Author's note: Yeah. I have no explanation at this point. At least I finished Regrets. I also just did another cleaning spree with stories that were never going to get finished. Who was I kidding? Not myself, apparently. Anyways. Enjoy. Xxx
Jughead laughed as Joaquin said something to Kevin, who shot him a glare as he adjusted his pants. Catching Sweet Pea's eye, the other guy smirked as he shook his head and threw a peanut into his mouth, fingers drumming against the bar top of the Wyrm.
"Kevin, when are Betty and Veronica getting here, again?" Archie called, looking at his phone for the third time. Kevin checked his own.
"Uh, shouldn't be too long now," he replied, cutting himself off as his phone rang. Answering it, he began to speak. "Dad?"
Jughead watched as all the color drained from Kevin's face and Joaquin held him steady as his feet stumbled back. Lurching forward to his own feet, Jughead stared at Kevin. Hard. "Kevin, what is it?"
Shaking his head, Kevin passed off the phone to the person closest that wasn't Joaquin – so Toni, who looked at him before accepting it and holding the phone to her ear. "Sheriff Keller? It's Toni Topaz, yeah. Is everything okay?"
Toni gasped softly, eyes automatically meeting with Jughead's as she nodded. "Yeah, of course. We'll get to the hospital now."
The hospital. Jughead's stomach dropped as it was filled with lead-like dread. He watched as Toni hung up before carefully looking at him. "T, tell me." It wasn't a request and she swallowed as she nodded.
"Uh, Veronica and Betty were in a wreck on their way here – some idiot ran a red light and totaled Betty's car. Veronica seems to be doing okay for the most part, just a broken collar bone and a small concussion. Betty…," she trailed off, shaking her head.
Sweet Pea voiced the question Jughead was most afraid to ask as he clasped a strong hand on his shoulder. "Betty's what?'
"Keller didn't say much apart from the fact that she hit her head hard enough through the windshield to be knocked out and her right leg was pinned underneath the dashboard. Something about having to use the 'jaws of life' to extract her from the car," Toni whispered and Jughead knew she was talking softly so they wouldn't hear the obvious tremor to her tone. "I need to call Cheryl. She's on her way here and it'd be easier to have her meet us at the hospital instead of waiting for her."
Jughead was already snatching up his keys for his bike, feet propelling him out of the bar the next moment. He ignored Sweet Pea's protests for him to wait; ignored Joaquin shouting for him to slow down and drive safe, for God's sake. He couldn't heed their calls. It was Betty. They needed to understand that. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew that they did. Still, it didn't make it any easier to address.
Reaching the hospital in Riverdale in record time, Jughead haphazardly parked his bike, unsure if he was in the appropriate parking spot but not giving a fuck either way as he ran into the front lobby. A commotion behind him told him the Serpents and Archie and Kevin had caught up, but he couldn't turn and acknowledge any of them. Not until he knew Betty Cooper, his light, was still breathing. Was still able to be his light.
"Betty – Elizabeth Cooper," Jughead demanded in a breathless inquiry, taking note of the receptionist as she blinked up at him in surprise.
"You're family?" Dawn, as per her nametag read, asked.
"Damn straight we are," Sweet Pea said, voice nothing more than a low warning as he came and stood behind Jughead menacingly; Joaquin and Archie flanking his other side.
"Also, while you're at it, Veronica Lodge," Archie added.
Dawn shook her head. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but unless you have verifiable proof that you're kin to the women, I can't handout any information."
Heels clacked noisily against the linoleum tile, causing Jughead to turn away from the irritating situation at the sound of the distraction, finding Alice Cooper marching her way across the hallway. "They're with me. Elizabeth Cooper is my daughter and Veronica Lodge has been entrusted into my care for the time being while her parents are out of the country." Alice thrust some paper forward and the receptionist read it before sighing and looked something up on her computer.
"Miss. Lodge is currently in recovery room 302. Her doctor will be out to speak with you all momentarily," she said.
Jughead thought he was about to fucking burst if someone didn't give him any answers. "And Betty Cooper?"
She looked back at her computer. "Elizabeth – I'm assuming Betty is a nickname – is still in surgery, having her leg repaired. Her doctor will come talk to you all when she's through, as well."
Jughead inhaled shakily as he forced himself to ask the question he dreaded the most. "And, her head injury."
The receptionist sighed. "Look, sir, I'm not informed on any more information at the moment. I'll have the doctor come speak to all of you as soon as she knows something. Same for Miss. Lodge's doctor." That was added with a nod to Archie and Jughead realized that was the best he was going to get, regardless of how much he fumed. He allowed Toni to drag him into a nearby chair and forced him to sit down as the sound of another pair of high heels infiltrated his thoughts. When have I become accustomed to recognizing high heels?
