Even though she had been expecting it, Betty was still surprised by the digital "pregnant" on the screen of the piece of plastic in her hand. Her period was over a week late; that was the first sign, or rather, it should have been the first sign. The real first sign was probably how tired she was. She had ignored it until she had thrown up this morning, and she never throws up. She had to have been expecting this, the small digital pregnant. She thought she had prepared herself for it. She had been expecting it to say yes, knowing deep down that she was indeed expecting. But seeing it in plain terms in front of her was completely different. Pregnant?
In her head, she tried to think of what time could have been the one. A few weeks ago, they'd had a particularly passionate romp after a good old-fashioned movie theater teasing session. Was that a month ago? What about that time that she'd been stressed from work and he'd gone down on her as she sat on the kitchen counter? It could've been that night, too. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it could have been a plethora of nights and times and she groaned at their lack of control.
She shook her head and sat down on the side of the tub, staring down disbelievingly at the confirmation of the test in her hand. Pregnant. It was staring up at her plain as day. The little letters were there. But it was just one test.
"I gotta take more," she muttered to herself, pulling out more boxes from underneath the sink and closing the bathroom door.
Another half dozen tests later, it was officially confirmed by every test and everything short of a doctor's appointment. There was no denying the two little lines on this brand or the pregnant on another. She was definitively pregnant.
She wondered if Jug would want to tell their families or wait the traditional 12 week waiting period. She knew the statistics on miscarriage. She knew that it was smarter to wait until after the twelve weeks was up, when the chance of miscarrying decreased. The thought made her palms sweat and she forced herself to bring her focus back to the test.
She looked down at her stomach, still as flat as it normally was, running her hands along the material of her tank top and wondering how on earth a baby was going to grow from inside her. She would need new clothes eventually. It was already effecting her, making her sick and moody and so tired all the time. She had been working hard but the addition of a pregnancy made the fatigue so much more explainable. She thought back to Jughead and wondered if he had noticed.
They'd been married for a year now, and having waited a while to do so, they were a perfectly good and acceptable age to have kids. Heck, her niece and nephew were only a couple years short of 10. They had good, solid jobs. It would be easy to convert their home office into a nursery; they had space for a baby. They were secure financially. All of their ducks were in a row as far as being adults went.
Her parents would be happy. His dad would. JB would, too. Everyone would be thrilled, really.
There had been a scare a few years ago, when they had both been in college, where she had truly thought she was pregnant. Looking back, it seemed so silly. It felt nothing like now did. She had taken a test and they'd both been so relieved when it had come back negative. It was so much less concrete back then. She didn't know what she would've done if she'd been pregnant at that age.
She felt a prickle behind her eyes at the thought of a baby, their baby. Of her mom bouncing a little baby in her lap. A baby with Jughead's blue eyes and his dark hair. A baby that laughed and giggled. A child. A new future flashed before her eyes, a future filled with school runs and soccer practices, of homework at the kitchen table and family holidays with a few more seats filled.
They were ready for this. She knew Jughead wanted this and they'd talked about waiting a little longer to enjoy newlywed bliss but it was a good time. This was a happy thing.
By the time she'd heard Jughead open the front door, she was knee deep in Amazon Prime land, ordering books on motherhood and pregnancy to be delivered to their front door in 48 hours.
He was in the kitchen, setting the groceries on the breakfast bar, his back towards her.
She wanted to tell him the second he walked in but her body froze and her brain stopped working. All she could see was him in his shearling jacket, his black jeans and his sneakers. He was dressed like they were still sixteen; it made her nostalgic all of sudden.
"Hi, Juggy," she said softly. He smiled at her before turning back to his task.
"How was your day?" he asked conversationally as he puts the milk in the fridge door.
"It was... okay," she replied, struggling to find the words. This wasn't exactly the kind of thing that one spring on another person. "I came home early from work." He turned and looked at her worriedly.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I..." Her voice caught in her throat and the tears, happy tears, started to fall, like telling someone else made the pregnancy more real.
Jughead rushed to her side, pulling her against his chest as he sat next to her on the couch.
"Hey, baby, it's okay. What's wrong?" He rubbed her back and kissed her hair.
"I'm... I'm pregnant, Juggy," she said softly, looking up at him.
"What?" he pulled back and looked down at her, his brow furrowed. She looked from one eye to the other, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Was this disappointed disbelief? Was he angry at her? The thought made her protective, more sure of herself.
"I'm pregnant," she said, more confidently this time, watching him closely.
"You are?" His blue eyes widened at looked down at her.
"Yeah, I took a test and then I took like ten tests and-"
She was cut off by his lips against hers, pulling him against him tightly and desperately.
"Jesus Christ, you're pregnant," he whispered, pulling back to look at her squarely.
"What are you thinking?" she asked. All of the anxiety of his unreadable reaction was gone; she knew that this was a positive reaction.
"I'm happy," he said, his eyes brimming with tears, "I'm so happy. I can't believe it!"
"Oh, Juggy," she said, the thought of their family growing finally hitting her. He pulled her against him and she cried into his shoulder, feeling his tears on hers too.
"How far along do you think?" he asked wetly, putting a hand on her stomach.
"Well," she laughed, "Definitely not far enough to show."
"No, shit, I know that," he backtracked and then laughed, "That's not what I meant."
"I know," she replied, trying earnestly to think of how far along she could have been, "Maybe a month? I don't even remember exactly when my last cycle was; we've been so busy. I thought it was about a month ago and a half ago, but I could be wrong. I don't even remember."
Betty looked at her husband, who was looking at her in awe. She was still trying to read his reaction. He looked excited, his eyes glowing with unshed tears and happiness on every inch of his face. The thought made her heart swell, the thought of a little baby being theirs, their baby. Jughead Jones as a dad and her as a mom, raising a child. She looked where he was looking, at her stomach, and had another fleeting thought of how crazy the whole "growing a baby inside of you" thing was.
"It's just crazy that there's going to be a baby in there. Jeez, where's it going to go?" Jughead said, rubbing her stomach lightly.
"I thought the same thing earlier," she admitted, putting her hand over his.
"Pregnant," he said thickly, wiping his eyes, "Man, not what I was expecting when I came home today."
"But you're happy, right?" she asked.
"So happy, Betts," he beamed. "The happiest guy in the world."
"Jughead Jones, I love you," she said.
"I love you," he replied, before looking down at the computer screen on the coffee table. "What's all that?"
"Oh," she blushed, "I just got a little carried away and may have ordered some pregnancy and baby name books."
Jughead threw his head back and laughed, "Who else would you be if you didn't?"
