Welcome to my new journey! While I'm a self-professed angst writer, this one's going to be predominantly fluff, domesticity and sweetness, just aside from this first one-shot which will be more hurt/comfort.
While it is a continuation of my story 'The Secrets Deep Within' reading that won't be detrimental to reading this, I don't think. Anything from that story that you'll need to know, you'll know at the time. Besides, I think you'll work out how that story left off pretty quickly...
Enjoy!
1. Aftermath
"I think I might be pregnant, Jughead."
Of all the things that Jughead Jones had not been expecting to hear from his wife that night, the very thing that he does hear tops the list and ranks at number one most unlikely, without doubt.
Instantly jolting up in bed like he has just been awoken from a nightmare of free falling, Jughead spends the longest moment sitting there. He sits there in total silence, now filled with utter shock, when just moments ago he had been laying in bed beside Betty, blissfully unaware of the fear plaguing her.
His eyes begin to water and his chest begins thumping within him, pounding, as fast as his mind begins to race.
Pregnancy doesn't terrify him. He'd been right by Betty's side throughout her pregnancy with Emi so he has a rough idea of what to expect.
Fatherhood doesn't terrify him. After all, even despite he's young age, he's been finding his way through everything –the sleepless nights, settling crying babies, teething and every stage that has come before and after- as a result of spending over half a year as Emi's doting dad.
Rather, the most terrifying details that overwhelm Jughead the most is the fact that their daughter is only seven-months-old and they still barely have enough behind them to support themselves, even while living with Betty's parents.
He is absolutely terrified.
With his own shock and fear pulsing through him, honestly Jughead is glad that he and Betty are lying in darkness in their room so that she doesn't have to see the look of terror on his face. However, Betty doesn't need to see his face to know what expression is on it.
"Are you sure?" Jughead eventually manages to croak, coming to his senses for long enough to try and feebly reach a hand out and around, attempting to locate hers through the covers to be able to give her hand a squeeze of support.
"No, I'm not sure. I haven't taken a test or seen a doctor. It was only when I was writing in the appointment for Emi's next visit and weigh-in earlier today when I noticed I've skipped a period. Maybe two. That set off the alarm bells initially before a couple of other things began to make sense, too."
The fact that it is only a 'maybe' still does nothing for Jughead's rising nerves with his skin becoming clammy as he struggles to breathe. In that moment, the weight of the world feels like it's coming down on him, crushing his chest slowly and painfully.
However, despite the way that he's feeling, Jughead knows that he has to try to put his wife first. After all, all the pressure and all the stress that he's feeling, she's undoubtedly feeling it too. And, more likely than not, she's feeling all of that so much more so than he is.
So, he somehow manages to take a deep breath of air, taking in the oxygen that he so desperately needs to get through this conversation as he shuffles closer to Betty's side of the bed. He wraps a strong arm around her body, pulling her limp form into his chest. Then, almost immediately he can feel the moisture from her damp cheeks seeping into his upper body.
"How are you?"
"Exhausted. We have had a lot on lately with graduating, Ethel's trial and just Emi in general. But with everything that was going on early on in my pregnancy with Emi, you know, with Jason's murder, then Polly and the two of us getting together, tiredness is really the only thing I can remember feeling before I found out that I was pregnant with Emi..."
From where she's nestled against his chest, Betty snuggles a little closer into her husband's side. She's so grateful that he's still there and that he hasn't bolted, heading for the hills. However, after everything that they have been through so far and for all that he's stayed by her side throughout, she should have greater confidence in him. She knows she should.
"But how are you, Betts?"
Jughead can feel Betty shift to look up at him even in the darkness. He can feel her shaking within his arms.
For the longest time, Betty just looks up to him, expressing exactly how she's feeling without a single word. He can sense the fear in his wife's eyes; the fear that they're too young, the fear that it will be too much, the fear that they won't be able to handle it and the fear that they wouldn't be able to cope with caring and providing for another child while they're still just two kids themselves.
"I'm scared, Jug. I'm just really, really scared... I can't be pregnant. Not now. I really can't."
As her deepest fears fall from her lips, Betty's entire body begins to tremble and her lips start to quiver as she grows worked up and distressed, just from the idea of either making a devastating decision or preparing for their already difficult life to be many times intensified.
The thought of it alone is enough to bring tears to Betty's eyes as she curls up within Jughead's arms as he gently hushes her, brushing his hand through her golden locks soothingly. However, despite his efforts to comfort her, her pounding heart beats within her chest and her breathing grows shorter and more shallow, leaving her just about hyperventilating.
