our story is not over

by x-shadow-x-kisses-x

Betty and Jughead through their early twenties. Set after 4x19. Bughead endgame. Expect: Jughead in an abusive relationship, Betty struggling to make it through life after TBK, lots and lots of hookups with each other and more characters, and Jughead as a single dad. Falice baby. Charles and JB get better storylines. TW: miscarriage and assault (no graphic descriptions).

6. Never Letting Go

In sixth grade, Cheryl Blossom sneered at Jughead in the hallway. She whispered "trailer trash" as he brushed past her, and the words stung him worse than the backside of a wasp.

In freshman year of high school, his mom threw a glass bottle at his dad; it shattered against the kitchen cabinet, and Jughead hid inside his parents' trailer bedroom to escape the yelling. When he finally emerged, his mom was gone, his sister was gone, and Jughead was left to pick up the pieces of their broken family…

When he was sixteen, Penny Peabody sliced a tattoo out of his arm. Despite how bruised and battered his beaten body was, Jughead still felt every fraction of every inch of his skin being separated from his arm by her dirty blade.

At eighteen, Jughead thought there would never be a greater pain than knowing his girlfriend, his soul mate, the absolute love of his life had strayed onto the path of infidelity with the man he trusted most in the world.

His college girlfriend gave him such dark looks of contempt during their arguments that sometimes, when he was feeling particularly vulnerable, the angry expressions on Jess' face would haunt his nightmares.

But there wasn't a single woman in the world, not in the entire history of his existence, who had hurt Jughead more than his wife had.

Cora was the most menacing, the most terrifyingly dark force of evil that Jughead had ever encountered. If her physical abuse wasn't enough, the emotional manipulation came a close second. But it wasn't even her violence and control issues that gave Jughead the most pain. It was the fact that his son had borne witness to the mental trauma that being married to Cora Jones had caused.

The agony of knowing that he hadn't been able to protect Jordan completely, hadn't managed to hide the abuse from his child, cut Jughead deep to his very core. It hurt worse than any bruise she'd given him, and was even more agonising than the broken bones in his arm.

Jughead's only hope was that it wasn't too late to prevent any more pain to his child.

…

According to Betty, fleeing from domestic violence was absolutely a reason to wake up your parents in the middle of the night, and so Jughead conceded that she probably should call them to come and open the door.

Betty helped Jughead unbuckle Jordan from his car seat, but the toddler loudly refused to be held by someone that wasn't his father. Jughead clutched him to his chest with his left arm and held him close as they made their way to the red front door. Jordan gripped Jughead's shirt and buried his head in Jughead's neck.

FP was pale and wide-eyed as he opened the door, and Alice stood only a few feet behind him with a similar expression. FP tried to hug Jughead, but the younger man flinched away when the pressure on his arm became too much.

Cora had really done a number on him.

FP and Alice ushered them both inside, and Jughead only realised he was shaking as he sat down at the kitchen table and attempted to lift his right arm up to pat Jordan's back. The pain was in full force, the damage to his body apparent even as he tried to swallow back the agony.

"What if she calls the cops?" Jughead wondered allowed. There was no holding back the fear in his voice as the possibility that someone could show up to his dad's house at any time, and try to take Jordan away from him, started to overwhelm his consciousness.

"And tells them what?" Betty asked seriously. "That she broke your arm? That she kicked your fourteen month old baby in the stomach?"

Jughead swallowed back a lump in his throat. "She could tell them that I kidnapped Jordan…"

"That would be pretty stupid of her, because then the cops would be able to see this." Betty said as she waved her arm towards the redness around Jughead's neck. "Anything she's threatened you with, Jug… it's all empty words. She doesn't have a leg to stand on, she's just using Jordan to control you."

Jughead still wasn't convinced. "She isn't going to just roll over and let me have him."

"You're right, Jug. But…" Betty sighed. "She'll probably wait a few days, at least until the air is settled and you've let down your guard. It'll be easier for her to claim to have had nothing to do with your injury if she hasn't seen you in a few days. Then she'll go to the police, maybe report you and Jordan missing. Maybe tell them you're refusing access. She'll start leaving a paper trail that leads back to you."

Alice gave Betty a disapproving look. "I'm not sure that's a very helpful thing to say, Elizabeth…"

But Betty shook her head, and a determined expression came over her. "I'm not saying this to scare you, but you do need to be smart about this." She swallowed. "I know, it's hard. Juggie, I know it is. But you can't let her get away with this. You need to get ahead of her, report her so that when you sue her for custody you have medical documents and photographs - maybe even charges - to back you up. You don't need to try and divorce her right this second, and I know that considering your legal options with custody is thinking really far ahead, but that's what you have to do with perpetrators like her." Betty slid her chair a little closer to Jughead's. "You need to get looked at by a doctor… Jordan needs to be. And then you need to talk to a lawyer; I'll call Cheryl in the morning, and she can help you sort out all the paperwork."

Jughead hung his head. "This is going to get messy."

"I know." Betty whispered. "But it's going to be okay…"

…

Jughead refused to be seen by a doctor until Jordan was.

The reason being, though his son had seemed relatively fine despite his crying, was that when Jughead (with the assistance of Alice) had tried to convince Jordan to change into some of Chandler's old dinosaur pyjamas, they discovered a large bruise forming on Jordan's side. The toddler flinched away when Jughead tried to touch it, and his heart lurched with a new kind of fear as FP and Alice drove them to Riverdale General.

Dr Patel was showing signs of aging when he ushered Jughead and Jordan into a hospital room. Deep set frown lines and greying hair were a new feature of the community-loved doctor. Jughead placed Jordan down onto the small bed and sat beside him. Jordan leaned against his dad's side, and Jughead tried not to let himself get emotional.

Dr Patel did a good job of keeping his facial expression lively as he sank into a chair before Jordan. "Can I take a look at that tummy of yours?" He asked Jordan in a higher pitched, babyish voice than his usual calm stoicism.

Jordan shrunk backwards then looked up at Jughead. He nodded encouragingly. "It's okay, Buddy."

Jordan still didn't look convinced, and made no move to disentangle himself from Jughead's side. Dr Patel tried a new approach. "You know what, Dad? I have a whole bunch of lollipops in my bag for brave little boys who come into my hospital. I think Jordan has been really brave, don't you?"

Jordan's interest was piqued, and he looked up at his dad again. Jughead's throat tightened. "Very brave." He agreed, and rubbed Jordan's arm.

"How about," Dr Patel said as he rolled his chair towards the opposite side of the room, "I get a really big red lollipop," he lifted the candy out of his bag and held it in front of him, "and then I give this to our brave little patient here," he wheeled the chair back towards Jordan and came to a stop in front of the toddler, "and he can eat it while I take a look at that belly."

"Sounds good to me, what do you think Jordan?" Jughead asked, trying to force some semblance of optimism into his voice.

Jordan sat up straighter. He cautiously accepted the lollipop and placed it into his mouth. Then as Dr Patel started to remove his shirt he obediently lifted his arms up to help.

"Sugar. Works every time." Dr Patel laughed to himself, and Jughead tried to force a smile. "Where did Jordan go? Oh! Found you." Dr Patel joked as he pulled the shirt off completely, and Jordan wiggled slightly before he put one hand back on the lollipop stick still hanging out of his mouth. Dr Patel assessed the forming bruise on Jordan's left side, which was red and splotchy with purplish tinges starting to make an appearance. "This is pretty big." He lightly poked around Jordan's stomach, and used his stethoscope on his chest. Jordan squirmed with discomfort, but seemed satisfied enough with his lollipop to not become fussy. "How did you get this?" He asked Jordan.

Jordan surprised Jughead by pulling the lollipop out of his mouth to answer. "Mommy." He said simply.

Dr Patel gave Jughead a concerned look then kept his face neutral as he lightly pressed on the bruise. "Is this hurting you?"

Jordan frowned but didn't flinch away too much. "Ouchie…" He said, and then placed the lollipop back in his mouth as he pointed to Jughead's arm.

"Yes, Dad's got an ouchie too, Jordan." Dr Patel nodded. He looked into Jordan's ears and mouth, but nothing seemed wrong with the toddler apart from the large bruise forming on his skin. Dr Patel asked Jughead's permission to photograph the bruise, and it was with a distinct feeling of grief that Jughead agreed. Afterwards, the doctor gave Jughead a list of symptoms to keep an eye on with Jordan, and then helped the child put his T-Rex patterned shirt back on. "Wow, dinosaurs? Those are so cool." Jordan smiled and focused back on his treat. "Now I'm gonna talk to your Dad, for a minute, okay?" Jordan nodded and seemed completely uninterested in both of the adults, his attention squarely on the lollipop.

Jughead swallowed, and took a few steps away from Jordan. "It was his Mom." He said shakily. "Me and my wife… we were fighting, and then Jordan started crying… and she - she… kicked him, when screaming at him didn't make him stop." Jughead cleared his throat, the raw emotion starting to return.

"And what happened to your arm?" Dr Patel asked cautiously, looking down at Jughead's right hand.

"I was trying to get my keys so we could leave and she… crushed it with my typewriter." The painful memory sprung to the forefront of his mind. Surely, it hadn't only happened five hours ago…

Dr Patel raised his eyebrows. "Like one of those big, bulky, metal, vintage typewriters?"

Jughead nodded, and huffed out a blast of air. "I think something's broken. I can't move it."

"And you said you drove all the way here from New York City?" Jughead nodded, and Dr Patel gazed wistfully towards Jordan. "I think you need a lollipop."

Jughead's wrist was swollen, and there was no way in hell he was going to try and move it on it's own. Dr Patel tried testing something by rolling the wrist in a circular motion, and it hurt so bad that Jughead almost threw up. His middle and ring fingers were definitely broken, Jughead could already tell from the awkward way they were positioned, and Dr Patel suspected that three of his knuckle joints had been dislocated. He also had a lovely bruised imprint on his forearm where the bulk of the typewriter had connected with his flesh.

Jordan was not happy when Jughead carried him out into the waiting room. Alice and FP were there, and both offered to watch Jordan for him while he got the x-rays. When Jughead walked away, Jordan started wailing loudly, and reached out for his dad - the sound of it echoed in Jughead's mind as he made his way back down the hall.

Dr Patel was correct, there were broken fingers and dislocated knuckle joints, but Jughead's arm was also fractured in two places, and broken in another (the radius bone, apparently, not that Jughead knew what that meant). He'd need surgery on his wrist to repair the carpal joints, and on his arm to repair the break, and he would have to be in a cast. It was going to make caring for Jordan difficult. Dr Patel 'strongly encouraged' him to talk to a social worker, and gave him the number of one he could call the next day (he looked down at the card, and wistfully realised it was Toni's number). He was full of anxiety when he finally found his way back to the waiting room to get back to Jordan and his parents.

Jordan was still crying, but he'd at least stopped fighting against Alice and had perched uncomfortably on her lap. At least, he was, until he caught sight of Jughead; then he was clumsily sliding off of Alice's lap and running unsteadily towards his father.

Jughead's right arm was locked into a sling for the time being, but he managed to crouch down and pick Jordan up with his still-usable arm. The toddler cried actual tears against Jughead's shoulder, and Jughead had to swallow back his own.

Betty convinced Jughead to make a police report, which felt a lot less formal than it actually was considering Sheriff Keller took his statement in the Elm Street living room. Alice kept Chandler home from school and used him to distract Jordan long enough that Jughead could make the report without his child overhearing and reliving the gruesome details of his parents' physical altercation.

When Keller left, Betty told Jughead that Cora would likely be arrested within the week. She'd probably get charged with Second Degree Assault at the minimum, and Jughead, despite everything, felt guilty to think that he might be the reason that his wife went to prison. It was a confusing and disturbing concept to accept.

How the hell did it come to this? Jughead thought.

He was glad, though, to have copies of the police report and his and Jordan's medical assessments to show Cheryl (when she arrived to help him fill out a document called a 'Family Offense Petition') because if he had to rehash the way Cora had hurt them again, Jughead may have imploded. As it was, everything seemed to be happening in a rush, and Jughead found himself standing before a judge in Centerville within forty eight hours of leaving Cora.

