Chapter 4: Never-ending, Cursing Circle

Three Weeks Later….

Alarms sound in his unprepared eardrums, becoming sensitive to lights, sounds and people's voices. Unsure what he was hearing as he zoned in on the flashing in his vision. The last thing he remembered before it all went back didn't ring any bells. He became frustrated very quickly as he moved to kick his legs. He's stopped by some heavy like a weight, tying him down like some type of gravitational pull. The first thing that he sees is moving figures. It's all blurred shapes, but he can tell their moving quickly. When he finally broke through his mind fog, the man started to reach what he thought was his face. He then realized that it was some tube. He blinked his eyes once again, finally coming around to the realization that he's in a white room.

A white room filled with machines. He fluttered his eyes once more, vision becoming less vague and more detailed. He rheard voices again - - louder and audible this time around. Suddenly panic throws him in waves of terror when he realizes he's in a hospital. Struggling to open his eyes… he felt tears forming in the glossy orbitals.

Where was he? That was his first question that danced in his brain rapidly. And another happened to be the following question; why is he there? His heart began pounding as he tried to re-open his eyes. The beeping woke the foggy residue from his eyes, allowing to finally see the heart-rate monitor, flashing with alarming red numbers on the screen. When it finally registered to him that it was his heart-rate… he finally started to calm himself down enough to understand what's going on. The voices and vision seemed clearer than it once was.

Suddenly his chest tightened and he panicked. He can't breathe. Why can't he breathe? He angled his head down and saw a spiral contraption hanging. He brought his hands to his mouth, trying to wrap one of his hand around the base of the tube, yanking it.

Loud pulsing echoed in his ears. He could hear his own struggle to breathe and it was starting to scare him. Out of nowhere people rush into the room, swatting gently at his hand, confusing the young distressed male. Someone hits a button and another person leaned into his view.

"Mr. Jones, can you hear us?"

He stared at them, still panicked. "Sir, breathe for me,"

He makes no attempt to move at all. The person he recognized seconds prior, he finally realized who she was. A nurse. That is who is trying to coach him.

"We are waiting for your doctor to come to the A-okay to remove the tube. We had to intubate you."

Another figure moved into the room. Mr. Jones? He guessed that must be him. His eyes flicked at the white coat man with a medical instrument hanging around their neck. He reached the end of the bed and stopped in front.

"Hi, Jughead! I'm your doctor. I've been taking care of you since you got here." The man introduced himself, reaching for his foot. He felt the gloved hand wrap around his ankle, causing it to wince." I'm sorry, Mr. Jones. I know it hurts. I'll have them giving a shot of morphine after we get these tubes out."

The doctor kindly smiled. "I'm Dr. Spencer by the way."

The man — no, no - - Dr. Spencer moved further along the bed, approaching him and must've noticed his tenseness. "I'm going to take these tubes out now. I'm going to need you to take a deep breath in for me."

Dr. Spencer looked at his distressed patient, watching as Mr. Jones took a deep inhale." Okay, now I'm going to need to cough." He noticed his patient's discomfort," I know it hurts. It's going to hurt just a little, we'll be as gentle as possible. It will all be over soon."

After the patient started coughing, Dr. Spencer gently began pulling the tube from the mouth and handed off to Nurse Jade before returning to Mister Jones. He waited a few moments, letting Jughead take in his surroundings.

"Do you know where you are?" He began to list off the typical questions he's given over a thousand times. Jughead tried to open his mouth but nothing came out. "It's okay if you can't talk right now. It's normal to have a sore throat for a few days after intubation is removed. I'll give you some good pain meds. Does that sound like a good deal?"

He waited for Jughead's response. He gave a thumbs up and nod of his head. "Good," He raised his thumb, showing Jughead. "You were very brave so I've heard."

Jughead's face held confusion. "Nevermind let's move back to the first question I asked." Jughead stared at the doctor with confusion in his eyes. He shook the thought out of his brain and re-focused on the doctor. "Do you know where you are?"

He tried to move his lips, but no words exited his mouth. He clenched his non-sprained hand out of frustration as tears stung at his eyes. He eventually gave up and reasoned with a nod instead.

"Good. Okay. You are in the hospital…"Jughead's eyes lit up with fear," Easy, easy you are okay." He turned to Nurse Jade. " Administer 5 CC's of Morphine."

