AN: Just a short chapter tonight. Warning, it's pretty dark. Shocker, I know. Once again, I don't own anything. Please review! I've been getting some wonderful feedback, so I am going to continue this story. Let me know what you think!

"Dad?" Jughead weakly called out. He scanned the room upon seeing the little plastic chair next to his bed that his father normally occupied was vacant. There wasn't a trace of sunlight streaming in from the window to his right, only rain softly thudding against it. Every so often, a strike of lightning would illuminate the night sky with rolling thunder following closely. The teen picked nervously at his blanket, his eyes trained on the door directly across from him. It didn't take long for his mind to wander into dangerous territory. He pictured Penny waltzing in with a murderous smile, intent on finishing what she had started. Tremors started to wrack his thin frame, slightly aggravating his injuries. Jug clenched his teeth against the pain, not taking his eyes off of the door for a single second.

"Is anyone there?" He tried a little louder, cursing himself for jumping at his own voice, but he was met with no response. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. Desperate for this torture of waiting to be over with, Jughead swung his legs off the bed, his aching body screaming at him to stop. He pushed the sensation to the back of his mind, focusing only on getting the hell out of this hospital where he was nothing more than a sitting duck. He leaned heavily on his IV pole, using it as a crutch for his broken leg. Pure adrenaline coursing through his veins, the teen took a few shaky steps before the door creaked open slowly. Jug scrambled backward, falling heavily on the linoleum floor. A stream of broken pleas fell from his lips as he cowered from the dark figure entering his room. A bolt of lightning revealed a flash of blonde hair, and Jughead's quiet pleading turned into terrified screams for help. His back hit the wall, and he curled in on himself as best as his broken body would allow.

"What the hell is going on?" F.P. demanded as he ran into the room, the door smacking against the wall loudly. He flicked on the lights to reveal a stunned Betty Cooper, her gaze transfixed on her boyfriend, who was absolutely petrified. Jughead was in a full blown panic attack at this point, convinced that it was Penny here to kill him. F.P. swept past Betty, kneeling beside his kid carefully. He tried to pry Jug's arms from his face, softly reassuring him that everything was fine and nobody was going to hurt him. Betty stood frozen as F.P. and a few nurses tried to get Jughead back under control, who was weakly batting their hands away and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hey, son. Look at me, Jug. You're okay, just look at me." The words fell on deaf ears, and it was clear to everyone that Jughead was not calming down anytime soon.

"She's gonna kill me." Jughead kept repeating, his dark eyes wild. Dr. Masters stormed into the room, a syringe in hand. He plunged it in Jug's left shoulder without a second thought, earning a yelp from the boy, and stepping back to watch the drugs take their desired effect. The teen's wide, frantic eyes grew heavy and his body went limp. His eyes found Betty's, and there was a spark of recognition under fluttering lashes just before he slipped into a deep sleep.

"That should do it." The physician mumbled to nobody in particular, disposing of the needle in a bio-hazard container, and striding out of the room just as quickly as he came. The three nurses, with the help of F.P., situated Jughead back in bed. They lingered, checking his vitals and his IV site before they reluctantly exited the small hospital room. Betty was tucked away in a corner of the room, arms wrapped around herself and tears cascading down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, her watery gaze never leaving Jug's face. Before F.P. could respond, the blonde had slipped out of the door and disappeared down the hall. The man groaned, his head falling into his hands. He wished that this could just be over already. He wished his son could go back to the fearless, confident, smart ass young man that he was a week ago. But most of all, he wished Penny Peabody dead.