It was the week before Christmas and all through the basement, not a person was stirring except for Mrs. Forman, fussing over the decoration placement.
Kitty was planning something special. It was Eric's first Christmas back from Africa, so Kitty wanted to make it one of the best Christmases ever.
And she had just the thing to do it. Five fresh sprigs of mistletoe, picked up at the florist where they'd gotten their Christmas tree.
One was hung in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, the door propped open indefinitely by a tasteful reindeer statue to prevent the mistletoe being crushed.
One was hung in the hallway outside Steven's room. He'd told Kitty a few weeks ago that he was finally planning to propose to Jackie on New Year's Eve, so Kitty wanted to provide plenty of romantic opportunities for them.
One was hung above the basement stairs, in the doorway before one entered the hallway between the kitchen and the dining room.
One was hung in the den, a place Kitty had chosen mostly for her own benefit. Red always kissed her under the mistletoe, and the one in the den would get her a lot of kisses.
The final one was hung just inside the door in the basement, the one that led outside. That way, if anyone was standing near the door when someone came to the basement, they'd get caught.
This Christmas would be perfect.
Kitty had just finished hanging all the mistletoe, so now she placed the boxes of leftover ornaments on the basement couch for the kids to decorate the basement tree with.
She turned at the sound of the basement door opening. Steven and Jackie entered, both covered with fluffy white snow and laughing. Their laughter died down when they realized they weren't alone.
"Hey, Mrs. Forman," Steven said.
"Hello, Steven, Jackie." Kitty grinned mischievously. "Look what you got caught under."
Jackie and Steven looked up to see the mistletoe on the ceiling. Jackie squealed and drew Steven down for a kiss. When they parted, Steven looked at Kitty. "Why'd you put up mistletoe?"
"Well, since Eric is moving in with Donna and you're moving out soon, this is one of the last Christmases with everyone here. I wanted to make it special," Kitty explained.
Normally, she would have gone to her unhappy place thinking about the kids leaving home. But now, she just felt that them moving out was the beginning of a new era. Eric and Donna were moving forward with their relationship, resolving the damage Eric's absence had done. Steven was moving forward with Jackie as well.
"You're moving out? When? Where are you going?" Jackie asked Steven.
Steven opened his mouth to answer. Kitty realized what she had said. She wasn't supposed to say anything about Steven moving out in front of Jackie because Jackie didn't know Steven's plans. He was planning to ask her to move in with him once they were engaged.
"I was, um… thinking of getting my own place. Can't be living here forever," Steven said.
Jackie narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't question further. She turned to Kitty. "So, is this the only mistletoe you have hung up?"
"Nope! There's five of them around the house," Kitty informed them. "I won't tell you where the rest are, so stay on the lookout."
"Will do, Mrs. Forman," Steven said. He hooked his arm around Jackie's waist. "We gotta go dry off and warm up."
"Why are you all covered in snow?" Kitty asked, having forgotten to ask when they entered.
"Impromptu snowball fight," Jackie said. "I won."
"No, you didn't," Steven said.
"Yes, I did. You surrendered, remember?"
"You put snow down my shirt!"
Kitty cleared her throat, reminding the young couple that she was there. "I'll get out of your hair now, but enjoy the mistletoe!"
Steven led Jackie back to his room. Kitty stopped them in the hallway, "Wait! Look up."
They spotted the mistletoe there. Steven smiled and kissed Jackie as Kitty retreated up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Red was just entering the hallway. She stopped him.
"Hey, Red."
Red narrowed his eyes. "What are you up to?"
Kitty grinned and pointed above their heads. Red sighed but smiled, then leaned in for a kiss.
Yes, this would be a great Christmas.
Hyde pulled on a dry shirt, then put his wet clothes in the pile with Jackie's to bring to the dryer. Jackie was lying on his cot, wearing one of his long sleeve shirts and the pajama pants she kept here in case she spent an impromptu night over.
