Chapter Text
As Daniel looked at his phone again, he tried to figure out what to do about his life. Hell, working at stupid Player was sure a lot less stressful than Mode, anyway. Which did actually give him a lot more time with DJ. But it was frankly too boring after working at Mode; there was no challenge for him whatsoever at such a laid-back magazine. Not to mention, he wasn’t all that sure that the type of guys at Player were setting a very good example of how to treat women to his young son (not to mention, him!)
Why did everything seem so much easier when Betty was there? He knew she had to make some big decisions for her own life. She certainly deserved to have a vacation. She had barely ever taken any time off in the whole time she worked for him, other than when she had to go to Mexico with her family.
Besides, thanks to Alexis, Daniel no longer had HIS job at Mode anymore! He honestly didn’t have the strength to push back when his own sister basically banished him and did exactly what she promised NOT to do: backed Wilhelmina to take over Mode!
He knew his mother was furious with Alexis (and Betty certainly would be, too, on his behalf). But what was he supposed to do about it? He had stupidly allowed Alexis to run the company by herself and hadn’t fought her in the first place when Bradford died, without leaving explicit instructions on which of his children he wanted running it.
But they both knew the truth: Alexis had always been the one who was groomed for the job, not Daniel! Nobody ever expected much of anything from him (except Claire and Betty, perhaps).
His father and the press all just treated him like the screw up, manwhore who didn’t know his head from his ass! And he often chose to simply live down to those very low expectations instead of fighting to prove he could rise above them, especially when Betty wasn’t there to push him with one of her silly pep talks to inspire him!
“Papa? Qu’est-ce qui ne va pas ?”
“Huh? Sorry, Dee, uj …can you please… uh see vew plate…. translate to English for me…pour vew? I know I suck!”
DJ thought for a minute, then looked at his phone, and laughed, “Oui, tu es tres, tres, TRES…how you say, YOU SUCKY at French, papa!”
Daniel laughed at himself, as well, but rolled his eyes, “I know, I know! Pardonnay mwah!”
DJ laughed again, “I asked how you were doing? I know you are looking for a message from Bet-ty, oui? She is your “girlfriend?”, no?”
Daniel reddened, “GIRLFRIEND? BETTY? No way! No, DJ, you don’t understand, buddy. She’s not…Betty and I are… just… friends, that’s all! I mean, we’ve worked together a long time, sure.
But there’s never been any…we don’t…we’re not TOGETHER …like that! What makes you think that?” he was extremely flustered at DJ assuming he was dating Betty for some crazy reason! Just because he kept wondering what she was up to on her trip out west didn’t mean…well, anything!
DJ laughed at how red and silly his new papa got at the idea of this Betty girl being someone he liked…a lot! But even he understood that sometimes when you like a girl, you don’t always want to admit it out loud, or even admit it to yourself, because that would make it real.
There were several cute girls he liked back in France that he was too embarrassed to admit, especially to them. That seemed to be the case with his American dad, too.
He shrugged, picking up the guitar from the new game and raising his eyebrow, “We play? I’ll beat you again!”
Daniel laughed and nodded, ruffling his son’s hair and grabbing the other guitar, “Sure, buddy! We’ll see about that!”
After almost an hour, Daniel and Daniel Jr. finished playing Guitar Hero and watched some movies and TV shows while they had dinner. Daniel had almost caved and ordered pizza (again), but was pleased that instead he had tried a new catering service that his mom suggested, which offered a more balanced menu.
He figured they could always fall back and order junk food on the weekends or special occasions, but his new son needed better nutrition to start school in a new country with his new family! He was truly in awe at how sweet and casual the kid seemed with so many different and totally strange things he was learning to handle so well and to take in his stride.
Claire had more or less invited herself and Alexis over to welcome her new grandson the night before, but when poor Daniel Jr. had been stressed out and accidentally gotten chocolate cake on his aunt’s blouse, things sort of went sideways. The two “adults” started yelling at each other about work.
Daniel certainly didn’t blame DJ. He could probably sense the tension between his new father and aunt and was nervous. Alexis seemed tense around DJ, too. Getting a vagina certainly hadn’t given his sister any maternal instincts, it seemed. He was far more comfortable around kids than his big sister!
Of course, Alexis had said that it was just because he was such a “child” himself, but whatever! Betty may have implied the same thing about him acting like a five-year-old, too, but at least when she teased him about stuff like that, it was funny (and cute!) and he wasn’t really offended!
His mom was at least happy about becoming an unexpected grandmother and was encouraging that Daniel was going to be a good single father, however unusual the circumstances.
He looked at his phone again to check if Betty had texted, and sighed, rolling his eyes at his self. Shit! No wonder his little boy thought he had a crush! He was being ridiculous, missing her so much!
He was just stressed out about everything right now and missed having his best friend there to give him her stupid pep talks and the confidence she always showed in him. He knew she would probably tell him he should fight his sister to put him back at Mode.
