Disclaimer: I do not own That 70s Show.


Steven and Eric had finally moved the last boxes into the backroom from the alley. Steven glanced at his watch, pleasantly surprised to find it only noon. They had worked efficiently without much talk, meaning he now had time to take his lunch before the mid-afternoon rush of school kids hit the store. He wiped his forehead with his t-shirt and was about to open his mouth to suggest to Eric they head to the Hub for a bite to eat when the doorbell chimed. Automatically, they both made their way to the front of the store and were slightly thrown off by who they found there.

Looking miffed, Brooke walked briskly to the counter with her eyes set on Eric and Steven.

"Where is he?"

"You mean Kelso?" Eric asked confused.

"No Santa Claus," Brooke rolled her eyes, "Of course I mean Michael. Where is he hiding?" She crossed her arms, annoyed.

Steven wasn't really in the mood to be on the receiving end of attitude caused by Kelso's dumb ass, "This may come as a surprise but I don't spend my days keeping track of Michael Kelso. I don't know where he is."

Brook narrowed her eyes at him as though she could read his mind (and honestly, she could be so scary that he thought she might be able to). His story apparently checked out because she turned to Eric with a raised eye.

Eric raised his arms in surrender, "Don't look at me, I haven't talked to him since Sunday night at dinner."

This seemed to take the wind out of her sails. Brooke uncrossed her arms and dropped onto the stool with a huff. "I swear sometimes Michael can be the biggest pain in the ass."

"I might regret asking this, but what did Don Juan do now?" Steven asked.

Brooke picked up a bit of her previous anger as she began, "Michael got fired from his job!"

Eric reacted first, "What? When?"

But Brooke picked up on Steven's lack of reaction, "You knew!"

Steven attempted to slide by this but before he can make an excuse or weave a lie Brooke cuts him off saying, "Cut the crap, Steven."

"Alright yeah. Kelso came by to mine and Jackie's last Friday freaking out about losing his job and having to tell you."

"Friday!" she yelled, "He'd been keeping this a secret since Friday?!"

"When did you find out?" Eric asked.

"Tuesday! He came home, from work I thought! And after we put Betsy down we were cleaning up in the kitchen before bed. He did that thing where he beats around the bush for about twenty minutes before he spills the beans. I got so upset because we had a plan!"

"Yeah he mentioned that. Was practically pissing himself scared to tell you," Steven smirked.

Brooke seemed to soften at his words, "I mean I was obviously upset. But it's not like I'm going to leave him or anything. I knew what I was getting myself into when I married Michael. I was more upset that he hadn't told me before because he said he had been searching for a job since Monday. But I didn't know he'd been fired since Friday!"

Eric asked confused, "Wait so why don't you know where he is?"

"I was upset and we got into an argument. He said he was going to be sure to find a job. Since Wednesday morning when he left to go search, I haven't seen him!"

"He ran away?" Steven asked, surprised at the thought of Kelso literally running from his problems.

Brooked sighed, "No. Not really. But there'll be dishes in the sink and laundry in the hamper. He comes home, just not when I'm there. He sneaks into bed after I've already gone to sleep and he's gone before I wake up. Betsy's the only one to see him."

"What an idiot," Eric said, "But you gotta hand it to the man. He knows how to avoid the missus."

Brooke looked at Eric unamused.

"So you think we're helping hide your little fugitive then," Steven said finally understanding.

"I thought maybe he had come to you two for help. I just want to sit and talk with him. I miss him," Brooke had lost the fire from before and now sounded defeated.

Eric's soft heart won out, "I'm sure he's just trying to find a job before he has to face you. He just wants you to be happy."

"Yeah, he just does it in the way only an idiot can," Steven added.

Brooke chuckled but with watery eyes, "True."

"If we see him, we'll give you a call," Eric promised.