"So, why did Mrs. Forman say you were moving out? Like, what's the real reason?" Jackie asked, turning on her side and propping her head up on her hand. "Because you would've told me if you were planning to get your own place."
Hyde motioned for Jackie to scoot over, which she did. He laid next to her on the cot and she cuddled into his side, resting her head on his chest.
Jackie snaked her hand under his shirt and began tracing patterns onto his stomach with her fingers. "Puddin, answer me."
He had wanted to save asking her to move in with him for after he proposed, but now Mrs. Forman had let it slip. He had two options here. Ask her to move in with him or lie and cover up what Mrs. Forman said.
"Well, um… I can't stay here forever, 'specially with Forman moving in with Donna in March. So I was just thinking about where to go next. Mrs. Forman's been helping me think of possibilities is all." Hyde wrapped his fingers around Jackie's, stopping them from tracing patterns on his skin. "I was planning to tell you soon."
"Okay. I believe you," Jackie said. She pressed a kiss to his jaw.
He hated keeping the truth from her, but it was necessary for his plans. It would be so much better if he asked her to move in with him a little while after proposing. He was actually excited about proposing to her at the end of the year.
They were ready now, to take the next step in their relationship. They hadn't been ready over a year ago, when Jackie gave her ultimatum. Now, though, Hyde found himself looking forward to what engagement and marriage would bring.
"Don't I owe you something for your victory in our snowball fight earlier?" Hyde asked.
Jackie grinned up at him. "So you admit I won."
"I know when I'm beat."
Jackie giggled. "I believe the agreement was that whoever won got to pick the movie we watched while we cuddled on the couch."
"Let's go look at the TV Guide, then."
They stood up from his cot and left his room, pausing to kiss under the mistletoe again. Mrs. Forman had definitely put it there because of Hyde's plan to propose, and Hyde wasn't complaining. Any excuse to kiss Jackie was fine by him.
Eric and Donna entered the kitchen to find Hyde and Jackie, laughing with a variety of baking utensils scattered on the counter.
"What are you guys doing?" Donna asked.
"Making sugar cookies," Jackie replied.
"No, I'm making sugar cookies and Jackie is messing around and eating all the cookie dough," Hyde said, sprinkling more flour on the counter and putting the next glob of dough on top of it.
"I'm helping," Jackie said.
"You're distracting." Hyde began rolling out the dough with the large rolling pin.
"Oh, you love it," Jackie said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Hyde didn't argue it.
"Oh, by the way, your mom put up a bunch of mistletoe around the house. Be on the lookout," Hyde said.
"Ooh. Why?" Donna asked.
"She wanted to make this Christmas special. She says it's one of the last Christmases with everyone around," Jackie said. "Which is so not true. Where else are we gonna go for Christmas?"
"I'm definitely not going to a Christmas party in the tiny Forman-Pinciotti apartment," Hyde said.
"You haven't even seen it yet!" Eric protested. "We just finalized the deal, though. We're all set for March."
"I'm still not going to a Christmas party at your apartment," Hyde teased. He looked at Jackie. "What cookie cutter should I use for this batch?"
Jackie smiled and handed him one. "Hearts. And then when I frost them, I'll put 'J+S' in icing."
Hyde rolled his eyes, but started cutting hearts into the flattened dough. "If you two aren't gonna help me, you should go down to the basement and help your mom set up the Christmas tree."
"Will do," Eric said. He and Donna went to the basement door. Eric paused at the top of the stairs. "Mistletoe." Donna smiled and kissed him, then they continued downstairs. Eric had a good feeling about this Christmas.
Kitty placed the last of the Christmas presents under the tree. Tonight was the night of the Christmas party. She had on a new red dress, one Jackie had actually picked out for her while on a shopping trip with her and Fez. Red hadn't seen it yet.
"Where do you want the cookies, Mrs. Forman?" Steven asked as he walked through the door between the kitchen and the living room. He was wearing a cozy-looking green sweater Kitty had never seen him in before.
