Time | Bughead

Chapter Ten

"Can we at least see him? Please, Sister Woodhouse, he is still our son. Well, for the time being," Betty asked, her hand holding Jughead's hand with hope. After a few seconds of consideration, Sister Woodhouse sighed and obliged, standing up from her desk.

"Follow me," she sighed, opening her office door for the two, who looked at each other with smiles as they followed the Sister down the hallway, Betty's arm wrapped around Jughead's as her head laid on his shoulder happily.

Sister Woodhouse stopped at one of the doors, pulling out her keys to unlock it before leading the two down a stairwell. As Betty and Jughead walked down the stairs, they found themselves in a hospital-esque nursery with an array of small glass cribs.

"Which one's ours?" Jughead asked, watching as Sister Woodhouse walked over to the other side of the room and stopping beside one of the cribs with her hands folded in front of her.

"This one here," she said, making Betty and Jughead walk over, Betty putting her hands in the inside pockets of her jacket as she made her way over. Sure enough, the tag on the outside of the glass space read "Cooper," and Betty couldn't help but tear up.

With a sniffle, she sighed softly before pulling out the pepper spray from her pocket and aiming it at Sister Woodhouse with the words, "Jughead, take the baby." He did so without hesitation, reaching into the crib carefully and taking out his son gently.

"Elizabeth," Sister Woodhouse spoke in a stern voice, her hands raised slightly in surrender as she continued. "I don't think you understand what you're doing--"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," the blonde said firmly. "Now here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna tell that other family that the baby is with his real family and you're gonna pay them back whatever they gave you for him."

Okay, that's fine--" Sister Woodhouse began to say before Betty cut her off again, making the woman slightly jump and close her eyes.

"I'm not done. You're gonna get rid of all the files you have of me being here, for the past nine months and right now; burn them, shred them, I don't care. You're gonna leave me and my family alone for life, and you're gonna keep your mouth shut about it."

"If anything comes up about this to any law enforcement, I will shut you down for good. I may not have gotten one of your cruel consequences, but I made some friends during my stay. And, boy, do they have tales to tell," Betty said, her jaw clenched as she thought back to what Ethel had told her the first week here.

"Always follow the rules," she had said. "Otherwise you'll end up in the room down the hall, stripped down with your hands to the ceiling and lashes on your back."

"Do you understand?" the blonde asked, her eyes locked on the woman in front of her as she took a deep breath in. "Yes or no?"

"I understand," Sister Woodhouse said before Betty was putting the mace back in her pocket, making her sigh in relief.

"So glad we're on the same page," Betty smiled before turning back to Jughead, who was holding the baby boy in his arms carefully. "Don't worry, we'll show ourselves out," the blonde spoke before walking past Sister Woodhouse and going back up the stairs.

---

"So what now?" Betty asked as she set her baby boy down in his newly-constructed crib with the help of Jughead and FP. "What happens next?"

"Well," Jughead started, sitting next to her on the floor of the living room as Betty put her fingers through the crib, the baby's hand wrapped around her index finger. "I start taking classes at Riverdale Community College in a few weeks, I'll keep working my job at the Bijou to keep some money coming in."

"After a few courses, I can get into a career. I'm thinking about writing a book," Jughead said, putting his hand on the blonde's shoulder as her eyebrows raised. 

"Wow, Mr. Football's actually a writer," she chuckled before turning her head to peek at her sleeping baby. 

"Yes, I'm...a great football player, but English Lit was always my best class," he said with a smile. "And you can make up for what you missed online. Maybe we can get a babysitter if you feel like getting a job."

Betty smiled before a particular candidate came into her head. "Ethel." "You know, Jug, I meant it when I said I'd shut the Sisters down. And I still want to. Maybe I can work with my mom at the Register and write some kind of expose."

He smiled, playing with the ends of her hair in his hand before looking at her and saying, "Go for it, Betts. What do you have to lose?" 

With a sigh, Betty shifted in her spot, leaning with her back against Jughead's chest, the blue fabric of his letterman jacket contrasting against the blonde of her hair. "My baby. You," she said softly, her arm still extended to the crib.

"You won't lose us," Jughead replied before placing a chaste kiss to her neck. "Ever." No sooner than the baby was asleep, he was awake again in a crying fit, making Betty stand up to take him out of the crib.

"Hey, shh. Shh, baby, you're okay. It's okay," Betty whispered, bouncing her arms as subtly as she could manage. "Could you grab the formula from the kitchen?" she asked as the baby continued crying up a storm. "I think he's hungry."

Soon, Jughead was back from the kitchen with a bottle of formula, handing it to the blonde as she sat down again. The two returned to their former position, now with the baby in Betty's arms as she fed him.

He quieted down quickly, taking the bottle until slightly jutting his legs out and whining. "Hey, it's okay," Betty said softly, taking the bottle from the baby's lips and setting it on the floor beside them before coddling the newborn to sleep.

"You did good, Betts," Jughead smiled after a few seconds of silence. She didn't respond, leading him to move her hair to the side, taking a look at her closed eyes as her head laid against his chest. "Betts?"

Not a word left the blonde's mouth as she slept silently against him. Jughead smiled, taking the baby from her arms and laying him down in his crib before coming back of over to the blonde. He lifted her up gently and laid her on the couch against the wall, making sure not to wake her.

He grabbed the blanket that was hanging off the back of the couch and laid it over her carefully before moving her hair out of her face.

"Sweet dreams, Betts."