Into Your Arms, Of Course

by Betty La Bonita

This is set in Season 3, just after Tornado Girl, and before the stuff "hit the fan" with the whole school teacher fiasco that set Daniel down a crazy path to a cult and financial ruin! I once again, ask that you indulge an old lady to not be too critical of the earlier setting and to consider it through the lens of 10 years ago, not by today's higher standards of office behavior.

4. Chapter 4

INTO YOUR ARMS, OF COURSE/CH 4

Betty was trying her best to stay calm. But she was never all that comfortable with making big changes in her life without, as Daniel somewhat annoyingly (albeit correctly) pointed out, making a checklist, and weighing out the pros and cons. And dating Daniel Meade? This was all completely off the charts, next level insanity!

She was going to be vacationing in Paris next week, for two weeks, PARIS WITH DANIEL! Part of her wanted to jump up and down and the other part was ready to run in the opposite direction and not look back, she was so scared of all that could possibly go wrong with this lovely, happily ever after scenario Daniel seemed to be painting for them both.

First of all, he said he wanted to be her BOYFRIEND? That alone had her singing zippedy doo da all day! And he was ready to step down from Mode and take over his father's company? She was immensely proud of Daniel for that huge step in his self-confidence and she had complete faith in his ability to do the job his father had intended for his youngest son almost three years ago, before Alexis showed up at Fashion Week.

"AB? What are you so happy about? You're like…humming Disney songs or something again, aren't you? Did you get a promotion? Is there swag involved? I call dibs on any Gucci, Stella McCartney or Prada!"

She smiled from ear to ear, and hugged her nephew warmly, spinning him around, "I might get a promotion IF I get into this training course I applied to, I don't know. But right now…I'm really happy because…I definitely know I'm going on a two week vacation next week."

He laughed at her enthusiasm, "Oh yeah? That's great! You deserve it! You haven't had one in over a year and a half now, ever since you went across country that time. Where are you going?"

She grinned slyly, her eyes twinkling, "Paris!"

His eyebrows raised, "PARIS?! OHMYGOD! Seriously? But, wait, Paris Fashion Week isn't for another month. Why now?"

She shrugged, "Just because…it's Paris! And this isn't related to Mode. It's…personal. Well, and because that's where DJ and his mom are, so Daniel is visiting them and…he…and I…"

Justin grinned, seeing her blushing, "OHMYGOD! Did my bet with Mrs. M and Marc actually come true, AB? You and Daniel FINALLY figured out how crazy you are for each other?"

She looked surprised, "What? Justin! You mean you actually bet…Mrs. Meade and Marc that Daniel and I…um…"

"You two are FINALLY a couple? Well, duh! I mean, come on, AB, How many times do we hear you say,'Daniel NEEDS me'! We all just laugh at this point! You're out the door everytime the man calls which is like…ALL the time! Clearly, you two have a very mutual attraction and a very symbiotic relationship and you totally spend all your time together.

It's no wonder Renee Slater thought you guys were an item! You've been in each other's pocket almost since you first met, well, after his first week of bootcamp, treating you like doodoo, of course! Before he Grinched out and you made his heart grow three sizes or whatever!

Marc calls you lovahs and Mrs. M practically has your china patterns all picked out! Mom even started coming along on the Detty train after that all night date of yours and when you shlepped through Macy's Thanksgiving parade just to tell the man which shirt to wear! Then proceeded to tell him how hot he was, no matter what he wore!

And Grandpa is on the fence. He likes Daniel personally, and although he knows he used to be a total dog, he sees how much you've helped the guy become a better man. He liked Wilbur and Henry okay, until they both hurt you. And he's been saying lately how much the Meades act just like the families on his telenovelas. Which I think is his way of saying he is starting to approve of Daniel for you, too."

Betty was incredulous at Justin's enthusiastic revelations about how not surprised he was and what her family really thought about her and Daniel's relationship. She supposed she could see their point of view. They clearly spent a LOT of time together and had grown extremely close over the past three years. They had become each other's best friend.

