The next morning, Veronica arrives at the Houston General Hospital with her mother and Jughead in tow. At the reception area, they run into Polly Cooper-Townsend, also hurrying into the hospital with dark circles under her eyes. As they walk towards Betty's room, Polly fills Veronica in on the details of the previous night.

"And the doctors told us they can't do anymore tests until she's awake, and they don't know how long it will be before she wakes up"

'What kind of quack doctors run this place, anyway? We should fly her in to Riverdale, where we could have Daddy's top surgeon look at her. Or I could fly him in here – '

'I suspect he's going to say the same thing, Ron. These head injuries are tricky' Jughead sounds defeated, and squeezes Veronica's hand before she can say more.

"My mom and dad are in the hospital cafeteria if you want to see them," Polly turns to Mrs. Lodge and speaks quietly. "Mom could probably use a friend right now. Dad and Jim had to practically force her to go home and get some rest last night, and they came in early this morning. She's really upset, and-"

'I'll definitely go and speak with her' Mrs. Lodge's voice is gentle as she hugs Polly. Alice Cooper had become a close friend over the years, and had often given her good parenting advice with regards to Veronica. In the early years when Mr. and Mrs. Lodge had to travel frequently for business, Alice had acted as a surrogate mother for Veronica. Giving her daughter's shoulder a squeeze, Hermione Lodge walks off in search of her friend.

Veronica and Jughead arrive outside Betty's room and are shocked as they peep in. Reggie Mantle is slumped in a chair by Betty's bedside, holding her hand as he sleeps.

"He camped out here all night. Refused to go home with his parents, with me when I was dropping off her parents, with Chick and Polly when they left… Poor kid"

Jughead narrows his eyes and peeps again at the sleeping Reggie, as he slowly starts to gain respect for his former enemy. Well, Archie's former enemy, really, and his by default.

"I don't think he's eaten anything since lunch yesterday" Polly's voice is hesitant, "Do you think we should wake him up?"

'NOT EATEN ANYTHING? THIS IS SERIOUS!' marching into the room, Jughead Jones shakes Reggie awake roughly.

"Wha- Spindle Snoot? What are YOU doing here?" Reggie takes a minute to register where he is, and can't figure out how Jughead had ended up in Texas.

'Ron and her mom flew me over. Now get your ass out of the chair, Mantle. We're getting you something to eat.'

"I'm not leaving her."

Sighing, Jughead pulls up a chair next to Reggie and sits down. 'There's nothing you can do, Reg.'

In a completely uncharacteristic move, Reggie buries his head in his hands and starts to cry softly. Jughead is unused to tears (especially from teenaged boys and ESPECIALLY from Reggie Mantle), but after a moment of panic, decides to pat his friend on the back and speaks in what he hopes is a soothing voice.

'Reg, getting yourself sick isn't going to help Betty. She'd probably be really upset if she saw you here, crying, not eating… you have to take care of yourself for her.'

After a few minutes of silent sobs, Reggie looks up, surprised to see genuine sympathy in Jughead's eyes instead of the expected insults.

'Her brother and sister, not to mention Veronica are waiting outside to see her too, I think it's time you took a break, Reg'

Almost as if in agreement with Jughead, Reggie's stomach growls. "Trust old Spindle Snoot to telepathically communicate with every stomach in the world" Reggie grumbles to himself as he acknowledges Jughead's point. To his friend's vast relief, he gets up and moves to the door, before stopping suddenly.

"Oh, Jug, you do know if you tell anyone I was crying in there, I'm going to kick your ass."

'Yes, Reggie' Jughead dutifully rolls his eyes. He wasn't going to say anything anyway; maybe it was all this time he was spending with Ronnie, but he actually felt sorry for the guy.

"Good man. And Jug?"

'Yeah?'

"Thanks…"

Jughead is still pinching himself as the two boys make their way to the hospital cafeteria, in search of something ALMOST edible.

