Betty's pov, the next day
"Ready to find out the gender?" I ask Jughead as the two of us walk into the doctor's office together.
"So ready," Jughead smiles at me. "What's your final guess?"
"Mm... boym," I say.
He raises his eyebrows. "Girl," he challenges.
"Well, it'll be one of the two," I laugh.
We check in and are called in soon. The doctor does a few tests, and then we have an ultrasound.
"Would you like to know the gender?" She asks us as we watch the little baby on the screen.
"Yeah," I say, smiling at her and then at Jughead.
"It's a boy!" the doctor tells us happily. I smile at Jughead, tears welling in my eyes.
"You were right," Jughead whispers, his face happy.
"Mother's instincts," I whisper back.
"When should we tell everyone?" He asks.
"How about... after the wedding. Like, two days after, the day before we leave. We can do it on the beach and it'll be really fun," I say.
"I love that idea," Jug tells me, his eyes sparkling.
Betty's pov, a week later
I sit, grading papers at my desk. At this point I'm running out of clothes that aren't the same pair of black jeggings.
I hear footsteps as someone walks into the room.
"Maya, hi," I say.
"Hi, Miss Cooper. I was wondering... this might be weird, but... are you pregnant?" She asks.
I'm not exactly sure how to respond. "Why?" I ask her, trying not to smile while also giving the telltale stare from my eyes.
"Oh, well, I've been hearing rumors, from no one in particular, and I was just wondering," Maya carefully replies.
I laugh in spite of myself. "Yeah, I'm pregnant. It's not an alien," I joke.
I can see how relieved Maya is. "Congrats. When are you due?" She asks.
"May," I reply, smiling.
"Nice," she smiles.
"Hey, can you not tell anyone?" I ask her.
"Sure, of course," she replies, waiting a moment before leaving.
I'm not sure how to feel, really. I should probably announce soon, because it's becoming more obvious by the minute. It feels weird that someone asked me when I wasn't prepared. I knew it was coming, with Lynlie, Sawyer, and Kasyn, but with Maya, I had no idea, no time to think of a response. All I could do was say the first thing that popped into my head.
I'd tell them tomorrow. Definitely. No backing out this time, I told myself.
The next day
Everyone settles into their seats as I stand patiently in front of the class. "Good morning, everyone," I say, and pause. "Okay, today we have a pop quiz."
The students groan. "Come on, really?!" I hear a kid shout.
"Make sure to read all of the questions before starting," I say as I begin to pass out the quiz. "No talking. Anytime I hear anyone talk, that's one point off of every quiz. I'm not available for questions so do the best you can," I say, and then sit at my desk to grade papers.
I hear a few get it right away, and I look up to see a few staring expectantly at me. I just smile politely back. Those were the kids who did as told, the ones who looked over the whole quiz before starting. Not skim to see if there's a backside, actually read all the questions.
I look around for JB, seeing her looking at me, smiling, her blue eyes relieved, her face soft. I smile back, wider and happier than I smiled to the other students.
Kids quickly come up to turn their quizzes in, looking at me strangely before returning to their seat. I see a few who have finished the first side look at the back and realize they didn't need to take the quiz.
The back was a simple design I had come up with the night before, just something fun to get them feeling slightly involved. It had questions, like what we think the gender is and any name suggestions they have.
I read over a few, looking at their gender predictions and name suggestions. Even though I wouldn't be naming the baby, I could give them to JB to help her with ideas.
Six days later
"Jughead, we leave for Hawaii for a week tomorrow and we've barely started packing!" I frantically say as I try to sort through clothes. I grab everything that I know fits, and the dress for the wedding. As I sort through the clothes, I check off my packing list I made on notes, folding clothes as I do so.
"Hey, calm down, I can help you know. You've been on your feet all day, let me do this while you rest," Jughead says, taking the clothes from my hands and folding them himself.
"You're not gonna do it right!" I cry, grabbing the clothes back out of Jughead's hands and refolding them. I slam them in the suitcase, angrily picking up more clothes.
Jughead stands and watches.
I continue folding, and right as I'm about to put another shirt in the suitcase, I pause, taking a deep breath and shutting my eyes. I open them, feeling warm tears fall down my face.
"Hey," Jughead says, placing his hand softly on my shoulder and turning me to face him. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asks me softly.
I stay silent, but lean into his chest, tears falling harder from my eyes and landing on his shirt. Jughead wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer into his body. He holds me like this for minutes, until we hear a noise at our door.
"Mommy? Dada?" A quiet, young voice says.
"Juju..." I say, pulling my body away from Jughead's and trying to wipe tears from my face.
"Mama, why're you crying?" Juju asks, standing in the doorway holding her stuffed bunny loosely in her arms.
"I'm just stressed, Juju," I tell her, wiping more tears off of my cheeks.
"Why?" Julie asks me, walking towards Jughead and I.
I pause, looking at Jughead for a few seconds. "There's just a lot going on right now. And the baby makes my emotions go crazy," I say, laughing slightly.
"Why does the baby do that?" Juju asks, jumping onto the bed and sitting next to the suitcase.
I laugh again, looking at Jughead. The two of us sit on the bed with Juju. "I don't know, Jules. It's just what happens when you're pregnant," I tell her.
"When is the baby gonna come?" Juju asks after a pause.
"In May. That's in five months," Jug answers.
Juju slumps down. "Why does it take so long?" She asks, disappointed.
"Because the baby has to grow and develop before he can be born and it takes nine months for that to happen," I tell Juju.
"Is that the baby?" She asks, pointing at my stomach.
"Yeah, the baby's in here," I tell her, smiling and putting my hand on my bump. The baby kicks, hard. Neither Juju or Jughead had ever been with me when the baby kicked that hard. Before I can say anything, though, Juju asks yet another question.
"How did the baby get in there?" Juju asks. I clear my throat and look at Jughead, who just stares expectantly back at me.
"You ask so many questions. You'll find out when you're older," I tell her, and she looks sad. I feel the baby kick again. "You wanna feel the baby kick?" I ask Juju.
Jughead looks at me, amazed. "How do I do that?" Juju asks.
"Put your hand... here," I say, placing Julianne's hand on my stomach. I feel the baby kick where her hand is, and I smile at her.
Juju looks at her hand, shocked, then up at me with wonder on her face. "That's the baby?" She asks me.
"Yeah," I smile widely, then look at Jughead.
"Can I feel? I know I'm only the father-," Jug says, making me laugh.
"Yes, you dork," I say. "Hey Juju, can you move your hand so your dad can feel?" I ask her sweetly.
Juju takes her hand off my stomach and Jughead places his where Juju's was. Jug feels the baby kick, staring at me with love in his eyes the whole time.
"I love you," he whispers.
"I love you too," I whisper back.
"What about me?" Juju asks, making Jug and I laugh.
"We love you too, Juju," Jug says, and the three of us hug.
"We should probably get back to packing," I say after a few minutes, pulling away.
"Can I help?" Jug asks, looking knowingly at me.
I smile softly. "Yeah," I tell him.
"Can I help too?" Juju asks.
I look at Jughead before responding.
"Not right now, Juju, but your dad and I will tell you when you can help, okay?" I say to Juju.
"Okay!" Juju says happily, and skips out of the room.
Jug and I continue packing, finishing quickly. Then we have Juju help pack her bag. And finally, we fall asleep, ready for the next day.