Archive of Our Own ^beta

The time had come.  

Betty had just finished hugging her family farewell, who stood in a line outside their little house in Queens with the fading green exterior. She had tears pouring down her face, she was devastated to be leaving her family, for how long she didn't know. She had no idea when the next time she would see them in the flesh would be. So she had taken extra care to have extra long tight snuggles with each of them.

Even Bobby and Austin, the newest members of her family were there to say goodbye.

But HE wasn't.

And although Betty would never admit it out loud, especially not now, the fact that he hadn't come to say goodbye, had refused to even acknowledge her or their close friendship since finding out she was leaving; Betty thought that hurt her heart more than saying goodbye to her own family in this moment. 

She could barely breathe, it hurt that much.

She noticed Hilda look around them and then give her a slight apologetic look. Betty merely shrugged her shoulders, and gave her a small sad smile in return.

Then she shook her head to try clear all of the thoughts swirling around inside, took a deep breath, and smiled at her family.

Her Papi stepped toward her one last time, wrapped his arms around her, kissed her forehead and said, "Te quiero, mija."

"Oh I love you all so much, I'll miss you all... I can't believe this is it." Betty said with a soft voice. 

London was such a long, long way away from home.

She heard a man clear his throat from behind her, and speak. 

"Miss Betty. It's time to go now. You don't want to miss your flight." James, the Meade family driver said. Claire Meade had sent the town car for her, she had said it was what you do for family. Betty was family. James had been standing next to the black town car patiently waiting while Betty had said her final farewell to her family. He had already stowed Betty's luggage in the trunk compartment. He now moved to open the back passenger door for Betty. He had always treated Betty like the special lady she was.

"Thank you James. Shall we?" She gave a slight nod, took one last look at her loved ones, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hands. As she turned and walked towards the car, the little white sticker on the rear car bumper caught her eye.

"I ❤️ QUEENS".

She giggled quietly, and slid into the backseat of the car.

James closed the door beside her, walked to the driver's door, and got in. Betty noticed he gave her one last look in the rear view mirror before he started the car's engine, and pulled away from the curb. 

Pulled away from her family, from her house in Queens, from all that she knew.

She had turned and watched out of the back window, waving with tears cascading down her face, she couldn't stop them and it seemed useless to even try, until she could no longer see her loved ones.

As the black car drove down the streets of Queens, heading to the airport, Betty thought of that sticker on the car bumper. Despite herself, she laughed. James heard her and gave her a small smile in the mirror. She smiled back at him, she had always liked the man. And he had always been kind to her.

She settled in the seat, watching the New York city lights pass by out the window, as her memories went back to that day. The day she and Daniel had put the "I ❤️ QUEENS" sticker on the Meade family town car...

* * * * * * * * * *

About a year and a half earlier, shortly after DJ and Alexis had left for France, late one Friday afternoon Daniel called Betty into his office.

"Got plans tonight Betty?" He looked at her with a smile as he reclined in his chair, putting his feet up on the edge of the desk in front of him. It had been a long and crazy week for them at Mode. Things were still settling after the debacles of Alexis' departure from Meade and the failed custody of DJ. Daniel had been pushing himself to deal with the fallout at work, he couldn't believe how everything in his life had just crashed and burned. Again. He hadn't really had a chance to take a breath or fall apart personally. Whether that was a good thing or not was yet to be seen. But he definitely felt raw and utterly exhausted. 

Betty looked at her best friend, she had been worried about him. But they hadn't had much of a chance to chat in the past few days unless it was work related. Still, she insisted on checking in with him a couple of times a day to ask if he was okay. 

He would just give her a small smile, and answer "I'm fine Betty", sigh and then continue on with whatever he had been doing. Or change the subject.

But now it was almost 5pm on Friday evening, the Mode floor was mostly empty and Daniel and Betty had almost finished all that needed to be done for the week. 

"I want to see Papi, Hilda and Justin. I've barely spoken to them all week. So I thought I'd catch the subway home for a visit when I leave here," Betty said as she flopped herself down in one of the orange chairs on the other side of Daniel's desk. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why all of the chairs at Mode had to be so uncomfortable. Well, except for her own swirly desk chair. And Daniel's fancy one that Alexis gave him the year before. The one that he said made him feel like God was cradling his butt. The office chair he was currently reclining in. "What about you Daniel?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "No plans here."

"What? No date? No hot model?" She asked somewhat joking.

"Ha. No Betty. No hot date, no hot model. No plans." He chuckled at her.

"Daniel, are you feeling okay?" She made a start to move towards him with her hand outstretched to check his temperature, but he swatted her arm away.

"I'm fine Betty! I'm fine! I just hadn't made any plans is all. It's been a long week. I'm tired." He flashed a crooked smile at her and laughed. 

She just looked at him, not quite believing what the man was saying.

"Well. You have have plans now," she said in her voice that he knew meant she wouldn't take no for an answer. "You can come home to Queens with me. You know they all love you, and Justin has been bugging me to bring you by recently. No idea what for, he probably wants to interrogate you about the whole going to jail for Alexis thing. You weren't in there long enough otherwise I'm sure he would have made a shirt for it or something!" She shook her head and laughed. 

He laughed too. "Okay Betty, you win. I'll come to Queens with you."

Betty let out a small squeal of excitement and bounced a little in her chair in response. She saw Daniel roll his eyes at her, but he was smiling so she knew he was just teasing her.

"Tell you what, how 'bout we go see your family and then go out for dinner after? My shout."

"Daniel it's always your shout because you won't let me pay." Betty chuckled.

"And I never will. So what do you say? Your pick."

She actually loved that he treated her when they went out. She would never admit it, because she firmly believed that she should pay her own way, that's how she had been brought up, and she really did her best to put her foot down and discourage any real splurging by Daniel, but occasionally it was nice to be taken care of by him. She still had very fond memories of the time he had paid for her family's travel to Mexico and he had told her to let him take care of her for a change. That moment had melted her heart. Of course, she was still often having to be the one looking after him, but it made her feel special when he stepped up for her. She loved that their friendship was symbiotic like that.

"Betty?"

She heard his voice again and realised that she must have zoned out for a moment, "sorry, I was thinking about something."

He raised his eyebrow in query at her but said nothing.

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Not important. Don't worry about it." She smiled. "Dinner sounds great Daniel. Thai?"

"Oh I could go for Thai. That works." He looked at his watch to check the time. "Are you ready to go now Betty, or do you still have something to do? I think I'm all done here." And as if to emphasise his point he reached forward to shut the lid of his laptop computer that had been sitting slightly to the side on his desk, and he moved the papers he had been looking at aside.

