Jughead sat on the couch, his leg bouncing. His elbows were on his knees and his hands were balled together, his chin resting on top of them.
Betty was beside him, her knees up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them as she kept taking in long, deep shaky breaths.
Their eyes were glued to the pregnancy test on the coffee table. She had just taken it, maybe a minute ago tops, but they were itching to find out if it was positive or negative.
Betty's mind was racing. She couldn't remember ever forgetting to take her birth control, she was always on top of it. It was one of the single things she did everyday no matter what, or at least she thought. Her and Jughead were always safe like that, there was no way she could actually be pregnant.
"How long does it take again?" His voice was still groggy from sleep but there was a nervousness laced through it.
She swallowed, checking the time on her phone. "T-Two minutes," she sighed, leaning forward.
She reached for it and her hand shook as she held it. She took in a sharp breath when Jughead's hand covered hers and she glanced over at him, fear in both of their eyes.
He moved so he was right next to her, both of them letting out a deep breath. "I'm going to look," she mumbled.
He nodded, watching Betty flip the test over. Her breath came out in a gasp, Jughead's eyes squeezing closed. "Fuck." He dropped his head into his hands, running them through his hair.
"Jug, I-I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't..." he glanced over at her and she sobbed, Jughead pulling her into a tight hug. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"No, Betts, it's not your fault. We both had a part in this." She cried again and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "This isn't going to change anything-"
"This is going to change everything!"
He cupped her cheeks, Betty whimpering. "Between us."
"Oh." It was shaky and he brushed her hair back from her face.
"I love you and we will figure this out." He kissed her forehead, holding her to his chest. "We'll figure this out, I promise."
~
Betty sighed as she sat down in bed that night, sinking into Jughead's side. "I'm sorry, Jug."
"Betts, stop apologizing. We..." he sighed, her head tilting up to look at him. "We both want... a baby so... it just came sooner than we expected."
"Want is so much different than can." She sat up, swallowing thickly. "Are we even capable of having a baby right now?"
He looked down at his hands before looking back up to her. "We'll figure this out, Betts. We can have a baby, I-I have enough money... we can have a baby."
"What if I can't do it?" He squeezed her hand, her breath coming out shakily.
"Love, you are going to be amazing. You are going to be the best mom that this baby can have, trust me." She sighed again, laying back on his chest. "This-This is a good thing, not bad. Betty, we know enough to have a baby, you know that. We have enough money, we have enough space. We can have this baby and it can be happy, and have a good life because we can give them one."
She looked back up to him, her hand tilting his head down. "You know, for you not wanting to have kids about a year ago, you sure know what to say to make me feel better." He smiled tinily and she placed a kiss under his chin. "What are people going to say? What are they going to think of us, Jug?"
"It doesn't matter. It's not their life, it's ours. I could care less what they think. Hell, we're engaged, it's not like this was a one night stand gone wrong. And we're adults, we don't need people and their dumb opinions." He kissed the side of her head and her hand curled into a fist on his stomach. "It can just be us, the baby, and the dogs."
Betty giggled and Jughead furrowed his brows. "It's kind of ironic how yesterday we were talking about getting a puppy and now we're having a baby." Betty mumbled. "Well, maybe."
"Maybe?" She sighed, nodding.
"I can miscarry, or they could have been false positives."
"I doubt they were false positives, Betts." She shrugged.
"Everyone always says that so I thought I needed to, too." He chuckled, dipping his head down to kiss her.
~
Betty cringed and Jughead furrowed his brows. "What? I thought you liked Pop's?" She shuddered and shook her head.
"The smell is horrid." She plugged her nose and he sighed. "This is, like, the fourth thing I can't eat. I can't eat pizza, chicken, turkey, now burgers and fries. I hate this." He put the take out in the fridge, handing her a milkshake. "I can still have this without wanting to throw up." She sipped it and hummed, Jughead chuckling.
"You're fucking adorable." She blushed, holding the cup up to him.
"Want some?" He laughed, sipping from the drink after placing a quick kiss to her lips. "Ooh, just so you know, I have clothes coming in the mail because even though I'm, like, not even showing yet," she huffed, the two of them moving upstairs. "I will be in a few weeks and I will slowly start to not fit in my clothes anymore."
He opened the door to the balcony, sitting down in a chair and pulling Betty down into his lap. "Did you ever figure out when... it happened?"
"If my math is correct," she looked at him with a lopsided frown, exhaling slowly. "It was either the night we got engaged or the morning after."
"Oh, just wonderful. Double anniversary." She giggled, laying back on his chest while still sipping the milkshake. "At least we'll always remember the day our first baby was conceived."
"That makes it sound so weird." They both laughed, Jughead taking another drink from the milkshake. "But, on another note, I was looking at some puppies for adoption the other day."
