Season 4 FP is really representing character development. I think his new authority toys with how he protects his loved ones. He's going to show more of a strict side most likely which could cause him issues with his kids and possibly Alice as they still work out what they are or where they stand.
•••
Chaos in Riverdale has gone dormant to the naked eye. No more sadistic serial killers, organ harvesting lunatics, or death wishes brought upon by a board game. Everything in the town has calmed down.
FP carried a stack of his blankets to his closet in the hall downstairs. He neatly put them on the shelf and grabbed his uniform before heading to the bathroom to change. He would have normally gotten ready for work in the master bedroom, but after welcoming Alice and her daughter back into what used to be their house, he without a second thought gave her back her room. He wouldn't let her sleep on a crappy couch in the living room when she could have a warm bed upstairs.
He heard a ruckus coming from the kitchen and immediately went to go see what it was. He could see his daughter cleaning up a shattered bowl at her feet.
"What happened here?" FP stepped in with his hands busy looping his tie around himself.
"Nothing," Jellybean grumpily said. She didn't look up at him.
"You're going to cut yourself, sweetheart. I'll take care of it." FP tried to get her to move away from the sharp pieces.
"I can do it myself," She shoved him back. FP took note of her odd behavior. He knew she was still adjusting to her mother being gone but he never witnessed this extent of moodiness from her. There was something bothering her.
"Jellybean, seriously, baby, what's wrong?" He calmly asked her. He didn't want to push her buttons.
"I already said nothing," She brushed past him.
"You can talk to me. You know that."
"I want to go home!"
"You are home."
"No, I want to go home! I want to see mom!"
"I can't do that for you." He shook his head. "I'm sorry." FP's face softened. He knew she missed her but he also knew she wasn't safe around her.
"I hate you!" Jellybean screamed at him as she walked away.
"Jellybean! Come back here!"
Jellybean spun around on her heels and glared at him. "What?"
"I know you're mad but that doesn't give you the right to disrespect me like that, do you understand?"
She scoffed. "You just started to be a dad." Her eyebrows creased together. "Mom was always there when you weren't, when you were out with the Serpents instead of at home. And when you actually were home you just went from bottle to bottle as if you were the child in the house." FP was left speechless. He couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. Gladys truly did turn her against him. A part of him couldn't blame her. He wasn't always the best father. He's missed out on so much of her life. "You can keep pretending to play hero but you're always going to be that man I didn't know." She stormed off to her room.
FP turned to see Jughead awkwardly standing on the opposite side of the room. "You know she doesn't really mean that. It's the anger talking." Jughead assured him. "Maybe it's time to tell her why she's really gone."
"No, that would hurt your little sister too much. Let her think highly of your mom. She's still your mother." FP sighed. "She may have done terrible things to this family but Jellybean needs those happy memories she actually has with her."
"You would much rather her give you shit about everything instead of telling her the truth?" Jughead arched an eyebrow. "You're crazy. You know that? What about you?"
"It's fine," FP knelt down with the dustpan.
Betty came waltzing down the stairs after things calmed down downstairs. She joined Jughead in the kitchen, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his shoulder. Jughead pecked a kiss on her temple. "Good morning." She chirped.
FP popped up from behind the kitchen island and walked over to the trash can. "Good morning to you too, Mr. Jones."
"Good morning, Betty."
"Are you leaving for work now?" Jughead asked his father.
FP looked down at his watch. "Yeah," FP had to be down at the station soon to clock in. "Keep an eye on JB for me, alright? Give me a call if you need anything." Jughead simply nodded. FP poured coffee into his thermos for the go. He grabbed his jacket from the coatrack by the door. From the corner of his eye he could see Alice standing at the top of the staircase. He gave her a quick glance before stepping out.
She turned at the end of the railing and walked towards the kitchen, but stopped when she heard Jughead talking to Betty.
"I think my dad should just tell her. Things are just going to get worse if he keeps letting her live in this fantasy my mom drilled into her head."
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I would tell her but my dad would give me an earful about it later. He's just trying to keep her happy even though it paints him as the bad guy."
"Maybe he's waiting for the right time."