He decided to skip to the next question while Jade put the morphine syringe into Jughead's IV drip line. "Do you remember what happened before you woke?"

Jughead tried to think back on what he was doing. But he couldn't remember. It was just a blank in his head. What was he doing? He started to tense up again. He shook his head, frantically. "It's okay, it happens." The doctor reassured him.

He swallowed, wincing at the soreness in his throat." You just woke up from a three week long coma after you were involved in an automobile accident." His heart raced again, beeping made for action," It's okay, Jughead. Breathe… yeah just let that, inhale, exhale… very good, Jughead."

After finally relaxing his breathing was back to normal. The doctor kept asking questions like; is his throat sore? Each question his answer was a nodded head. Are you in pain? He shook his head. The pain had subsided a little.

Dr. Spencer opened his mouth to ask one of his final questions. This was the money marker question. It told him if there was any memory loss. He hoped for his patient sake and the rest of the Jones' family that wasn't the case.

"Mister Jones, I need you to answer one last question for me, okay?" Wordlessly, the young 23 year old man nodded.

"Do you know who you are?" The silence was killing the mood as he waited for Jughead to move his head.

—xxx—

Polly hung up the phone, looked to her left and saw Betty staring at her with a wondering look in her eyes. She sat down next to Polly, sipping her coffee, smiling. She knew her big sister was talking to someone. She just had a feeling in her gut. For the last three weeks she had been in town, Polly would disappear when the cell phone rang and come back smiling like a fool.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody special." Polly lied, sipping at the recyclable Starbucks cup in her hand as she brought to her lips. The cinnamon sugar hit her tongue when she took a sip of the Pumpkin spice latte. Betty stared at her again," What?" She asked.

"Come on, Polls, you are smiling whenever you get off your phone. I've seen you for the last few weeks, disappearing for an hour and reappearing all smiley. You don't do that unless it's a guy… wait it is!"

Polly's cheeked flushed." It's not special." And then she rolled her eyes at the grin on Betty's mouth," I said it's not a guy."

"Come on, you are blushing right now! Tell me, Polly! Who is he?" Betty begged, trying to get the older sister to cave in and tell her.

"I'm not telling."

So Betty tried again," So there is a guy." She said, already knowing she was getting on Polly's nerves.

"Fine," Polly groaned loudly, glaring at Betty," You're right there is a guy."

Betty set down her drink on the side table, turning her body to face an annoyed Polly. She knew she was getting her way. Sure she was being the annoying sister. But that is the little sister's job to annoy the other sister, usually the big one. Polly just wished Betty would give up already. Knowing, Betty that would be awhile for that happens.

"Who is he?" Betty badged on," What's his name?"

"Betty, I'm not ready to tell yet. He and I are taking things slowly, alright?" Polly finally said, hoping this would stall Betty's pestering.

Betty spent the last five years studying criminology in school to become a detective for the New Hampshire Police department. She knew when people were lying to her. She knew how to interrogate someone until they wanted to crack under pressure and sometimes cry. But Polly was a whole other story. Her older sister's not cracking yet and Betty isn't going to back down.

"Do I know him?" The flash in Polly's eyes told her something," Oh, my god, I do!"

The realization kicked in, "Please don't say Archie. You can't be with the guy that ruined Jughead and I's relationship the first time around." Oh no! It is… Jughead will have to see him!" Betty started to freak out.

Polly held her hand up, scrunching her face." Ew! No it's not Archie." She replied by laughing.

"Thank god! I wouldn't know what to do with that."

Another name popped in her head." Fangs? Wait… no he's gay Nevermind. No, no he's bisexual."

"It's not him either. Betty, please stop asking." Her voice was practically pleading for her to stop.

"Chuck?" Polly shook her head, getting really irritated.

"Never would I go out with football players. They're too into games."

"Monroe?"

"Reggie?"

"Betty! Stop! I swear if you ask one more time who the guy is, I'm going to lose it!" Finally Polly snapped, throwing her head back against the chair.

She finally had enough of Betty's constant asking. Betty frowned when Polly yelled at her. She was just wondering who was making her sister so happy lately. She didn't mean any harm by it. She genuinely wanted to know why she's so happy.

