Chapter 20: Karma's Pain In The ASS

Awaking in the hospital was the last thing that happened. He remembered the bunker, where him and Tom went and then Jughead... but after that it's all blank. His eyes fly open when he thinks about his son.

"Where's my son?" He cringes on how hoarse his voice comes out. He tries again," Where's my son?!" His voice is almost in a cry.

He sees Alice's eyes build with tears. His heart starts to race when the tears appear in her eyes. Alice notices that he's going to freak out when the monitor spikes. "FP... please calm down. You need to stay calm, okay?" She sees him nod his head.

Her mind had been on autopilot since she got the call. "Is this Mrs. Andrews?" She immediately thinks something happened to her ex-husband. "I'm not Mrs. Andrews anymore. Is my ex okay?"

"Is Forsythe Jr, your ex husband?" Her heart pounds against her chest as she shakes her head. "No. No. My ex is Fred. What happened to FP?!" She asked as her voice shook.

"Ms. Forsythe was admitted after he witnessed his son..." Alice stopped listening and was in her car.

She hadn't had much time to absorb the news either. When Tom came to visit he explained that when they found Gladys she had a gun to Jughead's head. They tried to negotiate with her but it backfired. "Is he...?" Tom shook his head.

"No, Jughead wasn't hurt. Gladys turned the gun on herself instead and the kick back knocked Jughead out. FP ran to his son, but suffered a panic attack and passed out."

"So... Jughead's really alive? And Gladys is dead?" She found herself asking. She saw Tom nod his head and sighed in relief.

"Alice, Gladys is dead. For real this time, Jughead is alive." She starts crying and Tom pulled into his arms. "Shh... it's okay. He's safe." She really started enjoying Jughead and then he was taken and they thought he was dead. It was now a relief that wasn't.

"FP... when you went to the bunker something happened." She watched as the horror crossed over his eyes. "Hey, it's okay. He's fine. You just had a panic attack that's all. Jughead can't wait to see you!" FP's eyes blinked for a moment.

"J-Juggie's okay?" His voice sounded in awe. She could see the clearly relief in his eyes and voice. Alice smiles before she leans over him to peck his cheek. "Yes. He's okay. He's worried about you actually." FP chuckles.

"That boy is worried about me? Why me? He should be more worried about himself." Alice chuckles softly along with him as she slowly presses kisses along his neck.

FP refrains from letting out a moan as Alice continues to trail kisses down his neck. "A...Alice, what are you doing?" He didn't want her to stop but this was a hospital.

"Hmmm?" Alice hums innocently at him. Her nails drag across his hospital gown. "I'm just letting you know how much you mean to me."

A knock on the door breaks them part and the intruder gasps. Alice and FP couldn't believe their eyes at the visitor. "Fred?!" Alice helped as she quickly climbed off FP and fixed the buttons on her shirt blouse. "What are you doing here?"

Fred rolled his eyes and decided not to comment on that fact he just found his ex-wife giving FP hickeys. "I was just coming to see if FP was okay. I got your message you left. Betty and Archie will by in an hour."

FP could tell that Fred was uncomfortable by the situation so he changed the subject. "Thank you for stopping, Freddie. It means a lot." Fred coughed.

"You're welcome, Man."

A day or two later, FP and Jughead were both released from Riverdale General and were now able to go home. Alice was in the kitchen making FP's favorites and she told Betty to stop at Pop's to get Jughead's food. The door opened and she heard hear FP's voice.

"Alice?!"

"In the kitchen!" She called out. FP and Jughead turned the corner toward to kitchen and sniffed the air. FP could smell the food before he walked into the room. It smelt so good. Alice untied her apron and washed her hands from the powder sugar. "I'm glad you guys are home! I made your favorites, babe." She said as she gave him a quick peck.

FP chuckles as he looked around." I see that, Al. You didn't need to do all this." She shakes her head with a sigh.

"I know. I just wanted to do something special for my two boys!"

"Ahem!" A throat cleared, Alice turned around and saw her son, Archie. He didn't look so pleased. "Oh, Arch. You are one of my boys too!" Archie's annoyed look fell upon his face and it was replaced with a smile.

"Good." Archie replied satisfied with his mom's answer. He nodded his head." Where's Betty, Mom?"