"You know what, I'm beat. I think I'm done for the day too. I'll just go shut down the computer and grab my stuff, okay?" Betty got up out of the chair and walked towards the door to Daniel's office. His voice stopped her before she crossed the threshhold though.

"Betty?"

"Yeah," she turned to look at him.

"Thanks." 

She smiled at him and walked out towards her own desk.

A minute later Daniel walked out of his office and closed the door behind him. He had his briefcase in his hand and was now in his long black coat. He walked over to stand next to Betty's desk and wait for her. 

"Do you want me to call the town car, or have you organised it already?" He asked Betty.

She laughed at him. "Daniel, I told you I'm going to catch the subway. You know it won't kill you to catch it with me, right?"

"I know that. But I just thought it might be nicer to go in the town car," he whined at her. "We always go in the town car usually."

"That's because you refuse to catch the subway. For a man born and bred in New York, you are utterly ridiculous sometimes."

He smirked at her, "but you know you love me." He used his playboy voice for that line, knowing that it would never work on Betty.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "Yes Daniel. I love you. God only knows why sometimes."

They both laughed as Betty put on her coat, Daniel helping her adjust it, and she picked up her bag.

Daniel crooked his elbow, held it out to Betty, and smiled. "Shall we?"

"We shall", and she hooked her arm through his and they walked to the elevator together.

"So, the town car?"

She just shook her head at him.

A little while later they arrived at the Suarez home in Queens, after Daniel first dropped his briefcase at home. As Betty let them both in the front door, she called out. 

"Papi! Hilda! Justin! Are you here?"

"In the kitchen, mija!" She heard her Papi call out in response.

As they both took off their coats and Betty hung them on the rack near the door, loud footsteps came bounding down the stairs. They looked up to see Justin. 

"Daniel!!!" Justin shrieked in excitement over Daniel's presence in the Suarez home. "What are you doing here? I have so much I wanted to ask you! Firstly, what was it like in jail when you were accused of pushing Christina down the stairs at Mode? I would have made a shirt for it, to gain social awareness for you to be freed, but by the time Aunt Betty told me about it, you were already out!" He said all of this in one long high-pitched rant without taking a breath. About half-way through his diatribe Daniel had glanced at Betty and she just raised her eyebrows and shrugged at him, as if to say, "see?"

Daniel laughed before answering, "Hey Justin! Yeah, my mom says it's a Meade family thing. We all end up in jail at some point."

Betty snorted at his reply and left them to go find her Dad in the kitchen. As she walked away she could hear Justin talking a million miles an hour at Daniel. It was good for Daniel to get some attention, she thought. She knew he was missing DJ terribly, even though he wouldn't say anything. 

As she entered the kitchen she found her father at the stove, stirring something in one of the big pots. He had a frilly white apron around his waist, and was wearing his glasses and humming to himself as he moved around the kitchen. It was such a comforting sight to Betty, her dad was in his happy place when he was cooking. Seeing this brought back countless memories to Betty of the same throughout her life. She smiled softly.

"Mija! Oh it's so good to have you home!" He had caught sight of Betty standing just in the kitchen door and moved around towards her, his arms open wide and wrapped her in a loving hug. "Oh it feels likes it's been far too long since I've seen you!"

"Papi!" Her cheeks were rosy red. She knew he was right. It had been almost a week since she had seen him last. To others that may not seem like a very long time, but for the Suarez family who essentially lived in each other's pockets, it felt like forever. She had however only spoken to him on the phone that morning when she had made plans to come home. But now that she had her own apartment in the city, she knew she didn't get out to Queens as often as she should.

"I've brought Daniel home with me, he needs a bit of attention and care at the moment," she said quietly to her Papi. 

He looked at her and gave her a smile in return. "Oh mija, you are a very good friend to that man."

This made Betty blush even more. She loved being Daniel's friend. She knew he needed her.

"Where's Hilda, Papi?" Betty asked him.

"I thought she was in the salon doing Mrs Moreno's hair? But she might have left already? If she isn't there, maybe check upstairs?"

Betty moved towards the direction of Hilda's salon in the house, but was stopped by Ignacio's voice.

"Betty, are you and Daniel staying for dinner, or do you have other plans?"

"That depends Papi. What are you cooking?" She teased back.

"Pozole soup with pork in it. There's tortillas as well. Do you think Daniel will like that?" 

"Hmmm, no wonder it smells so good in here! I'll ask him. If it's not too spicy, he should be okay with it. He still can't handle spicy food very well." She shook her head laughing while remembering all of the many times she had tried to get Daniel to broaden his tastebuds. Often failing miserably. "I'll just go ask if he wants to stay. We did talk about going out for Thai food, but it would be nice eating with all of you. I miss being here sometimes."

"I miss you being here all the time mija. But I know, you're a big girl, out in the world on your own... just remember to come home every once in a while, hey?" Betty could see he had tears in his eyes, but didn't acknowledge them. She didn't want to make her Papi cry.

"Of course, Papi. I'll always come home to you all." She came back to him and gave him a quick hug before leaving the room again. She found Hilda cleaning up in the salon after her last client for the week. Hilda had her earplugs in listening to some music, so that was why she hadn't heard Betty and Daniel come in to the house. When Hilda turned and saw Betty, she jumped a little and let out a small yell.

"BETTY! You scared me! How long have you been standing there for?"

"Only a moment. Hi Hilda." She thought it was quite funny actually.

"What are you doing here? Run out of food in your apartment so decided to come home for dinner huh?" Hilda ribbed good-naturedly. 

"Ha ha Hilda. No, I haven't run out of food. I was just missing you all so thought I'd come home for a visit. I brought Daniel with me too, he needs some company after all that's been going on for him lately."

"Ah yeah. Poor guy. He must be pretty torn up about DJ. But Alexis pushing Christina down the stairs? I mean, who does that?!"

"Shhh Hilda!!! Please don't say that too loudly! Not in front of Daniel! Please!" Betty had been desperately trying to protect Daniel from what everyone else had been saying about the whole situation ever since it happened. And people were not being nice about it all. She knew Hilda didn't mean anything, but nevertheless she didn't want Daniel feeling uncomfortable around them.

"Alright, alright Betty! Sheesh! I won't say anything while he's here. But his family is crazy! I mean, I like Claire, and Alexis was okay, but rich people be crazy." She rolled her eyes and kept sweeping the floor.

"Thanks Hilda. Really." Betty smiled at her, and Hilda smiled back. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No mami, I've got it. You go keep Daniel company, make sure Justin isn't chewing his ear off."

Betty moved back towards the front of the house, where she found Justin and Daniel in the living room. Daniel was sitting on one end of the couch, while Justin was curled up facing him on the other end of the couch. As Hilda had predicted, Justin seemed to be chatting at Daniel, rather than to Daniel, but Daniel was smiling and didn't seem to mind. As she walked back in the room she overheard Justin finish saying something about some play he was reading at school.

