Falling For Mr. Jones

33

    "Bee, bee are you okay?!" Veronica exclaims, running into the hospital room.
    Betty sobs, shaking her head. "How am I supposed to te-tell Juggie?"
    "Tell him what?"
    "I lost the baby. What's wrong with me?" Betty sobs harder and Veronica throws herself into the bed, hugging her.
    Sweetpeas expression softens and Jonah begins to cry. "How did..."
    Betty shrugs, "stress, they think."
    "So you're okay? Physically?" Sweetpea asks.
    Betty nods, "can I...hold him? Please."
    Veronica nods and Sweetpea passes Jonah to Betty. Betty sniffles, smiling down at the baby.
    "Jug and I can leave now, I just have to wait for him to get here. How am I going to tell him?" Betty breaks down, passing Jonah back to Sweetpea.
    "It'll be okay."
    "He was so excited. It took so long. Why can't I have a baby?"
    "Bee, it will be okay."
    "It won't. Everyone says it will, but it won't. Some object didn't kill my baby, my body did. I killed my baby."
    "No you didn't," Veronica feels tears streaking her face.
    "Hey guys, what's...what happened?" Jughead asks, walking in.
    Betty wipes her eyes, "nothing. I was just worried about you."
    "Bee..."
    "Betts, what's going on?" Jughead asks.
    "Ronnie, we should go," Sweetpea says.
    Veronica waves him off, hugging Betty.
    "Jug, I'm a horrible mother."
    "What? No, you're not! What happened."
    Betty let's out an incomprehensible sentence and hides her face in Veronica's chest.
    "She lost the baby due to stress."
    "Betty," he breathes, hugging her, "that was not your fault."
    "Why can't I do it?" She sobs harder and Jughead pulls her into his chest.
    "You can. You can do it."
    Betty shakes her head. "I can't. I can't do it anymore. I can't go through this again."
    "It's okay, baby. It's okay."
    "I'm sorry, I want to give you a baby, I do. I just can't."
    "Betts, it's okay."
    "I'm sorry." She repeats.
    "Love, it's okay. I promise, this isn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."
    "I'm such a failure."
    "You're not," they all say.
    Sweetpea sits on the bed and puts a hand on Betty's leg. He looks at Veronica who bows her head.
    "Before Jonah...Ronnie had three miscarriages. We knew it was a possibility before we started trying so we didn't tell anybody. That's why we didn't tell anyone about Jonah for a long time after we found out that she was pregnant. Ronnie was having a really hard time, but she did it and I know you can too."
    "Vee, three?"
    Veronica nods, rubbing Bettys back.
    "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."
    "It's okay, Bee. Really, I'm not over it, but I've learned to live with the fact that Jonah will probably be my only child. It depends on the people. You went through something really traumatic and your body...reacted. You've made a baby, I believe in you. Pea believes in you, Nick believes in you, Archie, Toni, Cheryl, we all believe in you. Now you have to believe in you."
    Betty nods, "I ruined everything," Betty whispers.
    "You didn't. You didn't, alright. Betts, you can have a baby. We both know that. There was nothing you could have done."
    "If I didn't make you take me home we never would have gotten in that accident. That woman wouldn't have been on the road at the same time as us and-"
    "Don't think like that. I was the one who said I would bring you home. That was not your fault either."
    Betty nods and rests her head on Jughead's shoulder, "this sucks."
    Jughead kissing the top of her head, "I know, love. I know."