In Your Arms, Of Course

Ch 1

A/N: Just a note here. I haven't been writing many new stories for the last several years as our readers (and comments) have begun waning. I still think Daniel and Betty were an amazing couple, a loving friendship that grew into love that we sadly, never got to see develop fully before the series was cut prematurely short. And now, with Silvio gone, we will never know what he had envisioned, and the cast all seemingly willing to get back together, but apparently there is something keeping a movie or reboot from happening after all this time. My friend and fellow Detty-lover and I met in Brooklyn in 2013, exactly 10 years ago, to attend The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. We went primarily because Eric Mabius (Daniel) was a judge and we thought he might be there in person (he wasn't). Also, America Ferrera's talent agency is in Brooklyn. After meeting the directors of the festival and several of the filmmakers, I went to America's talent agency, with a script for an Ugly Betty movie in hand that Heather and I had co-written, determined to try and get it into someone's hands. Of course, they merely smiled and gave me the standard, 'thanks, but no thanks", you crazy fan! Lol!

In any case, I am keenly aware that looking at the relationship of Daniel and Betty through 2023 eyes, today one might be concerned about the fact that he was 10 years her senior and her boss, so any sort of flirtation between them would be inappropriate and considered sexual harrassment by her employer. Which is exactly one reason that I usually only write stories set at the end of the series, after Betty has gone to London and is no longer a Meade employee. But I hope you'll forgive me (since it's my birthday next week) and allow me this little short story through the lens of that time period, rather than todays, set back in Season 3, before the biggest mistake in my opinion, Molly no-name! I felt like she was the catalyst that derailed the show. Season 3 was not my favorite. I'm not a Matt hater, and I adore Christine Baranski, but I did despise the whole Phoenix cult thing and a lot of that season that I felt was pulling away from Daniel and Betty's core relationship, which was the heart of the show.

When Betty looked across the crowded sea of press, she saw Daniel mouth "I'm sorry" to her. She nodded, and mouthed back, "Thank you" as she made her way out to the street, and hailed a cab quickly, evading the reporters as Daniel took over, answering questions to allow her to escape.

She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she needed to gather her thoughts and figure out her next move. She had thought briefly that she was actually some kind of "big shot" simply because Daniel had given her a little taste of power. Yes, he was wrong for not standing up to Wilhelmina in the first place and especially given how his poor decision had ended up throwing her under the bus. But Betty realized where she had gone off course herself, too.

Was she really ready to run anything yet? She was still so young. She knew now that she had been naive to think she could do more until she actually got the experience she needed. If she truly expected to be treated with respect, she needed to earn it. What had Claire and Daniel both told her so often? That she needed to get out of her comfort zone to be a more interesting writer. She knew they had a valid point. How could she expect to write exciting, believable stories about people and places across the world if she had never actually left Queens, never met people from places far different from her own?

Her trip across country had been eye-opening in a lot of ways, had taught her more than all four years at Queens College about different people and their lives.

Daniel looked up to see Claire standing in the doorway to his office and smiled, "Hey, Mom. What can I do for you?"

"We need to have a serious talk, Daniel. Do you have a minute?"

He chuckled, "For you, I have two! Have a seat."

She raised an eyebrow as she came and sat at his desk, "Is that supposed to be funny?"

He shook his head, "Never mind. Believe it or not, it's an inside joke with…Wilhelmina!"

"Good Lord! I don't want to think about that woman right now. This is…about you."

"Me? What about me? Let me guess. You still think I…have a crush on Betty? No offense, Mom. But you are the worst matchmaker ever! Trust me…I don't…"

She dismissed him, leaning forward across his desk, "Thank God you at least finally came to your senses and cleared that mess up. I suspect you stupidly listened to Wilhelmina to get yourself into the mess in the first place. I also know…that you are heading down a very dangerous, very STUPID path right now, Daniel! WHY on earth are you listening to Wilhelmina about ANYTHING?

You seriously threw a sweet girl like Betty under the bus, listening to that bitch? And now, you're actually thinking about pursuing your friend's fiance? Daniel, wake up! Don't ever make the mistake of trusting her. NOTHING Wilhelmina Slater advises you is actually for your own good! EVER! She's a snake!"

