're really that scared."

She smiled at him, smiled into those azure pools, saw herself smiling back, and dialled her home.

"Hello?"

"Hola, mija," Ignacio said. "Are you coming home soon?"

"Yes," Betty said. "And I'm bringing Daniel with me. It would be a pleasure to have him over for dinner, wouldn't it?" She smiled over at Daniel.

"Oh, of course," her dad said. "You tell him he's welcome anytime."

"Thanks, Papi. See you later." Betty hung up. "You see? You're welcome any time."

Daniel did that smile where he kind of bowed his head slightly, nodded several times, his eyes thanking her.

But he wasn't without a family of his own, either.

"Daniel!" Alexis had just come out of the building. "Hello, Betty. Where are you guys off to, home?"

"Yeah, I'm actually having dinner with Betty," Daniel said, nodding at her.

Alexis was looked puzzled for a while, stunned almost, but smiled slowly and said, "That's great!"

"With my family," Betty said.

"Oh, I see," Alexis said, and she looked just a little bit disappointed; but it was hard to tell about what. "Well, that's great...I'll just head home, I guess."

"Oh," Betty said, exchanging a glance with Daniel. "Well-"

Perhaps Daniel wasn't the only lonely Meade.

"Children! Betty!" Claire emerged into the open air, throwing a scarf over her shoulder. "How lovely to see you all gathered here."

"Mom!" Daniel and Alexis said in unison.

"Well, it's certainly rare for us all to be together," Claire said, and Betty saw the brightness of pleasant surprise in her eyes. "How about we have dinner together? Providing you don't have any dates, of course."

She looked hopeful.

Daniel looked to Betty for help.

Betty rolled her eyes slightly at his helplessness and said, "Well, actually, Daniel and Alexis were going to have dinner with my family."

Alexis looked surprised, but happy. She and Daniel looked over at their mother.

Before Claire had a chance to look disappointed, Betty said, "Do you want to come too, Mrs. Meade?"

The seven of them sat around the sofa in the living room just a little awkwardly, although they were all mostly content. Apart from Justin, who was elated; the entire Meade family was in his house! Would his friends be jealous.

Somehow, during dinner, they seemed to pair up almost naturally; Ignacio talking quietly with Claire, Hilda with Alexis. This left Betty and Daniel, and Justin, who seemed to like having Daniel over immensely, and constantly chattered to him about all things fashion.

"So what do you like most about your job?" Justin said, conversationally, as Betty ate and listened a bit amusedly. Daniel Meade forced into an uncle-like role was bizarre. But then again, he didn't seem to be doing that badly.

Until this.

"Well, the wom-" Daniel said, and he blanched, remembering who he was talking to.

He looked wildly to Betty for help again.

"The women wear," Betty said, helpfully, nodding to Justin. "You know, Daniel has a great interest in dresses."

"The women wear," Justin scoffed, after they had seen the Meades off. "Yeah, right."

Betty smiled at Hilda, who had been told of the little slip of tongue.

"I guess he really likes them, huh," Justin said after a while, looking rather wistfully through the window.

Betty snapped her head around to stare at him so quickly something cracked in her neck. Still, she stared at him. Did he...did her nephew have a...on...a thing for...Daniel? Justin's orientation was clear, they were always telling him how they loved him just the way he was, but they had never really discussed it. It was kind of unspoken.

She looked up and met Hilda's stare, and without meaning to, laughed. it was a very, very bizarre situation.

"I don't get it," Justin said, before his mother and aunt had decided what to say, if anything. "He deserves better. Like you." He turned to look at Betty, and then went off into the kitchen to see what his abuelo was doing.

Betty

Okay, so Justin didn't have a thing for Daniel.

Now that he had said what he had said, though, it seemed to open the floodgates for Hilda, who seemed to have been wanting to say what she was currently saying for a long time.

"...you see, you're always there for him..."

But Justin didn't get it, did he? Betty was just an assistant.

"...helping him out of sticky situations..."

Okay, and a best friend, too.

"...listening, Betty? Hello?"

"Hi," Betty said. "Yes, I was listening. I think."

Hilda sighed, hand on her hip. "I'm just saying. It's been a long time coming, Betty."

"Daniel would never like me in that way," Betty said.

"Didn't you see how he acted around you tonight?"

"Er...normally?"

Hilda was speechless for a while, then; "Oh, fine," she said, grudgingly. "But I bet he was just trying not to look totally in love."

"It doesn't even matter if Daniel liked me, Henry is my boyfriend," Betty said, raising her eyebrows at her sister.

"Henry is leaving."

"Well then..."

"But then again, Gio might be in love with you..."

"Hilda!"

Hilda laughed. "Okay, fine, but trust me, I think that these two men are both in love with you, and I cannot wait to see what happens when Henry goes."

Betty looked apalled.