The sickening smell of bleach stung my nose as we walked in the front door of the hospital. The bright florescent lights hurt my eyes and the sound of squeaking sneakers resonated sharply in my ears. We went to FP's room from last night, but he wasn't there. The bed was made and the sheets changed.

"Keller!" Jughead yelled as we came out of the room. "Where is he? Did you call Jellybean?"

"We're trying to do what we can, Jughead. I called her just after I called you. She's on her way." Kevin said keeping his voice calm, he really was good at this bedside manner doctor thing. Then again, maybe it's easier when every single patient you have was someone you've known your whole life. "Just wait out here and we will come and get you when we know any news, ok?"

"Yeah." He said sitting down in a chair in frustration. I sat down next to him and rubbed his back as he put his elbows to his knees, and put his head in his hands. "He can't die, Betts. The last conversation we had was a huge argument. I need to apologize to him, talk to him about it." He said, his voice muffled. The thought of having an unspoken apology with his father was weighing heavily on him. It was apparent the day before that FP wasn't holding a grudge. He knew how Jughead could be sometimes. By the time that JB got there, Jug was a complete mess. Jellybean paced back and forth in front of us, while Jughead tried to distract himself by playing Candy Crush on his phone. To be honest, I'd never even seen him play a game on his phone before, but at least it was distracting him momentarily.

I heard footsteps behind me and I glanced to see who it was. Kevin was standing behind me with a pained look on his face.

"Kev?" I asked quietly. Jughead stood up quickly and JB grabbed her brother's arm for support. Kevin looked shaky, like he didn't want to have to say what he was going to.

"No…" JB said, preemptively knowing what news was coming.

"We tried to do everything that…that w-we could." Kevin stuttered, "I'm sorry, but…"

"But what, Keller?" Jug asked trying not to cry.

"I'm sorry Jug…"

"Say it, Keller." Jughead threatened. It sounded like a challenge.

"H-He's gone…" Kevin managed to get out.

Next to me Jughead stood in a stunned silence. JB was crying loudly from behind us and just like that FP was gone. I'd never had a particularly close relationship with him, but he had always been the one telling Jug to do the right thing. He had never wanted his kids to live their lives like he lived his. FP had been the one who told Jug to go back into Archie's house and find me after his birthday party that one year. FP had been the one that, in a twisted way, got my mother to tell me about her history with the Sister of Quiet Mercy. FP had been the one that talked Jug out of being a Serpent and living that life. It had been FP that had always somehow been a voice of reason, telling his kids to make the right choices. He wasn't a perfect father. Everyone knew that. His drinking had been the reason that he split with Jug's mom. It had been FP's fault the family had been ripped in two, but he knew that and had tried to mend things in recent years. He was the one single thread that had run through Riverdale's roots, tying everyone from my parents, to the Blossoms, and Jughead and JB, and now that single thread was gone.

"Ok, if you see him can you please let me know?" I asked, "Thanks."


Jug had left the hospital that night and hadn't come home. At first, I thought that he was needing to be alone. I thought he was needing time to let FP's death sink in so he could process it. When he didn't come home two days later, I started worrying. I'd been calling everyone I could think of, but no one had seen him. I'd tried calling his phone, but it would just go to voicemail. I had tried reporting him missing to Sherriff Keller, but he used the excuse that maybe Jug needed time alone. I called his phone again, knowing he wouldn't answer. The phone rang twice and went straight to voicemail.

"Juggie. I need you to at least text me that you're ok. I'm worried about you, it's been two days and you're just gone. FP's funeral is tomorrow, at Riverdale Cemetery. It's at ten o'clock. I know that Jellybean is going to need you to be there since your mom can't make it. You need to say your goodbyes, Jug…" I hung up and stared at my phone. It wasn't long before it started ringing.

"Jug!?" I said into the phone without even looking at the caller ID.

"No, it's Joaquin." The voice said on the other end. It took a long time for my brain to reach back in it's vaults and remember the shy Southside Serpent that had fallen for Kevin all those years ago.

"Joaquin?" I said confused.

"I know where Jug is." He said whispering into the phone. "You might want to go down to the Worm."

The moment he mentioned the biker bar on the south side of Riverdale, I had a ball of nerves form itself in my stomach. There was only one thing he'd really be doing there.

I drove to the bar well above the speed limit. One of the perks of a small town, speeding wasn't as closely monitored as it is in major cities. When I pulled up outside, I was just in time to see Jug be thrown through the front door.

"Screw you, Cobra!" He yelled at the man standing in the doorway shaking his head. He was drunk, and god only knows how long he'd been that way.

"Jug." I said disappointed as I walked up to him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked angrily trying to stand up. He smelled like he'd been sleeping in a gutter. His hair was greasy and in his eyes and he was wearing the same clothes from the other day.

"You been here the whole time, huh?" I shot back sarcastically trying to get him up off of the ground.

"Don't touch me!" He yelled as he yanked his arm from my grasp.

"Get in the car." I said coldly as I spun and walked back to the truck. I got in the passenger side and waited for him to get in. There was a line he'd crossed between grief and sheer stupidity. He slowly pulled himself up from the ground and stumbled into the passenger side of the truck. I drove us home without a word. I understood that he was grieving the loss of his father, but that wasn't a good reason to throw away the two years of sobriety that he'd worked for. I was embarrassed. I knew that if JB saw him this way, while trying to deal with her own grief, she'd immediately point the finger at me as the cause.


When we got back to the house I got out of the truck and walked straight into the house. He stumbled and tripped on his way in.

