A/N: Sorry this was delayed, I had a paper due today that I was working on and I got caught up in another fandom's fanfic, but this is up now. I hope that everyone is enjoying this. And I know that Sam is a real pain in the ass, but she'll be getting her just desserts soon enough. Reviews aren't required but they're very happy.

Disclaimer: I don't own 70S SHOW nor FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.

"I made a date," Jude said, after putting the sweet rolls on the table and sitting next to Jackie on the steps.

"Yeah?"

"Yep! I asked Sarah out and she said yes."

"Good."

"We're going to The Hub."

"Uh huh."

"…. Well try and contain your excitement, Jackie, you're making a fool of yourself."

"Sorry, that's great news," Jackie said, smiling at him as best she could.

"… Okay, what's going on?"

"Steven gave Sam a ring this morning," Jackie said.

"Even after last night?"

"Yes."

"…. Huh."
"I mean, I told him to go back to his wife, and I told him that I wouldn't be with him until I divorced you and unless he divorced her, but that was supposed to be a clue to DIVORCE HER. Not make a bigger commitment to her!"

At that moment, Donna walked up, holding a sweet roll. Jude hadn't realized that she was invited to this thing, but wasn't about to ask questions.

"What are you we talking about?" she asked, and Jackie shut her mouth. She didn't want Donna getting all judgmental on her again.

"I… I have a date," Jude said.

"Wow. That's quick. Not even waiting for the papers to arrive before you start seeing other people?" Donna asked.

"Our marriage is just a piece of paper, Donna," Jackie muttered.

"I'm going out with a girl named Sarah," Jude said. "I think you've met her…"

"Wait a minute," Donna said. "Jackie, is this the Sarah that tried to steal my job?"

"You mean the Sarah you got fired," Jackie stated, standing up. "She's actually pretty cool, Donna, when you give her a chance."

"And you're sticking up for the girl your husband is going on a date with? You two are really confusing," Donna said. "But whatever. To each his own. Jackie, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You look a little perturbed."

"I'm not."

"….. Is it because of the ring I saw on Sam's finger?" Donna asked, sitting down on the steps next to her. Though that was only part of it, Jackie nodded. "Well…. I can see how that would suck for you. You should wear that plastic ring on your finger with pride! Just to show them!" Jude smirked, and looked at the plastic ring on his pinky finger.

"Why are we even wearing these stupid things?" he asked, and Jackie shrugged a little, smiling.

"They can be friendship rings now," she stated. "Yeah, that's what I'll do, Donna."

"Hey, where's Brooke?" Donna asked, suddenly realizing Jackie's new bosom buddy was not there, and feeling a little more secure because of it.

"Oh, she had to go home to Chicago," Jackie said.

"Brooke went back to Chicago?" Kelso asked, suddenly popping up with a plate of eggs and sausage. JEEZE, who didn't show up to this thing, Jude wondered, thinking maybe a dozen sweet rolls may not have been enough. Jackie stood up, and nodded sadly. "Well why? Why did she go home?"

"She has a job, she missed your daughter," Jackie listed, as kindly as possible.

"…. And because the date sucked last night?" Kelso asked. When Jackie didn't answer, he put his plate down and walked into the house.

"Poor Kelso," Donna said.

"Poor Brooke," Jackie corrected. "Love sucks." With that, she walked to the back to talk to Kitty, who could always make her smile by complimenting her. This left Donna and Jude, the old best friend and one of those who was replacing her. The silence was awkward, and Jude had no idea how to break it. So he went with

"So you got my would be girlfriend fired, huh?"

"Is that what she told you?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Well it was more complicated than that."

"Uh huh."

"….. Well it was!"

"Of course."

"So going out with Sarah huh," Donna said, trying to move the conversation in a more positive direction. "Maybe she's better with guys than she is with girls."

"Well I'd hope so," he stated. "But yeah, we're going out."

"I know I said it before, but that's weird. I mean, you're MARRIED."

"Yeah yeah."

"Does she know?"

"Nope."

"You should probably tell her." Jude didn't know where she got off telling him what to do. She probably called this self righteous meddling 'advice'. "I mean, it may not matter to you, but it probably matters to her."

"Thank you Dear Abby," he muttered. "I'll take the nagging from Jackie, but I barely know you."

"You barely know Jackie."

"Yeah, but Jackie and I connect on a level few others do, so she gets a pass."

"Well whatever," Donna said, irritated by that deep connection comment. "All I'm saying is that you should explain the situation to Sarah before she finds out some other way." Jude was basically ignoring her, and didn't notice a certain other blonde listening to the conversation while she stood behind them.

"Oops, 'scuse me," Sam said, stepping between them as if she was just trying to get through.

"Scused," Jude answered, and she smiled at him, cunningly. "What?"

"Nothing, I like your shirt," she said.

"Thanks." With that, Sam pranced off to get more food to munch on. "Weirdo."

"What do you have against Sam?" Donna asked.

"What do you have FOR her?"

"…. She's the wife of one of my best friends."

