Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all fabulous.

Author's note: I did not go to the BSB concert at Wolf Trap in 2010 as described in this chapter because I had to work. I did go to the 2011 NKOTBSB (and I already have my tickets for the US DNA tour kickoff this summer). I used my memories of that concert, press clippings, and some creative license for this insane account.

Title comes from a line from the Backstreet Boys song Chances. The song just came out when I was rewriting this and I just feel like it fits. I've also been binging on the new album this week and half the songs seem perfect for Marc and Cliff.

Chapter 23: Maybe You and I Were Meant to Be

"So how come DJ is very familiar with my dad's cooking and the layout of the house? By the way, he is the reason why there wasn't any dessert left. He's worse than Amanda before the pregnancy." Betty asked her boyfriend after a quiet dinner downstairs (where Daniel barely said anything) and her getting DJ set up in Justin's former bedroom. She wished papa was there, but according to his message, he wouldn't be back until 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM at the earliest, unless he could get someone to switch shifts with him. She doubted that happening since the wedding was only days away.

Betty was currently trying to find something to change into to sleep. The clock may say seven, but her body thought it was well after midnight. Betty was shocked that she had adjusted to London so quickly. As much as she would prefer otherwise, she would see her father in the morning before leaving for whatever work things Lindsay had planned for the day. She still wasn't sure about the details, but Betsy would email her everything in the morning.

"For some reason I don't believe you. That is okay, it tastes better on your lips anyway. It was my fault for taking too long. I had a mini crisis to deal with involving my assistant. Actually, there was more than one crisis. I can't talk about it nor do I want to." His tone told her not to ask questions. "Also, apparently I'm now having lunch with Gio tomorrow." Daniel said kissing her quickly before going back to unpacking.

"More wedding stuff?" She asked.

"Something like that." Daniel said a little too quickly before changing the subject entirely. It was obvious that Daniel wasn't telling her something, but she didn't want to push.

"To answer your question, when you were on your North American 'find yourself tour', your dad invited me to dinner a lot. DJ probably spent more time here than at my apartment. I think your dad was mostly worried about DJ starving to death or succumbing to food poisoning. You know my cooking skills prior to DJ coming into my life were absolutely awful. There was a reason why I ate out most of the time other than I could afford it." He said with a nervous laugh.

"I didn't know it was possible to burn water until I met you." Betty said playfully. "You're much better now. The pasta last week was completely edible." She joked. It was actually delicious. It was good that Daniel could cook since she was getting home so late all the time. She refused to live on a continuous diet of take-out.

"That's because your father gave me cooking lessons in addition to lots of parenting tips. He made me believe that I could actually raise a child. That stuff is coming in handy now." She was surprised to hear about this mostly because she had no idea. Then again, Daniel did know exactly how to make her favorite smiley face pancakes without her telling him how. Breakfast in bed was so much fun.

"My father taught you how to cook?" She asked with a mixture of laughter and amusement.

"Your father taught me how to do a lot of things. I think your father has been more of a father to me than my father ever was. When I had questions about what to do with DJ, he was always available. He was there for me when Molly died because he understood probably better than anyone else what it was like to lose someone like that. Your father knew I was staying in your bed during that time and didn't say a word." She understood what Daniel was saying even if it did bother her that he had not confided in her as much as she wished he would have during that time. Instead of voicing her concerns, she just squeezed his hand.

"So that's why you're not worried about me bringing you home. You're already part of the family." She said with a smile. He just laughed at that.

"Betty, honestly how much time have I spent at your old house over the last four years?" He asked her.

"You had your own chair at the table. Let's be honest, my other boyfriends were never invited to regular Sunday dinners." Betty said as she acknowledged what this really meant for the first time.

"Exactly," Daniel said smugly. "How many times have I spent the night with you sharing the same bed in this house?"

She had to think about that because she and Daniel spent the night together a lot before they were officially dating, supposedly under the pretense of movie nights and working late. Much more than two people who were supposedly just friends should have, that's for sure. God, Daniel actually had his own toothbrush and dresser drawer at her old apartment. She had the same setup at Daniel's apartment. Come to think of it, he actually had his own toothbrush when she was living in her father's house. How could she have not noticed this last year? They really have been dating for a while.

