A/N: hey i just want to say that updates MIGHT start to slow down/be irregular just bc 1. i have 3 jobs rn and im very tired and busy (esp next week) and 2. from here on out in the story i feel more uncertain. like i still have the rough draft for the rest of it, but the rest of the chapters have more i want to change and add than these first 10 chaps. so yeah, just wanted to give yall a heads up. but just remember that im definitely not abandoning this story!


A comfortable silence has fallen over the room for a while and now Hyde watches as Jackie starts to nod off. She's been attentive to the sleeping toddler, anxious for any movement or change in her breathing, but as the hour grows late she's fighting a losing battle to sleep.

"Hey," Hyde speaks up from his chair, his voice low, "you should get some sleep."

"No, I'm fine. I want to be here in case she wakes up," Jackie insists.

Hyde fights the urge to roll his eyes. She can be so damn stubborn. He both hates and loves that about her. "I'll stay up and keep an eye on her while you sleep, then we can switch after a few hours," he offers. Jackie glances back down at Betsy and Hyde knows she's unsure, not wanting to be farther from the sick girl than necessary. "You don't have to go far, you can sleep in my room," he adds.

There's a brief, tense silence between them at the suggestion. The offer is innocent and practical, but the underlying memory of countless nights shared in that room and in that bed sticks in the back of both of their minds.

"You'll wake me up if anything happens?" Jackie asks, hesitating.

"I swear," Hyde assures her, knowing she won't give in with anything less.

"Well, alright," she concedes, "but wake me up in three hours so I can take the next shift."

"Will do," he agrees, watching as she kisses Betsy's head before disappearing into his bedroom. He swallows around the lump in his throat at the familiar sight of her walking into that back room.

Alone with Betsy, Hyde stares at her rhythmic breathing, allowing himself to get lost in thought. She might be obnoxious at times, but the little girl had wormed her way into his heart a long time ago and his fondness for her had only grown since then. Seeing her so sick had sent him into a panic. He hadn't known how to make her better or how to take her pain away or do anything . All because he's been slacking off on his duties as the legal guardian of a two year old. He'd feared the worst would happen because of it. If Jackie hadn't come over…

Hyde shakes his head at the thought. Jackie had come over, and miraculously, she'd known what to do. His stomach still flips at the memory of how she tried her very best to do what a good mother would. The sight had been so tender and touching, her acting in such a way. He never would have thought something like that could look almost natural. And he never would have thought he would enjoy seeing it.

Jackie, a mother. He'd be lying if he'd never thought about it before. How could he not, when Jackie loved to bring up their future when they were dating. She'd talk about marriage, and the house with a white picket fence, and babies. He'd usually roll his eyes and push the image out of his mind, but once in a while indulge the idea. And though he'd never admit it to anyone, even himself, it wasn't an unpleasant thought.

But that was before. And this is now. Things have changed since then. And yet, he still can't help but think about what Jackie had said to him earlier, and the soft look in her eyes when she said them.

What we had was real.

I really did love you, Steven.

Please believe that.

The words keep replaying in his head like a favorite record on repeat. They were something he hadn't known how much he'd needed to hear until they were said. Sure, it didn't ease the pain of the scene of walking into Jackie's hotel room to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him and finding Kelso there in nothing but a towel. But it did do something to help repair some of the damage that experience had caused. It had caused him to doubt if Jackie had ever really loved him, if she'd ever really wanted to be with him.

If the entire time she was with him she'd really still been in love with Kelso.

Now, after hearing the genuineness in her voice and seeing it in her eyes when she spoke to him tonight he felt differently, because in that moment, the pain and hurt from their past no longer mattered, the only thing on his mind was that she had loved him. Jackie Burkhart had loved him.

A smile tugs at the corners of his lips.


