A/N: I've been toying with this for a while and now that I've got a little free time feel it's appropriate to make a start. This story picks up approximately a year after the end of the final episode (season 4). Betty has gone to London but Daniel has gone to 'find' himself before he finds Betty. I hope you enjoy. Please r & r.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 1

Tears welled in her eyes as Betty Suarez stared out over the London vista before her, the city slowly waking up now that the sun's rays were nearly at their highest in the sky. She had to admit it, she did an exceptional job of burying her tattered feelings whilst she was working, it was just so hard having to admit them to herself the rest of the time, as well as to anyone else. It these times like Sunday mornings when she hated how they'd creep up on her, derailing her and throwing her onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. All it took was one spark to set it off. "He didn't even wave me off at the airport!" She wailed, balling her fists at her temples whilst the floodgates opened and gushed another torrent over her already tear stained cheeks.

"Right! That's it missy, I'm coming over," Christina McKinney all but shouted from the other side of Betty's computer screen. "I've been meaning to take a wee break from work now that the baby's only a couple of months away from being grunted onto this God forsaken planet. And it means that Stuart can finally have some male bonding time with William. Give me an hour and I'll be there, get a bag packed."

"I can't go anywhere, I've got a magazine to run."

"You've been there over 12 months already and not taken a break, once. And if I know you, you'll already have a contingency plan in place for if you ever had to get back across the pond to your family. I think it's about time we turned the keys, punched in the access codes and high-tailed it out of the bat cave for a week. We'll worry about what to tell Lesley when we get to where we're going."

"Which is?" Betty sniffed, calming down a little after her latest upset.

"A spa in the middle of Dartmoor."

"Where?" The only fact that she could remember about that particular area was about the old Victorian Prison, she hoped they weren't going there.

"You'll see. Now get yourself washed up, we haven't got much time."

.oOo.

"Where are we going again?" Betty asked wearily from her slumped position against the car window. They'd already been at it for what seemed like days although hours were more precise.

"Dartmoor. Look it's that great big splodge of green in South Devon, as featured on the map by your feet." Christina pointed down to the dog eared paperback book that was half wedged under Betty's seat.

She pulled it out, thumbing through the well-worn pages, looking for the downward thumb of the southwest of England that Christina was driving hurriedly towards. "There's lots of coast there too." She noted with delight, hopefully they'd have a day out at the beach if she could persuade Christina.

"Oh, yes. I forgot your penchant for wanting to feel the sand between your toes and the salty surf over your legs as you paddle."

"It's your fault, you shouldn't have taken me to Brighton."

"Well, I do know a couple of places down there that are unobtrusive but much more beautiful than Brighton, we can get a picnic together one day and go rock pooling."

"Rock Pooling?"

"Yes, we'll go searching for crabs, starfish, clams and limpets. Find old shells that we can make necklaces out of. Maybe get some inspiration for my new summer collection or a topic of conversation for yourself. Even if it only ends up on your blog. Really catch up on what's going on with both of us, we've both been living in the same city for what seems like forever and we've hardly talked, Betty. The only times we seem to catch up are a few snatched moments on Skype."

"Is this one last attempt before the baby arrives?"

"In a manner of speaking, although I really want you to be around more when I have this bairn. After all, Stuart and I would really like you to be a Godparent."

"Shut up," Betty beamed, for the first time in over a year she truly had something to smile about. "Really?"

"Of course, who else would do a wonderful job of steering our little lassie right; God knows she's going to need it with me as her mother."

"You're having a girl." She said quietly, almost to herself; a lone tear escaping its prison with wild abandon as it splashed over the contour of her cheek. "Did I tell you, Hilda's pregnant too."

"Is that a hint of jealousy I note?"

"A hint maybe."

"Betty, in case you didn't realise, you need a willing sperm donor in order to have a baby. Unless you're Wilhelmina Slater, of course. Besides what's the rush? You're young and you're a career gal, why on earth would you want to settle down and have a baby?"

"I guess I just feel alone."

"Oh Betty, you're definitely not alone. What about your family? Marc and Amanda? Matt even?"