"There will never be a right time. It's been months already."
"There's got to be something we can do."
"If you don't mind, I think I can help here." Alice came into their view.
"Mom?" Betty turned to see her.
"What do you have in mind?" Jughead asked. He didn't question her listening in. He needed the input.
"How about you two go get breakfast at the diner and I'll stay here and talk to her?"
Jughead and Betty looked at each other. He looked at her for her thoughts on this but nevertheless agreed. It was worth a shot. Jughead nodded and went to go get changed, as did Betty.
After the two left Alice went up to Jellybean's room and knocked on the door. "Who is it?"
"It's Alice, darling. Can we talk?"
"If my dad sent you up here, you can just go."
"He didn't."
It was silent for a couple of seconds before Jellybean let her in. "It's open."
Alice let herself in and shut the door behind her. "Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?"
"No," Jellybean frowned.
"Okay," Alice nodded. "Do you want to tell me why you're unhappy with your father? He's just trying to be there for you. I know he can be a good father."
"You're just saying that because he's Charles' dad." Jellybean sat down on her bed and crossed her arms.
"He didn't get lucky enough to watch him grow up."
"He wasn't there for me either."
"Fair point," Alice allowed that. "But I know he wants nothing more than to be there for you and Jughead from now on. There's no doubting that. He always spoke about how he missed you when you were gone."
"Why do you care anyway? You're not my mom." Jellybean blurted out.
"That's true. I'm not but it doesn't mean I don't care about your happiness too. If there's something bothering you you could always come to me if you don't want to go to your father."
"I want my mom," Jellybean huffed.
Alice could see where this was going. "Do you miss her?" She carefully asked. The girl sadly nodded. Alice put her feelings towards the woman aside and tried to comfort her. "Do you want to tell me about her? Sometimes talking about it can make you feel better."
"I always had my mom. She always loved me when my dad didn't."
"What do you mean? Your father loves you very much too. Why would you think he didn't?"
"If he loved me very much, where was he when everyone else had a dad that cared?"
"He does care about you. He wants to be the father he didn't have. Maybe you don't see it yet but he really did turn his life around to get you and Jughead back into his life. He's made his mistakes, yes, but a man that genuinely does care makes the effort to change for the better."
"How am I supposed to know he has?"
"Dear, he's done everything in his power to protect you and your brother. He's loved you both so so much. Trust me, every bit of love he harvests in his heart for you is something he was determined to have for his children. It's up to you whether you accept it or not. But just know, you're very lucky to get the love he didn't. That's all because he cares about you."
"Did he not get love?" She sheepishly looked up at her. Alice slowly shook her head no. Jellybean fiddled with her fingers as they took in the silence. "Can you tell me about it?"
"Maybe it's better if you ask your father about that. It's his story to tell." Alice didn't want to blurt out anything FP might not want her to know.
"Is there anything you can tell me?"
"I know he sacrificed his happiness for yours and Jughead's numerous times. Don't take your father's love for granted. He's a good man. It'll just take time to patch things up." Alice put her hand on the doorknob. "Just talk to him because believe me, he's the reason I patched things up with my children. Find your lost connection." She let herself out and left the girl to think.
•••
FP spent a majority of his day at the station. He was just about to head home for the night when he got a complaint on the phone about rowdy teenagers at a house party, with no surprise, underaged drinking.
FP shut the siren off upon arriving to the scene. He looked around and saw his son amongst the group of teenagers as he stepped out of his cruiser.
"Jughead, boy, you better not be drinking what's in that cup." FP pointed a stern finger at him. Jughead tipped his cup over to pour out the liquid.
"Sheriff Jones," Reggie said as FP made his way up. "Someone get this man a beer."
"You wanna see the inside of a drunk tank tonight, Mantle?"
"Is that like a cellar?" Reggie stupidly asked.
"The toxicity already got to your brain," FP disapprovingly shook his head.
"You can't necessarily blame the alcohol for that." Jughead joked. Toni tried to refrain herself from laughing to that. "That's all him."
FP locked eyes with his son. "Go wait in the car."
