sane | betty & jughead

Fever

"Is she your girlfriend?" It was Betty's voice Jughead heard in his ears. They were back in her room.

"Who? Mia?" Betty nodded at his suggestion, "No, she's just Jelly's nanny, since I have two beautiful girls to take care of now." His eyes gleamed over Betty, and found her blushing slightly.

"I'm really thankful for all the food that you're feeding me, and the medicine for the nausea." She said, a soft smile crossing her lips.

Jughead sat beside her on the bed, letting his palm layer over the top of her hand. "Betty, you need to understand that I took you to take care of you the best way I can. I'll do anything to get you back to a healthy weight, and a solid mindset."

Betty nodded, stretching her arms in the air and a yawn escaping her lips. She slumped her body against him, grasping his shirt with her tiny fingers. "I'm tired."

"Get some sleep, darling." He whispered above her head, pressing gentle kisses to her heavenly blonde hair.

"I don't like how thin I look." She mumbled before falling asleep against his body.

Jughead gazed at her for a few seconds, his eyes wide. She had said something negative, about herself. "Sleep tight, Betts." He whispered by the nape of her ear as he laid her down under the sheets.

He proceeded to leave the room, closing the door.

"How's she doing?" Toni and Cheryl were downstairs in the living room, curious for the girl.

"Honestly, I don't know." He walked around the couple and seated himself she on the sofa. "One minute she tells me how she feels and thinks, and the next she's closed again." His hands went through his black hair.

"She's asleep now?" Jughead nodded.

"Yes, she's been very sleep deprived so it's good for her. She's also started eating again." The couple in front of him smiled.

"Can I talk to her for a while? Just to check up on her health?" Cheryl wondered, releasing herself from Toni's hand.

"Sure, just wait for an hour or so. She's asleep now, and I don't want her to have to be awoken immediately." In the corner of his eye he saw Toni smirk slightly.

"We'll just wait here then." Jughead groaned loudly but didn't comment. He just flopped down on the couch and turned the TV on.

After an extremely long hour, Jughead was relieved that the couple finally went to Betty.

The two girls headed up the stairs and right into Betty's room. She was lying on the bed , perfectly still and straight, almost trained.

"Hey sweetheart.." Cheryl gentle shook the girl awake, her eyes opening peacefully.

Betty smiled as she saw the two women hovering above her, soft expressions on their faces. "How are you feeling?" Betty frowned before opening her mouth to speak.

"Fine." Her voice was a bit shaky and it had a slight crack to it.

"It sounds like you have a bit of a cold there." Cheryl said, feeling the girl's forehead with her hand. Her features turned instantly worried and the red head turned to her girlfriend. "She's burning up."

Betty didn't look at the two, she didn't hear what they were saying. Maya taught her to never eavesdrop on someone else's conversations.

"Betty, sweetheart, we'll just be gone a second to talk to Jughead. You stay here and drink some water." Toni explained, handing Betty the glass which was half filled with water.

The blond nodded, sipping on the liquid while she leaned back against the wall. A long, worried sigh escaped Toni's lips before she took Cheryl's hand and led them down the stairs.

Downstairs Jughead was watching some simple TV with Jellybean tucked into his side. The couple almost melted at the sight of the two siblings.

"Jug," Cheryl started, causing Jughead to turn toward them. "We need to talk to you about Betty."

Immediately he stood up, but still carefully letting his sister sit on her own.

"Is something wrong? What did she say?" He jumped the questions on the two women.

"No, nothing special. She just has a high fever, but she's not showing any signs of pain." While taking a hand through his hair Jughead furrowed his brows.

"Well apparently she hasn't shown any pain for the last years Cheryl, I don't see why this is unusual. I'm trying to get her to open up, but it's not working." He was clearly frustrated, his voice a simple grumble.

"No that's not it, it's just that she's not sweating or shivering, not even pale. With this high of a fever, that's strange." Jughead dropped himself on the barstool, biting into an apple.

"I'll go up, talk to her. Try and get some food in her. Let's just hope the fever goes away, there's nothing else we can do." He finally decided, "I don't want to torture her with a million medical tests because something could be wrong. She's just a girl and she can climb on her own." He threw the apple down on the table and sauntered to the stairs.

When he arrived at her room he saw her sitting on the bed, perfect and still.

"I've had dreams about you." She whispered when Jughead entered. He frowned, gesturing for her to take another sip of the water that she was holding. "After I saw you in the bar."

"Oh." He didn't know how to respond, his teeth clenching. "I heard you got a bit of a fever." He proceeded to say, changing the subject.

"I do?" She looked up at him, the most innocent smile covering her features. He couldn't help himself but smile back, almost mercifully as he did so.

"Yeah, Cheryl said so. Do you feel anything strange? Are you in pain?" The girl seemed into a bit of thought before she opened her mouth to answer.

"Just my head. I've never felt it like this before." The smallest gasp came from Jughead as she confessed her feeling of pain.

"Do you need anything? Maybe a wet towel, some more food?" His concern was so evident, Betty noticed it and put her tiny little hand on his arm.

"You're kind. Just some food would be fine if you can." She tucked a few strands of her blonde waves behind her ear, sipping on the water that Cheryl had handed her earlier.

"I'll be right back." He assured, and before he could register he had his lips pressed gently to her forehead. He could feel the heat that spread over her cheeks when he pulled back.

With a hidden smile and a soft look in his eyes he left the room to get her some food.

Downstairs he was met with Cheryl and Toni, snuggling on the couch with his little sister. With a slow step he passed them, and Cheryl immediately jumped up to follow him to the kitchen.

"How is she doing? She said anything?" Jughead didn't say anything at first, just headed to reach for the cupboard and take a plate out.

"She's having a headache. Which is a good thing, I guess." He finally told the red head, opening the fridge and taking out some fruit and juice. "And she's asking for something to eat, which is even better."

"That's definitely good. The fact that she's now able to feel some physical pain is big process, let's just hope the rest comes soon enough."

Jughead nodded and proceeded to prepare a sandwich for the tiny blonde, putting on all of his favourite ingredients.

"I'll take this to her and put her to rest again. She needs it." Jughead decided, "You and Toni should head to the Wyrm, tell the Serpents we have a mission soon."

Cheryl frowned, flipping her red hair. "I'm coming for that bitch who tortured our Betty." Jughead grumbled, his eyes angry and spitting pure fire.

this one's long overdue oops