"Okay, you spent the night a lot. Do you know that you're the only boyfriend I ever had that has slept over in this house, in my bed and we were not even officially together at the time?" She said realizing that for the first time. Betty wouldn't dare bring her other boyfriends home like that, especially after the Henry freak out, but Daniel was always welcomed by the entire family. Actually, it was more like Daniel was family. She tried to tell herself that that was only because Daniel was just her boss/best friend, but she knew better.

"Let me tell you it is impossible to sneak out of your house without someone in this family catching you. There's a reason why Justin had the best wardrobe to ever be seen at any high school in Queens. Everyone in your family knew what was going on between us before we did, including Ignacio. He was okay with us being together, otherwise he would have said something. You know your father never believed the excuse that I just showed up to pick you up for an early morning meeting when I sat down for breakfast with the entire family."

Daniel definitely had a point there. At least now, she understands all her sister's very inappropriate jokes and winks at breakfast when Daniel was there.

"So I am the first guy ever to see your little mermaid sheets? I'm flattered." Daniel joked as he pulled up the covers on her bed. To her absolute shock, Arial and company were on the bed. Daniel just started laughing as she looked for a T-shirt to put on.

That was difficult because she broke down and let Daniel pack everything. He can get her to say yes to anything with his fingers and tongue. Fortunately, he did pack night things other than skimpy negligees that she may be willing to wear for him if he behaves. Unfortunately, there were no T-shirts, only tank tops that were a size too small and showed just a bit too much cleavage.

"You could have packed one T-shirt?" She said with mild irritation. "Stop laughing. I'm sure those sheets are on the bed only because I took everything else with me. Yes, you are the only guy who has ever gotten to spend the entire night in this bed. You are probably right about my father knowing about it every time. There have been some very awkward conversations about how close we are and the need for me to use protection when we did hookup that I never want to discuss. Let's just say there was a reason why I started bringing condoms with me every time I spent the night at your apartment and leave it at that." Betty blushed as she admitted this.

"I wished I knew that at the time. You can't just leave it there. Maybe those conversations are why you're so afraid of me spending quality time with your father." Betty was really starting to hate how well Daniel could read her. She could usually get away with avoidance with her boyfriends.

"Fine. Do you remember the pregnancy scare last Christmas?" Daniel nodded his head quickly.

"After Matt went out to get another pregnancy test, Papa pulled me aside and asked me if the baby could be yours." His mouth was open wide in shock at that.

"That explains why he went into such a panic when he saw me reading a pregnancy book in the hallway. I am okay with Arial. It's so you." Daniel said moving to kiss her cheek.

"I am perfectly fine with your Disney fetish. Although, we really should not have seen Up last year. I'm just glad Suzuki wasn't there to see that. Now that was embarrassing." Daniel said trying to make her feel better.

"From now on, I promise to read all reviews more thoroughly." Last summer she had the wonderful idea to take Daniel to see the latest Pixar film to cheer him up. That film happened to be essentially about a guy who just lost his wife. The experience ended up with Daniel crying in the back of the theater as she let him eat all her popcorn and held his hand.

"I know you're worried about your dad, you shouldn't be. If he was not OK with us being together, we would both know by now." Daniel said seriously giving her another kiss, this time lightly on the lips. Thinking about it now her father was actually much more okay with the idea of Daniel getting her pregnant as opposed to Matt.

"I'm not worried." Betty said defensively as she started to go through her luggage again. He may have packed her a lot of nice things, but she still can't find anything.

"You invited DJ to come with us just to play buffer? Not that I mind." Daniel said while laughing again.

"I did not." Betty said defensively just as Daniel gave her his newly acquired 'you know I'm right' look. She is sure that he got that from her.

"Okay, maybe I did volunteer that he stay here a little for that reason, but he is our responsibility right now. I just want my dad to like you." She said as she gave up looking for a T-shirt and sat on the bed next to Daniel.