In the cafeteria, Reggie and Jughead are actually having a decent conversation over burgers, for once. They swap stories about the past year in school, and the summer so far. Jughead has ALMOST managed to cheer Reggie up as he laughs at him for mistaking Betty's brother for a pedophilic cowboy, when they are joined by a sniffling Veronica. Wordlessly, she sits beside Jughead as he pulls her into a fierce hug, kissing the top of her head and whispering reassuring words as Reggie raises an eyebrow. This was a new development.

'I'm – I'm sorry, Reggie' Veronica blushes as she speaks, 'But she just looks so helpless lying there. This IS Betty we're talking about – star of the baseball, basketball and soccer teams. And now she's just lying there –' Veronica lets out another choked sob as Jughead pulls her into another hug.

Reggie, on hearing Veronica's words, almost feels like crying himself. Swallowing hard to keep his tears at bay, Reggie stares at his plate, wondering what Betty would have to say about the obvious new couple in front of him. Trying to distract himself, he starts to enquire about his other Riverdale friends.

"D-does anyone else from home know about this?"

'Chuck, Nancy, Dilton, Frankie, Maria, Midge and Ethel made a video for her, Chuck made a card as well. Midge wanted to come actually, but she was too upset over the Moose issue.'

"What Moose issue?" In spite of himself, Reggie is curious. He has no zero interest in Midge, but he HAD always considered them to be one of the 'power' couples of Riverdale High.

Sighing, Jughead answers, 'He called from his trip and gave her an ultimatum – either she commits to him a hundred percent, or he moves on. Apparently he's discovered how popular he really is with girls. He loves Midge though, and hopes she chooses him, but won't stand for being toyed with anymore.'

"Whoa. I guess the big lug is smarter then we give him credit for. Seriously, though, it would be a pity if things didn't work out. I kind of hope she does make the right decision"

Veronica looks at Reggie with widened eyes – the old Reggie would have picked up his phone and called Midge immediately with a few corny one liners. Jughead isn't surprised though – he's noticed Reggie's lack of interest in Midge and most other girls (except for Betty) all semester. He just hopes Reggie decides to tell Betty how he feels before the first week of school – he's got a hundred bucks riding on this.

"Don't look so surprised, Ron. People change. You of all people should know that" Reggie smirks knowingly in her direction as twin blushes stain the cheeks of his companions. Again, he wishes Betty was around to see this.

"Does… does Archie know about Betty?" Reggie is almost afraid of the answer. He doesn't know if he wants Archie flying down to be with her, especially since knowing his luck, he'd walk in just as she woke up and she would think he'd been here all along. He also knows that with Ron apparently off the market, Archie would renew his interest in Betty, maybe even make a commitment.

Jughead's eyes drop to the table as Veronica takes his hand in reassurance, before speaking in a low voice, 'Archie isn't really taking my and Ronnie's calls right now…'

"Oh… OH…" Reggie nods, looking at Jughead in a rare moment of sympathy. Archie and Jughead had been best friends for years, and it was undoubtedly hard for him to have Archie so angry with him. On the other hand, Archie had made no commitment to Veronica, Betty or any other girl, and Veronica was free to choose who she wanted to date.

"Give ol' Arch time… once he gets back to Riverdale and falls head over heels for Cheryl Blossom or Ginger Lopez, you guys'll be buds again…"

Seeing the sad look on Jughead's face, however, Reggie decides Veronica would probably need to be alone with him to cheer him up properly. Giving him a friendly punch on the shoulder, Reggie stands up to leave, before changing his mind and addressing his friends.

"Just so you guys know… I'm on your side"

With his trademark smirk, Reggie heads off in the direction of the hospital gift shop, leaving a very surprised couple in the cafeteria.

AN: I thought if Ron and Jug are going to be together, Reggie and Jug should become proper friends, too. Thanks for the reviews, and let me know what you think of this chap – I'm still figuring out how I want this fic to end.