I'm never gonna give up on you.

45. There was an accident

FP was lying on the hospital bed. He was all alone in a silent room. The news about Alice's death hit him so hard, he had no idea how he will handle his life without her by his side. She was his whole fucking world to him, his everything. That night not only he lost the woman he loved, but also their children lost their mother.

Even though, FP and Alice had a rough past and let each other go too many times, the thought of losing her for good never even crossed his mind. He had no idea, that someone's death would hurt him as badly as it was right now.

He needed to tell the kids about their mother's death and the thought of sharing such terrible news with them was bothering him for way too long. All of them had been through enough in their lives and they deserved better. He was afraid, that the fact, that Alice died would break them.

Despite the dizziness he forced himself to get up with his eyes red and face wet from crying. It was hard for him to inform Archie about his old man's death, and he was truly affected by this. He didn't know how to break his children's hearts by sharing the news with them.

The kids were staring at each other. Their heads were about to explode from the hours of crying. They were thinking about everything and anything. If they needed to pick the worst night of their life, they would pick that one without a doubt.

Suddenly Jughead noticed FP who was barely standing on his own. The boy poked Charles's back and they ran towards their father immediately to help him to sit down right before hugging and kissing him. The girls ran towards them and did the same thing.

They couldn't believe their eyes. He was standing in front of them, alive. They thought that they lost him, but the moment they saw him, everything seemed like the old days. It felt so damn right to have him back.

It didn't take Betty much time to notice that FP was crying. His eyes said a lot and she knew, that it wasn't because of happiness. She stepped back and shook her head when she realized, that if he was there with them, then he didn't give his heart away.

"Oh my God..." She whispered right before she covered her mouth with her shaking hands once FP looked deep into her eyes. She realized, that her worst nightmare came true at that particular moment.

"I wish I could save her," FP whispered between the quiet sobs. There was a moment of silence between all of them. Nobody knew what to say.

Alice was gone. There was nothing more to say or to do. No matter how badly they didn't want to adjust to the thought that something went wrong, she wasn't with them anymore.

No more yelling when after getting into the fights. No more cuddling on the couch after a bad day at school or work. No more arguing about some meaningless sundry. No more peach pies after watching the newest reports. They wouldn't see her smiling or hear her laugh anymore.

The news hit all of them so much, they didn't even know how to react. Some of them were crying, the rest was standing pale. FP was still sitting on the chair surrounded by his children. He couldn't look at them anymore. He failed, again. He let Alice go once again, but this time it was too late to fix it.

Suddenly, they saw Dr. Ross coming towards them. Her worried expression was saying more than any words. They already knew about Alice's death and didn't want her to repeat the news about the terrible loss.

"Mr. Jones are you insane?! You were supposed to be lying in bed right now!" The woman raised her voice once she saw the man who could barely sit on his own. She was trying to help him to get up and lead him back into the room, but he didn't move an inch.

"Mr. Jones, if you don't go with me right the hell now, I swear, I will tell Alice about everything!" She said while placing both her hands on her hips. FP let out a small chuckle and found a strength to stand up to face the woman standing a few steps away from him.

"How could you tell her about it, huh? She is gone!" He shouted at the woman and collapsed back on the chair while burst into tears again. She opened her eyes wider and kneeled right in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

"Mr. Jones, I don't know what you are talking about. Alice is peacefully resting after the operation. I was just about to tell you about that, but I didn't find you in the room where you were supposed to be." Dr. Ross said softly and glanced at the kids with a slight smile on her face.

They were wrong, she was alive and everything seemed to be fine with her soon. It was hard to express ho hard was it to win this fight, but Dr. Ross had fought till the end. She didn't give up, because she had faith in Alice and knew, that she is strong enough to handle the operation.

"Are you saying, that mom will be okay?" Jughead asked the woman quietly, hoping, that it wasn't just a dream. Not only Jughead was hoping, that it was real, but after all, they heard and went through that day, they didn't trust anyone with anything.

"She went through the operation pretty well. The next 30 hours will be the most important, but taking into consideration your mother's results, everything should be more than fine." Dr. Ross assured, glancing at the boy, who busted into tears of joy after he finally heard positive words.

"But there is something else, I need to tell you." The woman's slight smile faded once she cleared her throat to share the other news with the family. After the rollercoaster they had been through, she didn't want them to freak out, but it was her job to tell them about why Alice is still alive.

"There was an accident on the road from Centerville to Greendale. The drunken man hit the woman, who died before medics showed up. She had a donor card. She was the one who saved both of your parents by giving her heart away for Alice." Dr. Ross started carefully, watching all of the kids and FP while saying every single word.

"Her name was Gladys Jones, your wife. She saved Alice." The woman breathed out with sadness on her face. She knew, that the woman was Jughead's and Jellybean's mom. It hurt her to tell the kids about their biological mother's death, but from the other side, she knew that Alice was more like a mother for them and loved them like her own.

JB and Jughead stayed silent, not knowing what to think anymore. The woman, who gave birth to them passed away. They couldn't even count how many times she let them down or the things she fucked up. Both Jughead and Jellybean hate her for all that she had done, but there was one thing, they knew was worth to thank her for. She saved their mom, the real one.

"Can I see Alice?" FP let out a whisper. Although he knew that he was supposed to rest too and his kids just found out about their biological mother's death, he needed to see her. He needed to see if everything Dr. Ross told was the truth.

"I shouldn't allow you, but I know, you went through a lot." Dr. Ross said and help FP to stand up. He gladly accepted the gesture and they slowly went through the halls leading to the recovery room where Alice was supposed to lie in her bed.

Dr. Ross opened the door and let him into the small room with a window so that the visitors could see their loved ones through the glass. They stopped and she pointed at the bed number 7. He couldn't believe his eyes.

She was there. His beautiful angel. Alice was peacefully sleeping on the bed with her messy curls, just like he always liked. Her half-naked body was covered with the white hospital sheets. The number of screens and medical equipment stuck to her was scaring him, but he knew, that it is helping the doctors to control her heartbeat.

"Thank you, Gladys," FP whispered and couldn't help but just smiled to himself and let the tears of joy fall on his already wet cheeks while his hands were stuck to the glass. He hoped, that everything would be alright soon and what's more important, he started to believe in it.