"I didn't need you to save me, princess." He slurred shutting the door behind him. I could see the outline of him in the dim light of the sunset outside.

"I'm not saving you, asshole. I'm trying to make sure you make it to the funeral tomorrow, so you don't regret missing it for the entire rest of your life. Believe me, I was tempted to just leave you there." I spat back as he fell onto the couch.

"I was right to break-up with you, you could never just let me do what I wanted to do." He mumbled.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. Only because you probably won't remember it in the morning when you wake up." I said before stalking off the bedroom. I slammed the bedroom door in anger. I felt it shivering through me like electricity. The audacity he had to speak to me that way when I was only trying to help. I looked at myself in the mirror at the foot of his bed. I hadn't slept well since the night FP passed away. The worry over Jughead's whereabouts had taken its toll on me, just as much physically as mentally. I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to make sure this was a one-time thing. I promised myself that I wouldn't stay and be his caretaker if he decided to go down that road. The reality of the situation gripped me suddenly and I started to sob uncontrollably. I crawled into bed and cried myself to sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.


"Get up." I said shaking Jughead on the couch.

"Leave me alone." He said half asleep.

"Nope. Your dad's funeral is in an hour. Get up." I said again.

"Are you deaf?" He asked rudely. I took a deep breath and crossed my arms.

"Jughead. I'm not going to do this with you. It's not my fault you drank away your feelings the last two days. Get off the couch and take a shower." I said trying to keep my voice even. "If I have to call Sheriff Keller and have him throw you in the back of his cruiser, I will. You're going. It's up to you how you get there. You can either go with me in the truck or you can go in handcuffs. Your choice." I said walking away as he sat up, I stopped in my tracks when I hear him start to break down. I turned around and felt my previous frustration fade as I watched him from behind. I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, putting a hand on the side of his face. He looked up at me with glassy eyes as the tears fell down his cheeks and onto his jeans. He just shook his head unable to speak.

"Juggie." I said pulling his head down to my shoulder and wrapping an arm around him. It seems this was the first time that the weight of everything was hitting him.

"I can't, Betts." He managed to get out between sobs. "I can't do this."

"Yes. You can." I said pulling away and making eye contact with him. I wiped the tears from under his eye with my thumb. "Jellybean is going to need you today. You can do this, Jug."

He reached up and wiped his face with the back of his hand and nodded his head. He slowly got up and started to make his way to the bathroom.

"I've got your clothes laid out on the bed ok?" I said to him as he closed the bathroom door. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that today was about honoring FP and making sure that what was left of the Jones family could be there for each other.

A few minutes later Jughead came out of the bedroom wearing the suit I'd found in his closet. He pulled uncomfortably at the sleeves and smoothed out his shirt.

"I can't ever figure out how to die this damn thing." He said. I walked over to him and started to tie it for him before he caught eye contact with me. "I'm sorry, Betts."

"For what?" I said trying to avoid the issue.

"You know for what." He said quietly looking at me as I finished tying his tie. I cleared my throat and thought of the best way to answer him.

"I'm not going to stand by and watch you fall back down the rabbit hole." I said.

"You won't. I made a mistake, Betty. I didn't call my sponsor when I should have. It won't happen again. You have my word." He said as I grabbed my things.

"Are you ready?" I asked before we left.

"No." He said shakily, "Let's go."


When we got to the cemetery, there were no cars lining the drive. Instead every available place to park was filled with motorcycles. When we got out of the truck, I could tell Jug was overwhelmed by what was in front of us. Every Southside Serpent had crawled out of the woodwork and formed a corridor for us to walk through. Every single one wearing a black leather jacket, with an emerald green snake sewn on the back. As we walked through, they gave their condolences and shook Jughead's hand. When we got to the end, we could see Jellybean holding a tissue in her hands. Jughead carefully walked up to a podium that had been placed at the head of FP's grave. He pulled a wrinkled paper napkin from his jacket pocket and put it in front of him. He looked at for a minute before he balled it up in his hand started to speak.

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones, II was..." He started as he looked at the casket in front of him. "He was a man that loved his family. Despite all the nights he'd pass out on the couch, the nights he would stay at the worm, and his involvement in the murder that shook this town, he loved his family. He called Jellybean every chance he could to make sure she was ok in Toledo, and he welcomed her with open arms when she decided to come back." His voice cracked as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "I'm sorry, Dad." He said as he started to cry. "I'm sorry that I never got to apologize for the things I said that night, and you never got to read the book I've been writing, because it's dedicated to you. It wasn't what you thought it was. It was about a man that may have made mistakes, but owned up to them. It was about a father strong enough to let a foster family take care of his kid while he was in prison. It was about your tenacity and your quest to always protect your family from the world…I promise you that this book only portrays you the way your son saw you. You disappointed me over the years, yes, but you did what you could to make it up to me…and JB…." He paused as he wiped his eyes, "The guys are all here today for us, because you were there for them, and because you took the fall for something you didn't do just to protect them and their families…I can't believe your gone…but you will be missed FP…You'll always be the Serpent that changed this town, Dad." He finished. As he walked away from the podium, the guys started clapping. Then, each member of the Serpents walked by and tossed a handful of dirt on top of the casket and walked back to their bikes. The last in line was a long-haired man, that I recognized from that night at the trailer after the 75th jubilee, he carefully placed FP's leather jacket on top of his casket as it was lowered into the ground.


A/N: I really struggled with this one, I like FP's character. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it, but for the sake of progression, I had to do it. I tried to do the best I could to explain how I see FP as a character and as a father. I hope you like it!