Time passed quickly for Jackie and Eric over the next few weeks. Their past experiences had taught them that timing was everything, and neither of them felt they had a day to spare. Both of them ready to be husband and wife, despite all the critics and cynics.
Breaking the news to the rest of the gang had proved uneventful. Kelso had taken it all in stride, other than the odd joke that he would always be there to "comfort" her. Fez had giggled like a girl, begging to be part of the wedding party and later cried like a baby when he realized that he would be left without a roommate. Randy had tried to be supportive, especially for Donna's sake. She was doing fairly well with everything, but she had her moments when it was especially difficult. Jackie had asked her to be the maid of honor, and she had finally accepted. Although it was harder than anything she had ever known, she knew that she would regret it otherwise someday.
Hyde was an entirely different situation, on the other hand. He was barely speaking to anyone in the group, let alone either one of them. Samantha had left him last week, citing his constant obsession with Jackie as the reason. The truth was, he had never loved her, and since Jackie showed up with Eric, he had barely paid attention to her. Other than to ask her to move her stuff out of his way when he watched television, he hadn't even spoken to her in days before her departure. In fact, the only person he was speaking to was Kitty, and that was because she made him.
"I don't know, Mrs. Foreman. I don't think Eric and Jackie really want me there," he said, pretending to sulk. The fact was, he wanted her to force him into coming so that he could object and hopefully stop the relationship he believed was doomed to fail.
"You are one of their best friends, of course they want you there," she coddled. "Besides, you're family, so you're coming. Don't argue with me!"
"Okay, for you, I'll come."
Jackie was standing outside the kitchen door just inside the living room as the conversation went down between Kitty and Hyde. Eric came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and surprising her.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Sshh! Hyde is in there talking to your mom, and I think he's up to something."
"Who cares? It's not like he is going to stop this wedding."
She smiled. "You're right, I just don't want him to ruin this day for us."
"He can only ruin something if we give him the power to do it. I promise you that I won't let that happen. I want this day to be perfect for you. I know how much it means to you, and I hope that you know how much it has come to mean to me."
"Aw, ya big softy. Do you really mean that?"
"Mmhmm," he murmured as he leaned down to kiss her. Deepening the kiss, he pressed her against the wall until they were lost in the moment.
"Get a room," Hyde muttered as he walked by.
"Good idea, Steven. Eric, let's go upstairs," Jackie remarked hotly, grabbing Eric's hand and pulling him toward the steps. Partly to get back to Hyde and partly because she wanted to, she soon found herself underneath Eric in his bedroom.
"Okay, we have to stop," Eric said finally.
"What, no," she begged.
"We're not doing this, not now. Not to get back at Hyde and not this close to the wedding."
"Are you kidding me? You did that with Donna, and you barely made it."
"That's not what I meant," he muttered, now angry. "J, I don't want this to have any element of revenge to it any more. If we're going to do this, and we're going to do it for real, we need to make sure it's about us."
"It is about us, Eric. The phone conversations, Africa, the engagement…everything I have done since I found you has been about us. Believe me."
"I do believe you, baby," he said, gathering his crying girlfriend in his arms. "I just don't want you to marry me to get back at someone. I want to know that you are doing this because you are in love with me and you can't imagine another day in your life without me in it. Because that's how I feel, every single second of every single day."
"It is," she repeated over and over again as he rocked her in his arms. Finally, she calmed down and pulled back to look into his shining eyes. "Let's do it tonight. Let's fly to Vegas, we could be married before the sun rises."
"My parents would kill me. You'd make Kitty cry, and I don't want to push Red. He's been supportive to this point, but if I do this without thinking it out, he really will put a boot in my ass. It's so unlike him to be so okay with the situation already, I don't want to push it."
"I thought this was about us," she countered.
"It is, and it's important to me that we do this right. I want my parents there. I want to stand before God and everyone we know and let them see just how in love with each other we are. I want them to see us devote our lives to each other."
"You always did love an audience," she teased.
"You're one to talk, cheerleader," he taunted. "Besides, I'd hate to see that beautiful dress go to waste."
"Okay, so, in exactly seven days, meet you at the altar?"
"Trust me, I wouldn't miss it for the world."