A/N: Thank you all for the reviews…you rock!

Well, this is the end. I've enjoyed sharing this story with all of you. A huge thanks to Jen my beta and to all of you who took the time to take a look at my poor attempt at English literature. I wish you all a great, warm summer filled with fun and laughter. I still have a couple of ideas I'm working on for Ugly Betty stories so you might see me around the place this summer…or you might not…depending on how busy I'll be. Ciao and au revoir for now!

Chapter six: 'Til death do us part

Daniel was standing in front of the window, looking out in the night at the shadows of the New York skyscraper in the distance without really seeing them. His reflection on the glass looked back at him with haggard, bleary eyes that did not give a shit for once about his disheveled appearance. He looked like hell and he knew it, but it was the last thing on his mind right now. He could not, dared not, close his eyes for when he did the only thing he was seeing was Betty slowly going down with blood splattering the front of her brand new suit. So, he tried his best to stay awake, and did everything in his power to resist reliving the nightmare of the few hours following the shooting in the court house.

In fact, he had soon discovered that his mind had found a way to protect itself and that he did not remembered so much about what happened. Only flashes of images and sounds really like people shouting, the ambulance, his hands red with her blood, the near fight with the hospital orderly that refused to let him see her before she went in surgery because he was not family... Fortunately, Mr. Suarez had appeared out of nowhere to explain to them that Betty would want him there. Daniel did not even remember calling the Suarez family to tell them the news. Nor did he remember washing the blood off his hands and getting a hospital gown to put over his pants to replace his blood covered shirt. He had lost his suit blazer somewhere in all this although he did not know how or why. The only thing he really remembered was the torturous long wait along with a white face Mr. Suarez, a crying Hilda, and an unnaturally calm and silent Justin. He thought that Santos had appeared in the waiting room at one point or another, but he could not be sure. He'd been told that some people from Mode had been there also and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't know; he could only remember the despair that threatened to swallow him and the dim hope that kept him there, waiting. Nothing else was real, nothing else existed, but hope was the only thing that made sense. The hope that still lingered, a little bit stronger every hour that passed the hope that kept him here, at Betty's side in this stark white hospital room.

He turned around to face the bed and anxiously took an inventory of the signs that proved without a doubt that she was still alive, still breathing, still there with him. The monitor was beeping at regular interval; the spikes showing her heart rate were steady for now, her chest was moving and a reassuring hiss that sometimes came out of her as she took a breath in. She was alive but nothing was yet sure and he could not help the dark fear that took him every time he saw her lying so still and white in that bed, hooked on all sides to machines. She should not be there, she should be moving with unbound energy, smiling at everything and everyone with enthusiasm and trust, kissing him with that sweet urgency and emotion that made his whole body react…Daniel tried to keep the emotions which suddenly were trying to break the dam of shock that enveloped him so far as to protect him from the guilt that was threatening to shred him apart. He could not look at any of the Suarez family in the face, and he wasn't sure he would be able to look at Betty either if she ever recovered from this…"No! Not if, when she recover! You have to believe that she will" he told himself sternly control himself. If he let his emotions break lose right now, he would not be able to be strong for Betty, he would only want to crawl into a dark corner and drink himself into a stupor while cursing himself for having bring this on onto her and her family.

He took a few shallow breaths, allowing himself to calm down, but incapable of stopping his mind from groping the inescapable truth. He knew that the bullet had been meant for him and if Betty had not reacted the way she had, he would have taken it right through the heart. He had been facing Betty, his back had been to the crowd, when she pushed him down he had felt the bullet whistle just an inch over his shoulder by his left ear. She had taken the bullet full impact; it broke two of her ribs, put a hole in her right lung, shattered and encased itself in her shoulder blade. There had been no exit wound; the blood had gone into her lung threatening to make her drown in her own blood. Her heart had stopped in the ambulance. That moment would forever be in his mind as the one where he had started to pray again. He would never forget the horror, the blood, the controlled panic in the movements of the medics, the sound of the siren and the few low curses of the driver. Those ten seconds were the longest of his life but in the end, she had come back. She had saved his life and almost died because the way she had always try to help him without a thought to her own needs, desires, or dignity, all just because she cared for him. It was more than just humbling, it was downright scary. He was not good enough for her, that he had always known, but right now it felt like loving him might get her killed and he knew he could never forgive himself if she died. He still did not know who had tried to kill him or why and frankly he did not care. The shooter was in prison where he belonged, and Daniel was here with Betty where he too belonged. Now, the only thing that mattered was for her to come out of this, whole in body and soul.

