A/N I am so sorry for the delay on this chapter. Honestly I got really stuck writing it. In the end i just powered through and I hope the result isn't too terrible.

Outside the office of the Register Archie watches Jughead drop his bike next to his own and gives his wheezing friend a doubtful look. He's lived opposite Hal Cooper his whole life and there is absolutely no way he's a serial killer. But Jughead just nods towards the door and he sighs out the reluctant acknowledgment that his friend's right and they can't risk not investigating the Register because it's quite literally the only theory they have.

"Ok dude, play it cool," Jughead whispers as he pushes the door.

"Boys," Hal is at his desk smiling charmingly. "Shouldn't you two be at school?"

"Hi Mr Cooper," Archie glances at Jughead who gives him an encouraging nod. "We're actually looking for Betty, she didn't come in today"

"Oh, no" Hal looks slightly confused. "Betty went upstate with Alice today, some kind of girls' bonding trip. I do my best not to pry but I gather one or other of you two boys left my Betty feeling kinda blue?"

Hal's relaxed fatherly chiding is not the evidence of serial killer psychopathy they'd been looking for and Archie's mostly glad about that even if it leaves them back at square one and in the corner of his eye he sees Jughead's certainty dissolve into hopelessness. "Honestly guys, you just need to give her some time, let her calm down. When Alice and I fight, believe me, discretion is definitely the better part of valour."

"Mr Cooper," Archie begins, and then, after giving Jughead a questioning look to which the darker boy responds with a nod. "I think Betty's in trouble, she called me and it sounded like she's been kidnapped"

"We called the sheriff Mr Cooper," Jughead interjects. "But we're looking everywhere for her too"

"You're sure?" Hal's already on his feet and moving them all to the door. "Oh my god I have to get to the station"

He ushers them out and quickly locks the door. Jughead's already moving ahead down the pavement, his shoulders slumped in defeat so it's Archie that notices the nervous way Hal double checks the lock. When Hal's car disappears around the block he tugs on Jughead's sleeve and leads him to the ally round the back.

By the time they've managed to open the small high window above the back bathroom and tumble gracelessly one by one onto the cistern he's breathing hard and convinced he's actually insane to imagine Hal is the Hood.

They dash for the basement only to come up short, as Veronica appears in the office.

"How'd you get in?" Jughead hisses and she shrugs.

"Door was open"

Jughead casts him a knowing look and his heart rate takes off as they all creep towards the basement the sound of their ragged breathing and soft footsteps deafening in the taut air.

Their path is blocked and suddenly it's all terribly, terribly, real. In the corner of his eye Archie notice Jughead position his body in front of Veronica's, one arm lifting to tuck her in behind him. He feels it too; the need to protect Veronica from the masked man ahead of them. Maybe it's misogynistic, maybe its instinct, he doesn't question it as he draws the gunman's attention away from his friends.

"What have you done with Betty?" he asks in a voice far less forceful than he'd intended. His heart is pounding and he's having flashbacks to that moment in the diner when he did nothing for his dad. It won't be that way this time. This time he will save the people he loves form this homicidal bastard.

The hood doesn't speak he just makes a gesture with his free hand that clearly demands they turn and leave. They don't move and he gestures more empathetically stepping aggressively closer when they still don't move and pointing his gun close range at Jughead's temple.

Jughead closes his eyes tight, braced for a shot that doesn't come as the hood crumples suddenly to the ground revealing the dirty and trembling figure of Betty Cooper. She drops the heavy fire extinguisher she's brandishing with a clang, the noise stunning Jughead into motion and sending him stumbling over the prone body between them to take Betty in his arms. "Oh God Betts"

She clings to him. "I thought, oh god, I thought he was going to kill you." She pulls back and runs her hands frantically over the lines of his jaw and Archie thinks he's never seen her look so real. "He said, he said-"

"We know, we heard," Jughead soothes and pulls her into his body again. "It's ok Betts, we're ok, we're all ok."

Veronica catches Archie's eye and he can see across the room that she's still trembling as much as the rest of them but she's got a little Lodge steel under the surface and she quickly takes up the fallen gun and points it at the groaning man on the ground. "Archie," she prompts and he steps forward intent on finally unmasking the hood for real.

"It's my dad, isn't it?" Betty's voice stops him and he looks to see her staring tearfully at the man on the ground from the safety of Jughead's encircling arms. He doesn't answer until she turns her gaze on him and then all he can do is offer a regretful nod before pulling off the mask to reveal the face of Hal Cooper beneath.

The reality of it draws a sobbing gasp from Betty and she turns her face into Jughead's chest while Archie drags the recovering man up into a sitting position and Veronica keeps the gun levelled on him without so much as a quaver in her grip.

"Dad?" Betty asks softly as Hal finally opens his eyes.

Her father doesn't reply and in the end Betty bites back her tears and speaks again. "You're the hood"

Hal shakes his head and grunts. "Of course not. Betty," he sounds almost offended by the suggestion. "No, of course not"

Veronica gives Betty's father a dubious look. "That's not how it looks Mr Cooper"

"I'm not the hood, don't be so ridiculous," he props himself up against the wall and addresses Betty. "I just wanted to get you back on the straight and narrow, thought this could scare a little sense into you"

"What?" Archie hears Jughead's shocked reaction as it matches his own.