"Pop's. She will be back in a short while." FP's eyebrow crinkles.

"It's for me." Jughead said as he caught the confused look on his father's face. Alice looked stunned. "H-how did you know?"

"Betty's not quiet when it comes to surprises. We all know that I..." He gets cut off by them.

"...that you don't like surprises!" They finished his sentence. Jughead rolled his eyes at his family and huffed.

The front door opens and Betty walks through the house. She was sporting two bags and one Pop's shake for Jughead. Alice helps Betty take the food to the dining room and sets it onto the table.

"Who wants to eat?" They all laughed when Jughead eagerly raises his hand.

-xxx-xxxx

Over the next few months, FP and Alice grow closer with their kids, maybe more than before. For the first few days, Jughead would wake up screaming his lungs off. FP would usually race into the room at the sound of his son's petrified screams. He knows that Jughead's nightmares were caused by the aftermath of Gladys. Alice still worries about her family but it's gotten easier. Jughead's terrors also gave her a scare as well. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be captive and have this idea you weren't going to make it out alive.

One night when FP and the kids were out of the house for Pop's, Jughead's screams awoke Alice from her nap. She quickly shoved the blanket off her body and traveled towards Jughead's room. She didn't bother knocking on the door, instead she went inside. She found him, kicking and screaming.

She gently shook him." Jughead. It's just a nightmare. You are safe." He didn't budge out of his terror. She tried again, but this time raised her voice a little bit. "Hey, Buddy... you have to wake up!" She felt his body tense up against her delicate hands.

She gently combed through his raven curls as she calmly whispered into his ears. Jughead slowly opened his eyes and his body went up in a jolt. He was in shock when he found his father's girlfriend right next to him. Alice notices that he's confused and pulls her hand away.

With a cleared throat, Jughead asks." What happened?"

"Sweetie, you had another nightmare." His cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed. It happens to me too." His eyes looked floored.

"Really? You have them too?" He hates how he sounds like a child. He's not a kid no more. He's almost an adult.

Alice chuckles lightly." Yes, I do, Jughead. It's our body's natural reaction."

"Oh." She nods.

"I have them about my childhood, or a scary movie... or even Fred." Jughead looks shocked by what's coming out of her mouth.

"Mr. Andrews?" She nods again. "Yeah... I do. Even though we aren't together like that anymore. I still worry about him."

It takes a minutes before Jughead responds. "Mine are about Pop's and my... the Black Hood." She chose to ignore the way he stumbled upon the mention of his mother. She could still that was a touchy subject for him. "I just wish sometimes I would stop having these nightmares. I hate them." He paused again and then released a breath. "Most of all I hate that my memories of good times are now tainted..." A tear rolls down his cheek as he continues to pour his heart out to her.

After sometime, Jughead falls asleep again. She could tell he was all worn out. She carefully got off the bed and drapes the blanket over his body. She looks over at him one last time and shuts off the lights.

She heads downstairs where she finds FP lying on the sofa, with his feet kicked up on the coffee table. He was on his phone when she walked by him and sat down right beside him.

"How is he?" She let out a sigh. FP noticed the long sigh and wrapped an arm around her. "He woke up with another nightmare?"

She shook her head." No, this time he was too scared to realize it. I had to wake the poor guy. FP, he was so afraid..." FP's heart tightened. He didn't like how he couldn't help his son through this. He sighed deeply before letting Alice's head lean against his chest.

"I wish I could help him... I feel so lost myself. My own son is having nightmares and I can't find a way to take his pain away."

The following days later, it seemed to be getting better for the family. Jughead started warming up to Alice, even accidentally called her mom a time or two. FP heard a knock on the door and sighed when he went to answer it. He was shocked who he saw at his porch. "Hi. Can I come in?"

"Hermione... what are you doing here?" He asked as she stood in front of him.

They hadn't really spoken since the late incident happened. They kinda went their separate ways after that. Not that FP wanted that to happen. There was a small part of him that missed what they had going on between, but the other part of him was happier where he is now. He came such a long way from being sappy-in-love with his best friend and now she loves him too.

Hermione sighed softly." I came to see how you and Alice are doing since... everything." Oh, great now she sounded jealous. She wasn't. She has Fred now... but there was a part of her that missed FP.

