It was now Saturday, two days before the first day of school, Callie was sitting in the hotel talking to Toni, and Sweet Pea was in the bathroom trying to do Lottie's hair as Grady was brushing his teeth. 

"So, I had some of my guys look into a few options for school," Toni began. "But the only way for Grady to attend a school here is if he were taken off the roster at whatever school you have him enrolled in at Little Rhody, we don't want both states getting involved for Grady missing so much school."

"So, that means I will have to move back to Riverdale," Callie started slowly, Sweet Pea poked his head out of the bathroom, staring at the table. 

"Only for a few months," Toni said as grabbed Callie's hand. "I know of a few empty apartments in the same building as, Kev, Fangs, and I, there is even right across the hall from us."

"I can move back," Callie assured. "I just need to call Evita and let her know, then we can work on selling the home back in Rhode Island."

"Who knows maybe by the end you'll be staying here in Riverdale," Toni hoped as she put a hand on her belly.

"My dad would have wanted that," Callie smiled lightly. "What will I be teaching again?"

"Government," Toni answered. 

"I may have to already leave school for a bit," Callie said. "I was going to use the weekend to go back to Rhode Island and grab a few things."

"I can get them," Sweet Pea offered.

"No, it's alright," Callie said as they looked over at him. "You don't even know where I live, and I don't want to freak one of the vixens out from a strange man walking into the place." Lottie stepped out, she seemed annoyed, one pigtail was on top of her head, while the other pigtail was at the bottom of her head. "Lottie."

"Mommy," Lottie said looking up at her. "Fix it."

*****

With some help from the others, they were able to swiftly move Callie and the kids into an apartment, right across the hall from Toni, Kev, and Fangs. It was now the night before the first day of school. Callie was at the table getting things together last minute, the kids were asleep.

"Are you sure you will be fine here by yourself?" Sweet Pea stated, he insisted on staying with them, but it didn't change the fact he was on the couch. 

"I will be fine," Callie assured. "You have work."

"And what about the kids?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Until Grady is able to be enrolled fully, he and Lottie will be with Ms. Smith," Callie answered. "Or even Cheryl."

"Cheryl?" Sweet Pea repeated.

"Yes," Callie nodded. 

"She hasn't been seen in town for years," Sweet Pea argued.

"Sweet Pea," Callie huffed looking at him. "You haven't been around for 7 years, you don't get to just appear and start making the shots."

"I didn't know about Grady till now," Sweet Pea argued.

"That's not the point," Callie argued. "Once Grady starts liking then you can make big calls on this matter, but for now it's a no."

"Is it that Grady doesn't like me or you don't trust me with those two and the decisions I will make for those two?" Sweet Pea asked. Callie glared at him. "So, you don't trust me, is that it?"

"I trust you," Callie said softly.

"Then why won't you let me have a say on who watches Grady and Lottie? Why can't I go to your house in Rhode Island?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Pea, we are no longer at the stage with each other like we were in the past," Callie said. "If you want that trust, then you have to earn it." She got up. "I am going to bed, I have school in the morning." She stormed into the bedroom, closing the door angrily. 

*****

The first day came; Callie, Archie, and Betty walked out of the office with their classrooms. They looked at each other before making their way to the designated rooms. Callie now stood in a room full of students.

"This semester I will be teaching the workings of government," Callie said as she looked at the students, they all stared back at her.

"Ms. Watson?" a girl asked raising her hand. "Is it true you are part of a gang?"

"Yes," Callie nodded. "And on top of that, Monday-Thursday we will cover material, and on Fridays, we will convene and create our own government in this very classroom." All the students looked at each other with some excitement. "This week we will discuss the different types of government so by Friday we will be able to put it together for ourselves."

"Who's the president?" a kid asked.

"We can have a class vote on that," Callie said. "So, I want every single one of you to put your best effort into the class, we can make it fun and educational."

*****

After school ended, Callie went up to Thornhill, she wanted to talk to Cheryl one on one before heading to get her kids. Cheryl insisted on painting, so Callie now sat on a stool. 

"It's been a while since the walls of Thornhill have seen you," Cheryl said as she stood by a window painting.

"A bit too long," Callie nodded. "That is on me."

"What exactly are you here for Callie?" Cheryl asked.

