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•••
Charles walked around Alice's living room. He looked at the pictures on the wall and all around. He stopped in front of the Cooper family picture. FP saw and tried to move his attention away from that particular image. He knows he would start asking about Hal and Alice wasn't in a good place to answer any of those questions. "We don't talk about him," FP whispered to him. Charles nods and moved onto a different picture. It was a picture of Betty and Jughead. "I know you know about your sisters on Alice's behalf but I also have a daughter. It's not just Jughead from my part." FP took his wallet out and showed him a picture of Jellybean. "Her name is Jellybean."
"She goes by JB now, remember dad?" Jughead corrected him. He came into the room and overheard FP talking about his sister.
"Yeah JB."
"Where is she?" Charles curiously asked.
"She's with my mom," Jughead says slumping down on the couch. Betty came and sat beside him. "Hopefully you'll get to meet her soon."
"Yeah," FP said sadly. He missed his daughter. Charles saw the frown on his face but he saw how quickly it changed into a smile when Alice came in.
"I hope you feel at home," Alice directed to her son.
"Feels nice to make it past the door," Charles said. Alice smiled halfheartedly. It still stung her that she literally shut him out of their lives. Alice and FP joined the kids on the couch, Alice by Betty and FP by Jughead. FP rests his arm on the couch, stretching over to Alice. He tapped her shoulder. She brought a hand up so he could hold it. Charles felt all of their eyes on him. He looked back at all of them. "So is someone going to say something?"
Alice teared up and FP heard the faint sniffles. He squeezed her hand. Charles apologized for upsetting her. FP got up and switched spots with Betty. She dug her head into the crook of his neck. He wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her side, assuring her it's okay. "No, don't worry about it. It's not you. We still need time to let it sink in that you're really here."
"He's right," Alice says turning her face. FP gently wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Charles fiddled with his fingers.
"How about you tell us a bit about yourself?" Betty suggested.
"Okay," Charles shrugged. "What do you want to know?"
"Where have you been? Have you always been on the road?"
"Well I lived in Centerville after running away from the sisters, that's a given. After all of that fiasco I've just been on numbers of buses and figuring out where to go. Occasionally I find one that passes by here thinking maybe I could give visiting a try again but I never worked up the nerve to do it."
"Did Chic? Did he ever hurt you more than once?" FP asked. He was full of rage for the imposter knowing he hurt Alice and Charles.
"Nothing severe if that's what you're asking." Charles calmly said. He knows Chic is dangerous. His hand began to twitch thinking about him. "Did he really tell you I OD'd on Jingle Jangle?"
"Yes but I honestly had my doubts. How could I trust that imposter," Betty responds to his question.
"Did you use Jingle Jangle?" Jughead was curious.
"Boy," FP looked at Jughead. He had a face on that told him not to be asking those kind of questions.
"It's fine," Charles assures him. "And yeah I did but I'm clean now. I checked into rehab for help. I thought it would help me deal with my problems but it wasn't."
Alice looked at him melancholically. She felt guilty for causing that. She looked up at FP wanting him to comfort her but he saw a similar expression on his face. He was thinking about all the drinking he did believing it would help him. FP noticed Alice looking up at him and he pecked a kiss on her forehead. He pulled her closer to him. "It's getting late. Maybe we should let Charles rest," FP says. Time was getting closer to midnight. "Come on Jug."
Jughead stood up. FP stood up but Alice grabbed his arm. "Stay?" She didn't want him to go.
"You sure?" FP would love to stay but doesn't want to impose.
"Yeah, Mr. Jones. You guys should stay. Jug could take Polly's old room and Charles could use the guest room."
"Are you okay with this?" FP asks Alice permission to stay. Alice nods yes. "Won't be the first time I've had to take the couch."
"Don't be silly. You can join my mom." Betty says surprising him. "Jug and I are fine with it."
"I'd love that," Alice added in. She stood up and FP walked her to the stairs. "Goodnight kids."
"Goodnight," Charles says making Alice happy.
•••
Alice woke up to the smell of pancakes. She peeked over the railing to look into the kitchen. Jughead and Charles were arm wrestling at the table. Betty was helping FP make the pancakes. "Are you sure I'm supposed to add this much?"
"Yes," Betty laughed. "But get it in the bowl not on your shirt."
"Can you pass me the whisk?" FP pointed at it on the end of the counter. Betty brought it over and he began to mix the batter. FP wasn't very impressed with his cooking skills. "You think I could go to Pop's and buy a batch before your mom wakes up?"
"You're doing fine. She'll love them." Betty encouraged him to continue. Alice thought it was cute how hard he was trying. She looked over at Charles. The boys were getting along well. Alice adored the scene. She walked down the rest of the stairs and made her way to the kitchen where everyone was. "I thought I smelled pancakes."
"Good morning Al," FP kissed her as she walked past him. Betty and Jughead stared. They still had to get used to it.
"Mr. Jones made us pancakes." Betty says bringing the maple syrup to the table. Jughead got up to help with the plates.
"It's not the first time." Alice says pouring the pancake mix into a pan on the stove. "He used to make them alot when we were younger."
"You never made me pancakes," Jughead crossed his arms.
"She said I made them all the time. She didn't say I was good." FP says making everyone laugh.
Jughead and Betty sat at the table watching their parents flirt like there was no one around. They were happy to see the brightest smiles on both their faces. They were happy to no longer need to hide their feelings for each other. Alice had her arms wrapped around FP and her chin plastered on his back as he flipped the pancakes. They couldn't hear what they were telling each other but they knew their parents were looking adorable. Jughead snaked an arm around Betty and held her. Betty glanced at Charles and saw that he got up. Jughead and Betty watched as he approached his parents.
Alice squeals with joy having Charles join them. She lets go of FP and links arms with their son. FP put the pancake on the stack on the counter. He turned around and quickly put an arm around Charles' neck lowering him down to ruffle his hair. He didn't care that he was a grown man. Charles was still his little boy. Alice thought Charles' laughter was like music to her ears. This is what she dreamed of for over twenty years. Nothing but happiness.
