A/N: Hello hello! Looks like I'm updating on Mondays and Fridays. I really like this chapter for some reason, so hopefully you will too. And again, thanks so much for any and all comments! They really encourage me. Love you:)

There isn't much Steven James Hyde is afraid of. Growing up, he learned how to be tough real quick. His dad took off while he was still young, and the memories he does have of his father aren't too happy. And while he still had his mother to raise him, she really didn't do too much of the 'raising' since she was hardly ever around. When she was around, she was rarely sober, which meant that she yelled and hit and they didn't have much money. In order to survive, he had to be tough. So he was. It's one of the reasons he became friends with Eric Forman: he had been hired as a bodyguard for the scrawny kid, with the going rate of a quarter.

After his mom left him, Hyde had lived on his own for a little while until the Formans took him in. While he greatly appreciated the Formans taking him into their home, he hadn't been afraid of living by himself. Sure, he was eating crackers with ketchup and he had to pawn the TV for rent money, but he was managing to get by. He would've figured something out sooner or later.

He's fallen off the water tower and nearly broken his neck. He's watched his friends fall off the water tower.

Hell, he's even been to jail before and he still wasn't scared.

Yep, from an abusive homelife to doing time in the big house, Steven Hyde has lived a risky life that leaves little for him to fear. But hearing Mrs. Forman say that he is now the legal guardian of a small child? The child of his dead best friend? That shook Hyde to his bones.

He's plain old scared.

A coward. That's what Jackie had called him, and that's what he is. A big coward.

But who can blame him? He's barely been able to process the fact that his childhood friend is dead, and now he's expected to be okay with having custody of said friend's two year old daughter? Hell no. He doesn't know the first thing about taking care of a kid. He wouldn't know what to feed one or how to play with one or how to comfort one if it cries. He didn't have a happy childhood, so how can he expect to give Betsy one? She deserves better than whatever he could offer. She would be better off with a real family, with someone who didn't come from a broken home.

And it's not just the raising-a-kid-part he's scared of. It's The who he's supposed to share custody of the kid with. Jackie Burkhart, the girl he's been trying to get over for two years now. The girl he still dreams of almost every night. The girl he taught himself to hate so he could forget the love she makes him feel.

He doesn't know if he could handle sharing a responsibility like that with her, having to be around her so much. He's afraid that if he lets her get too close again-

"Steven?" Mrs. Forman's voice interrupts his thoughts.

He figured it was only a matter of time until someone followed him out here, and most likely one of the Formans. He hadn't gone far, just needed to clear his head. He's sitting just outside the hospital on a bench in front of a decorative fountain, watching the water cycle through in an endless rhythm. It's strangely comforting.

Kitty helps herself to the spot next to him on the bench. "There you are. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find you." She pats his leg.

"Well, here I am," he states the obvious. He knows what she's here to talk about and he doesn't want to talk about it right now. Or ever. She'll probably lecture him about "doing the right thing" and try to guilt trip him.

The two sit in a tense silence for a few minutes.

"You know," Kitty speaks softly, "when I first found out I was pregnant with Laurie I was scared to death. I didn't think I was ready to be a parent."

Hyde doesn't say anything.

"I was even more scared to tell Red," she continues, "because I had no idea how he'd react. And you know what he said when I told him? 'Oh no!' and then 'oh, crap!'"

Hyde snorts at this, a small smile tugging at his lips as he pictures the very in-character reaction from Red. In fact, he relates to Red in a lot of ways- not that he'd ever admit it.

Kitty chuckles at the memory too. "Yeah, I laugh about it now, but I was really hurt at the time. I knew I couldn't do it without him and his support," she shares, "but he came around. And we both got through it together. Twice."

"Mrs. Forman, that's sweet and all that it worked out for you and Red, but this is an entirely different situation and I'm an entirely different person. Telling me that story isn't gonna make me magically agree to raise Betsy," Hyde quips, knowing what she's getting at.

"Oh I know. You never agree to do anything you don't want to do," Kitty explains.

"You're not gonna convince me," Hyde says firmly.

"Alright."

"I mean it. It's not happening."

"Understood."

Hyde nods at her answer as if satisfied, but after a few seconds he's the one to continue the conversation, giving an unprompted explanation. "It's not that I don't want to help out Betsy or honor Kelso's wishes, it's just that I don't think my growing up has prepared me to raise a kid. You understand that, don't you?" he asks, sounding almost desperate. He would hate for her to be disappointed in him.

"Steven," Kitty says, turning to look at him, "I understand that you're concerned and you're scared. But what I also understand is that you're a tough, smart, and strong young man who can do anything he puts his mind to. You also have a big heart and won't forgive yourself if you ever let any of your friends down."

"But what if I mess up? I know more about how not to be a father than how to be one," he worries.

"Oh, honey," she answers, "First of all, I think knowing what not to do is a great start. You just need to be the kind of father you wish you'd had as a child."

