First Year
Abby walks into Pops to do a double take. "Jughead?" She walks over to the booth.
"Hey Abby," He got up to hug her. "Did your brother say anything about coming to town?"
"No, he's deployed right now. He does them one after another. I told him he should take a break in between but Archie never listens." She had been writing letters to him and sending care packages. "Was he supposed to meet you?"
"No." Jughead eyes Pops in the back shaking his head. "I had some free time and thought I would swing by and surprise him. I thought by now he would be in a base nearby."
"He seems to be avoiding this place. Since you're in town you should come over. I graduated yesterday so we're celebrating at home. I'm picking up the food." She nods to the boxes that Pops is packing up.
"I don't think so, I need to get going. It took me more time than I realized to get here and I gotta get back." He shook his head.
"Alright, well at least have a burger on me." She took a wrap-up burger from the box and handed it to him.
"Thank Abby. You're the better Andrew sibling." He took it with a small smile.
"Only took you 18 years to figure that out." She rolled her eyes.
Abby pulled into the driveway. Between the music and loud laughing there was no way anyone would hear to come out and help, so she grabbed what she could. She would have them get the rest. She tilted her head at the wicker basket in front of the door. From the distance, it looked like blankets were in it. She thought someone must have left a donation. It was well known that she was helping the displaced children in the community. She would come home to boxes of clothes and supplies. It was greatly appreciated. At the moment it was blocking the door and she wouldn't be able to step over it or pick it up with her hands full. She nearly dropped everything when she got closer to see what was inside. There was a small blonde baby wrapped up in blankets. Every few weeks there would be a teen or kid that pops up needing somewhere to stay. But, this was the first infant. She rang the doorbell, needing someone to help her. Luckily, Sweet Pea was the one to open the door. "Look down." Her voice was laced with fear of the unknown.
"Holy shit." He picked up the basket. "How long was he here for?" He assumes the gender by the blue onesies.
"I don't know, I just found him." She whispers.
"Why wouldn't the person ring the doorbell? What if we didn't open the door all night?" He was angry at the person for not ensuring the baby would get help.
"Let's get him inside." They walk into the house. "How is he?"
He put the basket down to take the baby out. "He feels fine. He was still warm." The baby was staring at him with forest-green eyes. Sweets went into the living room so everyone could see the new addition.
"Woah," Nancy opened and closed her mouth a few times.
"He was in that basket at the door." Abby came out from the kitchen. "Can you boys get the rest of the food?" She looks at Toby and Eddie. They went to do so.
Vixen looks through the basket for any clues as to where the baby came from. "Paul Jones." She read the name of a paper.
"Oh my god, I saw Jughead at Pops and he was in a hurry to leave. You don't think he… no, he wouldn't." Abby shook her head while pacing.
"That doesn't matter. We have no supplies for a baby." Greg points out.
Nancy got up to grab her purse. "I'll get them."
"Why did your mom have a case right now?" Dracula stares at the baby in terror. Mary left right after the graduation yesterday because she had court in the morning.
"I'm going to get Alice." Abby got up to see her neighbor for some knowledge on how to take care of a baby.
"Women do get shit done," Kraken observed how the woman went into action while they sat around wondering what to do.
"I could have told you that." Vixen grabs Paul from Sweets.
"I want to play with him too." Tessie pulls on her sleeve. Vixen sat on the couch. All the girls gather around him to coo at him. Vegas sat by Vixen's feet to sniff the baby's legs.
Second Year
Abby was with the kids in the living room. They were doing their homework. Paul was playing with his blocks in the play pin. The door slammed open making a few of them jump and the baby cried. She got up to calm him down. Sweet Pea came running in. "I got a surprise."
"You scared the baby." She bounced him on her hip.
"Me too." Tessie put a hand over her speeding heart.
"I got new ink." He shows off his arm. It reads Serpents Don't Shed Their Skin. "You hate it." His face dropped at her fake smile.
"What? No, I like it." Her voice raises, making Vixen giggle at the obvious lie. "I know it's a Serpent phrase, but it's not logical or ideal. Serpents do shed their skin. The snake that can't shed its skin will die of complications. When a snake sheds its skin it's getting bigger and stronger. It is a sign of growth. It's positive."
