Jughead stared at the hospital walls that felt like they were closing in on him. He had received a call from Alice. She had said, "Jughead, it's Betty." That was enough to send Jughead flying down the slick streets of Riverdale, to the airport. Betty Cooper lived in Washington D.C., and the only reason why he didn't live with her was because of the fact that he had stayed behind and helped the Serpents. College wasn't something he ever wanted to miss out on, but his dad really had needed him to step up to the plate and help the men out while he went to Toledo to help Jellybean clean herself up. FP Jones had come back to Riverdale last year, in time to see Jughead running things smoothly, and Sweet Pea being the best righthand that Jughead could have hoped for.

Fast forward four hours later, and he was sitting in the hospital waiting room in Washington D.C., Alice Cooper resting her head on his shoulder. She had been there since two nights ago, trying to figure out what the hell had happened, and Polly was watching the twins while Alice and Jughead were in Washington. She was currently sleeping and Jughead was waiting on pins and needles to hear something, anything , about Betty Cooper's predicament. She had been in surgery the day before and now she was in her room, but they still wouldn't let any visitors in for her.

Just then, there were hurried footsteps and Jughead looked up, receiving a jolt of surprise the next minute. Sweet Pea and Fangs were leading the way, with Archie and Veronica running down the hall after them. Sweet Pea skidded to a stop; startling Alice Cooper awake as well. "What - what are you guys doing here?"

"Come on, man," Sweet Pea said quietly. "You're not facing whatever this is on your own. We caught the earliest flight out that we could."

Jughead knew he had lucked out with his men, and knew they would do anything for one another. Even, apparently, crossing the country to sit with him while his ex-girlfriend was in the hospital. The Serpents still had a lot of respect for Betty, Fangs and Sweet Pea in particular. She had looked past the jackets and seen two guys who needed someone to believe in them. In turn, they had taken her under their wings and protected her when Jughead was at Stonewall and couldn't. Sweet Pea and Fangs had been sad when Betty left for college, but everyone wanted her to do well.

And, Jughead had been sad too. They had stayed in touch at first, but soon enough, it had been too hard to hear her voice; too hard to know that she was getting her degree without him. And he had stopped calling. So did she, when he stopped answering. That was seven years ago. They hadn't talked since. And now she was in the hospital because something had happened.

Just then, Veronica and Archie looked up, causing Jughead and Alice to look up as well. "Mrs. Cooper?" The doctor who had introduced himself earlier as Dr. Phillips walked up to them, stopping right in front of Alice. Jughead looked at him imploringly, begging him to not tell him news he couldn't stomach. "Betty is sleeping right now. We're monitoring her, but for now, it's best she does not have visitors."

"Why?" Alice demanded; tone sharp.

Dr. Phillips hesitated, before speaking up slowly. "Miss Cooper has been through a traumatic ordeal. The FBI is here to speak to you about it."

Jughead felt the air leave his lungs as a heavy weight cemented itself against his chest. If the feds were here, it was bad. Just then, a man with sandy blonde hair walked up to them, holding out his hand for Alice to shake. "Mrs. Cooper, I'm Glen Daniels, Betty's boss at the FBI."

Feeling the floor slip out beneath him, Jughead stumbled back against Fangs, who steadied him with a hand to his shoulder. "You're her boss at the FBI ?"

"Yes," Glen commented with a frown. "And by your incredulity, you didn't know Betty was working at the FBI."

"No," Alice said quietly, shaking her head. "We did not."

"Dammit, Betty," Glen muttered, running a hand through his hair, and Jughead bristled at the other man's tone. "I told her to at least tell you, Mrs. Cooper."

"Whatever her reasons for not telling us, they must have been good," Sweet Pea said firmly, tone hard. "Now can you tell us what the hell happened and how she ended up in the hospital?"

"Betty was hunting after a serial killer. He goes by the moniker TBK , or the Trash Bag Killer," Glen informed them quietly.

Jughead inhaled shakily. "The Trash Bag Killer? What the hell did he do to his victims?"

Glen looked at Jughead, then the rest of them, before sighing. "He dismembered their bodies and sent the pieces to their families in trash bags."

Ronnie gasped and Archie placed a hand on the small of her back, rubbing the skin there. "And Betty?"

"We were able to find her after two weeks," Glen replied.

"My little girl was with that monster for two weeks?" Alice demanded, chin quivering. "Why the hell did we not know?"

Jughead stared at Glen Daniels because he would like to know the answer to that question, too. Looking between the two of them for a moment, Glen sighed. "Betty didn't have anyone as her emergency contact. We just found out about you guys after the surgery started."

Jughead was floored. Why the hell did Betty not have him as her emergency contact? Or, okay, at the very least, why didn't she have Alice? The two women weren't on bad terms, but Jughead wondered at what all Betty felt when she moved to Washington. Did she feel lonely and alone? His heart twinged at the thought. "So, she was kidnapped, and we weren't informed until after she was found."

