Disclaimer: Don't own em, just write about em.

A/N: Hope I haven't lost too many readers with the lack of updates...if you're reading this, that means you're still interested, which makes me smile. Thanks for the reviews!

It was Monday. Mondays were never particularly great for the editor-in-chief. Running from meeting to meeting, still sluggish from usually having slept in over the weekend, Daniel never fully woke up until lunchtime.

This Monday wasn't any different, except on top of it all, Mode was abuzz with talk of Matt Hartley's sudden reappearance from the dead over the weekend. It felt like he was stuck in the middle of a bad dream.

He'd been dodging reporters all morning, barricading himself inside his office for as long as possible. He'd been making every attempt to not check his phone every fifteen minutes for a message or missed call from Betty, having failed miserably. They hadn't talked since he left her place late Saturday morning.

He ran hands over his face, breathing deeply, an attempt to calm his nerves. Maybe that extra espresso hadn't been a good idea after all. A soft knock at his door caused him to glance up, the woman who'd been running through his head all day stood on the other side.

He stood unceremoniously from his desk, knocking a folder to the ground as he motioned her inside.

"Hi," Betty greeted him, closing the door securely behind her.

"Hey…" Daniel replied, placing the contents of the folder back where they'd been. He let out a sigh, his eyes doing a once over of her pastel floral dress. She looked great. His blue eyes drifted down to his designer shoes as he ran a hand over his nicely trimmed beard, trying to find the right words to say.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday," she said softly, walking towards him. Daniel shook his head, "it's alright."

"You okay?" he watched her apprehensively fiddle with her hands.

"I umm…" she stared out the window, eyes full of threatening tears. "This is just a lot right now. I think I might need some space to absorb the weight of it all," Betty lightly touched her temple.

Daniel felt his stomach drop and swallowed the fear growing in his chest. That's what he was afraid she'd say, but at the same time, knew it was what she needed. Her brown eyes drifted back to him, always managing to convey exactly what she was feeling.

"I know you do. I understand," his fingertips grazed the cool metal edge of his desk.

Then he asked the question that had been plaguing him for the past 48 hours, the one he thought he already knew the answer to. "Have you...you know, talked to him?"

Betty glanced down briefly, then met his eyes again, almost as if she was afraid to reply. "Umm…yesterday. On the phone. He said he- he wants to have dinner," she shrugged.

Daniel nodded slowly, his eyes cast downward. Of course he did. If he hadn't seen or talked to Betty in eight months he'd go damn near insane. He looked back up at her, giving her a small almost-grin and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Daniel moved closer to where she stood near the ottoman.

His mouth slightly parted to say something, but he stopped himself. 'Are you going to tell him about us?' Daniel almost asked, then realized that the 'us' in question had yet to be defined, and that perhaps he was foolish to even think it mattered. Maybe he'd just been a replacement for what wasn't there this whole time. And now that Matt was back, everything that had happened was irrelevant.

He stared down at her speechless, her chocolate depths staring right back into his with a vulnerability that made him want to take her in his arms and go somewhere far away from all this madness.

Betty looked up at Daniel, his blue eyes looking lost as they searched hers. This was all so much for them to comprehend. She wasn't even sure how to feel about all of this.

"Daniel, I'm sorry this is happening," she blurted out, feeling her voice break but determined to keep her emotions under wraps.

"What?" he said concerned.

"Everything is so crazy right now. This doesn't even feel real," Betty sighed.

"Hey," his hands touched her shoulders, "you don't have to apologize to me, okay? It's not your fault. It's no one's fault," he said reassuringly.

"It doesn't feel that way," she brushed a hand against her forehead.

"It's gonna be alright," he said, not sure of who needed to hear those words more. His fingers glided against the warm flesh of her shoulders, and in an instant they were back in her bedroom, bodies meshed together, only sweat between them. Betty swallowed hard, shaking her head of the memory and taking a step away from Daniel. "Umm…I'm going to try to get some work done, okay? I'm already a little behind on things, so…"

He nodded, wishing he didn't suddenly feel so alone. "Right. Okay then," he crossed his arms over his chest, releasing a heavy sigh. "I'll see you later."

Betty adjusted the tote on her shoulder before exiting his office, "okay. I'll see you."

Betty closed the front door of her family home, leaning against it in exhaustion. "Hey sis," she heard Hilda's voice from the living room.

"Hey," Betty replied, sitting her things down. She smiled broadly at her baby niece, sucking peacefully on her pacifier. "Hi Maria. Hi honey...you're such a cutie pie. Yes you are," she said in a sweet voice, running a hand over Maria's full head of hair.

"How's Bobby?" she sat down next to her.

"He's good. Justin's helping him get some stuff ready for the house," she explained.

"Next week is the big move-in. You getting excited?"