"I have explained this to you already. It's not about real snakes. It's about us as a group. It's about loyalty." He sighs.
"I'm saying if someone doesn't know the Serpents they're going to think you're dumb." She had voiced her opinion when he told her about the new tattoo he wanted.
"I don't care what they think. It's about what it means to me." He points at his chest.
"That's true." She thought of the tattoo on her thigh of a mama bear holding its baby with orange flowers surrounding it. She would have been devastated if she had come home to Sweet Pea telling her that it was stupid. Technically, she didn't have any kids. "I'm sorry. It's nice. I like the font you choose."
"Thank you. I know your brain gets technical sometimes." He kissed her forehead
"Come on, Paul." Abby was trying to feed him oatmeal. "It's kind of like soup."
"You know what he wants." Sweets shook the container of leftover Butternut Squash soup. After making chicken noodle soup one night, Spence only wanted a liquid diet. The house had been on the same diet for two weeks since Abby didn't want to make two different things.
"He needs to eat something else." She shook her head.
"Come on, he's too young to understand that he gotta eat different things." He was sick of soup too, but there wasn't much they could do. They couldn't do the classic parent trick of, you're not leaving the table until you finish your plate with him.
"Fine, but I'll make a small batch of soup every day because I'm not living like an old woman with no teeth." She eats the oatmeal in defeat.
"No argument from me." He warms up the soup. "Here you go, Souphead." The baby claps while giggling at the bowl in front of him.
"You are my little oddball, Souphead." Abby's heart melted at his large smile.
Third Year
Abby was crying. She was in the Riverdale's High theater room watching Eddie walking across the stage. "Here you go," Toby hands her a tissue.
"Thank you." She blows her nose. "It's my first kid graduating and moving away."
"That's the goal, getting these kids out of the cursed town." Sweet Pea rubs her back.
"I know, but I'm going to miss them." She daps her eyes, happy she went with wetproof mascara.
"Come on, we can see him." Greg stood up to lead the group to the football field. They wait for the seniors to come out.
Eddie came running over to them with a large smile on his face. "I did it." He waves his cap around.
"You more than did it, honey." Abby fixes his tie. "You graduated with honors. You were valedictorian. You have full-ride scholarships to the Naval Academy." Eddie was able to get the boxing scholarship that Archie tried to get.
"That was from you keeping a good relationship with the Commander." He was a humble teen.
"Commander Carter would never give that spot as a favor." She respects the Commander for how unbiased he was when it came to that spot. Family, soldiers he served with, and childhood friends tried to use their relationship with him to get their kids that spot but he never let them sway him. He gave it to the teen he thought deserved it and would do the most with it.
"I wish I didn't have to leave so soon." Eddie pulls her into a hug. He had to leave in a month to go to Plebe Summer. It was a 7-week training program that freshmen had to do.
"Me too." She squeezed him.
"Don't worry, he'll be back for breaks." Sweets remind them that he was going to college, not war.
"What am I going to do without my protector?" She recalls his promise to replace Greg. Greg and Sweet snorted at that. Both of them felt like that was their role.
Fourth Year
Abby walks around the kids in sleeping bags like every morning. Riverdale was falling more into disarray under Hiram's rule. Crimes were done in broad daylight with the police being nonexistent. Drugs were as easy to get as fast food. Dealers were on every corner with the mayor getting a cut of everything. It was not surprising how many kids lost their parents from either addiction, death, or abandonment. She went into the kitchen to see Sweet Pea packing the basket that Souphead came in. "That's not a picnic basket." She wondered what he was doing.
"Well, it's the best we got." He shrugged.
"We're going to need way more than two sandwiches." She looks into the wicker basket she had been using to do laundry.
"We're not taking the kids. It's just us." He thought he was clear last night.
"Oh, I didn't call anyone to watch them." She panics.
"I got it covered. Dracula is coming over." He had everything planned.
"I'm excited. I normally plan the date." Before she was looking forward to it but also stressed about having to keep track of all of them by the river. But, now she was excited with all the stress washing away.
Abby was sitting on a blanket by SweetWater River with Sweet Pea. "It's such a nice day." She loves the breeze going through her hair. She opened her mouth when he put a chocolate-covered strawberry in front of her.
