Work Text:
He watched her as she slept. Her breaths coming slow and soothing, her chest rising and falling along with it.
He tried to focus on that, instead of the bruises that littered her body or the bones sticking out.
The machine beside her was beeping on a steady pace, along with the beat of her heart.
It had been six years since he'd seen her last, but here he was.
That morning he'd gotten a call, a nurse from the Grace Hospital telling him that Betty Cooper had been admitted with urgent care and apparently he had been her emergency contact. After six years, he was still her emergency contact.
He hadn't hesitated to drop everything and drive over there as quick as he could. His brain had been pondering with what could've happened to her through the entire way and it made him sick to his stomach.
When he had finally arrived there was a small group of people from the FBI already there. They led him in the room and the initial shock of seeing her like this was overwhelming. Attached to wires and wrapped in bandages with a face so pale she might as well have been dead.
He didn't hear anything for a while. His gaze set on her so strictly as he traced every line of her body. She'd gotten so thin, so thin it seemed unhealthy. Bones were sticking out and her skin was filled with bruises and cuts.
"So.." He had eventually started, turning to the people from the FBI. "what exactly happened to her?"
They'd proceeded to tell him everything. Starting when Betty was assigned to the case of this mysterious serial killer up to where she decided to infiltrate the home of the serial killer by herself and got herself kidnapped. They'd told him that she's been tortured, starved and abused for about 2 weeks and Jughead had felt his heart clench.
Now, staring at her as she slept, he finally regained a sense of calmness. She was here and she was safe.
Carefully he placed his hand atop of hers, afraid to overstep, but desperate for the feel of her skin. "Betty, hon," he whispered, his hand now moving up to trace her hair, "if you can hear me at all, please wake up. I know you've been through hell and back, but if you have any strength left, please wake up." He could feel the tears pool in his eyes, gazing at her fragile being.
—
He'd sat by her bedside for hours. The doctors had made her friends from the FBI leave but he was allowed to stay.
The clock ticked on midnight and Jughead was exhausted, but he wanted to be up when she would awaken. Doctors came by every so often, checking the little machines and making sure she was alright.
She seemed to finally be stable now. Her vitals normal, her heart beating at a calm rhythm. It wouldn't be long for her eyes to open.
He wanted to be there when that happened. Wanted to tell her she was safe, that he was here now. Wanted to take her in his arms and promise to stay by her side if she needed him to.
But exhaustion took over, and with his head on her legs and his fingers laced so the hers, he fell into a slumber.
She awakened an hour later, her eyes falling open only to find herself surrounded by white walls. Her breathing rose to her chest, but when she looked down to see a raven haired boy asleep on her legs, a calmness came over her.
"Jug.." She whimpered, and the boy whipped his head up from his position, staring the blonde straight in the eyes.
"Betty," He gasped, his eyes wide but a smile crossing his lips, "hi."
He moved quickly to press on a small button, but she blinked and he was already in front of her again. "What are you doing here?" She pinched herself carefully in her arm, as if to make sure he was real and sitting beside her.
That was a dream she had dreamt way too often.
"I'm your emergency contact." He grinned, his hand moving to her face to tuck a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. She sat up straight, embarrassed.
"Oh god, Jug, I'm so— ahh!" She groaned in pain, clutching her stomach from the sudden movements. He gently pushed her back until she was on the bed again, his hand on her cheek.
"It's okay, hon," the old nickname made her heart stutter, "I'm glad I was the first to hear about this. Now you should rest and not get yourself all panicked." She smiled at him, her heart warming. The way he talked to her, as if the past seven years hadn't even happened.
The pair gazed at each other for a while, until one of the doctors came rushing in the room. Jughead could feel Betty's grip on his hand tightening.
"Betty, you're awake." The man said, relieved and smiling. Betty tried to smile back but she seemed more afraid than happy.
Jughead took quick notice of it, settling himself beside her and letting his hand fall on her shoulder.
"How are you feeling? Any pain?" Betty nodded, pressing herself against Jughead's side.
"My stomach, mostly, but my arm too." She whispered, suddenly sounding like a scared child.
"You're safe here, Betty, I promise. I have to run a few tests on you, so if Jughead could leave—" The doctor was cut off by Betty's voice.
"No, please, can he stay?" Her hands wrapped around his arm, holding him against her.
The doctor sighed, watching a full grown woman hold onto this man as if he was her only lifeline. "Sure, if that helps you feel safe."
—
Betty didn't seem to let out much of what happened to her. Some of her friends and colleagues from the FBI had come by to wish her a quick recovery but also to ask her some questions for their investigation in the Trash Bag Killer.
Each time they asked, Betty would crawl into Jughead, hiding her head in his chest along with the tears that came down her cheeks. She'd stutter out a mess of words before breaking in a weak sob.
Now, as she leaned against his chest while reading one of her favourite books, he was uncertain of whether to ask her about it.
The doctors said she was holding stable, but needed to stay in the hospital a few more days for observation and a safe recovery. They'd tried to talk to Jughead about a psychologist coming by to talk to Betty, but he didn't feel like he had the right to make any decisions for her.
"Hey, Betts," he eventually started. She gave him a simple hum in response. "I know the topic's been a little rough on you today, but the doctors wanted to know whether you might want to talk to a psychologist about it? They could help you pry away some of the fear and anxiety the thought of it gives you."
She didn't say anything for a while, slowly closing the book she was reading, and turning her head slightly to face Jughead. "I missed you Jug." She whispered, hyperaware that her mouth was only inches away from his.
Her response was nowhere near an answer to his question.
"Betts.." He murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, scared he would kiss her somewhere else if he didn't move. "You don't have to talk to her, hon, but the doctors need an answer."
She laid back down on his chest, her hand fisting his shirt. "I just—" she stopped talking again and he could hear the little cries coming from her mouth, "I can't, Jug. Especially not with some strange woman I've never met before. I'll tell you, or my mom, when I'm ready. I'm just not there yet." She was full on crying now, her fingers clutching his shirt and her tears and everywhere.
"It's okay, it's alright, hon." He couldn't resist to keep calling her that. Old habits die hard. "I'll be here when you're ready, I'm not letting you go again."
With a gentle smile on her face she fell asleep.
—
It took her a week to confess to Jughead everything that had happened to her. The details so gruesome it almost made Jughead vomit. The torture and abuse she suffered, along with the starvation, was utterly inhumane.
When she finished her story, he pulled her into his arms and whispered sweet nothings into her ears until it was all they both could think about.
It took the both of them two more weeks to finally kiss. Betty was the one to initiate it, after watching Jughead almost-kiss her for the past two weeks she decided to do it herself. They didn't talk about it for the next few days, but they shared kisses as if it was an ordinary routine.
Eventually Jughead had to know, "So, what are we now?" They were back in her apartment in New Haven, Betty released from the hospital 2 weeks after she'd gotten in.
"Uhh.. a— couple.. I guess?" She tried to sound casual but her voice was as hopeful as ever.
His nervous look softened, tugging her to sit on his lap. "A couple." He repeated quietly, pressing his mouth to her with a desperation that drove Betty insane.