"There all on their own adventures and they're all miles away. Not like I can take the D train to Queen's anytime soon. And I don't even know where Matt is at the moment. He hasn't updated his blog in a while."

Pulling the car onto a grass verge, Christina switched off the engine and looked over to her friend. "And what about Daniel?"

"What about Daniel? In case you hadn't been listening to my little Skype rants recently I haven't spoken to him since I left New York."

"You'd become such good friends?"

"Well he obviously didn't see our relationship in that way, otherwise he would've been at my leaving party. Or at the barbeque Papi threw for me. Or even at the airport. But he wasn't."

"Maybe he was upset about losing you, did you ever think of that?"

"Why would he be?"

"Well, let's put it this way, even when you weren't his assistant doing everything for him, you were still there for him, at any hour, of every day, being you. You're pretty difficult to replace, Betty Suarez, as an assistant and as a friend."

"Then why didn't he come and support me, just once. That's all I needed."

"Sometimes it's too painful to let go." That did make sense, Daniel Meade had used all the tools in his arsenal to try and keep her in New York; from burning her release form, to offering her a raise, before finally avoiding her for the rest of her time at Mode.

But that was now well in the past, "even so Christina, it was also a little selfish."

"And we both know he's not good at playing the grown up." After spending that last year with him, Betty would definitely beg to differ on that point. The adoring husband, the vulnerable widower, the loyal son and brother.

Christina lent over and placed her hand over Betty's, "so you have no idea what's happened to him?"

"None whatsoever."

"Well, he's no longer at Mode, that's for sure. I missed him at London Fashion week last September and in February I caught up with Wilhelmina. Seems she's been running Mode as Editor in Chief since about the time you skipped out of the US."

"Daniel's gone?"

Christina nodded, "gone from Meade too apparently. Wanted to 'find' himself so he told her." She looked across to Betty, "but I have theory?" As did Claire Meade. Had his mum actually been right with her theory about her son's behaviour?

Not another one. Betty folded her arms across her chest, "and that is?"

"That he couldn't stand to be in a place where you wouldn't be anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not, but this may be. I also think he's in love with you."

"And what makes you think that?"

Christina rolled her eyes, "did you not see his final letter?" Betty shook her head, she'd been far too upset and frankly too busy to keep up to date with Mode magazine. "You should have, there were plenty of references to a female friend in it, albeit somewhat vague, but he ended it by way of suggestion that he was in love with her and he was going to do something about it."

"If he did then that ship definitely must have sailed."

"What do you mean?"

"Christina, wouldn't a man in love find a way to tell me or show me if that were indeed the case, and especially when money is no object for him?"

"Ah, but we're talking Daniel here, and a changed Daniel at that. No longer the Man-whore. Have you ever tried contacting him since the night of your party?" Betty shook her head, "do you think he's likely to put his heart on the line when the only thing he got from you was 'thanks very much for the opportunity but I really have to fly 3500 miles away from you to run my own magazine'? Not quite Sophia Reyes, Betty, but I'd say pretty close?"

Betty was silent, she hadn't really thought about it like that before. "So you think I was being selfish?"

"God, no. But I do think that in your haste to get Mode out your life you may have inadvertently lost Daniel as a result too. Ok, so he pertained to love, but if his heart was smashed to pieces by the woman he loved …" Of course, Betty may not have publically announced that she was leaving mode but it was similar to the Sophia debacle and Daniel hadn't fared well after that. What made her situation with Daniel any different if she had really hurt him by wanting to leave him, even if it was for a better career changing job?

Christina started the engine, "right let's see if we can get there before the catering staff sign off for the evening, eh?"

Turning her attention back to the ever darkening hedgerows and the faintly lit homes they passed quickly whilst the evening closed in around them, Betty finally realised two things. If Daniel had indeed fallen for her at the time that she'd decided to leave then there was absolutely no way Daniel still considered her a love interest. Because she knew him well enough to know that he would've done something about it by now. Which brought her to dilemma number two.

She finally realised why she had never been able to really understand why she was always so angry with Daniel for the way he'd reacted to her leaving and how he'd behaved afterwards. But now she did and it wasn't a happy thought.

Betty Suarez was totally in love with Daniel Meade.

TBC