"But I-" Jughead trailed off. He saw the look on his face. He put his arms out in front of him as if he were going to handcuff him. FP didn't have time for his jokes. "Now." Jughead sighed and shuffled over to the cruiser. FP turned back to Reggie. "Shut this down before I have to come back." FP warned him. Reggie twirled a finger in the air to tell people to wrap it up.
Jughead sat in the passengers seat sulking. He didn't say anything when his father got back into the vehicle. "Didn't I tell you to watch your sister?"
"She's fine. She's at home with Alice."
"Is Betty here too?" FP asked. "Boy, I just want to know so I can drive her home too."
"Yes," Jughead pulled his phone out to text her.
"What were you thinking today?"
"I was just loosening up. I know when to call it quits." Jughead unlocked his phone. "You can't honestly say you didn't live a little too in high school."
"Yeah and how did that work out for me?"
"She's coming," Jughead timidly said after that.
Betty shyly walked past FP's window on the way to the back seat. She knew this car ride home would be awkward. They kept it silent until they got closer to the house. "Did you seriously think this was the best idea? You go back to Stonewall tomorrow."
"Yeah well do you seriously think lying to JB is the best idea? She deserves to know the truth about mom. She can't keep believing she will be back for her after figuring things out. We both know that's not true."
"We are not talking about this right now."
"Yeah because it's not me who you should be talking to this about."
FP parked the car in front of the house. "Betty, can you give us a minute."
"Yeah," Betty climbed out of the car. She made her way up to the house.
"You seriously think I can tell her? She still hates me, Jughead. If I tell her that her mom isn't coming back she will hate me even more."
"How will you ever know?" Jughead threw his hands into the air. "She deserves the one parent who actually gives a damn. That's not her. She put us all in danger when she chose those drugs over us. If you don't tell her I will."
FP let out a deep sigh. "You're right." He gave in. He pinched the arch of his nose. "I'll tell her."
"Thank you," Jughead said. He opened the car door.
"Ah, you're still in trouble. We'll talk about it in the morning."
"Fine," Jughead shut the door. FP followed him into the house.
Jellybean was standing at the bottom of the staircase when the door flew open. "Daddy, can we talk?"
Jughead nudged his father. He gave him a look, prompting him to bring up what they just talked about.
"Of course," FP took his jacket off and hung it up on the rack. She walked over to the living room. Jughead gave them some privacy by going upstairs. FP took a seat on the couch and Jellybean sat next to him. "What's on your mind, princess?"
"I'm sorry about today. Alice made me realize that was a little uncalled for."
A little smile tugged on his face. "It's okay. I know why you're angry with me. I just hope you don't hate me."
"I don't actually hate you," Jellybean confessed. "I know you're doing your best as my dad. Maybe things will get better when mom comes back home."
"Honey," FP nervously scratched the back of his neck. "I need to talk to you about that." He didn't know the right words to use so he just pulled the bandage right off. "She's not coming back."
"What do you mean she's not?" Jellybean's eyes began to gloss. "She said she would come back for me when the time was right."
"The reason she left was because she put us all in danger. I can't have her hurt us anymore."
"No," She shook her head in disbelief. "She never hurt us. She would never hurt me."
"She made her choice, sweetheart. She's gone."
Jellybean began to bawl and FP pulled her into a hug. She held him back tightly as she cried into his shirt. She mumbled into his shirt, "Does she not love me anymore?"
"She loves you, Jellybelly. She loves you so much that she had to go. It's better this way. You'll understand that one day. But what matters right now is that you have me and Jughead. You even have your other big brother. We love you very much."
"Daddy, did you have love like this when you were younger?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you have a dad as great as you?" Jellybean already understood that he didn't but she wanted to know more about it. FP looked down at her. She was looking up at him with eyes full of curiosity. "I know you probably didn't." She frowned.
"No, I didn't." FP admitted. She did deserve the truth.
"What was grandpa like? Was he mean to you?" Jellybean let herself out of his arms.
"You could say that."
"I'm sorry."
"You have no fault in that. He was just who he was."
"No, I'm sorry for being a brat. All you do is love me and you didn't get that from him."
"It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that you-" He booped her nose. "-and your brothers are happy."