"Justin, listen, don't say anything yet, but…yes, you're right, okay? I just need some time to sort out my feelings. This is just all so crazy and confusing and I'm not sure what's happening yet!"

He smiled, and hugged his aunt, "Aunt Betty, you know I've got your back! I'm team Detty, all the way! In fact, maybe I could help you do a fashion makeover, IF you take me to Mode? Once Christina lets us in The Closet, I can totally work with the clothes that she altered already for the more curvy celebrities they sometimes use as cover models, like Mariah and Beyonce.

I can also alter that one animal print dress of mom's that she got when she…um…that she never wears anymore. Plus, we can do a little shopping at some outlet stores. Mainly, you have GOT to come out of your shell and start showing some…skin, AB!"

Betty remembered a crazy dream she had had, after her last trip to Dr. Farkus, a dream where she had found a new lady orthodontist who turned out to be more like her fairy godmother and she never needed braces, and looked prettier, but was mean to everyone and the worst part, Justin had never been born because Hilda wasn't as attractive! It was horrible!

The absolutely worst part of the nightmare that had Betty waking up sweating had been not having her sweet nephew there to talk to at all!

She hugged him and smiled, as she stopped herself from ruffling his hair because she knew he hated anyone messing with his do, "I love you, Justin! Yes, let's go! Of course, you can be my fashion advisor! "

He laughed, taking her arm as they left, "Sure, AB! This is going to be totally awesome! I'm so happy you finally see how gorgeous you really are, like the rest of us who love you-including Daniel! Ooh, wow, I can't wait to see you totally knock his socks off!"

As they spent the day together, Justin was less than thrilled that Daniel planned to step down from Mode. But once he found out that his aunt's soon-to-be boyfriend was going to take the reins of the entire company, he was back on board, and more determined than ever to make sure he helped her feel more confident about starting a relationship with the publishing heir.

He whispered, "Just how rich IS Daniel, anyway, AB? This is…even better than my wildest dreams when I pictured you two married and he was still at Mode, so he got me an internship there, under Marc!"

She smiled, "I think that could happen, no matter what, Justin. Wilhelmina and Marc both already see how gifted you are at fashion!" She twirled around in the lovely purple dress he had found for her, feeling taller in her heels and a lot more comfortable with her looks now.

After three years working at a fashion magazine she seldom agreed with and often didn't even pretend to understand, she finally admitted one thing; Christina and Justin were right; good fashions do actually help you feel better about yourself sometimes.

Confidence in how you look CAN affect how you carry yourself. Although no matter how she looked on the outside, she always prided herself on having self-confidence in her brain and her ability to be someone who can see the big picture and be a problem-solver, it didn't hurt that she was starting to like what she saw now when she looked in the mirror, too.

After agreeing to pick Justin up from his drama class the next night in partial repayment for all his help as a fashion consultant, she was impressed by a young playwright who was the guest speaker, Zachary Boule.

The man was firting with her, but she merely blushed at his attention and commented, "Thanks for the offer, Mr. Boule, but…I'm already seeing someone. But maybe I could pitch the idea of doing an article…"

He seemed interested, "An article about my play? That would be great! Your nephew said you worked at Mode magazine, right? That would be perfect! We need all the publicity we can get, of course!"

She honestly forgot for a minute that she might not be coming back to Mode, either, if she started the YETI program full-time after she got back from vacation. But she didn't bother to tell this Zaccary person that.

She merely smiled when he handed her a mouth-shaped card with braces, "Oh, hey, by the way, you have to try my orthodontist! Dr. Frankl is who I used when I had my braces. She's a real miracle worker! You'll love her!"

Why did this funny-shaped card look so familiar? Her eyes widened with the realization of where she had seen it, "Oh, thank you! What does your orthodontist look like? I think I might have met her before." She started to say in a dream, but stopped herself, realizing how crazy that sounded.

