In Shining Lights, Holding You Tight

Hi thanks for your reviews! :) As promised more D & B time! :D Hope you enjoy it!

For entertainment only! :P

Chapter 8

After everyone got settled in and gone to sleep, Daniel had gone straight to the study. He was so grateful that his parents had such a big house, enough for all of them. He had a room for Hilda and Bobby, Elena and Mr. Suarez, he and Justin were sharing a room. And sure it wasn't any of his business what Betty did with her boyfriend, but for his own sanity he made sure that Betty and Luca did not share a room. And then his mom was in the master bedroom.

He had been in the study for a few hours writing in the journal Betty told him he should keep. He felt that writing what he 'felt' and was 'thinking' about frustrated him more because it made those feelings and thoughts real, so he really had no way to pretend or deny what was going through his mind.

His eyes were beginning to get heavy. He looked to his watch seeing that it was two thirty in the morning. He figured he should get some sleep. All he could think about was Betty, and when he went to sleep he would find himself dreaming of Betty.

He smiled getting up from the chair and turned off the light as he left. When he walked down the hall he saw that flickers of light were coming from the living room. He took a step in to see Betty sitting in front of the fireplace in her pajamas reading a book. His heart skipped at the sight of her. She was so pretty sitting there in front of the fire. He looked back to her face thinking she was so breathtaking. He noticed she'd been looking more and more beautiful each passing day when they Skyped and talked, but seeing her in front of him was way different. She was gorgeous.

He started walking in when he got an idea. He left and went to the kitchen. He figured he'd make some hot chocolate for both of them. He hoped he could make a decent hot chocolate. This would be his first attempt to make it without the help of Mr. Suarez.

After 10 minutes he tasted the cocoa he made and was pretty satisfied for how it tasted. It was definitely no Suarez hot chocolate, but he figured it was good enough for his first try. He put in a candy cane in the Rudolph mug Betty had gotten him a year ago and got his mug leaving the kitchen.

When Daniel walked in, he smiled instantly seeing that she was still there. He didn't want to scare her, so he said her name as he walked over to her. "Betty..."

She looked at him in surprise, a smile coming to her face. "Daniel"

He smiled but saw that her cheeks were wet. Why was she crying? He sat next to her "Betty, why are you crying?" he asked in worry. She held up her book. A Little Princess was what she was reading. He didn't remember her saying anything sad about it when she told him the story. She explained the magic of it and how it made her feel like a princess when she read it.

"I thought you loved that book."

She nodded "I do...I'm just kind of emotional right now, so I cry at everything" she said with a soft laugh. He smiled and nodded in understanding. She looked at the hot chocolate in his hands and looked back at him. "Is that for me?" she asked with a sweet smile. He smiled and held out the Rudolph cup to her. "Yes. I saw you and figured you could use it."

"You made it?" she asked in surprise. "Ya, your Papi taught me how to make it. Beware though, this is my first attempt without his help, but I think it turned out pretty good."

Betty giggled. "I'm sure it's good. You still have the Rudolph cup I gave you?" she asked then took a sip, the chocolate warmth relieving her senses.

"Of course I do. It reminds of you." He said looking at her as she drank some. He didn't see her wince or spit it out so he figured he did a good job. She smiled glancing up at him. "Thank you. That's sweet."

"What are you doing still up?" he asked curiously.

"What are you still doing up?" she came back. He smirked avoiding her question by taking a sip of his cocoa. After a few seconds, she spoke again "I couldn't really sleep. I slept on the flight for a while, so I guess I'm not as tired. What about you though? You've been up since early morning, before roosters, right?" she said with a playful smirk. He laughed "I couldn't help it. I was really excited to see you."

"I'm glad, because I was really excited to see you, too"

"Can I tell you a secret?" he said leaning close to her. She looked at him interestedly. "I hate it, but I think Luca Skywalker is cool" he stated rather annoyed to even admit.

Betty giggled "it's shocking, really."

