Author's Note: Like I said, the next chapter would be coming along soon :) It's mainly a transitioning chapter, but it's here! Enjoy!


February 11, 1979

12:48 p.m.

"So, he'll be okay?"

"He'll need to come back in a few weeks so we can remove the cast, but yes. He seems to be functioning normally, so there's really no reason he can't recover at home."

Donna nodded, relieved. She knew how much Hyde hated hospitals.

"We just have a few things to finish up with here and then you three will be on your way!" the nurse said brightly. "Just remember to stop by the pharmacy on your way out. He'll need something for those headaches and the pain."

"Thanks," Donna said before turning and making her way to Hyde's room. She had expected him to still be in bed, but when she entered, he was already up, dressed, and trying to stuff a box of chocolates in an already stuffed grocery bag. "Hey."

Hyde turned quickly at her voice and Donna saw his eyes flick to either side of her before answering. "Hey."

"You're ready."

"Almost."

"Here. I can carry that." She grabbed the box from him and shook it—still full. He must have gotten it after Fez left last night. "Who gave you these?"

"One of the nurses. She thinks I'm cute," Hyde said dismissively, used to the attention he got from chicks. But even if he never got Jackie back, he didn't think he'd ever be able to stomach another nurse.

Donna shook her head and smiled. "They said there was some more paperwork so it'll be a minute."

Hyde nodded.

"And…uhh…there's someone here to see you."

He turned to her, his eyes searching her face, and immediately realized who she meant. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

Donna nodded once and backed up towards the door.

"Wait."

She paused.

"Was she okay with it? The divorce."

Donna smiled softly, recognizing his concern. "Yeah. She suggested it."

Hyde took a second, letting that sink in, before nodding again. "Okay. Go ahead."

Donna went to the door and opened it slightly, whispering to someone just outside before coming back. The woman who walked through the door matched Kelso's previous description to a tee: tall, blonde, big boobs. This was the woman he'd married.

"Hey, Hyde."

And she called him Hyde. A strange experience for him since Jackie had become his chick. Jackie had also made a habit of tagging on a "My" before his given name, and he never really thought about how much he liked that until this very moment. "Hi."

Donna stood to the side, rocking her heels back in forth as if she were wading through the tension in the room until she realized she didn't have to be there. "Okay! Well, I'm just gonna go grab the car. I'll meet you guys out there in a sec." She grabbed Hyde's bag from his hand and walked out quickly, the door shutting loudly behind her.

"So, you're Sam. My…wife." Hyde cringed slightly at the word escaping his mouth, not liking how it sounded as he directed it towards a woman he'd never met.

She nodded once, a smile on her face. Then she sighed. "Look, Hyde. Everyone filled me in on what's going on and I don't really wanna cause you any trouble. Let's just go to the courthouse like we agreed and get this divorce over and done with, okay?"

Hyde, a little stunned, nodded slowly. "Okay. That was easier than I thought it would be."

Samantha shrugged. "I wasn't here to make your life harder. I was here to make it easier."

Something about that word stuck with him…easier. He thought he almost remembered something before it flew away in a flash.

"We had a deal though that I could stay for a couple of days, so will that be cool? I don't have anywhere to go yet."

Judging from what everyone had been telling him, it was gonna take a while to get Jackie back. He didn't see how a few days could hurt.

o-o-o

February 11, 1979

3:12 p.m.

"She's staying with him?!"

Fez nodded solemnly. "It seems that way, yes."

"Unbelievable." Jackie shook her head as she paced back and forth across the living room. "He's always gonna choose that whore over me, isn't he?"

"Jackie…you're…you know. Not together."

Deflated, Jackie collapsed on to the couch. "No. But yesterday, according to him, we were. But all she has to do is walk in and he's all over her again."

"He really wasn't all over her."

"No, but he will be. And nothing will have changed."

"Jackie…"

"You ever wonder what you're doing, Fez?"

"What do you mean?" he asked as he pulled a tootsie roll out of his shirt pocket and popped it in his mouth.

"I mean in life. Are you where you wanna be?"

"Of course. I'm in America and always within a mile radius of candy. I have a great job that allows me to touch all the women I want. And I have my friends around all the time. What else is there?"

Jackie shrugged, recognizing all too well the feeling that began to resettle in her gut when she heard Steven was staying with the whore, even after his accident-causing amnesia. "Just more, I guess. Not this." A tiny, small flare of hope had taken ahold of her throughout the night, and it had just been extinguished. Again. Maybe this is what she needed to just…go.

o-o-o

February 11, 1979

6:34 p.m.

"You told her?!"

Fez shrugged. "Yeah. She deserves to know the truth, Hyde."

"The right truth, you idiot. As in what's actually going on. Not whatever crap you came up with."

"It's not crap! The whore is staying here with you even though you don't remember who she is. What else is there?"

Hyde wanted to strangle him. "The divorce, you moron. You knew we were gonna do that."

"Well, how was I supposed to know you still planned on divorcing your wife when earlier you were sitting all cozy together on the couch? And her stuff is still all over your room, as in it's not getting packed."

"We weren't cozy. We were talking. She was filling me in on what happened in Vegas and since then. And her stuff isn't packed yet because she needs to stay here for a couple of days. None of which needed to be told to Jackie, by you. Who knows what she thinks now."

Fez grinned guiltily. "Well, she thinks you chose the whore over her again. But this time she said she didn't want to stick around to see it anymore."

Hyde suddenly became very still and he lifted his head slowly. "What?" he asked, his voice low.

"Do you blame her?"

He laid his deadliest glare on Fez. "I wouldn't if it were true. But it's not. Now tell me exactly what she said."

Fez whimpered.

"I mean it, man. Every damn word. I need to know what I'm dealing with here."

Fez sighed. "Okay, honestly? I don't really know why she stayed before. I mean, we weren't kidding. She has been miserable. But she had already decided to stay, so she did, and she's been working through it. You know, try and focus on her career and stuff. But staying here…" Fez shrugged. "I always thought that maybe a part of her thought you'd come to your senses or something and want her back. She didn't want to make it hard for you to choose her again, like last time. But then you didn't. So, I figured after a while, she'd leave."

"She never left?"

"No."

"But she's thinking about doing it now."

Fez nodded once.

"Without even talking to me first?"

Fez sighed. "We've been trying to tell you, Hyde. You both screwed up with Chicago and Vegas. And you never worked through your stuff after. Is it such a surprise that everything would repeat itself again?"

Hyde held his head in his hand, truly disgusted with himself. He had to fix this, he just didn't know how. And with the threat of Jackie leaving, he knew he had to do it fast. He had to get the blonde one out of here. He had to prove to Jackie that he wouldn't repeat her history. He'd woken up to hell, but it wasn't gonna stay that way.

He'd fix it for her.

He stood quickly and headed towards the stairs, tossing a "Thanks, Fez!" behind him on his way up.


Author's Note: Many of you have expressed anticipation of the first meeting between our distressed couple. Rest assured, it's up next and I'm working on it :) Please review!