"I'm happy, you're enjoying it. You deserve a day of doing nothing. You work hard nonstop every day." She was always doing something. She had her college classes, and the kids' everyday care, and she was working at Pops again to help with bills.
"You work as hard as me." She found it odd how Sweet Pea gave her so much credit but never himself any. "You got your CDL and went on the road for us. Any request the kids have you make it happen. You build that swing set in the backyard. It doesn't matter how much you hate it anytime the girls want you to play Prince Charming, you do it. I can't have asked for a better partner in life."
"Jeez, I'm supposed to make a touching speech." He sighs.
"What are you talking about?" She tilts her head. She gasped when he got down on one knee in front of her and pulled out a gold ring with a vine design that wrapped around a stone.
"When you walked through the Southside library door that day, I thought you were another pretty Northside girl who would never give me the time of day. I've never been more glad to have been proven wrong. You've helped the community no matter how many obstacles get in the way. You are a beautiful unstoppable force. There's never been a day that I'm not memorized by it. I can't imagine a life without you in it. I want us to be connected in every way possible, will you marry me?"
"I will. I will." She held her hand out.
He put on the ring and stared at her hand with a goofy smile. "It looks better than I imagined." He lifted her hand to kiss it.
Abby was standing across from Sweet Pea in a white wedding dress. It was strapless with sheer sleeves with a lace cuff. The bodice was detailed with lace flowers and vines. The skirt had the same detail around the edges. They were standing under a wooden arch with snakes carved on it. There were sweet pea flowers wrapped around it. The same flowers made up the bouquet in Abby's hands. They were in the same spot where they got engaged.
The wooden benches were being occupied by Serpents, family, and friends. Sweet Pea was taking in every detail of Abby. The way the light was hitting her made her appear to be glowing. That factor with her being all in white made her appear angelic. He felt lucky that he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn't realize how lost in his thoughts he was until Fang nudged him, "Vows dude."
He clears his throat. "Before you, I was this angry teen who thought he could better his community by getting revenge on everyone who wrongs them. You taught me that the only way to make a community better is to empower the people. You have no idea how much I admire you. Your selflessness is something I thought was only in superhero comics. I am grateful to have you as my wonder woman. I hope you continue to let me be your Steve Trevor. I vow to love, service, and protect you through every phase of our lives."
Abby beams at him. Her cheeks were starting to hurt because she hadn't stopped smiling since she saw him when she was walking down the aisle with her mom. "Heart skipping beats, breath being stolen, warm familiarity: those common themes in love at first sight cliches that I read about. I never thought they would happen to me. I saw you and my life changed. I was a stuttering mess wanting to impress you. At the time I thought I was pushing you away. I'm glad I wasn't. It's with you backing me that I have the confidence to charge into danger. I know that you will always have my back. I hope that never changes. I vow to be your biggest support, to lift you in your darkest hours, and to love you no matter what."
Hog Eye, the officiant prompts Fang to hand over the rings. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine." Sweet Pea put the ring on Abby's finger.
She melted at him reciting the lines from one of her favorite movies. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine." She slips his rings on.
"Do you, Sweet Pea, take Abigail to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Hog Eye asks.
"I do." He says it before he finishes saying wife.
He chuckles before moving on to the next question. "Do you, Abigail, take Sweet Pea to be your lawfully wedded husband."
"I do." She nods.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your wife." He looks the other way. Sweet Pea leaned over and grabbed her neck to place a hard kiss on her lips. The crowd cheered and clapped for the young couple.
Fifth Year
Abby walks across the stage at Carson College to grab her degree in social work. It was the last piece of her puzzle to open an orphanage. She already got her certificate in first aid, CPR, child care, and trauma-informed care. She waves at the cheering kids and friends as she walks down the stage to her seat with the rest of the graduating class. She was bouncing in her seat waiting for the ceremony to be over.
When it was finished, she ran to meet her family. "I'm so happy you made it." She hugs Sweet Pea. Last night, he was on the road coming home from a long-haul delivery. He got stuck in traffic because of an accident. It wasn't clear if he was going to make it by morning.
"I'm tired as hell from driving all night but there's no way I would miss your big day." His half-closed eyes were looking down at her.
"It's our big day." She corrects him.