"You can put them on the table, with the nuts!" she said, pointing to the end table.
He put them down on the table. "Need me to do anything else for the party?"
"Just make sure you get all your gifts under the tree!"
"Already done. Can't wait for tonight." He smiled and went back to the kitchen.
Kitty looked at the cookies. There were green frosted trees and red Santa hats, but also colorful hearts. Each heart had a pair of initials on it. There was J+S, E+D, M+B, and R+K.
Kitty smiled and picked up the R+K cookie. "That's so sweet."
"What is?" Red asked as he came down the stairs. He walked over to her. "Oh, you look beautiful."
"Thank you. It's a new dress." Kitty showed him the cookie. "Jackie frosted the cookies Steven baked. This one's ours."
"That is sweet." Red kissed her softly. "But not as sweet as you."
"Oh, Red…" Kitty broke the cookie in half, then handed him the side with the K on it.
He took a bite of it as she took a bite of the other side of the cookie. "Mm. Steven's a damn good baker," he said.
"He is. I'm gonna miss having him around the house."
Red wrapped his arm around her. "He'll visit. And you still got me."
Kitty smiled and kissed him. "You know, I think I forgot to put up some decorations in our bedroom…"
Red smiled. "I can help with that."
"Is it… a new dress?" Jackie asked, seated on Hyde's lap. She was trying to guess what he'd bought her for Christmas.
"No," Hyde said. "Stop guessing, you'll ruin the surprise." The surprise was that he hadn't bought her a gift this year. He'd had the option of getting her a less-than-stellar ring and a Christmas gift or no Christmas gift and a ring she'd enjoy. So, his Christmas gift to her was something… not material.
"Is it jewelry?" she asked with a smile.
"Stop asking!" Donna and Forman said at the same time. Hyde was glad for the cover.
"Yeah, Jackie, remember when you made me tell you what I got you before Christmas?" Kelso asked. "You were crabby all day 'cause you knew what you were getting."
"Fine." Jackie leaned back into Hyde's chest. "Why are you standing next to the door, anyway?"
"I invited Brooke over and I'm waiting to catch her under the mistletoe," Kelso said, pointing above his head at the small sprig.
The door opened, but it wasn't Brooke. Fez stepped inside. "Hello, everyone!"
"No!" Kelso whined. "Come on, we don't have to-"
"No, you have to," Hyde said. "That's the rules."
"What rules?" Fez asked.
"Mistletoe rules," Eric said.
Fez looked up. Then he pulled Kelso in for a kiss. While they kissed, Brooke walked in. "What is going on?" she asked.
"Brooke!" Kelso said, shoving Fez off of him. "Hi. It's mistletoe."
Brooke looked up at where it was hung. "Oh." She kissed Kelso quickly, then sat down on the couch. "So, what's going on?"
"Steven won't tell me what he got me for a Christmas gift," Jackie said. "Is it a stuffed animal?"
"Stop asking!" they all said.
Jackie crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine!"
Kitty sat with Red in the den, having watched everyone open their presents. Steven and Jackie were looking cozy together on the piano bench. Jackie had given Steven a couple band t-shirts. Steven had told Jackie that he would give her his present later. Kitty knew he didn't have a present for Jackie because of the ring he'd bought.
Eric had given Donna a woven bracelet, something he'd learned how to make while in Cameroon. Donna had given him a special Star Wars figurine in return.
Kitty handed Red her present for him. "Merry Christmas."
Red opened it, revealing a brand new copy of Frank Sinatra's Songs For Swingin' Lovers on vinyl. He smiled. "Nice. That kettlehead Kelso melted our old one." He handed her a gift bag. "This is for you."
She opened it, revealing a small gold locket. It was circular, but had a heart-shaped etching. She opened it to see a picture of her and Red, from their wedding day. "Oh, Red… This is beautiful." She closed it and held it close to her heart as she beamed at him. He smiled back at her, then leaned in and kissed her softly. "Thanks for making this Christmas special."