Daniel looked up and caught Betty's eyes, and she smiled at him. 

"Papi wants to know if we want to stay and have dinner here or if we have other plans? I told him we had talked about going out, but that I'd let you choose. I will warn you though, the soup he has made is very tasty but sometimes he goes a bit crazy with the spices, so you may not be able to handle it if it's too much."

Daniel laughed. "We can stay if you like, I don't mind. I love being here, you know that."

Justin squealed in excitement. 

"Maybe we can go out for icecream later Betty? Go for a walk or something?"

It was subtle, but Betty picked up the undertone that said Daniel wasn't ready to go home to an empty loft. Spending time with Justin while good for him had probably also reminded him that DJ wouldn't be waiting for Daniel when he got home. She chose not to say anything though, simply filed it away in her mind.

"Icecream sounds perfect."

"Can I come for icecream too AB?" Justin piped up.

"Not tonight kiddo. Another time though, okay?"

"Awww okay AB." Justin stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout and crossed his arms. 

Ignacio came into the room at that point, wiping his hands on a dish towel. "Betty, Daniel, are you eating with us here?"

"We would love to stay here Mr Suarez, thanks for inviting us." Daniel smiled at the elder man who returned the smile. 

Ignacio didn't understand all of the ups and downs of the Meade life, in fact most of it quite frankly baffled him, but he could see that Daniel needed the company around him. And he loved being able to take the younger man in under his wing and care for him. Impart his wisdom, and all that kind of stuff. He knew Daniel hadn't had a good relationship with his own father, and Ignacio felt somewhat honoured that Daniel trusted him enough to ask for advice on occasion. 

"Of course Daniel, you're always welcome here mijo."

Daniel's face lit up at the term of affection.

"Justin, can you please set the table, dinner is almost ready."

"Okay Grandpa!" He bounced off the couch and followed Ignacio back into the kitchen.

Betty turned to look at Daniel. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I will be. Thanks for looking out for me Betty."

"Of course Daniel! What are best friends for?" She smiled at him and then pulled him up from the couch to stand. She stepped closer to him and pulled him into a hug. The sudden gesture took Daniel by surprise, but he quickly wrapped his arms around Betty and held her tightly.

"You looked like you needed a hug," she said quietly into his ear.

He didn't answer her but she heard his breath catch in his throat and there was moisture on the top of her head where Daniel's face was. She assumed it may have been tears. She just continued to embrace him for a little longer, before pulling back and giving him a soft smile. 

"We'll get through this," she spoke quietly to him. "Together." She looked at him pointedly.

"Together," he echoed softly.

"Good. Now, let's go see if dinner is ready yet?" And she took him by the hand and led him towards the dining room, he willingly followed.

The next hour or so passed by with them all laughing, talking and joking over dinner. Betty was surprised that Daniel enjoyed the soup her Papi had made, admittedly it wasn't as spicy as he usually made it, but it still had quite a kick to it. But he ate all that Ignacio had given him and even requested a second serving. It made Betty happy to know that Daniel was enjoying himself. 

After they had all eaten and Daniel helped Betty with the dishes, 'it was the least they could do' he had told Ignacio, Daniel turned to Betty with a big smile on his face.

"Thank you for bringing me here Betty. I think I needed to be surrounded by a loving family right now."

"Oh Daniel, your family loves you too. But I get it. And I'm happy that you love my family too. They adore you. In their own ways." She rolled her eyes.

"They really do, don't they?" They both burst out laughing.

"Right. So, shall we go in search of icecream like I promised you?"

"Yes. Icecream is always a great idea."

After they had said goodnight and goodbye to Ignacio, Hilda and Justin who were all watching one of Papi's telenovela's in the living room, they both put on their coats and walked outside.

"Betty. You're going to make me walk through Queens at night aren't you? Or can I please call the town car to take us back into the city for icecream?" He rolled his eyes at her. He knew what she was going to say, but he didn't have to like it.

"Daniel. Queens isn't that scary. I promise. We can walk. You will be fine. Quit pouting Meade." She poked her tongue out at him and walked away from him.

"Okay, geez! Wait Betty! I'm coming, I'm coming." He huffed and caught up to her fairly easily, and they fell into a comfortable stride beside one another. 

"Daniel?"

"Yeah Betty?"

"Do you remember the first time you came to visit me in Queens?"

"Yeah, why?" Of course he remembered. That was simultaneously one of the worst and best days of his life. The worst because of what he had done to Betty, and that horrendous photo shoot. The best because she had forgiven him when he apologised, and he honestly didn't know how he would cope without her as his best friend now.

"You looked so out of place that night, here in Queens. In your fancy town car. I wondered what the neighbours had thought of this fancy Manhattan guy showing up on our doorstep—" 

"I was so worried we were going to get jacked in the town car," he interrupted.

She shot him a glare. "You are such a snob sometimes!"

"Hey, I'm getting better!" He protested.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes affectionately at him, and continued with what she had been saying. "When he saw you come to our door, Walter definitely wasn't impressed. Or happy. I don't think he ever forgave me really for choosing to go back to Mode. And to you. He would always give me a hard time for thinking I was better than him or something crazy like that."

"Well he was an idiot Betty. Anyone could see that." He smirked.

"Maybe true. But he was right, you know."

"How so?"

"Well, here I was a simple Queens girl with big dreams and I chose to leave Queens behind to work in the city. And my boss was a hot millionaire who had fancy town cars and dates hot models —"

Daniel quirked his eyebrow up at this and smirked, but said nothing.

"Yeah yeah, you heard me. Shut up." Betty laughed. "But I did start to think that I was better than life here in Queens. I didn't have to just settle for what Hilda has, or what the other girls I went to school and college with had. I could actually work hard and meet other people and have new experiences and do what I wanted to do. I didn't have to just sit at home on my own with only dreams and nothing to show for them."

She paused for a moment. She turned her head slightly to look intently at him to say this next part.

"I have you to thank for that, Daniel." 

"Me?" Daniel looked at her, eyes wide.

"Yes you. Of course, you. If you hadn't come back for me that day, rocked up in your town car and ten thousand dollar suit, me storming out of that photo shoot may have been the last time I ever worked in the magazine business. Who knows what might have happened."

"But Betty, you might have found a different way in. You never know. I've always known you were destined for bigger things, you would have made it happen somehow. I know you." Daniel was trying his best to be reassuring to Betty. He knew how important her dreams were. He still had guilt about that day, even though he knew Betty had completely forgiven him for it when he apologised. But he also wasn't very good at taking a genuine compliment. 