"And she stole him from your other best friend."

"Excuse me? Who are you to judge me?"

"And who are YOU to judge ME?" he threw back, and she opened her mouth, but closed it again. "Anyway, she's too clueless to actually be clueless…. I don't trust her."

"She was just trying to be nice."

"I don't think so."

In the garage, Hyde was still brooding, existing alongside Red. Red was perfectly happy with this, as his biological son would be talking his ear off about one thing or another. While he generally missed Eric, he didn't miss the constant chatter.

"Red, can we talk?" he heard Hyde say, and he almost dropped his screwdriver. He turned slowly, mouth dropped in surprise and indignation.

"Are you serious?" he asked. "You never want to talk. I like that about you. Why do you want to talk now?"

"… Should I divorce Sam?" Red didn't know how to answer his surrogate son. On one hand, he didn't like that these days it seemed that everyone was getting divorced and running out on a commitment they made to each other and to God. In his day if you had a bad marriage, you just stuck it out because it was your responsibility to. But on the other hand, he knew that Hyde never really loved Sam, and that this marriage had been a sham from the beginning. So he just sighed, and shook his head.

"I'm not getting into this," Red said. "It's not my business."

"I just feel like I shouldn't get divorced because my parents-."

"I'm not listening to this!"

"But I still love Jackie, and-!"

"And you blew it with her, stop talking, I'm going to fix a car now!" Red said, crawling under his car in an effort to get away. Hyde got on his hands and knees.

"If I got divorced I would be like my parents, and I don't want that," he said to the tire, as he couldn't see Red's head. "And even though I love Jackie, maybe Sam is right. Maybe I can learn to love her. I mean, it's true, she hasn't lied to me about anything, and she pretty much lets me do my own thing, which is cool of her. And Jackie and I, it's just really weird and complicated."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Red said, ignoring him.

"I mean, I'll get over her," Hyde said. "Time does that, right?"

"Sure."

"…. It's just that I'm not so sure I CAN get over her. And I know that she and Jude are getting divorced, but he seems to make her happy, which I never could do…" He looked over, and saw Jackie sitting on Jude's lap, talking with him and laughing. "I'm gonna let her go. I have to." With that, he stood up, and went into the house. Red pulled himself out from under the car, and was glad he never got involved in any of these kid's problems.

"So we're meeting with him Thursday morning," Jackie said in the phone. "He said that he was going to review our case and maybe it would just be a matter of annulment! Your uncle is the best!"

"I'm glad it's working out," Brooke said. "So since he lost his job what is Jude going to do when this is all over?"

"He doesn't know yet, but he did say he was going to fly out to Vegas and get his stuff," Jackie said. "Then come back here and work things out. He's going out with Sarah tonight."

"Oh yes? That's exciting for him!"

"And how are you?" Jackie asked, and she heard Brooke sigh.

"Getting back into the swing of things," Brooke said. "Betsy is happy I'm back, and I'll be happy to go back to work tomorrow."

"I bet," Jackie said. "So Michael asked about you."

"Oh God."

"I had a talk with him. I explained it was too much to ask of you," Jackie said. "I think he understands."

"… I wish it wasn't too much to ask."

"I know… Crap, I have to go, I'm helping Jude pick out something to wear tonight."

"Okay, call me when you know what the deal is with your marriage," Brooke said.

"I will. Love ya."

"Love ya too." Jackie hung up, and Jude walked in, wearing his nicest shirt.

"How does this look?" he asked.

"You're going to a burger place, not Tavern on the Green," Jackie said. "Your tee shirt is fine. Don't scare her off."

"You're right, you're right," he said, taking the shirt off so he was just wearing his tee shirt. "Okay! I'm off!"

"Have a good time. I'll be here, by myself."

"So go to the basement."

"No, if I stay around Donna too long she'll know Steven and I had sex. And then she'll flip out and yell at me and it will just be bad. We just made up, I don't want to start fighting again already."

"…. Sometimes fighting is all friends do before it's time to move on."

"Please don't say that."

"Sorry," he said. "Okay, I'm off then. I'll see you when I get home."

"Juuuude."

"Whaaaat?"

"Are you going to tell her?"

"... I'll tell her on our next date assuming this one goes well."

"Okay," she said, unconvinced, and he walked out the door. While she was happy that Jude was going out to meet someone she thought he would be absolutely adorable with, she suddenly felt very alone again. The way she felt before she went to Vegas, that she couldn't talk to anyone. Now that Brooke was gone and Jude was going to be paying more attention to Sarah, Jackie felt like she was being shut out all over again.

And then there was that ring. That ring on Sam's finger that she adored, that would have looked perfect on HER finger. That ring was exactly her type, given to Sam by the man she was still in love with. The man who said he was still in love with her, even though that damn ring said otherwise. But then she'd told him she didn't want to be with him. But was that really unreasonable? He was with someone else!

She threw herself on the pullout and turned on the TV. Maybe there would be some old movie on PBS she could watch, pining for the old days of Hollywood Romanticism.