Author's Notes: Hello everyone! So, this chapter takes place the morning after the last chapter, since it ended with them going to sleep, basically. So in this chapter, we face some complications with Penny Peabody (for Jughead, of course) and he talks to his dad about what's going on, and about how he's scared for Betty and his unborn son's safety. Also, Archie and Jughead have a heart-to-heart about how Jughead's feeling about the pregnancy so far, something that we haven't really touched on in this fanfiction yet. I hope you all are just as excited as I am! Enjoy the chapter!

JUGHEAD'S POV

I woke up much earlier than Betty, which was expected. When I woke up, my head was still nestled in her neck, my hand sitting protectively on her stomach.

Smiling down at my girlfriend, I gently got up, tucking the covers around her to keep the warmth in, knowing full well that Betty gets super cold if she doesn't have a thousand blankets on her, even in the middle of summer.

I quickly, and silently, got dressed, leaving before Betty could wake up.

I took my phone off the kitchen counter, realizing that I had a text from Toni.

Toni: Jones, you need to get down to the Wyrm right now. Penny sent us something.

Jughead: Uh… okay..? Is everything okay?

Toni: Please, Jones, just get down here. It… has to do with Betty.

Suddenly feeling alarmed, I grabbed my jacket, put on my beanie, and rushed down to the Whyte Wyrm.

If it's anything that indicates that Betty's in danger, we're going to have to find a place where Penny can't find her. I don't care if she doesn't like it, but she's going into hiding, for the safety and welfare of her and our baby.

I rushed down to the Whyte Wyrm, and burst through the front door, yelling, "What did she say? Is she threatening Betty?" I called.

Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs rushed towards me, all three of them clearly in a state of hot panic.

"Jughead… she's on her way," Toni informed me. "She sent us a letter," and she then handed the aforementioned letter to me.

Dear Serpents,

It's your dear old friend, the Snake Charmer, except now, I'm with the Ghoulies, because I've discovered that the Ghoulies are much more loyal to be a part of.

I hear that Blondie's pregnant, is she? A baby boy… right? Gosh, I sure hope nothing happens to that beautiful girlfriend and unborn son of yours, Jones… because if something did happen to them, you'd come after me, wouldn't you, Jones?

Signed,

Penny Peabody

Former Snake Charmer

It was most definitely a threat. Most definitely a threat to Betty and my unborn son.

"Someone needs to be with Betty at all times, is this understood? She can't know about this, either she needs to stay stress free," I made sure to sound sure and confident that we were going to keep my pregnant girlfriend away from harm.

But truthfully, I was afraid. Terrified. Not for myself, but for Betty, and our son. It's clear that we were right; Penny wouldn't hesitate to kidnap or hurt Betty to get to me, to get me to turn myself in like what I'd done that night when Penny and the Ghoulies called for a gang war, causing the majority of the Serpents to either have to leave town, or sleep in the Whyte Wyrm, which is part of the reason it's so crowded these days.

I called Veronica and asked her to go hang out with Betty while I was away, to make sure that Betty didn't leave the trailer alone, even if it was just to go take out the trash or something. I also instructed her to not let anyone inside the house unless they were absolutely sure they knew exactly who it was, unless they were dangerous, of course.

Veronica told me that she would make sure that Betty was safe throughout the day, although she made it very clear that although she understood why I refused to tell her, it was making her nervous for Betty's safety.

"Veronica, all I need you to do is make sure that Betty doesn't go anywhere alone, and make sure that all the doors are locked," I explained to my girlfriend's best friend. "And if a blonde haired woman wearing a Serpent jacket comes to the front door, you need to lock the doors, get Betty to the bedroom, and call me immediately, is that understood?"

Veronica replied a quick and nervous yes, saying that she'd rush over to the trailer as quickly as possible.

I looked back to my Southside friends and said, "Okay, Betty's looked after for the day. But… we need to track down Penny and make sure she doesn't get anywhere near Sunnyside, is that understood?"

"Of course," my closest friends (other than Betty, who also couples as my soulmate which is like… what? In a good way, of course), all said, leaving to go out on their mission given to them by me.