"Stop hogging her." Toni had graduated a year before with a degree in social work. She was working at Riverdale High as a counselor.
"Yeah." Toby had a growth spurt in the five years. He was now Sweet Pea's height. He pulled Abby away to pick her up and swing her around.
"Stop it!" She slapped his back making the teen laugh. He put her back down for her to get swarmed with kids. She ruffles Glenn and Benn Feebly's hair, kisses Tessie's cheek, and fist bumps Vixen.
She smiled at the small blonde pushing his way through the crowd. "Mommy." He put his hands in the air.
"Hey, Soup." She picked up the four-year-old.
He wrapped his arm around her neck. "You looked cool on stage."
"Thank you, hon." She laughed when he gave her a wet kiss on the cheek. She walks with him in her arms to her mom. "Hi Mom, thanks for coming."
"Of course, I came." She squeezed her shoulder. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you Mom for everything. You've been a great support in all this." She was glad that Sweet Pea pushed her to fix her relationship with her mom all those years ago.
Abby looks up at Fred Andrew's Home for Children which was formerly known as Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Greg went to trade school to learn construction. He took over Andrew's construction. Kraken specialized in electrocution and Dracula in plumbing. They joined his crew when they graduated. With their help, they were able to give the place a complete makeover. The first thing they did was take down all the creepy statues. She was happy after doing the final walk-through. The place was unrecognizable.
"You ready?" Sweets put a hand on her lower back.
"Yes, I'm trying to convince myself this is real." She walks up the stairs and pats the bust of her dad who replaces the angel statue. She felt like she was walking alone despite the large crowd behind her.
She opens the door to go into the lobby of the orphanage. She turned to the kids who were looking around with bright eyes. They had duffle bags on their shoulders. Some of them didn't have enough things to fill it up.
"Over here will tell you where you're going to be rooming. So, you guys can take a look and put your stuff away." Nancy had graduated with a bachelor's in child psychology. She points to the large dry-erase board that was hanging up on the wall. There were room numbers and names written down on it. Next to it was a map of the building. They assigned the rooms by age and gender. Abby was relieved that all the kids seemed fine with their roommate. They ran to put their stuff away.
It was the first dinner they were having at their new home. "Hey Guy," Abby got everyone's attention. She was standing in front of the tables. "I wanted to take this time to thank the people who made this happen. Thank you to my mom, Mary Andrews, for helping me with all the paperwork to get this place running as an orphanage and the Federal funding. Thank you to Reggie Mantle, for helping us get funding from the city. Thank you to Cheryl Blossom, Tomoko Yoshida, Veronica Lodge, and Trev Brown for the generous donations. Thank you to Monroe Moore for funding the basketball court and football field. Thank you to Josie McCoy for funding the music room." She took out her list not wanting to forget anyone. "Thank you to Greg, Kraken, Dracula, and the rest of the construction crew for fixing up this place. If it wasn't for you guys doing this work voluntarily then we wouldn't be up and running for another decade. Thank you to Nancy, for partnering with me in this dream. Thank you to Sweet Pea, you have supported me financially, emotionally, mentally, every way possible. I love you… I love all of you. I'm not going to let your sacrifices be in vain. I'm going to do my damndest to keep this place open for as long as it's needed." The crowd claps while she wipes her tears away.
"I love you too." Sweet Pea got up to hug her.
Sixth Year
Abby was responding to emails in her office. "What are you doing?" Nancy came in with Kraken, Greg, and Dracula.
"Hey, guys. I'm finalizing the plans with the animal shelter. I think this program is going to do a lot of good. It gives the dogs a home and the kids will learn responsibility and give them a sense of pride. And more security is never a bad idea in Riverdale." She was setting up a time for the dogs to be dropped off.
"Are you ready for that?" Greg asks.
"Yeah, I am." She was devastated last year when Hot Dog and Vegas died a month apart from each other.
"Really?" Kraken raises an eyebrow.
"I even picked out a new Hot Dog." She turned the monitor to show the sheepadoodle. "The lady told me, he will make a good alpha for the dog pack."
"That's good." Dracula nods.
"Did you guys come to check on me about the dogs?" She knew she was dramatic saying she'll never get another pet again after Vegas. But, it's been a year and she wanted the kids to have that connection that came with a pet.