"How mean was he?" She continued to question him. "He doesn't sound like a nice guy."
"You don't want to know."
"Then why am I asking?" Jellybean sassily remarked. "Was it that bad?"
FP picked up his left arm. "He broke my arm one night."
Jellybean gasped. She took his arm to examine it. "Why would he do that?"
"I didn't want to be a Serpent."
"But you were the Serpent King. We're all Serpents." Jellybean knitted her eyebrows together.
"That's how life plays out for people like us. I didn't have my mind focused on the Serpents back then. I wanted to go to college and I really did have a shot at it. That was until I lost the eyes of many scouts. They couldn't recruit me if I couldn't play football the way I used to." FP explained. "Long story short, after your grandfather threw me out to fend for myself I had no other choice but to join the Serpents."
"I didn't know," Jellybean felt guilty for the way she had been treating him.
"It's okay. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to know about all that. My job is to keep you happy and I can't exactly do that with a sob story, can I?" He perked up a smile. She reciprocated it back. "Just promise me that you won't give up on whatever you set your mind to. I already made Jughead make me that same promise."
"I promise," She nodded.
"Good," He said. "And it's always good to have some good ol' faith. It may have taken me years but I'm finally in a good place. I've got my kids. A stable job. A wonderful home for all of us."
"Dad, how different would it have been if you had Charles from the start?"
"Life has a funny way of rolling out for me. I wouldn't change any of it for the world, good and bad. I wouldn't be able to live without you or Jughead in my life too."
"Was Alice special to you back then? She did give you Charles like mom gave you me and Jug."
"In all honesty, she was. She was the only one who saw the good in me. Things just didn't work out for us back then."
"Why not?"
"We drifted apart. She went her way and I went mine. Years later I come to learn about our son. I don't blame her for keeping it from me but it did hurt when I found out. She had her reasons and I completely understand. He's back in our lives and that's all that matters."
"Is she still special to you? I mean she's still living here and you gave her your room."
"To be fair it was her house before your mother bought it. It was her room first."
"Was she as special to you as mom?"
"Your mom holds a place in my heart because she gave me you and your brother but Alice...she's different. She made me feel different."
"You mean loved?"
"How did you get that?"
"Am I wrong though?"
"No, I don't think you are."
"Did you love her?"
"I did but I was an idiot so I lost her one too many times."
"Do you still love her?" Jellybean asked. "It doesn't look like you and mom are ever going to fix things with her staying away. And I've seen the way you and Alice look at each other. There is something going on there that you don't want us to know about."
"I do still love her but I don't deserve her loving me back." FP confessed.
"She sees the good in you. I don't think she would ever hate you."
"You think so?"
"I mean if she makes you happy don't you think you deserve it?"
"I hope I do one day."
"What if you already do?"
"That's not up to just me. I did hurt her feelings. It would take a lot to get her to trust me that way again."
"Then you better get started."
FP chuckled. "Why don't you go up to bed while I go shower? It's been a long day."
"So is that a yes?"
"We'll see."
Jellybean jumped up and gave him a quick hug before going to her room. He made his way to his closet to grab something to sleep in after his shower. He bumped into Alice when he turned around. "Did you mean that?"
"What I told her?"
Alice nodded.
"Yes, I meant it. If I can gain back your trust I would really like to try it for real this time. I really do love you and I can't bear lose you again."
"You do love me?" She softly asked.
"Of course I do. You're everything to me, Al." He brought a hand up to her cheek. "I've made many mistakes throughout my life but my biggest one was hurting you."
"I don't know if I can try again," Alice's voice cracked. She was terrified of his many rejections.
"I understand if you don't want to but it would honestly break my heart if I knew we would work this time and had missed our chance."
"You're just as important to me but we keep making the same mistakes over and over again. I don't know if we can go through that again."
"I'm willing to take things slow and figure things out together."
"I might be able to give it one last try but whatever happens this time has to be final."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." He didn't want to not try. He also had a good feeling about this last try. There wasn't anything coming in between them this time. "So what do you say?"
"We've got to take it slow." Alice agreed to try just as long as they took their time with it.
"I'm okay with that. Whatever it takes."