Steven Hyde wasn't supposed to die until he was elderly and frail.
He wasn't supposed to drunkenly drive his car into a tree and die at the age of 21.
And he especially wasn't supposed to do so just a few short hours after hearing the words "Steven… I'm pregnant."
But that's how his life came to end. One bad decision, a few seconds. The doctor had assured Mrs. Forman that he had to have died on impact, feeling no pain, as if him not feeling any pain would somehow lessen the loss.
Jackie was glad that he hadn't felt any pain, but she wondered if he had noticed that he lost control of the vehicle long enough before the crash that he had any idea of what was about to happen. Did he know he was going to die? Was he too drunk to comprehend it or care? Did he think about her, or the baby growing inside of her?
Their baby.
She wasn't going to tell anyone. She was just five weeks pregnant when Steven died, nowhere even close to being visibly pregnant, so she planned on sticking around for the funeral, despite everyone who knew her and Steven assuming that they still hated each other. And honestly, maybe they did still hate each other a little bit. Or, maybe she still hated him.
"I never hated you, Jacks," he had told her that one night, and part of her had wanted to ask him well then why had he gone and married a stripper, but Steven was kissing her neck, and she decided that she had missed that more than rehashing the same argument they had been fighting for months.
But she loved him, as much and if not more than she hated him.
The wake was at the Formans' house, and Jackie did her best to just stick to the back corner of the living room. She had a part to play, and as much as she wanted to scream and cry and run out, she knew that she couldn't. Because everyone thought that she either hated Steven, or had completely moved on and was indifferent toward him. She couldn't breakdown and solicit sympathy, because she couldn't risk becoming so distraught that she might accidentally tell someone of her "little predicament."
Because after the funeral, she had planned on leaving town and never coming back.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and expected it to be Fez, her now ex-boyfriend, who had been able to put his hurt feelings over her cheating on him with Steven aside to be there for her in the past week. He had told her that he wasn't too heartbroken over losing her because he knew that she was never fully his to begin with. She sat next to him at the funeral service, squeezing his hand the whole way through. He didn't know that she was pregnant, but he was the only one who understood that she was still in love with the friend they were being forced to bury. Or at least, she though he was the only one.
"How are you holding up, loud one?"
"Mr. Forman," she said, jumping a little bit in surprise," I'm doing okay, I guess. I miss him. Steven was… a good friend," she smiled tightly, willing the tears beginning to well up in her eyes to not spill over onto her cheeks.
"For what it's worth, you made him as happy as I've seen him, Jackie. And I know he was a dumbass to you at times, and especially these last couple of months, but you were special to him. And I know that he was special to you."
"Wow, I-I… uh, thank you, Mr. Forman. I really l-loved him," she sniffled, trying to keep herself from completely falling apart. A few tears? Fine. But she had promised herself she wouldn't turn into a sobbing mess. She had a role to play.
"I know, Jackie. As much as I bitched about taking him in, that boy was like a son to me. And I just wanted to thank you for playing such an important role in my son's life."
Jackie could hear a telling thickness in Red's voice, and had to take a deep breath. She knew the Forman's had cared deeply for Steven, but hearing Red refer to him as his son made her already bleeding heart all the more raw.
And then a horrifying thought occurred to her.
I'm moving to California and Red and Kitty will never meet their grandchild, let alone even know that he or she exists.
She almost cracked, almost took Red's hand and led him out of the crowded living room to have a private talk with him, but then she remembered. She had her reasons.
I have to go. Steven's the only one who ever really loved me, here. And they'll blame me once they find out the role I played in Steven's last night.
"Jackie?"
"I- uh, you're welcome, Mr. Forman. It was my pleasure," she assured him, cringing at the sound of her own voice cracking.
Never one to willingly comfort any crying person other than his own wife, Red sensed that it was time to leave before he accidentally drove the tiny brunette to full on tears. He put an arm around her shoulders in a tight half-hug, gave her a good squeeze, and began to walk away.
"Oh, and Jackie?" he called from a few feet away.
"Yes, Mr. Forman?"
"I don't care what my twitchy idiot of a son says, you're always welcome here. If you ever need anything, please let Kitty and I know, okay?"
"I will," she lied, smiling before turning away to try and find Fez.
"Oh sorry," she mumbled, accidentally bumping into another woman.
"Jackie?"
"Brooke?"
"Yeah, it's me. I know we haven't seen each other in a while. How are you doing?"
"I'm alright. I didn't know you were coming."
"He was the godfather of my child," she said quietly.
