Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Ugly Betty.

A/N: Here it is! Another installment...I'll try to have the next chapter of Four Letter Word up by Thursday evening...I'm trying to fine-tune the chapter but I already have my end in sight. Surprisingly, I'm having trouble writing the Matters of the Heart last couple of chapters...weird since the story wasn't difficult to write, but I'll get it up likely next week. Thanks for all the great reviews...you guys are the best!

Gabrielle watched, intrigued as the couple before her raised their voices, both seemingly trying to out argue the other. "What's the problem? Why disagree over something so trivial?" Gabrielle wondered, glancing up at Joseph. "Marriage is tough...they take a lot of work, and a lot of compromise. Daniel and Betty's marriage is about to hit a bump in the road...but that's where you come in," Joseph smiled down at her.

July 16, 2019

"It's just a stupid party, Betty! Liliana won't even remember it!" Daniel yelled, regretting his choice of words as soon as he'd heard them. Tears rimmed her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess our daughter's birthday is pretty pointless," she shrugged cynically.

"Honey, I didn't mean to say it like that," he sighed helplessly, placing hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry..."

"You used to care about the little things, Daniel. 'It's the simple moments that make life worthwhile.' You're the one who told me that," Betty reminded him.

He nodded, "I know. I'll just cancel those meetings next Thursday and reschedule," he pulled out his blackberry.

Betty shook her head, "don't go to any trouble. We can have Lilly's party next Saturday. You won't have to cancel any meetings and Dad will be able to come," she grinned slightly.

"Are you sure?" Daniel glanced up from his phone uncertainly.

"I'm sure. It probably works better for everybody. And I don't wanna fight with you on this. I don't wanna fight with you about anything," she admitted.

"I don't want to either," he leaned into her, kissing her lips and pulling her close.

September 21, 2019

"Who the hell is Steve?"

"Umm...he works at the review with me. You remember him...I introduced you. You know....the tall blond guy from that banquet earlier this year. And what's with the attitude?" she stepped out of her heels.

"Why is he buying things for Brendan and Caleb?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. Betty's eyes traveled to the opened card in his hand.

"Well he always hears me talking about the kids and...well he knew yesterday was their birthday. He just thought it would be nice. Oh come on, Daniel. Don't give me that look...he's a really nice guy. He's going through a rough time right now. His wife and son died in a car accident seven months ago. I think doing this helps him cope, honestly," she explained.

Daniel let out a sigh, "I'm sorry that happened to him, I really am. But they have a father and you're not looking for a replacement so this needs to be the only time," Daniel told her.

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I really don't see the big deal, but fine. Whatever. I'll tell him to stop being so nice."

"Betty don't you see? This isn't about the kids! He wants you!"

Betty burst into laughter at his assumption, biting her lip when she realized he was serious. "You've got to be joking. Steve? You know that's not true...he's still mourning his wife's death and even if he was looking, I'm pretty sure I'd be the last place he'd look. And it's inappropriate because he knows I'm married to a millionaire hunk," Betty winked at him playfully, noticing he didn't share her sentiment.

"I'm serious, Betty. The thing I remember most about that guy is the moment I turned my back, he was making every attempt to flirt with you. Or are you just choosing to ignore the obvious?" he wondered.

"Daniel, why are you acting so jealous? The only person its obvious to is you! I really don't think that's the case...but I'll tell him to not give anymore presents to the kids, okay? Just drop it," she brushed past him frustrated, loudly closing the bathroom door. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. It was gonna be a long night.

February 14, 2020

"Betty...can you hear me?" Daniel pulled his cell phone away from his ear, shielding it from the heavy wind and rain. "Hello?" he said, quickly moving inside the hotel.

"Okay, I can hear you now. So what did they say?" Betty wondered, sitting on one of the barstools in the kitchen.

"I can't fly out of here tonight. All commercial flights out of Miami are grounded and I can't charter any private planes...it's too big of a risk. They put me up in a hotel for the night," he explained, folding his umbrella up. Betty let out a disappointed sigh.

"I'm sorry, honey. I wish I could've found a way to come back early so we could spend Valentine's together," he apologized.

"It's okay...you're CEO...someone's gotta do the work," she forced a smile, feeling the tears creep into her eyes.

"Don't cry, Betty," he said softly when she got quiet. She wiped at her eyes on the other side of the phone, clearing her throat.

