Chapter 3: How It All Came To Be

It had been barely three weeks since their official date when Jackie came to his house. She had actually scaled the side, into his room. He hadn't been sleeping but the sight of the girl had startled him. They exchanged brief, meaningless words and Hyde allowed her to sleep beside him, holding her close.

They had had sex twice before she went back to Kelso. The first time had been in a hotel room, a few days after Christmas. She'd whispered a breathless 'I love you' but he never said it back. The second time bad been in her room the day before she'd gotten back together with Kelso.

She had asked him, pleaded with him, to tell her to stay with him. He had shrugged and told her to go.

They never spoke about what had happened between them. Not even a month after she'd gotten back together with Kelso and announced she was pregnant (actually pregnant this time 'round). Kelso had almost done a runner but Donna and Hyde had made sure he'd stayed, to take care of Jackie. Hyde never once imagined that he had any part in Jackie's child.

He acted cold and hostile for months, angry with himself that he was upset over the whole affair. He loved Jackie, even though she was and never would be his. He told her so, just once, a month before she died.

"It's too late, Steven," She whispered hoarsely.

They had sex again, before the 'I love you'. They didn't mean to, but Jackie was furious at Kelso and Hyde was willing to take anything she gave him. Then he found the note and learnt that Jackie was dead. In the hospital he saw Jacquelyn. She was in the room with the other babies, behind the glass window, wrapped in pink with a blank nametag besides Burkhart in bold letters.

Hyde waited for the watching nurse to take a rest break and took her from her plastic crib. Then he fled to Miami, where Jackie sent him.

**

Jacquelyn spoke her first word barely a month before her birthday. It wasn't really a word, but more a sound. "Da!" She would gargle whenever she saw Hyde. "Da, da!"

He scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the house. In the mornings he would go walking along the pier with Jacquelyn and sometimes Morgan. Today Morgan joined him, with the local newspaper.

"Ooh, look, I could get a job as a receptionist," She said enthusiastically as they walked.

Morgan was in a never ending search for her dream job, even though she had no idea what it was. Jacquelyn reached for Hyde's glasses, trying to pull them off. She was in a stage where she enjoyed testing everything and anything with her mouth, so Hyde constantly found things covered in her drool.

"Sounds shit," he commented, switching Jacquelyn into a position in which she had no way to reach his glasses. She lost interest quickly and instead observed the people moving around her.

Hyde had a habit of sticking out in the crowds of Miami. It wasn't because he was a barely nineteen year-old with a baby, but because he never dressed the part of a local. While he was surrounded by beach wear and Hawaiian print, Hyde chose his usual jeans, concert tee and glasses.

Morgan made a face but moved on. "A waitress?"

"Boring."

"A florist?"

"Shit."

Morgan paused. "You're way too negative to talk to." She handed him the paper and took Jacquelyn, walking her to the edge of the wooden pier to look into the crashing ocean. Hyde lingered behind, his attention between them and the paper.

He always held the vain hope that maybe he would see something about his past life in a newspaper, even though this was local, not national. He briefly skimmed the headlines then tucked it under his arm, making his way to the laughing pair.

"Let's get food, I'm starving," he announced.

They ate at a small café nearby, a place where Morgan's friends worked. Tommy and Jane had become sort-of-friends to Hyde also. Tommy was an aspiring professional surfer, with a broken noise, flawless tan skin and a sprinkle of freckles across his shoulders. Jane was a down to earth college student with a degree in business who was constantly lecturing Hyde.

"Hey baby Blue," Tommy cooed at Jacquelyn. "You're getting way too big girl."

Jacquelyn beamed up at Tommy, making her unintelligible noises, but not 'da' because 'da' was reserved for Hyde only.

"Tommy, man, you are way too baby-cutsie," Hyde jeered at the older man, who shoved him back.

"Hey man, I'm just in tune with the world."

Hyde muttered a 'whatever' and ordered his food. Tommy moved away and Morgan picked up another paper, left on the table beside them. The café was small and almost deserted, filled occasionally by people on the go, who stopped in briefly before disappearing again. It was designed to look something like a beach shack with surfboards on the wall and a shark fin that Hyde was pretty sure was real.

Jacquelyn picked up the salt to inspect, looking as though she was about to stick it into her mouth. "Hey, hey, girl," Hyde called, snatching it away, "no."

Jacquelyn looked momentarily stunned at having it taken from her, before her eyes began to glisten and her lower lip wobbled. Hyde sighed, feeling guilty, and picked her up, standing to walk her.

As he murmured to her soothing words, his hand running up and down her back, his eyes drifted out the window and focused on a sight that made him stop short. He was sure for a second that he was dreaming, conjuring an imagination. But he wasn't. It was real, and outside.

Under the sun her red hair seemed to burn like flames. Beside her the skinny boy looked even more awkward in beach attire. The foreign looking man looked like some sort of swimming God and the handsome youth beside him had his eyes on each and every girl that walked by.

Donna, Eric, Fez and Kelso were in Miami. Just across the street from Hyde, oblivious to his presence.

Morgan walked over, curious by his abrupt standstill. "Hyde, what's going on?"

Hyde turned to her, trying to remain Zen. "Nothing man, everything's cool." He just had to wait for them to leave, hope they would decide to come his way.

Morgan didn't look convinced but let it go. "Well come on, foods here and Jane's got another bone to pick with you."

Hyde took another minute to drink in the sight of his four former friends before following Morgan, holding Jacquelyn closer to him. Little did he know that it would be almost three years since he would see them again.

-TBC-