Alone in Hyde's bedroom, Jackie's thoughts are still with Betsy. Seeing her so sick has been scary. It's a new feeling, to be scared for someone like that. But she's glad she's able to be here with Betsy, to care for her. If Hyde hadn't called her when he did-

No, no, she can't think like that. Hyde did call her, surprisingly. She knows it must've taken a lot for him to swallow his pride like that, and while it's the bare minimum she's still proud of him for it. Baby steps. A few weeks ago he was still treating her like garbage. She'd feared that's what it would be like forever, that they could never pick up the pieces of their relationship, platonic or otherwise. And now, as she remembers Steven's words from earlier she feels a tiny glimmer of hope. It's not much but it's the most she's had to hold onto in a long time. Just a few months ago she would have never imagined that they would have a conversation like the one they had tonight.

The conversation they had tonight...

I did love you. A lot, actually.

I'm sorry I made you doubt that.

A smile spreads across Jackie's face as she remembers Steven's words. They meant so much to her, to be able to hear them. It gives her some closure. Not complete closure, not to make her forget the pain of finding out Steven had gone and married someone else, someone other than her. A stripper no less. Sam had been enough to make Hyde forget about her, enough to make her feel replaceable. Worse than that, it had made her felt like Steven had never loved her at all and it caused her to doubt if he ever actually wanted to be with her.

If he had just used her to pass the time and warm his bed until something- or someone- else came along.

No, that pain hasn't healed, but tonight was a start. For the first time in a long time, Jackie saw something else in Steven's eyes besides coldness towards her. She saw honesty; honesty that he had loved her, despite her having doubted it. And she saw guilt; guilt that he had caused her to doubt that love. Steven Hyde had loved her, and he regrets ever making her doubt it.

She falls asleep with a soft smile on her face.


Hyde lets Jackie sleep for longer than he'd originally agreed. He tells himself it's because he wasn't tired yet, but the reality is that he just wanted her to get the sleep she deserves. Of course, that doesn't keep her from eventually waking up so he can get a few hours of sleep in.

When he does emerge from his bedroom in the morning, he's surprised to find both girls awake and watching TV. Betsy is drinking some water from her sippy cup. "Mornin' you two," he greets.

Jackie snaps her head towards him excitedly, a smile on her face. "Betsy's fever broke!" she shares.

A surge of relief shoots through his system at the words. "That's great." He ruffles Betsy's hair as he walks past her and over to his chair. "So," he says once he's seated, "how you feeling, kid?"

"Better. But my head still hurt," she answers truthfully.

Jackie takes the cup from her and sets it on the table. "Yeah, well you're still sick. It's gonna take a little while for your body to be completely better. Why don't you just lie down and watch TV, okay?" she suggests.

"Yeah, you need to rest up, Bets," Hyde agrees, letting the nickname slip out.

"Okay," the little girl pouts, laying back down as Jackie fluffs up the pillow.

"Think you'll be okay while Steven and I run upstairs to make you a little something for breakfast?" Jackie asks.

"Yeah."

"Okay, we'll be right back!" she promises as she heads up the stairs with Hyde following suit.

"I really need some coffee," Jackie admits when they reach the kitchen. She immediately goes over to start a fresh pot.

"I could definitely go for some of that myself," Hyde agrees with a yawn, getting some fruit out of the fridge to cut up.

"You know you could've woken me up sooner," she remarks, turning around after having started the brew.

Hyde just shrugs. "I wasn't very tired," he lies.

Jackie tries to hide her smile. "Yeah, I can tell from the bags under your eyes," she jokes.

He snorts. "And you don't look like you were up half the night with a sick toddler, right?"

"Right. I always look fabulous," she beams.

"And there's the Jackie I know," he quips, but there's no malice in it like there usually would be.

"Some things don't change," she laughs, watching him slice.

"Guess not," he deadpans, fighting a smile. He might find Jackie's narcissism obnoxious, but there is also something captivating about it. It's comforting to know that some things stay the same and would always stay the same.

Jackie finds the bread and begins to put some in the toaster. "Not that it's a competition, but after last night I think I'm beating you at this whole parenting thing," she teases.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he responds, knowing full well she's right.

"Come on, admit it."

"I'm not admitting to anything, man."

"Why not?"

"Jackie, the day I admit to you being better than me at anything is the day Forman stops being such a nerd."