"It was crazy, I know that. But I heard you tell Polly about him," he jerks his head accusingly at Jughead. "I couldn't think of another way to stop you going back to him"

"Jesus dad are you serious?" Betty looks hurt and disbelieving and angry all at once. "You kidnapped me and used my worst fear to threaten me because you don't like Jughead. We're not even together right now"

"But you wanted to be," Hal suddenly sparks with anger. "Another Smith woman making a fool of us all over a fucking Jones"

Jughead looks between Betty and her father as the former shakes her head in confusion. "What is wrong with you? Why now? I've been with Jughead for months, why is it suddenly a problem?"

"I'll show you why," Hal pushes himself up quickly making the whole group pull back and Veronica grip the gun tighter.

Hal ignores her and pushes past them to the front office where he grabs a file form his desk. "Your mother," he spits. "She's looking for that baby she gave up. She's following a lead a few towns over"

"So?"

He opens the file and pushes it towards them. "That's her lead"

In the file is a photograph from which stares out a handsome rangy young man of about twenty-five. He has a cigarette between his full lips and his jet-black hair falls in unkempt waves over his forehead.

"I don't understand"

"Look at him Betty"

Betty's eyes follow her father's from the image to look at the raven haired boy at her side and Archie is hit by a sudden wave of understanding that he can tell still eludes his friends.

"Jesus," he draws Hal's attention with the curse.

"Poly's already shamed us, carrying her cousins baby, now this. The Cooper's will be a laughing stock. This isn't Oklahoma"

"You think this is Jughead's dad's kid?" Archie asks before he loses his grip on this crazy moment of perception.

"Fuck" Jughead's curse comes over the top of Betty's less convinced. "That's crazy"

"Mrs Cooper and my dad?" Jughead asks and he sounds like he can't imagine anything more implausible in his life.

"Dad," Betty ignores the serpent and addresses her father. "That is insane, mom was with you. She'd never have-"

Hal snorts and it's clear that he's lost any faith he ever had in his wives past fidelity. "I used to believe that, that she'd actually given FP up. But look at him Betty" he gestures helplessly to the image of the young man who certainly looks more like Jughead's brother than Betty's.

"Dad," his tragic expression draws sympathy into his daughter's voice and Hal rushes on with his justifications.

"So, you see Betty? You see," Hal looks like he imagines his actions, his stupid monstrous, borderline certifiable, actions vindicated in some way. "That's why you have to stay away from him."

Betty's empathy evaporates into an expression so quickly changing that Archie can't track her emotions over her face and turns instead to see Jughead watching her profile with trepidation.

"You wanted to scare me dad?" Betty's face settles into that flinted hardness she gets from Alice as she addresses her father. "Well congratulations I've never been more terrified than when you threatened Jughead. I thought he was in real danger and do you know what dad?" She steps a little closer to her father and Archie can't help the fleeting thought that she's a crazy scary girl sometimes. "I would have died, gladly, right there and then to keep him safe."

"Betty-"

"You thought you'd scare me off him?" Betty scoffs. "But you just made me even surer."

Betty steps back to Jughead's side and without looking at him continues in a steely voice. "I love Jughead dad and if he'll take me back then nothing, not you, not mom, and certainly not some hypothetical half-brother, who doesn't in any way make us related, is going to stop me being with him"

Archie watches Jughead watching Betty, sees the admiration, more than that, the wonder, in those guarded blue eyes and he knows there's no if about Jughead taking Betty back. She has his heart on a string and Archie should have seen that way before he got together with Betty. He should have realised how different love is for the two of them than it is for him, how much deeper the furrow they've torn in each other's hearts is than anything his many infatuations have left in his.

"I'm going home," Betty states coldy. "I need to shower and I need to talk to mom. Jug," she turns to look into Jughead's face and her hard gemstone eyes soften to the colour of sunlight shining through maple leaves. "Walk me?"

"Sure"

"B," Veronica's still holding gun loosely in Hal's direction. "What should we do about-"

"Leave him, he's not the hood."

Veronica nods and lowers the gun.

"And V" the dark-haired girl's eyes lift to Betty's a little nervously at the blonde's commanding tone. Betty forces a small smile and a nod. "Thanks," she looks at Archie too. "Both of you. Thanks, for coming to the rescue"

"Anytime B" Veronica says with pointed sincerity and Archie thinks, really hopes, he's witnessing the groundworks being laid for a reconstruction of their friendship.

"Don't come home tonight dad," Betty order's as she slips her hand into Jughead's and the two of them walk out of the door.

A/N as i said i'm not so happy with this. Next time we'll see if Alice's lead as a dead end and we'll see how Betty and Jughead's reconciliation goes and where it all leaves Veronica and Archie. Please let me know what you think, some constructive criticism would be useful on this chapter