Betty sat up on the towel she and Archie were lying on as the sun faded from view. They'd settled on South Carolina for their babymoon after Betty had found all sorts of activities for them. She'd worn him ragged for the first day before Archie had settled her down and insisted that sitting on the beach, soaking in the sun was enough for him. Now that she was getting into relaxation mode, she found herself sleepy most of the day. "If we stay out here much longer, I'm going to fall asleep."

"We'd better not do that," Archie rose from his lounge chair and helped her to her feet, "I'd rather have a lobster on my plate, not in bed next to me."

Betty couldn't help noticing the plethora of female eyes on Archie. She couldn't exactly blame them for admiring. Even though he wasn't boxing for his college anymore, he kept himself in shape, which included his well-defined abs. Betty was much appreciative of his muscle tone, but she sure as heck didn't like other women ogling her man. She rose on her toes to give him a sizzling kiss.

"I'm claiming my territory," she pecked at his lips a second time.

"I'm willing to be claimed," he smiled against her lips as his hands settled at her waist.

"Then maybe we should go somewhere a bit more private so I can claim you properly," Betty grinned.

"Heck yes," he rapidly gathered up their belongings and pulled her back to their hotel room.

"I have something for you," Betty told when they reached their suite.

Cheryl had surprised them by upgrading them from the standard hotel room they'd booked to a one-bedroom suite, complete with an amazing balcony and a view of the water. They spent every morning on the balcony eating breakfast.

"Oh," he raised a curious brow.

"Yes. It occurred to me a while ago that you missed out on being able to celebrate your first Father's Day as a soon-to-be father because we didn't yet know I was pregnant," Betty went to her bag.

Archie smiled as he accepted the box wrapped in sparkly, blue wrapping paper, complete with a bow on top.

"Open it," she encouraged with a smile.

He did so and found himself staring a hinged frame picture of his grandfather holding a baby.

"Betty," he looked at her.

"Pick it up and unfold it," she advised.

Archie gasped at the picture he recognized of him and his father when he was a baby.

"The first picture is of your Grandpa Artie holding your dad. The second is of you and your dad. The last frame is for you and Frederick."

"Betty, this is amazing. How did you find these pictures?"

"Your mom sent me the one of you and your dad, but the other picture was in one of the boxes in the attic. I asked your Uncle Frank to make sure it was your father before I added it to the frame," she explained.

"Thank you," he breathed heavily before leaning forward to kiss her, "I actually have something for you, too."

"Okay," she looked at him curiously as he set the picture down on the dresser next to his bag and opened it up to produce a small box. Then he turned and gave it to her.

"You and I actually had the same idea," he replied, "You also missed out on your first Mother's Day as a mother-to-be."

Betty smiled as she rubbed her belly before she accepted the box from him. She shook it a bit to hear it rattle slightly and then anxiously tore into the box to see a beautiful necklace.

"It's a locket," he opened the locket at the hinge and showed it to her.

"Is that Frederick's sonogram?" she spotted the familiar image on one side of the locket.

"Yeah," he nodded. "It was a hell of a job to get it small but still recognizable."

"I love it," she gushed, "And I love you."

"I thought we could add a picture of Frederick after he's born to the other half," he smiled.

Betty had tears welling in her eyes as she pulled the locket from the box, "Will you help me put it on?"

"Absolutely," he nodded.

Betty turned around and gathered up her hair so Archie could see what he was doing. He smiled when he was done and slide his arms around her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he nodded, "Now, I believe there was some mention of a claiming being necessary?"

Betty laughed as she glanced at the clock. Fortunately, they had a bit of time before their dinner reservation at the gourmet restaurant in the hotel. "Yes, I absolutely must stake my claim."

Archie lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed.

The next afternoon, Betty and Archie walked hand in hand along the beach, their bare toes enjoying the feel of the warm sand. Cheryl had popped for a pedicure just before Betty left for her trip, so her toes were painted a pale blue in honor of her son.

"This is heaven," Betty nodded dreamily, staring at the water.

"Yeah, feels like life can't get much better than it is right now. You and me, together, finally. Our little boy is going to join us in a couple of months. Our careers are going well," Archie listed, "Feels like maybe things are too perfect."

"Shh!" Betty covered his mouth, "Don't say that! Don't you know that terrible things will befall upon us if we use the 'p' word?"

Archie chuckled as he pulled her hand towards his mouth and kissed it gently.

Betty had to smile even though she tried to be serious, "Arch, using that word is like a big neon sign to the universe telling it to come screw with us."

"Are you aware that you sound a bit crazy right now?"

"Pregnant women are notorious for being crazy," she smiled sweetly.

