Hi everyone! Thanks for sending in the reviews. Just a few things before you keep reading :)

First of all many of you seem very nervous about the prologue and what happens between Eric and Jackie. All I'm going to say is that I am a DIE HARD Jackie and Hyde fan and I'm so angry that they didn't end up together when the show ended. Just know that my ultimate goal is for them to be together so you really shouldn't worry to much. Just remember things aren't always what they seem. ;)

Also for the basis of the story, Eric never came home for New Years and Jackie and Fez never got together like in the finale. It's been a full year since Eric left for Africa so it's like April 1980 at this point. Obviously Sam and Hyde are still together (Yes I absolutely hate Sam and wish she had never been introduced but whatever she won't be in the story all that much). I love the characters of That 70s Show but I often felt like most of them never really talked about how they really felt about things, especially in Season 8. I thought with all the changes they were all to accepting of how their group had been torn apart and so the last chapter was a taste of how I think they all would have felt about the way things had happened.

With that being said...I'm glad to see that some of you are interested and hope that you continue to read and send in reviews! Hope you like the next chapter! Thanks again!


The next morning, Jackie woke up and quickly got ready for another long day at work. She was working at the local news station as a hair and make up artist hoping to make friends with the right people to be able to get on the show herself. Currently, she hated her position but she knew she had to make money to keep her apartment, which happened to be the only thing she had in her life.

As she ate breakfast, she thought back to her conversation with Eric. They planned that she would pick him up at the airport and drive him to the Forman's house. She was going to knock on the door and distract them all while Eric snuck on the back door and down into the basement. Then she was supposed to tell Donna she wanted to talk to her alone in the basement and direct her downstairs to where Eric would be waiting for her.

Eric could not have been more excited about the plan, Jackie on the other hand felt sick to her stomach about it. For one thing, she hadn't seen any of her old friends really in months. How was she supposed to just show up at the Forman's after all this time and expect them to even want to see her?

Did they care about where she had been lately? It sure didn't seem like it…

They could have picked up a phone at anytime or stopped be her apartment to see how she was doing. But no one ever did…

Sighing, she threw the still full bowl of cereal into the sink once again not having the strength to eat. She didn't bother to look in the mirror because she knew her clothes were hanging off of her body. Last time she checked, she had lost at least 10 pounds, which was a lot considering how tiny she had always been.

She grabbed her keys and jacket and locked up the apartment before heading out to her car. Sitting in the usual traffic, she turned to her right and saw The Hub beginning to come to life for the day. Her heart ached when she thought of the time she had spent with her friends there.

It honestly seemed like years ago rather than just months…

She didn't understand why she couldn't seem to tell Eric that she wasn't going to be able to help him with his plan. Its not like she owed him or anyone else anything.

They had all abandoned her…just like everyone always did.

Why didn't she just tell Eric that she hadn't seen Donna in months and she didn't really care whether or not they were together? No one cared about her pain so why should she care about theirs?

And yet…she had agreed to help him. But why?

She sighed and turned into the parking lot of the news station and quickly made her way into the building because it was starting to rain. She was early but she often liked to come in early so she had a few moments to herself before the newscasters would shuffle through.

She set up the make up and products that she used everyday and made sure that the coffee was brewing for them on the counter nearby. She took a deep breath, glanced in the mirror and reminded herself to smile so that no one could see her pain.

The door opened and Tom Shaw the head news anchor walked in and flashed his white, straight smile at her. "There's my favorite girl."

Jackie smiled and turned her back to him before rolling her eyes, "Hello Mr. Shaw."

He smirked and sauntered towards her and put a gentle hand on her lower back as he did every morning. "How is the most beautiful girl in all of Point Place?"

She put on her fakest smile and turned towards him, wanting his hands away from her behind. "I am great Mr. Shaw. How are you?"

He sighed and plopped down in his chair, "Well I'd be a lot better if you finally agreed to go out on a date with me little miss."

