Hyde's hands flew up, trying to fix his pants and belt as hastily as possible as a stream of curses fumbled out of his mouth. He hopped up, grabbing the still bewildered (and now slightly hurt) Jackie by her hand to meet the mystery voice in the main room.

The voice belonged to a young woman, a Latina, Paisley Underground type that seemed too comfortable in this basement for Jackie's liking. The petite woman's defenses went on high alert, sensing something here was not exactly right with her world.

"¿Quién es éste?" The words melted like butter, Jackie quickly trying to translate in her head the basic of what she had said. High school Spanish had failed her, apparently.

"Ah," Hyde's voice seemed back to normal. He always had a way to slink back into his collected persona, never giving off cause for concern. "This is Jackie, actually."

"No way. I didn't recognize her, how dumb am I?" The woman's eyes widened, her lips forming a smile that released an embarrassed laugh. Her hand stuck out in an attempt to shake Jackie's hand, but quickly retracted when the other woman didn't reciprocate. "It's so good to finally meet you, Jackie. Hyde and I watch your show all the time."

"Wait, wh-"

"Yeah, he figured out we could get your morning show up here, so we watch it before he has to go to work."

Within the course of those few minutes, Jackie's heart fell to her stomach, then lurched up into her throat, threatening to pound straight through her skin. It was now abundantly clear who this new woman was. Brown eyes darted from this woman's face to Hyde, who had shifted over and was now rubbing the brown woman's shoulder with his thumb. He seemed to be avoiding both their eyes, unsure of what to say.

"It's always great to meet a fan!" she said brightly, eyes never truly deviating from Hyde's face. Her place in the world had been disrupted without her knowledge, and she was not going to let it slide so casually. "So cool you knew my name, since I have no clue what yours is."

"Oh, uh, Lupe." Bingo. She had hit a nerve, telling by the subtle shift in her stance and enthusiasm. "Or Lulu. It's fine either way."

"Oh, Lulu! You know," she started, arms folding while a smirk sat on her face, "Donna had said something about you like a year ago, but never really mentioned you again? Wonder why."

"Jackie, cut it out," Hyde warned.

"Maybe they thought you'd be gone by now." Part of her wanted to just apologize, but something not-so-deep-down got the best of her. The words kept spilling out, the defense mechanism doing more harm than good. She could already tell. Lupe's face had gone from shocked to eerily calm, waiting for the last blow so her storm could start. "I mean, you're basically just a cheap replacement of me."

"Hey!" Hyde's voice raised slightly, his defense obviously up now. "You don't get to-"

"Steven, stop." Lupe's tone was dangerously mellow. Her eyes finally raised back up to meet Jackie's, sending a shiver down her spine. "I don't know what your problem is, but it shouldn't be with me. Take it up with your friends, or, I don't know, Steven, who lied to my face about you knowing who I was."

She whipped her head to the side, this time glaring at Hyde, who seemed to wince slightly. "Did you tell her anything? Does she know about Toni?" He paused before trying to explain, only to be cut off again. A hand flew up to her face, rubbing her temples. "Oh my god, you didn't even tell her about your own daughter."

Jackie's stomach flipped. "You what?"

"Christ, I can't do this right now. I need a nap." Lupe gritted her teeth, pushing Hyde's arm off her. "I was actually excited to meet you, can you believe that?"

With the slam of the basement door, she was gone. Jackie watched the stairs, unsure of what to say or do besides glare daggers at Hyde.

It felt like he had gone deaf. The silence after Lupe's exit engulfed him, seizing his whole body in panic. Jackie wasn't saying anything- that would've been helpful a few minutes ago -and he didn't even know where to begin. Wordlessly, he sat himself on the couch, removing his aviators before burying his face in his hand. Jackie took a seat in lawn chair, obviously shocked.

"Why the hell did you say that to her?" It felt like he hadn't had a drink of water in ages. God, I need a beer.

"Excuse me? Why didn't you tell me you had a kid, you jackass?" she shot back, furious. "Did it seem like a great idea to have everyone lie to me? Because it fucking wasn't, Steven. Now I look like a complete idiot. YOU look like a complete idiot."

"I was trying to tell you that before she came down!" he yelled back. "You don't exactly answer when I call, so it was kind of impossible to tell you that way."

