Betty watched the clouds as they flew, and Jughead watched her . It was hard to believe that for the last two years she had been living in London, England. He wanted her home with him, but he had to factor in her being attacked. He had to remember that she hadn't willingly left, but she had been scared into doing so. The Ghoulies had sent four men after her, and they had scared her into leaving.

If they weren't already dead, Jughead would kill them.

He glanced around the plane. Toni was sitting across from Betty, eyes closed, and Ronnie was watching Betty from the other side of the plane. He caught her eye, and she grinned sheepishly. He understood it. Veronica was likely feeling a bit jealousy at how close Toni and Betty had gotten over the last two years.

Veronica was used to being the female friend in Betty's life; Jughead didn't blame her if there was some jealousy there. He knew that they were all used to Betty before she moved to London; they had to get acclimated to this new Betty. Had to get acclimated to the fact she wasn't the same girl.

Hiram spoke to Betty just then, and Jughead watched as she breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever Hiram had said to her had caused her shoulders to loosen. She laughed, relaxing marginally more, and then she stood up, using the aid of her crutch to make her way towards Jughead. She sat down next to him, placing the crutch next to her. "Hey, Jug."

"Hey, Betts," he grinned at her, and she smiled shyly. Then sighed.

"How mad at me are you?" Betty asked quietly, but Jughead shook his head.

"I'm not mad," he promised her quietly. "Even when I hadn't known about the attack and that you ran because you were terrified for us, I still wasn't mad. Was I worried? Undoubtedly so. But I was never mad."

Her shoulders loosened completely at that, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "There's not a day that went by that I didn't think about you."

Jughead grinned softly. "What a coincidence. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you, either."

Betty matched his smile, settling more comfortably against his shoulder. It was easy to fall back into the same old patterns they were so accustomed to. Jughead wondered if it was as easy for every couple or if they were special because their love endured hardships most couples didn't face.

Cheryl walked over to them, sitting down across from Betty. "What are we going to do about Malachi?"

Betty tensed up, something Jughead recognized immediately, and he frowned at her. Tracing her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb, he kept his voice low as he replied. "We're going to get him where it hurts. He doesn't get to send his goons after Betty to hurt her and get away with it.

Betty looked at Jughead uneasily. "I don't want you guys going after them. The men who attacked me are dead. That should be enough."

"But it's not," Cheryl replied. "Malachi most likely hired the attack against you. He needs to pay for that."

Betty bit her lip, and Jughead felt the anxiety permeating off her. He looked at Cheryl before looking back at Betty. "We'll talk about this later. Nothing needs to be decided right now."

He'd make sure he'd talk to Hiram about Betty's fears. He didn't want the blonde to have any qualms about them going after Malachi, and it was clear she had them right now.

Betty sighed, looking at Cheryl. "Let's just talk about this later. When we've all gotten some rest and have had time to sleep on it."

Cheryl sighed but nodded her head, nonetheless. "Okay. That works." Her eyes cut to Toni. "She's bi, right?"

"Leans more towards women," Betty smirked, and Cheryl flushed happily. She stood her feet, threw a 'toodles' over her shoulder, then went and sat down next to Toni, engaging the petite woman in conversation. Betty smiled at them softly, and Jughead couldn't take his eyes off her.

"God, you're so beautiful," he whispered. "How did I go two whole yeas without seeing you?"

"I wanted to remain hidden, Jughead," Betty reminded him quietly. "It may not have been the best idea, but it was born from the best intentions."

"I know," Jughead agreed. "Doesn't mean I missed you any less."

"I was so afraid you were going to be mad at me," she confessed. "I was afraid that too much time had spaced the distance between us."

"Betts," he said quietly, rubbing her cheek. "A whole continent was placed between us, and it didn't make me miss you any less or get mad at you. You did what you thought you had to do to keep us safe. I can and will respect that. I just won't let you think you've got to fight this battle on your own anymore. You've got us."

She let a few tears slip down her face. "It's such a relief. I've been close to only Toni the last two years. I didn't even reach out to my mom. They threatened her too."

"We'll bring her back home too," Jughead promised her gently. Betty breathed another sigh of relief, and Jughead wondered when the last time was, she properly relaxed.

"Thank you," she murmured. He pressed his lips to her forehead, holding them there for an immeasurable moment, listening as Hiram got to his feet and promised they'd be landing soon. Jughead took his turn to breathe a sigh of relief. It looked like things were going to go back to normal as soon as they reached America. They just had to start hunting down the Ghoulies and he had to keep his promise about bringing Alice back home. He'd do that. He'd always do that.

Author's note: I hope you guys liked this chapter and feel like leaving your thoughts on it. Ghoulies to be appearing starting next couple of chapters. X