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?

Chapter 5: Attitude Adjustment

First dates. She'd been on plenty of them but for some reason she actually felt nervous about this one. The last first date she'd been nervous about was with Steven and that was such a long time ago, she could barely remember it.

Well, that's a lie. You can remember every detail about it, she thought, applying her make-up. She'd finished most of it but stopped when she went to put on her lip-gloss. No, not that one. That one she'd never wear for anybody but him. And since she wasn't going to be wearing anything for him again, Jackie figured she'd never get to wear strawberry lip-gloss ever again. Oh well. Out with the old and in with the new.

The new that she was referring to was her date for the night; Ian Bateman. She'd meet him at the Hub a few days ago. He was the perfect guy for her. A Kelso with darker hair. A man she could never really love.

What happened to her? That's what she had been wondering for some time now. Sometimes when she thought about it, she couldn't believe that she, Jackie Burkhart, had actually given up on love. But in the back of her mind she knew that it was coming. After all, her parents didn't marry for love and, as they say, the apple never falls that far from the tree.

She gave herself one final look in the mirror before sitting on her bed and waiting for Fez to tell her that Ian had arrived. She always believed, because her mother had told her so, that the man should wait on the woman. It was unladylike to wait at the door, or even answer it for that matter. So, she sat there with nothing more to do to make herself desirable. She was wearing a long jean skirt with a brown top and matching boots, therefore being the epitome of perfection. Ah, first dates.

Hyde and Donna sat in the basement watching the Love Boat, the only reason being there was nothing else on. Sam was still in Las Vegas and she was probably going to be there until after the New Year. Usually, a husband was supposed to be angry or at the very least a little disappointed that his wife was spending so much time away but Hyde was kind of glad. Not that he minded her presence, she was really hot after all, but he really didn't care either way about her comings and goings. It honestly didn't matter to him.

Donna sighed in boredom, something she rarely ever did. Sighing was Jackie's thing but seeing as how they were best friends, she had to pick up on it eventually. But Jackie never picked up Donna's love of Led Zeppelin, so things weren't exactly even, but whatever "This year blows," she said, still staring at the TV.

"Yup," Hyde said, mimicking her behavior. After that, neither one said anything for a really long time. Even though they had a very important detail of their lives in common, only Donna would be comfortable talking about it. Hyde didn't talk about his feelings, especially if those feelings involved love or the lack of it.

"You wanna go to the Hub," he offered.

"Are you saying that because you know Jackie is going on a date with that rich guy that she's been talking about lately and you know he'd never take her there?" Donna asked, suddenly interested in the conversation they were having.

"No," Hyde said in the manner he did when he had been caught being jealous and Zen didn't quite mask it all.

"Okay," she said disbelievingly before getting up. "Yeah, I'll go."

"Whatever."

At the exact moment Ian said he would pick her, Jackie heard a knock on her door. She took one last look at herself in her mirror before Fez came in and told her that her date was there. He looked kind of annoyed; after all, Jackie should have been his by now. He'd played the good friend all these years, tending to Donna when she got angry with Eric and to Jackie when Kelso or Hyde hurt her. Damnit, it was his turn!

But like the good, if not very horny friend, Fez got out of her way to let her make a grand entrance. He was surprised though when she first gave him an endearing hug and whispered, "Thank you," in his ear. Well, maybe Fez gets something after all, he thought.

Twenty minutes later, Ian pulled his Mercedes into the valet entrance in front of Masimo, Point Place's grandest and most expensive restaurant. Jackie sighed, but only in her mind. She didn't need Ian to know that she did that a lot. She really didn't need him to know anything. Like she'd said, she just wanted to marry him.

"Shall we enter, my lady," Ian said in an accent that was almost like her fathers; the rich, snobbish voice that seemed to say I'm rich, I'm better, you are nothing at all.

My lady, I was never Steven's lady, Jackie thought bitterly to herself as she let Ian open her door and help her out. As she walked into the foyer of the restaurant, a small voice in the back of her head said, Yeah, but you were his chick. She blinked back the memories before they could flood her mind. Steven wasn't going to ruin the night when the rest of her life was to begin.

Dinner was pleasant enough. Ian had ordered for the both of them; roast beef for him and a delicate salad for Jackie. She knew she should have minded, and a part of her did; you couldn't listen to Donna's feminist crap for all those years and not have it effect you. But she didn't care. She didn't have that luxury anymore.

