A/N: just as I expected, the last chapter a couple negative reactions to it. I just did what I felt was necessary and realistic for this story, but if you disagree with that its cool. Anyway, here's chapter 13. Jackie and Hyde are back at each others' throats until they get a rude wakeup call from someone unexpected that causes them to reevaluate their priorities...


After her confrontation with Hyde, Jackie cries the whole drive home. Just when things were going well between her and Steven, just when she began to be happy and hopeful again, everything came tumbling down. It isn't fair. She deserves a somewhat happy ending and Betsy deserves a family that isn't going to fall apart on her- whether her 'parents' are together romantically or not. But she should have known that whatever good thing she and Steven had going wouldn't last.

After reaching her apartment and parking her car, however, Jackie's attitude changes. She wipes her tears and fixes her smudged makeup. How foolish she'd been to have ever even thought about taking him back after everything that he put her through, to have thought that he's changed. Well, after today she's finally thinking clearly again. So what if Steven decided to push her away again? If that's how he's going to be, then fine. If they can't even be friends, if that's what he wants, then that's fine with her; she'll give him what he wants. They've been through this before, but this time she'll play it his way, give him the same attitude right back. She'll match his energy, throwing any insults back his way and be just as icy, if not more so.

He broke her once, she won't let him do it again.


They hardly say more than two words to each other now, their only interaction being when they pick up and drop off Betsy from each other's houses. Even then, they keep it to the bare minimum, not saying anything more than necessary. They're professional about it- or they try to be- because that's all their relationship is supposed to be right now. They co-parent a kid, that's all. It's just business. Just like it was before, except a bit colder.

Their friends notice. Hyde goes back to being grumpier than usual; Eric and Fez feel like they're walking on eggshells around him trying to avoid setting him off. They're too afraid to even ask what happened, but they can guess enough. Jackie is both depressed and moody, snapping at Donna or Betsy for doing the slightest thing wrong. Of course she feels bad afterwards and tries to make it up to them in whatever way she can. She just wishes Hyde didn't affect her this way in the first place.

Betsy notices too, asking where one parent is while at the other's house. She also asks for them all to go to the park together, and they hate having to explain that no, they can't do that anymore. Of course, the toddler then proceeds to ask why, why, why? And they don't have much of an answer for her. Frustrated and confused with all the tension, the toddler begins to act out and throw tantrums for attention. The instability and stress even cause her to start wetting the bed. Of course, Jackie and Hyde have to deal with these outbursts on their own, refusing to ask the other for help. They mostly refuse to talk to one another about much of anything. And when they do talk, it's nothing short of a fight- from both ends.

"You look like shit," Jackie greets Hyde one evening. "To be honest, I'm surprised you even bother showing up anymore. I wouldn't give a damn if you didn't." She flips her hair haughtily; she doesn't need him in her life and she wants him to know that.

"Well, you know you look like a hooker coming home late dressed like that, right?" Hyde says as he follows Jackie up the stairs to her apartment. He came to pick up Betsy for the weekend and arrived at the same time Jackie was getting home from work, still dressed up from a photoshoot. Now they're making their way through the building together, Hyde in the mood to pick a fight after the rude greeting he received. "What's she gonna think you do for a living?" he presses.

Jackie grits her teeth. She's clearly in the mood for a fight, too. "Oh, and your job is so much better, right? You sell records to punks and hippies. And something tells me that's not the only thing they go in there to buy from you," she snipes, deciding to bring up her suspicion of Hyde selling weed on the side.

"At least I don't make a living selling pictures of myself for guys to jerk off to," he mutters, ignoring her accusation.

Jackie gives him a look of disgust. "You have no idea what modeling is, do you? It's not like I work for Playboy," she shakes her head.

"Whatever it is, it's not exactly a job fit for someone who's raising a two year old girl," he says.

"Regardless of what you think, I've been doing a great job raising Betsy," Jackie sniffs indignantly as they reach the top of the stairs and begin to make their way down the hallway.

"Uh huh. And who's watching Betsy right now while you're in a tight dress with makeup caked on? Donna. Who I'm willing to bet is over here a whole lot, by the way."

"I think you forget that I know you hand Betsy off to Mrs. Forman quite often just so you can go hit up in the circle. Lovely father figure you are."

"Yeah, I quit doing that a while ago, hardly ever smoke at all anymore. So I don't know why you're bringing that back up."

"Well, I think it's still relevant. It just goes to show how poor your parenting skills are. Or your skills as a responsible adult in general."

"Yep, can't disagree with that. I still have no idea why Kelso even chose us in the first place," Hyde says as they approach Jackie's door.

"You know what? Me neither!" Jackie snaps, her voice beginning to rise. This conversation has been going on for far too long for her taste and it's really starting to get to her. "Well, I can see why he chose me, at least. Unlike you, I seem to be a natural."