Over the years, Polly had hard times when it came to dating. First she dated Jason Blossom, became pregnant with the twins, unknowingly turned out they were cousins. After that Polly was sent away to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, escorted as she screamed for help because her father didn't want her to have babies. He told her sister that she should fix his mistake. It turned out he said the same thing to their mother when he found out she was pregnant as a teenager. She ended up giving the baby up for adoption, was lied to by the Sisters, the baby became an agent, saved their mother and Polly from Edgar Evernever, and his farmies. After Edgar's execution Betty and their mother sent Polly to Shady grove where she learned to better herself, let go of what lies he used to brainwash her into recruiting her mother. During therapy Polly discovered what she did was wrong, spent seven months regaining everyone's trust. Then she found out that her mother was engaged to the man that had been involved or she thought he had a part in Jason's death.

It took Betty and Alice to convince Polly she thought wrong. Long after she finally expected her new step-their in her new life, she started to date again. Betty knew of Jared… he ended up cheating on her sister, making Polly feel so broken. And now this mystery man has fixed all of that.

"Polly I said I wanted to know why you were smiling and seemed effortlessly happy. Oh wait one more… don't say it's that cheating slime ball." Who was she to talk? Betty cheated on Jughead and Polly never judged her.

"Eli --" Polly's cut off mid-yell.

"Polly, Betty! Stop fighting! We are in a hospital."

Both girls winced, turned to the sound. When they turned around, FP and Alice were walking towards them with Juniper and Dagwood.Alice rolled her eyes at her two grown-up daughters, fighting like they were kids again. Alice wasn't to hear it. FP already had his mind torn. For the last three weeks his heart hurt. He visited Jug every day and night, hoping today is the day he woke up. Alice helped him rearrange his work schedule, telling them he needed to take a leave of absence due to medical reasons.

Gladys went back home to Toledo after she stumbled all over the hospital, slurring her words incoherently. FP had to call security. The hospital staff security escorted Gladys Fuller off the premises one week ago. JB almost decked Gladys in the nose for even bothering to show up to Jughead's room. Before any of that happened, FP held his youngest back as she fought against his grip on her.

"But mom, Betty sta--" Alice's hand went up.

"I don't want to hear it. Polly, you are an adult and also one year older than Betty. I don't care who started it. We are in a hospital with sick people or possibly dying."

Alice's daughters shut their mouths, rolling eyes at each other. Juniper kissed her mom on the cheek, not looking up from her Nintendo switch. Dagwood brought his monster truck with him from their hotel room after Polly specially told him no he couldn't bring it.

The waiting room door opened for Dr. Spencer to inform his patient's family on the good news. FP's body shifted when he spotted his son's doctor approaching closer to him and the rest of the family. All the talking stopped as soon as Dr. Spencer stood in front of him.

"Hello, FP," He then moved down the line," Alice, you look like you actually slept well." Alice chuckled lightly, blushing from the doctor's comment.

"You have to when watching two young grandkids." She joked around, trying to lighten the mood.

The family followed the doctor into his office, taking their spots on the chairs. FP's heart thumped in his chest as he waited for the doctor to open his mouth. Alice rubbed the small of her husband's back, hoping to ease his worries.

"How is he, doc?"

Dr. Spencer's face didn't give away much. Betty squeezed Polly's hand tightly. Polly didn't seem to care. She knew that Betty really cares for Jug. She even told her that Jughead and her were giving another go. She was happy for her sister. Now things were more complicated.

"He's actually off intubation. He woke up from his coma. His breathing is all good."

"He's awake? Like talking?"

"Yes, and no, Miss Smith. He woke up from the coma part, but he's too sore to talk. He's going to be just fine."

FP could hear the underlying in Spencer's tone. He wasn't telling them everything. A big detail. He cleared his throat. "That's not all is it, doc?"

Dr. Spencer sighed sadly," I'm afraid not, FP." This was the hard part of his job. Then telling his patient's family members what went wrong. He always hated this part. Telling families news like this is heartbreaking.

"Tell me what happened to him. You said there was more? Did he suffer another set back?"

"Unfortunately he did have another setback. It was unforeseen…. we didn't know until he awoke from his comatose state."

The office chilled by the words exiting Dr. Spencer's mouth. FP had to know what was wrong with Jughead. The suspension of not knowing was killing him slowly.

