Be Careful What You Wish For

CHAPTER ONE

A/N: I find I often speak through Daniel's inner thoughts and point-of-view. Here, I'm going to try and take on things more from Betty's perspective. Obviously, I was obviously greatly inspired by Chris Daughtry's song. I was able to see him perform live in Portland a few years ago and he was amazing! Love his voice and his "voice". His lyrics are so profound. I can definitely relate to many of them, particularly this one.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but smile, thinking back to so many times, almost ten years ago, when she had cringed at her own reflection, longing to be more mature in how the world saw her, longing to look more as she now did.

She had always known that her inner beauty was much more important than how "pretty" she was. She had tried to ignore the status quo, choosing instead to develop traits such as kindness, empathy, and consideration. But unfortunately, working at a superficial place like Mode magazine had proven difficult to rise above the stares, the whispers, and the downright rude behavior towards her, since back then, she definitely didn't "fit the mold" of that group of fashionistas.

But in spite of constantly feeling like the proverbial fish-out-of-water, this strong-willed woman persevered for over four years in that toxic environment, making a name for herself, in spite of the challenges she faced, day after day (or some might say perhaps because of them). Rising above her detractors may have been a big part of what drove her to prove them all wrong, to show everyone at those shark-infested waters that Betty Suarez doesn't quit. Until she did quit.

And she not only left Mode when she did, but she also left the country, moving across the ocean to start over, to accept a new challenge; this time one that she had always aspired to, running her own magazine. She kept her head down and her nose to the grindstone, barely looking up to notice when her old boss and best friend followed her across the Atlantic to also start over himself.

Daniel Meade had flown all the way to London to see her, to apologize to her, and that fact certainly wasn't lost on Betty. Especially given the shocking idea his mother seemed to have that her gorgeous son had...well it was too ridiculous a notion to seriously entertain. Still, that little look Claire Meade had given her had caused all kinds of crazy dreams and fantasies, particularly when he showed up.

But life goes on and so did hers. After she had only met him for dinner, then breakfast, then lunch, Betty quickly realized that Claire's crazy idea surely must have been just that; a crazy one. Because the man clearly still had the notion of their remaining best friends in his head; nothing more. Once that fact had been firmly established in her mind, Betty felt relieved that she hadn't asked him about what his mother had mentioned. Goodness knows it would have been extremely embarrassing if she had.

So, after a month of Daniel struggling to "find himself" and usually coming over to watch a movie or go out to eat, or just hanging out, she wasn't all that surprised when he announced he was going to go spend six months with his sister in France, visit DJ and then head back to New York, as soon as he finished the online credits he still needed to complete his MBA.

Betty told him how proud she was of him, but he merely shrugged her off, saying he was surprised himself but had discovered that "extra year" he took to get his Bachelor's Degree at Harvard had left him with more spare credits than he realized. He only needed three more classes and was able to complete them online fairly easily and quickly while he wasn't working.

They kept in touch after he left London, but over the years their correspondence had gradually dwindled to the point where they were reduced to remaining primarily FaceBook friends. She had his new number and he still kept his same email address, but the number of texts they exchanged also grew few and far between.

After all, they were leading quite separate lives now, with her remaining in London in her busy job there and him going back to New York to take over as the extremely busy head of his father's company when Claire stepped down to retire.

Betty had been invited by the Meade matriarch to attend her retirement party of course, but she had been right in the middle of working with a huge new client and simply couldn't get away. She realized that there always seemed to be one big thing after another; her career was everything to her and it had become...well, everything she had, in fact, all she had.

The face now staring back at her in the mirror was far more "beautiful" by the world's standards but in many ways, she missed "Ugly Betty". That young girl had been far less lonely. She had friends and family in her life back then who loved her just as she was. Now, though...

..."Be careful what you wish for

'Cause you just might get it all

You just might get it all

And then some you don't want

Be careful what you wish for

'Cause you just might get it all'... (Home, Daughtry)

She had gotten everything she had always wished for and although she was extremely grateful for her success in the workplace, getting there had involved no small sacrifice. Being so far removed from her family and friends was often difficult. Her family had once been a huge part of who she was, she had always known they had her back, they were there for her, no matter what she faced at Mode.

Now, although they were still there for her of course, what THERE was took on a very different meaning; involving time zones and technology, or plans and long plane rides. And just like with Daniel, she found the amount of time she saw her family had also gradually dwindled.

She bit her lip and furrowed her brows as she swallowed, taking a deep, measured breath, "Charmaine, book me a flight to New York. I'm going home."

"You mean...right now?"

"Yes, now. As soon as you have the flight information, let me know." she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, then smiled, "And get my car to pick me up in an hour. I need to go pack and get my passport."

Her assistant sprung into action, making notes and nodding, as a small smile crept on her face as well, "Done and done. I'll push everything back to...next week at least?"

Betty thought for a moment, then nodded, "At least. Actually, I'll call you once I get there and let you know for sure on that. You do know...if I don't come back, I'm going to recommend you take my place, Charmaine. You work as hard as I do and you want success…"

"As much as you thought you did? I thought I did, too. Now, I'm not so sure. I can see that you're not nearly as happy as you thought you'd be even after you've achieved all your dreams. I have a fiance. I'd like to eventually make him my husband, then have children with him. I want those things, too. They're just as important to me as success in my career if not more so.

So...thanks, but no thanks for your recommendation, Mis...Betty. But don't worry about that right now. Just...go! Get out of here. Your head has been here but lately, I can see you left your heart in New York. We've all seen it."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"YES! You're lonely and heartbroken. Now...go fix it!"

The two women hugged one another, then Betty grabbed her things and rushed purposefully out the door, her head swirling with various thoughts. What was she going to do once she got back "home"?

She knew she couldn't stay with her father and Elena long. And although Hilda and Bobby had a home in Manhattan, they also had six-year-old twins who needed lots of attention. She didn't want to be in anyone's way there.

For now, she tried to shut off her "logical, sensible" mind, though and as Charmaine said, listen only to her heart. That heart that was currently racing, flooded with a million memories, all of the times spent with...HIM.

Betty couldn't help but wonder what he was doing now. She knew he wasn't married at least.

But that was all she was sure of, really. They both had dated, and both had been in and out of "serious relationships" that had eventually run their course, including her brief reunion with Matt Hartley. Was it possible after all this time, that his mother's "theory" had been true? If he was still single, and she was, too, didn't that mean something?

It wasn't like Betty to rush off like this, without a plan, without a detailed itinerary. It was...crazy, it was impulsive, it was totally insane! But she also knew she couldn't stop herself, she could no longer talk herself out of this feeling. Her heart wouldn't let her stop and overthink things like she usually did. It refused to keep beating without her soul, without a real purpose anymore. Homesick didn't begin to describe how much she missed her life in New York, her family, her friends, how much she missed...Daniel.