"I came to apologize, I should have come back to Riverdale way sooner," Callie said. "You needed me, and I was nowhere."

"Seems we both can do some apologizing," Cheryl sighed. "You needed me as well, and I didn't dare to leave Thornhill."

"Which is probably why you didn't come to my wedding," Callie said.

"Along with the fact you didn't love the man," Cheryl said. "Why would I show up to my best friend's loveless marriage?"

"You have a point," Callie nodded. "I came for another thing."

"More money for the school?" Cheryl asked; she rolled her eyes. "I already gave my share."

"No," Callie laughed. "It's about Grady." Cheryl looked at her. "I wanted to ask in person, but if I know we wouldn't physically see each other for 7 years..."

"What is it?" Cheryl asked.

"Grady has a godfather, but he doesn't have a godmother," Callie said. "Would you--"

"I will only give Grady the Blossom curse by being his godmother," Cheryl said softly. "I can't--"

"Then would you do it on a vow we made to each other in our freshmen year of high school?" Callie asked. "Before you believed you were cursed? There's nobody I would want more to be Grady's godmother than you.."

"What is his full name?" Cheryl asked. "Lottie's as well."

"It's Grady Frederick Andrews," Callie answered.

"Frederick after your father obvi," Cheryl said as she went back to painting. "As for Lottie?"

"Charlotte Cheryl Watson," Callie answered. Chery looked at Callie with a smile.

"If you can keep your vow from the sixth grade of naming a kid after me, then I can keep the vow of being a godmother," Cheryl gave in. "Mine-Me...You had Minie-Me's."

"My Mini-me's are already getting along with Dagwood and Juniper," Callie said.

"As they should," Cheryl said. They went on talking for a few more hours as Cheryl painted her, it took to nightfall after Callie went to the Smiths.

"Sorry I'm late," Callie said as she walked through the door.

"Mama!" Grady chimed running up to her; tackling her in a hug.

"Mommy!" Lottie chimed running up to her as well. Callie smiled and kissed the top of their heads as she embraced them in a hug.

"They weren't too much trouble, were they?" Callie asked as she looked up at Alice walking in.

"Not at all," Alice answered. "And you were?"

"Talking to Cheryl," Callie answered. "It was supposed to be a quick visit, but she insisted on painting me, so we did a lot of catching up." 

"Well, it gave us the chance to be more friendly with each other," Alice said. "I'm happy to see that Juniper and Dagwood have kids closer to their age to play with."

"Any word on Polly?" Callie asked.

"No," Alice denied. "But she'll come back, she always does."

"Toni has her serpents and I have my vixens, they are keeping an eye out for her as well," Callie informed.

*****

The next day at work, Callie was teaching her class, when her phone started to ring, it was from Evita.

"I seemed to have forgotten to turn that off," Callie said as she looked at the class. "All right, everyone takes a five-minute break, play on your phones...do whatever, as I take this call."

"Awesome," a kid smiled as they all looked at each other, Callie walked over to the window to answer her phone.

"Evita," Callie greeted. "I am in the middle of teaching."

"And some strange man is in your house," Evita said. "I was in between meetings, and forgot something, so I swung by to grab it, from my car I can see some weirdo."

"Describe him," Callie instructed. 

"Tall, tattoo on his neck, serpent jacket, he has a truck right outside the house I think," Evita explained, Callie sighed. "What?"

"You are looking at Sweet Pea," Callie groaned.

"Sweet Pea!?" Evita exclaimed, Callie, pulled the phone away from her ear. "As in the man, you cried numerous nights over! Your ex! Serpent ex! Gang man! Grady's dad!"

"That's the one," Callie huffed. There was silence. "Evie?"

"Grady's dad is pretty cute," Evita commented. "Not my type, but cute."

"I know," Callie said.

"He's coming out with boxes," Evita said. "Gotta go." Callie put her phone away, she then looked at the class, they seemed to slightly pay attention.

"Back to the lesson," Callie said as she walked back over to the board. A bit later, Callie was standing in the teacher's lounge, she was meeting Chadwick with the others. 

"As you can imagine, my wife tells this guy exactly where he can stick his designer loafers," Chadwick said, he had his arm wrapped around Veronica. They all laughed. 

