A Falice Story

11. Apologetic

After we arrive at the hospital, they initially don't allow me to be in the room with Betty while they finish running tests. Luckily FP and Jughead arrive shortly after, and I run into his arms, emotions running wild from the horrible event that just occurred. I allow myself to cry into his chest, while he softly runs his hand through my hair, but when I see how broken Jughead looks, I silently signal FP to go to him. 

"How are you holding up?" he gently asks his son. Jughead's eyes are red and he stares down at his hands. "I'm fine..." he mumbles. I sit down next to him. It's silent for a few moments before he turns to me, "She's--she's going to be okay right?" He's trying to hold back his tears. "I just...I'm just really worried about her--" 

Jughead no longer cares about holding back his emotion. His sobs fill the small waiting room. I wrap my arm around him and he collapses into me, something I wasn't expecting, but gladly accepted. "Jug, she's going to be okay. She'll be just fine--I know she will," I reassure him, while still trying to believe that myself.

FP took in the scene in front of him. His son was never known for being vulnerable and to see him trust the woman he loved really choked him up. 

He wraps his arms around both Jughead and I, his embrace tightly around us. "She's a tough girl, Jug. She's going to be okay--" FP says, his own voice catching. I lift my head off his chest and look at him. His eyes are welling up, "I--I love that girl, Alice. She's become like a daughter to me," he cries. A tearful smile creeps across my face--he's never said that before. I wipe away his tears and kiss his lips gently, "I love you." 

Jughead looks at us with sorrowful eyes, "I'm so sorry, guys. Betty and I really feel awful about the way we reacted the other night. As weird as it is, I kind of like this weird little dysfunctional family," he says making both FP and I smile. "So I'd officially like to say 'Congratulations,' and this kid is pretty damn lucky have you two as parents." 

I'm a mess. There was no way of stopping the waterworks after that. I immediately wrap my arms around Jughead, "Thank you, Jug. That means so much to your father and I." FP hugs his son tightly, "I love you kid." He smiles, "I love you too, dad." 

The door to the room Betty is in swings open and we all immediately jump up. The doctor makes his way toward us. "So, how is she? Is she going to be okay? Do you know what's wrong with her?" I fire off. 

He nods, "Yes. Betty is going to be just fine." All of us let out a huge sigh of relief, I feel tears of joy flow down my cheeks. "However, the cause of this is rather strange. The sudden bleeding from the nasal passage is what made it pretty obvious. We found traces of rodenticide in her."

Both FP and I look at the doctor like we didn't hear him right. "Wait--rodenticide?" he questions, both of us still shocked at the revelation. He nods, "Yes. It causes the blood to thin when ingested, which explains why her nose suddenly started bleeding." 

We both are still completely confused. The doctor takes note of this, "Is there any place in your home where food could have become contaminated?" Both of us shake our head, "No! We don't even have rat poisoning in the house!" I counter. He takes a deep breath, "Well, the best thing is going to be to ask Betty what and where she ate during the course of the day." 

"Can we go see her?" FP asks. The doctor says yes and leads us into her room. I rush over to the side of her bed, "Hi, sweetie." Her eyes flutter open, "Hi..." she says quietly. FP goes around to the other side of her bed with Jughead, "How are you feeling, kid?" She smiles a little, "I feel weird..." 

"We had to pump her system from the toxin, so she'll be feeling pretty rough the next couple days. She's on an IV right now, getting some fluids back into her body. Thank God you came in when you did though--it could have been an entirely different situation had we not been able to treat her when we did," her doctor tells us. "Thank you," I look up at him and smile. "Of course. I'll let you have some time with your family, Betty, then I'll be back in to check on you," he smiles kindly and exits the room.