"Please, the idea of you being an actual mom is nightmare material. Hell, your own mom is both a slut and an alcoholic," he says, knowing he's pushing things but unable to stop himself. Her nagging at his insecurities is getting to be too much and he intends to fight back. If she won't let up, neither will he.

Jackie turns her key in the knob and pushes the door open. "Well we both have that in common, don't we?" she yells as she steps into her apartment, Hyde following.

"Guys-" Donna starts to say in greeting, but she's ignored completely as Hyde talks over her.

"Yeah, except one of us takes after them a lot more than the other!" the harsh and untrue words fly from Hyde's mouth like arrows into their target: Jackie. He regrets it immediately and is about to try to take it back, but it's too late.

She sets her jaw as tears threaten to fall from her eyes. "FUCK. YOU!" she screams. "That's a damn lie and you know it! God, you're such an ASSHOLE!"

"GUYS!" Donna yells urgently, horrified.

"What is it, Donna?!" Jackie snaps, both exasperated and embarrassed.

"Um," she says, gesturing to Betsy's room just as a figure emerges from it.

Jackie's mouth instantly dries up as she recognizes who it is: Carolyn Rockwell, looking very, very unhappy. She's never met the woman, but she's seen her from pictures that Kelso showed her from Betsy's birthday party.

Fuck.

"Who the hell are you?" Hyde asks, annoyed and confused.

"I'm Carolyn Rockwell, Betsy's grandmother," the blond woman explains, the edge in her voice showing her displeasure for having to make such an introduction in the first place. These are the people who are raising her own flesh and blood and they don't know who she is? It figures.

Hyde's eyebrows raise and his lips part. Oh.

Well, shit.

"Is this really the environment you're raising my granddaughter in?" Carolyn demands, her face drawn into a frown. "I just put her down to sleep and you two come in screaming at one another."

"Mrs. Rockwell, I am so sorry-" Jackie starts to say.

"I hope you are," she interrupts. "Do you know how difficult it is to come home from overseas to find out your daughter and son-in-law have been dead and buried for months? Then to be reunited with my precious granddaughter only to find her so-called new legal guardians nowhere to be found? And when they do finally come home they're yelling obscene things at one another so loud I can hear them before they even enter the apartment? It's disgraceful. Sickening, even."

Jackie and Hyde are reduced to silence, neither knowing how to respond. They're both ashamed and embarrassed to have been witnessed in such an immature and uncontrolled moment. More than that, they're ashamed to have been behaving like this for as long as they have. They got so caught up in pushing each other away again that they weren't thinking about how it could affect Betsy. They also realize how bad the whole thing must look to Carolyn who is just now becoming aware of the whole situation.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourselves?" she asks and Hyde opens his mouth to respond but quickly shuts it again when Carolyn shoots him a glare.

"...I'm just gonna go," Donna interjects quietly, wanting to leave before things get any more awkward.

"You do that, dear. Thank you for looking after my baby girl while her 'legal guardians' were out having an explosive argument," Carolyn says pointedly and Donna nods before quickly slipping out the door. "Well?" she asks Jackie and Hyde once Donna's gone.

Jackie and Hyde make eye contact with one another before looking away again. Hyde is the first one to try to explain themselves again.

"Mrs. Rockwell, I know things look bad-"

"You're damn right they do."

"-but it's not as bad as it seems. You just caught us on a bad day. I swear Betsy's been in great care," he explains.

"Well now, I just don't believe you. I don't think you have what it takes to properly raise a child, especially not after what I've seen tonight. You're clearly much too young and immature for this. I don't know what Michael was thinking when he apparently made you two Betsy's legal guardians, but I am surely going to look into other options," she says.

"Wait, what are you saying?" Jackie asks, anxiety creeping into her voice.

"I'm saying that Betsy is my granddaughter and I have more rights to her than you two do. I want full custody, and I'm willing to go to court in order to get it," she answers matter-of-factly.

Jackie's heart drops to her stomach at the mere thought of Betsy being taken away from her. Betsy's the best thing that has happened to her in a long time and she can't lose that, not now. She looks at Hyde and from what little she can read with his sunglasses on she can tell he feels the same way. "Mrs. Rockwell, please. You can't take Betsy away from us. We've gotten so attached to her, and-and she's gotten attached to us!" she pleads. She swallows around the growing lump in her throat. "She's even started to call me 'mom'."

Carolyn flinches at that, the pain of hearing for the first time that her granddaughter is now calling someone else besides her daughter Brooke 'mom' flashing across her face. She doesn't know what to say to that. It's a lot to process, among everything else as well.

