Shadows of Your Dreams

Chapter 1

"She's mine, Betty," he said with an emotional voice, earning her attention. "I know she's mine. I feel it."

The woman sighed, looking into his eyes that were green like hers this time, and nodded a little. "Has she woken up?"

"No."

"Maybe we can sit and you can tell me exactly what happened?" she suggested.

Jughead nodded. "Uh, you want a tea or something?"

"No thanks." She smiled at him reassuringly while feeling horribly anxious inside.

He told her about everything he knew from the papers that had been in the duffel bag the woman had dropped the baby off with. The little girl had birth documents, but the name was yet to be chosen, Jughead's name was written as the father, she was healthy but had been born with a Phocomelia syndrome. They now knew she had been born four days ago, on February 2nd.

"I go away for a year and you manage to make a baby," Betty teased him, having converted him into a better mood by making cupcakes. Now, the sweets were in the oven, and both of them were sitting on the couch that had pillows on it again.

"Technically you were here," Jughead rolled his eyes. He had just told her earlier about Karen, the porn star she had met at Archie and Veronica's pre-wedding party. "And if we go down that path, it's basically your fault. You told me to go have sex with her."

"Did not," Betty smirked.

"Did do."

She shrugged with a slight smile on her face. "I didn't think you'd have the balls to actually do it." She tilted her head against her shoulder, grinning up at him.

"Oh don't you worry about my balls." They giggled together for a moment until the baby started crying. Jughead's panicking expression said it all, so Betty was the one who got up first and went to the baby. She picked the tiny girl up carefully and stared into her greyish-green eyes in awe. She kept screaming and crying, so Betty looked at Jughead with raised eyebrows.

"Check if she needs a change," she told the guy.

"Me?"

"You're her father..." Jughead's frown deepened at that. "I'll warm up a bottle or something," Betty informed him, helping his arms into the right position for holding a baby, and then placed the little crying girl in them. "She's cute," she sighed quietly while walking to the kitchen area.

Jughead found the baby did need a change and somehow managed to do it on his bed, noticing there were only a few clean diapers left. When she had been changed and Betty walked back to the two with a warm bottle of the only carton of milk that had been in the bag, the little girl was calm in Jughead's arms, staring up at him with her matching eyes. "Here," the blonde spoke quietly and handed him the bottle.

He chuckled nervously. "Betts, I've never fed one..."

Betty smiled softly. "Here. Just put the tip into her mouth and she'll do the rest of the job."

"What if she chokes on it?"

"Jug," she sighed with a gentle smile still on her face. "Sit down. Relax. She's a baby, not a science project."

"Easy for you to say, big sister," he mumbled in protest, but did as she said and sat down, bringing the bottle to his daughter's lips. Betty watched the two, feeling bad for the little girl who had born with only one arm and apparently was unwanted by her mother for whatever the reason was. She smiled gently while seeing the look in Jughead's eyes. He was already in love with the baby, she could tell. And it was super endearing watching the two of them together, just silently staring at each other.

"Jug," Betty brought him out of his haze when she sat down next to him on the couch. "Hold her head, even if you're tired." He sighed, hating that he didn't know how to do it, but let her move his arms back into the right position. "She doesn't have neck control for the first couple of weeks, so until you can see her lifting or holding it up by herself, always support her."

The way she was talking about it like him taking care of a baby was a permanent thing made him shudder in terror. Of course, he wanted to be part of her life and grow her up now that he knew he had a child, but it was scary thinking about actually being responsible for another human being's life.

Betty took away the bottle soon after it was empty and handed him a pacifier she had found. Just him putting it into the baby's mouth was an experience by itself. The woman looked at how he tried to be so incredibly careful and gentle, not wanting to do anything wrong and smiled at that. "Now just sway her in your arms a little. Maybe she'll go back to sleep."

It was definitely the calmest baby Betty had met—at least out of her friends' and her little brothers. She just stared at Jughead quietly, not fussing now that she wasn't hungry anymore, and slowly fell asleep when the man swayed her, his thumb brushing over her chubby cheek and forehead. Betty also noticed there was a pout on her lips most of the time while asleep. That was definitely something she had gotten from Jughead.

"Do you wanna sleep next to her?" Betty asked quietly, yawning to herself while doing so. "We could make a bed out of your laundry basket or something. She needs a bed until she stays here, and since you're not even sure if it's permanent, maybe you shouldn't buy a crib just yet?"

"Yeah," Jughead nodded. "But I'll do it. You go to sleep."

"I need to get back home..."

"No, Betts. It's late. Take my bed."

"And you?" she frowned worriedly.

"I'll be fine right here on the couch."

"No," she sighed. "I should go home; I have an essay to finish."

"Fuck. School," Jughead cursed, only now realizing he had to go tomorrow.
Betty smiled softly. "Don't worry, I'll watch over her. I just need you to fetch my laptop from mine when you get back."

"Really?" he breathed. "I think I should just skip..."

"Jug, you have your exams coming up, you should go. I'm finishing this week, online. It's not anything I couldn't do..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now get your laundry basket and get me some sheets for the couch."

"I don't need sheets, it's my couch."

Betty rolled her eyes. "You're taking your bed."

"I'm not."

"Shh, she's asleep," she giggled. "Where's your laundry?"

"The bathroom." Nodding, she took that direction and went to find it. When she did, she shook her head and swore at Jughead under her breath, deciding she was going to do all his fucking laundry the next day. That guy really needed to learn something about hygiene.