She stopped him. "No Daniel. It's because of you. Not only for the fact that I have my job as your assistant, but you've always encouraged me and given me so many opportunities to do much more than just 'assist'. And also, you're my friend. One of my best friends. And that means so much to me, Daniel. So thank you." She smiled at him. "Please just take the compliment, okay?"

Daniel had ducked his head a little and was scratching the back of his neck, like he did when he was embarrassed. As they passed under a streetlight, she could see his cheeks were a slight pink colour too.

Awwww, she thought. She didn't say anything more, but just kept walking on silently.

"Well, thank you." Daniel said after a moment and smiled at her, the look in his eyes was gentle. 

"However," he piped up, "you are still very much a Queens girl at heart Betty. You may be able to take the girl out of Queens, but you can't take Queens out of the girl." He laughed at his own joke. He was such a dork sometimes. 

Betty joined his laughter with her own as they kept walking.

A few minutes later, they had arrived.

"What is this place Betty?" Daniel was looking at the shop front. "It looks great!"

"Funny story actually." She had a note of laughter in her voice.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Daniel asked curiously. 

"Remember Vincent Bianchi? The photographer?"

"Of course I do. Why?"

"Do you remember how I told you I used to know his family when I was a teenager? This is their icecream shop. 'Astoria Lemon Ice'. I practically lived here during the summers when I was a teen."

"Really? This place?"

"Yeah. It's pretty fancy for Queens, but they used to have really yummy gelato. Wanna find out if they still do?"

"Ha. Why not. Lead the way Suarez." He shrugged and opened the door for Betty, stepping through behind her. As the door had opened and closed a little bell jingled above their heads.

The floor was a parquetry of black and white tiles, there was a high bench with pastel coloured stools beside it lining one wall and along the front windows. There were also a few small round tables scattered in the rest of the room, with smaller pastel stools matching the ones at the benches at each table. The glass cabinets encasing the icecream were on one side of the sales counter, and Daniel could see multiple colours and types of gelato and sorbet swirled in their tubs in there. On the other end of that bench sat a large red Italian coffee machine, stacked high with coffee cups and mugs, and beside the coffee machine sat an old style cash register. Behind there along the back wall were large mirrors, and a black board with the menu written on it. Daniel could see that along with all the different types of coffee and hot drinks, and icecream, they also made waffles. There was also a large cold drinks fridge on the back wall. The place had almost an old-world charm to it.

"This place is pretty cool Betty." Daniel was impressed.

He had moved over to the other side wall, and was looking at the various photographs hanging on the wall. Looking at the more artistic ones, he noted that they had the style of Bianchi's photography, and considering this was his family's shop, he assumed they must have been Vincent's pieces. They were interspersed with a few candid photos with various groups of people, one he thought must have been the Bianchi family as the older gentleman in the photo looked like an older version of Vincent. And there was a young man who looked like a younger Vincent. Daniel chuckled at the goofy smile Vincent had on his face in the photo.

"What?" Betty came over to stand beside Daniel and looked at some of the photos hanging there.

Daniel pointed to the photo, "look it's a young Vincent."

Betty giggled. Then something caught her eye in another photo, so she moved closer to take a look. 

"Oh wow," she breathed out. It was almost quiet enough that Daniel didn't hear her.

"Hmm?"

"I remember that day..." She whispered somewhat in awe.

Daniel moved closer to see what she was looking at. He did a double-take when he realised that he was looking at a photo of her and Hilda, obviously taken quite a few years ago as between them sat a much younger Justin. Justin wore a sparkly rainbow shirt, jeans and a crown on his head. Betty and Hilda were both smiling, Hilda looked somewhat the same, just younger; but Betty didn't have braces and her teeth were a bit unruly, like her hair, although Daniel would still recognise that smile anywhere. 

"Awww look at you!" He turned to smile at her, but saw that she was a million miles away, and there were tears brimming in her eyes. He reached out and took her hand in his, giving it a small squeeze to bring her back to him. "Hey, where were you? You okay?" He asked her gently.

When she spoke it was almost a whisper, as though she was remembering what she had long since forgotten. "I didn't know they had this photo hanging here. I remember Vincent taking it, he was this young guy, out of art school and trying to make a name for himself. None of us thought much of him taking photos that day, his Dad wanted some happy face pictures to hang here to make it seem more friendly or something. I don't know. Anyway, I remember he came over to us and asked to take our photo. He was also trying to flirt with Hilda, but she didn't even notice that day... we weren't really in the space to notice very much at all..."

Her voice trailed off for a moment, but Daniel just let her be. She took a deep breath and continued. 

"It was Justin's birthday that day. That's why he was wearing the crown. And the sparkly rainbow shirt had been a gift from my Mami. She told him that he 'made everything sparkle, and that he should be who he was because there was no one else like him'. It was only a couple of weeks before she died. We had all been at the hospital earlier that day to be together as a family, but Hilda wanted to take Justin somewhere fun so that he would at least have a happy memory about his birthday that wasn't in the hospital. Papi stayed with Mami while we went to get icecream. Hilda and I were miserable. But we were doing our best to be happy for Justin's sake."

Daniel looked closer at the photo, and he noticed that in both Hilda and Betty's eyes there was a sadness which betrayed the smiles on their faces. 

"When we told Vincent it was Justin's birthday, he said that the icecream was on the house for us. I wondered if he knew what was happening with Mami, it seemed everybody in the neighbourhood knew. Which meant wherever we would go we were always stopped and asked about her, and given those looks. It was okay, but sometimes I know I wanted to escape from it constantly being around me. Anyway, I think that was the last time that we were here. Life after that was... well, anyway. It's been a long time."

Daniel had been unconsciously rubbing his thumb in small circles on the back of Betty's hand while he held it. He hadn't even noticed he was doing it until she looked down at their joined hands and smiled. 

Their moment was interrupted by a man's voice behind them.

"Oh hello! So sorry I didn't hear the bell when you came in so I didn't know there was someone here!" Betty and Daniel turned around to find an older gentleman standing behind the counter, they assumed he must have been in the back before. 

"Mr Bianchi! It's Betty Suarez," she pointed to herself. "How are you? It's so nice to see you!" 

The man bustled out from behind the counter and towards Betty taking her into a big fatherly hug. "Oh Betty! Look how you've grown up! Oh it's so good to see you! How are your family? How's your Papi? I saw him a few months ago, he said you were working at some big shot fancy magazine or something these days? He was so proud of you!"

Betty was blushing red at the attention. Daniel just stood there smiling at both her and the older man. 

"My family are good, Papi is good. He still loves cooking and watching his telenovela's. Thanks for asking." 

All three of them laughed at Betty's description of her father. 

"I'm working for Meade Publications, at Mode magazine these days. Vincent actually came and did some photography work for us a couple of years ago. He did the Christmas spread, and a few other bits and pieces."

