CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
NOVEMBER 3RD, 1981
5:48 p.m.
LOCATION: Kelso's apartment
The door slams open as Kelso, and a sulking Fez, trot in carrying several bags of groceries and a bundled up Betsy. "Man, that checkout girl was totally checking me out!" Michael laughs as he sets down the paper bags on the kitchen counter. "Get it? 'Cause she's a-"
"Yes, yes, I get it. Very funny." Fez rolls his eyes. "Only, what is not funny, is how you stole her from me!" That busty blonde cashier was seconds away from giving him her number! And yet again he was thwarted by Kelso's charm and stupidly handsome face.
"Oh, come on. She was totally not into you, man. You basically called her a prostitute!" The police officer goes to plop himself on his couch with his daughter. Boy, Brooke was so lucky to have a guy like him. After watching cartoons all day with Betsy, hanging out with his buddy, he had to drag himself to do chores. And damn, was he exhausted! Seriously, it would have been so much easier she had just picked up dinner after she finished her shift at the city library. There was a great pizza parlour right across the street!
But no, she insisted that he go shopping for 'healthy' food and more toilet paper since he was gonna be home today. He huffed and turned on the television, flipping the channels until he found an episode of The Muppets playing. Who runs errands on their day off?
"I was making a joke!" The foreigner protests, exasperated. He starts putting away all of the groceries, knowing full well that Kelso will forget to do it. "The melons were on sale. So of course I had to ask her how much her melons were today!"
Kelso cranes his neck to look at his friend. "Hey, I thought that was pretty clever too! It's not my fault she was into hot dads. Isn't that right, Bets?" He bops his little girl's nose, who giggles in return.
"You still shouldn't be flirting with girls who are not your wife, you man-whore. Much less by using your own child as bait." Fez scowls.
"Dude, what are you complaining for anyways? Didn't you just audition for West Side Story? You'll be knee-deep in chicks." Michael reminds him. Hell, whether or not they were in cool movies or girly broadways, actors got all the tang they wanted.
Fez fiddles with a dishrag, head tilted down in embarrassment. "Actually, it did not go so well. I believe the casting director's exact words were, 'you sing like a drunk monkey.'" Which was completely rude and untrue! In his country, monkeys had a high tolerance for alcohol and could not even get tipsy.
"I do not get it! I'm a brown man with a sexy accent. Who, if not Fez, could play a better Bernardo?" He folded his arms in disheartenment.
"Yeah, I hear you, pal. Work sucks for me too," Kelso nods sympathetically. "It's so dangerous here! Can you believe that I had to help break up a robbery?!" Man, he misses the playboy club, but Brooke wouldn't let him work there anymore after they got back together. His only other option was to join the local PD, which totally blew chunks. At least in Point Place, he didn't have to worry about getting shot at!
Mostly because he did the shooting, but whatever.
"I have to admit, moving here was fun at first," Fez walks over to join Kelso on the couch, pulling Betsy into his lap. "And yet I long for the simple days in Eric's basement. It's just not the same anymore."
Just as he's about to agree with him, a loud ringing noise fills the room. The tall man lazily leans over to grab the phone from the side table. "Hello?" Micheals answers dryly. He immediately perks up, however, as he recognizes who's on the other line. "Hyde! What's going on, man?!"
Fez sits up excitedly. It's been a while since they talked to their grumpy friend and his goddess. Oh, how he yearns to smell her coconut-scented, bouncy locks once more.
"You're at Eric and Donna's? Aw, are you guys having a sleepover without us?" Kelso whines. He pauses to listen to Hyde, eyes gradually widening. "REALLY?! No way, that's awesome!"
"What? What?! I want to know too, you sonuvabitch!" Fez sets Betsy down to insistently shake the other man's shoulder.
Kelso pulls the phone away from his ear to shout with a big grin. "Jackie's pregnant!"
"Oh my God!" Fez gasps, completely stunned but happy for his friends. He had always known that Jackie belonged with Hyde, even during their brief relationship. There were no hard feelings between them. No one could deny their chemistry or how they bettered each other. And now, he was going to be an uncle for the second time!
"Uhuh, oh yeah... that's true." Kelso suddenly frowns. "I guess there's no way around that one. Bummer, dude. I was really looking forward to doing the chicken dance at your reception."
Fez bites his lip as apprehension fills him. That doesn't sound like any more positive news. "Are they cancelling the wedding? Ay, please say it isn't so!" Jackie had promised to invite her old cheerleader friends. "Let me talk to him, damn it!"
Michael shoves him away. "No, it's my turn!" Persistent, Fez moves in closer so that they both can hear Hyde.
"I said that we're still getting married, you dink. Moved the wedding to Veteran's Day instead, so get your asses to the Forman's as soon as possible."
In true fashion, neither of them questioned this unexpected change. They only looked at each other in elation and giddiness, the same thought racing through their heads. "Fez, grab the bottle rockets," Kelso grins while his companion bounces in glee. "We're going home."
The drive to Point Place was much longer than usual, or at least it felt that way. Mostly because Jackie hadn't stopped yapping her mouth about the wedding. She had demanded a list of everything that needed to be done and was drafting a game plan that would put the Packers to shame. He knew his doll would turn into one hell of a Bridezilla, but the fast-approaching deadline had just sent her into overdrive. That, and the insane amount of pregnancy hormones pumping through her veins.
Sighing as he followed the Vista Cruiser throughout their hometown, he thought about his next move. Foreman had practically begged them not to spill the beans to anyone, which was fine by him. If they wanted to wait until he grew a pair, then it would serve as great entertainment to watch them live in suspense. Jackie, however, had looser lips than Pam Macy's nether regions. He would be amazed if she didn't squeal the second they stepped in front of Red and Kitty.