"I just meant-
"That he and I weren't really close? I know. But I did admire him in a couple of ways. I wouldn't have let Michael name him as Betsy's godfather if I didn't. I do feel a little out of place here, though."
"Me too," Jackie mumbled.
"What? You were his… I take it things didn't end well?"
"Michael didn't tell you that he married a stripper?"
"He did, but you two… I always thought you'd end up together and… Jesus, I'm being so insensitive. I'm so sorry, Jackie. I don't mean to make this any harder for you than it must already be."
"It's okay. It's… hard to know what to say to his ex-girlfriend. I get that," she said diplomatically.
"Well, I am sorry for your loss, Jackie. He was a good guy."
"Yeah," Jackie laughed, with water in her eyes, "He was a good guy. With some jackass tendencies, but don't they all?"
"Yeah, they all kind of do, don't they? Well anyways," Brooke said, lifting her drink, "To Steven."
Jackie just lifted her hand to fist bump Brooke's beer.
"Oh, can I get you something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine. I'm not drinking."
"You're not pregnant, are you?" Brooke asked playfully, her tone of voice letting Jackie know that she was 100% joking.
And Jackie knew that she shouldn't tell Brooke, of all people. They hardly knew each other, despite Jackie being the godmother of Brooke's daughter. But Brooke understood what it was like to be young and accidentally pregnant. After all, wasn't Brooke Jackie's age, just two years out of high school, when she found out she was pregnant with Michael's child?
Red's voice referring to Steven as his son kept ringing in her ears.
Could she really do this, run away and have a baby on her own, and deprive Steven's friends and family of getting to know the child he had left behind.
"Brooke, can we go somewhere private?"
"What- oh my god? Are you… yeah, follow me. Let's go outside."
Brooke took Jackie's hand and led her out the backdoor of the house. The Forman's yard was unsurprisingly full of people coming to share their condolences, but the Pinciotti's back yard was empty. Jackie didn't feel too bad about trespassing, considering she did use to live there.
"Jackie, are you actually pregnant?" she asked quietly. No one was perceivably in ear shot, but she still wanted to be careful, knowing firsthand the sensitivity of an accidental pregnancy.
"Yes," Jackie whispered, staring at the ground.
"How far along are you?"
"About six weeks."
"Okay, you know what my next question for you is going to be."
"It's Steven's."
"Oh my god… how did this… are you sure?"
"I was with Fez at the time, and I cheated on him. And yes, I'm sure it's his baby. I wasn't sleeping with anyone else at the time, not even my boyfriend."
"Did Hyde know?"
"No," she lied, not wanting to get into the last night of her love's life for fear of becoming hysterical.
"Jackie, I am so, so sorry. And anything I can do for you, I'm going to do for you, okay? And I'm not just saying that, I promise."
"Thank you, Brooke," she murmured, still staring at Bob Pinciotti's impressive lawn.
"Can I ask you something that might upset you? I don't mean to offend you, I just want to make sure you know that you have options."
"I thought about abortion," Jackie said, knowing what Brooke was getting at, "and I mean, I really thought about it. I don't think it's murder and I don't judge other women who choose it because god, I get it now. I really do. But I just… can't. This is Steven's only chance to have kids and I can't give up this part of him, either."
"Okay, that's fair. I wasn't trying to convince you to do anything that you didn't want to do, but knowing that I had a choice when I found out I was pregnant with Betsy was really empowering. Does anyone know besides me?"
"Nope."
"Oh, Jackie. You don't have to go through this alone. I bet everyone in that house would be willing to help you."
"I know that."
"Then why…?"
"Because they love Steven. But most of them don't love me, let alone even like me. I don't want to stick around and be barely tolerated for the rest of my life just because they love my child's father?"
"Stick around? Jackie, you're not thinking of leaving town are you?"
"You can't tell anyone."
"Jackie! You can't just leave!"
"You did!"
"Yeah, to be with my mother because she was my support system. And you're going to need your support system, too. Those people love you, even if a handful of them are too stubborn to admit it. They're going to want to help you, and not just your kid."
"You don't know that. You don't know them like I did, Brooke. I spent most of my years in that basement either barely tolerated as Michael's accessory, or slightly more tolerated as Steven's girlfriend. And Fez only liked having me around because he's been trying to get into my pants this whole time. And Mr. and Mrs. Forman just felt bad for me because I was an orphan for a little while."
"Jackie, those people care about you. Maybe they don't show it very openly, but Michael asked me to check on you today and now I'm very glad that I did. And Eric asked me to keep an eye on how much you had to drink, which turned out to be unnecessary considering you're pregnant, but it was a very sweet gesture!"