"Are the parents already divorced, or are those proceedings still ongoing?" The judge asked, with far too much casualness for Jughead's nerves.

Cheryl, however, was in her element. "No, your Honor. My client only recently separated from his wife. This is his first petition in Family Court."

"And has the father filed any criminal complaint?"

"Yes, your Honor." Cheryl opened her folder and pulled out a stapled sheet of paperwork. "There is an open case against the mother." As though they were one part of the same machine, the judge's assistant moved to take the paperwork from Cheryl's outstretched grasp and handed it over to the judge.

The judge was a stocky, middle aged woman with large wire-rimmed glasses. She scanned the document, which Jughead recognised as his documented police statement. "Hand me the doctor's report, please." She requested after several minutes of reading, and Cheryl pulled out another file - this one, Jughead knew, contained photos of the bruise on Jordan's side, as well as the bruises that still collared Jughead's neck, and a detailed report of his other injuries…

The judge flipped through the paperwork, and several times her eyes flicked towards Jughead as she read through the medical report. "Mr Jones, please stand."

Jughead swallowed and stood nervously.

"Has Jordan had contact with his mother since Monday's incident?"

"No." Jughead replied, then quickly leaned back to the microphone. "Your Honor." He added.

The judge readjusted the papers and handed them back to the assistant. "Are you seeking to exclude her from the home, or have you made other arrangements?"

Jughead cleared his throat. "We're staying with my parents for now, but I'm going to find something more permanent in Riverdale. I don't intend to take my son back to the city." Certainly not when the city was so close to Long Island, and in turn, closer to Cora's family…

The judge nodded. "I'm granting the Temporary Order of Protection. You can collect your belongings from the home with the company of local law enforcement, and she will have to leave for the duration of you being there. The clerk will give you the detailed paperwork, but you need to understand that this arrangement will only be in effect until your next appearance in court. The Respondent needs to be served with a notification of the proceedings. That's not to say that the Order won't be extended. But we will have to wait until the next hearing."

"Thank you, your Honor." Cheryl said seriously, and then turned to usher Jughead out of the courtroom as the judge called for the next case.

"Wait, so… what happens now?" Jughead asked as he followed Cheryl into the waiting room. "Is Cora allowed to see Jordan? Do I have custody? I'm so confused…"

Cheryl shook her head. "Relax, Jughead. I know there's a lot of legal jargon, but what the judge essentially just gave you is a restraining order against Cora."

Jughead paused with his mouth half open. He closed it and swallowed. "But… she hasn't even been convicted yet."

"Irrelevant in Family Court, which is admittedly lucky for your current situation." Cheryl said. She looked over Jughead's stressed form, and breathed out a sigh. "Cora isn't allowed to harass, stalk, assault, intimidate, or get within fifty yards of you. You've been granted temporary emergency custody of Jordan. The judge accepted your petition; the terms I requested were that Cora not be allowed to have access to Jordan until the actual custody case begins, and when it does I anticipate that the current protection orders will be upheld." Cheryl gave him an encouraging look. "She can argue to have visitation with him, but given the evidence you presented, it's extremely unlikely that they'll give her much more than supervised visits until your case goes to trial. Or until she gets thrown in prison for domestic abuse - whichever comes first. When she is convicted in Criminal Court, if by some small miracle she doesn't serve time, she still won't be given custody."

"Are you sure?" Jughead's voice shook as he looked pleadingly into Cheryl's eyes.

"This is an easy case, Jughead." She said kindly. "It's never in the child's best interest when the abusive parent gets custody, especially not when the physical abuse is so glaringly obvious. Even if she'd never physically hurt Jordan, the court considers the emotional damage to children when they witness domestic violence. There's still a long road to travel down legally, and you're going to have to deal with several more court appearances… but custody-wise: it's over, Jug. She's never going to be able to take Jordan away from you."

Jughead couldn't say anything. He just leaned forward, a heavy weight lifting off his chest. Only four days earlier he was eating take out Thai food on the couch with Cora while Jordan uncoordinatedly danced to children's music. And now they were hiding out in Jughead's family home.

Everything had happened so fast.

"My advice for right now, Jughead, is don't talk to anybody other than family about the court proceedings." Cheryl said seriously. "You're a public figure, and the media is going to love this. Cora might even try to drag your name through the mud to gain sympathy. But it's important that you don't retaliate, at least until the case is closed."

…

Jughead and Jordan stayed in Jellybean's old room for several days. Jughead kept assuring FP it was temporary, despite his dad's urging for them to stay at the house 'until this shit's all sorted'. Jughead appreciated the offer, but he didn't want to be a burden on his family. And even more, he wanted to prove that he could provide for his son himself.

It was easier said than done, because when Jughead attempted to login to his bank account online and order a new card on the day of the court appearance, he discovered that the password had been changed. As he clicked on the recovery link in his email, a dark and swirling nausea built up within his body.

The account was empty.

Jughead searched the transaction history, and saw that the money in his spendings account, as well as the savings he'd been collecting from his book sales, had all been transferred to Cora's bank account. He almost couldn't breathe as he unsuccessfully tried to login to their joint bank account. When he couldn't access it, he didn't bother trying to recover the password; that account was linked to Cora's email.

His American Excess account, too, had made a significant cash withdrawal and was completely maxed out. Jughead mourned the interest payments he was going to have to make now because of her.

Cora had completely drained his funds. She'd left them with nothing.

There was only one more account that he had set up: Jordan's Trust Fund. His fingers shook as he logged into the bank's website. Cora shouldn't have been able to access it. The bank had most of the control of it, and Jughead had set specific terms that made it almost impossible for Jordan to access the money until he turned twenty five, unless he was orphaned or something equally dramatic happened to him. Jughead had set up the account with every intention of making sure Jordan would never be in a situation where he was homeless or struggling financially. Jughead had gone to great lengths to ensure the account wouldn't affect Jordan applying for scholarships to college or gaining financial assistance before he could access the Trust.

But Cora was sneaky…

Jughead was overwhelmed with relief when he saw that Jordan's money hadn't been touched. The bank had been serious when they said withdrawing the money would be difficult. That, at least, was one thing Jughead could rest easy on.

When the relief settled, anger started to rage within him. He knew what she was doing; the last time he'd gone out with Dean (the only time he had since Jordan was born), she had reported his credit card stolen so that when he tried to order them both another drink, he was met with the disapproval of the bartender who cut it up in front of him. Cora's only response was: "What was I supposed to think? You didn't answer my texts…"

She was now, as she had before, trying to corner Jughead into coming back home. Leaving him without money would force him to return, lest he and Jordan starve to death on the streets. He wondered where she thought he was staying. Probably in a hotel in New York somewhere. She'd probably assumed, since he'd left the house close to Eleven PM, that he hadn't gone far…

If she thinks I'm going to come back to her after this… Jughead thought, a deep set frown overcoming his face.

Jughead was suddenly thankful that he'd left his phone behind. At least Cora couldn't track him to Riverdale.

Jughead realised instantly that her lack of knowledge of his whereabouts wouldn't matter. As soon as she was served with the Protection Order papers and saw that they were filed in Centerville, she'd figure out where he and Jordan were.

She had him completely trapped.

However, Cora hadn't accounted for his family's willingness to help him out…

"I never realised it was this bad." Jellybean said tearfully as she hugged Jughead in the Elm Street living room.

Jughead disentangled himself from Jellybean's grasp. "I don't think I did either, really…" he admitted. His insides still felt twisted up, and the painful emotions associated with separating from his wife, separating his son from his mother, raged throughout his body. But for the first time in years, at least, Jughead didn't feel like he was suffocating.

Jellybean's eyes watered as she looked at Jughead's neck. "God, it looks like you were in the boxing ring with a boa constrictor."

Jughead reached up his left hand and absentmindedly touched one of the bruises on his neck. "Or that I tried to hang myself." He mused, thinking of the yellowing tinge the bruises had developed.

"When I saw you last you didn't look far from offing yourself, I'll say that much." Jellybean frowned. "The way that bitch would boss you around… well, you already have two mother figures, having a third would have been a nightmare. Dare I say: it'd drive the biggest of simps in the world to suicide."

Jughead, despite his raging emotions, managed a small smirk. "Well I've certainly missed your sunny disposition, JB."

"Of course you have. I'm a delight."

Jellybean, who had been living in Sunny California since graduating college, booked the first flight to New York and immediately caught the train to Riverdale after FP told her what happened.

"I was itching to come home anyway." Jellybean had said. "It's been boring in LA since Britta left for her great Antarctica research trip. She gets to hang out with penguins all day, while I'm stuck dealing with our greasy housemates? Tragedy."

It was just in time, too, because as Cheryl suspected, the tabloids were beginning to… notice that something was amiss in the Jones' house.

'Wife of popular young adult author arrested on assault charges' read the New York Times. It was only a small online article, and neither he nor Cora had been mentioned by name.

'Police called to the apartment of FPJ3: neighbours claim history of domestic disputes' read another online article. That was news to Jughead; the article detailed the fact that apparently, one of the people on his apartment floor had heard the crashing and yelling and called the police. Several other apartment neighbours had made claims that they often heard screaming coming from the Jones' apartment, but nothing had been quite as bad as what they'd heard that night.

The Chat - a podcast he himself had been on - made an episode called: 'the Jones situation'. Jughead tortured himself with it as he used the headphones on Betty's ancient laptop to quietly listen to the podcast in bed while Jordan slept across his chest.

"Now, we've had Forsythe Jones on the podcast a few times, right Joel?" Asked Jamie, the friendly half of the podcast duo.

Joel, usually snarky and sarcastic, sounded genuinely concerned. "Indeed. Great guy, I've always thought." The sound of typing in the background came over the speakers. "We've had an overwhelming number of requests on the Discord from people who want to know more about the Jones situation. As always, you ask, we deliver."

There was a slight pause, and Jughead closed his eyes. The YouTube video clip only had the two hosts facing each other on a couch, so he doubted he'd miss much. "What the hell is happening with Forsythe and his wife?" Jamie asked incredulously.

"Another classic example of social media portraying only half the story, I'd say." Joel muttered. "Forsythe isn't very active online - his twitter is like a relic of the early twenty tens, so I went through Cora Jones' instagram in preparation for our discussion today." There was more typing. "She's always posting happy snaps of their toddler, Jordan Jones. She's one of those 'mom hack' people who seem to not understand that no-one gives a shit about her kid's snack time."

"Which, if we take Forsythe's last interview into account, seems not to corroborate his version of their parenting."

"I am so glad you mentioned that, because that delves into our intensive timeline we've developed. Before we start, feel free to pause this video and grab a redbull or some popcorn and settle in somewhere, because we have quite the wild ride ahead of us…"

Jughead listened to the podcasts with a sinking feeling in his gut. He genuinely liked Joel and Jamie; they were one of the few interviewers Sam forced him to speak to that didn't make him want to tear his hair out. Jamie had a background in journalism and Joel had a background in trolling people on reddit, so they usually did their research before having guests on their show. The first time Jughead promoted The Outcasts on The Chat, Joel and Jamie were the only interviewers who hadn't asked him for personal details of his private life, and hadn't cared whether he had based "Bella" on a long-lost girlfriend. They just wanted to know which was his favourite bar, how many hotdogs he could eat in one sitting, and how his life had changed since he'd published his book.

And it seemed they'd really done their research on Jughead and Cora's relationship. They mentioned different rants Cora had posted on the New York Mom's page on Facebook, talked about posts she'd made about Jordan on instagram, went into a timeline of when the couple had first moved in together, gotten married in Central Park, gone on their honeymoon in Canada, moved into their current apartment and had welcomed Jordan into their family. They even talked about the first time Jordan slept through the night and ate solid foods. All of it was public record, easily available on Cora's social media.

They listed the dates when Jughead had published his books; first The Outcasts, then Guttermouth, then Demons In The Dark, and then they brought up the fact that Jughead was set to release his next book by Christmas…

"Now, we don't want to speculate too much here, and I want to just put out a disclaimer that neither of us is claiming that any of what we talk about is factual. This is all just our own thoughts, and alleged claims." Jamie said seriously.

