Bugheads Baby

Death is not the end

Jughead's pov

The twins are six months old and Betty has decided that today, she will bring the babies for the first time to the bar. Emily is nearing her Year 10 graduation, which I can see has Betty sad. Betty also went back to work a month ago, and we had an Au Pair stay with us for that time to look after the twins. Maddie seems to progress more than Noah, and in my biased opinion, I can see her one day making an impressive life for herself.

We pull up to the bar, I go inside and turn off the music, to protect the babies ears. Betty walks up to me and hands me Noah, while she holds Maddie. We walk in together and I say, "These are our twins, Maddie and Noah." Everyone comes and crowds around us and our babies, they both get passed around while I hold Betty in front of me and place my chin on her head. When everyone has had a hold of the babies, Betty takes both of them and I give her a kiss.

Betty's pov

The twins sit on a rug on the floor behind the bar, with a small fence around them. Maddie can crawl very well now and Noah has just started to. Jughead comes downstairs about 1 hour after the last feeding of Noah. I am completely exhausted and can not wait for this day to be over. Jug doesn't acknowledge me, but instead heads straight down to the basement. Which means he is probably going to go interrogate someone. It's four o'clock and a group of jr serpents, Emily, and Jayden and Willow Blossom-Topaz all walk into the bar. Emily practically ignores me and grabs the spare set of keys from Jugs office and heads downstairs to the basement. All of them run downstairs but everyone yells for them to come back. I follow closely behind yelling for them all to come back upstairs, but wherever they are going they are on a mission. They make it to the cells where the serpents would keep prisoners for short moments of time. Emily opens the door to the cell and all the kids run in there and lock the door behind them. Tony, Cheryl, Sweet Pea, Fangs and I all bang on the steel door for them to open up. "Is there any prisoners in there?" I ask worried. "Shit!" Fangs yells, "Missy's in there!"

I break down crying and Fangs runs off to get Jughead, who returns moments later and picks me up of the floor. "Where are my keys!" Jughead yells. "Bear took them," I whisper into his chest. Jughead tells me to cover my ears, grabs his gun and shoots at the lock. Eventually it comes undone and there in the cell they are all beating up Missy. All of us go in and grab our respective children, while Jug, Sweet Pea and Fangs grab the others. "Emily Gladys Jones! What are you doing!" I yell. She breaks down crying and begins assaulting Missy with verbal attacks. Jughead looks to Tess and says, "Whats wrong with her?" Tess lowers her voice and says, "A Ghoulie killed Jamie. He's dead." Emily breaks free from my hold and runs upstairs going on a full temper tantrum. She's flipping tables and screaming and crying and then she moves over to the bar, but she stops when she sees her two younger siblings. Something in her demeanour shifts. A visible duality overcomes her and she sinks onto the ground. "Make the pain go away!" She's yelling. Jug and I slide down onto the floor and take her into a hug. Maddie and Noah crawl over to us, and as a family we sit in a a circle, and embrace each other's strengths, weaknesses and everything in between. 

Emily is asleep upstairs right now, while Jughead is talking to Jamie's foster parents and then the other kids' guardians, I'm watching Maddie and Noah, who are behind the bar. Tony asked me to take her shift this afternoon, as Cheryl and her need to talk to their twins about this evenings events. Despite my exhaustion I take both Maddie and Noah briefly upstairs to Jughead's office and see that he is on the phone. I hear him mention Mason's name, and assume that it is his parents who he's talking to. I sit down on the couch, and Jughead's eyes never leave me. He watches curiously as I begin to unzip the back of my top and unclasp my bra, which my enlarged breasts are practically already spilling out of. I place a blanket over my shoulder and begin to feed Noah first. Usually I can feed both at the same time, but the level of exhaustion I am at, I am worried for my babies safety that I need all my attention on one at a time. Jughead walks over to me, just as I switch to Maddie, and still on the phone, he tilts my head up to him, places his hand on my cheek and uses his thumb to caress it ever so endearingly. He mouths, 'I have to go' and I give him a lazy nod. He looks at me slightly worried, but I give him the best reassuring smile that I can muster, and he reluctantly leaves. 15 minutes later, I walk back downstairs with both twins who have earmuffs on to stifle the noise of the bar. I place them in the small crib behind the bar and start to rapidly serve drinks. 

