Chapter 4

Angie walked into Grooves with a purpose, but she had to keep the feeling of killing her brother, and maybe just bring him down. Hyde looked up from the register to see his sister walk in. Great he was too sober to deal with this… "If you are looking for Kelso he is at work, so try the donut shop"

"No actually I could careless for that Jackass, but if it would tick you off. Maybe I will hook up with him while I am in town this week"

Ignoring the jab, he picked up on her being here for the week, "so WB send you to check on me?"

"Right now it's his store he wants me to check on his store"

"That figures"

"Well if you are big enough to go off for a month to Vegas without letting anyone know where you were, then I guess dad doesn't feel the need to check on you. I'll be in the office, please tell me it is fume and hippy free"

"Yea to early for Leo or circles"

Angie went into the office without another glance at Hyde, closing the door she hoped he would stay out while she started to go through the papers lying around.

A few hours later she came out, Hyde and the new guy was at the register, a few customers was wandering about the store. "Well I have stuff set up, I'll be back tomorrow to work some more but I have somewhere to be soon."

"Wow not even putting in a full day?"

"No like I said I have somewhere else to be, I'll be here most of the day tomorrow" and Angie walked out.

Randy eyeing her as she did, "who was that?"

"Angie, my sister and keep your hands off, Kelso already went there and that was bad enough"

Donna walked in at that moment, Randy eyed her even more than he had Angie just minutes before.

"Hey Hyde was that Angie I just saw?" she said as she walked up to the counter.

"Yea, WB sent her to fix the books"

"Ok, well do you know how long she is in town? I thought about having Sam spend the night one night when she's off so I can get to know her better, maybe Angie would want to get to know her sister in law too?"

Hyde took a moment and finally snapped out of it, "Yea she something about being around for a week or so, not sure where she is staying, she left for the day and is coming back tomorrow and would be here most of the day tomorrow"

"OK I'll check with Sam and see when she is free and then be back to talk to Angie tomorrow, truthfully I never really spent much time with her and should get to know her too."

Hyde felt his stomach knot up, he couldn't see Angie getting along with his stripper wife. He told Randy he would be in his office to check over what Angie did in there and he wasn't to be bothered.

As he walked in he noticed the papers was stacked neatly and organized, it looked like it did when Jackie would take care of all the paperwork for him. He opened the bottom drawer, pulled out a bottle and took a swig. It seemed the only thing that would help him forget the mess his life was.

Jackie was finishing getting ready when Angie came in. "Hey Angie, I am ready how was things at the store?"

"Well it will take me the week to get it straightened out, but I should be ok"

"Hey if you need to go back and work I can go by myself"

"No I needed this break, before I went out and broke something of his. Besides this is my niece of nephew, I want to be there for you"

Taking a deep breath of thanks, Jackie gave Angie a smile, "Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me" They walked out to Jackie's car.

The next morning Angie was in the office at Grooves when she opened a drawer and noticed several bottles of hard liquor, it was one thing for him to be getting high in the office, but to be drinking hard too? There was no glasses around to suggest he was sharing in a social setting, like their dad had in his office, this was hidden. Before she could put more thought in it there was a knock on the door. "who is it?" she called out

"Its Donna, I wanted to talk to you while you were in town"

Angie didn't know what to think about Donna right now, while she seemed to be Jackie's best friend she knew she hadn't been there like she should be. Donna should have been the one holding her hand yesterday at the doctors, Ok in truth her brother should have been there and heard the heartbeat of his baby for the first time, but neither one of them had checked on her. She was upset and disappointed in both of them. She took a breath and hoped for the best, "come in"

Donna stepped in and sat down across from Angie, "Hey heard you was in town for a few days, thought maybe having a girls night and get to know each other and catch up at my house tomorrow night"

Angie now really didn't know what to think of her suggestion. "Just you and me?" They really hadn't hung out much at all when she was in town running the store with her brother. She had a vibe back then that they wouldn't get along and now with everything going on with Jackie she knew that feeling was stronger.

"Well I thought would be good for you and me to get to know your new sister in law"

Angie sat back and thought over what she just said, she couldn't believe what she was saying, then it hit her, Steven hadn't told her or WB about his marriage, no that was Red and only Jackie knew about that phone call. So Angie thought she would play this off and see exactly where Donna's loyalties lay. "Steven got married? He hadn't said anything to me about it. I knew he went to Vegas for a month, I never took Jackie for a girl to have a Vegas wedding."

