A/N: this is mostly a filler chapter, and it kinda jumps around a lot, but its necessary. but the next chapter...well, im just excited about it cuz some stuff starts happening ;)

Hyde manages to get through his first Betsy "shift" without too much trouble. And the following shifts. Of course, this is mainly the case because he has the Formans to help. Without them, Betsy would probably be outside eating dirt at some point. He had no idea how much work a toddler is. You have to help them do normal things, like eat and bathe and get dressed. And they have so much energy, a third of the time you just spend running after them or stopping them from doing something they're not supposed to.

Luckily, thanks to the three other people in the house, he doesn't have to worry about doing all that himself. Mrs. Forman often watches after Betsy, and she usually does most of the "dirty work" like bathe her or clean her up after she eats. Her excitement for having a young child in the house hasn't faded yet, so she isn't complaining. And obviously, neither is Hyde.

Of course, Kitty isn't always around to look after Betsy for Hyde, so sometimes he has to find alternative babysitters.

"Hey I got a call from work and I need to go in and take care of something, so I need you to watch Betsy for a while," Hyde says to Red, handing him the toddler.

Red looks questionably at the small child in his hands. "Wait what? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" he asks.

"Just keep her alive until Kitty or I get back. You've had two of those 'things' in your house before, shouldn't be too hard. Thanks, Red," Hyde answers as he heads out the door.

"Damn it," Red says to himself. "I was hoping I'd never have to babysit another kid again."

But when Kitty comes home a couple hours later, she finds Red in the living room asleep in his chair, with Betsy asleep in his arms. And it's not the last time she walks in on a moment like that.

"How did we get roped into this?" Eric asks, holding Betsy's hand while standing at the entrance of the Piggly Wiggly store.

"I think what you mean is, how did you get roped into this. I am only here to watch you mess this up," Fez replies with a smile.

Eric only sighs and rolls his eyes to the ceiling. He knows Fez is right, unfortunately. Earlier today Kitty had asked him to go grocery shopping for her and get some things for dinner since she would be at a church event for most of the day. He wasn't exactly happy about it, but he thought it wouldn't be too bad. But then Hyde had rushed up to him with Betsy saying he'd forgotten he had a work meeting with W.B. and some other executives, one he couldn't miss. So Eric was handed the toddler and Hyde had rushed out without even giving him the chance to object.

And that's how he ended up here. With no choice but having to take a two year old grocery shopping.

"You know, Hyde's getting a little too comfortable with us babysitting Betsy for him," Eric complains. "I mean, we don't mind helping him out here and there, but he's taking it a bit too far. Betsy's his responsibility, and him relying on my mom and the rest of us so much is gonna catch up to him someday. Hopefully soon."

"Of course it will, it always does," Fez agrees. "And as his friends, we will be there to gloat." He smiles innocently again.

"You got that right, buddy," Eric says, slapping him on the back. "Now let's hurry up and get this over with already." He pulls out the shopping list Kitty gave him and scans the items written on the paper. "Okay, so first we need butter and cheese."

The trio makes their way over to the dairy section with Fez pushing the shopping cart (he insists that that is the only thing he's going to do to help- because it's 'fun'). Eric manages to find the specific butter and cheese that Kitty had asked for, and they make their way through the rest of the store as they continue down the list. Eventually, they come to the cereal aisle.

"One box of Wheaties," Eric is saying, reading off the list. He looks up at the row of cereal and gasps, letting go of Betsy's hand and rushing over. "They got Star Wars cereal now? Fez, look! It has Darth Vader on it!" He excitedly shows Fez as his friend walks over to see the box in his hand. He then flips the box over, reading the back. "It says there's more in this special edition series. There's one with Luke Skywalker on it! Come on, you have to help me find one."

Fez watches as Eric eagerly scans the row of cereal boxes for one with his favorite character on it. "If no one has reminded you yet today, you are a nerd. And a child."

Eric gives him a look. "Oh and you're not? Come on, man, just help me out here."

"Alright, fine," Fez gives in, throwing up his hands. He helps his friend in his search and after a few minutes they find a Luke Skywalker box hiding behind some storm trooper boxes.

