BETTY POV

*Whack*

He hit me again, this time with a closed fist instead of an open palm and I could taste the distinct taste of cooper filling my mouth. I tried to spit out the taste, wincing at the pain from my split lip as he laughed at my whimper. He had spent the better part of the last 48 hours (give or take from how many times the sun has set while I have been here) tormenting me anyway he saw fit. He would come in every few hours to slap me around but I would never break. I could still taste the bitter cooper flavor when he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.

"What's wrong, Blondie? Can't take a hit? Well, you're in luck. Your snakes are still slithering around Riverdale and my boss isn't here so let's change things up a bit. See how good you can take me before I let my boys have their piece."

I shuddered as silent tears poured down my cheeks at his words, knowing what he and his boys planned to do to me. I forced my brain to come to terms with what was about to happen and what they would do to me, willing my mind to disconnect from my body. I won't let him take all of me. He can take my body but I will not allow him to take anything else, I decided to myself. All I could do now was pray that someone would help me.

Malachi walked around me a few times, sneering at me as I continue to suppress my sobs. He laughed as he forces me to my hands and knees, the sound of his belt being undone causing me to tremble more. Please, please don't let him hurt the baby. I can take it but please protect my baby... I begged in my mind. Just as he started to unzip his pants, I heard a loud banging on the door.

"Who the fuck is it?" He snarled, angry that his fun had been interrupted. I held my breath, continuing to beg the universe to intervene.

"Big boss needs to see you upstairs. Right now," the familiar voice yelled through the door. Dakota? No. It can't be...he...he was one of us. Oh, God... My mind was racing and I wondered what he could possibly be doing here unless he was a trader. I'll kill the bastard myself if Jug doesn't do it first.

"Dammit, fine. One sec. Looks like we will have to pause our playtime, Blondie," he said smugly, leaning against my back to whisper into my ear. Suddenly, I felt him roughly cup the apex of my thighs through my pants and squeezed while planting a sloppy kiss to my cheek. "Keep it warm for me, would ya?"

I felt my stomach turn, dry heaves involuntarily starting at the thought. He let out a wicked chuckle before he sauntered out of the door, telling the traitor on the other side to 'have his fun, just as long as it's with my mouth'. With that, the dry heaves actually turned into me emptying the contents of my stomach on the floor beside the mattress.

My captor laughed even harder at my current state of distress before he le5 me alone with that turncoat, Dakota. If that's even his real name. He closed the door behind him, staring firmly at the sickened look on my face and groaned deeply, "Dammit Betts, I didn't- God, help me. He swore he wasn't gonna hurt you. If I'd of known-" he choked out.

"What? What would you have done, huh? Come clean with the Serpents and beg for forgiveness? Run back to these assholes and tell them all our secrets? Do you know what that motherfucker has done to me already? Fuck, what he plans to do to me?" I yelled, too angry to care about the tears that were continuing to fall down my face.

"Betty, I swear, I've been trying to get you out of here for two days. I promise I won't let them hurt you, okay? I'll... I'll protect you," He pleaded with me, seemingly sincere. I wanted to trust, desperately wanted him to be the person I thought he was but I had to be careful. I had another life inside me to think about now.

"And who's going to protect my baby, huh?" I couldn't stop the wail that escaped my throat, "I swear to Christ, if I lose this baby... Well, let's just say, you better hope Jug gets to you before I do because I won't be as merciful."

I watched the color completely drain from his face before he crumbled to the floor, tears piercing his eyes as he crawled across the floor towards me, "I didn't know, Betts. I swear to God, if I had known you were pregnant I never would have agreed to Malachi's plan."

I watched as he reached into his back, producing a switchblade and flicking it open, "Okay Betts, I got you in this mess, I'm gonna get you out of it. Just promise me you won't kick my ass before I get you back to Serpent territory?"

I nodded and Dakota cut the ties on my wrists and ankles, helping me off the dingy mattress and onto my feet. "Look, there's no way we're making it out that door without a fight. Malachi will kill me on the spot if he knows I am helping you escape so we have to be quick and quiet. Do you think you can make it through that window?"

"If it means getting out of this hell-hole, I'd crawl over broken glass," I stated, frowning at him. I still didn't trust him as far as I could throw him but if he was my only way home, what choice did I have? He grabbed my hand and boosted me up towards the window, pushing me through as soon as the window popped open.

