Saving Her

Chapter 7. The Past and Present

The next morning would arrive; it was early, four in the morning to be exact when FP opened his eyes.

Turning over, he went to reach over for Alice, but she was gone. He then rubbed his eyes and he sat up in order to find her; he knew she couldn't have gone far at four in the morning. Slinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he stood and stretched out before finding his boxers and venturing out. Heading for the stairs, he crept down and he noticed the living room lamp on, kitchen lights on and he heard the dryer going.

"Alice?" he asked.

"Morning, honey," she smiled, flowing about the place in a silky kimono like robe.

Her hair was up in a clip, her face was bare, and she was wearing a small sleeping nighty with slippers to match on her feet.

"What... What are you doing up so early?" he came closer, leaning on the kitchen island.

"Well, I got up a couple hours before I dosed off... I took a shower and then when I was roaming around the room, I thought you might want your uniform fresh for your day. So, you have clean clothes, they're almost dry... I'm making breakfast. Your favorite; scrambled eggs, extra crispy bacon, hash browns and chocolate chip pancakes."

He sort of rose a brow, quite taken by her energy. "Did you sleep?"

"Briefly. You should shower, Forsythe, you always take forever. So, come eat," she asked in a stern, motherly tone she would normally use with her children.

"Okay..." he came over and he sat at the table, still only in his boxers.

She came around with a giant plate of food and coffee for him, then a smaller, more petite portioned plate for herself with a mug of tea. "I'll bring you lunch later on today, if you don't mind..." she said sweetly.

"No, of course... I love when you visit me. When you used to visit me at the construction crew, in jail..."

"I know we have some deep things from the past, FP, and I am proud of us," as she poured orange juice into a glass for him. "We've moved on from our demons; you from drinking and working illegal jobs and then me and my separation from Hal. Forgiving him was the best thing I could have done, y'know..."

"Excuse me?" he choked as he took a sip of his hot coffee.

"What?" she wondered.

"You forgiving Hal... That asshole tried to kill half the town," he commented.

"FP."

"No, Alice, how can you just forgive and forget like that? He tormented your daughter for months, causing her to be very depressed because of all of his sick requests."

She rolled her eyes. "Is that what Betty told you?"

"What she told Jug and what he told me," he nodded. "Just like you told her about the Midnight Club."

"How do you--" she dropped her head into her hand. "She told Jughead, didn't she?"

"Yep. How could you tell her all of that? We swore we would never say anything about it and how different are our versions anyway?"

"I told her because it is our kids who are investigating all of this crap; from G and G to the blue lips, to how it may be linked to The Farm and or Hiram Lodge. And for your information, Forsythe, I wasn't high that night."

"Jug told me that too..." he calmed his slightly distressed self. "So, it's true?"

"I was pregnant with your son, so I didn't want to take any Fizzle Rocks," she easily thought back to the Gargoyle King, trying to convince herself that he wasn't real.