She sighed again, "Thanks guys. And let him know that I'm just worried... And sorry for getting so upset…" The guys nodded, not sure what else to say. "I have to go pick up Betsy, I'll see you guys later."

They shared goodbyes and as soon as the door closed behind her Eric and Steven shared a look.

Eric spoke first, "Where do you think he is?"

"One of two places. The Hub or your basement," Steven guessed, "Let's check the Hub and grab lunch. Two birds, one stone."

"I like the way you think," Eric smiled, patting Steven on the shoulder.


Jackie hadn't yet found a great time to jump in with her news. Her boss was going over new goals and checking in on projects without a pause big enough for her to chime in. Jackie had tried her best to pay attention and take notes but kept getting lost in thoughts of how to say she was pregnant.

"That's everything I had on my agenda. I'd really like for you to have the contact information for the grand opening of that new bakery before you continue with your other stories," Meredith finished with a final glance at notes she had written on her legal notepad, "Was there anything else, Jackie?"

"Huh?" Jackie asked roused from her thoughts.

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about before we wrap up?"

"Oh," Jackie said, "Um, yes."

Meredith waited but when Jackie still didn't continue she pressed, "Okay. What was it?"

Jackie was so nervous she began to sweat. And she never sweat unless it was the middle of August and she was doing her Jane Fonda tapes. She cleared her throat, honing all her energy toward Zen. She just had to be professional, clear, and explain her situation with important details.

"I'm pregnant."

Well, shit.

Meredith sat still, shocked, for a moment before she found her voice, "Oh!"

"I only just found out a couple of weeks ago, but I'm about a month along. No one else knows because it's so early but I thought you should know. I don't plan to let this affect my work in any way. But when I spoke to my boyfriend he mentioned that as I get – well bigger that I could be limited with how much running around I do or what stories I can cover. But until then I'm open to doing anything and everything to keep this job. I really don't want to leave, this has been an amazing experience working here. This isn't really according to my ten-year plan, you know, but I guess that's just life you know? It always throws a curveball and this is a… a big one…," Jackie smiled awkwardly, her words tapering off at the end of her rambling.

Meredith had waited for Jackie to finish before she smacked her hand on the table, startling her, "Well, we're just going to have to make a plan."

"Plan?"

"Yes a plan. You say you're about a month along?" Meredith asked seriously.

Jackie nodded, still unsure where this was going. She had her hands under her thighs stop them from fidgeting.

"We have about four more months then until you're useless for the running around and covering more tenacious stories," Meredith looked at her closely, "Maybe three, you're pretty tiny.

"That gives us – December, January, February. March at the most. I'm sure I could have you solely in studio then until you pop. We'll have to increase your script editing load then and you may have to do some more simple work for the reporters. Assistant-like tasks," she continued thoughtfully.

"Wait, I'm not fired?" Jackie asked surprised.

"Fired?" Meredith said, "Fire one of my best people? Because she's pregnant? Honey, if we ladies stopped working because we got pregnant, the world would go to shit," she said bluntly, and she turned some frames around so the pictures face Jackie, "These are mine," the pictures should three kids looking about 14, 9, and 6 years old, "It's possible to be a working mother. Is it easy? No, but if it's what you want, you can do it."

Jackie started to relax, "Thank God! I was so worried you would fire me because I'd be useless."

Meredith smiled, "Rest assured that's not a reason for which I'd fire you, Jackie. But you'll still have to keep working hard," she warned, "As much as it's possible, there's still plenty of idiots around here who think pregnancy is a death sentence for a woman's career."

The thought of some stuffy gross men telling her what she could and couldn't do riled Jackie up, "Jackie Burkhardt never does anything less than perfect."

"Great to hear," Meredith smiled broadly. "Now get back to work Burkhardt."

Feeling greatly relieved, Jackie stood to leave.

Before she left the room, Meredith added sincerely, "Oh, and congratulations mom."

Jackie smiled, "Thank you."


