AN: Thank you so much for reading, and especially to those who review! itsBeckChadwick is a beautiful human being who looks over my stuff and makes it better! All my mistakes are my own. Enjoy all. :)

Riverdale Hospital sat in the center of their thriving metropolis, happily catering to both the North and South Side of town. It was the largest structure the city had, taking up an entire city block and six stories high, its clean manilla covering beaconing to all who were sick and injured. Jughead never thought that they had enough people in town to fill the monstrosity of a building, but the hospital never had to downsize or close, so they must have been doing something right. Or Riverdale was doing something very wrong.

While Jughead had never considered himself a jogger, running through town towards said building made him realize it was time to make it a habit. Not just because Jughead was quickly winded, though there was that, but because it allowed for his thoughts to flow in a manner he had never experienced. As soon as Jughead's sneakers began hitting pavement, the reality of the situation started to close in. Someone had shot Fred Andrews, the most wholesome member of Riverdale. That man was the closest thing this town had to purity and someone had tarnished it. Jughead shook his head. Correction. That man is the closest thing this town has to purity. Not was.

Jughead practically ran into the automatic doors to Riverdale Hospital before slipping inside. The hustle and bustle on the inside did not reflect its serene exterior, doctors and nurses always on the run, scrubs flapping around them. It's stark white walls and equipment added to the chaos, the staff rushing by the white looking as if they were on fast forward. Jughead narrowly missed crashing into a crash cart as it sped down the hallway to the ER, the irony of which was not lost on him. All seemed too busy to bother with the teenager actively seeking Fred Andrews' room, except for one unlucky nurse caught between patients.

"Fourth floor, Room 406," the rather skinny woman in blue scrubs told him hurriedly, moving into Room 145 to take care of her patients. Dodging around the ones saving lives on the fourth floor, Jughead finally found the room. Stepping inside made his stomach drop to his knees. There was Fred, a man who helped raise him, strapped to a host of machines that surrounded his hospital bed, beeping loudly. His eyes were closed, but his chest was moving. Fred had always been a powerhouse of a man, taking care of his son as a single dad and making sure Jughead had what he needed even when his own father couldn't give it to him. Jughead never felt like he deserved the kindness that was bestowed on him by the Andrews, but it never stopped them from showing it. Fred was a hero and this was the first time that Jughead saw him as someone less than perfect, someone breakable. He wasn't aware that this was even possible.

"Jughead." Hearing his name from the other side of the room caused Jughead to noticed his redheaded friend for the first time. Tears had just finished flowing down Archie's face, evidenced by Archie doing his best to wipe them as quickly as possible. Jughead could feel his lower lip quiver, eyes tearing up as he watched his friend try and save his dignity. The brunette waited for as long as he could before rushing to Archie, tackling him in a hug the likes of which neither of them had felt before.

"I thought we didn't hug," Archie said, returning the physical affection without hesitation.

"Yeah, well, we do now," Jughead whispered, clinging to him in a way he never thought he would. Archie and Jughead were always able to maintain a clear emotional distance from one another that both of them felt was masculine and appropriate. Thankfully, traditional masculinity and proprietary tended to fly away during times like this. Instead, they were both transported to a time when they were in kindergarten, before masculinity became important, before they cared what other people thought and far before their superhero Fred was shot. But they were unable to stay five years old forever.

Pulling back completely, Jughead realized his own face was wet with tears and turned briefly to wipe them away. Archie took the opportunity to sit on the lone blue couch near the single window the small hospital room offered. Sunlight peeked in from behind the blinds, reminding Jughead of how he woke up: Betty snuggled to his side, laughing over the drool he left on the couch. The memory seemed far away, much farther away than just a few hours ago. It was almost as if Jughead had two lives, the happier, more carefree life before he received that phone call from Archie, and the life he had now, veiled in a darkness that did not match the sunlight currently trying to shine through the window. Jughead closed the curtains, trying to block out the light before joining Archie on the couch.