"Hey, hey... It's okay" he murmurs, holding her close and tight and hoping like hell that it's enough to help her in that moment as his own heart pounds rapidly, fearing for all the same reasons that she is.
However, he tries to remain strong and steady for her, trying to be the safe place that she needs more than ever in that moment.
"It's okay, Betts... We'll get a test tomorrow and find out for sure, one way or the other. But, whatever happens, it'll be okay... Everything will be okay."
Betty sobs as she cries into him. Her chest continues to tremble uncontrollably and her breathing is heavy and rigid as she cries through her distress.
"I can't be pregnant, Jughead. I really, really can't be... I can't make that decision. I can't not have the baby. But we can't have two kids by the time we're eighteen, either...I just can't be pregnant."
Jughead exhales a deep sigh with the sudden feeling of the weight of the world being loaded onto his shoulders. After all, he's concerned about Betty; about how much more his wife can take. But, he's also freaking out about the idea of having to a support another person on their already very minimal and very stretched budget. He's terrified by the same predicament as Betty and the thought of any outcome that would follow a 'positive'.
However, despite his own rising fears and panic, he simply presses a kiss to the top of her hair and gives Betty a squeeze of reassurance.
"We're going to be okay, Betty. We don't even know whether you're pregnant for a certainty or not. And, even if it comes to that, we have options and avenues."
Even in their darkened room Jughead can see her glassy tears that are steadily streaming down her cheeks as she looks up to him. The look on her face and the weight of the fear that she is carrying almost breaks his heart.
She is absolutely distraught.
The prospect of another child seems impossible. It would mean making an impossible decision, any which way. So, she's stuck right, bang in the middle of a lose-lose-lose situation.
After all, one alternative would involve making a horrific decision, another would involve choosing to carry two children yet only raise one, or, she and Jughead would have to face life with two kids by the time they're eighteen.
Then, in turn, she would be choosing between compromising the security, time and money for one child in order to just be able to raise another seeing as they're barely making do with Emi. Otherwise, it would mean either giving up another a baby or ending a child's life for the sake of bettering the future for their older sister.
Whatever option, it's a parent's nightmare and it's an impossible decision, when all any parent wants is to love their child with all their heart and to give them the world. Consequently, there is no ideal and there is no 'solution' in their situation.
However, while he's speaking of different avenues theoretically available to them, she is mentally slashing lines through each different option.
"If I'm pregnant, I don't have options... I couldn't do adoption; I couldn't choose one child over the other. I couldn't terminate; I couldn't do it with Emi. I couldn't do that to Emi. So, I can't do that to another baby; not a baby that we've made. Now, I know not everyone sees it this way, but I'm talking about me. If I am pregnant, Jug, then I'm sorry but I'm pregnant. I have to go through with the pregnancy."
Nodding silently, Jughead is a little surprised by the amount of relief that her words bring him. So, he presses a lingering kiss to the top of her head before he tries to hide the quiver in his voice, trying to sound strong and certain and sure of himself when he couldn't be any further from it.
"That's okay. It's okay. Tomorrow we'll find out for sure, and, no matter what tomorrow brings, we're going to handle it, Betts. We'll find a way to make it work. We're going to be okay..."
Then, as he holds her in his arms, he takes her fingers into his own hands and gives them a squeeze of reassurance.
"Just think, Betts. There'd be about the same age gap as between you and Polly... Emi could have a little sister, a little lifelong best friend, too."
Jughead's uncharacteristic little silver lining of positivity that he presents to his wife's springs the smallest of smiles to Betty's lips.
However, just as soon as her smile spreads across her lips, it disappears, being consumed by the enormous cloud of negativity that pulls it away from the weight of her mounting fears.
He can sense it; he can even feel her tighten up as her chest constricts nervously from within his arms while he holds her tight and strong.
So, despite the fact that his own mind is buzzing and his own insides are churning nauseously with nervousness, Jughead presses another gentle kiss to her temple with a gentle squeeze of reassurance as he murmurs into her locks.
"I love you" he whispers.
After all, he might not be able to convince her of the fact that they'll be okay and he might not be able to convince her of the hope that seems too good to be true that 'everything will be okay', but he'll be damned if he can't convince her of the one thing she can trust him on.
"I love you and I love our little family, Betts."
Betty trembles from within his arms, sniffling gratefully for the fact that he's still there, he's still with her and that he's still trying to face each and every one of the twists and turns that they've come across in their relationship and their marriage.