"I'm not crying," Betty told him in her calmest voice. He wasn't convinced.

"Mommy, what's a matter?" she turned toward the familiar voice of her little boy.

"I'm fine honey...go back to sleep," she told him, giving him a smile.

"Is that Caleb or Brendan?" Daniel heard the exchange. "Caleb," she replied.

"I tried...I can't sleep," Caleb rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"You wanna talk to Daddy?" she asked, holding the phone out for him. He nodded with a smile and she picked him up, sitting him on her lap.

"Hi Daddy," Caleb answered happily. "Hey buddy. Why aren't you in bed?" Daniel grinned, sitting in a lobby chair.

"I was...I can't sleep. When are you coming home daddy? Are gonna be at our basketball game?" he wondered. Daniel put a hand to his forehead. He'd totally forgotten about the boys' little league basketball game in a couple of days. He had to do better.

"I'm gonna try to get out of here tomorrow. And I'll definitely be at the game. In the front row with your mom," Daniel told him.

"You promise?"

Daniel could imagine the gleam in his son's eyes, and suddenly missed his family terribly. "I promise Caleb."

August 17, 2021

Daniel trudged up the staircase of his home, body aching from a grueling day at the office. He massaged the side of his neck, letting out a big yawn. He looked at the grandmother clock on the far wall and glanced in on the kids, knowing they fell asleep hours ago. He neared the end of the hall, opening the door to his bedroom suite.

What he noticed about his wife first was her posture, not the sleek pencil skirt perfectly hugging her curves or nicely accented teal cardigan he'd given her for her birthday this year. She sat on the footstool at the end of their king-sized bed, glancing toward him.

"Hey...what's up?" Daniel wondered apprehensively, loosening his tie.

"'What's up?' What's up is that I've been sitting here for three hours hoping that I would be wrong about something," she stood, crossing her arms.

"Wrong about what, Betty? I don't have a clue what you're talking about," he let out an annoyed sigh. She paused, brown eyes studying him.

"You really don't remember, do you? Wow," he saw the tears fill her eyes and then it dawned on him.

August 17th. The bridge. He'd proposed ten years ago today. It hadn't been extravagant. But it was romantic, and he knew Betty would take romance over that other stuff any day. They'd made a habit of celebrating at Adagio's every year, since it was the restaurant they went to right after he popped the question.

"Oh, dammit! Betty...I'm an idiot," he closed his eyes momentarily. "I seriously don't even know what day it is, I've just been so..."

"So...what Daniel? You've been so dedicated to your job you don't even know what's going on around here anymore. It's like all you care about is work," Betty accused him, stepping out of her black pumps.

"You never forget, Daniel. At least not when it comes to us. You never used to, anyway," he didn't miss the hurt in her voice, and it made him feel awful.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I just had some loose ends to tie up at work...and you know how crazy things have been lately," Daniel reached out to rub her arms, but she stepped away from his touch.

"Loose ends...yeah I bet..." she muttered, but he heard her. "What? What's that supposed to mean?" he wondered, upset.

She faced him, running a hand through her hair. "Melody? Your busty-model prototype assistant? Was she the one keeping you at work?"

Betty was angry. Daniel knew she had to have been to say something like that. "Are you serious right now? You think something's going on? Oh come on, Betty..." Daniel shook his head, breathing deeply to control his frustration.

"Yeah, I'm serious right now, Daniel," she put her hands on her hips.

"What you're implying is just...you know damn well that I would never do that you or to the kids! I'm not my father!" he yelled, angry tears welling the surface of both their eyes. They were silent for a few moments, just staring at each other.

"You really think I'd do that?" she heard him ask incredulously. There was pain in his eyes.

She shouldn't have said it, and she knew it. "No," Betty said quietly. He moved closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I love you. I wouldn't hurt you like that," Daniel looked deep into her eyes, the fading anger and confusion he felt mirrored in her gaze. "I know you wouldn't..." her eyes welled to the brink, resting her hands on his chest.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I promise I'll make this up to you. We'll do something special tomorrow night, or have a weekend getaway...anything. Just tell me what to do to make this right," he grabbed her hands.

"Let's talk about it later, okay?" he heard her voice break as she turned to move out of his reach.