Suddenly, we hear a commotion outside and hear Malachi coming back. Dakota looks at me with dread in his eyes and tossed me the keys to his car. "Go, run! I'm parked just on the other side of those trees. I'll stall them as long as I can. Just be careful and- tell Jug I'm sorry for my part in this. Now, go!" He whisper-yelled to me then quickly unzipped his pants and turned his switchblade around, stabbing it into his shoulder. "Go!"

I stood up without looking back and began running as quickly as possible towards the tree line, towards where he said he parked. I heard shouting coming from behind me but I don't stop, I was too close to getting away now. I run through the woods, branches scratching my skin as I flee. I could finally see his car in the distance and I knew if I could just reach it, I would be home free. Just as I burst through the trees, I felt someone grab me from behind and covering my mouth as I tried to scream. We tumbled to the ground and I started squirming underneath him, scraping my elbows on bits of gravel as I desperately tried to get away from him.

"Where'd you think you're going, lil' bit? Boss has plans for you," the man barked at me, his teeth gleaming as he wrapped his hand around my around the neck, squeezing until the edges of my vision started fading to black.

Just before I began to lose consciousness, I heard shouting and suddenly I felt his weight leave my body. The sudden rush of air into my throat was almost too much as I sputtered and coughed, trying to fill my lungs too quickly.

I tried to sit up but the dizziness was too much and I fell back down on the cold, hard ground. Just before I faded into the darkness I felt a hand in mine and heard a soothing voice, "Don't worry Blondie. We've got you, you're safe now."

JUGHEAD POV

"Dad, I don't fucking care, it's been two days! I'll burn this entire fucking town to the ground and kill everything in my path to get her back. I will kill every last one of those motherfu-," the loud slamming of the door to the bar stopped my rant in its tracks. I watched as Sweet Pea and Jellybean stormed into the bar, a balled-up blonde in Sweet Pea's arms, the trio rushing towards me.

"Betty?!" I ran to meet them, taking Betty from him and cradling her in my arms as I sank to the floor in tears. I looked up to see my sister in tears as well, Sweet Pea's arms wrapped around her as she cried into his chest. Betty was unconscious, bloody and covered with bruises and cuts over the majority of her body, but she was breathing.

"How Jelly? How did you-," I managed to choke out before my voice broke, betraying my emotions. I held her to me tightly as I stared at my sister and noticed Sweet Pea kissing the crown of her head and whispering into her ear.

"Sweets came to Pop's to watch out for me since I was on the late shift. We hated not being able to find anything so after work, we decided to go looking for her. We drove around in his bike for hours until I spotted Dakota's car in Ghoulie territory. We went to investigate and saw-," Jellybean paused, clearly not wanting me to know what happened to her. She turned in Sweet Pea's arms and began to sob again as he shushed her, murmuring into her hair.

"Oh Princess, what did they do to you?" I whispered to her, tears running down my cheeks. I picked her up and turned back to Sweet Pea. "Call the doc, we need to make sure the baby is okay and find out what the hell those monsters did to her."

I turned on my heels to carry her upstairs to our apartment. Betty whimpered quietly until I heard her whispering my name and it broke my heart to see her like this. I'm just praying that she and the baby are both okay. Here I was just thinking of asking her to be my wife and now I'm going to be a Dad and I don't want to lose this feeling. I want a family with her, it's all I have ever wanted my entire life. I just hope I will get to tell her that.

BETTY POV

The first thing I noticed was that everything hurt, my entire body felt like it had been run through the wringer and I had no clue where I was. I could hear hushed voices in the background and suddenly everything comes flooding back: Malachi, the beatings, Dakota saving me, running through the woods, that man on top of me...

"No! No, no. no, no!" I screamed, throwing punches and fighting off whoever may be holding me hostage until I heard his voice in my ear.

"Betty, baby. It's okay, you're okay," Jughead whispered softly, stroking my hair tenderly. "I've got you, Princess. They can't hurt you anymore, I won't let them."

I struggled to open my eyes, one of them is swollen almost completely shut, but I was finally able to open them enough to see Jug's face coming into focus. His eyes were bloodshot, tears staining his cheeks. His hair was a mess and he was wearing a bloody tank top.