Jackie laughs. Having poured the freshly brewed coffee into a couple of mugs, she hands one to Hyde. "You know, I've missed this," she says, voice tender with nostalgia.

"Missed what?" he asks, boldly taking a sip of the burning hot drink.

"This. You and me hanging out, play fighting-"

"Who says I'm playing?" he shoots back, but Jackie can hear the smile creeping into his voice.

"Come on, haven't you missed it too?" she presses.

"Maybe," he admits after a moment of hesitation.

A smile spreads across Jackie's face, her tired eyes lighting up. Hyde's heart skips a beat at the beautiful sight.

"Sooo, since we both miss it, do you think we can start to be friends again? Real friends? Not just whatever we've been these last couple years?" she questions, going out on a limb.

Hyde is silent for a moment, thinking over what that means. He's kept her at a distance, being cold to her since their breakup as a way to deflect the pain he was feeling and to protect himself from being hurt again. If he was cold and cruel to her, she wouldn't be able to get close to him again and therefore couldn't hurt him in any way. And he couldn't mess things up again, hurting them both in the process. After all, that's how they ended up in this mess in the first place. But the distance between them had caused him pain as well. He missed her, their friendship. Because over the course of their relationship she had become more than just his unexpected lover, she'd become his best friend. She'd pushed him to do things he never would have done otherwise and she'd helped him grow into a better person.

He supposes he can still keep her at a distance, just a...closer distance. If he's careful and they just stay friends and nothing more, then he'll be safe. They both will.

It's a risk worth taking.

"I suppose," he starts slowly, "we can try to start over. Ya know, be friends or whatever."

"Oh Steven, that makes me so happy to hear! We have so much shit talking on the others we need to catch up on- wait till you hear about this stupid thing Eric said to Donna," she says excitedly before picking up the plate of toast she'd made. "Come on, we should probably go give our goddaughter her breakfast." She cheerily heads down the basement stairs.

Hyde sighs before picking up the bowl of fruit and following her, wondering if he's playing with fire. The same fire that burned him once before.


Jackie sticks around for the rest of the day, making sure Betsy stays hydrated and rested. By the end of the day, the toddler is feeling well enough to go upstairs so they all relocate to the living room.

Somehow Jackie finds herself watching as Hyde reads Betsy a storybook, the toddler curled up against him on the couch, her stuffed bunny Mary Jane cradled against her chest. Hyde had refused at first, telling her, "Your Aunt Jackie is here, why don't you ask her?", but the child had insisted that he do it. Jackie has a feeling the ritual is a regular occurrence, they just don't usually have an audience.

Now, as she watches and listens to him devotedly read to the two year old, she feels the slight flutter of butterflies stir in her stomach. The sight is something out of one of her old fantasies, the future she had imagined with him. Before they broke up and those fantasies shattered, that is. The fluttering turns into a dull ache.

The ache reminds her of how she felt last night, sleeping in Hyde's bed. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be; she didn't cry herself to sleep or have an anxiety attack. In fact, it was rather comforting, to curl up in the bed that was so familiar. Breathing in his scent and wrapped in his soft blankets, it was almost like she'd stepped into the past. She'd imagined that Steven and her were still together, that things were as they should be.

But then she'd felt the absence of his warm body pressed against hers and she was thrust back into the reality of how things are . And that's when she'd felt the dull ache like she was feeling right now.

Suddenly, the sound of keys unlocking the front door shake Jackie from her depressing train of thoughts and she sits up straight as the door opens. Eric and Donna come through the door carrying their luggage.

"Hey Hyde, hey Jackie- Jackie?! " Eric does a double take, not expecting to come home to the tiny brunette sitting in the same room as his best friend.

Donna punches him in the arm and gives him a warning look, trying to tell him to play it cool. "Hey guys, what's going on?" she asks casually.

"Nothing much, except that this little rascal decided to get sick the one weekend everyone was gone," Hyde responds dryly, gesturing to the toddler curled up against his side.

"Oh man," Eric gasps dramatically, "I would've killed to see you deal with a sick baby. Dammit."

"Yeah, me too," Donna nods before making her way over to Betsy's side. "You poor thing, left alone with this moron while sick," she says sympathetically.