However, despite his best efforts, Betty cried herself to sleep in her husband's arms that night, telling herself to believe him and his reassurances, over and over again.
#
The following day, the fact that Betty had progressed so far into her pregnancy with Emi before it was confirmed suddenly makes the world of sense to Jughead.
After all, the night before, both of them had been up until the early hours of the morning, consumed by the suspicion and the fear that Betty had shared with her husband as they lay in bed, trying to sleep, only waking them both up even more.
However, the following morning, Betty sprung up and out of bed brightly, carrying about her day and usual routine as though the entire night before had never even happened.
In fact, she is so convincing as she presses a bright 'good morning' kiss to her husband's lips when he finally crawls downstairs to find her feeding Emi breakfast at her highchair that Jughead honestly has to stop and think about whether or not he had imagined the entire thing.
"Morning" he smiles weakly, returning her kiss as he holds her waist, looking her up and down all over as if he's silently and subconsciously checking her over for any harm. It's as though he's suddenly more protective from simply the possibility that she may be carrying his unborn child.
Then, after his search comes up blank, Jughead releases his hold on his wife's waist and takes a few steps away from her as he walks towards the highchair in front of her, pressing a kiss to their daughter's growing locks.
"Morning beautiful bubba" he coos to the baby who is currently playing with her yoghurt breakfast that she has touched more of than she has eaten.
Taking a seat beside Emi's high chair, Jughead takes the plastic spoon that had been long abandoned and wipes off the handle, scoops the nearly empty yoghurt tub and directs the spoon towards his daughter's mouth before turning his attention to her mother.
"How are you feeling today, Betts? Did you sleep okay?"
Betty looks over to him brightly, giving him an unconvincing little smile before she answers his question. However, she doesn't answer either part of the question that Jughead been expecting her to. After all, he had posed the questions to her seeing as she fallen asleep in his arms last night and also to ensure that she wasn't feeling nauseous at all, given her suspicions that she'd shared with him last night.
"I'm fine. We're good. How'd you sleep?"
"I've slept better. You?" Jughead answers coyly, looking between her and their daughter as he feeds Emi scoops of yoghurt between pulling at the plastic spoon that she's just learnt to clamp onto between her two new teeth.
Nodding from where she's flipping omelettes for them at the stove, Betty glances over to him and then back away, showing the way she's truly feeling for the briefest flicker of a moment before she switches back to the bright and shiny exterior that she's putting on, even for him.
"Yeah, I'm about the same..."
The two fall to silence as Betty continues focusing on her omelette while Jughead continues fighting a losing battle against the spirited little girl who has made a game out of being fed her breakfast.
Then, after a little squeal from Emi after telling her "all gone, bubba", Jughead places the empty yoghurt tub and spoon in the sink and wiping down the yoghurt-covered highchair before picking his daughter up into his arms as he joins his wife's side.
"Look, Betts... I was thinking about it and I might do another resume drop and check out prospective jobs online, too. Even though I'm full-time at Pop's, I might be able to pick up some more work to work around my other shifts or even try and look for something that pays a little better. You see, I was thinking about it and really, it would just be nappies and food-in-mouths expenses for another child. Remember we were given a pram and a stroller for Emi, we have all Emi's hand-me-downs and I'm sure that if we offered to cover the expenses of the materials, Fred wouldn't mind making another cot for us..."
Betty's sea green eyes that look over to him almost peer straight through him.
After all, while they are both plagued with the very same issues and concerns, Jughead is tackling it head-on, jumping into the headspace of making their situation work and recovering from the idea of the worst-case scenario in order to find the solution to support his family if it comes to that.
Meanwhile, with the very same fears weighing her down, Betty is putting her reality on the backburner, pushing it to the back of her mind as she tries her hardest to put it aside and just forget about it, acting like nothing's wrong.
For someone who lives to face things head-on, Betty certainly likes to put the most life changing things to the very back.
After a minute passes without her saying anything in acknowledgement of his plans, Jughead runs a hand down her arm, taking her hand into his own, ever so gently.
"Look, if you're okay to look after bubba for a bit after breakfast, I'll dash out and pick us up a test. We need to know, Betts..."
In the silence, Jughead bounces his daughter on his hip nervously, grasping for her little hand as she reaches up for his beanie. Meanwhile, Betty just stands there, turning off the stovetop and plating up their omelettes. Once again, she almost outright ignores him until she inhales a deep, rigid breath and exhales it just as a tear slides down her cheek, too.
"I don't want to take the test because I don't want it to be positive. I don't want to have to face it."