Eric and Steven arrived at the Hub and quickly noticed that Kelso wasn't using their childhood haunt as a hiding place.

As Eric sat at their booth with hot dogs and fries, Steven came out of the bathroom, "He's not in there for sure. I guess he's at in the basement."

"I can't believe he's hiding from Brooke," Eric said, laughing a little.

"Like you wouldn't hide from Donna," Steven teased, "Do I need to remind you of last summer when you ruined her new dress?"

"Yeah but I can't take Donna in a fight," Eric whined.

Steven rolled his eyes and bit into his hot dog.

Eric chewed on a fry thoughtfully, "Hey, have you heard from Fez lately?"

Steven thought over the question and realized that other than Sunday dinner which Fez rushed home after before any drinks, he hadn't seen the man in two weeks. Jackie and the baby had definitely been distracting him from the usual.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't…You?"

"No, that's why I was asking you. I hope he's alright."

"Maybe he ran away with Kelso," Steven joked.

"You know…what's scary about that is I wouldn't be surprised if those two started a new life together," Eric smirked.

They laughed and enjoyed their lunch, trying not to worry over their girlfriends or troubled friends. Which wasn't two hard when the two of them were in each other's company.


Jackie arrived home, having had a great day but tired nonetheless. She slipped off her shoes and locked the door behind her, thinking that a hot shower sounded amazing. She wondered where Steven was as the living room and kitchen were quiet. She wasn't too worried as it was delivery day at Grooves and that meant overtime sometimes for Steven.

"Steven?"

She walked to their bedroom and found it empty and dark as well. But as she gathered some clothes for her shower, she noticed the bathroom light was on and the door closed.

She smiled happy he was home and entered, hoping he could help her relax, "Hey baby."

"Oh my god!" Jackie yelled and turned around.

Quickly pulling his pants up, Michael cried, "Shit!"

"What the hell are you doing here, Michael!?," Jackie continued yelling.

"I was using the bathroom! Damn Jackie, don't you knock?!" Michael yelled back.

Jackie turned back to face him, annoyed with him, "Funnily enough, when I come home to my house, and my bathroom, I don't expect to find you here!"

Before Michael could continue, she rolled on, "And how the hell did you get in here?!"

"I had a key, Jackie!"

"That's for emergencies!"

"It was an emergency! I had a super-size slurpee earlier!"

Jackie refrained from slapping him upside the head and was thinking how she was supposed to reply to such idiocy when Steven entered the bathroom, "What the hell is going on in here?"

"Jackie apparently doesn't believe in knocking!" Michael replied, highly affronted.

Jackie almost growled, "I came home and I thought you were in the bathroom and I come in here and I find this moron!"

Steven turned to Michael, "What are you doing here man?"

Michael began matter-of-factly, "I was out – look can we talk about this outside of the bathroom?"

Steven frowned, exasperated by his friend but conceded, "Alright fine," and he ushered a still-mad Jackie out to the living room.

When Michael didn't follow, they turned back to him and he explained, "I wasn't exactly done, so I'll be out in a bit," he smiled goofily and shut the door without giving them a chance to speak.

Jackie and Steven rolled their eyes together and went to sit at the couch. They had only just sat when there was a knock at their door. Jackie answered Steven's questioning look with a shrug.

He opened the door to reveal Donna and Eric, bundled from the cold.

"What're you guys doing here?"

"I had a call from Brooke about Kelso still playing hooky from his marriage and Eric told me you two had checked both the Hub and Basement. We thought we'd check to see if you two had any ideas. Brooke sounded upset," Donna explained as she and Eric hung up their coats and sat at the chairs Steven had pulled for them from the kitchen.

The hot topic of conversation chose that moment to exit the bathroom, "Hey it's a party!"

"Kelso, what the hell!?" Donna asked angrily.

"Why has everyone been asking me that?" Kelso said annoyed.

Eric said exasperated, "Because you've been acting like an asshole!"