Archie pulled her in close and pressed a kiss to her lips, "And I love you, Betty."

"Hormones and all?"

"For the rest of your life," he nodded.

"And hopefully the rest of yours too," she replied.

"Definitely," he agreed.

"Do you ever think about us getting married?" Betty asked.

Archie thought of the ring he'd procured sitting in the locked drawer of his desk at home and slowly nodded, "Yeah, I do, but when we're ready. I know you still have a lot of things to work out in your head. I won't rush you on that."

"Yeah, Louis did a number on me," she sighed, "You've undone a lot of the damage."

"I'm happy to hear that," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"If I ask you," she started.

"No," Archie shook his head, "This may be a little old fashioned, but I still think in a heterosexual relationship the guy should do the asking."

"Okay," she extended her lip in a pout.

"Know that I love you," he kissed her temple, "When we're ready to get engaged, we will."

"I love you, too," Betty smiled and looked around them, "How about we walk to town. I saw something I want to get Toni for Christmas."

"Sure," he bobbed his head, "We can grab dinner as long as we're there. Any cravings?"

Betty sighed and wrinkled her nose, "No fish. Nothing that even remotely resembles fish or smells like fish."

"How about some good burgers?" he suggested.

"Yes, that sounds heavenly," she gushed as she rubbed her belly, "Someplace with some good onion rings."

"Alright, let's go," Archie nodded as they walked up the pathway back to the hotel, stopping along the way to brush the sand away from their feet and find their shoes.

Betty picked up her phone and smiled at the name on the caller ID. They'd just returned from dinner and shopping. They'd found trinkets for all of their friends for the upcoming holidays. "Hi, Cher. We're fine. This place is gorgeous. You are way too generous."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves, Betts, but this isn't a social call," Cheryl replied, "Louis has been spotted in Riverdale again."

"What!" Betty exclaimed as she nearly dropped her phone in surprise.

"He was at Pop's. Fangs was there and recognized him from the photo Kev showed him when you drove up for my graduation."

"I'm not sure whether or not I want Fangs to have slugged him," Betty admitted.

"Oh, he certainly thought about it," Cheryl assured him, "He called Sheriff Keller. Unfortunately, he arrived just after Louis left. Fangs tried to follow him, but he slipped away."

"Does anyone know where in town he's staying?"

"No," Cheryl sighed, "A couple of the Serpents staked out the Five Seasons for a couple of days, but they didn't spot him."

Something occurred to Betty, "Cher, has anyone snooped around the Pembrooke? Specifically the old Lodge penthouse?"

"That wouldn't happen, would it?" Cheryl gasped.

"The families were friendly," Betty reminded them, "Is it out of the realm of possibilities?"

"I'll call Sheriff Keller and make the recommendation," Cheryl replied.

"Be careful, please? Arch and I aren't the only ones with a baby in our future," Betty said, "Louis will remember you."

"Oh, I'm not going near that psycho except to wave at him from behind prison glass," Cheryl assured her, "Don't you do anything crazy like come back from your babymoon early."

"No way," Betty said, "Cher, we're having such a good time. You and Toni should take a trip here before your baby arrives. It's so relaxing. Speaking of Toni, I found the greatest pictures in a shop in town. I think they'll make a great Christmas gift for her. Is there anything you want that's in my price range?"

"Don't waste your money on me, Cousin," Cheryl replied, "Buy gifts for our little bun. That's enough for me."

"Same goes for you. Don't buy anything for me and Archie. Buy for Freddie," Betty nodded and waved at Archie as he came out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel. She pointed to the phone and mouthed 'Cheryl'. He smiled.

"Hey, Cheryl," he called.

"Tell him to be on alert," Cheryl advised her cousin after hearing the familiar masculine voice through the phone, "I doubt Louis will figure out where you are, but weirder things have happened."

"I will," Betty promised, "You sound tired, Cher. Is everything else alright?"

"We've had two hospital runs in the past couple of days," Cheryl sighed heavily, "Each time my beloved swore she was in labor even though it's way too soon."

"Braxton-Hicks rears it's ugly, confusing head," Betty surmised, "Sorry, Cher."

"It will all be worth it in the end," Cheryl replied, "I suppose I should get used to the sleep depravation."

Betty laughed a little, "That's the spirit. We'll see you in a few days. Give my love to Toni and take care of each other, okay?"

"Same with you and Archie," Cheryl replied.

Betty tossed her phone with a heavy sigh, "Louis turned up in Riverdale again. Fangs saw him at Pop's."

"Tell me someone hit him or that Pop at least poisoned his food," Archie lay out next to her.

"Sorry, none of the above, and unfortunately he pulled a Houdini before Sheriff Keller showed."