A groan made him turn his eyes to the side of the bed where Betty's father was sprawled uncomfortably, drowsing in a chair. The entire Suarez family had been incredible through it all, coming together, praying, and never stopping believing that Betty would be all right. They had even taken some time to take care of him. Mr. Suarez was the one who had made sure that Daniel would be allowed to stay at Betty's side as much as he wanted to, but of course, as Daniel had adamantly decided to pay for everything; the hospital employees were happy enough to oblige him. It was the least he could do after all. Betty was hurt because of him. He also could not bear to think of her fighting for her life in a cramped, overpopulated room…no, he wanted her in a large, single room where everyone who cared for her could come and see her. He wanted to be able to stay at her side and put well-wishers' cards, flowers, and balloons on her nightstand. He wanted her to wake up and sit in bed and be able to see the sun rise through the big window, but most of all, he wanted her to wake up and see that she was not alone, that her family and himself were here to look out for her. Nobody should wake up in a hospital bed and find no one waiting for them, least of all his Betty.

Daniel sighed and sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the bed from Mr. Suarez and took Betty's hand in his. Her family had not put any blame on him so far for what had happened. Daniel was not sure that they were aware yet that he had been the target and that Betty had saved him. He dared not tell them, just as he could barely look at them for shame. What if they blame him and barred him from seeing Betty? He could not risk it right now, especially since losing their faith and friendship would almost be as bad as losing Betty. They had always made him feel welcome among them and had always acknowledged the special bond between him and Betty. With the Suarezes, he had discovered what a real family was supposed to be like. He did not want to lose that; he cherished the feeling of being part of their world.

Holding Betty's hand, he looked at her face and wished for the millionth time that she would open her eyes. The doctors said that if she made it through the night, there was a good chance of complete recovery. In a low voice he pleaded with her, despair fighting with hope, calling her back, coaxing, pleading, demanding, "Come on Betty, come back to me. We all need you, me more than anyone else. You've never let me down; I know you won't start now… It's just…I'm lost if you're not there, you know that. I miss you... You're the only one who seems to see something worthwhile in me so if you're not there, I'll have nothing better to do than make sure to be as disappointing as everybody think me to be, to be what everyone but you see in me; a playboy and an insensitive jerk. You're the reason I try to be more…so you see, you don't have a choice, really, it's either you come back and make something out of me and save countless girls' hearts or you'll have all my bad behavior on your conscience. I'm sure you don't want that, do you? "His voice broke a little; it was so unnatural to talk to Betty without getting any reaction from her. She was usually so vibrant, so alive. He sat on the bed, needing to be closer. "Come on Betty, come on…don't do this to me, please. Open your eyes, there are things, important things I need to tell you, and I want to see your eyes when you hear them. It's just no fun otherwise. You'll like it, I promise." Exhausted by all the emotions swirling inside him, Daniel leaned down and very slowly lowered his forehead on hers, whispering with what was left of his strength, "I want to tell you how beautiful you are, how smart and funny, how sexy... I…I want to be the one who put that wonderful smile on your lips. I want to be the one saying the things that bring that light in your eyes. I want to kiss you good night and see you blush…Betty…please, you have to live, or I'm afraid you'll leave with what's left of my soul."

Feeling empty and out of things to say, he stayed like that for a long time, finding some strength in the faint odor of her shampoo that he could still discern underneath the stronger hospital smells. He finally raised his head away from hers with a weary sigh. He felt utterly spent, empty; he had no more energy for strong emotions or thoughts. He caressed Betty's cheek with a suddenly trembling hand then tried to get his legs to support his weight as he got up, only to discover that he needed to grab the chair as the room around him started spinning. He felt a strong arm grabbing him to steady him and steer him towards the sofa at the other end of the room. "Easy,son. Go slowly." The room stopped turning long enough for Daniel to recognize that Mr. Suarez was awake and was helping him to get his bearing. "Sorry to have awakened you, Mr. Suarez. I'm okay now. You don't have to take care of me. Really." Ignacio only snorted. "Nonsense, Daniel. You haven't slept or eaten in over fourteen hours. It's almost dawn. Here, sit down and eat this at least." Daniel felt something being put in his hand and out of habit, looked down at it. It was cookies, Ignacio's special homemade cookies. Daniel usually couldn't keep his hands off them, but right now just the thought of food was repulsive. "Eat up Daniel. I know you don't feel hungry but it will settle your stomach. You'll feel better afterward." Daniel did not think that anything but Betty suddenly waking up could make him feel better but he didn't have enough energy to fight the issue, so he took a tentative bite. The succulent cookie tasted like sawdust, and Daniel immediately accepted the cup of water that Ignacio handed him. Under the stern eyes of the older man, Daniel dutifully ate all three cookies and did feel somewhat steadier after that.