But without Betty there, nagging him to do “the right thing”, why bother? She was the only one he cared about impressing lately. Without her, life was too hard!
Two whole weeks had gone by, and Daniel was really on edge. He tried not to let anyone see how nervous and worried he was but he hadn’t gotten any word from Betty for days.
When he did hear from her it was either a postcard with, “Having fun, learning so much. Wish you were here” or a short, but sweet text, “Hope you’re having a great time getting to learn French and spending time with your son. Miss you! Wish you were here.”
They kept missing each other with calls, with him working all day and trying to spend his nights with DJ, and her out, traveling the country by herself for the first time, there never seemed to be any time for those long, deep conversations they were used to having anymore.
Daniel ached to have a silly, but meaningful argument over something totally stupid, or Betty telling him some crazy story about trying to communicate with her extended family while she was in Mexico with her father, and getting her aunts and cousins confused with her terrible Spanish, accidentally telling them she was pregnant, or one of her many other funny stories!
He had laughed out loud when she told him about almost eating the fake apples or rolling in the round chairs at 50 Prince! Right now, he could definitely relate to having problems trying to communicate in a second language!
It annoyed the hell out of Daniel that, naturally, Alexis was able to speak French fluently; just like everything else, she was always better than he was!
Still, it seemed as if DJ was much more aloof when he spoke to his aunt, even given that they could speak the same language, possibly because he felt nervous about dropping the stupid cake on her blouse!
Finally, as he got undressed and flopped down on his bed, his phone rang. He smiled, “Hey, there! I was about to send out a search party for you! We keep playing phone tag! Where are you?”
“Guess!”
He laughed, “How am I supposed to do that? I don’t have your detailed, day-to-day itineraries like you usually make for me for every trip to the dentist or grocery store because you said you were going to try something new this time and “wing it” as I recall! How is that working out for you, by the way?”
She sighed, which filled him with joy, just hearing her voice again, “I don’t know! Good and bad, I guess. I really am trying to be spontaneous, and let loose like you told me, ,but you know it totally goes against my nature! I’ll give you a hint. I am trying to honor my mami’s wishes to travel to this place that was on her buck…”You’re at the Grand Canyon? You made it there?”
She laughed, “Aw! You really do know me! You listened when I said that?”
“Of course I did! That was the most special place you said your mom never got to see! It’s on that postcard you showed me of her and your dad, but it’s just a fake background, not real!
So are you sending me a picture of you at the real place? I want to see how much you’ve changed already.”
His smile widened as he envisioned her blushing at his words, “I’ve only been gone a few weeks! I haven’t changed at all, I’m sure! But I’ll send you a few pictures so far, I promise.
How’s it going with DJ? Are you practicing the vocabulary words I gave you and the book? There are a few good apps you can try with him. His English was pretty good. And I know your mom and sister can help.”
“Maybe. But Benedict Arnold was too busy worrying about her damn ugly blouse that poor DJ accidentally spilled some chocolate cake on when they came over last night! I had to play games and watch a bunch of silly TV shows and cartoons with him to try and cheer him up and make him laugh after she left!
Thank God, Mom was sweet to him, and she can speak French, too. She told him not to believe anything Wilhelmina and Marc told him about his family! He said they didn’t really say that much; they just fed him and did a little small talk in French, but mainly just tried to make me look bad on TV for neglecting him!
I yelled at them and told them they’re lucky I didn’t press charges for them not returning him to me or his school, and report them both to the FBI for kidnapping! Luring the poor kid, just because they can speak French, and offering him food? I tried to have mom tell him to be more careful who he goes off with!”
“I’m sorry they did that. But glad things are going well with him. I can tell you’re already becoming a great dad, Daniel! It sounds like you’re bonding with him really well! I’m so proud of you! But I also wish you were here! It’s so beautiful! I wish I could share it with you!”
Stupid allergies! He wiped at his eyes and tried to laugh off the emotion he felt at her heartfelt declaration of missing him, “So, are you camping out in the stars or staying at a nice hotel?”
“Haha! What do you think? You know I don’t do camping any more than you do! But our definition of “nice hotel” is vastly different, I’m afraid! I’m at a Motel 6! Ever heard of them?”
“Sure!”
“Ever actually BEEN to one?”
“No! How is it?”
“Eh! Pretty basic. But better than camping in my opinion, at least! There’s a bed, a bathroom with a shower, and a restaurant next door or food delivery. So everything I need.”
“My idea of camping is a hotel without a pool and spa!”
“Ha! Please! Your idea of camping is more like anything less than five stars!”
“Yeah, okay, maybe so. You got me, Betty! By the way, I wish I were there with you, too! But I’m glad you’re having a good time! You deserve it!”
“What’s wrong. Daniel?”
“Nothing! What makes you think there’s anything wrong?”