"We had Brooke come in to Grooves today and interrogate us on your whereabouts. Then she mentioned you've been avoiding her since Wednesday," Steven explained.

Jackie raised her eyebrows, "Wait, Michael you haven't seen Brooke since Wednesday? Have you even told her about your job?"

"Wait you knew?" Donna asked.

"Kelso came by on Friday to tell us he lost his job and was freaking out about telling Brooke. He told her Tuesday and she hasn't seen him since," Steven explained quickly.

Donna frowned, "Kelso, that's stupid even for you."

"I've been talking to Betsy! I make sure I kiss her good morning and before bed," Michael defended.

The girls – and Eric – backed down a little at that.

"Yeah but man, how long can you keep this up?" Steven asked.

Michael sank lower into the couch, "I wanted to have a new job lined up before I faced Brooke again, alright? You should've seen how she was when I told her…"

"I'm sure she wasn't as mad as she sounded – " Jackie tried to console him.

"No," he interrupted, "It wasn't that. She was just so disappointed..." Michael shared quietly.

Donna softened further, now past her judgmental-Donna phase into motherly-Donna, "Kelso, when she called me today she didn't sound mad or disappointed. She sounded really sad. She just wants to see you and talk to you."

"She's too good for me," Michael said.

"Well, duh, but I'm too good for Eric," to which Eric cried 'hey!', "And Jackie is too good for Hyde," to which Steven knew to not react to, "That's how it works. But she loves you anyway. And unless you go talk to her, she's not gonna have a reason to stick around."

Weirdly enough, that seemed to help Michael and he sat up, "You're right Donna. Thanks, guys. I'm off to see my woman!"

"Go get 'em" Steven smirked. And they watched Michael grab his coat and determinedly march off home.

They hoped.

"I'll call Brooke later and make sure he didn't chicken out again," Jackie said, knowing they were all thinking the same thing.

The gang breathed in relief and sat in silence for a moment. Jackie realized she hadn't yet turned on the tree, plugged in the lights and then rejoined Steven on the couch. They sat enjoying the twinkling of the lights, relaxing in each other's company.

Jackie stood after a minute, "I'm going to make some tea. Anyone want some?"

"I'll take one," Steven smiled.

"You know, actually some coffee sounds great, I doubt we'll be getting to bed anytime soon. Kitty usually calls around 9 every night now," Donna grumbled. Eric looked like he was trying his best to not exacerbate her irritation.

"Oh, um, we don't have any coffee," Jackie replied, attempting to seem nonchalant.

"You guys are out?" Donna asked confused.

"Yep," Steven said searching for the remote to distract their two friends.

"But Hyde, man, you can't even function without your morning coffee!" Eric said.

Donna nodded, "Yeah remember that time we went camping and we forgot the coffee? You through Kelso in the lake!"

"Well, we're out Donna! So, do you want tea or not?" Jackie bit back.

Donna and Eric shared a look, but Donna replied, "Okay yeah, tea sounds nice. I guess."

"I'll take peppermint if you have any," Eric requested. Jackie left to the kitchen without a reply.

Donna stared at him.

"What? I like the taste and it helps with digestion," Eric shrugged.

Steven snorted. He wrestled the remote out from between the cushions, relieved to be able to turn on the TV.

But even with the television playing, Donna stared at him suspiciously. Steven determinedly looked toward the screen, almost feeling like he was going to break out in a sweat. The situation reminded him all too much of his earlier confrontation with Brooke. He was going to need a beer after today.

Luckily, there came distraction in the form of another knock at the door. Except this time, it was frantic.

Steven rose to open the door, wondering what the hell the night had in store for them now. Eric followed close behind just in case (although Steven thought briefly that Donna might be a better partner in a fight).

Jackie poked her head out from the kitchen as Steven opened the door to reveal Fez bursting into the room with a loud energy.

