A/N: All right, so writing two stories concurrently is difficult. Kudos to those who can keep up with so many at the same time, I will never figure out how you do it! But don't worry; the next chapter of "Countdown" will be up very soon. A big thank you to all those who reviewed this story and kept me motivated to continue it! Hope you continue to enjoy!

Chapter Four – Aftermath

Jackie's eyelids fluttered open just as dawn was beginning to creep into the room. She rolled over on her back and stretched, causing the body lying next to her to stir and sit up. Suddenly conscious of the fact that she was completely naked, Jackie pulled the covers up to her chin and offered him a tiny smile.

"Morning, Fez."

Well, she's not screaming or throwing things or threatening me with sharp objects, so she must not be that mad, Fez thought and smiled at her in return. True, she didn't look entirely comfortable, but as long as his private parts weren't in jeopardy, Fez considered the situation to be going quite smoothly.

Jackie shifted uncomfortably under his stare. "Um, I should probably take a shower." When he didn't move, she prompted, "So, could you leave and give me some privacy?"

Fez blushed ever so slightly and muttered an apology as he stood, turning his head away from her. At Jackie's gasp, however, he immediately spun back. "What is it?"

Covering her face with the covers, Jackie screeched, "You're naked!" It was an odd thing to be embarrassed about, considering what they had spent the night doing, but somehow it had surprised her nonetheless. Apparently, Donna had been right when she'd said thinking and knowing were two very different things. She had assumed, and rightly so, that due to her state of undress and the sleeping Fez she had woken up next to, she had spent the night with him, but having it confirmed by a naked Fez was another matter altogether.

Fez immediately grabbed his underwear from the floor and hurriedly pulled them on. As Jackie cautiously peeked out from behind the covers, he backed up slowly, holding his hands up in supplication. "Yes, you go and take your shower and I'll, uh…be out here…not naked…"

When the door shut behind him, Jackie brought the covers away from her face and slowly rolled out of bed. She padded across the floor to the bathroom and turned on the shower, waiting patiently as it warmed up and then ducking her head under the steaming spray. She knew Fez would be waiting for her when she got out, knew also that they would have to talk about what had happened, but she honestly didn't know what to say to him. And so she stayed in the shower until the warm water turned cold and she began to shiver. Then, with her fluffy pink robe wrapped tightly around her, she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hey," she said, sitting down on the bed next to Fez.

Hyde awoke to the smell of bacon and stretched languidly. Mrs. Forman always outdid herself on Saturday mornings, and his stomach growled just thinking about the piles of eggs, pancakes, and waffles that were waiting for him upstairs. He was startled when a blonde head looked up at him, eyes bleary with sleep, but then he remembered his "wedding night" and nodded a good morning to his wife.

"What smells so good?" Sam asked, scooting closer to him.

Hyde slid away from her, grabbing his boxers and pulling them on before he got off the cot. "Breakfast. Mrs. Forman's a great cook."

Sam watched him dress and then glanced at the clock next to the cot. "I wish I had time to eat, but I've got to get out there and look for a job." She rolled out of bed and bent to pull on her clothes. "Are there any strip clubs around here?"

He shrugged. "One or two."

Straightening, Sam crossed his tiny room and reached up to plant a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you tonight."

Hyde nodded and followed her out of his room, not surprised to see Kelso sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket, the television tuned in to Saturday morning cartoons. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard Hyde, andhe did a double-takeas he saw the tall blonde exit the basement. Leaping over the couch, he stared agape at his friend.

"Who was the fox?"

Giving him a pointed look, Hyde replied, "My wife."

They started up the stairs as Kelso shouted, "Oh, burn! You wouldn't even talk about marriage with Jackie and now all of a sudden you've got a hot blonde wife!"

Hyde ignored him and sat down at the kitchen table as Mrs. Forman handed him a steaming plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. She sat down beside him; head cocked to one side, and asked, "So, Steven, how did you meet Sam anyway?"

"Uh…well, at a strip club, actually," he said hesitantly, and stared determinedly at his plate.

Kitty gasped and Kelso's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "She's a stripper? Oh, man, she's got to be a tiger in the sack!" He yelped as Hyde frogged him on the arm.

"Oh, Steven, a stripper?" Kitty said, disappointment evident in her voice. She sighed. "Well, I guess what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas."

Donna entered the kitchen then, and Hyde was thankful for the few seconds of reprieve from Mrs. Forman's displeasure as she got up from the table and bustled about getting a plate of waffles ready for the new arrival. But, of course, Kelso couldn't keep his big mouth shut.

"Hyde married a stripper!"

Donna's mouth dropped open as she stared in disbelief at Hyde. "You did what?"

In response, Hyde reached over and jabbed Kelso in the arm for the second time that morning, and Kelso, finally getting the message, quickly scooted back out of Hyde's reach.

"You married a stripper?" Donna repeated, her voice a high-pitched squeak. "Does Jackie know?"

And Kelso, who just couldn't help himself, cried, "No. It's the best burn ever!" This time, he received a punch from Donna, and with a huff, he got up from the table and stalked out holding his bruised arm, the blanket still wrapped around him.

Donna leaned towards Hyde as Kitty placed her plate in front of her. "Did you tell Jackie?"

