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

Rating: T (PG-13)

Pairing: Daniel / Betty

Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter has taken a while, I've been away on my Hen weekend, and so have only just had the chance to get it finished and posted. I'm afraid it's a bit of a long one but I wanted to try and get across how Claire and Ignacio reach the decision they come to Please review, as always its appreciated. Thanks.

"Hello Mrs Meade, Please come in" Ignacio said warmly

"Thank you, Mr Suarez, I'm sorry to intrude but my son insisted on bringing Betty back to put on some dry clothes after her coffee mishap, before taking her out to Breakfast." Claire said as Ignacio took her coat.

"Please call me Ignacio, Mr Suarez sounds so formal, and don't be silly your not intruding, Daniel is always welcome in our house, and so therefore are you Mrs Meade"

"Well thank you, that is very kind Ignacio, and in that case please call me Claire.

Ignacio and Claire both smiled at each other in acknowledgement and went through to the kitchen. Daniel was standing in the living room talking to Hilda about Justin's next roll in his school performance, and Ignacio smiled. He turned to Claire and said

" Would you like a cup of coffee? If I make you one I might be able to get away with having a cup myself before Betty catches me"

Claire Laughed " Yes please, that would be lovely. Thank you Ignacio."

"So how come Daniel is taking Betty out for Breakfast, She literally ran out of the house this morning, panicking because she thought she was going to be late, and needed to get Daniels breakfast. She was worried Daniel would be disappointed in her if she was late" Ignacio said passing Claire a cup of fresh coffee.

"Thank you. Really! I doubt that very much Ignacio, I don't think your Daughter would ever be able to disappoint my son"

Ignacio turned and looked at Claire. He saw the telling smile she had on her face, and knew straight away that she had come to the same conclusion as he had regarding Betty and Daniel.

"I see and why would that be" Ignacio said

Claire smiled at Ignacio and raised her eyebrows "Lets just say I think my son cares for Betty more than he either lets on or realises."

Ignacio laughed "I would agree I'd say your right on Both counts, I also believe the same applies to Betty's feelings foe Daniel. I know that Betty holds a very high opinion of Daniel, She won't hear a bad word said against him, however she is also very loyal, and as much as she cares for Daniel, she also cares for Henry"

"Yes, I have no doubt of Betty's loyalty on either part, Its just a shame that Henrys loyalties are else where, whereas Daniels loyalties lie firmly back with Betty and I don't think any amount of pushing or shoving could budge them. Its just a shame that Betty herself has not yet realised that!" Claire said looking at Ignacio

Ignacio knew what Claire was saying was right, but he wanted Betty to be happy, and as much as he despised Henry for leaving his daughter, he knew that Henry did indeed make his daughter just that. Betty had supported Henry's decision, and had gone back into a relationship with him wholeheartedly knowing that he was going to have to leave. He had heard them talking about weekend visits, and he knew they were planning on trying to make their relationship work long distance. Daniel on the other hand idolised his daughter, that was obvious, and he knew that Daniel would never intentionally hurt her. He was just worried that if they were to realise their feelings for each other, and made an attempt at a relationship, that however good Daniels intentions were, they would not be able to make the relationship work, leaving Betty devastated, and in the process ruining a friendship which had become so important to both of them. He looked back at Claire and said

"My daughter is very strong minded, and always has been, a trait she inherited from her mother I must say. She wont be told what to do by anybody, and is adamant that her and Henrys relationship will make it through this. Since they got back together their relationship has been built on trust and honesty, traits that are very important to Betty, and as far as she is concerned my opinion or anybody else's does not matter. The only person who can change that decision is Betty herself, and all I can do is support whatever that may be"

Claire nodded, she knew that Ignacio was trying to say in a round about way that it didn't matter who he though was the best person for Betty, all that mattered to him was that she was happy and if that meant being with Henry, then that is what he would have to except. She knew it wasn't her place to meddle in Betty's love life but she felt a rather strange maternal pull towards Betty, and it didn't help that the person she thought was best for Betty and visa versa was her son. She understood completely what Ignacio was saying however she didn't believe that Betty and Henry's relationship was as stable as Betty was leading her father, herself or anybody else for that matter to think. Especially not after the display this morning. She turned to Ignacio, and said quietly.

"I care about Betty like one of my own Ignacio, something I'm sure you understand, by the way I saw you greet my son this morning" She looked up at him and watched him nod before continuing " She has done so much for my son, and has supported him through thick and thin when I myself was unable to and has given him the loyalty and belief that he craved so much from his father. I owe more to Betty than I could ever repay, and of course just want to see her happy weather that be with Henry or my son. However I don't think she is as happy with Henry as she makes out, and I don't want to see her make a decision that i'm sure in the future she will regret."

Ignacio looked at Claire for a moment without saying a word. He had never really had the chance to have a proper conversation with her, and was quite taken aback at how forward she was being about his daughter. However he could see from her expression, and the sincerity in her voice that she was telling the truth.

"What makes you think that?" Ignacio replied

"Since Bradford passed away, I have struggled to fill my time. I can't stand being in that big house all by myself, so have been spending a lot of time with Daniel, and a lot of time at the office." She looked across to the living room and saw that Daniel was still deep in conversation with Hilda about Justin so continued "I have noticed the way my son and Betty interact, and I am sure that their feelings for each other run much deeper than just friendship."

Ignacio Smiled and shrugged his shoulders " On that I agree with you completely, I've seen the way Daniel looks at my daughter, and there's no denying he is in love with her, however he is not willing at the moment to admit that."

"No I agree. But I think that is because he is scared of being hurt, Scared of putting his heart on the line like he did with Sofia, and being rejected again. Even though he knows Betty would never intentionally hurt him like Sofia did, I think that doubt in the back of his mind is what is stopping him admitting his feelings to himself or Betty for that matter."

