After All, This is Riverdale

What If?

"Hey baby" Jughead said, kissing her cheek. 

"Your sisters here" he said softly, "She said shes done with the farm, I believe her, but you don't have to. If you don't want to see her she understands, okay?" He told her, kneeling in front of her hospital bed.

"I want to see her." Betty told him quietly. 

"Are you sure?" He asks, in need of reassurance. She nodded.

"Okay" He said, kissing her. 

He walked out and got Polly. "Do you want me to stay or will you be okay?" He asked Betty.

"I'll be fine." She told him. He kissed her again before walking out to the waiting room.

As soon as he got to a chair, he fell into it. Nothing could describe how exhausted he was, emotionally and physically. Every single cell in his body screaming at him to go to sleep. It will be fine, just for 10 minutes, just close your eyes. But he couldn't, he will never be able to sleep without Betty safe in his arms. Without knowing that nothing could hurt her, even though she was okay, alive, and he had talked to her minutes ago not even. Anything could happen. He needed her, as much as she needed him. They were like each others oxygen, suffocating under the stress and pressure as soon as they walk out of a room with out the other with them. 

Everyone knew this, they observed him, like glass about to shatter. 

His mind wondered back to yesterday, how, how was it just yesterday, not even. He thought about how he jokingly didn't let her go. He shouldn't of, he should of held her until she gave up like she always does. 

He thought about how Fangs had said It's not like she's leaving you forever, it could of been. 

He got up before he broke down again, and ran out of the waiting room, into a hallway with no one in it. He fell against the wall and slid down in. Throwing his beanie on the ground, grabbing at his hair. He sobbed as he remember how long he had waiting to go up, 20 minutes, how? How did it take him that long, she could of been gone. He sobbed harder as he remembered his feet hitting off the steps as he took off, part of him knowing what he was going to find but his whole body begging he wasn't going to. She had promised she would talk to him when she felt like that. But he turned into her bedroom and looked into the bathroom, his heart stopping. 

His love lying on the bathroom floor, covered in blood. A bloody razor near her hand, "No, no" he breathed, stumbling forward and pulling her lifeless body onto his lap. He heard Veronica running up the stairs, she came in and saw her, screaming as her eyes landed on her best friend. Everyone else running up the stairs to see what had happened.

Everyone stopping in the door way in shock. Jugheads mind going autopilot.

He sobbed harder, the terrifying image of her lying on the floor playing on repeat in his mind, never stopping. His mind forcing him to think about what would of happened if she hadn't survived. If they hadn't stopped the bleeding. 

He felt Archie sit down beside him and wrap his arms around him.

"Jug, it's okay, she's okay, everything's okay." Archie comforted.

"But what is she wasn't, what is she wasn't okay, I couldn't, I can't" Jughead sobbed.

"Stop, don't think like that, she's okay and that's all that matters." Archie told him.

"I know, but I just can't stop thinking about it, how I should of gone up sooner, how I could of-" Archie cut him off.

"Jughead stop! This is not your fault, it's no ones fault, it's not Betty's, it's not Veronica's, it's not anyone's but Evelyn's okay?" Archie said.

"I can't stop picturing her lying on the floor." Jughead told Archie a little while later after his sobs had died down.

"I can't either. At least you get to see her. Just think about that." Archie told him. "Come on, go kick Polly out so you can actually get some sleep."

"Hey Juliet." Jughead said, walking over and sitting on the bed. Betty moved over so that he could climb in.

"Wait"he said, stopping her before she could move into his chest. "Tell me anything you want to tell me before my arms are around you because as soon as they are I'm going to go into a sleep coma." He told her, she laughed.

"Nothing, except that I love you" She said, kissing his lips.

"I love you too."He told her, and snuggled into him. As soon as his arms were around her, he was out.