He thought for a moment, nodding, "Okay, I'll give you that. But Mom…listen, I don't really want to discuss my love life with my mother!"

She rolled her eyes, "Since when? You talk about your "love life" with me and your sister and Betty all the time; with everybody who will listen! I know you think you haven't done anything wrong, Daniel. That may be technically true for the moment. But after knowing what your father's wandering eye did to our marriage, and to our whole family, I'm afraid I see what it is capable of doing to you as well if you're not careful.

This is not the right path for you. If you pursue a woman who is not available, it will lead to nothing but heartache, I guarantee. For once in your adult life, do NOT go after a woman just because you can!

Hopefully, you've been able to avoid getting involved with the kind of women who are after you simply for your money or fame. Yes, you are a very good-looking young man. But that doesn't give you carte blanche to chase after every woman who happens to notice you. Bat your pretty blue eyes at someone who actually cares about you, someone who would make a good partner, who shares your interests and you can laugh with, not someone who will only make you…cry!

I have a very bad feeling about Molly. She's lovely and seems like a nice enough young woman, but…there's just something about her that concerns me. Call it mother's intuition. The bottom line is, she isn't free! Connor is your friend and he's a good man. Just walk away while you still can. I'm sure Wilhelmina has ulterior motives for throwing you at Molly. She doesn't strike me as the matchmaker type purely for altruistic purposes."

She stood to leave and Daniel walked her to the door, hugging her briefly and kissing her cheek.

"Okay, Mom. I hear you. And I know you're right. Willy definitely can't be trusted. And Connor is a good guy. He's been my friend since college. I do agree with you. Molly is…off limits. Hell, maybe that's the only reason she seems appealing right now. You know, forbidden fruit and all. You always want what you can't have. I had a crush on Jordan when she was with Alex, probably mostly because she was dating my older brother. It worked the same for him with me and Lucy, obviously!"

Claire took a beat then nodded, "You're absolutely right. I'm glad you understand your limits. No to Molly and well, of course, no pursuing Betty, ever! She's definitely off limits, as well. Not that you'd ever be interested in her, anyway! I mean we both know why your father hired the poor girl in the first place."

Daniel made a face, "Well, yeah, but…that's not fair! Betty is…actually very pretty!"

She put up her hand on his arm, nodding, trying not to smirk at how easily Daniel was led sometimes, "Of course she is! I can see she's a diamond in the rough, a shy little caterpillar, ready to emerge as a lovely butterfly. Don't get me wrong, she's as sweet as can be and very bright! That was quite clever of her to skywrite you to get your attention. But..well, you know how she looks right now. I mean, she's young, and naive and already had a boyfriend that broke her heart."

He thought for a minute, then smiled, "Well, she really likes butterflies. She dressed up as one that time when Marc and Amanda tricked her on Halloween. She was cute! I don't know that I'd ever call Betty SHY, though!"

Claire shook her head, smiling at the expression on her son's face as he spoke of Betty, "All I know is, once she gets those braces off and starts dressing to show off those curves of hers that she tries so hard to hide, you're probably going to have to act as her mentor, and try to keep away all the men that will see what a hidden beauty she is! I'd hate to have her get married off and lose all her good work! It would certainly be a shame to be without her…editing skills! Didn't you say that stupid accountant tried to convince her to marry him and run away across the country with him?"

As Claire left, leaving her son to ponder her words, she took a deep breath. Sometimes she felt as if she was being punished for all the times when Daniel and Alex were children and she not only was too involved in her own problems to truly be a good mother to them, but of course, to have given up her other child altogether! And for what? Her marriage had been a joke for years and still ended!

Wilhelmina had taken away her Bradford, had done all those despicable things and now, Daniel was naive enough to listen to the woman? She smiled, hoping the little seed she had planted would take root. Daniel was a dear, and had a huge, kind heart, but he was often too easily influenced by others, especially women, for good or bad. At least she knew Betty only meant the best for him.