"Archie," Veronica greeted, they all looked over at him. Kevin and Callie glanced at each other before looking back at Archie. "This is my husband Chadwick, he surprised me with a visit..."

"And some delicious cupcakes," Kevin said,

"Which he is allowing me to take two home for the kids," Callie added. 

"So you're the famous Archie," Chad stated. 

"Nice to meet you," Archie said as the two shook hands. 

"Well," Toni began, breaking the silence. "We've survived two days of the school year. How about we celebrate tonight? It's karaoke Tuesday at the Whyte Wyrm."

"Obviously, I'll be defying gravity," Kevin said. 

"As long as I can get a vodka tonic, I will be watching," Betty said.

"Cal, you are more than welcome to bring Grady and Lottie," Toni insisted.

"How can I say no," Callie said.

"I don't know if we--" Veronica began.

"That sounds good," Chad agreed. 

"What?" Veronica asked in surprise. "You hate karaoke."

"What's the expression, uh, when in Rome, embarrass yourself in front of a group of total strangers?" Chad asked. Everyone, but Archie laughed lightly, and soon they all left the lounge. 

*****
That night, Callie was at the Smith's house, she was sitting by a laptop with Kevin and Betty as Lottie and Grady played in the living room. 

"According to my mom, Polly doesn't have a laptop, but I asked the twins..." Betty began, and Kevin sighed. "And they said, sometimes she uses theirs. So Polly doesn't have a Nedslist account. But Patty does."

"Oh, my God," Kevin breathed. "Check sent messages."

"Who was the last person she contacted?" Callie asked.

"Someone named TruckerBoy69," Betty answered. "And apparently, they arranged to meet up the night she disappeared. Okay, so, either he knows something, or he did something."

"Send him a message asking to get together again," Callie advised. Betty typed the message.

"Okay, sent," Betty stated. "Okay. Now we just wait, I guess."

"Can we karaoke while we wait?" Kevin requested. They all nodded at each other. Soon, they were all at the bar, Callie sat at a table with Fangs, Betty, Kevin, Archie, Veronica, Chad, and her kids.

"Cheers!" they all said clinking their glasses. Archie clinked his beer glass with Lottie's apple juice-filled cup. 

"All right, all right!" Toni greeted; after the act. "We've got a special treat for you guys. She used to own this place back in the day. So let's give an extra loud Whyte Wyrm welcome to Veronica Lodge!"

"She probably forgot it's Gekko now," Veronica said to Chad as people cheered. 

"All good," Chad said. "Knock 'em, dead baby." He kissed her hand.

"Thanks," Veronica said, she went up to the stage; Callie turned the chair so she could face the stage; Lottie and Grady both leaned on her as they watched Veronica perform. A guitar was playing softly.

"Tell me something, boy" Veronica sang, a chair pulled up next to Callie. "Aren't you tired, Trying to fill that void." Callie looked over to see Sweet Pea sitting next to her. "Or do you need more?" Callie looked back at the stage. "Is there something else, You're searching for?"

"Tell me something, girl," Chad sang from the table, the lights on stage went from blue to red. People cheered as he got up, he started to make his way to Veronica as Sweet Pea looked at Callie. "Are you happy, in this modern world? Or do you need more? Ain't it hard, keeping it so hardcore?" Sweet Pea looked back at the performers. 

"I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in," Veronica sang. "I'll never leave the ground. Crash through the surface. Where they can't hurt us. We're far from the shallow now."

"In the sha-sha, shallow," Chad and Veronica sang, Chad put his arm around Veronica, and she leaned back into him. "In the sha-sha Sha-la-la-la-low. In the sha-ha, shallow. We're far from the shallow now."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh," Veronica sang, Chad encourages everyone to cheer as Veronica carried on. "Whoah."

"In the sha-ha, shallow," Veronica and Chad sang. "In the sha-ha. Sha-la-la-la-low. In the sha-ha, shallow. We're far from the shallow now." Chad put a hand on Veronica's back, he leaned down kissing her; Veronica put her arms around her, deepening the kiss. Everyone cheered and applauded the two. Kevin wiped away his tears, Fangs comforted him.

****

After the performance, Callie came home; immediately put two sleeping kids to bed, shortly after she closed their doors, she turned to see Sweet Pea sitting on the couch.