Two hours later…

Veronica had apparently taken Betty out to the mall in Greendale to buy some more things for the baby. According to the text Veronica sent me, Betty was adamant that she buy everything, but Veronica somehow convinced her it was an early baby shower gift, although Betty still wasn't sold that we were having a baby shower, something that I also wasn't convinced we were doing.

"How are you doing?" Archie asked me, somewhat cryptically. "Like, seriously. Answer honestly, Jughead."

I looked at him, confused. I wasn't exactly sure what terrible thing he was referring to. "Uh… I'm fine?" I know it came out as more of a question, but really I was just confused with what was happening.

"Dude… I heard about the letter Penny sent to you threatening Betty and the baby," he said, staring me down. "You don't have to say you're fine if you're not. I'm your best friend, just answer me honestly…"

I scoffed at him and asked, "You think I wasn't?"

He looked at me as though I was some sort of criminal and said, "I think that you're really nervous, or agitated, or terrified about something, and you won't tell anyone what it is. Not even Betty,"

"What do you know about what's going on right now?" I demanded, getting slightly agitated. "All you know is that my pregnant girlfriend was threatened, right?"

Archie shook his head and told me, "No, actually. Betty said that you've been acting on edge a lot recently, at least around her, and she's worried about you. I don't want her to be worried, especially not when she's pregnant,"

As much as I would like to tell Archie that he's wrong, and that I'm completely fine, I know that deep down I'm not. I know deep down, I have some weird, strange worry that I can't really explain. Except… I can. Really, it's just that I don't want to.

Seeing the look on my face, a face spread across Archie's. "See? I knew it. Jug, I'm your best friend, you know you can tell me anything,"

"I know I can tell you anything, but what if I don't want to talk about it?" my voice was harsh, like Archie had been provoking me for more than an hour and I'd somehow managed to hold it in until now, just unleashing all my rage that had been built up.

Archie put his hand on my arm and said, "Listen, Jug. I know this is hard, but you have to tell someone." he then let out a sigh, and a small smile appeared on his lips. "Hell, you and Betty are about to become parents. You two are about to bring an entire new life into this world, and you're going to raise your son to be the best he can be. Parenting doesn't work if you have secrets,"

"What do you know about parenting?" I asked him.

Archie let out a sigh and said, "I've learned a lot from my parents. Honestly, keeping secrets can lead to divorce, I've learned, and it's not fun for kids to go through divorce,"

Even though my parents never technically got divorced, they haven't been living together since I was a kid, and Jellybean was even younger. I never experienced the real, true, thing of my parents moving out slowly, them actually getting a divorce. Instead, I came home one day to the scene of my father sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, crying his eyes out. When I asked what was wrong, I was met with the words, "They're gone, Jughead. Your mom and Jellybean,"

That was probably one of the hardest days I've had to endure in my entire lifetime.

And the fact that Archie brought up divorce, and separation was making me nervous. The idea of being like my father, an alcoholic who acts like the Serpents and six packs are the only things that matter to him, they scare me.

I finally decided that Archie was right; secrets lead to nothing but unhappiness. Somehow, I figured it would be easier to tell my best friend before my girlfriend, which I was right about, but I later learned that Betty would be actually offended by this.

"There's… this part of me," I told him. "That's scared. Scared that I'm not going to be a good dad, that Betty's going to realize that, and take our kid and leave… just like what my mom did to my dad. My mom didn't… she didn't even talk to him. She just told Jellybean to pack her clothes, and they left. It was devastating, coming home to my dad, who was crying his eyes out. I never got to say goodbye to them… my dad didn't either. Mom just took away his only daughter without even telling Jellybean to say goodbye."

The look on Archie's face told me that he'd never heard any of this before. Of course, he knew that my mom took Jellybean. Everyone in Riverdale knew that Gladys Jones got fed up with living with her awful, alcoholic of a husband who was a terrible father to her two children. Everyone knows that she chose her daughter over her son, and she packed their bags and left, without a word to either her husband or her son, and that it was devastating to both of them. Right? Because that piece of gossip that never seems to leave the hemisphere of Riverdale has defined my entire life, ever since Mom left.

And even now that she's back, everyone knows that she only came in case her and Jellybean had to say goodbye, and that they're only staying because Betty's pregnant, and Jellybean wants to be an auntie.