"I am not some stranger you met at school, work, or at some coffee bar. Your dad has known me for four years and despite being a witness to a certain indiscretion with a Department of State employee, your dad likes me." Daniel said with a reassuring smile as he pulled her to him on the bed.

"Daniel, you know what I mean. Sure, my dad has met Daniel my best friend or Daniel my boss. He has never met Daniel that guy sleeping with my daughter in another country. That video thing is probably coming into play now." She remarked darkly.

"Technically, we're not having sex. Although, if DJ wasn't next door texting Justin for juicy details about Mode DC chaos, we would be in the middle of christening your childhood bed right now despite the exhaustion. Ariel deserves some action." Daniel gave her his trademark wicked glare before pulling her down on top of him and began to kiss her in a way that made her shiver.

"That is a technicality. I have already had more orgasms not having sex with you then with my first two boyfriends combined." Betty mumbled as she started to seriously wonder if the door was locked. Daniel's mouth started to move lower, she definitely did not want this moment interrupted.

"Besides, I don't think you care that DJ is down the hall." Betty moaned as she said this.

"Not really." Daniel said continuing his action that made her breath hitch in her throat. "As long as DJ is talking to Justin, he will try his best to ignore you screaming at the top of your lungs. He is French and a Meade. This is kind of normal." That's when she felt Daniel start to pull her pants further down her body. "Now if your dad was here that would be different, but he's not."

"Do not mention my father right now." Betty said just as she felt Daniel kiss her belly button. His mouth was doing more than kissing, but she did not feel comfortable describing something that was almost obscene. Maybe if her navel wasn't one of those places being touched by Daniel's talented tongue her mind wouldn't have completely shorted out, and she would have heard her father coming up the stairs. At the very least, Betty would have made sure the door was locked. Instead, the following awkward situation occurred.

"Mi hija, I'm so glad…" Her father started before he most likely saw what was happening. Betty quickly heard the door being slammed shut. She actually heard her father run down the stairs.

"Oh god. Why do we keep getting caught?" Betty said completely mortified as she quickly found her pants.

"You're the one who forgot to lock the door this time. Okay, now there's a reason for your dad to hate me." Daniel said as he graciously handed her one of his tee shirts. It was a little tight around the top area, but it covered more than the tank top she was currently wearing.

xxx

15 minutes later, Betty found herself fully dressed walking into her father's kitchen. It took her that long to work up the courage to go downstairs. Daniel was still hiding in her bedroom waiting for Betty to give the all clear. She doubted that he really needed to call Hilda, but that was his excuse anyway. DJ was sitting in the kitchen explaining why he was there as he kept yawning every few moments. It was obvious that he was worn out. He really should've stayed in bed.

"Hey DJ, I think you better go upstairs and actually sleep. You look exhausted. You can text Justin in the morning." She said as she gently pated his back.

"It's not even eight yet." He argued back. Betty has discovered that getting a 15 year old to go to sleep at a reasonable hour is quite difficult. This was a normal argument in the Suarez-Meade house.

"Yes, but it is almost 2 am in Paris. Go to bed. Your body will adjust later." She said grabbing him by the shoulder and gently pushing him to the stairwell just before he kissed her good night on the cheek.

"You're good with him." Her father said obviously not bringing up what happened earlier. She is shocked that there was not any screaming or yelling going on. She remembered the pregnancy test incident from last Christmas again. That was a big argument.

"I think it's easier with kids that are not mine. Do you need any help?" She asked quickly.

"I'm fine. I didn't know DJ would be staying with us. If I did I would have made up Justin's old room." Her father said as he went back to preparing his dinner. Betty was thankful that they were still ignoring the elephant in the room regarding what he saw upstairs. 20 minutes later and she probably would no longer have been able to say that she and Daniel were technically not having sex.

"I didn't know until the flight when DJ expressed his desire not to stay with Mrs. Meade because…" Betty started, but had no idea how to explain what was going on without giving away Meade family secrets. It was at that moment she realized she was now a member of another family.

"DJ explained everything while you were getting dressed. I'm sorry to hear that Alexis is sick. How is Daniel handling it?" Her father asked.

