Disclaimer: I do not own Ugly Betty or any of its characters, unfortunately...

Rating: T (PG-13)

Pairing: Daniel / Betty

Spoilers: this story is based after the episode Odor in the court. Due to channel 4 not airing this episode yet, I have not seem it!!  however I do sort of know what has happened, due to watching Detty videos!!

Author's Notes: Ok thank you so much for all your lovely reviews, im really grateful and glad you all seem to be enjoying it. So here is the next chapter which includes Claire meades opionion on Daniel & Betty's relationship.

Chapter 2

Daniel rolled over and looked at the clock, it was 6.15am and he knew there wasn't any point in trying to go back to sleep now, instead he lay there staring at the ceiling thinking about the dream he had earlier in the night. The same dream he had had a number of times over the last couple of months, and the same strange dream that somehow excited and terrified him at the same time.

It wasn't the fact that he was dreaming about her that scared him, no not at all, he spent most of his time with her & they were friends so of course he would dream about her. But what excited & scared him at the same time were the feelings he held for her in these dreams, the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when she looked at him with those beautiful big brown eyes, that he wanted her to become more than just a friend, and the fact that in these dreams, he loved her!

But what scared him the most was that he had that exact same feeling in the pit of his stomach now, and had done ever since he had awoken from this particular dream. He shook his head, no he and Betty were just friends, very good friends, but none the less just friends. It was obviously just because he had been spending so much time with her, and he wasn't going to deny he cared about her, of course he did she was the only person he could completely, hole-heartedly trust. He decided that the fact he still had this feeling in his stomach, was because it was now 7.15am and he had been lying awake for a hour going over & over this dream in his head, he was obviously just hungry.

He knew that this was a pretty lame excuse, as he never ate before he got into work. But that wasn't the point, this morning he was obviously just extra hungry. He tried to decide what he could have to eat as he got out of bed and made his way into the bathroom for a shower, but he knew this was useless, as he had nothing in except coffee and some left over Cantonese food which had been in the fridge for about 3 weeks, and there was no way he was going to attempt to eat that.

Just as Daniel was coming out of the bathroom he heard the buzzer go for the front door. He assumed it would be his mother as she had said she wanted to go into work with him today, so that she could collect a few things out of Bradford's office. But he wasn't expecting her this early! Usually he would still be lounging in bed at this time. He walked over to the intercom & pressed the button.

"Hello Daniel Meade" he said

"Daniel its your mother, let me in its freezing out here"

"Err ok mum, doors open" Daniel looked at the intercom.

She had been coming over to see him a lot lately, after his Dad had died, moving back into their massive house all alone had been a lot for her to take, and she was extremely lonely. Alexis had gone back there for a while, but she needed her own space, and had now gone back to live at her apartment.

So Daniel had been seeing a lot more of his mum, which was nice, he just wished that it had been under better circumstances. He heard the tapping of her heels as she walked down the corridor, and went over to open the door just as she knocked.

"Morning mum" he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning Daniel" she said "I wasn't expecting you to be up, I even bought you a coffee"

"Thanks mum" Daniel said smirking "I'm not always up late you know"

"hmm, ok if you say so" she said lifting an eyebrow at him "So why are you up so early?"

"oh well I err couldn't sleep" he said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Daniel you usually cant sleep, but the reason for that doesn't usually make you get up, it makes you stay in your bed" she said looking around her "So I assume by that, im safe to go and sit down, and that im not going to walk in on Miss Thursday"

"Very funny mum" Daniel said sarcastically "You know very well Im not like that anymore"

"No I know, and I believe I have Betty to thank for that" she said smiling at him with a slight glint in her eye.

"I don't know what your talking about mum, me and Betty are just friends, its not like that" Daniel said defensively.

"I meant Daniel, that she has become someone you can trust and confide in, so you don't feel the need to sleep around to try and forget your problems." She laughed "I meant she was rubbing off on you, not up against you"

Daniel stood there rooted to the spot, staring at his mother. He could feel his cheeks going red, and he'd got that feeling in the pit of his stomach back, his palms becoming sweaty at the thought of betty rubbing up against him. "Stop it Daniel" he said to himself, not realising he had said it out loud.

"Stop what?" Claire said looking at him inquisitively

"Oh err nothing" he said quickly as he felt the burning sensation in his cheeks increase even more. "I'm just going to go and call the town car to come and pick us up"

Claire watched her son as he quickly scurried away towards the phone and smiled. She knew he had feelings for Betty deep down, and that little display of emotions had just confirmed it as far as she was concerned.

She knew Betty wasn't exactly Daniels usual type, but she was glad of that. She had always hated the fact that Daniel slept around, and never committed to anybody. She thought that after the whole Sofia fiasco that Daniel would go back to his old ways, sleeping with every model that walked through or anywhere near the mode doors. But no Betty had been there to pick him up, brush him off and rebuild his confidence, and had kept him on the right track.

Claire had become very fond of Betty. She admired her spark & enthusiasm, and trusted that Betty had Daniels best interests at heart. But After Bradford had died, she'd seen a side to Betty and Daniels friendship she hadn't noticed before. She saw the pain on Betty's face when she knew Daniel was hurting, She saw the happiness in Betty's eyes, when Daniel smiled and laughed with her. She had seen the way Betty truly believed in her sons abilities, irrelevant of what anybody else said or thought, and made sure he knew it. But most of all, she could see the love in their eyes when they looked at one another.

If only they would realise, what they had between them. They were perfect for each other. She knew Henry was going to be leaving soon, and she was worried that Betty would want to leave with him. She just had to try and find a way to make them see they were perfect for each other, before it was to late.