Seeing the color slowly getting back on Daniel's face, Ignacio nodded and smiled a little before gently slapped his cheeks twice and urging, "Now you get some sleep, I'll stay with Betty." Daniel immediately reacted strongly at the suggestion, "No! I can't sleep! What if she wakes up? What if…what if she gets worse? I need to be there for her." Ignacio put a restraining hand on the young man shoulder to keep him from standing. "Daniel, don't be a fool, you're dead on your feet. Betty won't be happy if she wakes up and sees how badly I've taken care of you. She'll need you awake and strong, not half dead." Cutting Daniel's words of strong opposition with a gesture before the words were even out, Ignacio continued, raising his voice slightly in admonition, "I swear, I'll wake you up if there's any change at all. If her breathing changes, if she cough, if her eyelids move ... I'll wake you up if the doctors come to check on her, if they take another test…anything! Just get some sleep! "Betty's father pushed Daniel down steadily until the young man was stretched on the sofa, while never stopping arguing that he would rather stay up and keep an eye on Betty, but the truth was that the cookies had settled him and exhaustion was taking its toll. In a last half-hearted attempt to soften the old man, Daniel tried bargaining, "Okay, okay, I'll try to sleep if you promise to wake me every hour. Come on…every hour, I want to know everything that's going on!"

Suddenly, at the other side of the room came a weak and unexpected voice, "Could you guys stop arguing so loud? Sheesh Daniel, really, just go to sleep already."

The two men looked at each other in shock before sprinting to the bed as one. Betty was indeed awake, looking at them with a fuzzy awareness. "Betty!! Thank God!" Ignacio took his daughter's hands with tears swelling in his eyes. Daniel could only look at her open eyes, a relief so strong crashing on him that he had to sit down on the chair he had vacated only minutes before. She was okay, she was awake. Daniel could barely grip the fact after the hours of praying for this to happen. He had to tell everyone, tell them that she was okay! Suddenly energized, he shot to his feet, "I'll go tell the nurse!" he announce to the room at large and ran to the door and into the corridor, sprinting toward the nurse station. He almost collided with a young nurse and gripping her, twirled her in the air while she let out a small scream of surprise, "Betty's awake! She's alive! She'll be all right!" He kissed the nurse on the cheek and setting her down, continued his mad dash to tell the head nurse the good news.

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The world was pain, all around her the walls of it could not stop pounding into her, stronger and stronger all the time and she only wanted to retreat back further into the void of dark soothing blackness where she wouldn't feel. The only problem was that even the dark void was starting to move about in rhythm with the pounding in the world, slowly starting to fray and letting in some light and sounds from out there…out there where the pain came from. She tried to hide from it for a while in the darkest corners, but she knew it was only a question of time. Then, she started understanding some of the sounds coming in from the grey places…they were voices. Voices that she thought she could recognized if only she could hear them better. There was something in those voices…something that beckoned to her. Curiosity slowly overcame the instinct to hide from the pain, and she cautiously approached the closest patch of lighter darkness surrounding her. The voices were clearer here, so full of life and emotions that she felt them like thousands of knife cutting through her, making her feel something different than pain. Scared and trembling she bolted back from the voices, it hurt too much! It took her awhile to calm down but the voices had cut through the fuzziness protecting her, she could understand some of it now, there was a feeling that seemed attached to the single sound that now resonated throughout the dark places of the world. "Betty". The feeling connected to the word and suddenly her mind opened up and embraced its meaning…she knew again who she was. "I am Betty". The feeling coming with the name was one of wonder and joy. Armed and protected with the knowledge of herself, she closed again on the grey spot that was slowly getting bigger and whiter…she could almost hear what the voices were saying. That particular voice there, it sounded familiar somehow. Like a voice she had heard often in her dreams. She carefully edged further, she wanted to know that voice, it was beautiful and soulful and it seemed to know her. She wanted to learn what the voice knew about her, she was sure she could be more than just a name in the dark.

She stopped under the beam of light gray, here that voice was strong. It enveloped her in its sweetness and its harsh pain. Slowly, painstakingly, she recognized and labeled the emotions that it carried with it; tenderness, caring, hope, strength, faith, trust were dancing through her, hand in hand with self-loathing, fear, despair, hurt, pain, lies, need… it was a strange mixture, a curious taste. It was one that painted in her mind the image of a complex design, one that was strangely familiar. She strained to take it all in, to complete the puzzle. That voice was important somehow, she had to understand if she wanted to find the rest of herself. Little by little the colors came together; the image became clearer and the sounds sharper. The emotions around her became stronger, the taste lingered on her tongue, the smell caught at her heart…she opened her eyes wide as it suddenly came to her all at once. "Daniel!!!!"