"Not well. I mean he is handling it better than he normally does. He has only come home drunk once and that was mostly because we got in a fight over the Amanda situation." Betty hoped her father did not ask too many questions about that because she did not feel like answering. He probably already knew anyway. Besides, she wanted her father to like Daniel.

"Betty, I already knew about. Amanda called Monday night."

"Oh." Betty said not knowing how to respond. It was a strange thing knowing that her friends were friends with her Dad.

"I knew about the Amanda situation before then, months ago when we were staying at your apartment after the fire. I found Daniel reading a pregnancy book. I was just happy that it was not you." Now she knew what Daniel was talking about earlier. Betty was debating how to respond.

"I can't believe you saw what was going on between us before we did," was not appropriate. She decided on using humor to deflect from the situation.

"That's not going to be a problem any time soon. First, Daniel and I were not even together back then. In addition, Daniel has agreed not to mention the B word for another year." Her father dropped the spoon he was using as she said the words.

"I didn't realize that things were that serious already." He said as he retrieved his spoon. Betty noticed the qualifier in that sentence, 'already'. Apparently, her father knew it would happen eventually just not yet.

"I know that you already know that Daniel and I are not just roommates." She stated quietly.

"Even if I was not aware, I would know from the scene I walked in on earlier, not to mention what has been on the TV recently." Betty couldn't help but blush at that. She was also desperately looking for something sweet to eat.

"I'm trying to repress that." Betty mumbled to herself before continuing. "Daniel and I have always had a unique relationship. I also know that I have to have him in my life in some capacity. I know you're probably thinking that we are rushing into things…" Betty was cut off at that moment.

"You two have known each other for four years, I don't consider that rushing. There was an entire conspiracy group trying to get you and Daniel together complete with e-mail mailing list."

"You've got to be kidding!" She heard about the conspiracy before, but she had no idea her father was in on it.

"That's how I got the job for catering the Osbourn-Rossi wedding. You don't have to worry about me disapproving of your relationship with Daniel. I would not have helped get you two together if I didn't know that the man upstairs loves you with all his heart. He moved to another country for you. I was not even willing to move across this one for Alena. That shows real commitment." He said with deep regret.

"I doubt it would happen without the job offer." She said trying to make her father feel better. It didn't because they both knew better.

"I don't believe that. He went to London for you. Before he left, Daniel came over here to talk to me about his decision and to ask permission to move in with you."

"He asked first?" She was shocked. Matt didn't do that. Neither did Walter.

"He has always known how important family is to you. Daniel has been a part of this family for a while. Personally, I wish he would ask for my permission to marry you, but no one's perfect." Her father said with a smile less menacing than when he was upset that Matt only asked her to live with him.

"He already asked." She really didn't mean to say that out loud. It really just slipped out. She knew by her father's wide eyed expression that he heard everything.

"You're engaged?" Betty actually saw her father looking for the ring.

"No. It wasn't even a real proposal." She could see the disappointment instantly in her father's eyes and for some reason she felt disappointed too. "We were talking a few days ago about a lot of different things including why I am absolutely convinced I can either have my white picket fence dream or my magazine EIC dream, but not both. I'm not even completely sure what we were talking about any more. At some point. Daniel said that if he thought I would say yes we would head down to Tiffany's immediately." She explained fidgeting with her bare ring finger.

"He doesn't think you'll say yes?" Her father asked.

"Daniel knows I'm scared, but he also knows I'm in this for the long haul. Sometimes, I think about all the things mom didn't get to do because she was already married before she was even old enough to drink and I wonder if she regrets the life she had. Mom was brilliant, but she spent her life doing other people's laundry and cleaning houses. I know she had dreams beyond that." Betty actually had one tear falling down her cheek as she spoke.

"There were other reasons beyond being married and having two children that prevented her from achieving a lot of her dreams." Her father said most likely referring to racism and gender discrimination. "You have more opportunities than she ever did. However, she never regretted having you and your sister."

"I know the world is different now, but I can't help but wonder how many things I will miss out on by settling down now." Betty said quietly.