"Alright, now that we've established that, let's get into the real story." Joel huffed.

Jamie let out a laugh. "So, last week Visionary Publishers announced on their twitter that FPJ3 would be releasing a new book just in time for the holidays, and that pre-orders would be available from the first of November."

Joel cut in. "Just in time for teenagers to start nagging their parents for Christmas presents."

"As long as they're reading; I'm sure Forsythe would say." Jamie joked. "But this week, someone accidentally leaked the title and synopsis of his fourth book."

Jughead's eyes opened fast. He tilted his head to look at the computer resting on the bedside table. The screen still displayed the two men, but a screenshot from Instagram of Jughead and Cora's wedding day was now floating in the corner.

"Deadbeat Dad, it's allegedly called." Jamie continued. "Caitlin Sharmen, another author signed to Visionary Publishers, was overheard at a writing event discussing Forsythe's latest literary creation with their agent. The implication was that the title is meant to be an ironic nod to the way absent fathers are often labelled as 'deadbeats', despite the fact that sometimes their absence is court-enforced."

"Not always. My dad's absence was self-enforced." Joel chuckled. "But I get the motive. Interesting title, what was the synopsis?"

"So this is all just rumours, but apparently it's about a divorce and custody battle wherein the dad got the short end of the stick. He spends the remainder of the book trying to prove that his ex-wife is an unfit parent, and because this is a book by FPJ3, there's an element of mystery crime drama throughout the story."

"Pretty telling that just before he releases a book about an unstable relationship, his own marriage appears to crumble."

Jughead groaned and leaned his head against his pillow again. Jordan stirred, and Jughead quickly rubbed his back and whispered: "Shh…" Jordan settled back down again and remained asleep, so Jughead breathed a sigh of relief and focused back on the podcast.

"...reported that police were called to Forsythe's apartment last Monday night, but apparently he had already left the house with Jordan. Neighbours claimed that it's common to hear yelling and screaming from their apartment, but this was the first time anyone in the apartment was scared for the lives of their neighbours." Jamie was saying.

"I have a statement here from one of Forsythe's neighbours: 'The wife was yelling, there was all this crashing around, and that baby was screaming hysterically - I dead ass thought someone was getting murdered'. Sounds like a pretty grim outlook to me."

"Indeed. And it seems like Forsythe took the baby and left before the police arrived?"

"That's what the New York Minutes reported. Interestingly enough, Cora Jones is one of that website's usual reporters, but she hasn't posted anything for several days."

"Probably not as shocking when you consider this: late on Tuesday morning Cora posted a long winded statement onto New York Moms. There's a screenshot in the Discord chat, so I'll keep my summary brief, but she posted a photo of Forsythe and Jordan and requested that people keep a lookout for them because she is apparently worried about Forsythe's mental health. According to her, he left without his phone and wallet, and has not been acting right since an 'accident', of which she didn't offer any details. She's scared that he's going to do something to hurt them both."

"Why hasn't she told the police that?"

"She did, apparently. Her claim is that the police aren't looking for Forsythe because he left willingly, and that unless they have a custody arrangement either parent is legally allowed to take their child anywhere they want. Cora claims she's desperate for help finding her husband, and she wants to do so before it's too late."

Joel snorted. "You don't sound convinced."

Jamie laughed nervously. "Well, honestly, I did a little digging into police records to try and find out more about this so-called 'accident'. This never made headlines, except in Forsythe's hometown of Riverdale, but apparently over the Fourth of July weekend Cora and Jordan were in a car accident."

Joel gasped. "Jeez, they kept that quiet."

"Yeah. Terrifying stuff - Cora accidentally drove off a bridge into Sweetwater River and the car sank. The baby almost drowned, and was in the ICU for four days recovering."

The memory stirred in Jughead. He swallowed as he watched the screen.

"How does one accidentally drive off a bridge?" Joel asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, bro." Jamie shook his head. "In any case, that's just an extra bit of background information that could be relevant later as details of the case are brought to light. What I'd like to talk about is the charges that have been brought against Cora Jones in the last twenty four hours."

"Finally, the moment we have all been waiting for." Joel snickered. "So what were these charges? I read an article this morning that said she was charged with felony assault, but the journalist didn't have many details."

Jamie nodded. "So this is all alleged, and let's keep in mind that in this great country we are innocent until proven guilty. Now, moving on from that, Cora was released on bail this afternoon, and Forsythe was notably absent from her court hearing."

"Interesting that he wouldn't show up to his wife's court appearance."

"Ah, but that's where it all makes sense. The prosecutor is charging Cora Jones with Felony Assault in the First Degree, Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, Menacing, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Assault on a Minor less than eleven years old."

Jughead closed his eyes and grimaced.

"Jesus Christ." Joel coughed. "Fuck, I inhaled my own saliva, give me a second." He continued coughing and moved away from his microphone.

"So, I did some research into what constitutes Assault in the First Degree; it seems that to meet that criteria, there has to be intentional infliction of serious bodily harm with a deadly weapon - which means that, allegedly, she has seriously injured someone, and it wasn't an accident."

"God…" Joel said. "And she's popping off on facebook acting like Forsythe is the villain here for taking her kid."

"We don't know for sure who the victims are yet, but let's just assume for a moment that it was Forsythe who Cora attacked, and the child under eleven is their son, Jordan." Jamie stated. "If he's 'missing' right now then it's pretty obvious he's in the process of escaping domestic violence. It shits me off that there are reporters lurking outside his apartment trying to get the scoop on the Jones situation."

"Speaking of." Joel cut in. "Someone in the Discord chat just posted something else." Jughead opened his eyes and looked worriedly towards the screen. Joel was shaking his head. "GamerLad69 - real original name, dude - said: 'FPJ3 filed for a restraining order against his wife, and it looks like it was granted. He's also been given temporary custody of their son, but there isn't much more information'. Do you have a link to back you up there? I don't want to spread misinformation… yep, thank you. If anyone is in the chat right now, there's a link to the New York Minutes website that's been reporting on the case."

"Well," Jamie said, "I think we can reasonably assume that there was some kind of domestic dispute on Monday night that was serious enough for Cora to be arrested—"

Jughead closed the laptop. Anything else The Chat had to say would likely be speculative, and he was in a bad enough mood as it was…

…

Jughead spent most of the next week driving one-handed around town and trying to get a job. He'd already been given an advance on his fourth book, and that had been stolen by Cora, so until Deadbeat Dad was released, and sales surpassed the advance threshold (if it did) he and Jordan would have no source of income.

He knew that FP and Alice were struggling with money, so Jughead couldn't in good conscience keep relying on them to support him and his son financially. He dropped his resume into what felt like every business in all of Riverdale.

It was odd, to be living back in his hometown, because the changes were suddenly glaringly obvious.

For instance, from a social standpoint, there was no more North Side and South Side - there was only Riverdale, and Riverdale's town within a town; SoDale. The irony that he'd longed for there to be a blending of the North and South Sides through all his childhood, and yet it had come at the degradation of the whole town, was not lost on him. If anything, the South Side was in even more of a deplorable condition, and the North Side was just the slightly cleaner version where people still cared if they had graffiti on their driveways, but the two communities no longer carried hatred towards each other. Probably because they were all too busy trying to survive.

SoDale was a wild contrast - located right in the core of the South Side, where the drive in used to be. Once a run-down construction site, it was now a gated community, and it seemed that only the wealthiest of Riverdale's residents could even afford to rent an apartment in the luxurious areas of town. Jughead tried to find a way in to apply for some of the positions vacant in SoDale's cafes and restaurants, but those were seemingly only available to residents of the prestigious area.

When Jughead eventually went into Pop's Chocklit Shoppe, he took a moment to admire the familiarity of the diner. All these years, and the diner was still the same inviting and comforting building that was, for the most part, a source of joy for all its patrons.

Jughead lifted Jordan up onto his left hip as he approached the counter. A pretty waitress was cleaning milkshake glasses, and she set her kind eyes on Jughead as he stood before her.

"Hi gentleman, can I get you anything?" She asked - her voice was calm and warm, and she gave Jordan a smile as her eyes filtered down to him. Jordan leant his head on Jughead's shoulder, but kept his eyes on the woman.

Jughead smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry, he's a little shy today." He cleared his throat. "Actually, I was wondering if you had Veronica Grande's new phone number?" When the woman merely raised her eyebrows, he continued. "You know, the owner? I'm Jughead, an old friend of hers, and I was hoping she'd be willing to give me a job here."

"Well, that's a new one." The woman smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're about a year too late, I'm afraid. Also, she's Veronica Gecko now."

Jughead raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? I didn't realise she remarried." Or had divorced in the first place. To be fair, he didn't know much about the woman at all since Cora had guilted him into unfollowing her on Instagram…

"Remarried, took her ex-husband for all he was worth - not that I blame her, the scoundrel was wasting her money and doing coke off of strippers' backsides every weekend from what I hear. Real Wolf of Wall Street crap." She shook her head in amusement. "Veronica still owns La Bonne Nuit, but one thing I'm very appreciative of is that she signed this place over to Pop before she served her dumbass husband with the papers."

Jughead chuckled, surprised. "Wow. Well, I mean, that's great news… right? I mean, this place has been in the Tate family forever." Jughead smiled. "So Pop owns the diner again?"

She smirked and shook her head. "Not anymore. I'm the new owner, actually. Pop retired a few years back. I'm Tabitha Tate, his granddaughter."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She nodded, and an awkward expression came over her features. "But, I have to be honest, we're not really looking for more workers at the moment. Neither is La Bonne Nuit, if I recall. I'm pretty friendly with the manager, and I know he's been trying to downsize his staff, if anything. Not enough business to support a full array of workers, unfortunately."

Jughead sighed, and readjusted Jordan on his hip; he'd mastered the art of carrying the toddler around one-handed, but he definitely got tired after a while. "That's too bad. Thanks anyway."

She smiled kindly and nodded. "Good luck."

Jughead turned around, and caught sight of a flash of blonde hair in the parking lot. He froze, and processed the scene before him. It wasn't Cora lurking around between the cars; rather, there were two tall, muscular men with even broader shoulders than Jughead remembered making their way towards the doors. Both had angry expressions on their faces, and Jughead gulped as he clutched Jordan closer to his chest.

"Shit." Jughead muttered and turned around. "Um, can we hide behind the counter?" He quickly asked Tabitha.

Tabitha craned her neck to look through the windows at the blonde giants approaching the diner's front door. "Oh hell no. I'm not about to have some kind of all-out brawl in my establishment. This is a family place." Tabitha said, her smile fast turning into a frown.

"Please." Jughead begged her. "I'll explain later, but I can't have my baby near them."

Tabitha's eyes searched Jughead's panicked face, and she said: "Fine. But if they start throwing hands I swear to God I'm calling the cops."

"By all means." Jughead said quickly and rushed to duck behind the counter. He shushed Jordan when the toddler made a noise of protest, and sat cross legged beside Tabitha's ankles.

The bell above the door rang, and Tabitha looked down at Jughead in disapproval, then plastered a smile on her face. "Hi gentleman, can I get you anything?" She asked in a sugary sweet voice, and Jughead went stiff as he heard the heavy footsteps of the blonde men walking towards the counter.

"Hey doll." Said one of them, and Jughead recognised the voice of Carlisle Carter. "We're looking for Jughead Jones. Black hair, blue eyes, about yay tall. He in here?"

Tabitha cocked her head to the side. "Hmm, no… I don't think he's been in here today."

The second man - Cainan Carter - scoffed. "Cut the crap. His Mazda 23 is in the parking lot."

Tabitha kept her face neutral. "Is he the only person in America with that car? You might want to alert the local soccer Moms, I hear most of them are in the market for basic SUVs."

Cainon wasn't deterred. "Listen lady, if you're hiding him in here there's gonna be hell to pay."

"I don't respond well to threats. Now you can either sit down and order a burger or get the hell out of my diner." Tabitha's expression turned into a hard glare. Even Jughead wouldn't have argued with her.