Jackie cringed as she turned away again to find what she needed for his hair. "Oh Mr. Shaw…we've talked about this."

Tom Shaw was 42 years old and the most famous person in all of Point Place because he had been doing the local news for over 15 years. He was also a notorious womanizer despite the fact that he was married and had four children. Everyday he asked Jackie out on a date and everyday she said no.

She was pretty sure she was the only woman who worked in the studio who had not slept with him. Even if she wasn't trying to stay as far away from men at all or if he wasn't married, she would never have slept with him simply because he creeped her out.

"We have talked about it…and I still don't understand why you keep saying no." Tom said leaning over in his chair so that his face was quite close to ass.

She felt her blood begin to boil and it took all her energy not to turn and punch him in the face but she knew she needed this job. "Well Mr. Shaw I have told you that I would prefer to keep this as a work relationship only."

Tom smirked up at her, "No one has to know…"

She turned and leered down at him. "There is no such thing as secrets in this studio Mr. Shaw. Everyone would know."

He chuckled and stood up making sure to invade even more of her personal bubble. "Oh I get it now…you just don't want to share me with any of the other ladies here…"

She felt the bile rise in her throat, God he made her sick but she just smiled still at him. "You caught me…I'm not that good at sharing."

He smiled down at her and leaned in as if he was going to kiss her. "How do you know if you never gave it a try?"

She stepped back and grabbed the hairbrush waiting for her. "Well unfortunately if we continue to talk we will be late for your news cast."

He sighed and sat down in the chair again, "One of these days I'll find a way to get you to say yes Jackie…"

She got to work on his hair and simply said, "If that's what you need to think to make you happy then go for it."

He just laughed again and then began to read out loud the script he would be reading this morning for the newscast. Jackie tried to quiet the voices in her head telling her to put superglue instead of gel in this mans hair to send him a clear message that she wanted nothing to do with him.

But instead…she smiled and did her job just like she did everyday.


Meanwhile at Grooves, Hyde was in his office going through the new inventory that had come in that morning. He had told his employees Kathleen and Michael not to bother him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Last night he had only gotten about two hours of sleep. After the disastrous fight in the basement and Jackie not answering her apartment door…he had driven around town until he ran his gas tank down.

When he got back to the Forman's it was almost 3:30 in the morning, which meant the Forman's, were asleep and thankfully none of his friends had stayed behind to confront him again. Even better, Sam still wasn't home from work. He fell onto the dingy old cot and immediately fell asleep because he was so drained from the night's events.

When the alarm went off at 5:30 he wanted to throw it across the room and forget about going to work but he figured he had broken enough things last night and he knew his Dad would kill him if he didn't open the store. Sam rolled over in bed and tried to snuggle up to him, which gave him the strength to get up. She smelled like cigarettes, beer and sweat which made him cringe. How many dirty old men had groped her last night while she danced for them?

He was grateful that the Forman's weren't awake yet so he was able to slip out of the house without having to seem them to discuss what had happened.

He could hear customers walking around the store but he didn't bother to check in on them. Quite frankly he didn't really care.

His mind was still reeling about everything he had gone through last night. Why did Hyde believe Kelso when he said he never slept with Jackie but he couldn't believe Jackie when she said it?

He knew the reason he believed Kelso…if they had actually done it Kelso would have bragged about it non-stop. He would have rubbed it in his face that he had stolen Hyde's girlfriend. He never would have said they didn't do it if they actually did…

But why didn't he believe Jackie? His mind immediately wandered back to that last night in the hotel room after Kelso had run off in his towel…


Chicago, Spring 1979

Hyde watched Kelso running, his towel blowing behind him until it ultimately fell off and he continued to run naked. He could feel Jackie staring at the back of his head but his heart was pounding so fast he could feel and hear it in his head, which made everything else seem irrelevant.

God he felt so stupid!