"That goes both ways, Mi hija. I wouldn't trade your homemade father's day cards or the years I had with your mother to be head chef of the best restaurant in the world. Those moments mean more to me than anything else. Who says you can't have both, anyway?"

"You're right. If Daniel didn't come with me, I probably would have not lasted two weeks at Hub before I put in my notice. He understands me in a way no one else does. He supports me and listens to me rant about everything I hate. Nobody believes I can be the EIC of London Hub more than Daniel. He let me go just so I could have a chance at my dream." Betty said smiling, thinking about how much Daniel has really been there for her during this transition.

"There are many types of love in the world. Mature love is the type of love that grows with you. This person will encourage you to be more and follow your dreams. It is a love that changes as you change. This person will love who you are now as well as the person you will be 50 years from now. That type of love is more precious than everything else in the universe. I think if you look in your heart, you will know that you have already found that type of love in Daniel." Her father said as he placed his finished dinner on the table. In her mind, she knew her father was right. Daniel was that love.

"Do you want some?" Her father asked before sitting down.

"That's okay, papá. I ate before you got here. You have to remind me to take some of the little boxes of flame mix with me. I can't find it yet. I'm exhausted anyway." Betty said getting up from the chair.

"We'll talk tomorrow over an early breakfast." Her father said quickly.

"Thanks, papá." Betty said kissing her father on the cheek before walking upstairs to the man she knew would always be there.

"Just make sure you lock the door, Mi hija."

While Betty was talking to her father after he walked in on them being very intimate, Daniel decided to call Hilda. This wasn't just an excuse. She also left several crazy messages on his cell throughout the day. She was impatiently waiting in the concession stand at a concert venue somewhere in the greater DC area buying great quantities of alcohol for the great Monique Osborn bachelorette party. She laughed hysterically for a good 5 minutes after he told her what happened. She quickly reassured Daniel that their father probably wouldn't kill him for defiling his little girl.

"Daniel, it will be okay. If he did not kill Bobby for getting me pregnant, he will not do anything to you. Although, it would probably help if you put a ring on it." He knew Hilda was only half joking.

"I would if your sister would let me." Daniel replied without thinking. Luckily, she was too busy being annoyed by an extremely long line.

"Really how long does it take to get a few beers and a couple of overpriced pink drinks with the cherries? This is karma forcing dad to go to New Kids concerts as my chaperone when I was growing up. Now it is my turn to be the responsible adult. The main act isn't even on yet and I'm pretty sure Tina from features is already smashed. She hit the pre-party cocktails a little hard during the meet and greet." Hilda snickered.

"That's not surprising. There is usually a bet to see who would pass out first at parties, her or Amanda, you know before the pregnancy." He laughed nervously. "I thought Monique nixed the Backstreet Boys concert bachelorette party because Marc is dating a complete asshole that apparently sabotaged the State Department shoot?" Daniel asked referring to one of the text messages he got from Monique earlier.

Apparently, she's ready to eviscerate Marc's boyfriend, but is only holding back to avoid a wrongful termination suit. Good call, considering the company doesn't need to be dealing with two high profile suits at the same time.

"Only Marc's crew at the Smithsonian are too busy to come and that's mostly to punish Marc for his boyfriend's sins. Also, you have any idea how many rabid, but closeted fan girls and boys you have on your staff? Several were pissed about having to give up their tickets for the show at the Hammerstein ballroom Thursday for the DC spectacular until Amanda sent out invitations with seats that were practically on stage. Apparently, the tickets and everything else were a wedding present from someone that Amanda refuses to give the name of. If Monique canceled this party completely, she would have had a mutiny on her hands." Daniel really wasn't that surprised by Monique's rationalization, he just laughed instead.

"Probably,"

"I think doing something not work related is probably good for everyone. Things at the State Department were insane and we have to go back early tomorrow to pick up some shots because Marc's boyfriend 'accidentally' misplaced Cliff's memory card before he did whatever he needed to do to it. We can't even go to the bathroom without somebody following us. I hope Amanda stays resting in her hotel room. It would also be great if she wouldn't burst into tears all the time." Hilda said with a sigh before yelling at some woman who tried to cut in front of her in the alcohol line.