"Ah yes, I remember he told me about the Christmas photos. Said there was some giant mix up and plans had to change last minute or something." Betty and Daniel looked at each other. "Said some girl from Queens had talked him into the shoot for her boss — was that you?" 

Betty looked to Daniel before nodding her head in answer. "Yeah, that was me." She smiled. "And this is my boss Daniel Meade," she gestured at Daniel. 

Daniel put out his hand to shake Mr Bianchi's, who gripped it and shook it rather vigorously.

"Oh Daniel, what a pleasure to meet you! Vinnie said you were a great guy, much more down to earth than your brother. I remember him ranting about it all years ago! But he said you were much better." The older man chuckled.

Daniel taken back by the bluntness of the man in front of him laughed. "Nice to meet you too sir. Vincent did a fantastic job. I admire his style. He's one of the best. That's why we were so lucky that Betty was able to talk him into working for us." He smiled at Betty, who was slightly blushing.

"Ah yes, the Suarez women have always had a way with people!" Mr Bianchi winked at Betty. "So what shall I get you two tonight? Gelato? Coffee?" 

"I've been telling Daniel about your yummy icecream. I know I haven't been here in a long time, but I was hoping it was still just as delicious," Betty answered the man.

"Even better." Mr Bianchi winked at her once more then turned and walked back behind the counter to serve the icecream.

As Daniel and Betty deliberated over the choices, Mr Bianchi gave them several tasting spoons, each seemingly yummier than the last. Finally Betty settled on the chocolate fudge gelato, and Daniel opted for rum & raisin. Daniel paid, as he always did, giving extra for a tip to the larger-than-life Italian man, and they sat down at the bench that lined the front windows.

"You do realise that rum & raisin doesn't actually contain any alcohol, don't you?" Betty teased Daniel as she leaned over to have a lick of his icecream.

"Yes Miss Suarez. I know that." He poked his tongue out at her. "Of course you would go for the chocolate. All those flavours, and you still choose chocolate," he teased her back.

"Well, why not? It is the best after all." She smirked.

They sat there in companionable silence eating their icecreams, just watching the world go by out the window in front of them.

At one point, Betty pulled out her phone and got Daniel to pose beside her for a photo. 

"One day this can be another happy memory at this place," she told him. He just smiled at her.

After they finished their icecreams, and said goodbye to Mr Bianchi, they left the icecream parlour, and started to walk down the Queens street. As they walked past a newsagent that was still open, something just inside the door caught Daniel's eye.

"Hang on a sec, Betty. I'll be right back!" Daniel disappeared into the little store. Betty had no idea what the man was doing, but stopped and waited at the door for him. He came back out a minute later with a wide mischievous grin on his face.

"Daniel Meade, what did you do?" She asked him, her hands on her hips, mock glaring at him.

He just laughed and pulled out a sticker from the brown paper bag he was holding in his hands and showed it to her.

It was a white rectangular souvenir sticker, that had written on it in bold black writing with a red heart, "I ❤️ QUEENS" (I love Queens). The type of sticker that you stuck on a car or a suitcase. It was such a gaudy sticker that Betty laughed.

"My god Daniel, why on earth did you buy that? What are you going to do with it?"

"It made me think of you Betty!" He laughed. "I don't know, maybe you can put it on your desk at Mode. With all your other souvenirs and your pink bunny!"

"No way! Could you imagine the teasing from Marc and Amanda if I did that? Not happening." She shook her head and laughed. "You bought it, you need to come up with a better plan than that."

"Fine Betty. I'll think of something else." He pouted much in the same way Justin had earlier by sticking his bottom lip out.

"Oh stop it," she laughed at him. "Come on, let's keep walking."

Daniel put the paper bag in his coat pocket and then put his arm around Betty's shoulder as they continued to walk.

"Hey, do you want to go to the Brooklyn Bridge? We haven't been back there in a while, go look at the city lights and forget all our troubles?" Daniel asked her.

"Sure."

Daniel hailed a cab for them, and they went to their bridge. They both had good memories of the first night they both stood on the bridge together, shortly after everything with Sofia. And now here they were again, and so much had happened and changed in their lives since then.

"You know, no matter what happens in life, and how much it changes, I love that I can come here and the city lights will still sparkle and I'm reminded that the world is a bigger magical place, and me and my troubles are only a small part of it," Betty mused as they both leaned against the railing looking at the lights.

Betty noticed that Daniel had been silent next to her. Too silent. She turned to him and asked, "you okay?"

"Huh," he uttered.

Betty just waited.

"The last time we were here together was after Sofia... I thought my life had fallen apart then. It was only with your help Betty I was able to piece it back together again. We talked about Alex that night and how much I missed him. And I remember you talked about Henry too."

Betty remembered that. Oh how stupid she felt about it all now.

Daniel must have known what she was thinking because he turned to her and said, "no it's not that. That's not why I brought him up... I was just thinking, since that night, so much has changed. For both of us. You had everything that happened with Henry and Gio. And your Dad's immigration issues, and Hilda's fiancé. And you've been on your trip to the Grand Canyon, and got your own apartment. And even work changed with us being at Player, and then we got back Mode... And in my life, Alexis came back, Dad and then Mom both ended up in jail, I got hurt in the car accident, Dad died, Mom got cleared of the murder charges, then Renee - and oh God - the fire—" he looked at her with so much emotion in his eyes. "I am so, so sorry still for all of that."

Betty cut him off, "it's okay, it's over now." It also wasn't the point of what he was saying, so she let it go for the moment. She reached out to squeeze his hand, she could see that the tears had begun brimming in his eyes while he had been saying all of this to her. "Keep going."

He took a deep breath. 

"After that, I met DJ and was thrown into a life of fatherhood whether I wanted it or not, and my life changed so much..." He stopped for a moment. "God I miss him so much I can't breathe sometimes. I can't believe that I only had him for such a short time, but it feels like he was always a part of my life, you know? And now he isn't here anymore." 

And that was when Daniel broke. 

Betty knew that he still had more he had wanted to say, but for now he couldn't. Instead he had started to cry.

Betty reached out and drew her best friend into a warm embrace, and there they stood together. Betty's heart hurt for the man in her arms. She didn't understand how such a kind and gentle hearted man could have to experience so much hurt and pain. She wished she could take it all away for him. But she knew she couldn't. And so she simply held him.

After a couple of minutes, Daniel's sobs had calmed and his breathing had gotten a little easier. Betty drew back slightly to look into his eyes.

"It will be okay. I promise. I don't know how, but it will be," she said gently to him. "We'll get through it. Together." She reiterated what she had told him earlier.