"Okay, maybe Michael still cares a little bit but I was his first girlfriend so it's probably out of guilt. And Eric just didn't want me getting drunk and making a scene."
"Jackie, these people love you. You can't just leave!"
"Leave? Oh no, Ms. Burkheart, you are not leaving me. Where do you think you're going, young lady?"
"I'll leave you two to talk," Brooke said meaningful, sending her best you better fucking tell her dagger eyes at Jackie.
"Mrs. Forman, I was just talking about leaving the wake. I'm tired, it's been a long day and-
"Oh, don't even try. Brooke wouldn't have been that upset if you were just going home for the day. God, you kids are always trying to leave. What are you planning on, going off to Africa like Eric did? Well, you can't! Everything's changing and we've lost Steven and you are not going anywhere! I just came back here to try and find Bob and I run into you apparently about to make a break for it. Sit your ass down and start talking, young lady!"
"Mrs. Forman," Jackie started, her voice shaking, "Mr. Forman told me that if I ever needed anything that I could come to you two. And right now, I really, really need your help."
Kitty quickly sat down next to the now crying young woman and put an arm around her, her anger quickly dissipating.
"What is it, Jackie? What's wrong? You can tell me."
"You know how Fez and I broke up a few weeks ago?"
"Yes, and thank God for that. I mean, I'm sorry, that must have been difficult for the both of you."
"Do you know why we broke up?"
"He didn't want to take you to the mall one day?"
"No, no Mrs. Forman, we broke up because… I cheated on him. With Steven."
"Were you and Steven back together?" Kitty asked quietly, reaching out to hold Jackie's hand.
"No, but umm… Mrs. Forman I need to tell you something, and I really need you to please try and not get mad at me."
"You can tell me anything, Jackie. It's okay."
"I-I'm pregnant. It's Steven's baby. I'm sure."
"You mean… you're…. are you sure that you're pregnant? Absolutely sure?"
"Yes, I went to the doctor's. I'm pregnant."
"How far along are you?"
"Six weeks."
Kitty was silent for a long moment, and Jackie felt like she couldn't breathe. What if she was angry that she hadn't told her away? Or angry that she had been planning on leaving town without telling her that Steven Hyde was going to be survived by a child?
"Jackie, I want you to move in with us."
"What? You don't have to-
"We are going to take care of you. We are going to do everything that we can for you and this baby, okay? Steven was family, and so are you. I don't care about all the bullshit that happened between you two this past year, you are family. And I want you to stay with us."
"Mrs. Forman, I can't possibly-
"Your mom isn't going to be of any help, your dad is in jail, and Steven… well, he's not here to help you anymore."
"I-I can do this on my own."
"But you don't have to. And as a member of your family I am not going to let you. Do you understand me, young lady?"
"Mrs. Forman, you can't just order me to live with you. And what about Mr. Forman? He's not going to want to take another person in. And what about Eric? He's back now, and he hates me."
"First of all, Eric doesn't hate you. Second of all, Red isn't going to want the mother of his grandchild off on her own in whatever town she was planning on running away to. And third of all, it's either you stay with us and have our support until you can afford to live on your own with your baby, you stay living in your ex-boyfriend's apartment and raise the child that was conceived by you cheating on him together, or you could go on and leave town and be pregnant and struggling without anyone to lend you a hand. Now Jackie, I know you have your pride, but isn't one of those options clearly better than the others?"
"I need to think it over," Jackie sighs, knowing that the older woman has a point, but not wanting to rush into living with the Forman's until she gave it some more thought.
"Fair enough. But if I find out that you left town before you and I have another chance to chat, there will be hell to pay, young lady!"
"I won't leave without talking to you, I promise," she said sincerely.
"Good, now come back into the house with me. You probably haven't eaten much today and there will be no pregnant women starving on my watch!"
"Okay, but no mentioning that I'm pregnant to anyone, alright?"
"What about Red?"
"Fine," she conceded, knowing that Kitty is going to tell her husband no matter what, so she might as well give her blessing on it.
"And if, I mean when you start living with us, and you're not ready to tell Eric yet we'll just tell him that Fez was always hogging all the hot water at your apartment or something."
"Yep, I'm sure he'll buy that," she rolled her eyes.
"It's… It's lonely around here without… he'll be happy to have a friend living here."
Yeah, because Eric totally considers me a friend, she thought bitterly, but she knew Kitty's heart had already been torn to shreds as she had essentially lost a child last week, so she wasn't about to give the woman anything else to worry about.
Besides, her and Eric could find a way to coexist peacefully… right?