"We're still doing that?" She shrugged, giving him a small smile.
"Do you want to?" He nodded, his hand squeezing her thigh. "Well, there is a sheepdog puppy up for adoption a few miles away from Riverdale."
He snickered, taking the milkshake from her hands. "Let me guess, you already contacted them?"
She smiled sheepishly, nodding. "We pick her up on Monday." He chuckled, cupping her chin and kissing her quickly.
"You got Bailey a friend?"
She nodded, moving to straddle his hips. "Well, yeah. The poor girl has been around boys basically her whole life."
"Oh, now that's just cruel." She laughed as he bit at her neck, Jughead chuckling himself.
~
"Can you tell that I'm pregnant? Are my cheeks puffy?" Betty looked up from the paperwork she was filling out to Jughead who had amusement on his face.
"No, but I think it's going to be pretty obvious since you just checked off pregnant on your paperwork." She looked down at it, frowning.
"You know," she muttered. "That's quite mean."
He shook his head while holding back a chuckle, kissing her temple. She filled out the rest of the sheet, handing it to the woman at the front desk before walking back over to Jughead.
"How often do we go to these things?" he asked with a silent question in his eyes.
"Um, I think it's, like, twelve if everything goes the way it should—that's including this one." He furrowed his brows, glancing down at her in confusion.
"Twelve? Holy shit." She shrugged and he adjusted himself in his seat. "I swear in movies they make it seem like you get these, like, twice." She chuckled and he smiled tinily, kissing her forehead.
"Elizabeth Cooper?" They both looked towards the nurse at the doors entryway and Betty stood, looking down at Jughead in confusion.
"Are you coming?"
"You want me to?" She frowned and he stood up. "I just thought that only you would want to go back."
"No, but I'm kicking you out when she starts asking questions." He nodded, the nurse smiling at them.
"Follow me right this way," the nurse said with a welcoming smile.
They walked down a long hall, the woman opening a door and holding it back for them to step in. "Put on the gown," she instructed. "Then we will need to run urine tests. The bathroom is at the end of the hall on the left." She left the room with a bright smile, Jughead rocking nervously on his heels, one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck.
"Do you want me to, uh, turn around?"
"Jughead, do you know how many times you've seen me naked?" He shrugged, looking up at the ceiling as she unbuttoned her pants. "You're acting like you're 16, just so you know."
"I feel 16. Are guys even allowed back here?" She shook her head playfully, pulling her shirt over her head and slipping the first gown on.
"Jug, you're obviously allowed back here. Can you help me?" She motioned to the string at the back of her neck and he nodded, tying it for her quickly before holding up the other gown to slip it over her back. "I'll be back." She kissed his cheek before walking out of the room, Jughead sitting down in the chair beside the exam table.
She came back quickly, Jughead cringing. "You act like you've never done this."
"My check-ups are completely different than this." She rolled her eyes playfully as she sat up on the exam table, fixing the gown more over her knees. "Wait, so you do this every single time?"
"Well, no. There's a lot of tests that they have to run today, other times it will just be more like a regular check-up." He shrugged, sitting back in the chair but jumping up straight when there was a knock on the door. "God, I'm grateful you're not a spy."
"Rude, just rude." He smiled playfully and she laughed, Jughead placing a kiss to the top of her head when the door opened.
"Do you want him to stay or would like him to step out?" The doctor smiled happily and Jughead glanced at Betty.
"I'll go," he whispered to himself.
He gave the doctor a tight-lipped smile, stepping out of the room. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, pacing beside the door for what felt like hours. But, within minutes, the door was opened again.
The doctor grinned, saying, "You can come back in."
He walked back to Betty's side and she squeezed his hand. "So," the doctor said, snapping on gloves. "Now we'll do the sonogram and you'll both be on your way."
Jughead watched as the doctor put gel on the doppler, Betty's hand tightening on his as goosebumps rose on her arms after the doctor's hand went under the sheet over her legs.
"Sorry," the doctor winced. "I forgot to mention that it's cold."
Betty giggled, Jughead kissing the back of her knuckles. "Is that your thing?" she asked it in a hushed whisper and he winked at her, doing it again.
"Okay, so, let's have a look, shall we?" Betty and Jughead watched the monitor closely at the doctor's question. "So, based on what I can see and the information you have given me, your due date is probably about April 20th. You're obviously having one baby," she chuckled to herself, turning the monitor towards Betty and Jughead. "Here you can see the outline of the head and over here are the legs and feet. It looks like it has their hands crossed on their stomach."
Betty glanced over at Jughead with a playful look on his face and he chuckled. "What?" he mumbled. She shook her head teasingly, turning back to the monitor.