"You went to my house," Callie said as she crossed her arms. "How did you even figure out where I lived?"

"I used the address of the last letter you sent me," Sweet Pea answered as he kept his head forward.

"Why were you there?" Callie demanded. "Evita was freaking out."

"Evita hit me," Sweet Pea said looking at her angrily. "She yelled at me in Spanish, Portuguese, and English."

"Good," Callie huffed.

"Good?" Sweet Pea asked standing up.

"Evita has been wanting to hit you for a long time," Callie said. "She knows all about you."

"And you allowed a serpent to get hit by her?" Sweet Pea asked. "Aren't Vixens supposed to protect Serpents, it's in your law."

"No, I allowed Evita to hit Grady's father," Callie corrected. "FP said it was fine and understandable." Sweet Pea sighed as he sat back down. "How did you even get in?"

"Your keys," Sweet Pea answered as he gestured to the table, Callie looked over to see keys sitting there. "I used that trick you and Cheryl used to lock Ms. Appleyard in the Vixen's office all those years ago." Callie sighed. "I wanted to grab a few things, you said that Lottie likes to have a nightlight as she sleeps." Callie walked over to the couch. "You stay in a mobile home? What bout--"

"Grand houses aren't really my style," Callie said as she sat next to him. "You know that."

"I like how you decorated," Sweet Pea complimented softly. "You married a guy like Wilbur? He's not even that cute."

"Sweet Pea," Callie breathed as she looked at him.

"All I am saying is that you could have done way better, all of Riverdale knows that," Sweet Pea said. "You said he was part of a gang."

"Badger Gang," Callie stated. "Their rivals are the Rubber Duck gang."

"That's a dumb gang name," Sweet Pea said.

"Wilbur had the same thing to say about the serpents," Callie said. "You two definitely wouldn't have gotten along." Sweet Pea laughed. 

"Cal," Sweet Pea breathed. "Why don't you trust me with the kids?"

"Scared," Callie admitted. "I know that seems stupid..."

"But why?" Sweet Pea asked. "Does it have to do with why you don't wear the serpent ring anymore?" She looked at him. "We all noticed."

"Wilbur didn't necessarily really take a liking to Grady," Callie said softly as she looked forward. "He was a manipulative bastard that's for sure. He wanted me to get rid of the ring, saying I don't need it anymore. That wasn't the first time Wilbur tried to get me to send Grady away...out of men, I normally only trust FP and Jughead alone with Grady and Lottie."

"What?" Sweet Pea asked furrowing his eyebrows. "He was going to take Grady away?" 

"It was right after the second time Grady got expelled from a preschool," Callie said. "He wanted to send Grady away to his parents, but I wouldn't allow it."

"So you took off the ring?" Sweet Pea asked in confusion.

"If I didn't take it off, Wilbur threatened to give Grady to go child services and tell them I wasn't fit to be a mother," Callie answered. "It was the ring or Grady."

"Cal," Sweet Pea breathed.

"Wilbur was kind of like Chad, possessive," Callie said. "But he's not the brightest, and didn't think to check under my shirt." Callie pulled out a necklace, and on the end was the serpent ring.

"If Wilbur was alive, I would kick his ass," Sweet Pea said as he looked over at the necklace. "Have you ever taken it off before that?"

"Yeah," Callie smiled. "Being pregnant with Grady kind of made my fingers puff up a couple of times, and then at the restaurant, they made a request of no rings if working in the kitchen." Sweet Pea moved his hand over to Callie's hand, she moved it away and stood up. "I should get to bed, the school in the morning."

*****

The next day at school, Callie was allowing Archie to speak to her class.

"Everyone to this is Sergeant Archie Andrews as you all know," Callie said. "He is also my brother, he is here to speak to you about football."

"A few bruisers, no experience required," Archie said. "Who would like to be a Football Bulldog for Riverdale?" A few kids raised their hands. "Great." Archie was smiling. A bit later, Callie was in the teacher's lounge with Kevin and Betty.

"Truckerboy69 responded," Betty reported. "He said, So good to hear from you, Patty. I was afraid you were still mad at me, how's tonight?"

"Mad about what?" Kevin asked. 