"What?" he asked curiously. "That you actually get along with one of my boyfriends."

He laughed. "I know, huh. Threatening to fire them, actually firing them, giving a bad reference to get them fired, punching, threatening to clobber anyone who messed with you, anything else?" he said with a smirk. She giggled. "Hmm...Not that I can think of at the moment, no." she laughed.

"What can I say Betty. I don't think any man deserves you."

"I always thought the same about you."

He laughed "What?"

"I'm serious. Daniel, you're a really nice guy. The girls you were with all hurt you and used you. I always felt bad when you went on those one night dates or whatever and got mixed up with the wrong women. I thought you were too sweet."

He smiled feeling the heat rise to his face. "It wasn't till you married Molly that I sort of felt better about you being with someone."

"Sort of?" he said with a smirk. "Well..." she gulped nervously. "...I liked Molly and she was really nice, but I hated how you two started. And I really hated how heartbroken you were when she died."

Daniel looked at her. "I know. I was kind of stupid, but I loved Molly. In a way she brought me closer to the person I really uh..." he pretend coughed realizing how close he was to telling her that he loved her.

"Are you ok?" she asked rubbing his back warmly looking at him strangely. He nodded feeling embarrassed. "Sorry...I just remembered something funny I wanted to tell you." He said wanting to cover up his almost slip. She looked at him curiously. "What?" she asked with a small smile.

"Marc and Amanda called me today and told me they missed their burrito" he said with a chuckle remembering that they did call him and tell him that. Betty laughed.

"Marc threatened me that he would make sure you knew that I kept calling my assistant Betty because I missed you so much."

Betty felt her cheeks flush.

"I told him, 'fine, I don't care. I'll tell her myself'" Betty giggled. "You wanna know what else he said?"

"What?" she asked with a big smile. "He said he loved his chimmichunga and missed teasing you and seeing your 'hideous' clothes, but admitted that you looked really pretty now." Betty smiled looking at his eyes, feeling her own starting to water.

"I told him he was crazy and you were always pretty, you just had a phase of wearing strange clothes. He said I was blind and got sucked into your sunshine vortex when you walked into the glass your first day" he laughed. Betty laughed feeling the tears pool in her eyes, blurring her vision.

"He'll never admit it, but Mandy and Marc love you."

Tears finally slid down her cheeks. "And uh...I..." he looked down for a second, but looked back to see her eyes placing his hand to her face. "I love you, too, Betty" he felt his chest tighten and his heart race at his confession. He knew it wasn't much, but that was as much as he could admit tonight. He wiped the tears sliding down her right cheek.

She hugged him close. "Thank you" she said in a soft barely audible voice. He rubbed her back. "No Betty. On behalf of everyone that has met you, thank you for filling our lives with your color and sunshine vortex." He said with a laugh making Betty laugh into his embrace. She held him tighter.

"What do you say we read some of your book as a bed time story before we head up to sleep?" he asked pulling away to see her face and picking up the book. She laughed wiping her face and nodded "oh-kay" she said with another laugh.

They stayed up another hour finishing their hot chocolate and reading Betty's favorite parts of the book. Daniel went upstairs with her and ended up carrying her the rest of the way to her room when she fell asleep against him. He placed her on her bed and pulled the cover over her. He admired her for a minute thinking she was so beautiful. He moved the hair back from her face and placed a small kiss to her cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Betty" he said softly and left to the room he was sharing with Justin. He made sure to be really quiet not to wake him.

He smiled closing his eyes as he slid into the bed. He loved being with Betty. She made everything seem perfect. He was glad they got in some alone time knowing that she was going to be busy with her family and Luca. The only reason he was looking forward to the reunion was because he was going with her and he was sure she was going to look stunning. He couldn't wait to spend more time with her.

AN: I know... he was soooo CLOSE! lol don't worry! Things will be brighter soon! :D

Please review! Hope you enjoy it! And Merry Christmas again! :]