"What about Donna? You could've had her tell me! Or Michael? God, did everyone know?"

There was a pause. "Fez probably didn't for a while."

"But he still knew. Wow. What a great group of friends, huh?" Her voice started to waver, the tears threatening to break through. Hyde sighed, resigned, and motioned for her to come over. With a tremble, the brunette sat next to him, soon enveloped in his arms. The first sob was muffled by his shirt, but before long, they grew loud enough that his head felt like it would split apart. Hands brushed her stray hairs aside as he tried to soothe her.

"Jackie, I'm really sorry. Okay? All this is my fault."

She took a few seconds to gain some composure before looking at him, almost pleading. "You know how unimportant that makes me feel? You had this big milestone in your life and I didn't know about it. I don't even know when this happened!"

"She's going to be one in July." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Fresh tears started to cascade, an almost inhuman wail leaving her. Christ, loud as ever.

"SHE'S ALMOST A YEAR OLD, STEVEN? Who puts off telling someone they had a baby for almost a YEAR?!"

"A dumbass?" he tried. She punched him in the shoulder, putting a small smile on his face.

The two sat in silence a while longer, the tension no longer palpable, but still hung in the air. If she had smiled, it meant he had done something right by her for the first time in a long time. God, if he could fix everything, he would, but it seemed like the smallest things were a gigantic task. First thing was first: fixing the rift between her and Lupe.

"You gotta apologize to her, Jackie," Hyde sighed, putting his sunglasses back on. "That stuff she said about being excited to meet you was true. She thinks you're a big time celebrity with the way everyone talks about you."

A snort came from beside him. "Yeah, second hour of the Chicago morning show, totally the big leagues."

"I mean, you're larger than life to her. She doesn't know the real you, she just sees you on tv and goes off all the stories we tell her." He paused, before his signature smirk planted itself on his face. "Well… I mean, now she's met the real you. Didn't think you had that cheerleader brand of bitch still hiding in there."

"Oh, it's evolved to a 'daytime talk show' type of bitch. Much more nuanced than the cheerleader kind." Another pause. "I know she's not my replacement. I mean, no one can replace the Jackie Burkhart, but I just… I don't know, Steven."

With a grunt, Hyde hoisted himself off the couch, meandering to the shelves by the record player. Jackie muttered something, questioning what he was doing. Quickly, he found the box he was looking for- one marked 'army men' -and plopped back down on the couch.

"You know how Forman has his Candyland cash?" he grinned. "Well, no one actually gives a shit about his old army men, so my hiding place is ten times better."

"What would you even have to hide, Steven?" Eyebrows were raised, unimpressed by this revelation.

"This." He fished out a small diamond ring, a twinkling stone bigger than the one Eric had picked for Donna, but not by much.

"Steven, you have a girlfriend and a baby. This isn't the time to have second thoughts!"

"You…" He stopped to collect himself, unable to process the utter stupidity that came out of her mouth. "No. It's for Lu."

"Well, good, because I would make you take that back and get something worthy of my ring finger." Hyde couldn't help but let out a chuckle, prompting Jackie to beam. She took the ring from him, inspecting it. "It is pretty, though."

"Thanks. I was sober the last few months trying to save up for that." His voice took a sour tone, recalling the excuses he made, saying the record store wasn't doing as well. Why else would he give up beer and weed for two months straight? He shuddered, making a mental note to grab a beer when this was all through. "I'm planning on popping the question after Bob's wedding is over. Give us all some time to come down from that party high, you know?"

He watched as she gazed at the ring a bit longer, cocking his eyebrow at her. The brunette seemed lost in her own thoughts, the sparkle drawing her further into her own brain. Finally, she handed it back- almost too gently -and gave him a big smile.

"Steven, I'm happy that you're happy. And if she's what does it for you, then that'll be okay with me. Eventually." It's the most sincere she's sounded all evening, making him genuinely smile.

"Cool." There's a beat, and before he knows it he's got her wrapped in his arms again. "Thanks, Jackie."

She was about to cry again, he could tell. Perhaps to preserve what was left of her pride, she opted not for words, but for a soft kiss on his cheek, hovering there a few moments before walking upstairs.