"Okay, please, I'm sorry, we may have gotten off on the wrong foot." Carlisle said, his voice becoming softer. "We're both just really stressed right now… our nephew, Jordan, was kidnapped last week by his father: Jughead Jones. We're just trying to figure out where they are. Jordan's mother - our sister - is terrified she'll never see her son again."

Tabitha paused as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Jughead… I do remember that guy. Isn't he a big time author now? I thought he lived in New York."

"Yes." Cainon responded. "But he's bad news. Made up some bullshit about my sister and got her arrested. If you know where he's been hiding, you have to tell us. He's unstable. Please. Our nephew's life is at stake."

"We already went to his parents' house." Carlisle added. "His dad said he hasn't been there - along with some choice words I'm uncomfortable repeating in front of a lady - but he has to be somewhere close by."

Tabitha's eyes flickered down to Jughead for a moment. He watched her scanning his neck, and the visible bruises that still hadn't quite faded away. Then they turned down to his arm; the white cast stood out against the back of the red counter. She sighed and turned back to Jughead's brothers-in-law. "Look, I'm sympathetic to your cause, but this Jughead character hasn't been in here, truly. In any case, if he kidnapped his son, I highly doubt he'd take shelter in his home town. That's far too obvious."

"Right." Grumbled Cainon.

"Good luck with your search, gentleman. If you'll excuse me, I have several orders to complete." She turned and made her way over to the milkshake maker, a tall glass in her hand.

Jughead heard the jingle of the door opening and closing, but he waited until Tabitha turned away from the milkshake machine, walked over to him and said, "they're gone," before he felt safe enough to stand again. Jordan yawned and laid his head on Jughead's chest.

"Thank you." Jughead said earnestly. "I know you don't know me, so I really appreciate you covering for us."

Tabitha shrugged. "Might not know you specifically, but everyone in Riverdale heard about your wife getting arrested. Besides, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you'd actually kidnapped this cute little being, then there'd be a warrant out for your arrest and an Amber Alert going off on all our phones."

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief. "You're right." He readjusted his sleepy toddler and nodded to Tabitha. "I'd better get going. I'm sure my dad's freaking out right now if those two showed up to the house. I don't have a phone at the moment so he has no way of reaching me. Time to go ease his mind." He smiled. "Thanks again."

He made his way towards the door, and had almost reached it when he heard Tabitha calling out behind him.

"Wait!" She said. "Look, one of my new girls hasn't shown up for her last two shifts. Why don't you leave me a number I can contact you on, and if she still hasn't shown up I'll call you in for a trial shift."

…

After an emotionally exhausting afternoon, Jughead had finally gotten Jordan to sleep when he heard a knock on Jellybean's bedroom door. The room's owner (former owner, he recalled) was out for the night, drinking at the Whyte Wyrm with some old school friends, and so Jughead attempted to settle Jordan into the bottom bunk bed. Since they got to Riverdale, the toddler had exclusively slept cuddled up to Jughead in said bottom bunk, and while Jughead didn't mind (and was truthfully too exhausted to care), he had to start getting Jordan to sleep in his own bed. If it meant Jughead had to sleep on a top bunk above his fourteen month old son at the ripe old age of twenty seven, then so be it.

Twenty Eight, he reminded himself, with a startling realisation that it was well past the second of October and he was one year closer to turning thirty.

Jughead quietly opened the door, and was surprised to find Betty behind it. "Hey." He whispered, and moved out into the hall. His eyes screwed up as he slowly closed the door, then breathed a sigh of relief when no screaming started on the other side.

"Sorry." Betty whispered, her eyes widening. "Did I wake him up?"

"No, thank God." Jughead kept his voice low. "He's been… really unsettled. Especially since my surgery… your Mom said he cried the whole time."

Betty grimaced as she glanced down at Jughead's arm; now encased in white plaster. "Yeah… he kind of did." Betty paused for a moment, and seemed to be stewing on her thoughts, but then she said: "Is he normally so… clingy with you?"

Jughead shook his head slowly. "Not like this." He swallowed. "He's always been a bit whiny… but usually if I wasn't with him, his Mom was, so me walking out the door probably wasn't as scary for him." He searched Betty's eyes; she seemed open, receptive, so Jughead continued. "We left him with Cora's brother and sister-in-law once because I had an event I wanted to bring Cora to…and Jordan was fine, apparently. But, he does see them and his cousins all the time… he also doesn't normally follow me around everywhere either, usually he's happy to play on his own."

"Separation Anxiety is common at this age, even when toddlers aren't going through stressful life changes." Betty noted, a kind look on her face. "But it's treatable. Maybe if you bring back some of his toys when you go to New York this weekend, he'll feel a little less uncomfortable. It'll make the house seem more familiar to him. Also, try to follow through with promises, even silly little ones. If he can see that you're going to come back when you said you will, it'll start to make him see that nothing bad will happen."

"Hopefully." Jughead said, then gave Betty a curious look. "Since when do you know so much about kids?"

Betty snickered. "You know I have a degree in psychological science, right?" She smirked. "Child development and psychology was a part of that. Luckily, children are resilient little creatures. He'll get past this phase. He just needs time… and patience."

Jughead smiled sadly. "Thanks." They were both silent for a moment, and Jughead plucked up the courage to open up to her. "I do worry that being separated from Cora could be… bad for him." He admitted.

Betty frowned and shook her head. "You definitely did the right thing, Jughead."

"I don't know, Betts…" Jughead swallowed as guilt welled up. "He cried for half an hour tonight because he wanted his Mom." Jughead shakily sighed and leaned against the door. "He kept saying: Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, just, over and over. And I couldn't think of what to say to comfort him. It doesn't help that he definitely understood that his uncles were at the diner, and talking about him and Cora." He closed his eyes. "Sometimes I think I shouldn't have left… or at least, I shouldn't have gone to the police. If she goes to jail then it's my fault my son doesn't have a mother."

"No, no, Jug, that's not…" Betty reached out and took his hand. Jughead opened his eyes and looked down at their joined hands. "Cora is dangerous… you absolutely did the right thing by bringing Jordan here."

Jughead swallowed. "As much as she… hurt me, I never thought she'd hurt Jordan." His voice became thick with emotion. "Sometimes when he falls asleep, I start thinking that she wouldn't have kicked him if she wasn't so angry at me. Maybe if I'd just tried harder, been a better husband and father…"

"Don't make excuses for her. This isn't your fault." Betty reached up and placed her hand on Jughead's cheek. She looked into his eyes, and raw vulnerability stared back at her. "And don't sell yourself short. You could have catered to your wife's every need and been the picture perfect man, and it still wouldn't have been enough for someone like her." Betty sighed and removed her hands from him. "I have to talk to you about something… pretty serious."

Jughead stared at her a moment longer before he gave her a wry smirk. "You mean you didn't just come up here to give me parenting advice?"

"Unfortunately not." Betty gave him a sad smile.

"Let's go downstairs then." Jughead suggested, tension and anxiety starting to build. "If Jordan hears my voice and it wakes him up then the whole house will be doomed to a sleepless night."

They settled themselves onto the couch in the downstairs living room. It was cold, so cold that Jughead considered lighting the fireplace. Betty was already nervously clenching and unclenching her fists together, and Jughead waited patiently until she exhaled and began to talk.

"Do you remember when you told me you thought Cora might have driven off the bridge over Sweetwater River on purpose?" She asked, and when Jughead didn't respond she added: "To punish you?"

Jughead took a second to compose himself. "Yeah… but I didn't really mean it…"

"Well, I took it seriously." She said in earnest. "And for the past couple months, I've had Charles look into the incident… I'll admit, we didn't get very far to begin with, especially because there wasn't much evidence recovered from the bridge itself. But in the last few days we hit a real lead."

"You've been investigating their accident?" Jughead asked, shocked.

Betty nodded. "Today everything fell into place, and Charles got the last bit of information we needed to get a judge to put a warrant out for her arrest. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier… I didn't want to interfere in your relationship. Not unless there was actually something worthy of interfering with."

Jughead swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. "So… what did you find?"

Betty explained the journey her and Charles had taken to uncover the truth of the incident. The first clue was, of course, the fact that the bridge over Sweetwater River wasn't on any of the routes between Elm Street and the Five Seasons. But that wasn't proof.

The second clue they found was that there was no damage to the bridge; but that could be easily explained by the possibility that she hadn't driven off the actual bridge, and had instead lost control just before it and driven off the embankment.

So they kept digging.

The third clue was that a lot of glass had been recovered from inside the car. Had Cora broken the window after the car sank, as she'd claimed, then most of the glass should have been forced out when she swam through the window. There should have been cuts to her skin and tears to her clothes, but Cora had escaped without any injuries. It made her claims suspicious, but it wasn't proof either, and when Betty had shared the information with one of her FBI colleagues, he'd told her she was clutching at straws.

But she didn't give up there, and finally, after almost three months of investigations, she'd found the missing piece of the puzzle.

"We found a witness that can essentially prove she didn't lose control of the car." Betty informed Jughead.

His heart had already been racing through her tale, and it almost stopped. "But I thought there weren't any witnesses…"

"We thought that too, but that was before we realised we weren't asking the right questions." Betty shuffled and moved closer to Jughead. "We reviewed hours of camera footage around the area, and questioned the drivers we could track down. Nobody recalled seeing the car go into the water… but just this morning Charles made a break in the case."

"What was it?" He choked out. His fingers gripped the armrest as he waited for the reveal.

"We found a local truck driver who saw more of what happened that day. He claims that he recognised the car, and recognised Cora, because he'd driven past her on his way to the truck stop near the South Side." Betty took a shaky breath. "He claims to have seen Cora standing beside the car and talking on the phone. The car was parked facing the river… on the slope that leads into the water."

Jughead's brain fogged over. "So… what are you saying…?"

"We went through her phone records." Betty said seriously. "And the one and only phone call she made that day was to you. What we have ascertained from this, and from all of the other evidence, is that Cora parked the car, got out and called you to tell you that the car was sinking. Then she broke the window so it would look like she'd escaped while the car was submerged, put the gear stick in neutral, released the break, and pushed the car into the river with Jordan still inside." Betty swallowed. "Considering the car was parked on a slope, it wouldn't have been difficult for her, even with all the mud. Then she dunked her body in the river so it'd seem like she'd swam out, and then waited for you to get there." Her eyes pierced Jughead's. "She planned to drown Jordan and make it look like an accident."

Jughead's head was spinning. "I think… I'm going to pass out." His breathing came out in gasps.

Betty moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, look at me." He did, but his breathing didn't slow. "Jordan's okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to him now… there's no way in hell Cora is going to be able to get to him, not after the judge hears about this."

But Jughead couldn't find the optimism in the situation. "My wife tried to kill our son." He choked out.

And then it was like all the emotional baggage swallowed him whole. He covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders shook as he let out gasping, shaking sobs. Betty slid closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned into her. There was nothing she could say to make it better, not a single word that could be uttered to alleviate the pain.

So she said nothing - she just held him close.

…

On Saturday morning, Jughead took Jordan out into the backyard. He zipped him up into a thick jacket; even though the snow had cleared since the previous week, the weather was still somewhat cold. Soon, it would well and truly be Winter, and Jughead was looking forward to letting Jordan run around in the snow.

There were several obvious signs that children lived in their family home; a few bikes were leaning against the fence, a swing set sat above the grass, and there were random toys scattered around.

Juniper, Dagwood and Chandler all followed the pair out. Alice, too, joined the group, and Jughead tried to encourage Jordan to run around with the older kids. Jordan could run, but his coordination still wasn't anything to marvel at. In any case, Jordan kept a vice grip on Jughead's hand and leaned his body against Jughead's leg.

Leaving Jordan with his step-grandmother for the day was going to be more difficult than he anticipated…

"Best thing to do," Alice whispered quietly to Jughead as Jordan cautiously accepted a rubber ball from Chandler, "is to wait until he's distracted, then sneak out. He'll probably still cry when he realises you're gone, but it'll be a lot worse for both of you if he has to watch you go."

