DISCLAIMER: I don't own That 70's Show or anything related to it. I wish I did cause then I could make Jackie and Hyde be together. Humph… Oh well. Maybe the writers will be nice and let them be together soon.

Summary: Takes place in the 8th Season, during and after Fun It. Jackie and Hyde bottle up their feelings because they can't stand getting hurt again by each other. The final season leads them through tragedy and self-discovery. But will it lead them together again?

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Chapter 3: Girl Keeps Coming Apart

The moment Hyde walked up the stairs he was hit by the aroma of baked goods. More specifically… pie. A small smile spread across his lips as he opened the basement door and stepped in the kitchen. Oh yes, this was going to be a good day.

Kitty rarely ever baked this early and when she did, it meant something. Somehow Hyde had forgotten what it meant but he didn't care. He wanted pie. "Smells good, Mrs. Forman."

"Oh, Steven, honey. You're awake. You can make sure this new lemon recipe is as good as it's supposed to be," she said and laughed the nasal way she always did and cut him a piece. He went to the table to sit as she brought him the piece and a fork to eat it with. Slowly, he dug his fork into the edge of the pie and brought the pie into his mouth. Kitty watched intently as he chewed, nervously smiling. For a minute she thought he would cringe but then he grinned and nodded at her. She let out a deep breath of air and said, "Good. I had my suspicions about this recipe. Mrs. Teller down the street gave it to me and you know how she is." Kitty illustrated her point by pretending to chug a bottle.

Hyde was about to make a remark on how ironic it was that she would discredit someone for drinking, seeing as how Kitty was on to at least a wine bottle a day, but decided against it. She'd never been the same since Eric left. But boy, this was good pie. He suspected his earlier "activities" in the basement were the reason why he was more concerned with the pie but he didn't care about that either.

"Hi, Mrs. Forman," Donna said appearing through the sliding doors. She sat down on a stool and flipped back her blonde hair.

For some reason Hyde just couldn't get over it. Donna was a blonde. It looked good on her but he liked her red hair better. Gave her a darker edge. A sexier edge. Just like the brunette did for… "So, Donna, what's going on?" Phew, close one. Almost thought about the unmentionable. I gotta let up on circle time.

"Nothing. I was bored so I came over to see what Mrs. Forman was doing and by the looks of it, she made a pie." Donna said before getting interrupted.

"There you go again Donna, always thinking about food."

Hyde looked sharply up. In front of him Jackie stood with her arms crossed, giving Donna her patented arched eyebrow glare. Hyde gulped. He loved that look. Thank God he had his glasses on. I knew these things would be needed for more than hiding the redness.

"Well, since you girls are here, have some pie. Everyone loves pie!" Kitty laughed again and went back to the counter to get more pie. Jackie moved to sit at the table but not before giving Donna an I-think-Mrs.-Forman-is-drunk look. Donna gave her the same look back before turning her attention to Kitty, who was cutting their slices.

"So, Steven where's your wife. Stripping?" Jackie burned.

"Actually she is," Hyde said simply and continued eating his pie, which was definitely not the answer Jackie wanted.

"Jackie, that's not table talk," Kitty said when she put her pie in front of the tiny girl.

"Well, it's not my fault that Steven married a stripper," Jackie stated snobbishly.

"Jackie, shut your pie hole!" Hyde said forcefully.

"Haha! Pie hole. And she's eating pie!" Kitty was in hysterics as Jackie, Hyde and Donna just stared at her.

"It wasn't that funny," Jackie said softly.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Forman?" Donna asked, slipping off her chair to go to Kitty.

"Oh yes. Can't a person laugh at a good pun anymore? Haha." Her tone and face straightened out before she said, "I'll be in the living room."

Once Kitty was through the double doors, Jackie said, "She's probably getting herself a drink."

"Jackie!" Hyde snapped at her. How dare she say that about the woman who's cared about her when her own mother would rather be sipping a margarita in Tijuana with a pool boy?

"What?" She added when seeing Donna and Hyde faces. "Come on. You haven't noticed much she's been drinking ever since Eric left for Africa. I mean, she drank before. She never drank before."

"Yeah, she's almost in the same league as your mother, Jackie." Hyde burned. The instant he said it, he wondered why he did. There were plenty of other things he could burn her about; the fact that she had no job, no dreams, no boyfriend. Why did he have to choose her mother?

Jackie looked up at him, staring her mismatched eyes into his even through the rose tinted glasses. Her hurt wasn't concealed like he kept his. His family was dysfunctional from the start but hers… hers was good, if not all pretend, before her dad went to jail. True, her mother left a lot and her father was more interested in business than her but they were mostly there for her and if she focused on only the time they were there and nothing else, she had a perfect life. She had known that fulfillment of family and security before which made its absence worse. She knew what she was missing.

"Jackie," he tried to reason but he couldn't finish. She got up and left. No comebacks, no nothing. Just silence. Hyde shrugged and dipped back into his lemon pie. It was amazing pie.

Finally a voice pierced the silence. "You're just going to let her leave like that?" Donna asked, somewhat appalled.

He glanced up at her. What was he supposed to do? And when the hell did she become the defender of Jackie? Jackie was a big girl now, an independent girl now. She should be able to take care of herself now. Should be able to, but wasn't and Hyde knew that. But he couldn't talk to her so he said, "Yup."

Donna gave him a look of disgust. "You know, she gets the point. You don't have to keep hurting her," she said before following the path that Jackie took to the driveway.

Hyde was honestly baffled. What got up Donna's ass? He shrugged it off and went back to pie. At least pie will always be good to me. Mmmm…

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The drink shook in her hand as she cried. She was locked from the rest of the world by a bathroom door and she was glad she was. Sure, there were people there that needed her. But it wasn't enough. He had always needed her and now he didn't. He barely spoke to her at all and when he did, it hurt more than it helped. She drained the glass, rinsed out the glass and stepped back into the bedroom. As if in routine, she replaced the bottle into its hiding place along with the glass. Once it was veiled, she heard a voice in the hall.

"I'll be there in a second Red," Kitty said, glancing once more at the hiding spot before returning to the real world.

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Authors Note: I tried to make Hyde more Hyde. The Hyde that feels bad about being a jerk to Jackie but can't help it because it's who he is and she should know that. But she doesn't, of course, so he just keeps hurting her. If I came up short, I'm sorry but it's the best I can do. Fez will be a pretty big part in the next chapter, so Fez lovers should be pleased unless I write him back. I'd have to say his is the hardest to write. Review please! Thanks to everyone who did and does, I check for them constantly.