"It wasn't even meant for him," Archie said softly, idly rubbing the cast on his right wrist.

"What wasn't?"

"The bullet. This was just someone robbing Pop's and he just shot my dad out of…. I don't know. But the bullet wasn't meant for him." Jughead hoped Archie was right, but part of him knew that there was something bigger going on than what either one of them understood. A disease had infiltrated Riverdale and no one was quite sure how to get rid of it. Maybe they couldn't.

"Any news of how he's doing?"

"Yeah, he's going into surgery today. It'll take a while."

"Has he woken up?"

"No, he hasn't been awake since the…" Archie trails off and Jughead nods, knowing what he was referring to. As hard as this was on Jughead, it must have been a nightmare on Archie, having to relive his father's shooting in his head over and over. He needed a distraction.

"Have you eaten yet today?" Jughead asked.

"No, not yet."

"Let's go get some food. Get you out of here. Pop's is just down the street," Jughead offered and immediately cursed himself, seeing the pained look on Archie's face. Why the hell would Archie want to go to Pop's right now? Jughead felt like an idiot. "I mean, not Pop's. We can get food anywhere. There are plenty of places around."

"You aren't thinking of leaving without me, are you?" Veronica asked suddenly from the doorframe, wearing a smile meant only for Archie. Archie's head popped up at the sound of her voice, surprised etched on his features.

"Veronica," Archie breathed her name as she slowly walked towards him. Her expensive black boots were covered in snow, but Veronica was otherwise in flawless form in her pearls and straight hair. Archie and Veronica's eyes locked into one another's, and Jughead suddenly felt like he was intruding.

"Where's Betty? Did she come to get you?" Jughead asked, breaking the spell between the two. Veronica's eyes darkened, landing on Jughead. He had never seen someone look at him so coldly, causing a shiver to slide up his spine. Certainly, he never saw it from Veronica.

"Yes. Betty came to get me. I don't know where she is now," Veronica clipped before turning her attention back to her boyfriend. The ice in her eyes melted as she ran her hand through Archie's red hair, smiling as Archie closed his eyes and sighed.

"How are you, Archiekins?" she asked him softly.

"Ok. All things considered," he said softly, opening his eyes to stare into Veronica's once more. Jughead was starting to feel more and more like the third wheel, excusing himself to move into the hallway. The two of them barely noticed, Veronica taking his place on the couch and cuddling much closer to Archie than he had.

Stepping into the hallway, Jughead noticed that the usually bustling hospital seemed to have calmed. The staff moved more slowly, and Jughead felt like he was no longer in danger of running into any of them as he stood outside Fred's room. The brunette checked his phone, taking it from his back pocket: no messages from Betty. Puzzled, Jughead couldn't help calling her cellphone, and he exhaled in relief when Betty picked up.

"Hey, Jughead," she answered, listlessly.

"Betty, where are you? Veronica just got here. Why weren't you with her? Did something happen?" Jughead heard Betty sigh on the other end.

"I'm actually on the first floor of the hospital."

"What, why?" Jughead heard Betty's sharp intake of breath.

"I did something… strange when I was over at Veronica's apartment."

"Strange?"

"Strange like bad. I did something bad."

"Bad how?"

"Bad like… I punched Veronica's wall." That might have been the last thing Jughead expected Betty to say to him. He narrowed his eyes, struggling for something to say. His mouth hung open like a fish. "Hello?"

"I'm still here, Betts. I think I need to talk to you in person. Why are you in the lobby?"

"Veronica didn't want me to come up with her. We didn't talk hardly at all, walking to the hospital and then she told me to stay here. It was like there was an 'or else' attached to it." Jughead could practically hear her chewing her lip from over the phone.

"Because you punched her wall." One of the doctors walking past must have caught the conversation. He looked quizzically at Jughead, and the boy in the beanie averted his eyes, covering his face with his free hand.

"I don't know what happened, Jug. Veronica said she wasn't coming to the hospital and I lost it. She wouldn't tell me why!"