Archie sighed heavily, "What now?"

"They're looking for him. So far he hasn't turned up, but I told Cheryl to have Sheriff Keller check the Lodge's suite at the Pembrooke," Betty replied, "Us being out of town right now is probably for the best. He'll never know where to look for us."

"That is a good thing. You know another upside to being out of town?"

"No," Betty said slowly.

"We can be as loud as we want and not have to worry about looking our neighbors in the eye," he tossed his towel aside.

"You're hysterical," her eyes narrowed in his direction. "Be serious for a few moments."

"What I have in mine is deadly serious," his eyes sparkled in amusement.

Betty gave into his attempts at distraction. She wanted to think about Louis as little as possible.

After their horizontal workout, Archie leaned on his side, one hand propping up his head as his other hand caressed her belly. He loved this look on her. He knew she was reaching the uncomfortable stage, but he relished every touch she allowed. The movements against his hand made everything even more real.

"He's really squirmy today," Betty smiled.

"It's okay with me," he pressed his lips to her belly.

"Do you think about all the fun things we get to do with him as we grow up?" Betty asked.

"Yeah, a lot, actually," he confessed, "Trips to the park to play on the jungle gym, swing, play in the sand. When he gets older, take him to the gym and teach him to box like I'm doing now with Junie and Dagwood, play catch with the baseball and football."

"Trips to the zoo, museums, the library," Betty added, "Because our little boy is going to be well rounded."

"Teach him how to ride a bike, watch him get on the bus for his first day of school, not moving until he gets home at the end of the first day," Archie added.

"I'm going to be a mess of tears that day," Betty reached out to touch his chin.

"Yeah, me too," Archie felt his cheeks crimson slightly, "Talk to him about girls and sex and all that awkwardness of growing up, his first crush, his first kiss, his first heartbreak…"

"You've given this a lot of thought," Betty tenderly caressed his chin.

"Graduation, wedding, his first child," tears well in Archie's eyes, "I'm not going to miss any of that."

"Arch," tears pooled into her eyes.

"I'm not going to let history repeat itself a third time," Archie swiped away his tears, "I am going to live a long life, and I'm going to be there for every single important even in Frederick's life."

"Yes, you are," Betty agreed.

"I've missed out on so much in these five years my dad has been gone," Archie stated, "All these questions in my head, things I'm asking FP, those are things I'm supposed to ask him. I swear sometimes I hear his voice telling me what FP's saying is the wrong way to go about things."

Betty smiled slightly.

"Other times, it's complete silence, like what FP is telling me is how he'd go about it," Archie added. "Each time we talk, I actually hope what FP is telling is wrong, just so I can hear that voice again."

Betty took his hand into hers, "I know you miss him, Arch. I do too. I know I don't get to compare my loss to yours, but it's really hard not having a dad around during these big life events. Our dads don't get to hold Frederick for the first time or be there when we get married. My dad was evil incarnate, but I still have all these good memories of him that are hard to wipe away."

Archie swallowed hard, "Yeah, he seemed like a good guy until he wasn't anymore."

"One of the good things he did, he always had a video camera attached to his hand growing up. Do you remember that?" she asked.

"Yeah," he bobbed his head.

"There has to be some video of your dad, of his voice," Betty told him, "I know my mom purged a lot of things after my father was arrested, but I think she kept the videos. I'm sure my dad caught yours a time or two or fifty. Why don't we set aside some time soon to go through them. I'm sure Mom would let us digitalize them so we can show them to Frederick when he's older as proof of how great a man he was named after."

"I'd really like that," he managed a small smile, "And for the record, you do get to compare your loss to mine. He was still your dad. It's okay that you miss him."

"I don't want to," Betty shook her head slightly, "He hurt so many people. What he did was…unforgivable."

"Do you worry you'll be like him?" he asked.

"I used to," she admitted, "After he died, I felt like I was in such a dark place, and then I tested for this stupid serial killer gene. I thought that meant I was destined to follow in his footsteps."

"What changed?" he brushed hair away from his face.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I guess I eventually figured out that having the gene didn't make me a serial killer. I still had a choice in how I lived my life. I guess I just chose to live a happier life…maybe Louis was penance for my father, and now that I've punished myself enough I can choose to be happy."

"And I make you happy?" Archie asked.

"Yes," Betty bobbed her head enthusiastically, "You and Frederick make me so incredibly happy."

Archie smiled and leaned in for a kiss, "How about we get couple massages and then have a fancy dinner downstairs?"

"How about we just stay in bed and eventually order room service?" she countered.

"Even better," he leaned in for a longer kiss.

TBC…