Thanks for the reviews! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. There is a reason I'm updating so quickly.. I'm hoping to get this story finished before I leave on vacation next month.. And this one is kind've easier to write than "Face Down", but that one is being updating right now as well.
Chapter Two-Discoveries
Stepping out of the elevator with Emma in her arms, Jackie looked around the familiar hospital. She could remember every time she'd had to come to this place. Every time one of the boys had fallen off the water tower, or an idea gone wrong. It had never been anything serious, a sprained wrist or a broken bone, but this time everything seemed so real. One of her best friends could be living the last hours of his life, the thought alone brought tears to Jackies eyes.
"Mommy, don't cry" Emma said sadly, wiping away a stray tear from Jackies cheek. Jackie hated crying in front of Emma, it always upset her. But she couldn't hold back the tears anymore as she walked slowly through the familiar hallway to the waiting room. She had no idea what to expect, she knew everyone would be angry with her. Finally she spotted them and her stomach suddenly hurt. The first person she noticed was Kitty, trying to pull herself together as she sat next to Red, he looked more upset than Jackie had ever seen him. Donna had her head on Erics shoulder, and in Erics lap was a little boy who looked about three. Brooke was next to Donna with Betsy in her lap as Michael paced the floor. Finally she saw him, her Steven, his sunglasses were on, and he had a blank look on his face as he sat next to Bob. She stopped and stared for a moment before Kitty finally saw her, the mother figured jumped out of her seat and rushing towards Jackie. She set Emma back on her feet before she got embraced by the woman, closing her eyes as she heard the gasps from the crowded waiting room.
"Jackie.." Donna said standing up, of course she was angry with her once best friend, but at a time like this she was glad to see her. Once Kitty once set her free, Donnas arms were around her, and both of the girls were now sobbing. Finally they let go and all eyes were on Jackie, actually most of them were on Emma, whose hand was clenched tightly onto Jackie's shirt. After a few minutes of silence and stares, Jackie finally decided it was time to say something.
"This is Emma" she choked out, wiping her tears away as she knelt to be at eye level with her daughter. Everyone tried their best to smile, but in this situation it was hard.
"Hi sweetie" Kitty finally said, smiling down at the miniature Jackie, "I'm Kitty, I'm your.." the lady searched for the words when Jackie finally finished for her.
"shes your grandmother baby" Jackie offered Kitty a smile, and the older woman was already tearing up again. Just one look in those baby blue eyes and she knew the truth that Jackie wasn't telling.
"Oh my" she said, looking at Steven who still hadn't stood up, or even moved an inch.
"I'm your Aunt Donna" the redhead smiled, "want to meet your cousins?" she questioned, holding her hand out to the little girl.
Emma looked up at Jackie, seeing if it was okay. When Jackie finally nodded, Emma took the hand of her mothers best friend.
"This is Timothy" Donna told her, and the little boy in Eric's lap hid his face into his fathers chest, "and this is Betsy"
"Hi" Betsy smiled, Jackie was amazed at how much she looked like Michael.
"Guys, this is Emma, shes your cousin" Donna said, "Betsy, why don't you take Timmy and Emma over to the play area"
"Okay, come on guys" Betsy, who was now almost seven smiled. Eric put Timmy down on the floor, watching as Betsy took his hand and the three went off to the corner where all the toys were.
Jackie made her way over towards her old friends, Michael finally offered her a smile.
"Jacks" he sighed, pulling her into a hug, "I never thought I'd see you again.." he breathed into her ear. Once she pulled away, she looked over at Brooke and offered her a sad smile.
"Its good to see you again Jackie.. not in this situation but.." Brooke didn't finish her sentence.
"You guys are really going to act like nothing happened?" Hyde finally stood up and said, rather loudly, "forgive her just like that?" he said, finally looking at Jackie.
"Steven.. I" she started but he stopped her.
"Don't bother" he mumbled, storming off and down the hall.
Jackie didn't know what to say, it felt like she couldn't breathe, and all she wanted to do was cry.
"You guys.. I'm so sorry" she choked out, looking at the faces of her once friends.
"I'll go after him" Eric said standing, glancing at Jackie for a second, "don't take it too personal.. hes had a hard time since you left" he told her before walking off to find his adopted brother. Those few words ripped through Jackie like a knife. He had a hard time? All he had said was have a good trip. A good fucking trip. And now she was the bad guy, because she never came back?
"How old is she?" Donna finally asked, breaking the silence.
"She turned five in July" Jackie admitted, the looks in everyones eyes made her know that they knew, that he knew.
"Shes beautiful" Brooke told her, and Jackie offered her a tearful smile.
"I didn't want you guys to find out like this" she cried, sitting down in the spot that Eric had gotten up from.
"Did you want us to find at all?" Donna asked, it seemed harsh, but it was the truth.
"I thought he'd come after me" Jackie cried, "I didn't even know until I was in Chicago for almost two months..but he never came, and I didn't know how to tell him. I didn't know how to tell any of you"
"Jackie" Donna said softly, as angry as she was, she understood everything Jackie had said. She took her friend into her arms, letting her cry.