The words resonate in Hyde's mind. He's never thought about it like that. Maybe, maybe that is all he needs, or close to it. The chance to give an orphaned child what he never had...the thought warms his cold heart. It's like living the childhood he always dreamed of through another kid, or being a positive change in the world by stopping the cycle of shitty parents. Or maybe it's just the fact that doing so would spite his parents. Yeah, that's it.

"And second," Kitty continues, "I would hope that living with our family has taught you some things about having functioning parents. We're not perfect but..."

Hyde's heart drops and he instantly feels shitty. He hadn't meant for her to take it that way. "No, you're right, Mrs. Forman. You and Red have been great surrogate parents to me, and I've learned a lot about being a part of a family. I'm sorry if I made it seem like that's not the case," he professes, worried he offended her. He's eternally grateful to the Formans for everything they've done for him, even if it's hard for him to show that appreciation. They truly have become a family to him.

"Ohh," she flusters and kisses him on the cheek, delighted that he's expressing those feelings so openly for once.

The two share a smile with each other before falling back into another silence, a comfortable one this time. After a few moments, Hyde speaks up about something that's been weighing on his mind. "Mrs. Forman? What about," he clears his throat, "what about Jackie? I mean, when Kelso chose the two of us to be Betsy's godparents it was because he thought we'd still be together. And now that we're not-"

"Steven, listen to me," Kitty cuts him off, "he may have initially chosen you and Jackie to be Betsy's godparents when you were still together, but you two were already broken up when he decided to make you her legal guardians."

Hyde is taken aback. Kitty mentioned earlier that Kelso had gone to her about what would happen to Betsy if he died after the whole shooting-himself-in-the-foot-incident, but it hadn't occurred to Hyde until now that that had been after he and Jackie had broken up.

"He still chose to make you both Betsy's legal guardians anyway," Kitty continues, "and you know why? There were two reasons. First, he told me that he believed you and Jackie belong together and that somehow you'd end up back together."

Hyde flushes at this and shifts uncomfortably.

"And second, he knew that you two are both his friends and that you wouldn't let anything like your personal feelings for each other get in the way of doing the right thing and taking care of Betsy."

This, too, takes Hyde by surprise. Who knew that Kelso could be so insightful.

"You know you guys liked to joke about his lack of smarts," Kitty adds, "but Michael had a lot of faith in his friends. And I for one don't think he was wrong to do so. He knew you all very well."

Maybe Kelso did know what he was doing when he made Jackie and Hyde Betsy's legal guardians. Or at least wasn't completely wrong to do so. Maybe he had known them all better than they knew themselves.

Hyde is surprised to find himself blinking back tears behind his sunglasses.

Damn Kelso.

"Thanks Mrs. Forman," he says, standing up.

"Of course, sweetheart," she replies as she also stands up to pull him into an embrace.

As they hug, Hyde is more aware than ever before how much this woman means to him, and how much she's the mother he always wished he'd had. He could only hope to be half the parent she is.

When they pull away, Kitty smiles up at Hyde. "I know you're gonna do just fine."

He still isn't quite sure he believes it, but he's at least willing to find out.

It's been an hour since Hyde had stormed out of the hospital and forty-five minutes since Kitty had gone out after him, and Jackie is starting to worry. The child protective services is supposed to show up soon to inquire about Betsy and she doesn't know what she'll say if Hyde doesn't show up.

He's not going to say yes , she tells herself.

Of course you want him to say yes, another voice says, you love him.

Where had that come from? Jackie shakes her head to clear her thoughts. This is about Betsy. That should be her focus.

But it's more than that, right? Sharing custody over Betsy with Hyde will mean learning to get along with him, to share a serious responsibility with him. Having a kid with him is something she used to dream about regularly. Of course, this isn't how she wanted it to happen, not even close.

In her fantasies, her and Hyde were together and happily married. And they had their own child where she imagined multiple ways she could break the news to him that she was pregnant. He'd be freaked out at first, maybe even a little mad, but he'd come around. And after nine months of her carrying their child, they would welcome their little bundle of joy into the world. They were a whole, happy little family.

But she gave up on that dream a long time ago. She's accepted that that wouldn't happen. He practically hates her guts now, and to be honest she should hate him too. And yet, sharing custody of Betsy with Hyde might be an opportunity to fulfill part of that dream, to just get a taste of what could have been. Who knows, maybe-

No. She's not gonna go there. He's never going to say yes anyway. And that means she's going to be a single parent raising a two year old. That's what she should be worried about. She's going to have to learn how to take care of a child. She's going to have to figure it out on her own.

Okay. So what does a kid need? Food, clothes, toys. Trips to the park, doctors appointments, and celebrating birthdays. Books? Wait, she'll have to teach Betsy how to read. And of course she'll have to cut back on her work hours. And for the hours that she does work (she has a child to support now, after all) she'll need to find a babysitter. Maybe Donna? Or-

"So are we gonna do this thing or not?"

Jackie spins around to find the owner of the voice and can't believe her eyes.

Steven Hyde is standing in front of her, arms crossed and a newfound spark of determination in his eye.