Donna realized her slip up, Hyde hadn't told her or probably WB about the marriage. "Oops, I didn't realize you didn't know, but Hyde ran off after seeing Jackie and Kelso together and spent a month in Vegas and got so drunk he doesn't even remember getting married, but she followed him back here and he's going to work on keeping her, so thought maybe the girls in Hyde's life need to get to know each other, thought of asking Jackie to come over too"

Angie was taken back, she really was going to ask Jackie to spend a girl's night with her ex/baby daddy's wife? What could she do, she needed to get over Jackie's ASAP, yesterday the doctor was worried about her blood pressure being a little high, she needed to avoid stress and be careful of her diet. "look, let me check my schedule and I'll let you know tomorrow, right now I need to get going I have somewhere I have to be. Are you going over Jackie's today?" She needed to know if she could get to Jackie's and hide her car before Donna got there and how much time she would have.

"No I figured I would just call her after I got done with my shift at work, I need to be going too"

Angie let out the breath she was holding slowly to keep her from noticing. "well I'll walk out with you, I need to talk to my brother before I leave" She stood up and followed Donna out of the office. She waited as Donna walked out of the store, Hyde was the only one working in the store and luckily no customers were around, he was sitting in the listening pit reading a magazine when Angie came over and sat down, "When was you going to tell me that you got married?"

"I guess Donna told you, so now I don't have to, yea went to Vegas got drunk came back and Sam showed up and said we got married"

"So did you see the paperwork, you know the wedding certificate?"

Hyde thought about it, didn't realize he never asked to see it, but he did have some fuzzy memories of the ceremony, "No but after she said it, I some pieces of the ceremony started to come back to me"

Angie didn't know what to think of that, but was getting suspicious of the whole thing. "So Donna invited me over to her house tomorrow night to get to know my new sister in law"

"Yea she said something to me yesterday about it, not sure Sam is the same class as you, but who knows you might get along"

"I haven't decided if I am going to go," Angie began to stand up, "I have somewhere I need to be, I am going to take some stuff with me and work in a more comfortable space, that office is stuffy."

She was out the door before he could respond.

Angie went and let herself in Jackie's house with the key she had given her. She knew Jackie wasn't expecting her so early. She found Kitty with her in the kitchen.

"Hey Jackie, Mrs. Forman" She knew that Kitty was teaching her how to cook and Red would be over later for dinner.

"Hey Angie, I didn't think you would be back till later" Jackie looked up from where she was at the stove.

"yea well I had an interesting visitor today and well just figured I could bring the books here and work here with less interuptions"

"Was it Michael? I knew when he found out you was in town he might start stalking you, are you sure he didn't follow you here?"

"No it wasn't Michael, as far as I know he doesn't know, and I hope it stays that way. It was Donna, she wants to have a girls night tomorrow so we could meet my new sister in law. Yea she told me before Steven did, so I acted like that was the first I heard of it"

Kitty decided to jump in, she wasn't sure what to think of her son's girlfriend, to claim to be a feminist and decide to hang out with a stripper all the while ignoring her best friend? She just gave her signature laugh, "hahah, that sounds like fun"

Yea the other two girls didn't believe for a moment that Kitty really thought that true.

"Well there is more, Donna is calling you later and asking you to come too"

"WHAT!" both Jackie and Kitty said at the same time

"yea I wanted to give you the heads up, so you could prepare yourself. She said she was going to call you after she got off work tonight"

Jackie took a deep breath, glad that Angie had her back and was watching out for her, "Thanks, that is going to be an interesting call"

That night as Red and Kitty got home they noticed Sam was out and looked like Steven had himself hold up in his room. Kitty looked at Red with a concerned look, "What are we going to do with them?"

"Well I talked to WB and he is having a PI investigate Sam, something just doesn't sit right with him, or with me honestly. Who knows what they will find. I am still trying to figure out what is wrong with Donna, this whole girls' night idea."

"Its like since Eric left Donna and Steven just are different people, who knows what he is going to come home to in a year?"

"I don't know Kitty, have you let him know what is going on?"

"No, actually I think he is supposed to call tonight, maybe if we have some privacy we can let him know."

Jackie and Angie sat in the living room trying to watch TV waiting for the phone to ring. Angie thought back to the bottles in the desk at Grooves, "Jackie has Steven had a drinking problem?"

"No, all I have ever known of him was drinking beers, but never really getting drunk, not until the night they went to the beer warehouse while I waited for him to answer me before I went to Chicago…and then apparently I guess he stayed pretty wasted in Vegas. Why do you ask?"

"Well going through the desk at Grooves today I found a drawer of the hard stuff, it just like trying to hide it, I never noticed it before"

"No, he told me he stayed away from the hard stuff because that was what Bud and Edna drank and had around the house all the time, I can't believe he would drink that stuff. I stopped drinking myself much after mom left this last time, that was all she was doing and I really don't want to follow in her footsteps. That was part of why I gave Steven that stupid ultimatum, I didn't want him to be with me out of obligation that is what my parents' marriage was about, I didn't want that."