Jughead looked sadly down at Jordan as the toddler sat at his father's feet, the ball securely in his arms. "I'm worried about him… he doesn't normally act like this."

"He's still adjusting." Alice said kindly. "His whole world is different now, but kids are really resilient Jughead. He'll bounce back."

Jordan clumsily threw the ball, and Chandler picked it up and cheered. "You did it!" He exclaimed. Jordan clapped his hands together and looked up at Jughead, a tiny grin on his face.

"Good job, Buddy." Jughead said, and encouraged him to stand up and throw the ball again.

Ten minutes later, Jordan was happily playing with Chandler while the twins giggled and 'supervised'. Alice looked at Jughead and nodded her head towards the house, and Jughead tried to leave undetected.

He had things to do today that couldn't involve his son. He and FP were driving up to New York so he could collect a few necessities; Jordan's clothes, bottles and several toys that were more dear to the toddler than his rabbit toy that now lived in the bunk bed. Jughead wanted to try and salvage what he could of his belongings, mainly his computer and several books that meant a lot to him, but he also needed his own clothes - he'd been getting by borrowing FP's, and Jordan had an assortment of hand-me-downs from Chandler that Alice had kept in the attic, but Jughead still felt guilty living off of his family's generosity.

He despised leaving Jordan for so long, and had previously only left the toddler for an extended time with his family in order to attend court and have surgery on his arm, which was now firmly locked in a heavy and annoying cast. But there was no way he was going to risk bringing Jordan with him to the apartment while he and FP would have an NYPD officer as an escort.

Because while Cora had been arrested again, her expensive and charismatic lawyer convinced the judge to grant bail. Jughead had no idea, when they arrived at the apartment, whether Cora, or her brothers, would be waiting for him…

"Has Jughead already left?" Betty asked her mother as she settled into the kitchen counter.

Alice nodded as she buttered a small stack of bread. "I convinced him to sneak off while Jordan was distracted. When he realised Jughead was gone… my God, did he carry on." Alice frowned as she looked up and peered through the window out into the yard. "It broke my heart a little bit. If Jughead's not there it's like he… panics. Goes into a complete meltdown. Nothing wrong with his lungs, I'll say that."

Betty stood up and walked over to the glass back doors. She moved the curtain to the side and peered out. Dagwood and Chandler were kicking a football between them, and running around playfully tackling each other. Juniper was sitting on a blanket nearby with Jordan, and she seemed to be showing him a set of Chandler's old dinosaurs.

"He seems okay now." Betty mused optimistically.

Alice nodded. "He likes the other kids. He's still really unsettled though. I'm hoping he'll stay somewhat calm until FP and Jughead get back."

Betty watched as Dagwood kicked the ball a little too hard, and it hit the fence behind Chandler. The ball made a loud metallic crashing sound. Alice considered telling the boys to slow it down a little out there, but it hadn't been that loud of a bang…

However, it was loud enough, it seemed, that the banging sound scared Jordan.

Not just scared him - terrified him. He let out a loud scream, and his vocalisations stayed the same pitch as he dropped the dinosaurs and cried with his eyes shut.

Alice hurried past Betty and out the back door. Betty cautiously followed her mother into the yard, and watched as Juniper picked Jordan up and awkwardly stood with him. He was squirming against her, and crying so loud that Betty was sure he could be heard throughout the whole street.

"Jordan, Jordan, it's okay." Alice said in a soothing tone. She reached her hands out to take him, but he shook his head and leaned backwards.

Juniper clutched him with wide eyes. "Grandma, I'm sorry! I don't know what happened. He just started crying."

Jordan's cries sounded strained as he became a dead weight in Juniper's arms. Juniper let him down on the blanket, and Jordan layed on the floor and buried his head in his elbows. He kept crying, even as Alice kneeled down beside him to rub his back.

The scene before her made Betty's heart lurch. She found herself pulling out her iPhone from her blazer pocket, and scrolling through her contacts until she found Jughead's number. The last time Betty talked to Jughead on the phone, she was twenty years old, scared in a dorm room and letting him know she was carrying their baby. And now, she was about to call him because his baby was inconsolable.

Jughead answered the phone quickly. His face popped up on the screen, a surprised and worried expression overcoming him. "Betty? Hey… is Jordan okay?"

The child in question ceased his high pitched gasps; his cries became sniffles as he looked up at Betty. His eyes were red and wet, and the lower half of his little face was still squished against his arms. Betty's eyes glanced over him, before she swallowed and looked back towards Jughead. "I think Jordan needs a pep talk from Daddy." She said, the words feeling foreign and awkward coming from her lips.

She knelt in front of the toddler, ignoring the feeling of damp grass seeping into her slacks. She turned the phone screen towards him, and he lifted his head up slightly as he saw Jughead. "Daddy…" He mumbled as he lifted an arm out to the screen.

Alice gently lifted Jordan into a sitting position, and Betty cautiously handed the phone to him. He stared unblinking at the phone screen, occasionally hiccuping as Jughead talked to him in a very un-Jughead like tone; it was high pitched and melodious, and Betty felt an odd tightening in her chest as she listened to Jughead trying to comfort his son.

"Look what I found…" Jughead said with forced enthusiasm.

Betty couldn't see the screen, but Jordan smiled. "Snakey." He replied softly.

"Should I bring him back with me?" Jughead questioned.

Jordan nodded enthusiastically. "Train?" He asked, to which Jughead replied: "Yes, I have all your trains in Grandpa's truck." The toddler visibly relaxed as he blinked and rubbed his eyes with one of his fists. Betty glanced nervously down at the loose hold Jordan had on her phone, but she dared not take it away from him.

They spent a few more minutes with Jughead talking to Jordan through the phone, and the conversation only ended once Alice and Jughead convinced him it was 'sandwich time'. Alice looked a little chuffed at Jughead's claim that her sandwiches were 'the best in the whole world' and calmly made an excuse to hang up. Jordan offered the phone to Betty and allowed Alice to take his hand and lead him up into the house. The other kids followed nervously, but Betty remained in the yard and let out a long sigh.

She shifted and sat down on the blanket, and resisted the urge to lie on her back in the mediocre sunlight. She couldn't quite get a grasp on her feelings about Jordan Jones. He looked so much like Jughead; his bright blue eyes and unruly black hair were only the surface of the resemblance - there were also cheeky and thoughtful facial expressions that sometimes came over Jordan's face when he was playing or toddling around the house that made Betty feel like she was looking at Jughead's childhood self. It was… heartwarming, and anxiety inducing at the same time.

Betty's pondering was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She looked down, and answered it with a start as she realised it was Jughead. "Hey." She said, and swallowed. "Jordan's inside, but I'll go give him the phone if you want."

"No, it's okay. I actually wanted to talk to you." He responded.

Betty's heart raced a little faster. "Oh, really? What about?"

"Well, still about Jordan, technically."

Betty tried not to let the disappointment consume her, and chastised herself. Of course Jughead would be worried about his son. She needed to get over herself. "What about Jordan?"

"When you called me, I noticed he looked… really sad. I just wanted to ask what happened? Did something freak him out? Has he been crying since I left? Is he… okay?"

The fear in Jughead's voice hit Betty hard. "He was okay, apparently. Cried a bit when you left but he was relatively happy playing with the other kids. He was playing with dinosaurs with Juniper. What set him off before was that the boys hit a ball against the fence and he… got freaked out by the noise, I guess? I'm not sure. But there was a bang and then he was just inconsolable. Scared and stressed; that's why I called you, I didn't think we were going to have much luck settling him down."

Jughead audibly sighed. "I think I know why… when Cora broke my arm… The noise the typewriter made was… sickening. And I was holding Jordan at the time, so he witnessed the whole thing. He was right there. Maybe the sound of the ball hitting the fence triggered him…"

"God, Jug… that's awful."

"I know…" Jughead sighed. "Is he okay now?"

"Yeah, he's a trooper. My Mom's feeding him, so if he's anything like you I'm sure he's happy as anything now."

Jughead laughed. "Hey, I need to head back out to the car but before I do… can I show you something?"

Betty's eyebrows raised. "Yeah sure, let me just FaceTime you."

Seconds later Jughead's worried face popped up on the screen. "This is going to be odd, so bare with me for a second, but… what does this look like to you?"

He held up a little blue square, and Betty frowned in confusion. "Um… a condom?"

Jughead huffed. "Yes, it is… but look in the center… am I crazy or is that—"

"A pin hole." Betty gasped. "Wait… you don't think..."

"That Cora got pregnant on purpose?" Jughead groaned. "The thought crossed my mind. I was always so careful, and I thought she was on birth control too… but she could have stopped taking it without telling me." He shut his eyes and reopened them slowly. "This is from an old pack - Cora got an IUD after Jordan was born, so we weren't using them anymore… I only found them when I was looking for my passport. Every single one of them has a tiny hole right in the middle."

"Oh my God…" Betty's heart raced. "She… she…"

"She trapped me into marrying her because she knew that's what I'd do if we ever had a baby." Jughead sighed. "I can't believe I was so stupid."

"Jug, I'm—"

"Don't say you're sorry." He said forcefully. "I'm not… and please, don't tell anyone else about this. Jordan's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'd never want him to think he wasn't wanted. I've wanted him from the moment I laid eyes on him. Before that, even." Jughead's eyes were pleading. "He can't find out… not ever."

Betty nodded sadly. "I promise, Jug. I won't tell anyone."

…

Blissfully uneventful.

That is how Jughead described the next few months in Riverdale.

Truly, there was nothing overwhelmingly negative to report. Thanksgiving went off without a single family argument, even though Jughead knew Betty had several strong opinions about Polly's decision to continue her sex work despite the FBI's public warnings that the red light districts were dangerous for women.

Jughead started working at the diner, and while it was stressful and emotional to leave Jordan in the care of either Alice or Polly, the toddler eventually settled into a routine and stopped screaming every time his dad left. It still wasn't ideal, but at the very least, Jughead could rest assured that Jordan was safe.

He became fast friends with Tabitha. She was lenient whenever he was late to a shift because he couldn't get Jordan settled on time, and even asked him friendly questions about the toddler. She gave Jordan treats anytime Alice brought him in to visit during Jughead's lunch break, and Jordan stopped shying away from her. He even started to give her little waves of his tiny hands.

Tabitha was beautiful, and extremely smart, and funny, and interesting, and she and Jughead had a lot in common. He wasn't stupid; he could tell that, sometimes, her playful flirting wasn't just a joke. He knew it went beyond casual friendliness, and in a different world, perhaps he would have even pursued her.

But there weren't enough hours in the day for him to get into a relationship. Sure, she understood that he had a son - but she'd made several comments about how she was in the prime of her life, and was definitely not looking for a serious relationship. She was several years younger than Jughead, and he knew she often spent weekends clubbing and partying with her girlfriends. Jughead's weekends were spent alternating between working and entertaining his sixteen month old son - occasionally with the company of the twins and Chandler, and oftentimes Polly.

Jordan's separation anxiety was still present, but he was getting used to his new lifestyle. Jughead's son needed structure; he needed a stable parent who was consistently there for him. Jughead spent so much time working now that he valued the hours he spent with his son.

He couldn't get into a relationship with someone who wasn't looking for commitment. It wouldn't be fair to her, and it wouldn't be fair to Jordan. Jughead's life wasn't about 'dating around' and 'just seeing who's out there', it was about cartoons and plush toys and teaching someone how to talk and use a potty.

Jughead had a small child, and said child needed to be his priority. He couldn't waste time messing around with someone and potentially disrupting his son's life if it wasn't going to go anywhere.

By Christmas, Jughead had moved into the family home's garage with Jordan. All the tools and spare car parts had been dispersed between the basement storage and Betty's apartment in SoDale, and the small room was converted into a mini-studio style space. There was a single bed, and Jordan's crib (which Jughead had liberated from their New York apartment) and a little kitchenette and desk space. They still had to use the bathroom inside the main house to shower, but at least for now, he and Jordan kind of had a place of their own.