“Your voice is flat. You sound like you’re faking a smile. Are you giving me two thumbs up?”
“No! But I’ve been staring at that mug you got me just to try and tell myself I would actually get to see your face again at some point! I miss your little pep talks that used to annoy me!”
“They didn’t really 'annoy' you! You liked them! You said they made you “peppy!”
He rolled over onto his stomach and grinned like a kid, “Yeah, okay. Maybe I didn’t mind them too much. Alright, but listen to me, IF I tell you what’s really wrong, I don’t want you to cut your vacation short or anything.
You promise? You deserve to do this! I don’t want you always leaving your own goals undone just to run and help me try and fix my messed-up life all the time, Betty!”
“No, I’m not going to promise that, Daniel! What if you really need me?”
“Betty, honey, I always NEED you! But I also have to learn to do things for myself. You’re not always going to be able to run through Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or through fires to help me! Once in a while, I have to learn to fend for myself! I think this might be one of those cases.”
“Is it about DJ?”
He sighed, turning over and putting his hands behind his head. He knew he couldn’t stop himself from “confiding” in his best friend.
She knew him too well to try to pretend everything was fine when it was far from it. “No. Not really. It’s about…Alexis. And Wilhelmina.
They’re back to kicking me to the curb. Literally. I’m no longer the EIC of Mode. Alexis put her former friend in my place, just like she tried to do when she first came out!”
Betty was silent for a moment, “So…Alexis FIRED you? But she can’t do that, Daniel! You’re a Meade, too! What the hell is she thinking, picking that woman over her own brother? What happened to her saying she could kick Wilhelmina’s hiney?”
Daniel laughed, despite his own anger, “Hiney? Really, Betty? Hey, I’m proud of you, though. You actually said Hell! I must be rubbing off on you and corrupting you a little bit after all this time, Miss Pollyanna!”
“Shut up, smarty pants! You are not! So, what does your mother think about your sister taking your job away and giving it to that…witch, give or take a letter?”
“She’s pissed at Alexis on my behalf of course. Alexis is pulling Mom’s funding for her magazine idea, too. By the way, just so I’m not actually unemployed, now that I’m a single father, my sister thinks she’s being ‘nice’ by redistributing me and putting me in as EIC at another magazine.”
She sounded hopeful, “Oh, really? That could be…okay, actually! What magazine is it? Can I come work with you? I don’t want to stay at Mode and work for Wilhelmeanie! I don’t want to file for the enemy!”
He winced, knowing Betty wasn’t going to be happy where he was re-assigned, “Um…it’s called…Player? Have you heard of it?”
Betty made a face, too tired to even pretend to be excited about their new jobs, “Player? Seriously, Daniel? That misogynist rag? Thanks, but I think I’d rather work at Dog Fancy! Or I could always check in my neighborhood in Queens and see if I can get hired as The Chip Chick again!”
“Haha! Very funny! It’s a look! I liked the convenience of the hat! Look, I know you didn’t exactly expect to have your boss get fired while you were on vacation, Betty. It’s something I told my supposed sister that you were free to stay at Mode, or follow me, or…you have a place anywhere you want in the company! I know fashion isn’t necessarily your first choice, so…feel free to take your pick of publications that you might enjoy working at more.
You definitely don’t have to follow me, just because I’m the best boss ever, and you miss me! Oh, by the way, speaking of which, I think you should know that my son thinks we’re dating!”
She spit out her water, “He WHAT? Why would he think that? Oh, just…miscommunication? You were trying to tell him I was your best friend, and he thought you meant girlfriend?”
He shrugged, finding her reaction fun to listen to. He could just imagine her getting red (even more than he did when his son accused him of having feelings for his friend),” Who knows? I mean yeah, I guess it was…something like that.
Actually…I think he was saying I missed you too much and was watching my phone all the time, waiting for you to call or text!”
“Oh…did you…really do that?”
“Kind of. What can I say? I did miss you!”
“Me, too! In fact…I missed you so much…well, everybody that…I sort of…came home early!”
“You’re on your way home? I thought you said you went to the Grand Canyon?”
“I did. But once you’ve seen it and taken some pictures, it’s like anywhere else in the world. It’s amazing and beautiful. But…so much better when you can share it with someone special.”
He stopped and stood still, hearing a soft knock on his front door, “Sorry, Betty. Somebody’s at my…Wait, are you HERE?” His face lit up, and he jumped over his couch to open the door, grinning from ear to ear as he saw her standing at his front door, holding her phone and smiling, “Yep, I’m home!”
He didn’t hesitate; he stood in front of her and smiled again, then wrapped his arms around her, and softly said, “BETTY! You’re home!” as he ducked down to kiss her.
DJ heard the commotion and looked out of his room, raising his eyebrows, “Ooh la la, go, papa! I KNEW you to be having addicted to BET-TY!”