Before Angie could respond to the new information the phone rang. Taking a deep breath Jackie answered, "hello Jackie speaking"

"Hey Jackie how are you doing?" Donna asked.

Jackie even though she was expecting the phone call was not prepared for that question, did she answer truthfully? How did Donna expect her to be? She hadn't called or anything in weeks. Pulling from her learned zen, "Fine just getting ready for my next stage of life"

"So are you going back to Chicago soon?"

"No that door closed when I left, but may take a break go on a vacation with my mom or something for a little bit" Jackie lied

"Oh I didn't realize that"

'Duh Lumberjack of course you didn't you haven't talked to me really since I have been back' Jackie thought to herself. "So what did you want? I haven't talked to you in forever it seems"

"Well I thought of having a girls' night tomorrow at my house just hang out and catch up."

Jackie noticed no mention of who else had been invited she still even though she had several hours to decide still hadn't decided what she was going to say. "Let me check my schedule and I'll call you tomorrow and let you know" She knew she had to get off the phone, this was not going the way she expected, "I need to go I have some laundry that I need to take care of"

"Wow she bought the laundry thing without question and all that other crap you told her?" Angie questions Jackie.

"Yea I guess she's not as smart as she likes other to think she is. Especially inviting me over to this dumb sleepover, the only other time she has ever done that was back when the tramp Michael picked up in California came here" Jackie begins to think back how that turned on Donna.

"So have you decided about the sleep over?"

"I sort of think I might go, if anything to get to know my baby's step mom, maybe it will help me figure out how to tell Steven, or what I should do about him. Ya know?"

"OK, I am just worried about your stress levels, it if gets too much just know I am getting you out of there, I'll think of something."

The night of the sleep over, Hyde found himself alone in the basement for the night, Kelso was working and Fez had a secret date. So he plopped himself on the couch and tried to forget what was going on next door.

The Pinciotti living room was Donna, Sam and Angie. Sam didn't realize that Hyde's sister was black and was taken back when first introduced. "So I guess my brother forgot to mention he's half black when you met?"

"Well we didn't do much talking" Angie could feel her gut twisting and was thankful Jackie hadn't gotten there yet, she wasn't sure how much she could stomach spending time with this woman herself.

Just then Jackie let herself into the room.

"OK now that everyone is here I guess we all know each other, I have tons of salty snacks and ice cream, I thought since we are getting to know each other we could play 20 questions, each of us could ask 5 questions to the others in the room." Donna stood up and addressed the girls.

Angie and Jackie both sat back and took a breath wondering how the night will go. Jackie grabbed the ice cream knowing that with the way the night started she needed to stay away from salty foods to try to keep her blood pressure in check, she knew if it got bad Angie would have her either next door with Kitty or in the ER, she wanted neither.

Jackie took a breath and looked at Sam, "So how long did you know Steven before you guys got married?"

Sam eyed Jackie, "Steven? Oh you mean Hyde? Yea we met his first week in Vegas and got married the night before he left"

"So why didn't you come back when he did?" Angie asked, she was like her dad, there was something fishy about this whole mess.

"Well I had to quit my job, and I had more to pack" Sam lied, she wasn't going to tell them that he left before she woke up the next day and didn't even leave her a note.

Donna deciding she needed to get the heat off the new comer, "Jackie, what happened in with your job in Chicago?"

Jackie took a breath, took her long enough, it had been almost 2 months, "Well I got there and hated it, Michael had stopped by on his way to visit Betsy and was doing nothing but hit on me when I really needed a friend, I thought I had gotten rid of him and Steven showed up, and I then Michael being a Kelso came in with only a towel and Steven left. I quit the next day and came home to talk to Steven once more…" Jackie looked at Angie who gave her a comforting smile.

"Yea Hyde was pretty wasted the night I met him, going on about a girl and his best friend that had probably been screwing behind his back for years." Sam chimed in.

"Jackie turned to Sam, "I have not been with Michael that way for about 6 months or so before we broke up, nor would I ever go there again. So I haven't been with Michael for over 2 years. Not that it is really anyone's concern.

Angie decided to change the subject, play ignorant and ask Sam what she did for a living, "So Sam Donna talked like you work nights, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a stripper, that's where I met Hyde at a strip club in Vegas, got a job here and the strip club here"

Angie turned to Jackie with a smile on her face, "Jackie remember when you was spreading that rumor that I was a stripper at Groove's headquarters?"

Jackie begins to laugh with Angie of the memory, "Yes that was hysterical, you didn't need to do it for the money, but because you wanted to" No one knew that they had gotten over that incident and got along, or was actually close friends now.

Donna and Sam just stared at the two. Sam realized she hadn't asked any questions, and had to break up the pair, "So Jackie what are you doing now that you have no boyfriend and no job?"