December 23, 2021

"What? No, you've got to be kidding me," Daniel told one of his accountants, pacing his office. "I'm sorry sir. They want to buy Meade Publications out. I know you don't want to hear this, Mr. Meade, but this is likely for the best, with the way things have been going-"

"Please don't tell me what's best for MY company! My father built Meade Publications through years of hard work and now you just want me to give up? Sell out to some new, big name corporation just because things aren't going perfectly? No, I'm not doing it. I won't!" Daniel yelled, feeling his pulse race.

"You may not have a choice, sir."

"What are you talking about?" Daniel crossed his arms.

The accountant sighed, wiping his brow. "They want to meet with you formally in a few days but…the decision may be out of your control. Meade no longer has the monetary means to keep all of its magazines afloat. I'm sorry, Mr. Meade."

- -

Hours later, Daniel slammed the front door of his home, laughter and loud off-key piano notes coming from the family room. He glanced in as he walked past and Betty turned her head toward him.

"What's with all the noise?" he already had a headache, this was only making it worse. Betty stood from her kneeling position by the tree, handing an ornament to Caleb.

"Daddy's home!" he heard Liliana's small feet bang against the floor in a rush to meet him before he saw her emerge from the hallway. She wrapped her tiny arms around his legs, her innocent blue eyes staring up into his hopefully.

"Lilly, you're supposed to be in bed, remember?" Betty raised an eyebrow at her baby girl.

"Why's she supposed to be in bed?" Daniel wondered. It was barely seven o'clock.

"Well, she's got a low-grade fever. I gave her some medicine and told her to lay down and so she could watch her favorite movie," Betty made a silly face at her, making her giggle.

Daniel picked Liliana up, placing his forehead against hers. "She's really warm," he glanced at Betty, "you should've taken her to the doctor."Betty ignored his accusatory tone, prying her from his arms.

"Daniel, you just came from outside. And I checked her temperature fifteen minutes ago. She'll be fine," she reassured him. "Come on Lilly, Daddy will tuck you in later, okay?" Betty disappeared around the corner.

Daniel walked into the study, leaning against the mantle and staring into the roaring fireplace. Betty startled him a few moments later, placing a hand on his arm.

"You okay? How was the meeting?" she stared into his eyes. It was a simple enough question, not a simple way to tell your wife that they were about to lose everything.

"Didn't go too well. Hartley Publishing wants to buy Meade out. And there's nothing I can do about it," Daniel shrugged, massaging his temples.

"What? No, there must be something-"

"No. There's nothing. There's nothing I can do," he raised his voice, seeing her frown.

"Daniel, have you been drinking?" Betty took a step closer to him, smelling his breath. He rolled his eyes, "I just had one drink. I'm so stressed..."

"Okay, okay. Honey, let's just sit down and talk about this," she lightly grabbed his arm.

He jerked away, shaking his head, "No. I don't wanna talk right now. After all these years of hard work. Hell, all of dad's years of hard work...they're just going to take the company away...from right out under me! I can't fix this, Betty. I can't..." Daniel's head was pounding now.

"Hey!" he stormed back into the adjoining family room, "quiet it down in here! I can't think straight!" Isabella looked up from the baby grand piano, startled at the tone of his voice. Caleb and Brendon stopped wrestling on the floor, bright brown eyes staring at him. "And pick this mess up off the floor! You're old enough to clean up after yourself!"

"Daniel!" Betty scolded him, pulling him away from the kids. "What's gotten into you? Don't talk to the kids like that. You know Bella's got a recital in five days, she's got to practice somewhere," intense brown eyes bore into his.

He glanced back at the scene in the living room, immediately feeling guilty. "I'm sorry...you guys don't have to clean that up now," Daniel told the boys, who were putting Christmas ornaments in the proper place.

"You can play Bella," her brown eyes looked tearful as she glanced down at the keys. "I said play!" he said forcefully, eliciting cries from his eldest daughter.

"Daddy..." Bella choked out as she started to cry. Betty moved to her side, glaring at her husband. "Ugh...Daniel, why don't you just..."

Daniel had seen that look before. Disappointment. Anger. Hurt. All wrapped up into those brown depths. All directed towards him. "I'm..." Daniel felt himself about to lose it. He turned on his heel, walking out of the front door in a hurry.

- - -

I decided to throw the name Hartley in there for fun, just because Cal Hartley seems like the type to do something like that. Hope you liked, please review!