"Anything for my best girl." He kissed her again. "Thanks for putting mistletoe up in here."
Kitty looked up at the sprig right above them and giggled. "Well, I couldn't put up mistletoe just for the kids now, could I?" She kissed him again before he could respond.
Hyde waited outside of the bathroom in the basement, under a sprig of mistletoe. He was waiting for Jackie. They'd gone downstairs to get a moment away from the party. And Hyde figured it would be a good time to tell her his gift.
She came out of the bathroom, fluffing her hair. She smiled when she saw where he was standing.
Hyde kissed her tenderly. "You ready for your present?"
"Yes."
"After the party's over, you get to choose whatever you want to do with me. Or whatever you want me to do to you, if you're in the mood." He kissed her softly. "I didn't buy you anything 'cause I'm saving up for something. You'll find out what soon."
Jackie smiled. "Okay. I want…" she whispered in his ear. He felt heat rush to his cheeks. She grinned smugly.
"All right," he breathed out. "Until then…" He kissed her one last time, then they went back up to the party.
"Five… four… three… two… one! Happy new year!" Everyone cheered as the clock struck midnight.
Kitty kissed Red sweetly. "This is gonna be a good year," she said.
"It sure is," he said. He looked over her head, at the sliding door. "Hey, it's snowing."
"Let's go play in the snow!" Kelso shouted, picking up Betsy and going out the sliding door. Brooke rushed after them with their coats.
"Come on, Steven, let's go enjoy the snow!" Jackie said, dragging Steven outside. The rest of them followed suit.
The cold flakes of snow caught in Kitty's hair. Red wrapped his arm snugly around her shoulders. They stood by the patio and watched as the kids enjoyed the snow in the driveway and front lawn. Eric, Donna and Fez were having a small snowball fight. Kelso was showing Betsy how to make snow angels while Brooke watched with a small smile on her face. Steven was watching Jackie twirl around in the freshly fallen snow.
Steven smiled and glanced at Mrs. Forman. He nodded, which was the signal they'd agreed on for when he would propose. She rushed inside and grabbed the camera, then came back out and gave him a thumbs up.
Steven grabbed Jackie's hand, stopping her from spinning. "What?" she asked.
"You're beautiful," he said. "And there's something I gotta do."
She smiled. "What?"
He held her hand and got down on one knee. Her mouth dropped open. Kitty snapped a picture. "Jackie, I've been thinking about us a lot for the past year. I don't think we were ready when you first asked over a year ago, but I think we're ready now." He pulled the ring out from his pocket. She gasped. Kitty snapped another picture. "Jackie Burkhart, will you marry me?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" She bent down and peppered his face with kisses. He laughed, then stood up and kissed her properly. Kitty snapped another picture.
"And I was gonna ask you to move in with me once I find a place," Steven continued. "Mrs. Forman let the surprise slip a little."
"Sorry!" Kitty said.
"It's all right, I'm still really happy about it!" Jackie said, hugging Steven fiercely. "I love you so much!"
He kissed the top of her head. "Love you too."
Red leaned close to Kitty. "Kinda reminds me of us. Y'know, back when we first started."
"Aw, you're so sweet," Kitty crooned. She kissed him quickly. Then she turned to everyone in the driveway. "Thank you all for making this such a lovely holiday season. I'm going to miss you all so much."
"We'll be back for the holidays," Eric said. "Where else would we go?"
"Yeah, of course we're all coming back for Christmas and the New Year," Jackie said.
"Did you think we would leave forever once Eric and Hyde moved out?" Fez asked.
"That's what I was hoping," Red muttered.
"Oh!" Kitty exclaimed, ignoring Red. "Oh, that's wonderful! That makes this even better!" She laughed, just happy to still have the kids around.
Yes, this year would be a good year.