"Donna, why don't you keep an eye on the kids while me and Jackie go for a while" Mrs Forman finally said, Jackie looked up at the woman who had taken care of her for all of those years.
"Of course" Donna agreed, letting go of Jackie.
"Come on Jackie" Kitty said, taking the young womans hand.
They headed towards the elevators in silence, Kitty never letting go of her hand though, and finally Jackie looked over at the woman to speak.
"Her names Emma Katherine, after you" she spoke quietly, seeing a hint of a smile on Kitty's face, "you were more of a mother to both of us than our own mothers were.. I knew he'd want it that way" she explained.
"Thank you Jackie" Kitty said as the two stepped into the elevator, "you don't know how much that means to me"
"I wanted to come home so many times" Jackie promised, "but I was too scared. I didn't know what he'd say.. what he'd think. If he'd want her, if he'd want me" the thought brought more tears to her mismatched eyes, "I didn't want you and Red to be disappointed in me, I didn't want you to think I was trying to trap him" she explained.
"Oh sweetie.." Kitty sighed, "I always knew there was a reason you never came back.. I just never thought.." she looked to the much younger girl and smiled, "we could never be disappointed in you for that.. We love you like our own, Emma is our grandchild.. You are both welcome in our home whenever you'd like"
"What do you think hes going to do?" Jackie questioned as the elevator doors opened, and right in front of her stood Steven Hyde.
"I think we have some things to talk about" He said simply, and Eric looked at his mom hopefully.
"I know" Jackie whispered, stepping next to him.
"Well.. We'll be going" Kitty said, grabbing her sons arm and pulling him into the elevator. And as soon as the doors closed, Jackie felt a new nervousness.
"Come on, lets go for a drive" he mumbled. She didn't know what else to do, so she followed him.
The ride was silent, but finally they pulled up to a familiar place, a place Jackie had been so many times before. Stepping out of the car she looked over at him, his face was still the same, she still couldn't read anything on his face. Damn the zen master.
"Is she.." he started, staring up at the water tower.
"Yes, Steven, shes your daughter" Jackie admitted in a whisper.
"Damn it Jackie!" he screamed, turning to look at her, "how could you not tell me?!"
"I'm sorry!" she screamed back, "I didn't know how, you didn't want me! You're the one that said goodbye!"
"I wasn't ready to get MARRIED" his voice was still loud, "that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to know you were having my fucking kid!"
"Do you even hear yourself right now?!" She questioned, all of the anger from the past six years coming back up, "you couldn't even fucking commit to me! And you want me to believe you would've been there every step of the way with Emma?"
"I would've been there Jackie." he said, his voice getting a little quieter, "I can understand you not telling me right away.. but you've been gone for almost six years, you cut us all out of your life, and not once you didn't think about calling to say, 'oh congrats, you're a father'?!"
"You think I didn't think about that every single day?" she glared, "every fucking day Steven, I wake up, and I look at Emma, and all I see is you! And I wonder if things could've been different, but they're not"
"You should have told me" Hydes voice was nearly a whisper now, "I would've been there Jackie"
"I'm sorry" she mumbled, hiding her eyes with her hands, trying to keep the tears away.
A few minutes of silence drug by, both of them not knowing what the next step would be. Finally Hyde looked over at his crying ex girlfriend and sighed, he had so many questions for her.
"Whats she like?" he finally said quietly, "does she know about me?" he asked, sitting on the hood of the El Camino.
"Shes amazing" Jackie smiled, sitting next to him, "shes so smart, sometimes I can't believe she came from me" she admitted.
"Tell me about her.." he was almost begging now, he never imagined being a dad, but now, after seeing that little girl, it made him wonder.
"Her names Emma Katherine" she told him, "she was born on July 14th 1980..she has her dads eyes"
"Katherine?" he questioned, looking up at her, "after?" he watched her nod and couldn't help but smile a little.
"Her first word was 'bitch" Jackie admitted with a little chuckled, "when she was a baby, the only way she'd sleep through the night was if I played a Led Zeppelin album"
"She doesn't know about me does she?" He finally asked, though he was very amused by the facts about his daughter.
"No" Jackie admitted, "I never knew what to tell her.. I couldn't say you didn't want her, it would kill her.. I couldn't tell her you didn't know.. she'd ask why..so every time she asked about you, I changed the subject"
Hyde understood, but it still hurt. He was so confused, one day he was a single guy living in the basement of his adopted parents house, and now he was a father to a five year old.
"We should get back to the hospital" he said after a few more minutes.
"Yeah" Jackie agreed, looking up at the water tower again before climbing into the passengers seat.
The ride back to the hospital was silent, both of them too lost in thought to say anything. The talk had gone better than Jackie had expected, but she still didn't know where things stood. She knew he was still angry, and he had every right to be. But she had no idea what to do now, whether she should tell Emma, or even if he wanted in her life.
"Mommy!" Emma said, running up to Jackie as soon as she spotted her.
"Hey baby" she smiled, picking the girl up before glancing back at Hyde. Emma looked over at him and smiled, and as soon as he looked into those blue eyes Steven Hyde fell in love.