This time, Jughead sighs for her, hurting for her, after all that she's been through. A part of him knows what she means. A part of him understands the temptation that lies with denial.
After all, you can't face something that you don't know about. However, the fatal flaw lies in the fact that they do know about it, but it is encompassed by a great, big, hazy question mark.
"We aren't going to be able to move past this until we know, Betty. We need to be able to face this and come to terms with it or we need to just shelve it as a scare and move on."
Inhaling a shaky breath, Betty looks down to the ground as her husband's arms run up and down hers in a feeble attempt to reassure her.
"No, you're right, Juggie... God, I don't want this to be real, but either way we need to face it."
#
Jughead times his departure with Emi's nap time, leaving just as she begins to rub at her eyes and slowly yawn between playing with her toy.
So, knowing that it could take up to an hour for Betty to give Emi a feed and get her to sleep, he hopes that quickly dashing down to the store now and just before she's put down for her nap will give the two of them some uninterrupted time between Emi's nap and before the Cooper's would return home from work.
He'd then come home in record time, racing back in the front door to find Betty sitting on the rocking chair in Emi's room, rocking back and forth with their daughter who had fallen asleep against the comfort of her mother's body.
"Hey" he whispers quietly, standing in the doorframe momentarily, absorbing the beauty and tenderness between mother and daughter in that moment, stopping to allow himself to catch his breath and focus on a positive for the briefest, much-needed moment.
He slowly walks over, creeping over as quietly as he can with the very smallest of smiles curling on the corner of his lips. He leans down, pressing a kiss to the top of his wife's head lovingly before his gaze turns to the beautiful baby sleeping in her arms, stroking his daughter's chubby cheek ever-so gently with the pad of his thumb.
Meanwhile, upon seeing the box in her husband's hand, Betty's breath hitches within her as reality creeps that little bit closer, making it harder and harder to ignore.
Then, placing the box on Emi's change-table, Jughead holds his arms out to take the sleeping infant from his wife, scooping their daughter up into his arms and pressing a kiss to her temple as she stirs briefly with her eyes clenched shut before relaxing into his arms once again, undisturbed, as he carries her over to her nearby cot.
In their silent switch, Betty picks up the box that her husband had put down as he stands over their daughter's cot, watching on and ensuring that she's settled back down completely and won't be waking up abruptly if they leave the room straight away.
Betty knows that if she waits even just two minutes more, she'd have him right by her side all of the way. However, perhaps that is why Betty is quick to grab the box and head for the upstairs bathroom before he has a chance to follow behind her and before she loses her nerve completely.
However, hearing his wife moving towards the door of their daughter's room pricks Jughead's head up attentively as his eyes fall to her, filled with concern.
"Betts... I love you. Whatever that piece of plastic is going to tell us, we're going to be okay, alright? We'll be alright. I'll be right there with you."
He will be right there, both in a minute or so's time, but also for the rest of their lives and the rest of their journey together...
#
A painful ten minute wait brings the two of them to where they are now; sitting together and holding each other with Betty nestled into his chest as he rests his chin on her head, holding her close and tight within his arms.
He can just about feel her heartbeat racing from where she's pressed against him, but he's fairly certain that she could say the same for him.
"What's the time?" Betty murmurs eventually after what feels like more like ten years than ten minutes.
They hadn't set a timer. Neither of them thought their nerves could handle it. After all, it's like waiting for a toaster to pop. So, rather, he had set his eyes glued on the clock on the bedside table beside his side of the bed.
"Nearly there" he replies, his eyes watching and waiting for the minute to flick over as he's expecting it to any moment now while he counts down the remaining seconds.
Then, despite their stress and their nerves that are rising and multiplying with every second, out of nowhere, Betty begins to giggle.
As his eyes fly down to his wife, Jughead watches her inquisitively, trying to work out what's changed and what joke he's missing out on.
"What? What's so funny?"
"Did you know that that's the first time I've ever taken a pregnancy test?"
The small laugh followed by Betty's surprising piece of trivia is almost like a nervous reaction and a coping mechanism in the tense moment. Nonetheless, it's a surprising titbit given that Betty's firstborn is fast asleep in the room beside their own.
"Really?"
"Yeah, even though I had a pretty good idea that I was pregnant with Emi long before it was confirmed, I dodged it for so long that I never took a test. It was only confirmed at the hospital when my blood tests came back after I passed out at school that day."
Jughead's face pricks with interest at the little fact that had been a momentary distraction for both of them. Then, when he looks back over to the clock on their bedside table, he inhales a sharp breath and gives his wife's body a squeeze from within his own.