"That's exactly what I am going to find out when us three go stakeout the truck stop, he suggested right off exit 42," Betty answered. 

"Hey," Jughead greeted walking into the room.

"Hey," they all greeted him. 

"Cal, can I borrow you tonight?" Jughead asked.

"She's busy with us," Betty answered.

"Please," Jughead requested. "You can have her another night."

"Fine," Kevin gave in. 

"I need to find a babysitter first," Callie said. "This is so sudden-"

"Just have Sweet Pea watch them," Kevin suggested, Callie looked at him with some annoyance. "Just give him a chance, this will also keep him from giving me a headache. "

"Fine," Callie sighed. 

****
That night, Callie stood at the front door of the apartment.

"Are you sure you will be okay?" Callie asked.

"I have it covered," Sweet Pea assured. "Kids in bed no later than 8."

"If there is any trouble you can call," Callie said. "And--"

"Stop worrying, you can trust me," Sweet Pea said. "Fangs and Toni are right across the hall if I need help. You go help, Jones." Sweet Pea leaned down.

"Right," Callie breathed backing up. "See you later." Sweet Pea sighed as he watched her walk away, he then looked back to see Grady drawing on the wall with a marker and Lottie coloring at the table.

*****
Callie was now walking through a dark part of the forest with Jughead.

"What are we doing out here again?" Callie asked.

"Interviewing my next person for my book," Jughead answered. "We are about to learn about the moth man." Jughead then shined a light on a strange structure of a moth with red glowing eyes.

"Well, that's creepy," Callie commented. There was another one closer to the house. They heard cluttering, they looked over to see a man.

"Hi, there," Jughead greeted. "I'm Jughead Jones and this is Callie Watson. I work at Pops with Tabitha Tate. She told me that you'd be willing to tell me the story about the, uh, Mothmen." The man was named Dreyfuss, he sat them down on his front porch, he handed them a small book, inside were multiple drawings of Mothmen. 

"About thirty, forty years ago, me and some buddies got hired to dig out a collapsed mine not far off the Lonely Highway," the man explained. "One night, we went to bed. The next morning when we woke up, one of the guys, Ramos was missing."

"None of you heard him get up?" Callie asked.

"No, and we worked the whole day, but Ramos never showed up," Dreyfuss explained. "Until the next morning. When Ramos was back, but Raymond was missing. Ramos told us that some Mothmen had taken him up in their ship, and now they had Raymond."

"Are Mothmen supposed to be some sort of pirate group?" Callie asked.

"What pirate travels on land?" Jughead asked looking at her. "Did you believe Ramos, about the ship?"

"Not at first," Dreyfuss answered. "But the next morning, Raymond was back. But Arnold was missing. And sure enough, Raymond said the Mothmen had taken him up in their ship."

"Now when you say Mothmen, are you talking...pirates?" Callie asked.  

"Aliens," Dreyfuss corrected. "Angels, Mothmen, call 'em whatever you like. They live in the woods and the caves off the Lonely Highway." Jughead took off his glasses.

"Mr. Dreyfuss, we've lived in Riverdale almost our whole lives. Why have we never heard of the Mothmen before?" Jughead asked. 

"There were some articles back in the day," Dreyfuss answered. "Ask around. Some people will remember."

"Well, aren't you worried that they're gonna come back for you, living out here all by yourself?" Jughead asked.

"I'm not afraid," Dreyfuss denied. "I'm hopin'. I'm hopin' they come back for me. I want to go up on their ship like the others. Jughead continued with his interview as Callie looked through the drawings. That night, Callie came home to find Sweet Pea with pigs' tails and glitter in his hair.

"Have any trouble?" Callie asked as she closed the door.  "Are they asleep?"

"And close to impossible to get to sleep," Sweet Pea stated as he looked at her. "Lottie had me read her four-bed time stories, and Grady wouldn't stop jumping up and down on the bed, saying pirates don't need sleep." Callie smiled. "Don't you enjoy this!" Callie laughed. "Callie Watson!"

"Well, I gotta make a few calls," Callie said. "Gotta ask the Vixens around here if they know anything about Mothmen."

"Mothmen," Sweet Pea repeated, Callie nodded. 

****

The next day at school, Callie was in the hallway when Toni came walking down with the Vixens, and everyone made a commotion about it. 