As Betty stood on the Brooklyn Bridge, she heard a car door open and close and recognized the sound of those familiar steps coming up behind her. "Are you okay?" he said, walking behind her and hesitating as he gently squeezed her shoulder and waited for her to turn around to talk to him. But she didn't. She kept looking out at the water and merely nodded, "Mmhmm…"

After they both stood silently for a few minutes, Daniel cleared his throat, "So, Betty…"

She shrugged, cutting him off, "Don't worry. It's okay, Daniel."

"No, it's not! I know I royally messed up! Again! You were right. As usual. Hell, I think my mom's right, too. I really am easily led onto the wrong path! But I can't lose you! Then, I'd be lost again! I mean…okay, whatever, you know I suck at metaphors. But you know what I mean, right? Betty, please don't be mad at me anymore, okay? I need you! I'm always going to need you!"

She turned around, somewhat abruptly and was a bit surprised by how close he was standing behind her, so that when she faced him, she had to look up into those deep, caring blue eyes of his. They were doing that cute little puppy dog thing right now that she knew would make her forgive him of whatever stupid thing he had done, like aways. The earnestness and clear remorse in those beautiful eyes of his was too much for her to resist. She tried to think straight, but he was sort of messing up her brain at the moment.

"Okay, first of all, how did you know I was here?"

He flashed his lopsided grin, shrugging, "Lucky guess. Actually, I remembered our all night date that time when we ended up here and I took a shot. Looks like I was right. Hey, I knew about the french fries, too, Betty. Give me some credit. I actually do know you pretty well, girl! I mean, come on, we're friends, right?"

She shrugged, "Right. Of course you do! And you don't have to be all dramatic and flash your baby blues at me like that, Mister Meade! Anyway, it wasn't…a date! Get over yourself! You don't have to…butter me up, okay? You know I've already forgiven whatever stupid thing you do, Daniel! Save it for some unsuspecting woman you're trying to…date."

He winced, "Okay, Ouch! Am I really that pathetic? And obvious?"

"Yes! Well, not on the type of women you go for, of course. Maybe try to look for someone a little smarter moving forward."

He rolled his eyes, "Smarter? What like you? Or…sorry, I mean, well, how about a teacher? Never mind…"

"Wait, what did you say about being off your PATH? That's so weird and random! Your dad said those exact words to me. What made you say that?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Just some stuff my mom was yelling at me about earlier. "

"I'm sure she wasn't really yelling at you. She loves you, Daniel."

"Yeah, I guess so. She's not like my old man." He hesitated, "alhough….I mean, hey, at least he hired you for me, right? So I'll always be grateful to my father for…finding you!"

She tried not to tear up. Daniel always did this, he always said how much she meant to him, how grateful he was to have her in his life. It meant a lot to her. She was very grateful that she had Daniel as a boss and not Wilhelmina! She sort of felt sorry for Marc sometimes. Even when he was being a pain in the butt!

"That's very sweet, Daniel. Thank you. It's just that…your father said something to me right before he died about wanting me to 'keep you on the right path.' Your mom really said that? What else did she say?"

As Betty watched his expression curiously, she could almost swear the man was blushing! Daniel never blushed!

He cleared his throat nerviously and started rubbing the back of his neck as he paced a bit, "First off, she reminded me of how lucky I am to have you on my team all the time. You aren't…planning on running away with some guy, are you?"

She rolled her eyes, "You know very well there is no guy right now, Daniel! I'm over Henry. He's gone."

He couldn't help stopping to stare at her rather intently for a moment, "When do you get your braces off, anyway? Soon?"

"I don't know! My orthodontist is…"

"That crazy guy? You need to get a new one! That guy is so into you! He's probably milking you not only for your money, but because he wants to have a reason to keep seeing you. Even if it's only to look into your mouth." He brushed back a strand of hair that was blowing into her face. She really was a beautiful girl.

He looked out at the city skyline, "You know, this city is always going to be better with you in it, Betty. You've shown me…how to see New York from a totally new perspective."

