What We Once Were: A Bughead Fanfic

Chapter 22.

The beeping of the monitor kept Jughead Jones in a restless awareness. He hadn't slept in three days since he'd rushed Betty to the hospital, and he hadn't let go of her hand unless he had to eat or leave the room in order for the doctors to conduct a routine checkup.

She had tubes all over her, hooking her up to machines and the mask covering her swollen lips and cheeks. Thankfully, she'd been responsive to the treatments the doctors had been giving her, and thankfully she wasn't in a coma, she just had a bad concussion and internal bleeding. She just needed time.

Time to heal.

Jughead would stay here by her side until her eyes opened, he wasn't ever going to leave her side again, he was too late, she'd already passed out in his arms when he told her he loved her back. She hadn't even heard him, and Jughead felt like he'd failed her, if he'd gotten there faster she wouldn't be confined to this state, this state that shattered his heart into a thousand more pieces every time he looked at her.

He raised her cold hands to his lips and kissed them softly. "I'm right here for you Betty, I'll stay right here with you." He whispered quietly, so only she could hear him.

As usual, Betty didn't respond to him, her steady pulse continuing to beat on the monitor. Jughead recalled yesterday when Alice brought Juliet to visit her mother. The sight of the tears and false hope in his four year old daughter's eyes just about killed him as Juliet cried at the sight of her mother hooked up to life support and engulfed in tubes.

"When will she wake up daddy?" Juliet had asked him with tears in her big blue eyes.

Jughead took her in his arms and held her close as they both cried, "she'll wake up soon. Mommy just needs time to heal." He'd told her.

Jughead had never seen Alice look so distraught at the sight of her daughter. She'd even shed a tear when Juliet kissed Betty's forehead and whispered something to her that no one else had heard.

They said they would come back again at three o'clock today, Jughead hoped she'd be awake by then because he wasn't sure if he could make it through the sight of his daughter crying again over something he couldn't help her with. "Betts, I know you need time to heal, but please, wake up soon. Juliet misses you, I miss you. We both need you, Veronica is freaking out with Alec and she needs your motherly advice." Jughead chuckled sadly as he remembered the other day when Archie and Veronica had come to visit. Veronica was floundering and needed Betty's help with certain baby duties that she was struggling to understand.

"You caught him Betts, you solved the case, Dodger was locked up yesterday after his wounds were treated. He faces trial in two weeks, there's no way he'll get off, the whole town knows the truth, what he did to those girls, to me, to you. I won't let him or anyone else hurt you ever again, I promise you that Betty." He kissed her chilled hands, trying to warm them with his own.

Then he felt a twitch, the slightest movement of her finger in his hands. The heart rate monitor sped up and Jughead's eyes widened as he watched her eyes lazily open from her four day slumber. He watched her enchanting eyes that he'd missed terribly, slowly take in the room. When they found their joined hands, Jughead watched her heart rate speed up on the monitor, their eyes met and for the first time in days, he smiled.

"Betty." He sighed, his eyes glowing with love and adoration for her.

"Jughead." She said, a weak and tired, but caring smile crossed her face.

"Are you feeling alright? Can I get you anything?" He asked, squeezing her hand three times.

She shook her head 'no' ever so slightly, "just, stay here with me please." Was all she requested, squeezing his hand three times in response to his gesture.