"Yes!" Eric exclaims, taking in the sight of Luke on the breakfast cereal container.

"Finally," Fez says, "Now we can finish up and take Betsy home already."

"Yeah, you're right. Come on, Betsy- Betsy?" Eric spins around, looking for the little girl. He gasps, a horrified expression coming across his face. "Oh my God, we lost Betsy!"

"You mean you lost Betsy, you son of a bitch! I had nothing to do with this," Fez insists, his shared anxiety coming out as annoyance towards Eric.

"Okay, okay, this is fine," Eric says to calm himself, ignoring Fez's accusation. "We just have to find her." A beat. "OH MY GOD THIS IS NOT FINE! Hyde's gonna kill us!" He starts half-walking half-running down the aisle, Fez on his heels.

"Ai, forget Hyde- Kelso's ghost is gonna haunt us for the rest of our lives!" Fez wails.

"Alright, you go that way, I'll go this way," Eric directs and they both go off in different directions, each calling Betsy's name. Eric screeches to a stop at the first employee he comes across. "Hey, have you seen a little girl? She's about two years old, has brown hair, and is wearing an oversized Led Zeppelin t-shirt." The employee shakes his head and Eric takes off without waiting to hear anything else.

After a few frantic minutes of searching both sides of the store, Eric and Fez run into each other again, both without the toddler. Eric looks like he's either going to pass out or throw up- or both- and Fez looks like he's about to cry. But before they can do any of those things, a voice on the loudspeaker gets their attention: "Will the parents of a Betsy Kelso please come to the front?"

Eric and Fez look at each other in relief before rushing over to the front of the store. They find Betsy sitting on a box happily sucking a lollipop while a middle aged woman wearing a Piggly Wiggly smock stands next to her. "Oh thank God. Betsy!" Eric runs up to the little girl, hugging her to his chest. "We were so worried about you."

"You two are her parents?" the woman asks skeptically.

"Oh no, she's just our niece," Fez explains. "Sort of."

"Yeah, it's complicated," Eric adds.

The woman doesn't look convinced. She goes over to kneel in front of Betsy, pushing Eric aside. "Betsy honey, do you know these men? Who are they?"

"Unca Eric and Unca Fez," Betsy says with a smile, pointing at each one respectively.

"Alright," the woman nods before turning back to Eric and Fez. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves, you know that, right? Don't let this happen again," she warns.

"Yes, ma'am," Eric and Fez both answer. They then finish up their shopping- while keeping a close eye on Betsy- and get home to the Forman's. Hyde's in the kitchen sitting at the table when they walk in.

"Hey, where were you guys?" he asks.

"Oh, uh, we just had to go shopping for Mom," Eric explains, gesturing to the grocery bags in his arms.

"And Eric definitely didn't lose Betsy at the store while he was shopping," Fez says with a smile. Eric freezes.

"What? " Hyde says, his voice dangerous. "You lost Betsy?"

"No, no. I said Eric didn't lose her," Fez clarifies.

Hyde shoots him a look that says he's definitely not buying that. He looks like he's about to murder someone, but he manages to control himself enough to get Betsy out of the room first. "Hey Betsy, why don't you go watch TV in the living room, okay?" he suggests.

"Okay," she agrees, running off to the next room.

Once the toddler is safely in the next room, Hyde sets his sights on Eric and stands up. Eric shrinks into himself, taking a few steps backward.

"You better start talking, Forman," Hyde demands.

"Look, Hyde, it was an accident!" Eric pleads. "I was focused on shopping and- and I just lost sight of her, okay? And nothing happened to her, she's completely fine!"

"Yeah, you were lucky. She could've been kidnapped or some shit! What the hell were you thinking?!" he yells.

Eric stares back into the angry face of his best friend when suddenly he's the one who's angry. "No. You know what, Hyde? This whole thing wouldn't have happened if you had watched Betsy like you were supposed to! You can't keep relying on other people to take care of her! Kelso wanted you and Jackie to raise her, not you, Jackie, and me and my mom and everyone else! So- so think about THAT!" he yells back, storming out of the room.