The doctor pressed buttons on the machine and gave them a smile before turning to Betty. "Are you ready to hear the heartbeat?" Betty nodded, her hand squeezing Jughead's in anticipation. He sat forward in his seat, him and Betty both waiting with bated breath as she moved the doppler again. "Okay, here it is." She pressed a button and the noise echoed around the room, Betty letting out a breathy laugh.
"Oh my god," Jughead whispered the word into the back of her hand, Betty looking down at him with a bright smile.
"You have a very healthy baby, Elizabeth." She gave her a bright smile, the sound cutting out. "We will see you back here in four weeks. You can schedule your next appointment at the front desk." She gave them each a smile and a wave, leaving the room.
"We're going to have a baby," Betty squealed quietly.
Jughead kissed Betty as she smiled, placing another one to her forehead. "We're gonna have a baby," he repeated.
~
Betty blinked awake, hitching her leg higher over Jughead's hips. He groaned, his hand squeezing the underside of her thigh before he rubbed his eyes.
"Good morning," he grumbled, placing a kiss to Betty's lips. He moved down to pull her shirt up and pressed one to her stomach as well. "Good morning to you, too."
Betty smiled tiredly, pushing hair off of his face when he came back up and laid back down next to her. "Did you sleep okay?" he asked softly.
She nodded, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arm around his waist. "I want to pick out paint colors today."
"You're already planning her nursery? We don't even have a name yet, Betts." She shrugged, tilting her head back. "What colors were you thinking?"
"I was thinking like a light grey for the walls then we put up sheer white curtains and add little pink blankets for a pop of color. I have a picture of what I want to do." He laughed and she frowned up at him. "What?"
"Nothing, we can do that." She narrowed her eyes and he kissed her until she wilted into the sheets, pressing herself against him with a moan.
"Jug, please. I need you," she whined.
Her hands threaded through his hair as he bit at her neck, his hips rolling into hers. "Please, Juggie." He looked up at her, Betty's hand slipping inside of his boxers and wrapping her hand around him. He moaned as she pumped him slowly, his head falling to her shoulder when her thumb brushed over the tip. "Come on. Please, Jug."
She pumped him again and his hips bucked. "Fuck, Betts," hd moaned again, his hand pushing her panties down quickly.
She shoved his boxers down next and he took little to no time to thrust into her quickly, her head pushing back into the bed. "Jesus christ," he grunted.
He tugged her shirt off, sucking a nipple into her mouth. "Oh god!" she called out.
He worked her until they both crashed over the edge, Jughead falling to her side after they were both spent. She laid panting beside him, his own chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
"See?" she panted. "Your fears were nothing."
He chuckled, throwing his arm over his forehead as he smiled over at her. "I feel like I just scarred her for life."
Betty rolled towards him, careful not to jostle her legs. "I promise you, you didn't. But I need a nap now." He chuckled again and kissed the side of her head, putting on his pants and motioning for her to sit down. "What are you doing?" He winked, walking into the bathroom and wetting a warm rag, walking back to her with a towel also in hand. "Jug, no."
"Hey, let me take care of you. You are carrying our baby, you know."
She blushed as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, hiding her face as he cleaned her. He kissed her cheek tenderly again when he had finished, putting the rag and towel in the hamper before helping her put her t-shirt back on. He moved around to the other side of the bed, lying behind her and wrapping his arm over her stomach. "Let's just spend the day in bed."
Betty hummed, rolling and laying her head on his chest. "I like that idea very much."
~
"I... where the hell does this thing go?" Jughead picked up the screw, flashing it to Betty.
She moved from the chair to the ground, Jughead helping her do so. "I have no clue but you're doing great!" She pulled his face to hers, pressing a kiss to his cheek and he smiled. She pulled back, her hand on her stomach before her eyes widened.
"What? Is everything okay?" She pressed a hand to her stomach again before she grabbed his, pressing it on the same spot, his own eyes widening. "Woah, is that..."
"She's kicking." He laughed a little and she smiled proudly. "It's kind of uncomfortable but it means she's okay, she's-she's healthy and her legs are working so that's a really good sign, right?"
"Yes, yes! This is amazing!" She sighed happily and he laughed, Betty hissing. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, she just really reacts to your laugh." He smirked arrogantly and pulled his hand away, Betty pushing his shoulder. "Stop smirking. Just because she's already a daddy's girl does not give you the right to flaunt it."
"Oh, but it totally does." She rolled her eyes playfully and he pressed a light kiss to her lips. "Okay, I gotta figure out this crib."
"You can do it!" He gave her an incredulous but amusement filled look and she just laughed. "I'm going to go make cookies for when you finish. Or for when you don't finish."