That was their friendship though. They got through things together. They were better together than they were apart. And they both knew it. It was a great comfort in moments like these to them both.

He nodded and breathed deeply. "Okay."

Daniel pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes and his face. Then he took one of Betty's hands in his own and they both turned back to lean against the bridge railing and watch the city lights again.

Betty thought about what Daniel had said. Life really had changed so much since they were last in that same spot on the bridge. Some good things, some bad. She honestly wondered what would come next for them both. She hoped whatever it was, they would indeed face it together like they had promised.

They stood there for a while just taking in the magic of the twinkling lights before them, lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly Daniel piped up excitedly. "Oh! I know what we can do with the souvenir sticker! Put it on the Meade town car!"

Betty scoffed at him, "what?! Are you crazy?"

He looked at his watch. "If we hurry the car should still be at Meade Publications. I remember Mom said there was some board meeting there tonight that would probably run late. Thank God I wasn't needed for it, those things bore me to death! I'd probably have fallen asleep."

"What, no Daniel, we can't do that!" Betty thought maybe Daniel had finally snapped and gone crazy.

"Sure we can. And look at it this way, at least next time we drive to Queens the car will fit right in. Won't be a too-fancy town car anymore!" He laughed. "Much safer too, it won't be a target for crime if they think it belongs in Queens!" He poked his tongue out at Betty, who just rolled her eyes at him.

"Snob."

"You love me," he retorted back. 

The next thing Betty knew, they were in another cab heading back into the city towards the office. When they got to the building, Daniel led Betty in through the side entrance and then they caught the elevator down to the parking garage. Both giggling, they headed towards where the Meade town car usually parked, and sure enough, there it was sitting there. And even better luck was that James, the driver, was not in the driver's seat of the car in that moment.

Daniel led Betty closer to the car and pulled the "I ❤️ QUEENS" sticker out of the paper bag.

"Quickly. Here Betty, you put the sticker on the car", he tried to give it to her.

"What? No way! Your mother will kill me if I do!"

"No she won't Betty. She loves you. More than she loves me most days!" He laughed, while trying to push the sticker into her hands.

"No, you put it on!" She pushed his hands away from her own.

"If I do it, James will kill me. And then tell my mother, and she'll kill me again. You do it. All you have to do is flash your big smile at James and he'll forgive you!"

They were both laughing uncontrollably at this point.

Betty shook her head swatting Daniel's hand with the sticker away again. "Uh uh, no way Meade. You bought the sticker, you put it on. It's your family's car, not mine." 

He huffed at her. "Fine. But I'm blaming you if I get in trouble for it."

"It's a good thing Alexis isn't around anymore, she would kill us both without blinking an eye!" Betty joked.

"Ugh! She would too!" He groaned loudly.

She laughed at him as he looked around him like he was trying to be a spy, then bent over and plastered the sticker on the car's rear bumper. As he was smoothing it out as quickly as he could Betty jumped on hearing footsteps behind them, fearing it was James the driver.

"There. All done. Now we can drive and park safely in Queens." Daniel said proudly, as he grabbed her hand and they ran back towards the elevator to leave the building. Their laughter could be heard behind them.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next day when James noticed the "I ❤️ QUEENS" sticker stuck on the car he just shook his head in amusement. He knew there must be a story behind it. He also knew that it could have only been Daniel or Betty who had placed it there. His bet was on Daniel. But he said nothing to either of them about it. Nor did he say anything to Claire Meade. He didn't mind the sticker, it would stay there now. He was rather fond of the sweet colourful girl from Queens.

* * * * * * * * * *

And now here Betty sat in the back of the town car with their sticker, leaving Queens and all that she knew behind her. Her life changing yet again. On her way to the airport, to London. On her own. Without Daniel.

She didn't know what she expected really. She knew Daniel didn't cope well with change, neither of them did really, and he wasn't good at saying goodbye. But she had hoped. Right up until the town car arrived, she had thought that he might come to her. She had even had the crazy thought that he might have been in the back of the town car waiting to take her to the airport. But when the car came, the backseat had been empty.

Betty was heartbroken beyond belief that her best friend had chosen not to say goodbye. The man she had spent most of the past four years with, experiencing the rollercoaster of life with, wasn't there for her now. He wasn't beside her when she needed him most.

She felt so incredibly alone.

She had believed that they had spent those years building an unbreakable bond of friendship. They were such integral parts of each other's lives and each other's family, she almost didn't know who she was outside of him some days. And she knew, or at least she thought, he felt the same. But now their friendship was broken, she was broken, and she knew it was her fault. If she hadn't chosen to take the job in London and leave, to leave him, then things wouldn't be this way. They could have still been happy, couldn't they?

The lights outside the car window had once again gone blurry as fresh tears slipped down Betty's face. Her mind flitted back to what Claire had said to her about Daniel at her farewell party.

"I have a theory."

She had initially brushed Claire's words aside at the time, of course Daniel didn't feel that way about Betty. Betty knew Daniel loved her, but it definitely wasn't in the way Claire was implying. If he did, surely he would have told Betty, wouldn't he? But he hadn't said a word. Not even goodbye.

It didn't matter now anyway.

Betty took a deep ragged breath to try to calm herself down a little. Her heart hurt so much. Her chest felt so tight and she felt like she was barely able to breathe. And the tears just wouldn't stop.

And as she sat there, drowning in her own mini flood of salty tears she knew.

She just knew.

It was like the switch had been flipped, and all of a sudden there was light.

Betty was in love with Daniel.

She was in soul crushing, heart racing, spirit lifting love with the man.

And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

She was leaving the country, leaving him behind. And he would never know how she felt.

And that broke her completely. It shattered her heart, and she knew she would never be able to repair it.

This was worse than when Henry left. Worse than Matt. In fact it felt to her like when her Mami had died, or her Papi had the heart attack and they didn't know if he would live or not.

God, if Daniel felt even a portion for her of how Betty felt for him in this moment, she could almost understand why he had been the way he was the past couple of weeks. She wondered if this was how he felt when he had found out she was leaving. Why he had almost burnt down his office and why he told her he couldn't live without her, and why there were tears in his eyes when he finally signed her release form. She had wanted so badly to talk to him that day, to reach out and hug him or hold his hand or just touch him for a moment, but he had pulled away from her, turned and walked out the door, and hadn't seen or spoken to her again.

And now she was here.

Alone.

Crying.

She was eventually broken out of her reverie by James's voice, "Excuse me, Miss Betty, we will be at the airport shortly."

"Hmm? Sorry. Sure, okay..." Her voice was tiny, she barely recognised it as her own.

"Are you okay Miss Betty?" He asked her kindly.

She took a deep breath before answering. "No... but I will be. Thank you for caring." She smiled at his reflection in the mirror. She could see the concern for her in his eyes, which touched her.