The words and their meaning exploded around her and destroyed the darkness in a flash of terrible light that blinded her with pain. She tried to swim to the surface of the twirling light trying to simultaneously engulf her and throw her out. She could see the calmer realm of steady white just over her, she reached out…

…and suddenly found herself blinking owlishly at a white ceiling. A single sniff told her what she needed to know; she was in a hospital. She blinked again and the images of the darkness receded to a place where it only seemed a strange dream. She blinked a third time and the distant sounds of whispers morphed into words she could understand. It took some concentration but she soon had the gist of the half hushed argument between her father and Daniel. God she was hurting everywhere. Couldn't they let her rest? She wasn't sure why she was in a hospital but she knew she could do with some drugs and a lot of sleep. After a while she couldn't resist anymore and her natural instinct to take charge took over, and she intervened in the argument, telling Daniel to get some rest. Really, he was worst than a kid who didn't want to go to bed! Urg! And she really, really wanted something for the pain!! Even the soft hands of her father were bringing her pain. It felt like her nerves were working double time after her time in limbo.

A few nurses soon entered and started taking blood, checking machines, pushing bright light in her eyes and so on…one started asking her silly questions. Of course she knew her name, her birth day and her home address! Of course she recognized her father and Daniel! Of course she knew what year it was! Really! The next question however took her by surprise.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

She frown a bit, trying to get her mushy and tired mind to work around the pain. "Heu…Ow! It would be easier to remember if my skull stopped feeling like the inside of a big drum!"

Daniel pushed his way by her side, took her hand while sending a dark look toward the nurse. "She's in pain, shouldn't you be giving her some medication instead of torturing her like that?!"

The nurse stood her ground, facing down Daniel without hesitation, "I'm not giving her anything unless we know exactly what her condition is. We wouldn't want to give her the wrong thing and make it worse now, do we?"

Betty gave Daniel's hand a squeeze and sighted, "Okay, then…hum…I remember breakfast, Dad, Hilda and Justin were gone like every Saturday morning….I remember the newspaper I was reading…. There was something in there, something I didn't like. Hum…I…I remember shopping at Macy's for some kind of clothing, but it's kind of vague…I remember there was a lot of people there and I…I think I was talking on the phone with someone. "

Daniel smiled at her in encouragement. "That's right Betty; I called you on your cell. We talked together for a while." He turned to the nurse, "You see, she remembers…isn't it enough?" He was dreading the moment where she would remember the shooting and remember that he had been the target. To his utter disappointment, the nurse just shook her head and smiled apologetically at her patient. "I'm sorry; we have to know if there is some kind of brain damage. Beside the physiological injuries, there could be some psychological ones, you need to remember what brought you here and it has to be as soon as you wake up or your mind might decide to forget permanently to protect itself, to shut it off and that usually causes more problems…the kind that needs psychotherapy to solve. Believe me, it's better this way."

Betty looked grim at the idea that some sort of trauma was responsible for her condition…she was suddenly not so sure she wanted to know. She looked at everyone around her and took a deep breath, trying to wake up her memory. "Okay. Steps… I remember steps for a big building, a formal kind of building, something public like a library maybe, or a museum …no wait, that's not it. Hum….Yeah…something to do with police, journalists…judges…justice…Yeah, that's it, the court of justice! I remember going there for some kind of hearing. The press was there and Daniel too." She paused for a moment, gathering her memories, pushing onward. " We stood there in the corridor, talking, then something happened…a shout, then I looked and there was this woman, standing with a gun…pointing it…Oh my God! She was pointing it right at us…." Her hand flew instinctively over her right breast. "She shot me!!! I remember…I pushed Daniel and then…then nothing, I can't remember anything else. I don't even remember the pain. I…I saw Daniel on the floor and I remember that I fell, but I didn't, you know, feel anything."

Betty looked around again and saw Hilda and Justin who had came in during her trip down memory lane, crying with both shock at her story and happiness at seeing her alive and aware. Her dad was looking at her with big round eyes, going back between Daniel and her, and Daniel… Daniel was looking anywhere but at her and her family. The nurse patted her hand, "That was the hardest part, you did very well. Now I'll go see the doctor, and I'll come back in a couple of minutes with something for the pain."

The silence that met the nurse departure was shattered by Justin who almost threw himself on the bed to hug her. She hissed a little in pain but let him be, the warmth of the love her nephew was showing her was way better than the strained tension that gripped the adults around her bed.