He had driven all the way here to tell her he did see a future with her and that he wanted her to come home. And here she was already falling in some other guy's arms, but not just any guy…

She picked the one guy that Jackie knew Hyde felt insecure about. He didn't often feel jealous in his relationship with Jackie. Sure, guys were always hitting on her around him but he knew none of them mattered, Jackie always brushed them off.

But not Kelso. Never Kelso.

Whenever he flirted with her, Jackie didn't necessarily flirt back but she was always laughing at him. She had what Eric had called a "soft spot" for him because he had been her first boyfriend.

Hyde knew that that couldn't be changed but it didn't mean it didn't bother him.

"Steven…" She whispered softly from behind him.

He didn't turn to her; he didn't think he could face her right now because he felt to betrayed. He stayed where he stood and stared in the direction where Kelso had disappeared too. It shocked him that he had not run after him to kick his ass probably because he was to hurt to even move.

"Steven please…" Jackie squeaked from behind him, he could hear the emotion in her voice but it didn't matter.

He took a deep, shaky breath and then chuckled. "Well that didn't take long…"

Suddenly she was beside him and she was clinging to his arm. "No. No. It's not-I didn't-We didn't-"

His head finally turned towards her and he ripped his arm out of her grasp. "Oh so you didn't screw him?"

The tears were streaming down her face now and she was shaking but he was so angry her emotion wasn't going to work on him this time. "No. No I didn't Steven! I never would have done that-"

"It's not like you haven't slept with him before. What did you call him after you lost your virginity to him? Your Apollo Rocket of Love?" He said with an angry smirk.

She shook her head quickly. "Steven that was years ago and I didn't even mean it! He was horrible in bed and I-"

"Has he improved at all?" He said glaring at her.

"Steven I swear on my life that I didn't sleep with him." She said grabbing for his arm again.

Hyde rolled his eyes and pulled his arm away again. "Oh please Jackie…do you honestly expect me to believe you?"

"Yes!" Jackie said yelling desperately at him. "I do expect you to believe me!"

"Why?" Hyde asked shoving his hands in his pockets as he bore his eyes into hers.

She shrunk back slowly and wrapped her arms around herself suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable. "Be-because I love you." She stuttered.

Her words cut through him like a newly sharpened knife slicing through his organs. "No you don't."

She flinched and stared up at him in shock. "How can you say that?"

"If you love someone you don't give them an ultimatum. If you love someone you don't take off without letting them answer you. If you love someone you don't screw their best friend!" Hyde screamed at her.

She jumped as his voice rose to a new terrifying level. "Steven I didn't sleep with him! And I left because you didn't seem like you wanted me to stay! I didn't think you wanted me…I needed to know what I was to you."

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Jackie why would I have stayed with you this long if I didn't want to be with you?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and shrugged. "I don't know!"

Hyde shook his head and turned away from her. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm out of here."

She ran after him without hesitating and grabbed his arm again hoping to keep him from leaving. "Steven please. Wait. Just listen to me."

"Jackie I don't care what you have to say. This is so stupid." He said ripping the door of the El Camino open.

"Steven I never slept with him. He wanted to but I said no. I don't want him; I haven't wanted him since I fell in love with you. Please!" She said sobbing hysterically now.

Something in her voice made him believe her deep down but he couldn't seem to give into her this time. "It's over Jackie."

"Don't say that..." She said as her voice cracked with defeat.

He took one last look in her eyes and fought the urge to pull her into his arms and say everything he had come here to say. "I'm done Jackie. Go find Kelso…I'm sure its not to late to make him your perfect obeying husband." He smirked at her. "But I wouldn't expect him to be faithful to you…" She shrugged. "But clearly you don't know what being faithful means either…you'll have the perfect marriage then."

He saw her open her mouth to respond and he saw the pain and anguish in her eyes but he ignored it as he slid into the Camino and slammed the door in her face. He turned the key and backed out of the parking lot. The screech of his tires drowned out the sound of Jackie screaming his name but it didn't block out the image of her running after his car in the rearview mirror until she fell to the ground bowing her head as she cried.


