Summary: When the unexpected happens, the one man Betty pushed away ends up being the one she needed all along.
"Betty. Wow."
Betty smiled broadly, gliding her tongue against her exposed, straight teeth. The braces she'd grown so accustomed to over the past four years had just been removed. Daniel's words hung in the air between them, and neither he nor Betty could wipe the grin off their face.
"What do you think?" she smiled up at him in the small waiting area of her orthodontist's office, excitement running through her veins. Daniel searched for the right word to describe the woman that stood before him. None of the adjectives he'd applied to her in the past seemed to fit: Cute. Adorable. Sweet. They were still true at times, but not at all in this moment.
Maybe breathtaking. Radiant. Or...Devastatingly Beautiful.
"I think you look amazing, Betty," he heard the words, but they still didn't seem to do her justice.
A light blush spread on her cheeks and her grin got wider. "Thank you," she adjusted the small purse on her arm. His blue eyes rested on her for another moment or so before his mind caught up. He opened the door for her, squinting at the sun as they stepped out into the early summer warmth.
"Ahh...such a beautiful day," Betty stretched her arms out, leaning her head back in contentment. Daniel couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm. It was indeed the first sunny day they'd had in awhile. The flowers were in full bloom, the weather hadn't crossed over into unbearable New York heat quite yet, and best of all he had the entire afternoon off. Yep, it was shaping up to be a pretty awesome day.
"I hope you're in the mood for a special treat," Daniel told her, glancing down at her surprised look. She eyed him suspiciously, a wary smirk pulling at her lips.
"What are you up to? I thought we were going to lunch," she said.
"Right. But this is first-meal-after-you-get-your-braces-off-lunch. It has to be special. It's a rule," he bumped her shoulder playfully, and she laughed.
"Hmm...okay. So what did you have in mind?" she wondered, pausing to stare up at him as they stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to turn red.
"Well, it depends on what you have a taste for. I know this place not too far from here that has some of the best barbeque ribs that-"
Betty burst into a fit of laughter at this, and he gazed down at her, looking offended. "What?"
"First of all, Daniel Meade eating anything messy is hilarious. And second, great barbeque rib spots aren't exactly gonna be in this part of Manhattan," she pointed out, letting him guide her to the other side of the street.
"Well when I said close by, I guess I didn't mean literally. We'd have to get in the towncar and take a short trip to the place," he clarified.
"Ah. Makes more sense now. Kind of," she shrugged, snickering when he poked her in the side, walking shoulder-to-shoulder on the crowded sidewalk.
"And if you want you could order corn on the cob with your meal. Then after that, we could go get some caramel apples, or peanut brittle, or caramel popcorn..." Daniel continued to name a few other foods, and she stole occasional glances at him, smiling to herself. She loved it when he was like this. The Daniel that not too many people knew. Silly, thoughtful, fun to be around Daniel. The one who'd taken the time to spend the afternoon celebrating her straight teeth. The one that she was quite sure she wouldn't have survived without the last five months.
"...have great hard shell tacos, or maybe we could get some caramel nuts..." he looked back at Betty, who seemed to be lost in thought. "You're not listening are you?" he accused.
"Man, you really like caramel, don't you?" Betty turned to him, grinning and trying her best not to laugh.
Daniel resisted his initial urge to lean down to her ear and reply in a deep voice, "oh you have no idea, sweetheart" and instead responded with light laughter. "Haha. Aren't you observant, miss Suarez."
"Well, you know me..." Betty shrugged her shoulders and smiled in delight as a light breeze blew threw her long hair. Daniel's eyes did a once over down her petite frame, noting that maybe the word cute did still apply to Betty today.
"I do indeed. But you still haven't told me what you want," he stopped his stride, stepping aside and taking his suit blazer off.
"Okay, this is what we're gonna do: let's go get some of these ribs and I'll eat some of your corn on the cob because I have a feeling I'll be too full to finish mine. And afterward instead of hard candy, I want to eat some chunky monkey ice cream. I've been craving it for weeks," she told him, hands on her hips.
"You're playing hardball today, I see. What if I wanted my corn on the cob?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Stop messing with me, you don't even like corn like that," she smirked. He chuckled and shook his head at her.
"You got me. I'll call for the car m'lady," Daniel joked, pulling out his blackberry.
"Thank you sir," she curtsied, holding the edges of her sundress as she did so. He rolled his eyes, watching as she turned away from him momentarily. He admired her profile as she grinned at a pair of 4-year old looking twins cross the street with their mother. Betty turned back to him expectantly. "All set?" she wondered.