FP swallowed the lump down his throat and asked the difficult question, unsure if he wanted the answer, but he knew he's getting the answer like it or not," What are the complications? What's wrong with my boy?"

—xxx—-

There was nothing to lessen the blow. He didn't believe it when those horrifying words left the doctor's tip of his tongue. He wished that the words never made it past the doctor's lips or tongue. So he waited until Dr. Spencer finished explaining what happened before FP was taken to the recovery room where they moved him after waking from his coma.

He met eyes with the new door, greeted by Nurse Jade's kind voice. His son was moved to the recovery room on the fourth floor. When he got there a smile marked his lips, forgetting all about what the doctor told him. He walked over to Jughead's hospital bed.

"Hey, Jug… I'm happy to see you awake." He waved.

Jughead's face didn't move a muscle. FP thought it was okay to get closer to Jughead's bed. "I'm sure the doctor's filled you in what happened." His voice began to crack at the end of his sentence.

He reached to grab Jughead's non-injured hand, giving a gentle reassuring squeeze. He searched the boy's eyes,hoping to spark something. But nothing showed. Jughead looked at him as he would a stranger touching his hand. FP felt the younger male's uneasiness as Jughead retracted his hand away.

The young adult man opened his mouth and never had FP wanted to fall apart when the question stuttered off his lips. "W-who…" He coughed,"...are you?"

Hurt fleshed on his face before FP replaced it with a forged smile. "You don't remember me?"

Jughead shook his head. FP tried his best not to cry again. He remembers the timelessly slow-growth in the doctor's lips as he told him that Jughead didn't have any recollection of him or before the day of the car crash. He also said it could be temporary memory loss due to the car accident. He wanted nothing but for this to all be a nightmare. He wished he could pinch himself and just woke up with none of this happening.

He wished that he could bring that drunk back to life just to kill him on his own. This didn't make any sense to FP. "I-I…I'm sorry, sir."

FP shook his head, behaving against the pain consuming his heart. "It's not your fault, kid."

"I'm not a kid,"Jughead said defensively," I'm twenty-three years old."

"Ye--yeah you're right. You aren't a kid." FP sighed sadly.

Jughead noticed the hurt in the man's eyes and wanted to take it all back. He felt like he knew this man somehow but he didn't know how or why. He didn't mean to sound the way he did. Clearly this man is deeply affected by his presence. Maybe he looked like someone he knows. The sad look on the man's face made Jughead wonder what he's hiding.

And came the same question he had been asked three times now. "Do you remember the accident?"

It suddenly came back to him like a crash wave. He remembered driving to some girl's place when… he saw a black suvan hurling towards him before he could steer out of the way. It all happened in the blink of his eyes. One second he was crossing Jane St, then 30 more seconds passed and the next thing he could recall was waking up for a brief moment. He remembered the sheer screams from the woman trying to pry his door open with all her strength. He blinked his eyes once and then it all went black until Jughead awoke in a hospital bed, struggling against the tube in his mouth.

He nodded, trying to communicate by words. " Kinda… it's all a little blurry still. I was…" He stopped from the soreness in his throat. He remembered what Dr. Spencer told him. He's going to be sore from all the swelling in his throat lining where they inserted the breathing tube. "...was heading over to I think this girl's place when I was crossing the Jane St. intersection when some idiot ran into my car, causing me to lose control and slam into a light pole. I-I hit my head on the steering wheel hard enough to knock me out for a few seconds before I regained consciousness."

FP's eyes misted as he listened at the edge of his seat, subconsciously wrapped his hand over Jughead's. Hearing the detailed accident made knots in his stomach. He needed to wake up from this nightmare. But this was no nightmare. Unfortunately he was in real life time, hearing all of this. Jughead must've triggered something in the man. He's crying? Or trying not to seem like he is when he clearly is.

"I regained consciousness a minute later only briefly though I could hear some woman's voice, screaming and then her asking if I was okay. I was too weak to answer her. It didn't last long before I saw back until I woke an hour ago to well… here."

"That woman tried to stop the man who hit you." The man said, releasing his hand.

"How did he crash besides being an idiot?" He heard the man before he chuckled bitterly.

