Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
•••
Hal had been living at a place on his own somewhere in the northside of Riverdale. It had been two years since the divorce that he has not stepped foot in Alice's house. Much to his objection he had to make a house call to pick up an important item he left behind in the attic of his old house. He knocked on the door to the old Cooper, now Smith-Jones, house and was met by a surprised Betty at the door. She was home alone with Jughead while they babysat Peewee for their parents. "Dad? What are you doing here?"
"Hi honey. I just need something I must have forgotten to take with me when I gathered my belongings. Can I come in?"
"Uh sure," Betty steps aside and he comes in. "What exactly did you leave for two years that you now need?"
"A box in the attic. I never got to sweep through the attic before I moved out." Hal began to walk up to the second floor.
"Okay," Betty says watching him go up the staircase.
"Betty! Do we have anymore juice boxes?" Jughead was in the kitchen looking through the pantry and refrigerator. He had Peewee in his arms when he walked over to her.
"Did you check the basement?" Betty asks Jughead.
"Who was at the door?" Jughead says as he sets Peewee down. "Can you wait here while we go find you some juice?"
Peewee nods. He walked to the stairs and took a seat on the bottom step. "My dad," Betty says as she leads Jughead downstairs. "He needed something from the attic."
Peewee held onto the railing and began to walk up the stairs to find a toy in his room to play with in the meantime. At the top of the staircase he saw an unfamiliar man coming down the hall. He froze and stared at Hal. Hal spotted the two year old. He was unsure if it was his grandson Dagwood or not. He hasn't seen Polly's twins in a long time. He approached him but Peewee backed away. Hal picked him up to get a clear look at his face. This definitely wasn't his grandson. Peewee squirmed in his arms, trying to kick him away. "Stranger danger!" Peewee yelled as he bit Hal's hand.
"Ahu," Hal tries to pry his teeth out of his hand. He sets him down and Peewee kicks him hard in the shin before running to his room and shutting the door. He crouched down to rub his leg.
Hal was able to see the resemblance the toddler had to FP. It was Alice's blonde genes that fooled him. He picked up the box but realized that something was missing. Peewee had stolen something from him before running away. Betty and Jughead were at the bottom of the stairs looking up. "Is everything alright up there?" Betty asked, seeing as her father was trying to take the pain away from his leg.
"I think he met Peewee," Jughead tried not to laugh.
"Just peachy," Hal gritted through his teeth. He was going to give that boy a mouthful on respect. He wanted his stuff back. He walked to the room he saw Peewee run into. Betty and Jughead made their way up to supervise while Hal tried to open the door. He managed to open the door but Peewee hit him in the crotch with a hard cover book. Hal fell to his knees and Peewee jumped on top of him, pulling on his hair. "Stranger danger!" He repeated.
The teenagers heard the conflict unfolding in front of them. Betty picked up the box for his dad. Betty walked in and grabbed the missing item and put it in the box. "Peewee that's my dad. It's okay, you can let go."
"Not daddy!" Peewee was adamant to let go. Hal cursed under his breath and tried getting up. He walked out the room with Peewee hanging tightly onto him.
"I'm sure the kids are fine," FP tells Alice as they walk to their front door. "They've babysat him many times before."
"Not for this long," Alice saw that the door was open. She looked in and saw that Betty was standing by the stairs holding a box. "Peewee can be quite the menace sometimes for a two year old."
"Get him off me!" Hal yelled trying to walk down the stairs.
"Peewee let go!" Jughead yanked on his brother but he wouldn't budge.
"I don't know what you're talking about," FP looked at Alice and laughed.
"Hal?" Alice was not expecting her ex husband in her home. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to get my stuff," Hal was not amused with his trip to the house. "For God's sake tell him to let go."
"Daddy! Mommy!" Peewee saw them and let go. Jughead held onto his waist and walked him down the rest of the stairs. He sets him down and Peewee runs to them.
"Hey kiddo," FP picked him up and kissed his cheek. "I see you met Harold."
"That's definitely yours," Hal rubbed the top of his head. Betty was the last to come down. She handed him the box and he was on his way out.
"What happened, baby?" Alice asked after a small giggle. Seeing her son give her ex husband a hard time was amusing to her.
"Stranger danger," Peewee stated as if it was obvious.
"That's my dad Peewee," Betty explained again.
"No! This daddy!" Peewee was not having it. He clung onto FP tighter. He dug his head into the crook of his neck. Alice cooed at the cuteness.
"He'll understand one day. That day is just not today," FP grabbed the juice box Jughead was passing him. "Here bud. Drink up. You must be exhausted after all of that."
"His eyes are drooping," Alice pointed out. "He tired himself out. Let's take him to bed."
"I don't think he likes Mr. Cooper," Jughead joked.
"No one does," Alice tagged along.
"I know baby." FP held her waist with his free hand. "He just learned early."