"I threw up," Betsy announces in response.

"No way! Oh, we definitely missed out," Eric complains, laughing while Hyde glares at him. He turns to Betsy, "Seriously, you poor thing."

"Hey, hey, that's why I'm here," Jackie speaks up.

"As I was saying, you poor thing," Eric snarkily says after a beat.

Jackie stands up. "Well, now that you're here you can look after Steven while he looks after Betsy. I need to hurry up so I can make it to my photoshoot, I already missed one this morning," she comments. Her excuse is truthful, but she also wants to get out of there before Eric and Donna can make things awkward about her being there with Hyde.

"You didn't tell me you had a shoot this morning," Hyde frowns.

"Yeah, well it's no big deal," she shrugs it off. "Anyway, I'll be by tomorrow morning to pick up Betsy before you go to work." She kisses Betsy on the head. "Bye, Betsy!"

"Hey wait up, I'll walk you to your car," Hyde offers, ignoring the little red flags going up telling him he's giving Eric and Donna prime material to use against him later. He doesn't care if they tease him about it- well okay, he does, but he'll deal with it later- all he knows is he still has something to get off his chest today.

"Okay, sure," Jackie accepts, sounding a bit confused.

The short distance from the front door to Jackie's car is quiet as Hyde tries to gather his thoughts. When they reach her car he touches her arm so she stops and turns to face him. "Listen Jackie, I just wanted to thank you for coming over and helping me out with Betsy," he says.

"Yeah, no problem," she says softly, smiling. "I'm just glad I could help. I want to do a good job taking care of her and raising her and, you know, trying to be a good parent for her."

"Yeah." Hyde looks down at his feet, struggling to swallow his pride once again. He gathers his courage and looks her in the eye. "See, that's the thing though. I haven't been doing that. I've been slacking off big time, handing her off to Mrs. Forman and Eric, even Red. Just so I can take a nap or get high."

"Steven-"

"No, listen, Jackie," he holds up a hand, "I haven't been taking this thing as seriously as I should. This weekend has really shown me that. And it scares me, man. Here you are, worried about being a bad parent because I called you self centered when in reality you're doing a way better job than me. I should be the one concerned about if I have what it takes to do this." He gives her a half smile. "Anyway, it just made me realize how bad of a job I've been doing. Betsy deserves better than that."

"Then do better, Steven." Jackie gives him an encouraging smile. "That's all. We're both learning, we're both like, super new to this whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm disappointed to hear that you've been kind of lazy with it, but I know you can get better at it. You will get better at it- we both will."

Together.

Hyde nods and gives a small smile back. How is it that just talking to Jackie can make him feel ten times better? Especially when he doesn't even deserve it. He wonders how it's possible that she wants to still be friends with him- real friends, she'd said- when he doesn't deserve that much from her. He never did.


The door shuts behind the stoner when he comes back from walking Jackie to her car and Donna turns to him with a smirk on her face. "So, you called Jackie to help you with Betsy and she willingly missed her job to come over. Am I getting this right?"

Hyde stares at her flatly. "She came over because Betsy was sick and needed her. That's it."

"Uh, huh," Donna says, unconvinced.

"Seriously. That's all it was, so don't go reading into things. Okay, man?" he warns.

"But did she have to stay all night and day? I mean, Betsy looks fine now and I've known Jackie long enough to know that not only does she not like to miss out on getting her picture taken, but she also doesn't do more work than she has to," Donna points out.

"Now that is true," Eric says seriously.

"Well, maybe Jackie's changed. Maybe she's not the same person she was a few years ago, alright?" Hyde says.

Donna and Eric exchange a suspicious look with each other before turning to smirk at Hyde.

"Not enough to change things between us," he quickly clarifies. He then stands up, scooping Betsy up in his arms. "Now that this conversation is over, I'm gonna get Betsy ready for bed." He makes his way up the stairs to the toddler's room.

Eric and Donna exchange another look.

"It's only a matter of time," Donna remarks.

"Yup," Eric agrees, putting his arm around her and leading her to the kitchen.

It was always only a matter of time.