"He'll be here in a bit," he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Yeah, today was going to be pretty phenomenal.
-
"Oh my gosh, I can't get over how good that was," Betty touched her stomach, following Daniel off the elevator of his building. He grinned, fiddling with the keys in his pocket.
"Told you. Just cause I'm a Meade doesn't mean I don't know a good barbeque spot when I see it," he glanced back at her skeptical face as he turned the key.
"Yeah, I'm still 60% sure someone told you about it first, but okay," she smiled. He entered his loft behind her, closing the door securely. Betty sat the plastic bag on his kitchen counter, pulling out the two pints of chunky monkey she'd requested.
"Hmm...I know we just ate an hour ago, but I can't wait to dig into this," she smirked, pulling two spoons out of his drawer.
"You and me both," he raised an eyebrow, making his way to the leather couch in the middle of the room. She sat next to him, kicking her sandals off and curling her legs underneath her.
"Hmm..." Betty groaned after taking the first bite off her spoon, closing her eyes in content. "This is heaven!" she mumbled after putting another spoonful in her mouth.
Daniel glanced at her and chuckled mischievously. "Careful, this ice cream is rated PG-13," he joked, laughing even harder when she hit his shoulder. "Oh. I see what you mean," he savored his bite.
"I know right?" Betty pointed at him. "This is the best I've ever had," Daniel licked the spoon slowly making her burst into giggles.
"Stop it silly," she wiped a bit of ice cream from the corner of her mouth.
"Aw, you love it," he grinned.
"See, now I'm making a mess," she grabbed a tissue off the coffee table and wiped away the dollop of ice cream she'd dropped on her leg.
"Yeah, that's not my fault," he watched as she did so, continuing to eat.
"Whatever," she relaxed against the cushions once more. They ate in silence for a few moments, each absorbed in their own thoughts.
Daniel straightened up a bit, sticking his spoon the the frozen goodness. "Hey Betty?"
"Hmm?" her eyes peered over at his.
"I lo-" he began, staring into his pint of ice cream, "I mean, I really like it when we're like this. Outside of work, I mean. When we're just Daniel and Betty, hanging out," he told her. She remained quiet, her brown eyes carefully observing him. "You realize that... you're the only person I've ever been totally at ease with? And it's always been like that with us. I don't have to pretend or put up a front with you because you already know everything." He returned his eyes to her, seeing a small smile on her face.
"I know," she said thoughtfully. "I like that," she added with a grin, placing a bit of ice cream on the tip of her spoon.
"Me too," Daniel replied, leaning forward to place his carton aside. Betty watched him lean back on the sofa, his familiar blue orbs giving her a curious gaze. "What?" he asked.
"You're a great person. You know that?" she said, resting an arm on the back of the sofa.
"I am?" he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Yeah. And an even better friend. But you don't give yourself enough credit," Betty told him, resting her face on the palm of her hand.
"I don't?" Daniel questioned.
"Nope," she sighed, moving slightly on the couch. "You've been nothing short of amazing to me these last few months. I don't know what I would've done without you, Daniel."
He smiled at her admission, breaking his gaze away from hers. "Well..." he cleared his throat, eyes still focused on the decorative rug beneath his feet. "I don't know what I would've done without you after Molly. You made life bearable. And I think being able to be there for you has been therapeutic in its own way. It's really given me perspective on things," he explained, looking back up at her.
"What do you mean?" she stifled a yawn, sitting the rest of the ice cream on the table.
"I've just realized some things about myself, about others. I'm really fortunate to have certain people in my life," he replied, holding her gaze for a moment or two longer than he intended.
Betty read his eyes like a book and knew immediately that he was referring her. She smiled the slightest bit at this realization, her pearly whites apparent as ever.
"I'm really fortunate too. You're the best," she leaned over quickly, giving him a peck on the cheek. Betty smirked at the reaction she evoked from the man beside her, a small blush spreading over his cheeks.
"Wow," he sounded astounded as the words flowed out of his mouth.
"What?" she wondered.
"Your lips were really cold. And a little sticky," he laughed, getting a classic eye roll in return.
"Funny," was her reply, as she grabbed her half eaten pint and headed toward the freezer, unaware of the sudden intensity of the blue eyes following her across the room.
*Sigh* I could write about Daniel and Betty all day...don't you just love their characters? Hope you guys liked this chapter! Please do review!