"How is Amanda doing?" Daniel asked concerned. Recently, all of his conversations with Amanda have focused on the Marc situation.

"She is doing better than I did after Justin's father stopped returning my phone calls and started hanging out with the tramp next door. She is worried about Matt fainting, but she is also still mad at him for not being there for her. She is almost acting like my sister." Daniel agreed with that.

"Everybody is being really nice to Amanda right now to avoid extreme crying. Monique actually gave Megan VIP passes for not being a bitch to Amanda and to make up for her having to cover for a sick Matt. She probably gave passes to Troy for less pleasant reasons, despite yesterday's fuck up." She said with a snicker.

"Do I want to know?" Daniel asked sure that it probably had something to do with her latest matchmaking scheme.

"She's keeping him from Marc right now because he has too much to deal with between work and Jade to even touch the Troy problem." Hilda sighed again before exchanging a few words with the concession worker.

"Quick question, Daniel, how much alcohol do I need to give your friend to tell her extremely bad news?" He was not expecting that question, but he was sure it had something to do with the wedding sabotage. This is why he needs more guy friends.

"If it is the fact that Gio's ex-girlfriend is trying to ruin her wedding, I would go with good chocolate and forget the alcohol. Mo doesn't drink outside of her not a Christmas party. Even at networking functions, she nurses the same glass of wine all night" He said seriously. "Throw in some real French Fries too; you're going to need it." He added as an afterthought.

"What?" Hilda asked almost shock, most likely downing one of those drinks with the cherry. Daniel quickly explained everything Candy told him earlier.

"That explains why Monique just asked me to be her hair stylist at the wedding of the decade. Actually, that may even be why I am here in DC this week. Their original B team stylist was also going to work on the wedding, but he suddenly came down with the 'flu'."

"I assume that's not the bad news you need to tell her." Daniel interrupted it mid tirade.

"No." She said without going further.

"You need to tell me what is going on before I can help you." He said quickly adopting Betty's favorite technique.

"Fine. So there's a good chance that Monique's teenage soon-to-be sister-in-law is pregnant."

"What?"

"After she threw up on Matt, Justin brought her to me because apparently my specialty is crisis pregnancies. We went to the Rite Aid next-door to the hotel to get a few pregnancy tests. One came back positive, another one came back negative, and a third one came back purple. She needs to take a blood test, but to do this, I'm pretty sure Monique needs to know so she can take her to the doctor." At this moment Betty came back upstairs so Daniel couldn't say anything.

"Hey, your sister just came back upstairs." Daniel told Hilda quickly because he sure that Hilda doesn't want Betty to know this before Monique finds out.

"Is that Hilda." Betty asked as she gave him a quick kiss. "Remind her that she owes me a signed Backstreet Boy T-shirt."

"Did you hear that?" Daniel asked.

"I already got it at the meet and greet, even though the band was really sad Monique wasn't there yet. They all know her really well, especially AJ." Daniel would totally read more into that if he didn't have other things to worry about like figuring out why his marriage to Molly was never registered or if Marc could handle the magazine temporarily after Monique is brought up on charges for murdering Antonella's former boyfriend. Then again it will probably be Gio who will do something worth being arrested for.

These thoughts stayed with him as he crawled into bed beside Betty a few minutes later. Betty just assumed he was distracted because he was still uneasy after Mr. Suarez walked in on them doing very inappropriate things, not worried about his co-owner going off the deep end, along with his friend. Okay maybe he was really upset that another person was bringing a child into the world accidentally when he wanted to be a father more than anything else.

Betty assures him that her father was fine with their relationship in between light kisses, not that he completely believed her. After everything that happened, Daniel did not feel like going farther. Even as an adult, a potential teen pregnancy was the ultimate mood killer.

After an insane shoot involving 10 models and 45 different outfits, Marc found himself in another subway car desperately trying to avoid the horrible orange seats. He was too tired to look at the Jefferson Memorial as the train passed by. In complete photographer mode, Cliff had his camera out trying to get good shots of the city. Yet Marc was trying to figure out how he would end things with Troy. Monique was right. He was only with Troy in the first place to avoid being alone.