When a dirty lonesome figure is standing at the entrance to the bar, all recognisable features are covered by mud and the multiple deep, flesh wounds which are pouring blood generously. Not many people have yet recognised their presence, until I get Sweet pea to investigate. "Cut the music!" Sweet pea yells, and begins to timidly walk over to the...person? But before he can make it to him, Emily, who was descending the stairs, says, "Jamie?" she stands still for a moment and everyones eyes shift from her to him. Then as Emily has pointed out, the figure starts to more and more look like Jamie. His broad shoulders and tall physic, and wood brown eyes, along with his defined cheekbones and muscular appearance. "Jamie!" she yells in a completely different tone and runs towards him. They both embrace into a hug and cry. Jamie's other friends, join the embrace and every adult serpent in the bar are looking around at each other in confusion.  I pick up both of the twins and walk over to the boy, who was not much older than 16 and realised the trauma which he has experienced, speaking from past experience. I hand Noah to Emily and take Jamie by the shoulder and lead him upstairs and into Jughead's old bedroom. Emily and I place the twins in the centre of the bed and lead Jamie into the bathroom to wash up. We leave him the bathroom, and he emerges five minutes later, after a shower, in a fresh pair of clothing, and looking more like himself, despite the multiple cuts and large, slow forming bruises. "What happened?" I asked him softly, and he look away as if he is trying to hide from a haunting experience. He recounts his story, and I leave him alone in the room with Emily and the twins while I go downstairs. "Has anyone managed to contact Jughead?" I ask over the extremely silent room. Nobody acknowledges me so I go back upstairs and try and contact him by the office telephone. No answer. 

I walk across the small hallway to Jugs old room, where Jamie and Emily sit in silence, each busing themselves with a twin.  "Jamie," I ask calmly, "do you want me to take you home now?" he shakes his head, and asks, "They never really wanted me there anyway. I was an imposition, nobody wants a foster kid. I was planning on crashing at the shelter the next few nights." I cut him off by saying, "Don't be silly, we have more than enough room and you can live with our family indefinitely." "Thank you for the offer Betty, but I've been a burden my whole life. I finally feel that I'm free from tying anyone else down." I answer, "Of course it's completely up to you. But it really is no burden and we would love to have you." He deliberates for a moment and then says, "Thank you, I would be really grateful, and I promise I would find other living arrangement shortly." "Perfect," I tell him and smile. "Jughead should come by shortly with the car and take you all home. I however, have to work tonight." "With all do respect," Jamie asks curiously, "I know that Jughead owns the bar, and so do you I think, but even if it didn't, pardon me for saying this, but Jughead is obsessed with you and I'm surprised he lets you work this late." I laugh at his over polite question, "I mean, yeah, I could get out of working, infact, Jughead encourages me to work when ever I want and just do it when I feel like it. He always just wants me to be happy. But I don't work for him, I work for myself and just like any other person who works at the bar I don't want any perks. Except for the perk of sleeping with the boss." At this, Jamie laughs but Emily squirms and says, "Eww, don't I know it and want to forget it," she turns to Jamie and says, "Really. You should really reconsider living somewhere else. Run as fast as you can. My mom and dad are the most insatiable people. It's honestly disgusting." 

As Emily and Jamie are downstairs sitting at the bar holding the twins. I am rushing around the bar serving drinks. My feet are beyond sore, nausea and headaches are now unbearable and my whole body feels flushed. Before I can even stop it. My body collapses to the ground and everything around me fades away.  

 Emily's pov

Everyone crowds around her and I place Maddie in her crib. I call my dad and he picks up on the third ring. "Emily, I'm talking to a parent right now. This better be important," he warns me. "Dad, Moms collapsed!" I panic. " Are you at the bar?" "Yeah." I'll be right there," he says worried and serious

I left out what happened to Jamie for you as the reader to imagine yourself. However I did picture it to be something very similar to what happened to Jughead in Season 2 Episode 21 of riverdale.