This chapter is fairly short, but I promise the next will be longer. Sorry for the delay, I've been busy lately! I hope you enjoy the new developments, and if you have the time feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate them greatly.

Life is White

It had been two days since the announcement of Jackie and Hyde's engagement. The future bride couldn't resist shoving her new diamond into the face of every one who walked into the Forman household. Kitty was beside herself with wedding talk, and Red walked around as though he didn't care, but every now and then, Jackie thought she caught him throwing an approving glare in her direction. Eric kept making snide comments about 'devil spawn' under his breath, but he nearly always followed them up with a fond smile at his best friend. Hyde had been extremely quiet since the announcement. He seemed to be unable to believe that everything had turned out so well.

The morning sun shone brightly in the Forman kitchen, and Mrs. Forman and her 'soon to be daughter in law' were busy making cupcakes for the bake sale Pastor Dave was holding at the church on Sunday.

"Now, dear, since you've learned how to beat eggs already, I figured you could be in charge of that again!" Kitty informed Jackie enthusiastically. Jackie just smiled. She was happy to be spending time with the woman who had claimed the place of a mother in her heart. Jackie figured she was just rubbing off on Kitty, as she was getting fairly good at delivering those veiled insults. So Jackie gladly took the eggs offered to her, and stirred.

Don't like to see your face

Don't like to hear you talk at all

Eric and Hyde came into the Kitchen to see Mrs. Forman busily frosting cupcakes, while she patronizingly showed Jackie how to frost them 'just right'. Hyde was glad to see that Jackie was dealing with this treatment without any of her usual snarky comments. He wrapped his arm around his fiancé's waist and planted a kiss on her lips.

"You ladies look busy," observed Eric as he tried to pilfer a cupcake from the growing stack. He was rewarded for his efforts with a wack on the hand from the clean end of his mother's frosting spatula.

"Those are for the bake sale, stealing cupcakes from Jesus, honestly Eric!" Hyde laughed at his friend's stunned face. Stealing another quick kiss from Jackie, he announced,

"Eric and I are headed out. W.B. wants me to drive over to Madison to check out a new store front that just opened up." Both women turned smiling faces on him at this.

"Steven, are you going to open a second store?" He nodded trying to shrug it off. W.B. had decided that if Hyde was engaged he was ready for more responsibility. He felt that helping his son begin his own chain of record stores would be a great way to spend the early days of his retirement.

"Ya, I guess so. We're just checking it out, nothing is set in stone or anything." Jackie beamed.

"We're going to be rich!" And she offered her fiancé a masterfully decorated cupcake, which he accepted gratefully. Mrs. Forman pecked her adopted son on the cheek and began shooing the boys out the back door. Eric just stared at Hyde's cupcake in disbelief.

"I get attacked with a spatula and he gets a kiss on the cheek…" he began fuming, until his mother held up her hand to stop his speech.

"Now, now dear. Steven is engaged, he has a lot of responsibilities, he needs sustenance. You abandoned your fiancé, so no cupcakes for you."

I could be with ann

But I'd just get bored

Hyde sat behind the wheel of his El Camino happily munching on his cupcake. He was excited about opening a new store. He and Jackie had decided to wait two years before getting married. She wanted to go to UW in the fall, to test the waters and follow her ambition of becoming a news anchor. Hyde had decided that while she did this, he could work at the store, save some money and hopefully give her everything she wanted by the time they got married.

He was completely wrapped up in his thoughts of his future with Jackie. He would need to save money for the wedding, and of course they would need somewhere to live. A house. A white house with blue shutters and a large front porch. A house with a picket fence, where some day their children would play in the yard...

Hyde was rudely shaken from his daydream by Eric's rough hand.

"What the hell are you doing man, we're supposed to be going to Madison." Hyde realized he wasn't in the car. He was standing in front of a white house with blue shutters and a white picket fence. Best of all a 'For Sale' sign was positioned in front of it. He grinned widely. Then a thought occurred to him.

"When did we get out of the car?" Eric was completely exasperated.

"You got out of the car! I was riding along with you, and we didn't even reach the end of the street, when you pulled over, and wondered up to this house, what are we doing here any way?" Hyde looked at his car parked in front of the house. He thought it looked nice there. He could just envision Jackie's Firebird parked in the driveway. Best of all, if he squinted he could see the Forman home, only six houses down from the one he now stood in front of.

"Come on, change of plans we're going down town." With one last glance at the house; he headed back to the El Camino, Eric trailing confusedly behind him.

"Why?" He called after his friend's back.

"I'm going to buy this house." Hyde replied in a matter of fact tone.

Can't even bring myself to call

And I don't want to see you now

Jackie balanced the final cupcake on top of the pyramid she and Mrs. Forman were currently working on. Her mentor began to gather their cooking materials and started the water in the sink to wash up the dishes. Jackie turned to help her when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh, do you mind getting that for me, Jackie?" Mrs. Forman called over her shoulder.

"Sure, Mrs. Forman." Wiping her hands on her apron, Jackie hurried to the living room as the doorbell sounded again, She pulled the door open, and in response to the sight that met her, felt the blood drain from her face.

"Samantha."

Cause I know what you lack

And I can't go back to that

Hyde shook hands with the real estate broker. He had called W.B. to be his cosigner and had quickly been approved for a loan to buy the house. He had placed an offer, and after enjoying a burger at the hub, had come back to find that it had been accepted. Now he held the paperwork, as well as the keys that indicated he was the owner of his own home. He was finding that big commitments weren't really all that hard to make.

"We should go tell Jackie," commented Eric, as he looked at the keys in Hyde's hand.

"Ya, we really should."

Whatever's all the same

Now there's nobody to know

And I can't recall your name

All I can say is so

Hyde entered the sliding door of the kitchen, to see Mrs. Forman bent over a pile of dishes in the sink.

"Where's Jackie, Mrs. Forman?" Hyde asked curiously.

"She just went to answer the door for me, Steven." Replied his surrogate mother. Hyde was just heading to the living room to join her, when he heard a blood-curdling scream. Jackie's scream. He ran through the door to the living room, his eyes immediately finding Jackie prone on the floor, obviously having fainted. Then his eyes found the source of her distress.

Sam. Pregnant. There could be only one reason for her to be here, pregnant. It was everything he could do to keep from hitting the floor himself.