It was FP's grand scheme to keep them both in Riverdale, Jughead was sure of it. But considering there was nowhere in town that was both affordable and safe enough to raise a baby, Jughead appreciated that he had something more permanent for him and his son. It was still on the Elm Street property, but it felt more independent, and he paid 'rent' now, and could afford to pay Alice and Polly to watch Jordan, which alleviated some of his guilt.

There were several grand announcements over the Holidays that increased Jughead's mood.

For one, Fangs and Kevin had finally set a date for their wedding, and Jughead received an invitation addressed to him and Jordan in the mail. It made him smile and feel a satisfying amount of relief.

Cheryl announced her pregnancy when she and Toni attended Juniper and Dagwood's twelfth birthday party. She'd apparently used the same sperm donor that Toni used to have their older daughter - a tidbit of information that Jughead could have lived without knowing.

River Blossom was a cute nine month old baby girl with dark hair and inquisitive brown eyes. Jordan watched her with curiosity, and was completely entranced by the infant. He'd had little interaction with children younger than him, and tried to offer her various toys to play with. She did barely anything more than attempt to shove them into her mouth, and Jordan gave Jughead scandalised looks, much to the amusement of the adults in the room.

On Christmas Eve, after all children went to bed (except Jordan, who remained snuggled into Jughead's lap), Polly announced that she was going to be inviting her boyfriend over for Christmas. There were several raised eyebrows at the dinner table, and no one looked more shocked than Betty when Polly admitted she'd been dating the man for three years.

"Does he know…" Betty began, then swallowed awkwardly as she blushed.

"Just say it, Betty." Polly said flatly. "I know what you want to ask: so do it."

Betty merely shook her head and took a sip of her wine.

Polly sighed and lifted her own glass. "He knows about my… line of work. That's how we met, actually."

Alice cleared her throat. "Oh, he's one of your… clients?"

Polly laughed. "No, no… nothing like that. He drives trucks out of state, so I see him around the truck stop a lot." She took a sip of her moscato and then placed the glass back down on the table. "I didn't want to introduce him to you all until I knew it was serious. I especially didn't want to tell the twins unless I thought our relationship would go somewhere. But, I really think this is the real deal, so…"

Her boyfriend, it was revealed, was none other than Sweet Pea.

Suddenly, Sweet Pea's 'source of information' about several prominent pieces of gossip relating to Jughead's family made significantly more sense.

Even so, Jughead enjoyed having Sweet Pea in the house for Christmas, even though (and possibly because) he was uncharacteristically nervous and wearing a snowman turtleneck sweater. Polly had apparently told the twins that Sweet Pea was her 'friend', and they gave him several confused looks whenever he asked them about school. He quietly told Jughead that he was worried Alice wouldn't like him, and Jughead grinned and clapped him on the back.

"Don't worry, man." Jughead said. "She's already experienced having a daughter dating a leather-clad, motorcycle riding gang member. Unless you're secretly laundering money or involved in a pornography ring, I think you're off the hook."

Later that day, Jughead was putting Jordan down for a nap in their room when he heard a knock on his door. He smirked as he turned towards it. "Come in." He said quietly. Jordan laid his head down on his pillow and cuddled his blue rabbit. As Jughead covered him up with a fleece blanket, he was surprised to see Juniper and Dagwood walking through the door.

"Hey you two." Jughead said softly. "Everything okay?"

Juniper and Dagwood shared a look. Something passed between them, and then Juniper sighed and moved to sit on Jughead's bed. "We don't know."

Jughead stroked Jordan's hair as he looked over at her. "Did something happen?"

Dagwood groaned and joined Juniper on the bed. "No, not exactly… it's just…" He looked at Juniper, who raised her eyebrows at him.

Then she sighed. "Uncle Jug… can you be honest if we ask you something?"

Jughead looked down at Jordan. "That depends on what your question is."

Dagwood sighed. "Is Sweet Pea our Mom's boyfriend?"

It was the one question Jughead was dreading. "Did your mom tell you he was?"

"No." Juniper replied. "But… he keeps staring at her with this gooey look in his eyes, and she's been smiling down at this necklace he bought her all day. I heard Aunty JB telling Britta it was real gold."

"And he gave me and Juniper, like, the best glitter-rainbow slime kit you can get from SoDale's grocery store." Dagwood added. "Which means he must have had Aunty Betty's help getting it."

"Why would he put in so much effort if we're just his friend's kids?" Juniper finished.

Jughead let out a long sigh. "You two are very inquisitive for your age."

Juniper shrugged. "Aunty Betty always says that if you want to prove something you have to look for evidence."

"Does that mean we're right?" Dagwood asked. "Is Sweet Pea dating our Mom?"

Jughead moved to sit on the desk chair. "I can't really answer that guys. If your Mom has said something about it, then you need to accept it. Maybe, if he is your Mom's boyfriend, then there's a reason she hasn't told you."

Juniper rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know. Isn't Sweet Pea your friend from high school? There's a photo with both of you in it on your Instagram."

Jughead let out an amused laugh. "You guys have really done your research. I'm impressed."

Dagwood frowned. "Why would Mom lie to us?"

Juniper nodded in agreement. "She always tells us to be honest and that she'd never hide anything from us. Why is she lying about this?"

Jughead stared at both of the twins. They looked frustrated, and a little sad, and Jughead felt his heart going out to them. "Look guys, I'm not confirming or denying anything here, but parents always want what's best for their kids."

Juniper crossed her arms over her chest. "How is lying what's best for us?"

Jughead withheld a groan. "I know it's frustrating when people don't tell you the whole story… but let's just say, hypothetically, that your Mom has a boyfriend. She probably just wants to get you both used to this person before she tells you. If she gets a boyfriend, that guy will be in both of your lives. She wouldn't want to upset you or freak you both out. She'll want to ease you into it so that it's not such a shock to your systems."

The twins looked between each other. "But why would we be upset about it?" Dagwood asked.

"It's… complicated." Jughead said after a long pause. "Sometimes adults can't remember what it was like to be your age… we forget that you can understand a lot more than we give you credit for."

Juniper nodded. "That's true. Nanna Rose sometimes thinks I still play with Barbies."

"I'd be happy if Mom had a boyfriend." Dagwood cut in. "I think she gets lonely sometimes."

"Yeah." Agreed Juniper. "Sometimes I hear her crying when she thinks we're asleep."

Jughead's chest hurt. "Really? That's… not good." He swallowed.

They both shook their heads, and Juniper said: "Why doesn't she tell us then? Sweet Pea seems nice. And we don't want her to be sad…"

Jughead smiled. "When she's ready to tell you both, she will. Don't worry, okay? It'll happen eventually…" He lowered his voice an octave. "And if you want to, you could tell your Mom you like Sweet Pea. It'll make her feel better about introducing him to you both."

…

Fangs and Kevin's wedding was… theatrical.

It was early in the Springtime, and the wedding took place in Picken's Park. They'd covered the blooming trees in so many fairy lights that Jughead felt like he was walking through the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Kevin sang "a thousand years" to Fangs, and Fangs organised for Kevin's students to perform a cutesy love song as a united choir that brought tears to the man's eyes.

It was beautiful as far as weddings went, and Jordan seemed fascinated by all the fanfare. Several people from high school came up to fawn over the toddler, and Jordan was in a particularly smiley mood that melted the hearts of those around them.

Even Veronica, who'd attended with her new husband Chad, marvelled at how cute Jordan was in his little suit.

"He looks just like you." Veronica said in awe. "Seriously. It's like I'm looking at a tiny Jughead Jones. Look at those little cheeks."

"Makes you start thinking about having your own, right?" Chad said, giving Veronica a pointed look.

Veronica's expression tightened, and she dismissed his statement with a wave of her hand. "If it's barefoot and pregnant you want, darling, I'm afraid you married the wrong woman."

Jughead found himself gravitating towards Betty for most of the night. "You look beautiful." He told her honestly.

And she did. Standing beneath one of the fairy-light covered trees, she was awash in a golden glow that complimented her blonde curls. Her short, deep green dress was encrusted with tiny gems that caught the light and made her glimmer. She was ethereal, gorgeous, and she smiled at him shyly.

"You clean up pretty well yourself, Jug." She said, and then turned her gaze on Jordan. "As does this handsome little man."

Jughead smiled. "He's been getting plenty of attention tonight, that's for sure."

"Makes sense." Betty laughed. "Speaking of attention… don't make it obvious, but look to your right."

Jughead did so, and noticed that Veronica was standing several yards away from her husband, talking animatedly to… Archie Andrews.

Jughead raised his eyebrows. "Typical."

"Oh relax." Betty laughed. "She's married. He can try all he wants but he's not getting through those gates."

Jughead tilted his head. "I dunno, Betts… she just laughed and brushed her hand over his collar - ooh, look, she tugged on his tie."

"No way." Betty gasped, and took a step closer to Jughead so she could peer over his shoulder. "That's flirting in any language." She paused as they both watched Veronica bat her eyelids and hold her wineglass up to her lips. "What is she doing? Her husband is right there."

"I believe the explanation you're looking for is an unhappy marriage." A voice said from behind them.

They both turned around and saw Kevin approaching. Jughead smiled at him, and tried to block out the mental image of Kevin's naked body beneath him that suddenly sprang forth. Grow up, he told himself.

"You think so?" Betty asked. "She looked so happy in all her wedding photos."

"Yeah, well." Kevin shrugged. "Social media never tells the true story." He looked towards Chad, glared, and turned back to face Jughead and Betty. "He's honestly controlling, manipulative… and just plain annoying. And he's pressuring Veronica into having kids when she's not ready, which is a disaster waiting to happen."

Jughead couldn't bring himself to disagree.

He woke up the next day to a text from Archie, and had to blink several times to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. It was in a group message with Betty and Veronica, in which he requested that the three of them meet him at Pop's so they could hang out 'for old time's sake'.

Veronica sent her enthusiastic acceptance within seconds. Jughead tried to ascertain how he felt about seeing the red-headed blast from the past, and found that there wasn't anger or malice present. Only a vague nostalgia remained as he thought about his once-best friend.

Barely a minute later, he received a private message from Betty: You going today?

Jughead swallowed, and drew on all the courage he possessed to send back: Only if you do, and accompanied it with a winking face. He sent it before he could overthink the childishness of using an emoji.

Betty texted back instantly. Great! Want me to pick you up on the way?

I have to bring Jordan, so I'd need a car seat. He swallowed, then sent back a second message: What if I pick you up?

Sounds great! She replied with, and added in a smiling emoji of her own.

Jughead grinned as he got himself ready for the day.

Having lunch at Pop's with Archie, Veronica and Betty was so much the same as it was in high school, and yet all four of them were vastly different people. Even so, hanging out with the three of them was a lot less awkward and tense than he'd expected, and there was a lot more laughter and recollection of the good times than there were of the bad.

Jordan was a cute addition to their little group, and he allowed Archie to hold him. "He's so cute, Juggie." Archie mused as he made faces at the toddler. Jordan giggled and clapped his hands together. "I can't believe out of the four of us, you were the first person to have a kid. Honestly, with how much you like kids, Betty, I thought you'd have a whole brood by now."

Betty stiffened, and cleared her throat. "Well, that wasn't in the cards for me…"

Jughead quickly changed the topic. "Well, I never thought Veronica would be the first to get married, but here you are, two husbands in… you looking for husband number three any time soon?" He asked, and didn't have time to consider how insensitive the comment was before Veronica groaned.

"Ugh, don't even joke about that." She said glumly. "He's hanging by a thread in the closet of my good graces."

Betty gave Jughead a grateful smile, and he felt the urge to reach his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to his side. He resisted and faced Archie again.

"That's… too bad." Archie said unconvingly.

Jughead withheld the urge to roll his eyes, and looked back down towards Betty. She was already gazing up at him, biting her lips together to hold back her laughter.

Overall, Jughead was glad that the meeting took place, and he heartily agreed to another one the next time Veronica and Archie were both in Riverdale.

…

Jughead's next appearance in Family Court was torturous. It took hours for the judge to finally get to their case, and he had to endure the threatening glares of Cora and her brothers from across the waiting room. Cheryl was still representing Jughead despite the fact that she could give birth any day, but the formidable woman held her head high and encouraged Jughead to do the same.