Ignacio agreed completely, he had seen the aftermath of Sofia's actions, and had no doubt that Daniel was scared of getting his fingers burnt again. "I can understand that. However none of this explains why you think Betty and Henry's relationship is not as strong as they say"

Claire smiled "Lets just say I have only ever seen Betty completely lose her temper on two occasions, and I must say for such a petite girl she has one hell of a fiery temper when she lets go"

"Again inherited from her mother" Ignacio laughed

"One of those occasions was about a month ago when she confronted Sofia Reyes in the entrance hall to Meade publications one night as she was leaving because she heard her laughing with a colleague about Daniel. I have never seen someone rip a woman apart with such ease verbally, by the end of it, Betty had reduced that witch Sofia to tears. The second occasion was this morning with Henry!" Claire looked up to gauge Ignacio's reaction, and saw that he was intrigued and listening intently "They got into a heated argument outside Daniels office this morning over Daniels breakfast of all things, Henry insinuated he believed Betty cared more about Daniel than spending time with him."

Ignacio became stony faced " Betty has done nothing but support him, when as far as i'm concerned, she should have dropped him on his ass the minute she found out about the whole sorry mess."

"I'm sure after what I've seen she would be quite capable" Claire laughed " She certainly gave Henry a tongue lashing for what he said, but what I think is most important, is that she didn't deny what Henry had said, in actual fact she turned her back on him, put her bag and what was left of her coffee down on her desk, and walked straight into Daniel's office without another look or word at Henry"

Claire smiled as she looked across to where Daniel was standing. Betty had now joined him after changing into dry clothes, and she was talking to him and Hilda. Daniel was staring at her, listening to what she was saying intently, a boyish grin plastered across his face. She sighed to herself, if only Bradford could of seen his son wasn't the playboy he thought he was, and that it was in actual fact he who had found Daniel his perfect partner.

"You can't Deny the look" Ignacio said to Claire quietly

"Hm, pardon" Claire said confused at what Ignacio meant.

"I used to look at my wife the way Daniel looks at my Betty, you can't deny that weather that boy wants to admit it or not, he's got it bad!"

Claire smiled she knew exactly what Ignacio meant by the look, she had always felt she looked at Bradford in a way, that she would never look at anybody else again, and she suddenly realised she had a lot in common with Ignacio. They had both lost the love of their lives unexpectedly, and had both struggled to come to terms with it.

"I used to look at Bradford in a way, I know I will never look at anybody again. Don't get me wrong, Its not that I think its impossible to fall in love with somebody else, Its just that I am a strong believer in only having one true love. I'm sure one day I will be part of a loving relationship again, I just know that person isn't my soul mate because my soul mate was Bradford the one person who I gave the look.

Ignacio looked at Claire, the understanding evident in his eyes, he saw the single stray tear roll down her cheek momentarily before she wiped it away " I agree completely" Ignacio said with sincerity "If you are ever at a loose end and fancy a coffee and a good chat, you are always welcome in our home Claire"

Claire smiled, and nodded she knew Ignacio meant what he said, and she also knew that she would take him up on his offer. It was a good feeling to have someone to talk to who knew exactly how she felt. "Thank you Ignacio, I really appreciate that."

Ignacio looked back over at Daniel and Betty, and had Claire's words circling in his mind. He too believed you only ever had one true love, one soul mate, and he wasn't about to let Betty lose hers, because she wasn't ready to admit she had found him, in someone other than Henry.

"I'll help you" Ignacio said suddenly, still looking intently at Daniel and Betty

"Pardon" Claire said quietly

"I'll help you get Daniel and Betty to realise and admit to their feelings for each other. I was thinking about what you said, and there's no-way i'm going to let Betty lose her one true love, I'd never forgive myself" Ignacio said

"Good, I was starting to think, you were never going to agree" Claire said smiling at Ignacio.

As Claire and Ignacio stood laughing, Betty and Daniel walked over to them. Daniel smiled it was a while since he had seen his mother looking happy, and couldn't help but smile at the fact that the one family who were always able to bring a smile to his face, did exactly the same for his mother. He was so lucky to have Betty in his life, he thought to himself, as they came to a stop by the side of their parents.

"Sorry I took so long, I had to have a quick shower, the coffee had soaked through my clothes." Betty said apologetically.

"So you ready mother" Daniel said "I promised Betty I would buy her some breakfast and if we don't make it there soon, they will have stopped serving it. I wouldn't want to break my promise!"

"No, No you get going my dear" Claire said casually " I'm just going to finish my coffee, and stay and have a chat with Ignacio. I'll get the town car to come and pick me up, and ill meet you back at the office.

Daniel looked at Ignacio, who nodded at him in agreement. He looked back at his mum, suspiciously, who just gave him one of those heart melting smiles of hers.

"Ok well if your sure, We will see you back at the office. Goodbye Ignacio" Daniel said shacking Ignacio's hand "Come on then Betty, are you ready?"

Betty gave her father a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and then smiled and said goodbye to Claire, She then turned and looked at Daniel, a mischievous look in her eye.

"Come on then Daniel, ill race you, first one to the car gets to pick were & what we have for breakfast" She said, the laughter evident in her voice.

Daniel stood and looked at her for a second, then suddenly he shot towards the door, his boyish grin plastered across his face. "Your on" he shouted to Betty as he ran out the front door.

"Hey you cheated" Betty shouted laughing as she ran out the door after him.

Claire and Ignacio just looked at each other and smiled. They both knew in the instant that what they were going to do was the right thing. They just had to decide how they were going to achieve it.