Thanks for all the reviews! They helped motivate me to write the next chapter. This chapter's a bit short, but it's kind of just a transitioning chapter.

Betty stood in the foyer of her house, pacing back and forth trying to figure out how she was going to break the news to Papi. She figured he'd have no choice but to accept the fact that she was going to move out since she was already in contract to do so, but she was debating whether or not she should divulge all the ugly details. Her hand slowly reached for the handle as she took one deep breath before she entered, tail tucked between her legs.

"Papi? Are you home?"

She peeked into the vacant living room. Part of her was relieved that he wasn't home from work yet, but it felt like the longer she waited to tell him the truth, the worse she felt. She let her bag slip lazily off her shoulder to the floor and balanced her idea book carefully on the small end table. As she turned the corner into the dining room, she was startled by the barrage of streamers and ecstatic faces that jumped out at her.

"Surprise!" her family shouted. "Congratulations on your new place!"

Betty was clearly stunned considering the reception she had gotten when she first proposed the idea to them.

"Wha-what is all this?" she managed to ask.

"Mija, I know I was a little hard on you about moving to the city, but after some thought, I realized it was really just me that wasn't ready to let you go. What can I say? You're my baby girl. But I guess I need to accept when it's time for you to spread your wings and fly. If you feel like you're ready to venture out on your own, I support you and I trust you. You've always been so hard working and responsible, I know you made the right choice." Ignacio planted a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

Guilt was stabbing Betty in the heart. She could feel her face burning up. Just a couple minutes ago, she had finally worked up the nerve to tell her father about the mess she had gotten herself into, but now it was worse than she could have imagined – he was proud of her. All day she had been worried about coming home and telling him he was right and now she was afraid to tell him he's wrong.

"I hope you aren't mad that I told him you found a place already," Hilda said apologetically. "He was going on and on about you finding out how hard it is to find an apartment in the city and that nothing there is affordable… so I told him you found a nice place that is in your budget."

"Hilda! You saw the apartment. It was anything but nice. Why would you tell him that?"

"Sure, it looks like they filmed a scene from Saw in there, but you're so creative. I know you'll make it your own in no time. Oh! Wait right here, I got you something!" Hilda disappeared into her salon.

Justin stood up from his seat at the dining table where he was engrossed in his new cell phone. "I'm really gonna miss having you around, A.B., but I have to say, I'm super stoked that you'll be living in the city. You better get a couch big enough for me to sleep in 'cause I will be sleeping over a lot." Betty roughed up Justin's hair to avoid any further talk about having them over to visit.

Hilda came back with a large gift bag. "It was between this or the one that said 'Nice Underwear'."

Betty dug through mounds of gift tissues before she unearthed a doormat that read: "No B.S. allowed except ME."

"Hah! Hilda, I love it! It's perfect." She couldn't help but feel moved by their excitement and thoughtfulness, but whatever moments of joy she experienced were quickly squashed by the guilt she felt hiding the truth from them.

Ignacio reemerged from the kitchen toting a very large and apparently heavy box wrapped in leftover Christmas paper.

"Sorry about the reindeer. It's all we had on hand." Ignacio pushed the box across the table for Betty to unwrap.

Betty stared hesitantly at the large package. Their eager faces were all staring at her in anticipation urging her to hurry and open it. Betty timidly obliged, tearing the red and green paper away from the package.

"Wow! Papi, a whole set of pots and pans? This looks way too expensive. I can't keep this! I don't even know how to cook!" Betty exclaimed.

"Well, you can't live on your own and never cook! You'll starve or go broke eating out. I'll give you some of my recipes so you don't miss me too much."

"Thank you, Papi, but I'm sure I'll be here more than you realize." She gave him a bittersweet kiss on the cheek. Each new demonstration of his pride and approval made it that much harder for Betty to admit to him her predicament.

"I made some dessert to celebrate. Who wants brownies?" Ignacio ducked back into the kitchen and returned shortly with a plate of his fudgy, chocolate specialty.

It took all of two seconds for Betty and Hilda to stuff their faces with the brownies and sing a chorus of yummy noises. Just as Justin was reaching across the table to help himself to a piece, Hilda slapped his hand down.

"Uh uh. I don't think so, Mister. You still have half a plate of chile relleno sitting on the table. Finish your dinner first, then you can have dessert."

"Ugh. It's already cold. It doesn't taste good cold," Justin responded with disgust.

"And whose fault is that? Maybe if you actually ate your dinner while it was warm instead of spending all your time texting, the rellenos wouldn't have gone bad."

With a pout on his face and a dramatic flair in his walk, Justin took his plate to the kitchen to microwave.

Betty smiled to herself as she remembered the similar exchanged she had witnessed earlier.

"That kid…" Hilda murmured. "Girl, you are so lucky you won't have to live with a rebellious pre-teen anymore."

Betty stared down at the table as she thought about her living options – both of which included living with a pre-teen.

The intermittent sounds of a passing car, the lone bark of a neighbor's dog, or the occasional bickering from the Gambaro residence was all Betty heard outside her window as she lied wide awake in her bed wondering what the city must sound like at night. She was having trouble falling asleep. The only thing she hated more than being dishonest with her family was disappointing them. What would Papi think if he knew she made an impulsive decision that resulted in her being broke and homeless in a span of 24 hours? Even the beggars on the street had more drawn out and complex journeys than that. And what would they say if she decided to move in with Daniel instead? Yes, it was only temporary, but she was certain she wouldn't be able to keep them from visiting her for a whole month.

Her cell phone beeped from her nightstand. She rolled over to find a text message from Daniel flashing on her screen.

THX 4 UR ADVICE! DJ APOLOGIZED. ALL GOOD NOW.

A smile spread across Betty's face as she quickly responded:

WOW! WTG, DAD!

They texted each other back and forth for the next 20 minutes – Daniel apologizing for texting her so late and telling her about his hopes and fears as an instant father and Betty going over the celebration that took place downstairs. Finally, Daniel asked her the inevitable question.

SO WHAT R U GONNA DO NOW?

She thought long and hard about the answer to that question, as she had been doing in the isolated darkness of her room for the past two hours. Somehow, with Daniel there to respond, she finally worked up the courage to ask –

DOES UR OFFER STILL STAND?

Keep the reviews coming! They really help! :)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Initially, I was thinking Betty would move in with Daniel because she was so upset with her dad, but it seemed too drastic and out of character for them to have that kind of conflict. I felt it did more justice to Ignacio's character to have him eventually be happy for her and Betty not wanting to disappoint him.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ugly Betty, its characters, or any ideas, concepts, or names originating from the ABC show.