Cora's lawyer painted quite the sob story about a wrongfully accused mother who'd been separated from her baby and should be considered innocent until proven guilty. He highlighted the negative emotional effects of separating a baby from his mother, and implied that there was no way Jughead could give Jordan the emotional support the toddler would need to get through his parents' divorce.

But the judge still denied visitation.

"We can revisit interim custody when a decision has been made on the mother's attempted murder charge." She said fiercely. "Until then, there is to be no contact between Ms Carter and Jordan."

Jughead nearly cried with relief.

…

Scandalous news in late March temporarily overshadowed Jughead's life story when it broke out in the tabloids.

Unbeknownst to Veronica, her husband was committing fraud and embezzling money through Veronica's jewellery store in New York throughout the entire duration of their marriage.

In a heavily televised court case, Archie's mother had come out of retirement to fight to keep Veronica out of jail, and ripped into the prosecutor for grouping Veronica in with the same types of criminals as her husband. She was great with her words, and pointed out that Veronica had filed for divorce on the same day as Chad had been caught.

Mrs Andrews kept Veronica from suffering any legal consequences, but due to the nature of her husband's crimes and the fact that they were married, thus their funds were all shared - Veronica lost everything.

Well, almost everything. She still owned La Bonne Nuit, and still had 'some cash' stored away safely. Jughead assumed that meant she was still at least somewhat well-off. But when one fell from the top of the economic ladder and went from being a millionaire to living off of an average wage practically overnight, Jughead was sure there must be some kind of emotional damage.

But that wasn't even the most shocking part of the story.

Within three months Veronica had obtained an uncontested divorce from Chad, and within two months of that, Jughead received an invitation to her wedding to Archie.

Jughead was working at Pop's that afternoon, and was surprised to see Betty come in with Cheryl and her kids. River was walking now, and Cheryl managed to juggle her new baby - Blossom Topaz - in her arms while her toddler dragged her towards a booth.

Seeing Cheryl as a mother was startling, and yet she conducted herself in a dignified manner and smiled warmly at both her daughters. She was affectionate with River, and kept Blossom close to her as she talked to Betty. Jughead noted Betty smiling shyly at River as the toddler played with her dolls, and he walked over to the group with a notebook in hand.

"Ladies." Jughead said with a smirk. "Can I take your order?"

"Why, Jughead, what a surprise it is seeing you here. I completely forgot you worked here." Cheryl joked, and Betty shot her an unimpressed look.

What's that look about? Jughead thought, and he cleared his throat. "Well, you'd remember if you came down from your fortress of solitude more often."

"Rude." Cheryl said dismissively. "Thornhill has all the necessities a stay-at-home mother requires."

"Except Pop's." Betty said with a grin.

"Yes, well…" Cheryl grimaced. "That's neither here nor there…"

Twenty minutes later, as Jughead was serving them their burgers and fries, Cheryl stopped him to ask if he'd received the invitation to Veronica and Archie's wedding.

"I did." Jughead smirked. "You know, every time I see her I tease her about Husband Number Three… I didn't think she'd take it personally."

Betty snickered, and took her milkshake straw between her lips. Jughead gulped and looked away.

Cheryl sighed and flicked her hair off her shoulder. "I'm not sure if Toni and I are going to go… it's a no-children event, and I'm not comfortable leaving Blossom in the care of others while she's still so small." She chewed on her lip for a moment. "I suppose I could ask Polly to watch the kids, but two babies is a lot."

Betty shrugged. "Polly is the master of looking after two babies."

"True…" Cheryl tilted her head to the side. "And I guess the twins could help out…"

"What are you going to do with Jordan that night, Jug?" Betty asked curiously.

Jughead frowned. "I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest." He sighed. "I really hate leaving him when I don't have to…"

"You haven't gone out and done something fun for yourself since you moved here." Betty noted. "Even when you see your friends, Jordan is always with you."

"Is that a bad thing?" Jughead asked, and let out a slight laugh.

Cheryl was the one to answer. "Of course not. But you have to take time for yourself. Honestly, I've been a solo stay at home parent since Toni went back to work after having River. I'm sure you can relate, Jughead, but parenting is exhausting. If I didn't have Toni there to give me a break once in a while, I'd go insane." She gave Jughead a kind look. "You're doing it on your own, Jug… but you're still entitled to do something fun every once in a while. There's no shame in getting a babysitter for one night of drunken debauchery."

Jughead laughed. "I had enough nights of drunken debauchery in my time. I'm not exactly desperate for more." He cocked his head to the side. "And weren't you just saying you didn't want to leave your baby for that long? Neither do I, Cheryl."

"Yes, but my baby is four months old. Yours is two years old." She raised her eyebrows. "He's not even really a baby anymore."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Jughead groaned. "I wish he would stop growing. It's making me feel old. Did I tell you he can say full sentences now?" He said excitedly. "Just the other day he said: Look Daddy, it's raining outside. It almost brought a tear to my eye."

"Aw, that's adorable. River's just starting to put two words together. Toni gets so excited."

Betty stood up out of the booth, and gave them both an amused smile. "I'm going to the restroom before your parent talk starts up. Be right back." She laughed as she turned and made her way down the aisle towards the bathroom.

Cheryl watched as Jughead's eyes followed Betty. "Speaking of nights of drunken debauchery." Cheryl said, and Jughead's head whipped back towards her. "If anyone needs one of those, it's Betty."

Jughead's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Cheryl sighed. "She's so tightly wound up. She hasn't let that ponytail free in years."

Jughead smirked. "She had her hair out last week."

"You're missing the metaphor - which I must say, I have crafted perfectly considering I'm in the midst of some chronic baby-brain." Blossom made a small squeal, and Cheryl rocked her back and forth for a moment. "I mean this in the nicest way possible Jug, but Betty seriously needs to let loose and have fun. She works so hard, harder than anyone I've ever met. And… I worry about her." She said honestly. "The last time I saw her working this hard… well, I'm sure you can remember."

Jughead didn't have to guess too hard to know she was referencing Betty's attempted suicide. "I know what you mean. But she's been at our family's house every weekend, and hanging out with Polly more often, seeing Kevin sometimes… I think she's doing okay."

A funny look came over Cheryl's face. "You know… there's probably a reason she spends her free time in her family home with a bunch of children, despite being hot, sexy and extremely single."

Jughead tried not to stutter. "Oh really? Please, enlighten me."

But Cheryl clamped her mouth shut as Betty made her way back to the table.

…

Veronica and Archie got married in the local Catholic Church.

Apparently, this was Veronica's first sacramental, church-validated marriage. Her previous two husbands didn't put much stock in her faith and had wanted weddings that weren't so religious.

"In the eyes of God," Veronica had told Betty at her low-key Bachelorette party in a suite at the Pembrooke, "Archie is my first husband. My marriages to Elio and Chad may as well have never existed."

Betty had to avoid looking at Kevin; if she hadn't, she may not have been able to hold in her surprised giggle.

Archie seemed in awe of Veronica throughout the whole mass, and before he completed his priest-approved vows he stated that having Veronica as his wife was all the proof he needed that God was real. Veronica had almost immediately thrown her arms around him. It was a beautiful moment, one that brought a tear to Betty's eyes.

The reception was set to be held in the Andrews' backyard on Elm Street. Neither of them could afford a wedding as grand as Veronica's previous two, but neither of them cared. They were glowing with happiness, and it was fitting for them that they would be celebrating their love in the home that they planned to start their lives together.

There was a couple hours between the mass and the reception, so Betty and Jughead killed time by hanging out with their family. It was late September, and while the air outside wasn't freezing, the Autumn weather was making its presence known. Betty covered her bare shoulders with a jacket, and Jughead was surprised to recognise it.

"You still have that?" He asked, surprised, as his eyes grazed over the denim Sherpa jacket he'd wrapped around her shoulders almost three years earlier.

Betty smiled. "Of course I do… it's yours." She said simply, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink for a moment.

FP and Alice remained quiet while Jughead and Betty talked.

Jordan was following Chandler around the house, and the eight year old seemed pleased with himself as he presented Jordan with an old talking robotic dinosaur. Jordan's mouth dropped open as the dinosaur walked along the floor, and he clapped his hands together and said: "Daddy! It moved-ded."

"Wow, that's awesome." Jughead turned away from Betty for a moment to smile at his son.

"Chandler said I can keeped it!" He said excitedly.

"Aren't you lucky?" He noted. "I hope you said thank you to Chandler."

"Yep!" He sat down next to the now-immobile dinosaur. He looked up at Chandler. "It stopped."

"Here, Jordan. You have to push this red button on it's neck to make it walk." Chandler said, and pointed towards the spot on the dinosaur's neck. "Try it."

Jordan got onto his knees, leaned over the dinosaur and pushed the button. The dinosaur walked again, and Jordan's face lit up. "Yay!" He squealed, and crawled beside the dinosaur, giggling as it walked. Chandler laughed as he watched his nephew playing with his old toy. Chandler was too old for dinosaurs, he'd decided, and was slowly pawning off his stash to Jordan - much to the two-year old's delight.

Jughead was still smiling as he looked up at Betty. "What were you saying?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing important. Hey, do you think this reception is going to be as… decorated as Fangs and Kevin's? Veronica's always had an eye for flare, but I know her and Archie pulled this wedding together fast."

"Honestly, if there aren't as many fairy lights I'll be disappointed." Jughead joked, and Betty let out a giggle that warmed something inside him.

When they were about to leave, and Betty excused herself to touch up her lipstick, FP pulled Jughead aside.

"Don't come back too early tonight, Jug." He said seriously.

Jughead raised his eyebrows. "You trying to get rid of me or something?"

FP chortled. "No, no, I just want you to have fun. Maybe have a few drinks. Jordan's fine, he's having a sleepover in Chandler's room and Alice has him all hyped up about some old Disney dinosaur movie. You don't have to worry about him tonight, so… don't. Honestly, I'm not even expecting you home till the morning, if, you know, anything happens tonight…"

Jughead let out a gasp of a laugh. "Why wouldn't I come home?"

"Hey, you might, I'm just saying you don't have to."

Jughead shook his head. "I'm going to a wedding, Dad. What do you think is going to happen?"

"Well, I don't know." FP said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But… you and Betty enjoy yourselves, now."

Jughead pursed his lips. "Are you trying to imply something, Dad?"

"Is there something for me to imply?" He asked with his eyebrows raised. He was still smirking at Jughead when Betty came out to the doorway.

"Ready to go?" She asked, smiling up at him, her eyelids accentuated with gold glitter and her full lips glistening thanks to her lip gloss.

Jughead swallowed as a swooping sensation rocked his gut. "Yeah, let's head over."

He could feel FP's smirk burning into the back of his head.

There were fairy lights in the backyard of the Andrews' home, and just as it had at Kevin and Fangs' wedding, it bathed Betty in a heavenly glow. She wore a strapless, floor length gown the colour of the night sky, and her long dangly earrings caught Jughead's eyes; those eyes dropped down lower to the slim curve of her neck several times throughout the night.

Betty had gained a healthy amount of weight since her time in Shady Grove, and her curves were prominent in her dress. It hugged her ass is an eye-catching manner, and Jughead felt the spark of an old flame being lit from the embers as she pulled him over to dance.

His hand felt like it was on fire as he drew her waist closer to his body. Her warmth spread throughout his whole body, and the sultry look on her face made him gulp.

"You okay?" She asked sweetly.

Jughead nodded. "Yeah… it's just a little hot out here…"

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows. "I'm kind of cold." She let go of his hand, and wrapped both arms around his neck. "Maybe you can keep me warm…" She said in a low voice.

Jughead smirked down at her as he placed both hands on her hips and drew her even closer…

…

Jughead tried not to overthink how late it was when he drove Betty home. He had FP's smirk stuck in his head, and he was keenly aware of the fact that Jordan was being looked after for the night.

He parked out the front of Betty's apartment, and she turned towards him, an innocently happy expression on her face. "I'm not really tired… Do you want to come in for a bit?"

Jughead swallowed, and tried to think with the head on his shoulders. "Yeah, sure." He said, and followed her into the building.