"It's time, Betts..."
While she had been giggling barely a minute earlier, after Jughead's three, little words, everything within her either constricts, pounds or tightens as she fights through her rapidly increasing nerves, standing up and slowly walking over to the set of drawers on the other side of the room before taking the paper-towelled piece of plastic into her hands with a deep and shaky breath.
"Are you alright? Do you want me to do it?" Jughead asks, joining her by her side, gently pressing a hand to the small of her back with concern.
When Betty shakes her head in response, Jughead initially isn't too certain which question she's answering. However, the answer becomes clear as she takes another deep breath before folding back the paper towel to expose the answer that is hiding within; the answer that has the potential to change their life and turn their world upside down, all over again...
Then, with a sharp inhale of air, Betty turns to her husband with her sea-green eyes big and bright as she looks up to him.
"It's negative... It was just a false alarm."
Jughead just nods, leaning down to press a kiss to the very top of her head as he pulls her into his arms for a tight hug, looking down at the test that he almost needs to see for himself to believe. Then, there's a sudden flood of relief and his lungs just about collapse as he releases the breath that he hadn't even realised that he was holding in.
However, that sense of relief is quickly replaced with a sinking sensation as emptiness fills the void of relief, leaving behind a pang of sadness?
As he holds his wife in his arms, running his hands up and down her back, Jughead is thinking it through, over and over, contemplating whether or not to say anything. However, hearing the little sniffle coming from against his chest, Jughead presses another kiss to the top of her golden locks, preparing to speak up openly and honestly about what he's really feeling, in case she's feeling the same way, too.
"I must say, it's a relief not to have another mouth to feed and provide for quite so soon. But, I honestly would have been happy, Betts. Now that the pressure's off, I see that now. That baby would have been wanted and loved, no matter what. It would have been damn hard work and I'm sure it would have felt near-impossible at times, but it would have been nice for Emi to have a sibling so close in age to her, almost like a little twin."
Again, there's another quiet little sniffle from against his chest as Betty shifts a little, turning her gaze upwards to look at him.
"I know what you mean. I know exactly what you mean... It's beyond absolutely all sense and reason, but there's a teeny tiny part of me that's just a little bit disappointed."
He presses another kiss to her head, pursing his lips against her temple this time as he gives her a little squeeze of comfort from within his arms.
"Same... But, it's okay. It'll happen again down the track. And, when that time comes, we'll be ready. But, for the time being, we've got one beautiful baby girl to keep us busy. Besides, I don't know how happy Ems would be to have the spotlight stolen away from her quite so soon."
Releasing the smallest chuckle as she swipes at her damp eye, Betty collapses into her husband's arms, melting into the comfort he provides as she succumbs to the feeling of total exhaustion.
After all, they've felt it all together, in just a matter of hours.
They'd gone from worked up with stress, to riddled with relief, to panged with disappointment and right now Jughead had known just what to say to get them to at peace as his wife giggles into him, soothed after the rollercoaster of emotions.
While they're both looking forward to 'one day' they are beyond grateful for and enjoy the moment that come with today...
#
The scare that day had been put down to something as simple as her hormones being messed around, no doubt given the stress that they've barely had a chance to escape from over the last eighteen months. After all in the weeks ahead of that day would mark the beginning of the court proceedings and the inquest into Chuck's death, with Betty due to be taking the stand.
It wouldn't have been ideal and it didn't turn out to be, but they would have made it through, they would have been happy and they would have made it through together, as a family.
After all, as they've proven through every other challenge and trial that's been thrown their way, Jughead and Betty can do anything together, coming out the other end, stronger for it.
However, in that moment as they stand together in their bedroom, neither Jughead nor Betty knew that while they may have just dodged one bullet, only one year on they will be once again faced with a similar situation, just with a different test result on the piece of plastic next time...
Let me know what you thought of the first one! I know there was a few people who loved the idea of Betty & Jughead having another baby while others were nervous for them. I hope you all liked the fact that the outcome actually turned out to be a little bit of a medium between the two. I didn't want such a cliffhanger to be for nothing, but I did want to buy them a tiny little bit of time before then. So while it was just a scare for now, I tried to make it clear that there certainly will be another baby soon.
While this story and the chronology will be quite free-form, I do have the first few chapters planned out/written to lay a bit of a groundwork and base for future one-shots to spring from. Also, lots of room to accommodate requests with this one. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see for Bughead!
Next one-shot will be Betty and Jug's first wedding anniversary.