"I have been looking for all of you all night!" Fez said, upset and wound up. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it up on the rung before continuing his complaints. "I went by the Forman's, Kelso's, and Eric and Donna's!"

Jackie returned to the kitchen with the teas for the group, having prepared one for Fez as well, "Fez, have you heard of a phone?"

"Yeah and also you're the one that's been off the radar! No one's seen or heard from you since Sunday!" Eric exclaimed.

Fez lost his annoyance and smiled, "That's what I was looking for you guys to talk about! I have news!"

Steven raised an eyebrow, "What kinds of news?"

"It's a Christmas miracle!" Fez cried, almost looking like he was about to cry.

"So, what is it?!" Donna cried, fed up with Fez's delivery.

The gang waited with bated breath, hoping that whatever Fez was about to say wouldn't throw them for a loop or cause too much trouble for their friend.

Fez smiled his candy-sweet smile and announced, "I'm going to find the love of my life!"

It was quiet for a beat as everyone sat confused. Eric broke the silent first, "Sorry what?"

Fez lost a bit of his excitement in exchange of frustration at their lack of enthusiasm, "I'm going to find my soulmate!"

"Okay…that's…great, Fez," Jackie attempted to say confidently.

"So how are you going to find your soulmate?" Donna asked.

Steven smirked, "Gonna try and run a kissing booth at the Hub again?"

"No," Fez said exasperatedly, "I'm going to be on television on a show of love." He smiled again as if now it should all be obvious.

Eric took his turn in trying to get the story straight, "So…you're going to find love."

Fez nodded, "Yes."

"On a game show."

"Yes!" Fez smiled.

"Oh my God," Donna said, surprised, mouth agape.

Jackie's interest peaked, "Which one?" Now this made everything more exciting. Fez! On TV!

"Love Connection!" Fez cried. He looked to each of his friends, drinking in their reactions.

Steven was just as surprised as his friends, and not quite sure what to say to that. Eric wondered how the hell Fez had gotten the idea or the chance.

"How the hell did this happen," Eric asked one hand flailing and the other holding the mug of tea precariously.

"This is great!" Jackie said, hands clasped around her mug, leaning into Steven. She already was imagining finding a way to join Fez on the set.

Fez was practically bouncing with excitement, "I was at the mall a couple of weeks ago –I was out of Cool Water and had a date coming up – and there was a table with a woman who said she was with a television network," Jackie grimaced at the mention of the cologne that had her running to the nearest toilet two weeks ago, "They were looking for contestants for their next set of episodes. And she said I was a perfect candidate: handsome, young, and charming," Fez said looking chuffed.

"Wow, Fez," Donna smiled, "That's great! Crazy, but great. Weird…but great."

"Are you sure you aren't just gonna be robbed of your money and show up to an abandoned warehouse?" Steven teased.

Eric joined in, saying sincerely, "You know I saw that on the news the other day! There was this guy who thought he was going to be on a game show and ended up losing his entire savings because they kept telling him he needed to pay for different processes."

"No this is a sure thing," he said confidently. "That's where I've been these past two weeks. I've been auditioning and turning in applications. You would not believe the number of interviews I had to have to win this!"

"Well I think this is great!" Jackie repeated. "We support you, Fez! Everyone that goes on Love Connection finds their soulmate. It's a sure thing!"

The others shared skeptical looks but knew it was smarter to keep their mouths shut. They sat in comfortable silence yet again, this time lost in their thoughts but eyes watching the television.

Steven wrapped an arm around Jackie, playing with the ends of her hair. She sighed into him, wondering what other changes and events the end of this year would bring. Within one month, she was pregnant, Kelso wanting to be responsible, and Fez about to star on a TV show. She thought back to the supportive words of her boss from earlier that day and found herself feeling wonderfully at ease with it all.


Yet another Christmas come and gone. This story will not be abandoned though!

Hope you all had amazing holidays and have a wonderful New Year!

Thanks again for your love and reading! xoxo