"Juggie?" I wailed as he gathered me into a tight embrace, just glad to be home and back in his arms. I bawled, clinging to him for dear life and praying that he would never let me go. Suddenly, fear gripped me again. I pushed him back as my hands flew to my stomach. "Jug, is- is the baby...?"

"The baby's fine, Betts. Dr. Patel said it has a strong heartbeat and he is going to have an ultrasound machine brought here to take a look just to be sure. But for now, everything is okay. Our baby is okay," he said. Jughead was crying now too and hugged me to his chest while he wrapped his arms around me. After a few more minutes like this, I gathered up the strength to speak.

"I want him dead, Jug. I want to watch the life leaves his eyes after what he did to me... after what he planned to do to me. I don't ever want him to do this to anyone else," I was resolute in what I wanted to be done. Malachi didn't deserve to breathe the same air as my child would soon breathe. "And, we need to find out who the Ghoulies are working for too. Someone hired them to do this but Dako- Dakota didn't know who it was."

"If I see that traitor, I will kill hi-," I stopped him before he could go any further. I didn't want anything to happen to Dakota. Not now, not after what he risked to save me.

"No, Jug. He's the only reason I'm here and alive. He saved me and sacrificed himself to make sure I was safe. He was just a Prospect for them, he didn't know what Malachi planned and he was disgusted with himself when he found out what happened to me. I won't let anyone hurt him, do you hear me? He is under my protection from here on out and anyone who tries to fuck with him will deal with me, got it?" I knew that it would seem irrational to a lot of people but I might be dead - or worse - if not for him.

"Ok, Princess. No one will touch him. I promise. But if he made it out of there alive, he and I will be having a chat," Jughead said, looking into my eyes with such fire that I couldn't help it when my breath hitched just a tiny bit. His face softened and he swallowed hard, looking at me with fear in his eyes before he spoke again, "Betty, did Malachi...? Did he...?"

I knew what he was asking and I understood how hard this was for him to take. I knew I needed to reassure him that I was okay, in all aspects. "No, Juggie, he didn't. He- um, he tried but Kota stopped him before he could do anything," I watched Jughead's shoulders slump in relief before he climbed into the bed beside me, holding me close.

"I'm so sorry, Betts. I'm sorry I wasn't there, I'm sorry that he hurt you, I'm sorry-," I put my fingers on his lips to still them and kissed his cheek softly.

"This is not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for, I'm okay. This baby is okay. Let's just get some rest for now, alright? We have a lot of work to do if we are going to take these fuckers down.

"Ok, Betts. Let's get some sleep. I love you," Jughead whispered against my temple before kissing it.

"I love you too, Jug. Always."

BETTY POV

Six Weeks Later...

"Alright, Miss Cooper, everything looks absolutely wonderful. Your baby is measuring around twelve weeks and four days so you are almost officially out of your first trimester. How does it feel?" Dr. Patel asked with a smile.

"It feels amazing. I'm so glad that I'm finally over the morning sickness and excited to find out what I'm having so I can finally buy nursery stuff," I chuckled, pulling my shirt down over my tiny baby bump after all the gel was cleaned off. "Would I be able to get the video of the ultrasound to take back home to show my boyfriend?"

"Of course, that's no problem," he handed me a disk and smiled again. "I'll see you again in four weeks and then we will set up your gender ultrasound for the following appointment. Alright?"

"Thank you Doc, that sounds perfect," I waved as I left the room and walked out into the reception area to get my appointment card. When I walked into the lobby, I saw Sweet Pea waiting for me and looking very uncomfortable.

"Sweets?" I laughed at him when he jumped out of his chair as if he'd been burned.

"Yeah, peachy-keen, Princess. Now, let's get the hell out of here before one more lady asks me when my kid is due," he huffed in embarrassment, stepping in front of me to get the door.

Ever since I was taken and then rescued a few days later by him and Jellybean, I had been under 24/7 guard. If I was not at the bar with Jug, someone in the Serpents was with me at all times. Cheryl and Toni have been sticking close to me and whenever I want to go to Veronica's for girl time, they usually accompany me. Veronica had security bumped up at The Pembrooke also, just as a precaution.

The Serpents had spent the last month and a half preparing for another Ghoulie attack but they seemed to be lying low. It was frustrating me to no end because I just wanted this all to be over but we are no closer to finding out who the mastermind behind my kidnapping was then we were six weeks ago.

