1984- Jackie and Hyde
She didn't answer when he knocked. He tried a few times before he gently pushed the door open, and her sobs hit him.
She hugged herself against her knees, crying, not erratically because of the soreness in her muscles. He sat on the edge of the tub, and rested a hand on her back, making sure to be gentle. He flushed the toilet.
She fell against him, crying.
"I can't- I can't believe he did that." She cried. "And he never said anything." She swore.
"Jackie-"
"He didn't even hint at it."
"Jackie-"
"That-that- that twitchy... Ugh!" She gargled.
"Doll. Calm down." He told her, rubbing her back in gentle circles. "This was four years ago. We can't go back and change it, and neither can he."
She took a deep breath. Well, as deep of a breath as she could. Her ribs were still pretty bruised. "Yeah. I guess you're right. But I'm still angry."
Silence for a moment.
"So am I." He admitted. She looked up.
"Why are you angry?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Because Tyler had to go through her first four years without a Dad." He started. "Because you had to do it by yourself." He followed it up. "And more selfishly, because I would have seen my daughter grow up."
"You would have come home?" She asked.
"In a heartbeat." He looked down at her. "I fucked up. I wouldn't expect forgiveness, but I wouldn't ever purposely leave a baby."
"You could have come home." She breathed.
"But it's my own fault that I didn't come back on my own."
She leaned up and kissed him. It was gentle, it only lasted a few seconds. "I'm sorry." She apologized, voice only a whisper.
"Don't apologize." He whispered back, and she did it again, more fervently. He pulled away, when she got heavier. She looked up through those doe eyes. "I don't think we should continue."
She looked hurt, and his heart broke.
"It's... Too fresh? We shouldn't start this now. Go slow, you know?" He spoke. She pursed her lips and nodded.
They sat in silence for a moment. The water running steaming up the mirror.
"I need shampoo."
"I'll go get it." He told her.
He kissed her forehead, before getting up to leave.
"I'm sorry." She repeated.
He turned to face her. "Can't say the feeling isn't mutual... Just, don't wanna set everything on fire right now." He told her. "I'm not going anywhere."
After delivering her goods, he found himself stationed at the tiny table with his daughter and his niece. He was wearing a princess crown in his curly hair.
"Would you like more tea, Uncle Hyde?" Betsy asked. He nodded.
"Why of course, Princess Betsy." He nodded, leaning over to give her his tea cup. His knees hit his chest.
"One lump or two, Daddy."
"Three sugars please, Princess Grasshopper."
"Uncle Eric and Daddy never play teaparty with us." Betsy nodded. "This is awesome."
"But it's our secret, right?" He asked.
"Daddy needs a makeover." Tyler decided, ignoring him. Betsy gasped in delight.
"Yes!" She agreed. "That's a great idea."
"I get makeup!" She declared, running up the stairs.
"Don't run in the house, please!" He called, getting ignored. Tyler came down the stairs much slower.
"Mommy gave me old makeups." She nodded, handing her caboodle to Betsy.
They opened it, spreading things out on the table, before getting to work.
"Princess Daddy needs some blush." She decided, opening the compact.
"Women call it rouge." Betsy told her, pulling out eyeshadow. It was a ridiculous blue color. "That's what Mommy says."
"Auntie Brooke always uses fancy words." Tyler rubbed blush over his cheeks, all the way down to where his beard began, before closing it and putting it on the table. "She so smart."
Betsy rubbed neon blue shadow over his eyelids, and Tyler brushed a mascara brush across his face. "Aunt Jackie is smart too." Betsy told her.
After, they smeared bright red lipstick across his lips, and pulled his hair into almost-pigtails.
"Princess Daddy needs nail polish." She shook the bottle in her hands.
"Where did you get that?" He asked, placing his hands on the table. She painted his nails with surprising accuracy, Betsy doing the same on his other hand.
"You can't touch anything. Go sit in the waiting room and wait for your nails to dry." She instructed, pointing a chubby hand at the couch.
"But-"
"Please, Daddy?" She asked. He huffed.
"Yes, Grasshopper."
He supervised the child makeovers from afar, looking up when he heard footsteps.
The camera flashed before he could move.
"You look beautiful, Princess Daddy." She giggled. He blushed.
"You can't say no." He gave her weakly.
"Girls, go sit with the princess so I can get a photo."
"When did you turn into Kitty?" He asked. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Shut up and smile. Say cheese!" He made a funny face. "Steven!" She scolded.
"Fine." He smiled, holding the girls close in his lap.
"This is such a good day." Betsy smiled.
The phone rang, and he picked it up.
"Hey, Foreman. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Alright, let me just get cleaned up." He told him. Pause. "Long story. I'll see you guys soon. Is Jackie coming? I don't know, she looks pretty comfy in her lingre."
"Steven!" She scolded.
"I'm joking. We'll be there soon. Okay, bye." More words. "Eric, I can't leave if I'm on the phone."