"Toni, since when are the Vixens back?" Archie asked.

"Since I made it a priority in the budget last year," Toni answered. 

"There's isn't even a sports thing for them to cheer for," Archie brought up. 

"Ugh, get over yourself Archie," Toni stated. "The Vixens are a sports team and this year we're gonna be competing against other cheer squads."

"Nice," Callie complimented. "Something even me and Cheryl didn't manage to do."

"Happy to have the support of a former vixen," Toni smiled at her before she walked past, Callie went the opposite way to get to her classroom. 

"Jughead," Callie greeted walking up to him. "He is everything my Vixens found out about all those taken up in the ship." She held out a slip of paper.

"Thank you," Jughead answered. "Anything strange?"

"All dead," Callie answered. "All from cancer."

"Fascinating," Jughead stated.

*****

That night Callie sat at the table checking papers; Grady and Lottie were both passed out on the couch. 

"Hey," Sweet Pea greeted walking in. 

"Hey," Callie greeted back. 

"You seem to have adapted really quick being back in this horror town," Sweet Pea said.

"It's not hard to readapt to your old town," Callie stated. "Besides, when it was just me and Grady, there was a lot of moving around, a lot of quick adapting. You are pretty quick at adapting as well."

"What do you mean?" Sweet Pea asked.

"You found out you were a dad, like a week ago?" Callie pointed out. "You have stepped up more than Wilbur ever did...Thank you." Sweet Pea approached her; Callie then stood up. "I should go put the two roosters in their bed."

"Right," Sweet Pea nodded. "Can I watch the kids the whole day tomorrow? I got the day off." Callie looked back at him. "You have every right to not trust me, but--"

"Alright," Callie agreed. "You did well watching them the other night, I should trust you more with them."

*****

The next day after school, Callie stood around the Smith's table looking at a map.

"I heard from my friend Todd at the FBI," Betty revealed. "He traced the call to somewhere in this region."

"Swedlow Swamp?" Alice asked. "I don't understand. What was Polly doing there? And how on earth are we going to find her? That's acres and acres of marshland."

"We'll just have to keep calling her cellphone until we hear it," Betty answered. 

"Assuming it's still charged," Kevin hoped. They went over to the Swedlow Swamp, they spent hours looking for Polly, it was now nightfall.

"We've been out here for hours," Kevin said. "We're freezing. Maybe we should pick it up--"

"Shh," Alice ordered as Callie put a hand over Kevin's mouth, they heard a phone ringing. "I hear something."

"Let's split up," Callie suggested. They started to go separate ways, shining their flashlights everywhere. 

"Guys, guys, over here!" Kevin urged running over to a spot. They ran over to a spot, Alice started digging, and they all started to help.

*****

Back over at the Andrews' house, Sweet Pea was in Archie's room with Archie, Grady, and Lottie. They were playing pirate princess again while Archie tried to come up with a game plan for the Bulldogs. They were working out some of Archie's strategies. 

"And that's a touchdown for Lottie!" Archie cheered as he spun her around in the air, Lottie laughed as she held on to a toy football. 

"Another point for the princesses," Sweet Pea stated. 

"What's the next one, Uncle?" Grady asked jumping up and down the bed. "Can the pirates score?"

"The pirates?" Archie asked. "You are on the opposing team."

"Mama says you have to be prepared for wins and loses," Grady answered. "Loses help strategize on how to find the treasure better."

"Mama has a point," Sweet Pea agreed.

"You are trying a bit too hard, Sweet Pea," Archie stated as he placed Lottie on the bed, tickling her. 

"Archie, there's a fire!" Jughead shouted from downstairs. They all stopped what they were doing. Archie grabbed Lottie as Sweet Pea grabbed Grady. They made their way down the stairs, there was a fire blazing at the front door. Archie opened the door, the fire was on the door. He shielded Lottie, quickly closing the door. "It's on the back porch too." They looked to see Jughead in the kitchen past his head, they could see the orange glows of fire. Sweet Pea and Archie held the kids close to them, they looked at each other, and then at Jughead. Lottie started to make sounds, signaling she was scared.

"It's going to be alright, don't panic," Archie assured. "We let anything bad happen to you or your big brother." Grady dug his face into Sweet Pea's shirt.