During their friends-with-benefits era, She felt this warmth when she was with him. She could talk his ear off and he'd still be smiling at her. She missed those days. The way he took care of her after she a few too many. Even though their relationship was fake. The way they cared for one-another wasn't fake. And when she was late or thought she may have been pregnant with his child - She could see the gentleness in him. He may act tough, but he is a softy when it comes to his feelings.

She could tell that if it had been positive he wouldn't run. He would stay and help her raise the baby. But she also knows how unfair that would've been for Alice and Fred. She saw a spark in Alice's eyes when they told them that they were dating. Almost like hurt that shined in her eyes. That's when Hermione realized that Alice was falling for FP.

And she would have to let him go. But if was being true to herself, she was also falling for the serpent herself as well. But then she realized that her love for Fred had been much stronger than her lust for FP Jones. That's what it was - lust for him. Sex was just as the other had said, but she would never really have his heart. No, that belonged to the one and only Alice Susanna Smith. It didn't matter how she once felt about him.

"We are really amazing honestly." She felt her heart flutter at the happiness in his voice. He actually sounded generally happy for once in his life.

"That's good to hear, FP. I'm glad our plan worked out." FP shot a grateful smile.

"Me too, Mione." His smile made her slightly give one as well. "How are things with Fred?"

"Good. Really good actually."

After Hermione finished talking about her life and her relationship with Fred, She said her goodbyes and FP closed the door. He sighed briefly before heading upstairs and crawling into bed with his lovely girlfriend. He found Alice reading a book with her legs crossed.

"Who was at the door?"

"Hermione." Alice's eyes lifted from the page she was reading.

"What did she want?" She asked with suspicion curling into her tone. Not that she had anything against Hermione Gomez, but they did sleep together.

"She just wanted to check in on me and you. We talked about her and Fred." He saw the look on her face and cupped her cheeks in his hands. He looked deeply in her eyes. "Nothing happened, baby. I love you too much to ever cheat on you."

"I know you do... it's just you and Hermione had a relationship that involved sex, FP."

"It was all fake, Alice. We did to get you and Fred." Alice wants to believe him. She really does, but she saw the way Hermione looked at FP when they were fake dating and always thought it was real.

"I think she loved you, FP. Maybe it was all fake in the beginning but as time went on she actually fell for you..." He could tell doubt was swarming in her brain.

"Alice..."

She shook her head." You know I'm right. If she told she loved you, I think you would want to be with her- even right now you would still want to be with her." Alice starts to feel tears building in her eyes.

FP sees the tears threatening to fall, and gently wipes them away with his thumb. It hurts him when she cries like this. She doesn't deserve to feel unwanted. She deserves the whole world and much more.

"Alice, look at me." She slowly turns to face him." I won't lie to you. When Hermione and I were fake dating there was a part of me that felt feelings for her. A small part." Alice's eyes filled with tears. "But that small part was never compared how much I love you. Even if Hermione told me she did have feelings for me, I wouldn't leave you! I spent so many year unhappy because I was afraid you'd reject me. I have been in-love with you since I was just eight or nine years old, Alice. I wouldn't let go of you if someone pulled a gun to my head. I love you so much, Al."

Alice had tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened to his confession. She could tell he was being completely honest with her.

"I love you too, FP." She sniffled," I'm sorry I ever doubted you!" FP's arms pulled her into an embrace against him. He kissed her forehead several times until she calmed down.

Now that Friend that was so unhappy for years, He finally has the woman he fell for back he was just eight or nine-years-old. Alice may not be with the guy she was in-love when she was just ten years old. But she did end up marrying him, had three amazing kids, realized that she was now in-love with their mutual best friend, married that best friend and had one more kid. The man that she married, didn't have any other children, got re-married to Hermione Gomez.

It was all because he stepped out on the North-side and ran into Alice in 2018. He reacquainted with his two best friends, married the girl who was in-love with since he had been eight years old, had another baby and ended up being the happiest he'd ever been. All due to running into an old love - an Unknown Lover with unknown feelings.

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And that was the last chapter! I hoped you loved the story. I have many other stories planned. This was so fun to write! Feel free to check out my other stories, books when you get a chance!

, love Aut!

~ The End ~