"Well right now I am stepping back and making sure I don't jump into any life altering changes without thought of what is best for me, maybe a book keeping job or something simple for now. I realize I don't need a man to complete my life" Wanting to change the subject she looks at Donna, "So how are you dealing with Eric in Africa?"

"I am OK, thinking it is time to move on with my life and not wait around for him, not sure what exactly I am going to do." Now Donna's turn again to get the focus off her, "Sam is that your car that I have seen parked in the street in front of the Forman's house?"

"Yea that's my Trans-Am, Red said too many cars in the driveway already, not sure since it seems no one drives that ugly station wagon, who would even want to ride in that thing?"

"Sam that is Eric's and we all have rode in it" Jackie answered, sure the Vista Cruiser wasn't the best car around, but it held many memories of the six of them riding around.

Sam wanting to move on looks at Angie, "So do you know when I am going to meet your rich daddy?"

Angie and Jackie both was shocked at the question, "I honestly don't know, Steven really hasn't said much about you to dad, so I am not sure if there is going to be a big family get together. Dad is pretty upset with him as is with the way he left the store for a month and the mess of the books. I don't think he is happy that he got married to a stranger either." Angie took a deep breath.

Donna decided that this was missing alcohol and went and grabbed 4 beers, her and Sam each took a beer, and Donna noticed Jackie and Angie hadn't touched theirs, "what the rich princesses too good for beer?" addressing them both.

"Yes, you should know I never drink beer, actually if you ever paid attention I never really drank at all, the one time I did get drunk was that Christmas Laurie spiked the punch."

Angie chimed in, "I am not much of a beer drinker myself, so Donna since that was a question, does that count as question 3 for you?"

"Sure why not, so Sam by chance did you get any of Hyde's stash to bring over, Jackie may not drink but I know she participates in circles?"

"No, I haven't been able to find where he hides it"

Jackie couldn't help but smile, she always knew where he kept his stash, but also relieved that she wouldn't have to find a way out of participating in a circle. This night was going slow, and she was ready for it to be over with. She got up and excused herself to the bathroom.

On her way back to the living room she heard Sam ask "Why are you friends with her anyways?"

Jackie stopped in her tracks to wait for the answer.

"I honestly don't know anymore" she heard Donna answer.

Angie just sat and watched and couldn't believe what she was hearing, and watched as Donna and Sam began to bond over the Trans-Am and other stupid stuff, she heard the back door open and close, she knew she would need to make her own exit and check on the small girl, but she had one more question she thought of, she knew for years this girl had looked down on Jackie for cheerleading and other anti-feminist things, "So Donna I guess your feminist group accepts strippers, I mean isn't that a little down grading to women?"

"Wow you know, I thought we could all get along and such, maybe you should leave if you are going to look down on the other guest like that!" And with that Angie picked up her bag and Jackie's without the other two in the room noticing. And stepped outside to look for Jackie, she noticed the outside door to the Forman's basement close and walked over.

Jackie found Steven on the couch clutching a bottle, looking completely out of it. "Wow is this your life now?" Her chest pulled tight at the sight in front of her.

He looked up at her, she was still beautiful, but the reminder of Kelso and her in that motel in Chicago was still in his mind, he hated her for all those feelings. "Aren't you supposed to be next door getting to know my wife?" he spat at her.

Jackie sighed, there was no talking to him with him like this, she had thought maybe with the knowing they could be alone to have the much needed conversation. "Well one day we need to sit down and talk about some things, preferably when you are sober enough to remember and have a normal conversation with me"

"Yea doll don't hold your breath waiting on that conversation, everything we have to say was said when I saw you with Kelso in your motel room"

"Wow you are never going to let it go what you THINK you saw, nothing happened and nothing was ever going to happen. But you never trusted me, even if I was never the one to cheat. Even if I told you I love you all the time, when you only told me ONCE and that was after YOU CHEATED!"

"Look all this is going to be is an argument, let's just go back to before and just act like the last 2 years never happened, you go on with your life and I'll go on with mine and my wife"

Jackie felt like he had just taken a knife to her heart, pretend the last 2 years never happened? She was carrying a constant reminder of the last 2 years, and he was making it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. It was time to move on, she had to leave, she wasn't sure where but she couldn't stay here. He didn't want to know and she would make sure he wouldn't know. "Well if you are going to be nothing but a drunk bastard, well I want nothing to do with you," She knew her last parting shot would hit him hard, and she hoped it did, "I never thought I would see you turn into both Bud and Edna"

Before he could respond she was out the door, and those last words hit him like a ton of bricks, he was trying not to be his parents, he was going to live up to his commitments, even if he was too drunk to remember making them, he just sat there in stunned silence.

Jackie ran up the stairs and into Angie's arms, she took the small girl and led her to her car and they drove back to the Burkhart mansion.