"Daniel? Do you know anything about that shooting? Something you're not telling?" asked her father in a low voice.

Daniel shook his head slowly, "I had no idea that it was a woman, but it kind of makes sense in an ugly kind of way. I've screw up so much in the past, and probably caused some kind of pain to a lot of women." He sighted and sat on the chair near her bed. "What I knew right from the start was that the bullet was meant for me, I felt it passed me by just as I was going down, centimeters from my head. Betty saved my life, and almost lost hers in the process, all just because I had been so stupid and careless with other people's feelings for such a long time." He finally looked up and braced himself for their judgment, "You have every right to be furious at me and ask me never to set foot into your house again or see Betty. I don't know if it's possible for you to believe me after all this, but since meeting Betty and knowing you all…I've changed, I've discovered things that are more important than my selfish pleasure. You made me see what a real family was supposed to be like, and how real friends took care of each other. I'll never forget any of those lessons." He started to get up to, but Betty's voice didn't let him get very far.

"Oh …Sit back down, Daniel; nobody is blaming you for what happened." Everyone turned their eyes on Betty, white and tired in the bed. She was not in the mood for melodrama.

"How can you say that, Betty?" An anguished Daniel cried out, "It's my fault you're in that bed with a hole in you. It's my fault you died in the ambulance!! Your heart stopped, I saw them restart it. For almost ten seconds there you were gone! I don't care if the women I hurt come back to haunt me and get their revenge, they have a right to do it! I screwed up and it's pay back time. But I will not take you down with me. It's not fair to you; you shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes. I have no right to ask that of you, of any of you."

"Really Daniel, the woman might be one of your past flings, or she might not, but whatever else she was, one thing is sure: she was visibly very unstable, I don't think she was sane, Daniel. I saw her eyes; there was nothing there but rage and illusions. I think it's way to soon to start pointing fingers. Besides, you saved my life too. So we're even."

Daniel could only look at her, speechless. She was giving him a reprieve from hell, giving him a reason to hope that this time, maybe, it was not his fault. What the hell was she talking about?

It was Hilda who asked the question, he could not utter a word. "How did he save your life, Betty? From where I'm standing, he put it in danger, not saved it!"

"He called me back. I don't remember much of where I was during all that time, but I do know that it's Daniel's voice that made me want to come back. I could not exactly understand the words, but I understood their meaning." She turned to Daniel and extended her hand toward him entreatingly. "I'm so tired. You will be here when I woke up, won't you?" she pleaded. She hoped with all her heart that he would not back down, that he would come to her and leave the guilt and the fear behind, once and for all.

Daniel wanted nothing more than to be there, always, for her. He casted a dubious eye in Mr. Suarez's direction, unsure as to how the older man would react, but Ignacio didn't move or say a word. Tentatively, Daniel took a step toward Betty and grasped her hand like a lifeline during a storm. He looked into her eyes and just forgot about everything but her.

"Of course I'll be there, Betty, if you want me here then there's nothing that could prevent me from being here with you. I love you. I'm so sorry you were hurt." There was no more space for doubt in his heart, not after seeing her die in front of him. He needed to tell her how he felt; he might not get another chance.

Just like he had hoped and dreamed she would in answer to his confession, her smile lit up her entire face, her eyes sparkled with emotion and pleasure and her good arm slowly sneaked around his neck, bringing him closer. "That's good. I love you too, Daniel. Don't worry about anything, everything will be just fine." The kiss they shared then was the most sweet, delicate, loving kiss they both had ever experienced and melted the rest of the anger that Ignacio Suarez harbored toward the young Meade. The anger was mostly a reaction to the fear of losing Betty, and not so much against Daniel. He kind of liked him if truth be told. It did not look like he had much chance to go against it anyway, not if that kiss was any indication.

He sighted in happy defeat and took hold of Daniel's shoulder as soon as the two lovebirds separated. "Come on son, you both need to sleep, you can take the sofa." He could not help but smile at the surprise, relief and joy showing in both Betty and Daniel's face.

Hilda then turned Daniel around and kissed him soundly in the cheek. "Welcome in the family Daniel. I think you'll do."

Not wanted to be forgotten, Justin piped in, "Yeah, especially if it means I can go visit you at Mode more often!"

Through peals of laughter coming from their family, Betty and Daniel fell into sleep as soon as their head touched a horizontal surface, with smile on their face and happiness in their soul the like of they could not have imagined feeling just weeks before.

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The END

Fluffy, I know. Hope you liked it still!