"Miss Betty, if I may... You're an amazing young lady. Mrs Meade told me that you're going to London to run a magazine. Which I know you've always wanted to do." She remembered that she had told him that within the first week of her working for Daniel at Mode. He had spoken to her about her dreams and plans many times over the years, he had always taken an interest in what she said. "I know I don't know as much about the magazine business as you or the Meade's, but I know that you'll be utterly fantastic. I know you'll reach your dreams, and you'll change the world for the better even more than you already have."

"Awww thank you James. That's all so kind of you to say." She was smiling at him now.

"I have a brother who lives in London. I told him about you, and that you'll be there without any family or friends around. I know you don't know him, but if you ever need anything, or help, or anything at all, he said for you to call him. He said he would look out for you on behalf of us here. He's a good, kind man. I'll give you his number in a minute when I'm not driving. Okay?"

Betty nodded.

"Speaking of, here we are." James drove the town car past a couple of cars stopped near the doors for the airport departures terminal, and pulled up to the curb on one side. "I'll just get your bags out."

As James emptied the trunk, Betty took a moment to straighten herself out, wipe her face one last time and blow her nose. She gave her glasses a little wipe to get rid of the moisture from all her crying, put them back on her face, took one last deep breath, then slid out of the backseat of the car when James opened the door for her. She was thankful he had given her a second to herself before she had to face the rest of the world and do what she needed to.

She turned to James, "thank you. For everything. And for always being so kind to me. It's been lovely getting to know you over the past few years." She reached out to give him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

The older man ducked his head slightly and blushed. "Gee, thanks Miss Betty. You too... you take care of yourself now, okay? Here's my brother's number," he handed her a business card which she tucked away in her pocket to deal with later. "You need anything at all, you call him."

She smiled at him, one of her bright smiles. "I will. Thank you." She paused a moment, "please take care of the Meade's for me James? They're very special to me."

The man gave her a smile as he turned to leave, "Don't you worry Miss Betty. I'll take care of them."

As Betty picked up her handbag and started to push the luggage trolley with her bags on it towards the terminal doors, she took one last look around her. She stopped for a moment, closed her eyes, and uttered her now infamous mantra, albeit with a little twist.

"Betty Suarez, you are a beautiful, intelligent, confident woman, and you are destined for much bigger things."

And with that, she took a breath, opened her eyes, and walked inside the airport terminal.

* * * * * * * * * *

Half an hour later, Betty had checked in her bags, done all of the pre-flight boarding requirements and perused one of the gift shops, she had been looking for a little souvenir to take with her to remind her of home. One she could maybe put on her new desk at work. All of the other mementos that had been on her desk at Mode were staying in Queens, she had decided she needed a new start in London. She had packed a photo frame that included both a family photo and a photo of her and Daniel dancing at Hilda's wedding to place on her desk, but that was it. Now she just wanted something small that honoured her home and life in New York. She ended up finding a small key chain with a New York City skyline charm hanging on it. She liked that it was simple but instantly recognisable. And it was small enough that it would probably hang easily on the side of the picture frame. 

On the way towards the departure gate, she stopped to buy herself a chamomile tea and a blueberry danish. She needed the tea to calm her now, and she knew she would be hungry in a little while. She could eat the danish on the plane. 

This is it, this is real. There's no going back now, she thought to herself. I can do this.

She was relieved that her family weren't here now, she knew she needed to do this part without them. 

She hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings very well as she walked closer to the gate, when she was suddenly stopped by a man standing in front of her.

"Betty." The man's voice said.

Her breath caught in her throat and her heart stopped. She knew that voice. 

She looked up, and into those blue eyes she knew so well.

He was here. He had come.

She gasped.

"Oh my god. Daniel! What? Why? What are you doing here?"

She threw her arms around him. She couldn't believe he was here. She had thought she wouldn't get to say goodbye. But now he was here, and she didn't want to ever let him go. She didn't even know if she would be able to now that he had also put his arms around her.

He was holding her in a tight embrace. Betty felt one of his tears fall on her shoulder as they stood together. He had buried his face in her hair. Betty loved how that felt.

"Betty." He spoke softly in her ear after a few moments of silence between them. His voice was low, and broke a little. She could hear that he was upset.

"Betty. I'm so sorry I never said goodbye. You deserved so much more from me." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Betty, I meant it when I said I couldn't live without you. But I didn't tell you what it meant for me."

"What does it mean Daniel?" She asked him quietly.

He pulled back from her a little so she could see his face, but his arms were still around her. He gave her a gentle smile, and raised his hand and softly caressed her cheek. Betty closed her eyes a moment at the gentle touch. Before she could open them again, she felt his lips softly on her own.

Betty's breath hitched a little as she realised what was happening in that moment. Daniel still had one hand caressing her cheek while his other hand had now moved from around her waist up to the back of her neck, under her hair and gently tipped her head back to bring her face closer to his own, drawing her in to deepen the kiss. 

The kiss that he was giving Betty. 

His kiss was deliberate and full of love and passion. While the kiss had initially taken Betty by surprise, it only took a couple of moments for her to respond in kind to him, and they spent the next minute or so exploring each other's lips and mouths with their own. Betty's hands also seemed to take on a life of their own, one of her hands was in Daniel's hair, her other firmly planted on his chest over his heart. She could feel his heart beating.

The rest of the world simply ceased to be outside of the two of them in this moment.

For Betty it was all she imagined a first kiss should be, and she could feel a joy bubbling up inside of her. And while she had hoped deep, deep down that Daniel might actually feel about her the same way she did about him, it wasn't until this very moment that she thought just maybe she stood a chance of her hope coming true. 

As they both parted to catch their breath, she noticed that Daniel's cheeks had a rosy hue to them. And his hair was now more tousled than it had been before. But his eyes, oh my, they were dazzlingly radiant. She adored his eyes. She always had. And now they shone for her.

He smiled at her.

"I love you Betty. I'm in love with you. I couldn't let you get on that plane without you knowing how I felt about you."

She was stunned. Yes, that was the word for it. Stunned. Daniel Meade was in love with her. Betty Suarez.

Before she could say anything in response, he continued.

"I love you Betty. I should have told you sooner. I've known for a while, I just thought I had more time." He shook his head a little and scratched his temple lightly, like he did so often when he was embarrassed or nervous. His cheeks were a little red.

He stopped and looked directly in Betty's eyes, as though he was searching for something. 

Her eyes were wide watching Daniel, her heart was still racing from the kiss, but slowly a smile spread across her face.

"Really? You, you love me? Me, Betty Suarez?"

"Yes Betty Suarez," oh how she loved the way her name sounded when Daniel said it, "I, Daniel Meade, love you. So much. I have loved you for such a long time. You have no idea."