"I'm… I'm not really sure what to do in this situation, Betty."

"Me either."

"Ok. I'll… I guess I'll talk to Veronica?" Jughead could not think of the last time he had to mediate between two girls. It might have been never. Being Jellybean's brother didn't prepare him for this.

"Would you? That would be great, Jug!"

"Yeah, that's what I'll do. This is weird, Betty."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I'll talk to you soon." As Jughead hung up the phone and placed it in his back pocket, he glanced at Veronica from the doorway. She seemed normal, smiling with Archie, trying to make him laugh. They giggled to themselves and Veronica fiddled with her pearls, as usual. Then again, that look she gave him when he asked Veronica about Betty was the coldest Jughead had ever seen her. Just the mention of Betty's name was enough to send her into glacier mode. Still, the three of them needed to at least pretend to be a cohesive group right now, for Archie's sake.

"Hey, Veronica. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Jughead asked from the door frame. Veronica looked to her boyfriend, asking with her eyes if it was ok for her to leave him. He nodded and Veronica joined Jughead in the hallway. As soon as she was outside the hospital room, out of Archie's eye line, Veronica's body language changed: she crossed her arms over her chest, widened her stance and narrowed her eyes. And it was all for Jughead. He could already tell this was a bad idea, surprising himself at how much Veronica scared him. But once again, Archie needed all of them right now. Together. "So, I talked to Betty-"

"And she told you what happened."

"Sort of. She said she punched your wall? Is that right?" He still couldn't believe he was saying those words.

"Yes." Veronica responded, and Jughead waited. She merely tilted her head, frowning, obviously not going to add anything on her own.

"You want to fill in the gaps for me?"

"You tell me, Jughead. What's going on with her?" Jughead sighed, adjusting his beanie as he thought about her question. He wasn't too sure how much Betty wanted him to tell Veronica. Or, for that matter, how much Jughead even had to tell. Betty was going through something, that was obvious to everyone, but putting it to words was proving difficult.

"I don't know, Ronnie," Jughead said, lamely. It wasn't a complete lie, just enough of one to make Veronica's perfectly waxed eyebrow shoot up in disbelief.

"Jughead, you have been the one that Betty has gone to before anyone else around here, before Archie and somehow, before me as well. And that's fine," she said. Jughead could tell it wasn't. "But if she's going far enough off the deep end that she's attacking my place of residence, I'm going to need a little more than 'I don't know.'"

Jughead nodded. It couldn't have been easy for Veronica to be passed over for a boyfriend at every turn, but she seemed to be handling it well. She just wanted to know what was going on.

"You're right," he said, finally. "You deserve more than what you're getting. I just don't know how much I have to tell. You need to be talking to Betty about it."

"Well, I can't do that right now," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Are we back in first grade? Because!" Veronica practically growled the last word. Jughead could feel his body tensing in anger. This girl wasn't budging an inch.

"Let's try something else," Jughead said, his face starting to set into his signature snarl. "Why didn't you want to come to see Archie today?"

"Betty told you that."

"Yeah, she did. Anything to add?"

"That's none of your business, Jughead. You know what? None of this is your business. Why don't you just go wait with Betty and I can take care of Archie?" Jughead shook his head, his lips almost glued together out of his determination to not yell at this raven haired girl.

"I never thought someone like you could ever be jealous of someone like me." Veronica's body flinched, as if startled. She stared at Jughead in shock.

"I'm not jealous of you," she said quietly.

"So it doesn't bother you that Betty only ever comes to me? That I'm the only one that she's been talking to about what's going on?"

"You're her boyfriend."

"You're her best friend."

"Maybe not," Veronica said offhand, maybe even without realizing it.

"What does that mean?"

"Everything you just said," she responded, her voice cracking ever so slightly. If Jughead didn't know Veronica, he could swear her eyes were starting to redden. "Maybe she doesn't need me. She didn't say anything while we walked here. She didn't try and explain. But YOU instantly know what's going on with her. YOU are the one she's talking to right now. Maybe I'm not the best friend anymore."

