January 1980-

Angies apartment, San Francisco

"Checkmate." He smirked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. You win." She shook her head. "You're pretty good at chess when you aren't a moron." Angela chided, collecting all the pieces and putting them into a velvet bag.

His bare feet dug into the carpet of her house in San Francisco, and he rubbed his beard. "Listen, uh-" He paused, taking his sunglasses and placing them in the center of the table. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm listening." She spoke, putting the game into a drawer behind them.

"I need you to look at me." He sighed. She raised an eyebrow, but nodded her head. "Okay." She met his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "Like, actually, truly sorry that I did that to you." He frowned.

"Did what?" She asked, playing innocent. He could see the way her feet curled into the carpet.

"I put you in the line of fire." He shook his head. "Christmas day?" He asked her. She pursed her lips, and shrugged.

"It's cool."

"Don't do that to me. That's my thing." He pointed. "It was unacceptable behavior. And, you're right. I'm Steven. Not Edna Hyde's son."

"Understood. And, really, Steven- I ain't mad. Just... Thrown off I guess. Thought you wouldn't go down that path." She spoke, voice soft. She grasped his hand in the center of the table and gave a sad smile. "Addiction is hereditary. But, I'm here for you for life. New or not, we're still siblings."

He smiled really big. "Love you, Sis."

"Love you too, big bro."

Present 1984

"This is a little bonkers, Eric." He told his friend, who led him up the stairs of Jackie's front porch. "This is Jackie's house."

Eric shook his head, hobbling up the stairs on crutches, which he had just graduated to today. "It's also your daughter's house. Her stuff is here. The nurse said it would be best for her to be in familiar surroundings-"

"Is her grandparent's house not familiar?" He asked, pursing his lips straight. "Eric, this isn't mine. Our house is mine. The basement was mine..." He pursed his lips at the painful memories and joyous times in his life." He huffed. "Sobriety is fucking hard, man. Nothing takes that pain away like a bottle and possibly a line of blow." He shook his head.

"So why did you stop?" Eric asked, after a long break of silence. The two stood awkwardly under the light of the ceiling. The swing creaked in the wind, and he shrugged.

"Hurt too many others, hurt myself... Went to prison." He scoffed. "Now I have Tyler. Oh, I fucking left her, Eric. Do you know how guilty I am about it? Every day since I laid eyes on her, thinking about her and how she grew up without me? How I'm just like Bud and Edna? How I hurt her mother?" He ran his hand over his scruff.

"Jackie's fine." Eric laughed.

"Now she is, I'm sure, Eric. Look what she made for herself. For our daughter." He reasoned. "But I abandoned her in the worst hour of her life. And she was pregnant. And on the verge of being homeless beside the worst neighborhood ever. And even if she did sleep with Kelso-"

"She didn't." Eric corrected. Hyde glared, rolling his eyes. "Foreman, I know that now. But even if she had." He started. "I still married someone else. I fucking ruined her life."

"You didn't ruin anything, Hyde. You suck in so many ways, but you didn't cause that big of a tidal wave." Eric laughed.

"Why are we here?" He asked.

"I can't fucking believe you, Eric Foreman!" Jackie scolded him when he wheeled through the door. "Why in the good name of fuck would you ever tell him he's Tyler's father?" She asked.

"Well, I thought you weren't gonna pull through." Eric shot back. "Nobody did- Tyler's best interest."

"How are you so sure this is the right call?" She asked. "I'm not even sure."

"He moves differently. Grooves is opening in Madison. An office in Madison. He plans to stay, and he's so good with Tyler."

"Eric."

"Jackie."

"Okay." She shrugged. "I guess I understand."

"You do?" He asked, raising a brow. "You aren't mad?"

"Oh no, I'm pissed as all hell. But what am I gonna do? Where is she?" She asked.

"She's at Mimi's with her Daddy." He told her. Jackie pursed her lips.

"I wanted her at home." She huffed.

"I can't leave Donna and Sam in the house alone. She's pregnant." He told her.

"Well, since Hyde is suddenly so cool, why don't you have him stay with her." She told him.

The two stared at each other. And stared. "Oh. You're serious." He pursed his lips.

"You're two feet away. What's the worst that's gonna happen?" She laughed. Eric nodded. "Okay."

"Okay."

"So this is happening." Eric laughed. "Cool cool cool."

"Yeah. Cool cool cool."

"She said that?" He asked.

"Plain as day, man." He held up his free hand, keys dangling. Hyde eyed him uncomfortably.

"Okay. If she's okay with it- if she wants it... I'll do it." He spoke. Eric laughed. "Dude, if she wanted me to chop my hand off right now, I'd probably do it. I feel like a douche."

Eric turned the key in the lock, smiling when Shelby trotted over. She suspiciously looked at Steven, who smiled, extending his hand. Soon enough she warmed up to him, bringing her rope over to play tug-o-war. "Hey, girl." He cooed at the dog. "Hi Shelby. Yes. Good girl."

"So, this is Jackie's house." Eric spoke.

"Hey Foreman? I've been here before." Hyde told him. Eric quirked a brow.

"When?" He asked. "Jackie didn't totally move in until after you went back to Vegas with Sam."

"We had a little hatred rendezvous." He breathed in. "It was a lot different back then... She really fixed it up." He ran a hand along the woodwork.

The blue living room stood out to him. "Is that the couch from our house? It's actually pretty." He grinned. Eric nodded.

Hyde looked around and spotted the bare Christmas tree. "So, when's the munchkin coming-"

"'Teven!" A small voice called. Shelby ran towards the door, butt shaking. The girl squealed, grinning. "Shelby!"

"Hey Love-Bug." He smiled.

"Did you just call someone Love-Bug?"

"Shut it, Foreman."

After reassuring Eric that everything was fine, Hyde took inventory of the kitchen and realized most of Jackie's food was edible. The two got to work on making their pizza, before Tyler sighed.

"No Christmas decorations this year." She frowned. "How is Santa gonna bring us presents?" Hyde frowned.

"Tell ya what. As soon as we put the pizza in to cool, you tell me where the decorations are, and since it's a weekend, we can stay up late to decorate." He told her.

She gasped, eyes lighting up brightly. "Really?"

"Can't have old Saint Nick getting confused." He told her. She grinned through her shades.

"Yes!" She squealed, slamming her hand onto the flour, giggling when the flour puffed into her hair.

"'Teven, I'm all dirty!"

"Bath time first. Then we decorate." He corrected, picking her up off the stool, and instructing her. "I'll start the shower for you, okay?"

"M'kay. Do you have pajamas?" She asked him.

He looked over at his duffel bag situated beside the couch. "I'm sure I do somewhere, Bug."

"We have to wear pajamas." She nodded.

"Agreed. Lets get you clean, and we can get comfy. Then we can decorate. Christmas is in a few days." He told her, leading her up the stairs. As soon as she was in the shower, with a towel and slippers, he laid her pajamas out on her bed, before putting his own pajamas on. He pursed his lips, eyeing himself in the mirror.

Nineteen year old him stared back in the mirror, and yet he huffed at his reflection when he blinked, and suddenly he was twenty five again, a sleeve of tattoos and no shades on. His muscles rippled under the fabric of his shirt.

His eyes had bags under him for the first time in over a year, and suddenly he felt inadequate. Like he didn't belong there. "'Teven, I'm done!"

"Coming!"