She blushed, "Daniel, please, you really need to save your sweet talk for your next…date! Sorry…wait a minute, Mister! What TEACHER were you talking about before? Isn't Connor's fiance a teacher? I saw you giving her your silly up and down look the other day! You know, that is just so…obvious when you do that! It isn't flattering or sexy! It's demeaning!" She slapped his head, "Knock it off! Molly is off limits, you nut! Connor is your friend!"

"OW! Yes, I KNOW that, okay? Jeez! You didn't have to hit me! I get it! I know that just because a pretty woman falls out of a tree into my arms it doesn't mean anything. It's just a weird coincidence. She IS engaged to my friend. I get that she's totally off limits. Like you are! I mean you fell into my…door, too, I guess. But dating you would also be forbidden, because…you're my friend. And you're sweet and…innocent. And you know, you are my assistant. And I don't sleep with my assistants. Anymore. I'm your boss. It would be wrong of me to think of you…like that. Very wrong."

Okay, now Betty was glad she was outside and even more glad that the sun was still very soft and not fully up yet so he couldn't see how furiously he was causing her to blush right now. Where was all this crazy talk coming from? "Wait, I thought you said she fell out of the tree, and knocked you down. You mean, you actually caught her, in your arms? Since when? Are you suddenly rewriting history?"

She laughed, trying to distract herself from how flushed he was making her, "No wonder you see yourself as Prince Charming! Now you're catching fair maidens as they fall out of trees and into your arms, huh? Only you would be so dramatic!"

He rolled his eyes, shoving her lightly, "Shut up, smartass! Hey, do you want to go get some breakfast? I'm starving!"

She nodded, "Okay. I'm hungry, too. I want hash browns!"

"Of course you do, Miss potato head. Fine, we'll go to Tony's on fifth."

"I don't think Tony's does breakfast. What's wrong with Sal's? It's really good! You've never tried them. I keep telling you, you'll be glad you did."

"Whatever, fine, we'll do it your way, as usual, but no pepper gyros for breakfast! Does this Sal's place even serve breakfast? Do they have pancakes? Or waffles?"

"I don't know. But you'll like them, I promise! They have great coffee and bagels."

He put his arm around her, smiling as they walked back to the car and he helped her inside. After a few minutes he grinned, "By the way, does this count…as a date?"

She looked at him like he had two heads, "A DATE? No! Are you crazy? Don't be ridiculous! It's a…breakfast! Why would it count as a date? What's wrong with you? We eat together all the time!"

He laughed as he watched her get totally flustered, turning bright red, "You know, you're very cute when you're mortified, Betty! Or should I say Tornado Girl? Sorry, too soon?"

"Shut up! Stop staring at me like that! And if you EVER call me Tornado Girl again? You will know exactly how your sister felt!"

"Be still my beating heart!" he teased, but placed his hands over himself, just in case.

They spoke on their way about Betty's family and Daniel tried to brush off the feelings that were beginning to stir inside. The more he told himself that Betty was "just his friend" and his employee besides, the more he found his mother was right, she suddenly became "forbidden fruit" and he couldn't stop seeing her in a completely different light.

It wasn't that he hadn't noticed her pretty face before, her luscious-looking lips, her nice round…well, her curves that she was obviously so determined to hide from the world. But she seemed so young, with her braces and her sometimes frizzy hair, he had always tried not to notice those parts of her that a boss shouldn't be noticing.

Once they got to the small diner, Daniel pulled out Betty's chair for her and leaned down to whisper, "You know, you really are cute when you blush, Betty!"

Which of course, made her blush all the more, "Daniel! Cut it out! Stop…flirting, will you? You're really freaking me out!"

"I'm sorry, Betty! I guess it's just…never mind. I know you're my assistant. So, you're off limits. And you're amazing at your job. But sometimes I wish I wasn't your boss. That we were just a man and a woman who were friends. Because that's what it feels like most of the time. I don't really feel like I'm on top of you…or…I mean…over you. Actually, with how bossy you are, usually you're on top of me! I mean…oh, the hell with it! Maybe I should quit! Or find you a different job! Because I really need you…to kiss you!" He pulled her towards him in the small booth and surprised her by kissing her tenderly.