His two best friends were leaving him for better lives. Amanda with her baby (now babies) and maybe Matt if he ever grows the hell up. Betty in England with her dream job and Marc's crush of six years. (Not that he would tell Betty that he considered her one of his good friends and it threw him off when she left.) Maybe Marc was a little upset that Betty actually had someone who loved her and was willing to move to another country to be with her.

Then there was the fact that he almost lost the closest thing that he had to a mother when Wilhelmina got shot. Now that she was alive and no longer at Mode, Marc was forced to share her attentions with Connor. It was difficult to adjust to this new dichotomy in their relationship.

Even his new boss was going to be happily married again in mere days for the second time. Happy couples or at least people who had the thing he wanted the most surrounded him: unconditional support, respect, and love. Considering how bad things were going with Matt, in Amanda's case it was having someone that she would respect and love unconditionally, her unborn children.

So of course, in his loneliness, he latched on to Troy. Being alone was something he didn't want even if it meant settling for Troy.

But then last week he found out about Jade and things were different. He now had one person in the world, he would love more than anything else. It made him even more aware that Troy was just there to fill empty space. Maybe he felt like he couldn't do better than Troy after completely fucking up everything with Cliff, but Jade deserved better. He couldn't be with somebody who said mean things about his daughter.

He would call Betty, Amanda, or even Wilhelmina for advice on how to deal with the impending Troy breakup, but they were all busy with their own problems. In Wilhelmina's case her current problem revolves around her new husband still being in Federal custody, a father who did not bother to come to his own daughter's wedding, a sister who only shows up when she needs something, and her future plans falling apart.

In between shots in the gardens at The Smithsonian avoiding his future ex-boyfriend's text messages, Marc received multiple phone calls from Wilhelmina regarding her horrible business meeting with representatives from Isabella Press. It turns out that Betty's boss Lindsey has decided to get into the U.S. publishing market and bought the publishing house.

They asked Wilhelmina to come on board as the new EIC at Isabella for half the money she was making at Mode without the stock options. Apparently, they believed that Wilhelmina was pushed out of the company for marrying Connor and assumed that she was vulnerable. That was not a pretty conversation. Wilhelmina was furious. Marc's ears are still ringing. He knew she wouldn't be willing to help him deal with the Troy situation on his own.

"Hey, I think this is our stop." Cliff said breaking Marc out of his thoughts just in time to make it through the doors before they closed on him.

"Are you okay?" Cliff asked as they made their way to the escalator. That was one of the nicer things about this subway system that Monique was forcing everybody to utilize. The other good thing was the mall was closed by now and the station was mainly deserted.

"Just thinking while exhausted." Marc said as he dug around in his pocket for that stupid paper card with the panda on it.

"That's never a good thing to do." Cliff said with a silly smile that usually melted Marc's heart.

"I think it's the exhaustion caused by several hours in 100° heat. I'm surprised the subway station is still open." Marc remarked offhandedly.

"It's not even midnight yet." That was true. According to the ugly digital clock by the turnstile, it was only 11:03 pm. He is surprised because it seemed so much later than that. They kept shooting until dusk outside in the gardens. Then he spent an hour checking up on the second team in the Natural History museum and the third at the Air and Space museum. His whole body was sore from running between the three locations. Also, he was yelled at a lot for the fact that they were all missing the Backstreet Boys extravaganza even if Monique had managed to arrange for a private after party, that Marc was too exhausted to go to.

"Yeah, but most of the restaurants around here will be closed." He said as he exited through the turnstile after paying. He found that out yesterday when Amanda tried to send down for more cookies at an inappropriate hour. Thankfully, there is a grocery store next to the mall that is open 24 hours. The fact that he was in charge of late night craving runs again was another reason to absolutely despise Matt.