He shrugged, "Hmmm…well, it's been a few years since I got my braces off, but Dr. Frankl is in her forties, probably, with long dark hair and a great laugh. She's really nice, a little chatty, pretty funny and has a little bit of a younger, Jewish mother thing going on! That's where I found out about her; through my mother's rabbi, since I'm Jewish, too! Don't tell anybody, but my real name is Ezra Portenski!"

All the way home, Justin kept teasing his aunt about Zachary hitting on her. She didn't dare tell her nephew that she had a sort of premonition about the man's orthodontist that involved Justin never being born!

In any case, Betty was practical enough to know that she did need a new orthodontist, so she called Dr. Frankl's office and scheduled an appointment for when she returne

d from Paris. It might give her the extra confidence she needed in the YETI program if she was actually able to get her braces off.

Daniel was making strides in his plan to move his life forward. Telling his mother what he planned to do, step down from Mode, and take over running his father's entire company as well as dating Betty apparently sent Claire into a tailspin of "I told you so" that would have normally annoyed him but he just couldn't manage to wipe the silly grin off his face

It was also Claire who indeed wanted to go with Daniel's joke about having a press conference to let the world know about his plan to leave Mode, just so the world could witness the diva's face attempt to move, in spite of her Botox injections.

Wilhelmina had in fact, been extremely shocked at Daniel's huge revelation that he was planning on "stepping down" from Mode effective immediately and after a short vacation, coming back to step into his father's shoes to run the entire Meade Publications global empire.

She shuddered to think what nonsense the pampered lothario might come up with for any new magazines or revamping old ones and she wasn't exactly thrilled that he would be using his power to run the whole company. But at least, he was finally out of her hair at Mode on a daily basis and she could run it the way she saw fit.

She had a drink in her hand at home, planning her party to celebrate finally getting control of Mode after all these years when she heard a knock on her door and was pleasantly surprised to see Connor, standing there, looking disheveled. He clearly had been drinking, but not enough to be sloppy.

There was some sadness in his eyes as he looked up at her, but also hope and curiosity, "Willy? Can I come in? Molly dumped me, after four years! I can't believe it! I nursed the woman through her chemo twice!

She said some nonsense about not being sure about me anymore and that she was jealous of how I talked about you all the time and that you and I were a much better match than she and I ever were!"

Willy smiled at him, pulling him inside, "Nonsense? I'd say that was the smartest thing that silly schoolmarm ever said! It wasn't my place, Connor, but really, you were completely out of that woman's league!"

He flashed a sly smile, "You think so? I have to admit…it was damn hard to resist you in Florida, woman! Trust me, you're not an easy woman to walk away from! When I'm around you, I feel my moral compass going a bit haywire! You have me completely undone!"

She pulled him to her for a searing kiss, and whispered, "Not yet, darling, but trust me, I will soon enough! First, let's get you some coffee, and we can have a nice long shower. I want you wide awake and sober when we make love for the first time. And no offense, but I intend to scrub the stench of that other silly woman off every gorgeous inch of you first before I have my wicked way with you!"

He laughed, then deepend the kiss and followed her to the kitchen for a coffee. As they talked and kissed more, teasing each other and frantically stripping off his clothes and throwing her robe to the floor as they made their way to her shower like a couple of hormonal teenagers, he gradually realized he had truly met his match in this sexy, beautiful, brilliant woman.

Daniel gave DJ a huge hug and was somewhat surprised at how warm his sister's hug was. She had clearly missed her little brother. He could see how much she was struggling to be a good parent to DJ and do her job at the Paris offices of Meade. It was perhaps the first time he had seen Alexis not as confident as she usually was. It did his heart good to be some kind of help to her.

"So, Betty! When is she coming here? You should have brought her with you on the Meade jet, dufus! Why the hell are you making her fly commercial, you cheapskate? That's no way to get into the girls'..." she shoved his shoulder, but stopped herself from her usual teasing her little brother, realizing that DJ might not have his ever present headphones in at the moment.

Daniel made a face, and checked himself from shoving her back, "I wanted her to come with me, trust me, but she insisted that you, me and DJ needed some time to just hang out together first."