He shrugged. "She was here when Sam showed up."

Sighing heavily, Donna sat back and shook her head at him. "So what are you going to do?" At his blank expression, she exclaimed, "Well you can't stay married to her!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Donna's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me. Hyde," she paused, noticing that Mrs. Forman was still in the kitchen, and lowered her voice as she continued, "you were going to propose to her."

Hyde smirked. "Well, I still got married."

Rolling her eyes, Donna pushed away the plate of waffles. "Hyde, I know what you saw when you walked into her hotel room, but do you honestly think she slept with Kelso?"

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Doesn't matter what I think now."

"Yes, it does! Hyde, you can still fix this," Donna implored.

"Donna, I know you want to help because Jackie's your friend, but do me a favor and just…don't, okay? What's done is done."

Donna's eyes hardened as she stared at him. "You can be such an ass sometimes." With that, she stomped out of the kitchen.

Kitty, who had been pretending not to listen, turned to look at her surrogate son. "She might be right, you know," she said before she too left the kitchen.

Hyde groaned and stared at his plate of food, suddenly not hungry anymore.

Jackie and Fez had been sitting on his bed for what felt like an eternity, neither one of them really knowing how to breach the subject of what had happened last night. Occasionally, they would glance at each other out of the corners of their eyes, quickly looking away when their eyes met.

Finally, taking a deep breath, Fez said, "So…"

Jackie nodded, pulling imaginary lint from her robe. "Yeah." She stared up at the ceiling, chewing pensively on her bottom lip as Fez looked straight ahead and twiddled his thumbs.

A full minute went by like that until Jackie became fed up with the awkward silence. "Oh, this is stupid!" she cried, turning to face him. "Look, Fez, about what happened last night…"

"I know, Jackie, you don't have to say anything," Fez interrupted, holding a hand up to silence her. "You were just upset about Hyde getting married," he ignored her slight wince and continued without pause, "and it was just a one-time thing."

She nodded slowly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Right, yeah."

Fez took a deep breath and looked away from her, smiling sadly. He had already made up his mind that he would do what she wanted, no matter what, but he hadn't realized just how much he'd been hoping their night had been about more to her than just forgetting about Hyde.

"I think I'm going to go over to Donna's," Jackie said at length. She headed for the door, but stopped just short of leaving and looked back at him. "Fez, are you going to be okay?"

Forcing a laugh, Fez nodded and waved a hand dismissively at her. "Of course I am, Jackie. I mean, we did do it."

She made a face at him, but giggled despite his smarmy comment; glad to see him returning to his typical disturbed self. Then she had to laugh at herself for being glad that Fez was still as sex-crazed as ever, but she left his room feeling a little better.

"Took you long enough," Donna laughed as she opened her front door and saw Jackie standing there. "I figured you would've been pounding on my door the minute you found out about…"

"Donna, if you say his name or the word 'wife,' especially in the same sentence, I'll kill you," Jackie snapped, barging past her friend and into the Pinciotti's house.

Shaking her head, but smiling in amusement, Donna followed the smaller girl into the living room and sat down beside her on the couch. "Well, you'll be happy to know that I called Hyde an ass today," she said proudly.

Jackie nodded. "Good, because he is." She paused and a frown creased her forehead as she asked, "Wait, when did you find out?"

"This morning," Donna replied, pulling her legs up into a more comfortable position. "I went over for Mrs. Forman's famous Saturday breakfast and Kelso blurted it out."

"Michael knows too!" Jackie screeched, her face flushing with anger.

Donna nodded. "And that's not even the worst part. You know Hyde was in Vegas right? Well guess where they met?" She waited until Jackie shrugged and then exclaimed loudly, "At a strip club! Yeah, she's a stripper!"

Jackie's face was beat red, her frustration bubbling to the surface as she nearly screamed, "He married a stripper? He wouldn't even let me look at wedding magazines with you, and he marries a freakin' stripper?"

"Men are pigs," Donna mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head, thinking of her failed wedding and her stupid Africa-loving ex-boyfriend.

"They so are, every single one of them," Jackie agreed, slouching down onto the couch and also crossing her arms.

Donna snorted. "At least yours didn't run away to Africa."

"Oh yeah?" Jackie retorted, glaring at the taller girl, "Well at least yours didn't marry a stripper!"

Sitting up straighter, Donna stared down the tiny cheerleader. "Eric broke up with me in a letter!"

Jackie also sat up, her gaze unwavering as she met Donna's. "Steven married a stripper!"

Donna blinked, and her scowl was replaced by a frown as she said, "Wait, you already said that."

Still fuming, Jackie barked, "Yeah, well it bears repeating!"

Suddenly, Donna burst out laughing, realizing the idiocy of their argument. "Jackie, this is ridiculous. Why are we fighting about whose boyfriend is the dumbest?"

"Because I like winning!" Jackie protested.

Donna just shook her head, and then a thought occurred to her. "So why weren't you over here the second you found out about Hyde's stripper wife?"

Jackie gave a nervous chuckle. "So about that Eric. Man, is he a dillhole or what?"

"Jackie." Donna's voice held a note of warning, and Jackie knew she had to confess.

"All right!" she cried, holding her hands up to calm down her friend. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Donna, something happened last night…"