Considering he had every intention of driving home, he shouldn't have accepted her offer of wine, and yet within ten minutes he was seated beside her on her couch, glass in hand. She laughed at one of his jokes, and the sound thrilled him so much that he grinned widely at her.

Betty was a little more intoxicated than Jughead, which is probably why she asked him: "Did you ever think about having more kids?"

Jughead was surprised by the question, but decided to answer honestly. "It was… something me and Cora talked about. We both wanted Jordan to have a sibling… but he was a tricky baby to deal with, and neither of us wanted to rush into it." Jughead sighed. "Now… well, it's kind of irrelevant, because even if she doesn't go to prison, I'm not touching her with a ten foot pole."

Betty's eyes were filled with some kind of vulnerability, but Jughead couldn't get a grasp on it before she asked: "Would you have kids with someone else?"

Jughead drank his wine thoughtfully. "You're getting into the deep questions now."

"I know." Betty laughed and placed her wine glass on the coffee table. "But, I'm curious."

Jughead contemplated it for a moment. "Maybe." He admitted, and slowly twirled the glass between his fingers. "It'd need to be someone who I'm already married to, I think… someone who I trusted implicitly. I do want Jordan to have brothers and sisters, but I'm not going to put him in a toxic, abusive environment like the one we lived in with his mother." He swallowed back the emotion. "I'm not getting married again unless I'm completely in love with someone. It's not enough to think I am, not enough to promise myself everything will get better when we're a family… I want to already have a family with that person and Jordan, before we even consider expanding it." Jughead sighed. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, of course." Betty said, and her voice was thick with some foreign emotion that Jughead found difficult to read.

"Are you okay?" He asked when he noted the tears in Betty's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Betty closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, a pained expression was on her face. "I don't think I can have kids." She said flatly, and placed her glass on the table.

Jughead felt confusion overtaking his mind. "What?" He asked, in a tone devoid of eloquence.

Betty wiped a tear away from her face. "When I… escaped TBK…" she began, and Jughead noted with horror that her hands were shaking.

"You don't have to tell me." He said, and put his hand over hers where it rested on her knee.

She shook her head and took in a shaky breath. "No… I need to tell someone. I need to tell you." Jughead let her collect her thoughts while she built up the courage to speak again. "TBK did… awful things to me. He… got off on the pain he inflicted on me, the sadistic things he did turned him on. He liked it when I begged him to kill me." She paused for a long time, and Jughead wondered if she would keep talking. She took a deep breath and continued. "More than once… he… raped me." Betty forced out the words. "And it was… the worst thing I've ever experienced. I… haven't ever told anyone."

"Betty…" Jughead said softly, horrified. But what could he say to her? There was nothing that could make it better… so he closed his mouth, and listened.

"Most people knew." Betty said, and there was an anger in her words that hadn't been there before. "I didn't even tell them, but they knew. The FBI knew TBK's patterns. The media speculated on it, without even asking me. My Mom was there for all of my treatments, and heard the doctors listing my injuries… it was—it was bad." She sucked in air. "My therapist kept trying to make me talk about it, Glen kept trying to make me talk about it. But I didn't want to even think about it. I just wanted to put it all behind me."

Jughead cautiously placed his hand on her shoulder, and rubbed slow circles into her skin. It was hard to hear, but not as hard, Jughead knew, as it would have been for Betty to experience.

"A few days after I escaped…" Betty began quietly. "I found out I was… pregnant."

Jughead swallowed, and his eyes widened.

"I didn't know whether it was Glen's… or if it was TBK's." Betty said, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "It was too early to tell. My Mom and my doctor assumed I'd want to terminate, but… I wasn't sure. I felt disgusting, and the idea that I could have had his baby made my skin crawl, but looking back now… I'm not sure I would have. I think… I would have kept it."

Jughead was full of so many emotions; fear, anger, rage, panic, pure unadulterated sadness… he couldn't pick just one, and horror filled his expression.

"I was in no state to raise a child." Betty said firmly. "But… before I could even come to a decision, I miscarried." She wiped away her tears. "It was another thing I didn't get a choice in."

"Betty… I'm so sorry." Jughead managed to say. "I can't even imagine how hard that must have been for you to go through."

"It's not your fault, Jug." Betty said grimly. "I… I've had two miscarriages at very different times in my life. That means one hundred percent of my pregnancies have ended in miscarriage."

Jughead squeezed her shoulder. "That doesn't mean you won't be able to have one in the future… both times you were pregnant were incredibly stressful times of your life. One day, you'll be ready for it, and there's hundreds of doctors who can help you monitor the pregnancy and keep you healthy, make sure the baby's healthy. This doesn't mean you're never going to be able to have kids."

Betty frowned and dropped her eyes downcast. "I think maybe… me losing the babies is like… The universe trying to stamp out the darkness that runs through my veins." Betty swallowed. "The world doesn't need any more of my curse."

Jughead sighed and moved closer to her. "Betty, you're not cursed. That's just the alcohol talking."

She shook her head furiously. "I am cursed. And if I'm not, then maybe I'm just a bad person."

"No… Betty…"

"That's why I do such crazy things. Why I hurt people… it's why I hurt you." She said, looking him dead in the eyes. "I'm unlovable."

"Hey, that's not true…" Jughead shifted and took both of her hands in his own.

"I don't deserve love, Jug," she said, "no one is ever going to love me."

"Ido." The words slipped out of his mouth.

"You do what?" She asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Love you…" He admitted, and the words slipped out like a breath of fresh air. "I love you so much."

Betty's expression changed for a moment; hope spread throughout her features, but she still swallowed and choked out: "You can't… I'm full of evil."

"I think you're full of wine, Betts… but I mean it." Maybe it was liquid courage, maybe it was fate, or maybe it was just a burning desperation for honesty, but Jughead squeezed her hands and said: "I know that you feel like you're surrounded by darkness. But when I'm with you… all I can feel is your light."

Betty's watery gaze stayed on his face for several long seconds. Both their breathing was heavy and filled the air between them, and yet the silence pounded through Jughead's mind like a deafening echo.

And then she was kissing him. Kissing him like she'd never kissed him before. She straddled his thighs. He pulled her directly on top of his lap and gripped her hips hard. She was grinding down on him and clawing at his back, and he groaned at the raw passion, the supernatural pleasure that feeling her lips on his and her body wrapped around him brought.

But then, mournfully, he pulled away and stared into her eyes - eyes that were so sad and pleading that he almost couldn't say what he knew needed to be said:

"No."

She stared at him, hurt and confusion clouding her eyes.

"I meant it Betty." He held onto her hips for support as he looked up at her. "I love you so much, and believe me, I want this with you…"

Betty's chest was still heaving. "Then, what…?"

"Not like this." He shook his head. "You're upset, and you're drunk, and so am I - and I need to know that you really want this." He paused as he searched her face. "Because if there's even a slither of a chance that you'll think about getting back on this ride with me, then I don't want to mess it up by speeding too fast down the road. It's not fair on either of us… and I have a child to consider. I can't get into something with you, something that could affect Jordan, unless we're both sure it's want we want."

Betty frowned as she looked at him. "I know what I want, Jughead… it's what I've always wanted. I want you. I love you. I never stopped loving you."

Her words pulled on Jughead's heart strings, but he held firm. "And if you do, then you'll still feel that way tomorrow. And we can talk about it more then, when we're both sober, and not still coming down off an emotional roller coaster."

Betty sighed and leaned her forehead against Jughead's. "Why do you have to be so… rational?"

"I'm a parent, Betty." Jughead breathed a laugh. "If I'm not rational, then all hell breaks loose."

…

They didn't have sex, but Jughead still spent the night in Betty's bed.

It was better than sex (almost); being wrapped around Betty's warm body filled a deep, emotional void that had been present inside him from the moment they'd broken up ten years earlier.

She held him just as tightly now as she had back then, and she felt just as warm as the last time he'd held her. But now, there wasn't a feeling of impending doom, like if he made one wrong move she would slip away.

There was only peace… and happiness.

"I'm sorry that I slept with Archie." Betty said against his skin.

Jughead shook his head. "Don't be. It's okay…" he swallowed, and considered avoiding the burning question in his mind - but he asked it. "Why did you?"

Betty sighed. "I was depressed and lonely… and he was there." She held his arm tighter. "Archie was the first person I slept with after TBK… he helped me get over my issues with sex…" She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then opened them again. "But we're just friends, honestly. He was just someone I felt comfortable and safe with. It's… why I went back to Adam. He wasn't the best in bed…"

Jughead raised his eyebrows incredulously.

Betty grinned. "Okay, he was terrible in bed. But he was someone I knew would never hurt me. And… I needed that, at that point in my life."

He rubbed his hand along her back. "I understand… I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time."

"It's fine." Betty said earnestly.

A long-standing guilt welled up in his chest, and he swallowed before he admitted. "I… kind of slept with one of our friends too."

Betty raised up on her elbows to stare down at him. "Who?!"

"Um… well, it's kind of weird for me to admit." He blushed.

Betty's eyebrows furrowed. "Toni? I know her and Cheryl broke up for a few months after college…"

Jughead shook his head. "Makes sense that you'd think that, but not her."

"No? Wait…" Her expression became even more incredulous. "Not Veronica?"

Jughead laughed. "She might have been easier to explain… but no. She just doesn't quite… roll my end-credits."

Betty appeared to be scouring her brain for information on Jughead's potential friendly sex-partners, but her face remained a beacon of confusion until Jughead took pity on her.

"Think tall, muscular… theatrical."

Betty only remained confused for a few more seconds before her mouth dropped open in shock. "You slept with Kevin?!"

Jughead sighed. "It was years ago… and it caused a bit of unspoken tension with Fangs. But… Kevin really helped me understand my sexuality."

Betty crossed her arms in front of her and leaned on top of Jughead's chest. They were basically face-to-face as she curiously asked: "Was this before or after you brought Dean home for Christmas?"

"Before…"

"What drew you to Kevin?"

"I was feeling down… and lonely… and he was there." He parroted her words back at her. "We ran into each other in a bar and… things just sort of escalated."

Betty tilted her head to the side. "Was that the only time?"

Jughead pursed his lips then shook his head. "I mean, if you count the fact that he stayed the night and we went for round two the next morning…"

"Ugh." She shook her head. "I can't believe Kevin hooked up with you and didn't tell me." Her eyes weren't filled with betrayal, but they were so wide that Jughead thought they might fall out of her head.

He brushed some of the hair off of her forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you…"

"It's fine." She shrugged. "Honestly, with the amount of people I've been with, I have no right to judge you."

Jughead raised his eyebrows. "How many people is that, out of curiosity?"

Betty grimaced. "Six."

Jughead's eyes widened, and a moment later he snorted. "Six?"

She frowned. "Don't laugh… I know it's a lot, but I'm not sure if one of those people even counts."

Jughead tried to keep in his laughter. "I'm sorry, honestly. I'm not laughing because I think six is a lot of people… I'm laughing because you think it is."

Betty's eyes widened. "Wait, how many people have you been with?"

Jughead screwed up his nose. "Honestly? I… stopped counting after the twelfth girl. But it's more than twenty…"

"Jughead Jones." She giggled. "And here I thought I was a sex addict."

He playfully tickled her side.

…

FP had way too much enthusiasm when Jughead walked through the front door at Eight AM, still wearing the dress shirt and trousers he'd been in for the wedding.

"Are you just getting home?" He asked excitedly. "Where were you all night? Were you… with someone?"

Jughead groaned as he sat down at the dining table. "Are we gossipy twelve year old girls now?"

"Hey, I'm just wondering." FP said as he started the coffee pot. "I mean, you were child free, at a social event full of people your own age… there was alcohol involved…"

Jughead smirked. "I don't kiss and tell, Dad."

FP had a joyfully suspicious look on his face. "So there was some kissing between you and… whoever you went home with?"

Jughead just rolled his eyes and innocently shrugged. But internally he was soaring, and he'd have to come clean with his father eventually… because he had a date with Betty that night, and he'd need somebody to watch Jordan.