As he snapped out of his memory, Hyde wondered what would have happened if he had stayed and listened to everything she had to say. If he had been able to pull his head out of his ass and actually believe the truth would they still be together? He clearly wouldn't have gone to Vegas and made the biggest mistake of his life by marrying Sam.

But even without Sam in the picture, would Jackie and him still be together? Would they have made it or would he have found another way to screw it up? He knew what Jackie had wanted…and he knew what he had gone to Chicago to tell her.

He had gone to say that he wasn't ready to get married…at least not at that very moment. But he did see himself getting married to her at some point when they were ready for it. He knew he loved her and he knew that he wasn't going to ever find someone who loved him as much as Jackie did. But despite all that, would it have worked out?

He wanted to believe that it could have, he wanted to believe that he could have grown up enough to give her what she wanted. But the past few months had shown him he was a lot more immature than he had ever thought.

Everything his friends had said last night was true. He missed Jackie. He hated Sam. He hated that he still lived in the Forman's basement. Not because he didn't love Red and Kitty but because he knew at his age he should be off on his own. He hated that he had broken Jackie's heart, and that he had pushed the one person that ever really loved him so far away. He didn't want to live like this anymore…but how was he supposed to change it all? He was married…and he didn't want to prove everyone right that he was going to have a screwed up life by getting divorced.

Although when he thought about…the idea that he was married to a stripper and still living in his friends parents basement was more screwed up then saying you were divorced wasn't it?

He sighed and tried to focus on filing the records again when he heard a knock on the door. He ignored it and focused harder on the bins in front of him. But the person knocked again.

He groaned and lifted his head to yell at them to go away just as the door opened and Kitty's head popped around the corner. "Mrs. Forman?"

She smiled nervously at him. "Hi sweetie…I'm sorry to be bothering you at work." She said as she slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.

He sat up straighter and tried to get rid of the tension in his body. "Uh…no it's fine. Come in. Is everything okay?"

She giggled nervously and shuffled closer to his desk. "Oh everything is just fine sweetie. But you left this morning without eating anything…you shouldn't eat on an empty stomach. Especially not after the long, terrible night you had…"

Hyde cringed at the mention of what had happened. "I'm fine Mrs. F. I ran and got a bagel and coffee before work. But…about last night I'm so sorry for that. I'll pay for whatever damages the dryer has."

She shook her head and placed a paper bag in front of him. "Oh don't worry about that old, rusty dryer." She said giggling again. "I've needed an excuse to get a new one anyway. I'm more worried about you…"

Hyde avoided her gaze, "I'm fine Mrs. Forman. We all have arguments with our friends from time to time. It will all blow over…"

She frowned slightly. "But I feel like this has been a long time coming Steven…there's been a lot of changes this past year and I think its time we talk about them."

"What's there to talk about?" He asked standing up quickly trying to find a way to get away from her and this conversation.

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh Steven stop pretending that you are so happy with your life! Donna was right! You miss Jackie!"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Hyde asked groaning angrily.

Kitty rolled her eyes at him, "Because you've been an old grouch since the day that Jackie left for Chicago Steven!"

Hyde let her words sink in; quite frankly he was too tired to even deny them especially because he knew they were true. "Look Mrs. Forman…" He sighed and turned back towards her, resting against his desk. "I just don't know how I could possibly change any of this now…"

She smiled sadly at him and walked closer to him, she placed a motherly hand on his arm and squeezed it to comfort him. "Steven it's never to late to admit when you are wrong."

He looked up at her slowly, "But even if I admit it…even if I find a way to get rid of Sam…do you honestly think Jackie will forgive me? I mean no one has even seen her in months! How do we even know she is still in Point Place?"