"She is a smart girl!"

After spending the next few days getting caught up with his sister and nephew, Daniel went out for a late morning run, and stopped for a moment to catch his breath as his phone rang, "Daniel? You sound out of breath! I didn't wake you, did I? Were you sleeping in? It's pretty late there."

He grinned at how just the sound of her voice made him so happy, "Nope! I'm outside, getting some fresh air and exercise! I ate too many croissants for breakfast earlier, so I decided to go for a run at Alexis's place. Let's see it's…isn't it the middle of the night there? What are you doing up at five in the morning, Miss Suarez? Isn't that a little early, even for you?" he teased.

She smiled, "Well, it might be normally. But you told me once to call you and you'd meet me, even at 5:30 in the morning. But…maybe this time, I'll meet you, instead."

He chuckled, his voice low and graveled, "Meet me? Can't wait until the end of the week to jump my bones? Betty, are you missing me already, honey? I know where you are! You're on our bridge! That's so sweet! And you're so horny, you're calling me for an international booty call? I thought for sure I'D be the one to cave and call you first!"

"This isn't…THAT!" She blushed, and tried not to choke at the fact that he was actually somewhat accurate, at least in the fact of how much she missed him! Not that it was a 'booty call' by any stretch of the imagination, of course.

He laughed again, "Aw, I bet you're blushing now, aren't you? Because you realized I'm right, although you'd never admit it. Listen, sweety, I miss you, too! So, please get your cute booty over here like…as soon as you can, okay?

I knew there was no way we could go a whole week without seeing each other! We're clearly both way too addicted to seeing one another on a daily basis.

You really only beat me to this call because I drank too much French wine last night and passed out before I could call you! And I kept missing you all weekend and yesterday when you were spending time with Justin. So, are we done torturing ourselves now?

Alexis will be bored of me way before the end of the week, trust me! And now that I'm not wasting my time at Mode, I can see DJ all the time! I need you, Betty! Please come!"

She stopped to catch her breath, trying to wrap her head around what she had just heard come out of Daniel's mouth about wanting her there with him. "I do miss you, too. And fine, I'll admit this is a call I made BECAUSE I miss you so much! I wouldn't necessarily call it a…what you said, though!"

He laughed, "Of course you wouldn't. But we both know you know what a big baby I am about needing you, Betty! So stop making me beg and get your cute butt over here, okay?"

"Shut up! I did not! Oh, by the way, did you see that 'reaction shot' Byron had on his show of Wilhelmina to your press brief? I swear, he thinks he's TMZ now! Although it was pretty priceless to see her almost smile! I wonder what Marc's going to do now? Last I spoke to him and Amanda, he's still going to try and do the YETI thing part-time, maybe. IF he has time."

"I emailed the big bad witch yesterday and told her congratulations, she was finally rid of me, but that if she wants to keep her new position, she needs to seriously consider promoting Marc to her old job of Creative Director."

"Really? That's very sweet and thoughtful of you, Daniel! Marc deserves it!"

"I think so, too. Honestly, if I ever had to choose between you two for a position, well, I would have picked you, of course, because…I…maybe have a little crush on you, but Marc would actually be a close second. He definitely knows his job. Especially in fashion."

She laughed, finding 'needy Daniel' quite adorable and totally irresistible, "You have a CRUSH on me, huh? Well, I guess that's allowed now, since I'm no longer your immediate employee, Mister Meade! But…about Marc; yeah, I totally understand.

It would be sort of be 50/50 with that, too. He is really good at his job. I wouldn't want to compete with him for the scholarship for YETI, especially if it was in fashion!"

"Lucky for you, you know an awesome ex-boss, who wrote you an amazing recommendation letter that got you into the full-time program,huh?"

"Yeah, lucky for me! And I really like that he's an EX-boss! Listen, Daniel…I have a confession to make."

"You do?" he wasn't sure what Betty could possibly have to confess. She ran into Henry and decided to marry him after all? Surely not!