Veronica lowered her head, obviously frustrated, and Jughead could see her shoulders start to shake. Her arms remained crossed over herself, her body language still tight and it all made her look far weaker than Jughead had ever seen her, far weaker than she ever wanted to look. Jughead was totally unprepared for a crying Veronica and that knowledge kept him rooted to his spot, afraid and unable to comfort her. As he heard the soft sounds of cries, Jughead tried placing a hand on her shoulder. It might not be much, but it was certainly better than just staring at her. She stopped shaking almost immediately, as if suddenly aware of his presence. The sounds of her tears become more dispersed. Veronica tried wiping the tears from her face before looking up at him again. Jughead marveled at how well her makeup had stayed, no streaking in sight. She took a few deep breaths before speaking again.

"I was just trying to protect Archie," she said, her voice weak. It was painful to listen to.

"Protect Archie how?" he asked softly.

"I think my parents shot Fred."

"Oh. Shit," was the only thing Jughead could think to say, finally dropping his hand from her shoulder.

"Yeah. They might not have pulled the trigger, exactly, but he is here because of them."

"How do you know?"

"I don't really. I was hoping to talk to them today and confront them. Betty had other plans."

Jughead nodded. "That makes sense."

"It does?" Veronica asked, obviously surprised. Jughead rolled his eyes.

"Hey. Just because Betty and I are together doesn't mean I think she's right all the time." Veronica's eyebrows shot up in disbelief, which only made him chuckle. "It's true, Ronnie! Trying to put her hand through your wall? Come on."

"I'd have to agree." Jughead smiled and Veronica returned it. Her arms finally uncrossed themselves, falling to her sides.

"I think you should ask Betty about what's happening. She's going through some things and it might be time for you guys to talk."

"Is she ok?" Veronica anger was falling away, leaving only concern.

"I think she'll be ok. She could use her best friend. And it sounds like her best friend could use her, too." Veronica nodded, before chuckling to herself.

"You're pretty good with this girl stuff, Jug," Veronica commented, smirking.

"I am a man of many talents, Ronnie," Jughead responded, smirking back. "It does, however, work up an appetite. Still want to join us for food?"

"How about I go and get something for all of us instead? That way you and Archie can get some quality guy time in."

"Some burping, scratching and talking about chicks?"

"Exactly!"

"Thanks, Ronnie," Jughead said, smiling warmly.

"No problem. Maybe I'll take Betty with me. Get some quality girl time in as well."

"I think that sounds like a good idea."

Veronica said goodbye to her boyfriend, waved briefly at Jughead and flitered away to grab cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Jughead returned to his best friend's side, leaning back into the blue couch. The emotionality of the past twenty-four hours was starting to get to him, and his eyelids were starting to droop. As great as it had been spending the night with Betty on that couch, it did not lead to a very deep sleep. Jughead fought the urge to close his eyes.

"Did you ever find Betty?" Archie asked.

"Yeah, she was just in the bathroom. Girl issues. She and Ronnie are grabbing the food together," he responded. Archie didn't need to know that Jughead had just repaired the B and V friendship, and especially that Veronica was not going to come down the hospital or that her parents might be responsible for Fred being shot. That can wait until later. Much later.

The phone call Jughead received next was a surprise to him, especially since it was from the Riverdale jailhouse. He answered the collect call in front of Archie but chose not to reveal much of the conversation, especially since F.P. kept it short: come down and talk to me, Betty is in trouble. Jughead struggled to keep his face even, but he managed, inserting various listening noises and trying to lean as far from Archie as possible. With an agreement to visit his father the next day (when the jails were open), Jughead hung up the phone. When Archie asked about it, Jughead shrugged.

"Guess it's father/son day at the jailhouse," the brunette said, deciding to close his eyes this time and settling into the couch. Maybe he would take a nap. It looks like he might need it.

AN: Please review! Would love to know your thoughts. :)