"No, we came because it's been a year since we opened the place and you've worked 365 days. So, we have made a work schedule." Nancy put out the spreadsheet.
"What?" She picked it up. "No, I can't." She looked at the three days off with 10-hour shifts. "This isn't a normal job. These kids need consistency. Most of them call me mom or Auntie. I want to keep that family feel. I don't want these kids to feel like they're a job. What am I supposed to tell Soup when he needs something? Sorry, I'm not on duty. I live here, there is no way I can be here and not help."
"Abby, we're not saying you can't help them. We're saying that on those days you're not in charge. You're not the first option. We want you to take some time for yourself. When was the last time you watched something that wasn't for children? When was the last time you ate a meal without needing to feed a kid too? When was the last time you went on a date with Sweet Pea? A real date, where you leave this place by yourselves?" Dracula wanted her to have a life outside of here. Abby realized the last time was a few days before she graduated from college. They went out to Pops before he had to go to work.
"Yeah, if you're not going to do it for yourself then do it for him. The guy has been without a wife for a year." Kraken points out. Abby felt guilty that she had been neglecting him. She kept canceling dates, even their anniversary because something with the kids would pop up. "You guys have been wanting to have a baby. I think it would help if you put less stress on yourself."
Greg sat on the edge of the desk. "This is not an option. We are doing the schedule. If you keep going like this then you'll burn out. That isn't going to be good for anyone, including yourself."
"Okay, we can try the schedule." She made it like it was her decision making Greg roll his eyes.
"Hey?" Sweets walks into the bedroom. He was surprised to see his wife doing her makeup and wearing a green bodycon dress. "What's going on?"
"I thought I would go to Whyte Wyrm. There is a cool band playing and I heard the guitarist is hot." She winks at him through the mirror.
He pinches his arm. "Okay… I'm not dreaming."
"I may have had an intervention today about being a workaholic." She walks over to wrap her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I broke my vows about being your biggest supporter. I haven't seen you play. I canceled on you so many times, even on our anniversary. I promise I'm going to live a balanced life so I can be a better wife."
He grips her hips tightly. "I get it. This type of job is life-consuming. I should have had the courage to bring it up myself. I didn't know how to say I wanted to take your time away from orphans."
"You deserve as much of my time as anyone." She kissed him. "Promise not to divorce me when I throw my panties on stage."
He laughs. "As long as it's not at Toni or Fangs."
"I can't make any promises. I don't have a good aim." She pulls on his bottom lip with her teeth before going in for another kiss.
"How do I want to say this? A bun is in the oven." She waves around the stick while pacing around her office. "Guess who's going to get fat?"
"What?" A voice came from the door.
"Shit." She turns to see Tessie.
"You're pregnant, mom." The fourteen-year-old spotted the pregnancy test.
"What?" A deep voice could be heard from down the hall.
"Sorry, mom." She apologized for spoiling it.
"It's better than anything I could come up with." She leaned against her desk.
"You're pregnant!" Tessie moved out of the way to not get run over by her dad. He picked Abby up and spun her around.
"The three sticks said so but I haven't gone to the doctor yet." She was putting off being excited.
"When are we going?" He rubs her belly.
"Can you feel them?" Tessie joins him.
"No, you can't… I haven't called yet." She pushed their hands away.
"I want to be there. We have to schedule the appointments around my deliveries." He picked up the phone to make the appointment himself.
"Can I come too?" Tessie put her hands together to plead.
"Of course." She smiles at her family growing. "Where is Soup?" She noticed her tail hadn't checked on her.
"He's with this new best friend." Tessie thought it was cute how the two boys took to each other instantly. Ambrose Pipps, a half-brother to a Ghoulie, had come to the orphanage. They remind Abby of Archie and Jughead. This time Jones was the extroverted leader dragging around his introverted best friend.
"Every day, he looks more and more like a Jughead." Abby found a childhood photo to prove it to everyone else.
"It's not a bad future for him." Tessie found the author of a New York best seller to be handsome.
"Ew, don't." Sweet Pea shook his head at her teenage hormones. "We got an appointment at three. I can't wait." He rubs her belly.
"It's going to be nine months of this, huh?" She shook her head, laughing at his excitement.