The thing is, Gladys Jones is staying because she bought the drug trade in Riverdale, and she obviously can't run it if she's in Toledo, right?

"I know Betty would never leave me without saying goodbye, but I'm terrified that she'll like… just decide one day that I'm not good enough for her, or that I'm a bad father to our son," as I poured my heart out to my best friend, I could only imagine Betty sitting next to me, staring at me, appalled at what I was saying. "I… I'm just terrified that I'm not going to be a good dad, that I'm going to make a thousand mistakes, and then they're just going to pile up until Betty deems me unfit…."

Archie stared at me. "It's okay, Jughead. Of course, I didn't get Veronica pregnant-"

"Yet," I cut in with a smirk.

"Hey, don't jinx it," he instructed, very clearly not wanting to go through the process of pregnancy, due to what he'd seen of Betty's pregnancy so far. "As I was saying…. I can't understand what you're going through right now, Jughead. And your situation is a lot worse than for most guys, because you didn't even know for the first five months of Betty's pregnancy. You were in a freaking coma, Jughead! We all knew that was going to be an insane thing to wake up to." he then paused, giving me a hopeful looking smile. "But you did it. Betty told you that she was pregnant, and you just… you did it, Jughead. You made sure that she wasn't alone, and that she had your support. That's amazing, considering your situation, you know?"

Normally, Archie isn't the best at giving pep talks. They're usually just him saying stuff like, "I mean, you're just… so great!" but this was a genuine, encouraging pep talk that made me believe in myself more than I have since the day I woke up.

I clapped a hand to Archie's shoulder and said, "You know what? Thanks, man. You've done a lot for me today… you made me believe in myself," and then I got off the bench on the outside of the Whyte Wyrm, and started walking towards Sunnyside Trailer Park.

"You're welcome, Jughead!" Archie called back, a big, stupid smile on his face.

Turning around, I gave him a quick thumbs-up before turning back around, and transitioning into a sprint back to the trailer, hoping to get back before Veronica returned her, as a somewhat surprise.

I was right, of course. Betty and Veronica weren't home for another hour after I got home. When they did, I was working on a novel that was for two very special people to me (something Betty didn't know about), sitting on the couch.

Veronica was holding two medium sized shopping bags, while Betty was just holding her purse. I was sure that Betty had insisted she carry something, but Veronica had turned her down for that.

"Oh, hey Juggie!" Betty said happily, leaning down, somewhat awkwardly, to give me a kiss before returning to Veronica to get the things from the bags that they'd bought from the mall in Greendale, very clearly intending to show me everything that they'd bought.

Of course, I was right, as Betty began showing me all the baby onesies that she'd bought. Well, truthfully, she'd only bought four baby onesies, Veronica had insisted in buying a few items of clothing for when the baby's older, which is probably the most Veronica thing that Veronica could ever do…. And then of course, Veronica also bought our unborn son a few toys. Also for when he's older.

After Veronica left, Betty and I cuddled on the couch.

"So… Archie tells me you're feeling a bit insecure that I'm going to up and leave with our baby like what your mom did?" Betty asked me as we watched the movie.

I just sat there, shocked, and somewhat offended. I had poured my heart out to Archie, and he turned around and told my girlfriend? Not cool.

"Seriously? Come on, Betts, you know how Archie likes to gossip," I turned to her with a smirk, showing that she was spot on.

Betty readjusted herself on the couch so she was looking directly in my eyes. "Jughead Jones, I promise you that I will never, ever, ever leave you with our son like what your mother did to you and your father. Do you understand?"

"Okay," I nodded, looking at her and touching her stomach gently, feeling our baby kick against my hand. "I love you," I said, leaning in to kiss her.

After we pulled apart, Betty whispered, "I love you, too,"

Author's Notes: Hey everybody! So, this chapter was filled with a lot of Jughead's insecurities about being a father. I figured, especially with him waking up from a coma to find his girlfriend pregnant, it was probably really hard to like… adjust to the idea of being a father. He's literally only been awake for like two weeks, so he's obviously thinking a lot about it, you know? Alright… I hope you guys all loved this chapter, please leave a review in the review section, aaaaaaaand have an amazing day!