Now, how were they gonna bring up their own little announcement? More than likely his adoptive parents were going to be happy for them, at first. Red probably won't be so thrilled to give up his favorite holiday to get dressed up in a suit- and Mrs F would throw a fit about the short notice.
As they weave into the old neighbourhood, the flipping sensation in his belly intensifies. Oh well, looks like they'd find out how this circus was gonna go soon enough.
His El Camino pulls into the Forman's driveway just as Eric and Donna step out of their car. "Oh, Steven I'm so nervous," Jackie tugs his sleeve. "I'd puke but I just applied a fresh coat of lipgloss."
He muffles snort in amusement. "It'll be fine. You get to be the centre of attention while I get to watch Foreman squirm in front of Red the whole time. What can go wrong?" Hyde smirks.
"Well, you better hope nothing does. Because if something screws up my big day, I'm going to kick you in the nads every time this kid wants to play soccer with my insides." She leers at him deviously before kissing his cheek and hopping outside.
And here he was thinking that she had turned into a boring, selfless grown up. Shrugging to himself, Hyde follows suit goes to join the rest of the gang. His baby was back to her old self.
They had seen the cars pull in from the backyard, from where they were busy raking up the autumn leaves. Kitty could seldom believe her eyes, her children were home! Tears clouded her vision, but that couldn't stop her from running to squeeze them all to death. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe you're here!" She sobs happily. Eric is her first victim, bent painfully low to accommodate her height and drowning in smooches.
"You're a little early, but I guess that just means I'm gonna have a lot of help gussying up this place in time for my barbeque." Red graces them with a fond smile then pulls their hoodlum son in for a hug as well.
Biting his lip, Steven pats his adoptive father on the back. "Yup, Veteran's Day is definitely too important to miss."
Kitty moves on to Donna, who purposely turns her stomach to the side as they embrace. Jackie was lucky enough to be showing yet, but her own belly was noticeably rounder underneath her thermals.
More rounds of hugs are exchanged before they move the party to the kitchen. Red, Donna, and Eric are all seated at the table while Hyde and Jackie are at the counter. Kitty, ever the attentive host, is busy passing around hot cocoa and freshly baked cookies.
"So, you finally got some time off of work. Teaching going good then?" The military man asks.
"You bet, the new semester just started but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm aiding this amazing guy, Professor Linburg, in Philosophy and he uses Jendi principles in his lectures." Eric giggles. "How cool is that?"
Red simply rolls his eyes at this. You'd think they'd keep that make-believe movie crap out of a university. "Donna, what about you? Bob mentioned that you've been moving up at the radio station."
The redhead gulps and slowly nods her head. "Yeah, it's going good. My boss has really taken me under her wing. She thinks I have it in me to be a kick-ass producer."
"Well, isn't that swell? I bet a cushy job like that has all the perks." Kitty places down an extra plate of snickerdoodles in front of them. "A nice salary, dental, paid maternity leave-"
Eric immediately starts to choke on his cocoa. His girlfriend hurriedly applies a few back blows, despite her own internal panicking. In her haste to change the topic, Donna sends the tiny brunette a pleading stare.
Catching on, she racks her brain for something to divert the Formans' attention to her. "Oh! Uh- um, I recently found out that the network is planning on adding a new segment for my show!" Jackie stammers. "It's primarily focusing on music videos and pop culture."
"Yeah, W.B. mentioned that one of the CEOs got the idea from some low-rate broadcasting company in New York," Steven adds. It sounded cool enough, the weirdest thing about it was their little clip of an astronaut planting a flag on the moon. Kind of gimmicky if you ask him. Besides, everybody knows that the moon landing was shot in a Hollywood basement.
"That's just silly. Who wants to watch those rock n' roll bands or hip-hoppers on television?" The older woman commented, successfully distracted from her son's slip up. "Doesn't sound like that'll last on-air long."
"That reminds me," Red glances back to the engaged couple. "I'm gonna need to borrow a few records from your store. That little flake Johnny Gibson backed out on me." Sore throat, his ass! The punk was coerced by the Hendersons to perform for their barbeque. So what if they offered to pay him ten dollars more?!
Mrs. Forman only shakes her head at her husband as she grabs another pot of hot chocolate from the stove. Really, when is he going to stop obsessing over this damn holiday? "Here, honey. I splashed a little Kahlua in it, just the way you like it!" She laughs and tops off Jackie's mug. Truth be told, she liked it that way too!
Jackie and Hyde exchange apprehensive looks. There probably won't be a better opportunity to segue into the hot topic of the night, so might as well pull the trigger. "Actually, Mrs. Forman, I can't drink that."
"That's okay, sweetie. I think I have some peppermint schnapps in the cabinet if you prefer that!"
"No, no! That's not the problem..." Jackie takes a deep breath before squeezing Steven's hand. They both smile, nerves washing away into zen. "I just can't have any alcohol, at least until after I've had the baby."
It just occurred to me that I've been spelling Forman wrong. '^_^
Oh well, I'm too lazy to go back and edit every chapter. :P Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! Reading them keeps me motivated to not fall into my old habit of leaving my fics unfinished. lol
If anyone has any suggestions of other Hyde x Jackie fics, let me know. I've been wanting to read some new ones to keep up my enthusiasm for the ship but I feel like I've read them all already. Also, I was thinking about uploading this to A03 as well. I'm not sure if I should just wait until I finish it though.
Let me know what you think! :D