"I did spend time with Justin over the weekend, but yesterday, the reason you couldn't reach me was…well, your mom …um…sort of insisted on sending me to Paris early. I'm on my way there, now, in fact!"

His eyes bugged out, and the smile spread across his face, "You are? Betty, that's fantastic! What time does your flight arrive? I can meet you at the airport! I love my mom! I can't wait to see you!"

She laughed, "Me, too! On both counts. I love your mom and I definitely can't wait to see you, either! Okay, um…I'll text you my arrival details. Did you get to spend enough time with your sister and nephew? It's only been a few days!"

"That's long enough with Alexis, trust me. I don't want to kill her yet and she's not been acting too annoyed by me, so I should probably leave, before I get arrested again! Although, I could definitely think of some fun stuff to do with a pair of handcuffs when I see you!"

"DANIEL!" She laughed and tried to relax for the rest of the flight.

"You're HERE!" Daniel rushed over to Betty as soon as he spied her coming down the escalator at the arrivals at Charles-de-Gaulle. He lifted her up off the ground and spun her around, kissing her.

As he put her back down and saw her more closely his eyes widened, "Oh, sorry, Miss! I thought you were my girlfriend, Betty! WOW! Who do I need to send a thank you note to-your sister, your nephew, Christina, your fairy godmother?

You look completely beautiful, Betty! You already did, but now …you're like off the charts hot!" His eyes ran over her updated style of clothing, including a slightly low cut blouse, a very flattering pencil skirt and a sight bit more makeup than she normally wore. Nothing too crazy, but it did the trick. She felt more confident.

She smiled, taking his hand, "All three, actually. Well, more Christina and Justin. Although Hilda did help a little with my hair. And just wait until we get back to New York!" She couldn't help being excited about the prospect of finally getting her braces off; especially knowing the difference it had made in her smile in that dream.

He kissed her intensely again, "Mm…I'm not sure I'm ever going to want to leave our hotel room, though! By the way, I love seeing your eyes more! They're so intense!" He placed his hand on the side of her face, gently kissing her unencumbered eyelids.

He took her hand and kissed it, then put his arm around her. He realized that he was taking it for granted that Betty even WANTED them to sleep together now. He hoped he wasn't wrong in assuming that, since she had been the one to fly here, 4 days ahead of schedule.

He was almost afraid to broach the delicate subject. He was well aware that normally, she insisted on dating someone for quite sometime before she felt close enough for intimacy. Then again, having been best friends for years, they already knew each other far better than most couples do.

She was biting her lip in that totally sexy way she did sometimes when she was thinking about something but afraid to spit it out. It had always turned him on whenever she did that. Finally, he couldn't take the suspense, "Look, I'm sorry but I have to know…are you…um just here early to get started on that bucket list of yours, do a little sightseeing, or...uh…"

She sighed, rolling her eyes, "Daniel, you KNOW why I'm here! I told you…I missed you! Fine, you were right, okay? This is a…booty call! Are you happy now?"

He grinned, as she pulled him down to her level, and kissed him excitedly.

As soon as she let him up to breathe, he flagged down a taxi, "Deliriously! Trust me, that's not a croissant in my pocket!" he teased.

She shook her head, but they both jumped into the taxi and began kissing impatiently in the backseat. The cab driver yelled at them, "Pardon! You are Americans, no? Where are you going? Besides to a bedroom!"

Betty blushed furiously, but managed to get out, "Georges Cinq, si'il vous plait! Merci, monsieur!"

Daniel was busy kissing her neck and distracting her to no end, but he smiled, rasing his eyebrows, "You're speaking French, now? Ooh, I really like it when you talk sexy, Betty! Say something hot in French!" he teased.

She giggled at his goofy come on, "Um…quiche lorraine!" was all she could think of. "Hey, it's hot!"

He laughed, continuing to kiss her, "Very funny! No, but YOU are very hot! You should really let your friend and nephew help you dress more often! This outfit looks great…you look delicious! I can't wait to get you alone where I can UNdress you!"