"But that's what room service is for. I would invite you over, but I don't feel like dealing with your overly insane boyfriend." That last word was spat out like a curse. Cliff hated Troy, but unlike Troy, Cliff had good reason to. Troy did misplace Cliff's memory card which resulted in today's crazy shooting schedule.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Marc apologized as they made their way to another escalator.

"As much as I wish she would make better hook up decisions, you are not responsible for Troy freaking out after he found out who you shared a suite with this weekend and destroyed several hours of work yesterday out of petty vengeance. Although I am furious that this meant that not only did I have to miss Monique's Backstreet Boys bachelorette party to condense two days' worth of shooting into one, but I also get to wake up in 6 hours to do re-shoots at a place where they follow you to the bathroom and freak out if you take pictures of the wrong things. I wish they would've mentioned beforehand not to take pictures of the Marines." Marc was just as upset about the situation, but he didn't say anything. He doesn't want to remember how much begging was involved to get an extra day at the Department of State. His punishment was having to baby sit Wilhelmina's sister Monday night. He's almost glad Jade's mom said no to a Monday evening play date. He didn't mention this because he didn't want Cliff or anyone else to know how frustrated he really was. Troy should be the first one to know that things were over.

"We can't know for sure if he purposely lost the memory card. Besides, I thought you hated boy bands?" Marc defended weakly knowing full well that it was not an accident. Cliff just gave him a dark look as they now stood in front of the hotel.

"When all the members are above 30, it's a vocal group. You know I like R&B music. Most importantly, there was going to be free alcohol and free food. A 'friend' of Monique's was paying for everything." Cliff said happily especially when talking about the food and alcohol. Marc was not surprised, but that was his favorite part of the party.

"Alcohol would be nice." Marc said wishing for oblivion so he could forget everything involving Troy. "I'm just done with Troy, especially after what he accused me of doing with Austin. The whole thing makes me feel icky."

"I'm not surprised. Amanda said he also accused you of sleeping with both her and Matt." Marc snorted at that.

"Please, he made that accusation last night." Marc mumbled under breath.

"Amanda's like my sister and Matt is too big of a dick to have sex with even if he is pretty." If only Amanda realized that six months ago, things would be so much simpler right now.

"I think you should apply that new discretion to the current situation. Why are you still with him?" Cliff asked just as they walked inside the hotel. Marc decided to wait until they reached the elevators to answer. That gave him time to figure out how to word his answer.

"Right now to avoid causing a scene until after we are back in New York. However, according to Monique, I'm afraid of becoming the gay equivalent of the lonely cat lady." Marc said with an eye roll trying to hide the fact that he pretty much agreed with her and was already planning to break up with Troy.

"You may avoid the cat lady life with Troy, but it's still going to be a lonely existence with him pushing all your friends away. Instead of having dinner with a friend and making fun of today's shoot, you are going to go upstairs and order a chef's salad without egg or dressing." Cliff knew him way too well.

"Actually I was going to do half a sandwich, soup, and salad. Monique actually requires that her staff eat. Eating disorder treatment is now part of the benefit package for all employees." He joked trying to break the tension.

"Sometimes friends are better than significant others." Cliff said poignantly.

"Not when all your friends are moving on." Marc mumbled under breath as they got out of the elevator.

"So are you. You have a daughter now. This might be good time to make new friends. There's always playgroup." Cliff shot back obviously hearing the comment that he was not supposed to hear.

"I will take it under advisement."

"I thought you were one floor down?" It wasn't until Cliff said this that Marc realized he was unconsciously following Cliff to his room. Marc realized he was doing this because Cliff's suite was where Marc really wanted to be.

"I don't feel like eating room service alone tonight." He said honestly. "That would be too lonely cat lady for me. I'm willing to risk the consequences if you are?" Marc said using the smile that Cliff could never resist when they were together.

"Besides I need to talk to you about Jody and her trying to cancel Friday's visit."

"Okay, but you are handling my memory cards personally." Cliff said letting Marc inside. "I'll talk to her about letting it happen so you can have a legitimate reason to avoid the rehearsal lunch. I told her not to punish you for what Suzuki did.

"You are too perfect." Marc said following behind with a smile on his face.

To be continued