Kitty sighed, "I don't know if she will forgive you…but you won't know until you try." She shrugged. "And I know she still lives in Point Place because I have a friend who works with her."

"You do?" He asked suddenly perking up. "Who? Why didn't you say anything before now?"

Kitty chuckled sadly. "Because whenever someone even mentioned her name you would go on at least a three day drinking binge…"

Hyde grimaced, "Oh…you noticed that?"

She laughed, "It was kind of hard not to honey…"

He took off his sunglasses and rubbed a hand over his tired face, "How is she doing? Is she okay?"

Kitty shrugged. "My friend Natalie said that she kind of keeps to herself at the news studio. She said she's quiet but she shows up everyday without fail."

He smiled, "So she's working for a television news cast? That's good…that's what she always wanted…"

She nodded slowly, "Yes well I don't think it's exactly her dream job. She's doing hair and make up for the news anchors."

"Well maybe she will be able to get her foot in the door to get on TV." He said hopefully. "She deserves to get what she wants…"

Kitty smiled and squeezed his arm again. "So do you Steven…"

He smiled at her sadly, "Even after all the crap I've done?"

She sighed and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, "Steven you've been through a lot of difficult things in your life. You haven't always made the best choices but you are a good man at heart…and you deserve all the happiness in the world. And I know for a fact that Jackie is the one that makes you happy…"

He sighed and felt the lump in his throat grow, "I really don't know how to fix this one Mrs. Forman…"

She smiled and pulled him into a tight hug. "You'll find a way Steven…You always do."

Hyde let her wrap her arms around him and he finally let himself feel everything he had been trying to avoid since that night in Chicago.


When she was done with work, Jackie cleaned up the dressing room and walked past all her co-workers to her car. She once again felt exhausted, and her stomach was rumbling begging for her to feed it. As she was driving home, she had to pass The Hub again which she had been avoiding for months now. But when her stomach rumbled again and she remembered she only had cereal and milk at home she made a quick U-Turn and parked in front of the restaurant.

She quickly jumped out of the car, slipped on her sunglasses and walked in the front door of the fast food joint. She looked around quickly to make sure she didn't recognize anyone and sighed with relief when she saw that it was mostly empty. She ran up to the front counter and put in her order, paid and then stepped to the side to patiently wait for it to be ready.

She was almost home free when she heard someone call out to her, "Jackie is that you?"

Her heart jumped from her chest to her throat and she tried to pretend that she didn't hear them. Maybe they would give up if she didn't answer, but they called out to her again.

"Jackie?" The voice asked getting closer to her.

She sighed and turned around quickly to see Michael Kelso standing in front of her. "Oh…hi Michael."

His face lit up and he pulled her in for a hug without letting her say anything else. "Jackie it's so good to see you!"

She gasped when she felt her body crush against his but she tried to hug him back. "It's uh…it's good to see you too Michael."

Kelso was shocked to feel her bones press against him, how was it possible that she was even more skinny then he remembered her to be? He pulled away to look at her and noticed just how tiny she looked.

"Where have you been?" He asked trying to pretend that her appearance wasn't shocking to him. "We were all just saying we haven't seen you in months!"

She licked her lips and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Oh you know…I've just been busy with work and stuff. I got a new job and after Fez moved out I had to pay for the rent myself so I'm just trying to make sure I can keep the apartment."

Kelso finally let go of her completely and put his hands in his pockets. "Well we've all really missed you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

He smiled that goofy, innocent smile of his and nodded his head. "Of course we have! I mean after Eric left that was a huge blow but then when you stopped coming around too it just made it even worse."

She tried to smile; out of all of her friends Kelso was usually the most sincere mostly because he was so much less mature than all of them he didn't always catch on to tension between anyone. "Well it's good to hear that I've been missed…"

Kelso sighed. "You have. You really have Jackie…"

She shrugged. "I guess I figured with the new addition of Sam that you wouldn't notice that I was really gone."