"Wow."

"I'm not expecting you to say it straight back to me. At all. I realise this is my grand romantic gesture. I know this has probably taken you by surprise, and I know it will take you time to process what I've said, hell you'll probably have to make a pro and con list with post-its or something—"

She laughed at that.

"But I do. I really truly do love you. More than I've ever loved anyone ever before. Even more than Molly. And it isn't about you leaving, though that did make me have to own up to it sooner than I had thought. I thought we had time, especially after Hilda's wedding. And I know that I've made life so much harder for you the past couple of weeks because I wasn't celebrating you like I should have been, I had always told you that I would support you 100% while you chased your dreams, but I didn't this time, and I know I hurt you and made you cry, but—"

Betty cut him off by reaching up and putting her hands on either side of his face and gently pulling him closer to her so she could reach his lips with her own - the man was taller than her after all - and then she kissed him. With everything in her.

It took Daniel less than a second before his body relaxed against her own and he put his arms around her waist and drew her closer to him, until there was no space between their bodies. Betty noticed how their bodies seemed to fit perfectly together. Of course she knew they did before, but the kisses added a new dynamic.

And God did they feel magnificent. 

Betty could finally see what all the fuss was about. Those women had not been lying. At all. She could honestly say that she had never , not once in her life beforehand, been kissed like Daniel had kissed her. Like Daniel was still kissing her. She felt incredible. She couldn't believe she was standing in the airport, about to board a plane, having her very own 'Love Actually' moment with Daniel. Who said he loved her.

She gently pulled away from his kiss.

"Daniel," she breathed out.

"Hmm?" He looked at her expectantly, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes.

"Daniel," she took a deep breath. "I love you too."

"You do?" She could hear the hopeful surprise in his voice. Her heart squeezed a little at that.

"Yes... oh God yes. I do. I'm in love with you. I'm so unbelievably happy it isn't just me." She laughed in relief. "I didn't know until my farewell party, and your mom said something to me, and I dismissed it, but then you never came and you refused to answer my calls, and you didn't say goodbye, and I got in the car on the way here tonight and I couldn't stop crying because you weren't there, and I don't know, I just knew. It hurt so much because I love you. And I didn't want to leave you, but I knew I had to... I'm so sorry." 

Betty was crying again. The tears were rolling down her face. Her eyes and glasses were all blurry at this point, she could barely see. Again.

She saw Daniel just looking at her, this lovely soft smile on his face. She had seen that smile before. It was the smile he had when she had her braces removed and he saw her own smiling face for the first time. It was the same one he had that night he told her she was beautiful outside her apartment, the night of the Mode party on the roof. And it was the same smile he had when he told her she was better than any model as they stood on the bridge together. And she had seen that smile countless other times too. She knew now it was a smile of love. How long had he loved her? How had she missed it?

"Oh Betty." 

She felt him pull her back into his arms again, and he just held her. She felt so safe, so loved in his arms. She wished that she would never have to let go.

And just as she had that thought, it seemed that reality and fate stepped back in and reminded her of where she was and why. And what she was about to do.

"Flight UB85, New York to London is now boarding at Gate 20. Please make your way to the departure gate and have your passports and tickets ready to be scanned by staff. Thank you." The announcement came over the sound system.

Betty couldn't help the small whimper that came out of her in that moment. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave Daniel behind. She gripped Daniel just a little tighter, unwilling to let go just yet. She knew she had to very soon, but surely another minute wouldn't hurt, would it? She would let go in a moment, she just needed—

"Betty." His voice was soft but firm.

"No. Just another minute. Please." Her face was still buried in his chest. The familiar smell of his cologne all around her.

"Betty. The flight is boarding."

"I know... I don't want to go." She shook her head a little. She knew she sounded like a small child right now. She couldn't help it though.

"Betty, you need to go. This is your dream. You're gonna be great." He spoke softly to her. She could feel one of his hands delicately running through her hair. She had always felt so comforted when her mother did that when she was a child. But right now she just felt heartbroken.

She took a slow deep breath, she knew she had to move. Otherwise she would never step on that plane. She felt Daniel readjust himself so he could kiss her once more. This time it was a tender kiss, the most tender kiss she had ever been given. Reluctantly she pulled away from Daniel and his kiss sooner than she wanted to, as they were interrupted by another announcement over the speakers. 

"This is the final boarding call for flight UB85 New York to London. Please make your way to Gate 20, as the flight will be leaving shortly. Thank you."

As her heart finally began to slow down again after their last kiss, she heard Daniel say, "oh and another thing —"

She looked at him to see him reach behind himself and grab a small bag and put the strap over his shoulder. 

"I'm coming with you."

She gasped, her eyes wide in amazement at him. He was coming to London? With her?

"Is that okay?"

She nodded, speechless. Daniel was coming to London. "But how?"

"I'll tell you everything on the plane, okay?" He smiled at her, gave her another quick peck on the lips, and took one of her hands in his.

"Shall we?" He said softly with a big smile. His blue eyes were sparkling at her.

"Okay. Yes. Sure. Oh my god. You're coming with me? Really?" She couldn't contain her surprise, nor her happiness.

"I am." And he flashed her his trademark Daniel Meade smile. The one that lit up his whole face. The smile that she loved.

The man that she loved.

He was coming to London with her. She didn't need to say goodbye to him. She didn't need to learn to live without him. He would be there, by her side. 

As he always had been. 

Betty hadn't noticed that she had started crying again, but there were tears on her face. But these were happy tears this time.

Daniel reached over to wipe the tears from her cheeks, his touch so gentle on her face.

Betty took a deep breath, and smiled through her tears. She took Daniel's hand again, and turned towards the boarding gate.

"Okay. Let's go."

And together they walked hand in hand, toward the gate, toward the plane, towards their future.

Together. 

And all was right in the world again.

* * * * * * * * * *

An Extra Note About London

Interestingly in the final episode, Daniel hands the Mode Book to Wilhelmina and tells her that he is quitting to start over in the scene before Betty is having the daytime farewell BBQ with her family. So in my mind he could have easily gone home and packed a couple of suitcases, and met Betty at the airport that night. I don't understand why Betty was in London on her own for obviously at least a few days (if the collage of scenes of Betty out and about in London is anything to go by) before Daniel surprised her in Trafalgar Square. He was in love with the woman, he should have been with her sooner!
However personally I believe Betty should have talked to Daniel about the London job offer from the very beginning, and then maybe we wouldn't have had that whole heartbreaking mess to begin with, but that's a story for another day haha.
So here is my humble attempt to 'fix' the ending of that final episode without changing too much along the way (oh I would if I could!). Same destination, slightly different journey.