"Blondie, you good?" Sweet Pea asked me, looking concerned. Sweet Pea and I had become closer since he helped to bring me home, almost like brother and sister. I believed that was due to the fact that we learned he and Jellybean been secretly dating for the last six months that night. I always knew something was going on there and I was happy for them. I shook myself out of my thoughts and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking. Let's get back to the Wyrm so we can send Fangs out for some Pop's. This little one has its daddy appetite," I started to laugh until I heard someone say my name behind me. I halted, my blood running cold as I saw the look of unadulterated hatred on Sweet Pea's face. I turned and came face to face with my ex, Archie.

"Well, what do we have here? Elizabeth, seems like you've been getting around with all the Serpents lately. Tell me, do they all take turns at one time or do they have the decency to fuck you behind closed doors before the next one slithers his way into that nice cunt of yours? Do you even know whose bastard it is you're carrying?" Archie was leaning up against his car which he'd parked right next to Sweet Pea's bike, blocking us from getting by. Sweet Pea started to lunge towards him but I stopped him.

"What's the matter, Archibald? Pissed because you found out that little skank you were banging lied about being knocked up and dipped when she found out what a piece of dog shit you are? Not that I blame her, if I knew back then what I know now, I would have cut that four inches you are packing off and fed it to the pigs," I stared him down, showing him no fear as we started to walk around him. Sweet Pea and I straddled the bike before Archie jumped into his car and turned to me with an evil grin.

"I'll tell Malachi you said hello. See you soon, Elizabeth..." Archie said, speeding off before Sweet Pea gave me a nod and we take off towards the Wyrm. My thoughts were numb the entire way home, my grip on Sweets waist iron clad from the fear that was choking me. When we finally pulled up to the Wyrm, the churning in my stomach was too much to take and I tossed the helmet off, jumping off the bike to vomit in the grass by the bar.

Jughead and some of the Serpents were out front and came rushing to my side when they saw me collapse on the grass after I got sick. Jughead ran up and knelt down beside me, rubbing my back while I continued to empty out my breakfast.

"Morning sickness?" He questioned but I shook my head, dry heaving at the thought that I had actually been married to such a sick individual. My fists gripped the grass, pulling the blades between my fingers as I clenched my teeth.

"Archie was waiting out front of the doc's when we left, Boss. Said some pretty nasty stuff about Queenie and then let Betty know that he was in contact with Malachi," Sweet Pea said from behind me. I sensed Jughead tensing next to me, his breathing growing heavy, likely trying to calm his building rage.

"It was him, Juggie. I know it was. He's the one who hired Malachi to...to..." I choked out as I started to sob. Jughead wrapped his arms around me, helping me into the bar to sit down while he had Toni bring me a glass of ginger ale to settle my stomach.

"What did he say to you, Betty?" I explained to him everything that happened, everything that he said to me - verbatim. When I was finished, I saw a look in his eyes that I had never seen from him before. "Juggie?"

"I'm going to make him pay, Princess. He's going to get what's coming to him, just like Malachi. If it's the last thing I do, those motherfuckers are going to get what they deserve," Jughead said, his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists at his side.

"I know you will, Jug. Right now, we need a strategy for luring them out and I think you know as well as I do that there is only one way to do that."

Jughead flinched before going completely rigid at my words. I know it's dangerous and he was worried about me but it was still a solid plan. "No. Absolut-," he started.

"Forsythe. It's the only fucking way and you damn well know it. These scumbags won't be coming out of their hiding places unless something is there to entice them. And we all know there is only one thing they really want. So, we give it to them," I said, trying to make him understand the original plan was still the best we had at this point.

"Christ Betts, why the fuck do you insist on putting yourself in danger? This isn't just you that we're talking about, what about the baby?" His fingers started twitching so I pulled him out of the booth by the wrist and walked him back outside to grab a cigarette.

"Jug, you know it's what we have to do. But this time we will have every possible scenario planned out. Malachi won't get within two feet of me and you know it. He won't risk me getting shot, he wants other things from me first," I shivered as I remember how his hands felt against my skin and the pain from the hits my body took from him.

"I'm not going to let that fucker get the chance, as soon as I have a clear shot it's going in his skull," Jughead's fingers shook as he lit his cigarette and took a puff. I knew that this plan would scare him but we didn't have another option. It was now or never.