"It seems that way," Glen commented quietly.

"What the hell happened to the killer?" Archie demanded, eyes burning holes into Glen. Glen looked around the room and then cleared his throat.

"He escaped," he said.

" What ?" Fangs demanded in a dark voice.

"He escaped," Glen repeated. "He figured out we were close to catching in on him and Betty, and he fled, leaving Betty to bleed out."

That sentence caused Jughead's stomach to churn and Sweet Pea asked the question he dreaded to. "How bad are her injuries?"

"She's got a broken arm, a concussion, a knife wound near her hip, and some lacerations and bruising," Glen listed off, and Jughead gasped as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Was...," Veronica started but trailed off, shaking her head as moisture gathered in her tear ducts. "Was she violated in another way?"

Glen was quick to shake his head. "No. That's not our guy's M.O., and he wouldn't have changed things up when he kidnapped Betty. But to be safe, we had the doctor run an exam kit. Nothing turned up."

"Thank God," Alice choked out, running her fingertips underneath her eyes. "I want to see my baby. You said she can't have visitors. Why?"

"Betty woke up once, very scared and swinging fists, thinking she was still in the lair," Glen admitted. Jughead glared at him as he continued. "The doctor sedated her, and we thought it best she recovers the first night on her own."

"Well, you thought wrong," Jughead snapped. "What room is hers?"

Quailing under the furious glare Alice Cooper sent him, Glen nodded. "Three oh three. I'll take two of you there right now."

"Jughead, that should be you and Mrs. C," Sweet Pea said in an undertone. "We'll see her later. We don't want to overwhelm her."

Jughead looked at Alice, who nodded her agreement, and then they were walking to the elevator to ride it to the third floor. Jughead's hands were shaking, and his fingers itched for a cigarette, but seeing Betty was the first thing he needed to do foremost. So, he tucked his hands into his ribcage as he folded his arms and walked into the elevator with Alice.

They rode the elevator to the third floor, each of them silent as they were lost in their undoubtedly horrific thoughts. Jughead knew his were at least. When the elevator doors dinged open, he stepped out onto the hallway floor, noting how quiet the third floor was, and he started looking at the room numbers. Evens on the right; odds on the left, and he counted three doors before coming to a stop outside of room three oh three. Jughead inhaled shakily and looked at Glen for confirmation. The blonde man nodded his head. "I'll give you two sometime alone with her. She's still sedated so she'll be sleeping but try to look past the injuries. She's still your Betty."

She hadn't been Jughead's anything in seven years and now he was kicking himself for not staying in touch with her. She needed a friend, and he wasn't there for her . Why wasn't he there? Glen pushed open the door and Jughead walked into the room behind Alice, getting his first look at Betty Cooper in seven years the next moment. His stomach plummeted.

Her arm was in a sling, face bruised and puffy from bruises, and there were rope marks on her wrists. He sucked in a wavering breath, unsure as to why the idea that she had been tied down bothered him the most. Betty was currently sleeping; blonde hair fanned out around her. It was dull but longer than when it had been in high school, and he found himself looking at the golden tresses for a moment. Then Alice wailed and Jughead rubbed her back. He and Alice had gotten closer after high school. She missed Betty terribly and had stopped demanding so much from everyone. Now, the Serpents often went to her house for dinner and his dad was a permanent fixture in Alice Cooper's life. They weren't dating still, but they were good friends. So, that made it easier for Jughead to see Alice in a different light. "It's okay, Alice. She's alive."

"My little girl went through something so horrible," Alice cried, and Jughead swallowed thickly. He understood she had endured something terrible, but the question was, what was going to happen when she woke up? Would she go on living her life in Washington and stay with the bureau? He hoped not. He couldn't stomach it if something like this happened again. And all Jughead had ever wanted to do was protect Betty. From the world and herself alike.

"She did," Jughead murmured, voice hoarse. "But she survived it. She fucking survived it, Alice."

Alice inhaled and nodded her head, sitting down on a chair next to her bed. Jughead spotted another chair opposite and went to go sit down in that one. He looked at Betty, taking in the numerous bruises; the broken arm; and knew there was a knife wound underneath her nightgown according to Glen. He had to admit, it was hard as hell to see her this way for the first time in seven years, but he was grateful for the fact that he got to see her at all. He wasn't naive; he knew Betty had come close to being a permanent victim of the killer's, and the fact that he was still out there didn't sit well with Jughead. At the very least, if Betty stayed in Washington, he was going to station himself and a couple of men to be around her. She needed protection. He looked down at her hand, swallowing thickly against the impulse to hold it. Instead, he just laid his hand over hers, warming it with his touch, and he looked at her imploringly. "You got to wake up soon, Betts. Got a lot of people worried about you." Then he pressed his face into her shoulder and cried the tears that had been begging to come out of him since finding out she had been hospitalized in the first place.