Kelso rolled his eyes. "Oh please…Sam may have a rockin bod but she isn't you Jackie. To be honest she's kind of really annoying…and it gets kind of distracting when all she wears is a bra and short shorts. She even wore that stuff in the middle of winter!"

Jackie smiled at him. "I thought you would love that? You love seeing girls half naked."

Kelso shrugged, "I guess it gets boring after awhile."

"I'm sorry to hear that it's been so difficult for you…" She said trying to keep the anger out of her voice; she knew Kelso wouldn't understand it.

"Anyway…" He said shuffling his feet. "We were all actually just talking about you yesterday."

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh really? Whys that?"

Kelso sighed, "Well Donna and Hyde kind of got into a fight and started bringing up old stuff and Hyde was talking about that night in Chicago when he found you and me at the hotel room and I was in a towel…"

Jackie's heart started to pound in her chest, she tried to never think of the name Hyde and she definitely tried to never think about that horrible night. "Wh-why-why were you talking about that?" She stuttered nervously.

"Well Hyde was yelling about how we had done it but I told him we didn't and then he ended up getting even more mad which I don't get. I mean shouldn't he be happy to know that you didn't really cheat on him?" Kelso asked.

Jackie felt like her heart was going to leap right out of her chest. "What did he say when you told him that?"

Kelso shrugged. "Oh well he said that I should have told him sooner."

Jackie shook her head, "But I told him that nothing had happened. Why would it matter if you said it or not?"

He shrugged again, "I don't know. To be honest, I've never really understood most of the things that Hyde does."

Jackie wanted to scream, why did she have to stop at The Hub? She could have avoided this situation al together if she had just ignored her damn stomach. Who needed food anyway?

"Michael why did Steven even care about what happened that night? Doesn't he have Sam to keep him warm at night?" She said angrily.

"Well yeah he does but to be honest…I don't think he's really happy with her. In fact if you ask me…" He smiled at her, "I think he really misses you."

Her already pounding heart seemed to crack just a little more in her chest and she suddenly felt weak in the knees. His words seemed to be ringing in her ears; "I think he really misses you. I think he really misses you. I think he really misses you…"

"Order for Jackie!" The kid behind the counter yelled.

She jumped slightly and turned as fast as she could to rip the bag out of his hand. She didn't even say thank you as she turned back to Kelso, but she didn't look him in the eye.

"Michael it was really great to see you but I have to be getting home now. Lots to do!" She said rushing past him.

"Wait!" Kelso called after her. "Don't you want to stay and hang out?"

She looked back at him quickly and tried to smile, "I'm sure we'll run into each other real soon Michael. See you!"

She was gone before Kelso could even say another word leaving him extremely confused about what had just happened. What had made he run off so quickly? It couldn't have been anything he said…

He was quiet for a moment before he shrugged and walked back to the ordering counter. He would never understand women…


Back in the car; Jackie was gripping the steering wheel trying to hold the tears in that were threatening to spill over. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure it was about to burst out of her chest. She was finding it hard to breath and she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.

Why?

Why after all this time did the mere mention of Steven Hyde send her into a tailspin? Why was it that he had been able to stay with that stripper wife of his and forget her but she wasn't able to move on? Why did he believe Kelso when he said that he didn't sleep with Jackie when she had told him the same thing? Why would it matter if Steven Hyde missed her and quite frankly why would he miss her? He had Samantha.

She let the sobs rake through her body and she rested her head against the steering wheel. Why did it all have to hurt so damn much?


So what did you think? I hated that Kelso ruined the perfect reunion of Jackie and Hyde in season 7. But if it had to be that way, I wanted to know what happened after the episode ended, thats why I wrote that scene. Hope you are still interested and want me to continue. Send in a review but please no rude reviews about it being terrible. I never send in reviews if I don't like it, I just stop reading it. I think its more respectful of someone's writing that way. Thanks! I'll try and update tomorrow!