They talked about him mostly; his money, where his money came from, what he bought with his money, what he could buy her with his money. This should have made Jackie very happy, but it didn't make her feel anything. She smiled politely, like the good wife she'd soon make, but in her mind she was trying to think of their wedding. For some reason, the usual wedding-minded brunette couldn't picture a single detail about the affair. And this made her very weary.

The date had ended and they arrived at her house. Jackie let Ian walk her to her down and even give her a goodnight kiss. But when he was turning to walk away, she said, "Ian. I don't think we should go out again."

Ian, surprised because he'd never been dumped, stammered. "What? Didn't you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was okay. I just don't want to do this. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry. You should be, for yourself. You will never find anyone better than me. You'll wind up an old hag, cold and alone, you dumb bitch," Ian said, raising his voice to show he meant it, but not yelling. That wasn't what a rich man did, especially not in front of another rich man's door (even if that man was in jail).

"Whatever," Jackie said, secretly wishing that Steven was there to hit the jerk, just like he'd done all those Veteran's Days ago. She didn't let that show though, so she gave him her most Zen look that she could muster.

"I was told you were dirty, used goods. I should have listened. Why anyone would want you, I don't see," Ian said before striding back to his car, his pride hurt. Jackie knew she should have cared, but she didn't. Not even a little bit.

Once she saw his car at the end of the street, she jumped into her father's old Lincoln and drove down to the Hub.

"See, why don't we ever do this anymore?" Donna said, looking across to where Hyde was sitting at the booth. She was on the chair on the other side, sipping a soda.

"Do you really want to go into it?" Hyde said, his eyes peering over his rose tinted glasses.

She thought about it for a moment. "No." Shrugging, she set her soda down and picked up her hot dog again. She was just about to take a bite when she heard Hyde shift in his seat. She glanced up, only to see his face staring in the direction of the door. She followed his gaze and when she saw the figure at the door, she understood.

"Apparently, her date didn't go very well," Hyde said, still looking at Jackie, even as she moved closer to the table. When she had finally pulled her chair up to the table, she had the full attention of both her best friend and her ex-boyfriend.

"What?" she asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be on like a date or something?" Donna questioned.

"Yeah." She said simply.

"Well…" Donna started for her.

"Well, nothing. He was perfect but I didn't see anything with him. I couldn't even pretend I saw anything in him. I mean, he sat talking about his money and I just wasn't interested."

Hyde coughed deeply, seemingly because he had just choked on his burger. Jackie resisted the urge to help him (God knew he deserved to choke for everything he'd put her through) but couldn't help giving him a concerned look. One that only Donna saw. "Jesus, Jackie. Not when I'm eating!"

Jackie's concern was wiped off and replaced by annoyance. "Shut your pie hole! Anyway," she said, turning more to face Donna. "Like I was saying, during the entire time I was there with him, I couldn't picture anything about our future. I had no wedding plans, no kids name, no nothing. But it wasn't a total waste."

"You did it with him, didn't you?" Donna accused.

"No! God Donna, you and your silly lumberjack ideas. Going on a date with him made me realize that I can't just marry anybody. I have to be in love with them, or it means nothing. So, I'm done dating. I'm not ready yet," Jackie said, returning her attention to both people. Hyde took that as a sign that she meant him to hear what she said but strangely enough found that he didn't blame her for still being bitter. He still hurt, why shouldn't she?

"Good for you," Donna said before ranting about women's rights and other crap like that. Jackie tuned out and started watching Hyde out of the corner of her eye, occasionally nodding to "prove" that she was listening to her friend. As she stared, she wondered if Hyde had gotten her message, the message that said, "The reason I can't date anyone is because I'm still in love with you."

Author's Note: Really late with the update. I could give you lots of reason, but I won't bore you with them. I thought that Jackie needed to get back to being strong and less materialistic. I like her better that way. Updates will be coming sooner than before. Also, I just want to say that I HATE THE WRITERS OF THE SHOW, WHAT THE HELL? Why were Hyde and Sam holding hands? Are they trying to see how many viewers they can lose before they get cancelled? I mean, seriously, start getting them back together. Okay, I'm done. Review PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY please. I promise if you read and review mine, I'll read and review yours.