Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Ugly Betty...or 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

Daniel turned on his heel in the Meade lobby, turning towards Gabrielle in frustration. "Stop following me, okay? Look, I don't know what you want..."

Gabrielle let out a sigh, smiling at him. "Daniel, I don't want anything from you. I just want you to trust me. I am your guardian angel. And I'm here to help you."

Daniel shook his head, exiting the building. He looked toward the sky, noticing the snow had stopped falling. He felt for his phone, realizing he needed to call the car, but didn't feel it in his pocket.

"That's strange..." Daniel said to himself, perplexed. He knew his phone had been in his pocket before.

"What's wrong, Daniel? Having trouble finding your phone? That's because there is no phone...not registered to you anyway. Because you don't exist," she told him, praying he would understand.

He looked back at her angrily, shaking his head. "You're out of your mind lady," he muttered, passing by a Salvation Army volunteer.

"Hmm…now isn't that something," Gabrielle paused for a second, watching the volunteer move the bell in her hands. Daniel looked at her, but kept right on walking.

"What are you talking about now?" he stepped onto the curb and waved down a taxi. One stopped for him after a couple seconds, and she slid behind him into the backseat.

"Don't you know? Every time a bell rings, an angel gets their wings," she stated matter-of-factly.

Daniel scooted away from her, rolling his eyes. "I promise, if you keep this up, I'm gonna have to call the cops," he told her, raising an eyebrow.

"Without your mobile device? And what are you going to tell them? There's an angel following me, please help? I'm sure that'll go over really well Daniel," Gabrielle smiled at him, patting his shoulder. Daniel was getting angry with her, she could tell, but he knew she had him beat. "I guess this is something you'll have to see to believe. So where are we headed? Your 'home'?" she quoted mockingly.

"I'm going home. I don't know where you're off to. Maybe the looney bin," he glared at her.

Gabrielle snorted, "people still call it that? I thought they stopped using that term back in my day," she looked out the window thoughtfully, unknowingly getting a weird glance from the cab driver.

Daniel was almost afraid to ask. "Back in your day huh? There's no way you're older than me," he looked her over once. "Well…I wasn't when I died forty years ago," Gabrielle looked back at him, and the cab driver narrowly missed rear-ending another vehicle.

"What are you smokin' lady?" the cabbie's thick New York accent and stale breath turned her nose.

"Don't pay her any mind," Daniel waved it off, noticing they were around the corner from his condo.

"Actually, you can let us out here," he reached for his wallet, unable to find it. "Okay, what'd you do with it?" Daniel asked accusingly.

"What I do with what? Your wallet? People that don't exist don't carry around loose change, Daniel," Gabrielle stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He sighed once more, closing his eyes and placing a hand on his forehead.

"Don't worry," she said simply, snapping her fingers. Daniel opened his eyes, realizing they weren't in the cab anymore.

"What the…?" he looked around curiously, recognizing the familiar entrance of his building. He glanced at Gabrielle, who was calmly leaning against the opposite wall. She locked eyes with him, smirking at the stunned look on his face.

"What?" she shrugged, feigning innocence.

"How did you…we were…" Daniel found himself utterly speechless as he searched for comprehension. "Okay, now you're starting to scare me," he began backing away from her.

"Don't be scared. I promise I'll warn you next time I do that," she answered simply. He slowly turned around, entering the building. Daniel lightly knocked on his own front door, his frustration mounting.

"Betty?" his knocking became more deliberate, more impatient. "Betty…open up. I-lost my keys," he said loudly.

Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing a timid-looking older lady. Daniel took an unintentional step backward, shocked at the sight in front of him.

"Can I help you?" she asked quietly, staring at Daniel.

"Umm…I'm…" Daniel stuttered, "Where's Betty? Betty Meade?" It probably sounded like the dumbest question in the world to her. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry son. There's no Betty that lives here," she answered. "I'm sorry," she quickly closed the door. Daniel stood motionless for a few moments, taking a deep breath.

"There must be some mistake," he said more to himself than to Gabrielle. She followed him out of the hallway, into the main entrance.

"Maybe this isn't the right…" Daniel trailed off as he spotted the familiar address outside. He leaned against the door, looking defeated.

"No…this is definitely the right building, Daniel. Betty's not here. There is no Mrs. Daniel Meade because there isn't a Daniel Meade. Are you at least starting to believe me now?" Gabrielle crossed her arms.

He released a deep breath, shaking his head. "Where's my mother?" his head shot up. Gabrielle clasped her hands together, eyes cast downward.

"What? Is she…" Daniel felt tears fill his eyes.

"I'm sorry…Claire passed away almost fifteen years ago," she started to explain.

"What? No she didn't…my mom's getting older, but she's still healthy. She's still-"

Gabrielle placed a hand on his shoulder, "Daniel," she interjected. "She's gone."

Daniel's stomach churned with anxiety. "Can you take me to her? Please."

- - -

Daniel kneeled down in front of Claire's grave, touching the headstone. A tear fell from his eye as he wiped it away. "2007? How did this happen?" he looked up at Gabrielle helplessly.

"An overdose…antidepressants. The alcohol wasn't much help either," she began.

"What? Mom stopped…she stopped drinking when-"

"She stopped drinking for you. You were her motivation for getting through rehab. But you were never born. When your brother Alex came back as Alexis, she thought maybe she could get back on her feet. But Alexis was so determined to take over Meade and seek revenge on Bradford…it just made things worse. You weren't there to soften Alexis up…to stop her from going down that destructive path. Remember when she rushed you to the hospital because you'd taken too many pills? You were in Bradford's car...because of your incident, Bradford never got behind the wheel and never died in that crash. But without you, that didn't happen. Alexis succeeded with her plan to kill Bradford, and voted her former ally, Wilhelmina Slater, out of Mode. Alexis became consumed with more greed and hatred in her heart, and no one, not even your mother, could stop her. Your mother was extremely depressed over your father's death and once she learned Alexis was responsible, it was all too much," Gabrielle explained, watching him stare at the gravestones in disbelief.

"This can't be happening," he said.

"I'm sorry…but it is, Daniel."

"No. I need see Betty," he stood from his position in the snow.

"Are you sure about that?" Gabrielle was apprehensive.

"Yes, I'm sure! Where's my wife?" he grabbed her shoulders, looking into her dark brown eyes.

Gabrielle nodded, knowing he wasn't going to like what he saw. "Okay then. I'll take you to her."

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