"Yeah I am. But enough about me. You came over here to talk. How are you feeling?" Hilda cradled the small infant in her arms, watching with a grin as she closed her eyes.

"This is so crazy. I'd finally gotten to the point where I could say I was moving on, and come to find out…he's been alive this entire time," Betty closed her eyes, leaning against the plush sofa cushions.

"Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, ya know?"

"I don't know about that..." Betty took a deep breath, giving Hilda a sideways glance.

"What? What aren't you telling me?"

"Things are more complicated than they seem Hilda…" she stood from the couch.

"Well how about you try and explain it to me," Hilda watched as Betty poured herself some lemonade.

"Daniel and I…we…the morning you called… we were together. In bed…"

Hilda's eyes popping out of her head would have been comical had Betty been in a better mood. "What? I mean, I knew you two were getting closer, but I…oh," she looked at Betty surprised. "That does complicate things a bit, huh?"

"Yeah. Just a little…" Betty finished off her glass of lemonade in record time, sitting it on the kitchen table.

"You and Daniel. Hmm…" Hilda said thoughtfully, rocking the baby ever so slightly.

"What?"

"It all makes sense. I should've seen it coming really. All the time you've spent together, and both of you obviously care a great deal about each other…I'm just sayin', when a man and woman are as good of friends as you two are, one person generally ends up having feelings for the other. Not always but, more often than not."

"The thing is…it didn't feel weird when we were together. It felt-"

"Natural?" Hilda finished for her knowingly. Betty nodded. "I'm so confused…"

"Do you still love him?" Hilda asked.

"What?"

"Matt. Do you still love him?" Betty held her sister's gaze. She thought she knew the answer, but she didn't.

"I don't-" she faltered, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not sure."

Daniel set behind his office desk, tapping his pen against it absentmindedly, his eyes focused on one of the office chairs in front of him. It was late, he knew. Past the time he usually stayed, even when he worked late. Mostly everyone had gone home for the day, and the media craziness from earlier had died down significantly.

"Daniel?" Claire said her son's name from the doorway, coming to check on him after Amanda told her he was working late. He continued to tap his pen against the edge of the desk, lost in his thoughts.

"Daniel." His head snapped up this time, and he sat up in his chair. "Mom. I didn't see you there," he cleared his throat, glancing at his watch. "I was just about to head home," he gave her a quick grin, shutting down his laptop and closing it.

"Yes. I can see that," her stilettos clicked against the floor as she walked into his office. "You've probably got a lot on your mind," she crossed her arms, watching as he gathered his things.

"There's the understatement of the week," he laughed cynically.

"This is all quite unbelievable. How's Betty handling this? Have you spoken with her?" she wondered.

He put the necessary items in his briefcase, and glanced back up at her. "She's handling it." He was short with her, and hadn't meant to be. Daniel was full of so much emotion he didn't know how to act right now.

"Sorry," he apologized for his tone, seeing Claire's face. "I just-it's a lot to deal with right now," he attempted to explain.

"You don't have to apologize. I know," she gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Not exactly, Mom. You don't know the whole story."

Claire took a step back to look at her son. "What? About you and Betty?"

"How'd you know?"

"Daniel, give me some credit. I've seen the way you two look at each other," she smiled.

Daniel glanced away, turning to one of the windows and admiring the bright lights of the city. "That's why I know everything that transpired this weekend has been difficult for you. For the both of you."

He leaned his head against the cool glass, closing his eyes briefly. He saw her face, her smile, the warm feeling he felt when she was near. He already missed it. "I love her." Daniel felt the sting as tears filled his eyes, as one escaped down his cheek.

"What?" she wasn't sure she heard him right, he'd said it so quietly.

"I'm in love with her, Mom," he attempted to keep his voice steady, and took a deep breath to control the emotions raging within.

Claire felt her heart breaking as she stared at her son, his shoulders slumped, defeated as she'd ever seen him. She watched as he tried to wipe the moisture from his face discreetly. He'd always been that way. Daniel had always been such a sweet child, having a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve. He'd been trained by Bradford for so many years to keep his emotions inside, that in moments like these when he unveiled them, he sometimes still tried to hide them, for fear of being perceived as weak.

"I want to give her space, and time to sort things out. It's what she needs. They have a history and I need to respect that. We've just spent so much time together...I know I'll see her at work, but...it's different. I don't know what to do."

Claire moved to stand next to him, placing a comforting arm around him. "Don't give up on love, Daniel. These last eight months didn't happen by mistake." Daniel turned toward his mother, the determined look in her eyes giving him hope.

"You and Betty have a history too. And a bond that I believe is strong enough to withstand anything. Fight for her."

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took me so long, I had to add in some things, take some stuff out, etc. I really appreciate all your feedback. Thanks for reading! I have a light schedule this weekend, so look for an update.