Cheryl Blossom ran straight towards her girlfriend, kissing her without a care in the world, before turning to look at everyone else as Jughead noticed her body shaking. "Veronica and Betty?"
"Both alive," Alice assured her niece with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We're just waiting to hear how extensive their injuries are."
"Okay," Cheryl said, nodding a little. "Okay. Alive is good."
"Alive is great," Kevin whispered as he laid on Joaquin's lap. The Serpent carded his fingers through Kevin's hair – the normally gelled-back locks lacking the usual gel.
"It'll be okay, Preppy," Joaquin murmured, nodding at both Archie and Jughead next. "It will."
Jughead wasn't much in the mood for reassuring platitudes, but he could at least respect that his friend was trying to help keep an already overwhelming situation in control somewhat. He nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."
Casting a look around the room, he spotted Sweet Pea standing in the far corner, arms folded across the tallers' broad chest. Jughead didn't have to work hard to know why he was detached from the group. After initially giving Betty hell for being Alice Cooper's daughter, Sweet Pea changed his tune when Betty proved more loyal than her mother ever could be. The two formed an unlikely friendship that bordered on a sibling level. Then, Alice ended up doing a one-eighty after Hal was announced as the Black Hood and Polly ran off to join some cult in the middle of God-knows-where. Personally thanking the Serpents for all their help and apologizing for leaving them high and dry, Alice had been welcomed back with open arms. So, yeah, Sweet Pea was feeling some type of emotion that Jughead knew he didn't want to deal with. He'd put it off for as long as possible until they got the answers they needed.
Just then, a doctor stepped into the waiting room, looking at his clipboard for a moment before looking up. "Veronica Lodge?"
Archie stood to his feet quickly. "Me. I'm here for Ronnie."
The doctor surveyed him for a moment. "Your connection?"
"He's with me," Alice snapped as she thrust the paper she had been holding into the doctor's hands. "Veronica's parents are out of the country and signed guardianship rights over to me until they get back. Archie is her boyfriend. As her guardian, you have my permission to disclose information in front of him and any of these other people with us. Now, tell us something." She snapped her fingers impatiently and the doctor nodded.
"Miss. Lodge has a broken collarbone that will take some time to mend and a small concussion but for the most part, she walked away from this wreck relatively unscathed," he explained.
Archie sighed in relief, back muscles freeing themselves of the tension that had held them captive. "Thank you."
The doctor nodded before turning back to Alice. "You're Ms. Cooper, so I'm assuming you're here for Elizabeth Cooper?"
"As are the rest of us," Cheryl piped up, holding a hand up as the doctor turned to her and opened his mouth. "Save it. She's my cousin. I get to know information by default. As does the hobo with the beanie. They're practically married."
Normally, Jughead would have choked on his tongue at a thought like that – not that they hadn't planned for it to happen further down the road – but he was too impatient to hear any type of news that he didn't bother to rebuke Cheryl.
"Her doctor will be out momentarily. I was in on the surgery with her as well. What I can share is her leg is going to take a few months to heal, having been pinned underneath the dashboard from the angle it was in," he said. There was an underlining of…something in his tone that set Jughead's teeth on edge.
"Wait!" Jughead called, stopping him as he turned to walk off. "We were told her head hit the windshield. What injuries did she sustain with that? And, how extensive?"
The doctor sighed. "That'll need to be discussed with her primary doctor as I'm not completely sure."
"What the hell -," Sweet Pea, who had been quiet up until then, began. Toni elbowed him.
"Thank you," she said, and the man nodded before walking off.
They went back to waiting.
XXX
A female in a white coat walked out, looking exhausted, and Jughead stood to his feet as soon as she made her way to their group. "Betty Cooper?"
Alice nodded. "She's my daughter. Any information can be shared in front of all of them."
The doctor nodded. "Ms. Cooper, as I know Daniel, my colleague, told you guys, has sustained a severe leg injury. Thankfully, we were able to wire it and she'll be able to walk on it after a few months of physiotherapy. She, however, also sustained a head injury."
Alice's complexion went pale. "You say that as if that's not the worst of it."
"Ms. Cooper, you should come with me," the doctor said, and Alice pointed at Jughead.
"He comes too. He's her partner," she said, tone firm. The doctor nodded and led them down the hall as Jughead's stomach twisted into uncomfortable knots.
Not Betty.
Not Betty.
Anybody but Betty.
He didn't even know what exactly he was praying for, but he knew it was something. As he walked into her room, he found out exactly what that something was a moment later. Betty was sitting up in the bed, her leg propped up in some complicated contraption, and a vacant look in her eyes. He dislodged the lump in his throat so he could speak.
"Hey, Betts," he whispered, going to hold her hand.
She looked at their hands before looking up at him. She blinked.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?"
Author's note: Yeah, here we go. Xx