Chapter 8

Thanksgiving was coming and Hyde could only hope that it would mean the return of a certain burnet, it was going to be strange with Forman gone, Bob was in Florida and Donna was spending Thanksgiving with Randy and his family. He was still trying to adjust to Donna with someone else, Randy was working for him and seemed OK, a lot better than Casey Kelso. Donna seemed like a different person and he just couldn't put his finger on it. Kelso was going to be there for Thanksgiving, that he knew. He was bringing Brook and Betsy, they had been spending a lot more time together.

They still hadn't found Jackie and if the Formans knew they were keeping tight lipped about it. WB wasn't being much help in offering to get him connected with his PI, he was beginning to wonder if he knew something too and was keeping tight lipped as well. He was getting frustrated with Forman gone there wasn't really anyone for him to really talk to he had started responding to his letters but it just wasn't the same. At least he knew that they would get to talk tonight. And if Jackie didn't show up for Thanksgiving he had one place he hadn't checked and he would do that Saturday.

Upstairs Kitty was working on Thanksgiving dinner started, she turned when she saw Steven come in. "Morning, are you going to be at the store today?"

"No, I don't need to do anything today, I get a full day off"

"Well would you like to help me? We have a full coming today, at least for the most part."

"Who all is going to be there?" he held is breath trying to hold back from the thought of Jackie showing up.

"Well it will be you and Red, Fez, Michael, Brook and Betsy" she paused as she realized it wasn't going to be a full house after all. "Well I guess compared to last year it is a full house. So would you like to peel the potatoes?"

Grabbing the potatoes and the peeler he went and sat at the counter. "Sorry about last year, that was a busy day. We didn't even make it over for Pam's dinner party that night. Angie ended up going and picking up Chinese takeout for all of us while we worked on getting everything set up."

"That doesn't sound good, well at least you are here this year. Eric tried to get out of dinner last year, I think Red threatened him. I wasn't going to make my yams"

He decided he was going to bite the bullet and bring up Jackie, "Have you heard from Jackie? I thought she would come back for Thanksgiving"

"Well what makes you say that? I think you of all people made it clear you didn't want her around anymore when you let Sam stay and broke her heart, none of her so called friends ran after her when she ran out of the house that day. I hope wherever she is she has found some true friends"

He couldn't help but feel his gut twist remembering that day, but he couldn't fix anything if he couldn't talk to her.

"So you and Red don't know where she is? I need to talk to her. I tried to get WB to help me but he hasn't, I was hoping that maybe she would come today, if anything to see our goddaughter for Thanksgiving" Had Jackie made contact with Brook? Maybe that would be another person to check with, he had a feeling he was getting nowhere with Kitty.

"I'll be honest I do know she is doing better since she left here, everything was falling apart around her when she left, but I have been under strictest orders not to tell anyone where she is, and I am not going to break my promise I made to her."

He felt hope, something he hadn't had in a long time, "Do you think you could talk to her for me? Maybe get her agree to talk to me, I want to apologize, there is some things I never told her and I should have, and some things I told her I never should have said"

Kitty was taken back , this is what they had all been waiting for, "I'll see what I can do, but not today we have other things to get through, but I'll talk to her this weekend. Now let's get this Thanksgiving dinner done, Eric should be calling after we eat tonight if everything goes on schedule." The two began working in silence while Steven thought of what he was going to say to Jackie when he finally saw her.

Jackie, Angie and WB was having a quiet Thanksgiving dinner. Jackie broke the silence, "Well this is definitely better than last year"

"Yea last year we spent most of Thanksgiving in Grooves getting everything ready, dinner ended up being Chinese takeout"

"Ok why did it take so long to set up? Most of the other stores only took half a day. I thought I planned it so you all could be done for Thanksgiving dinner?"

Angie and Jackie shared knowing looks, it took so long because of the breaks for circles, and then the bins not being ordered.

WB interrupted the girls' thoughts, "I can imagine what took so long, that idiot and the foreign one was there, and Donna, I guess that would take all day."