"Yeah, what he said," Fez agrees less dramatically, following Eric's lead and leaving the room.

And with that, Hyde is left alone in the kitchen, hating how right they are.

Jackie and Hyde get into a routine: Monday through Thursday Betsy stays with Jackie and Friday through Sunday she stays with Hyde. Sometimes Jackie has night photoshoots during her Betsy shifts and Hyde begrudgingly agrees to watch Betsy for her. It's not easy, but they manage to make their conflicting schedules and lives line up just so, just enough to make their shared custody of Betsy work. There's nothing personal about it, they make sure of that. It's easier that way, safer.

Instead, they throw themselves into the task of raising Betsy each in their own way. Hyde tries to teach Betsy to dribble and toss a basketball, her tiny arms only able to throw the ball about a foot in front of her at first. But with practice, progress is shown slowly but surely. "Yeah, that's my girl! Keep it up and you'll be the captain of the basketball team someday," he encourages her.

Jackie tries to teach Betsy cheerleading moves and cheers, her clumsy toddler movements struggling to mimic Jackie's lithe limbs. Of course, Jackie refuses to be discouraged and continues to work on it with her, smiling when Betsy giggles at the fun of it. "You're doing great Betsy! I just know you have what it takes to be captain of the cheer squad someday," she reassures.

Jackie continues to regularly take Betsy to the park, doing so everyday Monday through Thursday. They play on the playground and Betsy goes on the slide more than anything else. They also like to pick flowers and try to catch butterflies together. But their favorite thing to do is watch the ducks on the pond. Soon they start to bring bread to feed the ducks and Betsy insists they name them. Jackie and her are able to come up with a combination of both silly and pretty names for all the ducks and they soon come to think of the birds almost as pets.

Hyde isn't the kind of guy to go for walks in the park, but one day Kitty suggests he takes Betsy there when she's being particularly rowdy and he gives in. He soon realizes it's a great way to get all her excess energy out- and he doesn't think the experience is so bad himself. They make a routine of it, going to the park every weekend. Hyde's surprised to hear Betsy's duck names tumble from her mouth while they sit next to the pond. "That's Millie, and there's Sprinkles!" she says, pointing to each one as she says their name. "You're a weird kid," Hyde says, thinking she's coming up with the names on the spot, but there's a hint of endearment in his voice.

Jackie and Hyde continue to both take Betsy to the park on a regular basis, unaware that the other does the exact same thing. It's almost like they're connected in a way they don't know of, their 'separate' parenting overlapping without their knowledge. Until one day Betsy mentions it to Jackie when they're on the playground. "I like when you go on the slide and 'tuff with me," she says. "When Unca 'Teve come here with me, he just watch."

Jackie's heart skips a beat. "Steven takes you here, too?" she asks.

Betsy nods. "And we watch the ducks, too."

Jackie goes quiet, taking in the information. She didn't think Hyde would be the kind to take kids to the park, but apparently she was wrong. The mental image is a sweet one, and she finds herself smiling as she pictures it. Does he know she also takes Betsy here? Would he care if he knew? She's not sure, but it doesn't matter. Either way, she thinks it's cute. And she likes the idea that they share something like this, whether he's aware of it or not.

Hyde usually doesn't let Betsy into his bedroom in the basement, but one day he's putting his laundry away so he lets her follow him in there so he can keep an eye on her. He's refolding a t-shirt he'd dropped when he hears Betsy's excited voice.

"Aunt Jackie!"

Brow furrowed, Hyde turns around to find what the toddler's referring to. She's holding a small square polaroid, and he realizes she somehow found the picture from prom in '77. Even after the breakup, he didn't have the heart to throw the photo away. He doesn't like to look at it, because it hurts to do so, but he doesn't want to throw it away either.

Betsy makes her way over to Hyde, a smile on her face as she holds out the photo. "Look! Aunt Jackie!" she says excitedly.