"An idiot is right, Jughead. He was drunk when he lost control of his vehicle, striking your car door."

Jughead's blood turned cold," The man drove drunk?"

"Yeah… his blood alcohol level was .23 way over the legal limit." The man clenched his teeth together. Jughead put it all together. He was injured because some Jackass couldn't wait to drive home after way too much to drink. "He wasn't alone, that woman was in the car with him. She tried to gain control but he hit her. After the cash she pulled out her phone, dialed 9-1-1, took your pulse at that time you were still breathing."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's fine. Only had two broken arms and probably some bad taste in men. That ass was her boyfriend."

"Was? Did she dump him?"

"No, the drunk driver died on impact, good riddance for that."

Jughead clenched his jaw and muttered angrily," Good. I'd give something to die for."

FP chuckled at the threat. That is the boy he remembers. He only wished Jughead knew himself. "Hold up, dude. You just woke up an hour ago from a three week long coma. No threatening people until you can walk again."

Jughead eyed the older man with dark hair who looked like he had a two week unshaven face. He seemed like a chill man with some mystery past.

"What's your name?"

FP almost stumbled on his name. For a second he almost said the word dad. They would've been true if it was the truth. The truth is that he's not Jughead's dad. It stung deep within when his boy asked who he was.

"FP Jones."

—xxx——

Charles couldn't believe the news his younger sister told him over the phone. He had to be hearing this wrong. He left New Hampshire two weeks ago because of work and his young bro had to go lose his memory. He knew it wasn't Jughead's fault. It was all the car accidents fault. He sat down at his work desk, head falling into his hands with a loud moan. He missed his little brother and last night broke down in the middle of his shift at work. His co-workers caught him when the phone fell from his hand, hitting the ground with an amplified sound.

"How's your little bro, Jug?" Marcus asked as recalled what happened last night.

Jughead Jones had been over to Charles' agent office. The team loved working with the intelligent guy. They admired him, enjoyed the last book Jughead wrote before he left. Just a month prior Smith's younger brother had been helping out on cases. The case involved a dangerous drug lord, Malcome, his name might seem friendly don't that fool you. He's ruthless and will not stop for anything. Their agency recruited Charles' brother for help, knowing his background with solving crimes in Riverdale. Last year they even offered Jughead a sweet job as a detective, but turned it down. He told them that his book made him a lot of money and he signed on to Rush for a three year book deal for 500,000 thousand.

Charles raised his arms, stretching back against his work chair. "Not well. I mean he's out of a coma now."

"What happened?"

"He doesn't remember anything before the day of the accident to the time he woke up from his coma." The older brother explained, eyes filling with dread.

"That sucks, man." Marcus replied, giving a sympathetic look, walked by him and gently squeezed his shoulder.

"Yeah, it does." He returned his eyes back to his mount of paperwork piled on top of his desk.

An hour later, his shift ended. He got into his car, turned the keys into the ignition, listened to the engine roar to life and drove out of the parking lot. Ten minutes later he stopped at the stop light, waiting for it to turn green again. Once the blinking arrow turned green again he changed lanes. His mind wandered as he turned onto the new road. He thought about all the times him and Jughead paroled together on stake-outs, eating burgers from Pop's diner, and daring each other who could finish the fastest.

Once he arrived at his apartment, opening the door, dropping his stuff on the coat rack, throwing his shoes aside before he settled into his spot on the couch. He laid his feet on the foot stool, sighing quietly in the quiet room. Then he picked up his remote for the TV, put on his favorite show to watch after a long day of working.

"Babe?"

Charles turned down the volume with his remote, smiling at the man who walked over to him. The man with short hazel hair, green eyes leaned down and kissed Charles on the lips. Charles smiled through the kiss, eyeing up at the 33-year-old male.

"How was your day, Caleb?"

Caleb broke the kiss first, turning himself to face Charles and responded with a simple answer. He and Charles went to the kitchen, flicking on the switch.

"It was okay." He paused," what about yours?"

Charles went silent, causing Caleb to worry a little. He knew the guy had a lot on his plate lately with the case and his baby brother in a coma. Last night Charles didn't come home until almost three in the morning. It wasn't like him to do such a thing. He knew about Charles' drug addiction in his past. He also was aware that Charlie wouldn't screw with his job by taking drugs not again for the matter.