"Hey, I got this. I'm-I'm a handyman at heart. I could do this in my sleep." She looked from the crib to him, a smile on her face.
"Hate to burst your bubble but you put the side on upside down." He frowned at it, huffing. "Help me up, please."
He stood and took her hand, pulling her up off the floor. "I'm not ever sitting there again," she scoffed, one of her hands going to her lower back. "Okay, I'm going to make cookies now, love you!"
He watched her walk away, sitting back down on the floor with a sigh as he looked at the instructions again. "Okay, so..."
~
Jughead hurried down the stairs, Betty furrowing her brows as she put her cookies on a cooling rack. "Come look! I actually did it!" he cheered.
She turned, frowning a little. "Can it wait a few minutes?" He frowned and she huffed. "I have to pee."
"I built her bed and she does this? That is not a daddy's girl, that's a traitor." Betty whined, her hand on her stomach. "What?"
"Stop talking, she likes you and it's pressing on my bladder." She walked into the bathroom, Jughead nodding.
He walked back to the nursery, picking up the leftover screws that were on the floor and sighing at the other boxes that were left. He still had at least ten weeks until Betty absolutely needed the furniture up out of fear, so really, he could take a break for the night.
She came walking in, clapping her hands. "It looks perfect!" she exclaimed. "Thank you! Thank you!" She hugged him, kissing him quickly. "Oh, and now's probably a good time to tell you that my dad, my sister, Jason, the twins and their baby are coming for Christmas." His eyes widened and she smiled. "I love you so much!" She kissed the corner of his mouth before walking away, Jughead standing flabbergasted in the room.
After a minute he followed her path out of the room, walking downstairs and into the kitchen. "You did not just think you could say what you just said and walk away." She bit her lip and sat down at the table, Jughead sitting across from her. "Betts, we don't have a tree, ornaments, decorations. We don't have anything."
"That's why we can go get it tomorrow, right? We can get it all up before they get here on Christmas Eve." Her eyes were hopeful and he sighed.
"I don't want you to overwork yourself. And don't you have that article you need to get done? Can you do that with kids running around?" She frowned, looking down at her hands on the tabletop. She sniffled, starting to cry quietly and his eyes widened. "No, no, no. Don't cry! Don't cry! We can do it! They can come!"
She looked up at him tearfully, sniffling again. "Really?"
"Yes, I promise." She smiled and wiped her face, standing up happily. "That's so cynical."
"I'm going to miss it so much when we have her." He chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully as he ate a cookie.
~
"I've never done this before." Jughead wrapped the lights around the tree, Betty furrowing her brows at the bottom of the ladder.
"Christmas?" she asked. He glanced down at her, nodding. "What about last year? That counts."
"No, that's not what I mean," he sighed. She frowned and he wrapped the last part of the lights around the tree, climbing down the ladder. "What I mean is that I've never done this. The tree, the decorations, the gifts, the family. Growing up it was just another day for my parents to ridicule me."
"Well... do you like it? Like this?" He nodded with a small smile, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. "You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," he chuckled.
She smiled happily, Jughead's look mirroring hers. "Now," he started. "If you're going to hang stuff and all that, make sure it's low enough to the ground you don't need a ladder and if you do need one, you wait for me to get home so I can do it. I don't want you slipping and getting hurt."
"I don't even use ladders when I'm not pregnant. They're not safe, like, at all." She followed him to the door as she talked and he chuckled, shaking his head.
"So you prefer levitating, yes?" She frowned and shoved his shoulder. He laughed and kissed her soundly. "I'm going to go pick up the dogs from the groomers, I'll be back in thirty minutes—forty tops." He grabbed his keys and slipped on his coat, kissing her again. "Love you."
He walked out the door, Betty standing there as he walked away. "Love you, too. Be safe!" He gave her a thumbs up as he got in the truck and she sighed, closing the door with a shiver.
~
Betty heard the door open, Bailey, Scout, Hotdog and Luna running through the house. "I look crazy driving with four dogs," Jughead huffed as he stepped into the house himself. "I'm running out of room in my truck for them."
Betty looked over her shoulder at Jughead with a grin, shaking her head playfully. "You're doing a great job with the bottom of the tree." She laughed and he placed a kiss to her neck, his hands wrapping around her stomach.
She sighed and let her head fall to the side, Jughead nipping at the skin he found there. "Jug, I want to finish this."
"We will." It was husky and gruff and he turned her, cupping her cheeks and kissing her roughly.
"No, no, no. We can do that tonight. Right now I want to do this." He pulled back, brushing the wispy hairs that had fallen from her ponytail away from her face. "Plus, I don't really feel like doing anything on the couch because it makes my back hurt."
He nodded, kissing her again but quickly. "What do you need me to do?"