She looked at him. "Brooke had the baby."
"And?"
"I'll tell you upstairs." He told her. The girls were playing on the floor, oblivious.
"Girls. We need to clean up, okay?" Jackie instructed. "We should clean our makeup, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy." She spoke. Hyde helped her clean the mess, before instructing them to go get dressed. Betsy had an outfit in the closet that he handed her, and he helped Tyler gather her outfit. Jeans and a hoodie with sneakers.
And, of course, a bow to match.
The two adults helped the girls wash their faces.
The girls were downstairs getting their coloring supplies into a bag, and a few dolls. He sat on Jackie's bed as she wiped makeup off his face. She was still in her fluffy robe and slippers, hair falling in waves.
"You look ridiculous." She giggled. He smiled.
"Can't tell her no."
"So. Brooke?"
"The baby is small. It's in the NICU. As long as the baby makes it through the night, everything should be fine." He told her. She got out another wipe. "Ow!" He swore. She pursed her lips.
"My bad."
"Is Brooke okay?"
"She's good. Just recovering, you know?" He told her. She nodded.
Silence.
"Steven, I might stab Eric." She confided in him. She was joking, but she said it so seriously that he snorted.
"Maybe we should hear him out before we dismember anyone." He suggested. She put her hand on her hip.
"When did you get so wise and patient?" She asked.
"When I had to do a year in prison." He laughed. She smiled at him. "We'll be fine. We can lean on each other. We'll talk to him about it later on." He shrugged.
She fell forward onto him, leaning against him.
"I'm slightly less angry at you." She leaned on his shoulders to take the elastics out of his hair. "For one, with the Eric thing. And then, seeing you with Tyler and Betsy." His breath hitched.
"Your boobs are in my face." He told her, voice strained. She smirked.
"Are my boobs making you nervous?" She joked, laughing.
"You're insane." He laughed. She moved away from him, grabbing a pick to tame his curls that had set into a funny shape from the ponytails.
"Good as new." She moved from in front of him. He looked in her full length mirror that sat on her closet door. He nodded in appreciation.
"Nice work, Doll. I kind of look like I belong in a emotional rock band. Teen angst." He motioned to under his eyes.
"That'll wear off. That mascara is waterproof. And there's gotta be a shorter term for those kinds of bands." She shook her head.
She opened her closet, grabbing a pair of jeans and and a green shirt. She pointed at the shelf. "Can you grab my white tennis shoes? And then, can you wait for me so you can tie my shoes when I'm done getting dressed? I can't bend down that good."
He nodded respectfully, waited patiently, and walked back into the room. She was wearing a huge hoodie. "Is that my shirt?"
"I was chilly." She shrugged from where she was seated on the bench.
She watched him as he tied her shoe, and all she could see was their baby girl.
"So. A songwriter?" She asked.
"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm having a writers block."
She gave him a funny look. "How so? You literally have so many songs to write about the last two weeks."
"I do. But how to phrase them, and when they'll come out are two different stories." He told her, finishing the second bunny loop. The shoes were tied.
They just looked at each other.
"Shall we get moving, Doll?"
She nodded. "Let's do this."
March 1980
"My thumb is missing!" He cried, waving his fist in the air. "Red cut it off because he hates me!"
Eric's words were muffled by all the gauze shoved in his mouth.
Jackie grabbed his fist, undoing it. "Nobody cut your thumb off." She giggled.
"Oh my God, Satan found my thumb!" He whispered blissfully. "I love you, Tiny, pregnant Satan. And I love my little niece. And Donna. And all my friends..." He trailed off not finishing. "I want ice cream."
"We need to go home." She told him. They were on their way back from the oral surgeon, where Eric had just had his wisdom teeth removed.
"Donna!" He drew out her name, whining.
"Eric!" She whined back.
"Jackie won't let me get ice cream!"
"You can't eat right now."
"Why not?"
"You just had your wisdom teeth removed." Jackie reminded him.
"They stole my teeth?" He cried.
Jackie was giggling like no tomorrow as they entered the house. "I need a nap." She groaned.
Donna looked down at Eric. "I have to go to the bathroom." She told him. "I'll only be gone for five minutes."
"Yes, beautiful."
"I should drug you more often." She murmured.
He removed the gauze from his mouth, sliding over to the edge of the couch for the remote. The phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Foreman?"
"Hyde!" He gasped.
"Why do you sound like you can't talk?"
"I'm eating marshmallows." He spoke as he shoved gauze back into his mouth. "Jackie is pretty mad at you!"
"Can ya stop eating marshmallows and talk for a sec?"
"Nah, cos they're red."
"Well, can ya take down my number so you can call back?"
"Yup."
Eric wrote the phone number down on the magazine.
"Love you so much, Hyde." He blew kisses into the phone before they hung up.
He rolled his eyes. Donna came into the room with a bowl and a spoon. He gasped in delight.
"Ice Cream!"