Angie finally decided to let her dad know of her mistake and how her brother covered for her, "Well I realized I forgot to order the bins and they all went out to find the milk crates for the records to cover for the missing bins, that is why they are not in the bins, I forgot to order them and Steven covered for me"

WB was taken back, he knew there was more to the story of the milk crates than he was given, but he didn't even think that after everything Angie and Steven had been trying to do to each other that that would be the story. "Wow he actually covered for you? That is so unlike him"

Jackie knowing Steven and all he had done for her and Eric over the years, "Actually that is just like him" WB gave her a look of disbelief, "You are talking about a guy that got arrested for me when I bought pot years ago before we were together when I liked him and wanted to prove to be cool. Or he pulled a fire alarm all night at a hotel to keep Donna from having sex with Casey Kelso when Eric and Donna was broken up, he did that for Eric. Then yea he may have taken Eric's money but went and bought him a plane ticket to California to go after Donna and then tried to cover for Eric to his parents while he was gone."

WB was in shock, over a year and he still hadn't gotten to know his son. "I had no idea, so how did Red and Kitty handle the arrest and everything?"

Jackie took a deep breath, her immature self didn't see back then the damage she caused and how things could have gotten worse, it is amazing after the truth came out she was even allowed back in the Forman's house, though she did get a huge lecture from Red in the garage when she came back the first time. "Well Red was kicking Steven out when they found out he was covering for me, Red let him stay, but Eric and his big mouth of course made it worse. He got even more strict with curfews and such, I got a huge lecture from him about the dangers of pot and I should just be myself and not change for any guy. Back then I was a little immature to understand that, but yea I know now what he meant. He got away with the fire alarm, no one ever knew it was him. And I let it slip to Kitty about Eric being in California, she had caught us kissing and we had been keeping our relationship or whatever it was at the time a secret"

"I wondered what you saw in that boy, so what did your mom say about missing Thanksgiving with her?"

Jackie thought back, though she and her mom never had the best relationship, and taking off after her dad got arrested was no help, the fight that started Thanksgiving last year and ended when she took off again. Jackie looked at the man that was being a huge help to her and felt that he and Angie both needed to know about how her parents handled finding out more of Steven's family.

"To be honest I don't remember how she handled it, I never even told Steven about the fight I had with mom after Thanksgiving, I thought Steven would finally have her approval now that he had a rich dad and was running a record store. But that wasn't the case at least it was till I told mom your name."

WB wondered what the woman who from what he heard of took so much stock in social standings and money have against him? And then it hit him, social standings, he still wasn't allowed in many of the country clubs and places around because of the color of his skin.

"She had heard of you of course since you are rich, but she also knew you was black, and no daughter of hers would be with a boy half black, those where her words. We lived in the same house but anytime we talked it led to arguments. I was able to keep Steven from coming over, a stupid excuse of making sure he didn't see her topless again. That happened when she moved in with us at the Pinciotti's. Finally she left for good right before I graduated, dad didn't take the news well either when he found out, I haven't visited him since. I knew they looked down on people and never cared for Steven, but that just seemed like the final straw. When I realized I was pregnant I knew I couldn't go to either of my parents, both seemed to disown me and will for sure now. I have not had contact with them since right before I graduated, so I am completely alone"

Jackie began to breakdown, before she knew it both WB and Angie were on either side of her enveloping her in a tight hug.

WB looked at the girl and wiped her tears, which almost came harder when she thought he did it exactly like Steven use to. "Sweetie have you not told anyone about your parents?"

"Actually I talked to Eric about it after Thanksgiving, but I know he didn't tell anyone, I had came to the basement to talk to Steven and he was out and Eric was alone. It's strange but over the years he has been the one person other than Steven I could really talk to. I just could never bring myself to tell Steven, he just thought my parents didn't like him because he was a burnout living in someone's basement."

Later that night Jackie was laying in bed when Angie came to check on her, "how are you doing?"

Jackie sat up "OK I guess, just thinking of names for the baby"

"Well what names have you thought about?"

"Honestly, I am thinking of last names…I can't let this baby carry on the Burkhart name, but I can't let it carry on the Hyde name either. I know that sounds bad since Steven is the baby's father, but Hyde as a last name is a link to Bud and Edna, they don't deserve to have their name carried on"

"Um, I never thought about that, and I understand where you are coming from"

"Your dad has been so great to me and even to Steven, it seems a shame that he doesn't have his name carried on"

"Are you thinking of giving the baby's our last name?"

"Yea, I mean it's his grandchild, and should have his last name, the only other name I would think of would be Foreman, but at least they have Eric to carry on his name if he ever find the right one, ya know?"

"I think that sounds wonderful, and dad will be head over heels with the news. He just left for Point Place."

AU: I hope you guys like this idea, I have never liked the idea of Steven carrying on Hyde as it is a link to Bud and well he's not his father and never really was one growing up. Also someone asked about Jackie telling her dad, I had already had this Chapter done.