18. Jump

In a flashback to high school in 1999, popular mean girl Kimmie Keegan (Lindsay Lohan) picks Betty for her team in a game of dodgeball, only to order the teammates to use Betty as a human shield. In the present day, Betty tells Gio that she will not participate in the charity softball game for Mode vs. Elle magazine because of her high school experiences. Gio attempts to convince Betty to join but she is distracted when she sees her first article published in Hot Flash. Betty is disappointed to see that her story has been severely edited but Claire tells Betty that she needs to go beyond the "safe" approach.

During lunch, Gio convinces Betty to practice softball and invites her to join him on a romantic trip to Rome as he searches for food inspiration. Betty accepts, but then Henry visits Betty with a proposal of his own: he asks her to marry him and join him in Tucson, where he has lined up an editorial position for her at a local magazine. Ignacio is against both proposals and visits Betty at Mode to show Betty her a series of family photos. He then tells her that she should make her own decisions by looking inside her own heart.

Meanwhile, Hilda's burgeoning romance with Tony is halted when she discovers he is married. He tells her that he is unhappy with his marriage and Hilda agrees to keep dating him.

A French orphaned boy arrives at Mode and introduces himself as Daniel Jr., Daniel's son from a former fling with a French model. Daniel believes this is a scam concocted by Wilhelmina, who truthfully denies it, but later plots to use Daniel Jr. to sabotage Daniel's ad campaign for a Dutch cosmetics mogul. Wilhelmina and Marc befriend Daniel Jr. and leak the news to Fashion TV, humiliating Daniel and putting the Dutch ad campaign in jeopardy. Claire and Alexis convince Daniel to make amends with his son and he agrees to assume custody until a paternity test is completed. Wilhelmina advises Alexis that with this major life change, Daniel would benefit from stepping down at Mode. Alexis agrees and plans to reassign Daniel to another position at the company, much to Claire's dismay.

At the Mode vs. Elle magazine game, Betty is surprised to see both Henry and Gio playing. Both men attempt to ask her if she will accept their respective proposals. Daniel confronts Wilhelmina about using Daniel Jr. to make him look bad, and Wilhelmina informs him that she is now the new editor-in-chief at Mode. Daniel angrily blasts Alexis for betraying him and leaves the game with Daniel Jr. Wilhelmina then takes his place as the pitcher, and she strikes out both Joe Zee and Roberta Myers from Elle. Elle ' s star player, supermodel Naomi Campbell, hits the ball in the direction of, Betty, Henry and Gio.

All three go for the ball and Betty is knocked unconscious. She dreams about what life would be like if she chose to accompany Gio in Rome and then switches to fantasizing about being married to Henry in Tucson. Her dream becomes a nightmare when Gio and Henry interrupt each other and order Betty to choose between them. When Betty wakes up, she discovers that she helped Mode win the game. Betty also realizes she is ready to make a decision. In the final scene, Daniel cleans out his office at Mode while Betty packs her bags and leaves her house for an unknown destination.