"Yep, that's her," Hyde says, taking the photo from her to look at it against his better judgement. The memory of the beginning of his and Jackie's story stares back at him. He doesn't know why he ever agreed to take her to that stupid prom when he hadn't developed feelings for her yet (at least not consciously) and she still had feelings for Kelso, but he was glad he did. That was when he started to see her differently.

"She's so pretty!" the little girl gushes, eyes bright.

Hyde's eyes soften, taking in Jackie's purple dress, happy eyes, and bright smile. "Yeah, she is. She's beautiful," he says, remembering telling her the exact same thing that night, years ago.

A lump forms in his throat and he quickly hands the photo back to Betsy. Damn it. This is why he doesn't like looking at that stupid picture.

Betsy stares at the photo again, beginning to giggle. "You look mad," she remarks.

Hyde snorts. "Yeah well, I didn't exactly want to be there," he explains, recalling how reluctant he was to go to that dance. If he could go back in time, he would tell his past self to enjoy that night, to relish those moments where he and Jackie were happy. Before he went and messed everything up.

"So how have things been going so far?" Donna asks Jackie when they're at the Hub for their usual meet up. Betsy is with them at their table, coloring in a unicorn coloring book Jackie had brought for her.

"Donna, I'm exhausted! Who knew kids could be so much work?" Jackie wonders.

"Um, everyone? It's kind of common knowledge," Donna laughs.

Jackie's about to respond when she notices Betsy starting to crayon on the table. "No, Betsy! Stay on the paper, please. The last thing I need is to be known as the lady who raised the town vandal."

"Jackie, a two year old coloring on a table isn't necessarily the start of a life of vandalism," Donna shakes her head, smiling.

"With Steven raising her half the time, I have to be extra cautious of any bad behaviors so I can nip them in the bud," she explains. She's not taking any chances.

Donna frowns at this. "You used to be the one who believed in Hyde's good side more than anyone. What happened?"

"You know what happened." Jackie looks away. "It's not that I think he's a bad person, I just...I can't believe in him the way I used to anymore. Or I don't want to."

"But you do?"

Jackie shifts uncomfortably. "A part of me does, at least. You know I still…" she looks around and lowers her voice, "you know I still love him. And I still dream about getting back together with him. But I shouldn't. He broke my heart and I shouldn't want to jump back in his arms if he gave me the chance. But I know I would. Not that he would ever want me back in the first place."

Donna watches her best friend's face crestfallen carefully. She knows Jackie never stopped loving Hyde, she's watched her try to get over him with Fez, with her career, with everything. And it breaks her own heart to see Jackie so down about it, to see that she's given up entirely. God, she wishes Hyde would just get his shit together already.

"Well screw him. He's missing out. And you've got a kid now and you're doing just fine. You know, aside from this Hyde talk, I haven't seen you as happy as you have been lately in like, a really long time. I think Betsy is doing you good," she shares. And she means it, between work and taking care of Betsy, Jackie's been so busy she hasn't had time to be sad.

Jackie smiles. She really has enjoyed taking care of someone else. It feels like she's doing something really meaningful, like she has an important purpose now. "Yeah, you're right. I've been kicking ass lately, huh?"

Donna laughs. "Sure have. Look at you; you're a beautiful, independent young woman."

"I really am, aren't I?" she says proudly, flipping her hair.

"Bea-u-ti-ful," Betsy repeats carefully as she continues to color and Jackie and Donna turn to look at her. "Unca 'Teve said Aunt Jackie is bea-u-ti-ful."

Jackie's smile drops in shock, wondering if she heard that right. "Betsy, Steven said I'm beautiful? When?"

Donna looks unsure. "Jackie-"

"Donna, shh! Betsy? When did Steven say that?" she asks again.

"I dunno. Yesterday?" she answers absentmindedly. She then lifts up the coloring book, showing off the finished product, a scribbly, rainbow colored unicorn. "Look!"

"It looks great, Betsy," Donna smiles at her before turning back to her friend. "Jackie..."

Jackie shakes herself from a daze and waves her off. "I'm fine. It doesn't mean anything," she plays it off, but both her and Donna know for a fact that it means everything.