"Charlie… what's wrong? You know you can tell me." Charles' shook his head.

"I can't believe it." Charles muttered more to himself than anybody.

"You can't believe what, Charlie?"

His boyfriend didn't say a word. Caleb moved Charles closer to his body, holding his temple against his own. He knew Charles is a complex character who has walls built up high around him. The last guy Charles dated before him was his ex-boyfriend, Chic who got him hooked on drugs in the first place. Charles told him a little bit about their relationship. He was an emotionally abusive, controlling man who tried to have Charles turn his back on his family and play them.

Charles sniffed at the air in their kitchen," Jughead woke up, last night at work…I got the call."

Caleb smiled briefly, not able to understand why Charles seemed so upset. He knew Charles hadn't been sleeping the best since Jughead's accident. He thought this would cause him to feel less worried.

"Isn't that great? He's no longer in a coma."

Charles shook his head again, pulling away from his boyfriend. "He doesn't remember anything besides what happened during the accident, and the time he was lifted from his coma."

"Oh, baby. I'm sorry." Caleb pulled him close again, cradling his head as he cried on his shoulder pad.

—xxx—-

"Mr. Jones, are you ready?" Jughead nodded, giving the doctor permission to check the stitches on his forehead. "Looks good, Jughead."

FP sat on the opposite of the room, not far away from Jughead's bed. Watching the doctor go ahead, FP leaned back. He knew Jughead didn't know who he was except that his name is FP. It hurt a lot but there wasn't much he could do about it. You can't rush someone's memory to come back.

"When can I go home?" Doctor Spencer sighed.

"The problem with you going home is that there's no one to help you at your apartment. I know you are anxious to go home, settle back into your life. I know you do, but unfortunately that isn't going to happen."

"Then where am I staying?"

FP shot up in his chair, startling Jughead and the doctor. He knew Jughead probably won't like this option but it's the only one that might help everyone.

"He can stay with Alice and I."

Jughead looked over at FP. Was he serious? He can't actually think this a good idea. He barely knows this man and his wife. Dr. Spencer felt his heart flutter with worry for the man. It's not always helpful when someone doesn't remember you to be around. It could be hard, sometimes even heartbreaking.

"FP, you can't be serious." The man nodded," we barely know each other. I would be better off in my own environment."

FP shook his head at that idea." I think it would actually be better for you, s-Jughead." He caught himself stumbling on the name. He almost called son. This is hurt more than he thought it would.

"Alright. Fine. I'll stay with FP and his wife." He looked back over at the doctor," will this work?" The doctor nodded.

"I'll let everyone know." Dr. Spencer turned to FP," FP, can I speak to you outside."

He nodded, following the doctor and leaving Jughead confused on what is going on. Outside the room, Dr. Spencer sighed, guiding the patient's legal guardian down the hallway. It was a lot to be asked. He knew FP did this out of the kindness of his heart. Maybe even selfishly as well. His heart was in the right place. He personally didn't think this was a good idea.

"Are you sure about this, FP? It might not be such a fine idea as you think it may be." FP nodded his head, already knowing his decision.

"Yes, I'm sure about this. Alice and I've talked about this. I want to take him home with me. We've discussed the issues that will come along with this. We are aware of what will happen."

The doctor sighed quietly to himself." FP, in my professional opinion I don't think this is the right choice. I think maybe Jughead staying with another family member will be better. FP, I'm sorry I really am. But this isn't going to help."

"But you said that being around familiar things may jog his memory. You told me this yesterday. Why did you change your mind?"

Dr. Spencer's hand squeezed FP's forearm gently. "FP… I don't think you really thought this all through. He doesn't know who you are…. it is going to be a constant reminder to you if you do this. I don't think you really realize how this is going to affect you… even your family. Yes, what I said is true, but that's not always the case. Jughead's condition could be temporary or long term. Only time can tell, FP."

After the silence hit again, Dr. Spencer knew FP's mind was made up. It wouldn't matter what he tried to tell him. Nothing was going to change that man's mind.

"Fine." The physician sighed disappointedly," I'll have the release forms drawn up for tomorrow at noon."

—xxxx—

End of Chapter 4! Is FP making the right choice? I hope you liked this chapter. More is to come!

Love,

Aut!