"Please just give us another chance," Hyde speaks up again. "Out of everyone else, Kelso picked Jackie and I to do this. There has to be a reason for that. And Brooke signed off on the paperwork, too, so she had to have believed in us as well."

"Yes," Jackie jumps in, "that has to mean something, right?"

Carolyn's gaze flickers between Jackie and Hyde, silent while she considers their words. "Well, I don't like you two or the idea of you raising my granddaughter...but I guess since Michael and Brooke chose you two, I guess I can give you one month to change my mind," she says reluctantly.

"Oh my God, thank you," Jackie says, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth.

Carolyn holds up a hand. "Do not thank me. I'm giving you one month , nothing more, to turn this thing around and convince me of why I shouldn't take my granddaughter away from you. You're lucky I'm even giving you that much time. Now, in the meantime, I'm going to look into my legal options. And I'll be checking in unannounced to see how you're doing. You two better be getting along the way a couple with a child together should, as well as taking good care of Betsy. I won't have my granddaughter being raised in a broken and dysfunctional setting." Her serious gaze jumps back and forth between Jackie and Hyde. "Understand?" She asks.

"Yes!" Jackie and Hyde answer at the same time. "We won't let you down," Jackie adds.

Carolyn nods. "We'll certainly see about that," she warns curtly before making her way to the door.

Once the door clicks shut, Jackie sinks onto the couch, close to tears. "Oh my God," she wails, putting her face in her hands. This is a nightmare, a true and utter nightmare.

Hyde is silent, taking in everything that just happened.

Jackie looks up at him, glaring. "I can't believe we let this happen. I can't believe I let this happen, that I let you get to me like this again." Turns out, by being just as cold as Hyde she still let herself be affected by him and his pushing her away. She'd let herself get distracted from what was really important: giving Betsy the best life she can possibly give her.

"Really? You want to do this now?" Hyde asks, giving her a look. He really doesn't want to talk about this, he just wants to come up with a solution to their current Betsy crisis.

"Yes, Steven," Jackie says, standing up. "Mrs. Rockwell is right, we've been acting really immature and it can't be good for Betsy. We can't let this keep happening, so we have to communicate with each other and make sure that...mess of that night after we kissed doesn't happen again. Because I think we just didn't explain our feelings well and made each other upset."

Hyde pinches the bridge of his nose. "Oh my God," he groans quietly. She has a point, he knows that. He just hates having to be so open and talk about feelings.

"Look, I'll go first," Jackie offers. "The other day, after our...kiss, I freaked out. I realized that it was a mistake because while I may still have some leftover feelings for you," she looks away, uncomfortable at the admission, maybe because she doesn't know why she still has those feelings and because she hates that she has them at all, "they're not enough for me to want a relationship with you. You destroyed everything that we had and you really hurt me, and you haven't convinced me that I can trust you won't do that again. I don't know if you can ever convince me of that."

The truth hurts, but it's nothing Hyde didn't already know. It's nothing he hasn't already told himself. In fact, as much as it pains him to hear those words, he's proud of Jackie for saying them, for knowing her worth. He had to watch her routinely go back to Kelso when he didn't deserve it, and he would hate for her to do the same with him.

"So what I'm saying is," she continues, "is that I wasn't ready for that kiss to happen and I don't know if I ever will be. I mean, we were happy just being friends, right?"

No, he thinks, it'll never be enough for me. I'll always crave more with you.

"Yeah. No. I mean," he sighs heavily. Here goes... "Jackie, I recently have come to terms with how badly I screwed things up with you. And after we kissed," he swallows hard, "I realized that we shouldn't have done that. Because I'm the kind of guy who...well, you already know what kind of guy I am. And you deserve better than that. That's all I meant to tell you that day in the road."

Jackie stares at Hyde, studying his face. He looks serious, he sounds serious. Yeah, he means it. Surprisingly. She's touched, really, that he's become so self aware. Or that he has the courage to admit it out loud, that is. It really does mean a lot to her. It's growth. She nods slowly. "Glad to hear you say it."

He shuffles his feet. "Yeah, well, I'm trying this whole communication thing I guess."

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" she teases.

He shrugs. "I don't know, I kinda feel like I'm about to throw up. Or have an aneurysm. Maybe both."

Jackie lets out a laugh. He's so dramatic. Then she grows serious again. "You know you can't keep pushing me away, okay? I won't stand for it. We're in this thing together, and it's bigger than just you and me now. We have Betsy to think about."

Hyde looks at her seriously. "Yeah, I know."

She gives him a solemn smile. "Good." Her smile turns cheeky. "'Cause I don't know if I've told you this before, but I've missed you."

There's a burst of warmth that fills Hyde's chest. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He smiles back at her for just a moment too long. Clearing his throat, he tries to shake the cheesiness off. "So, now can we talk about our little visit from Ol' Grandma Rockwell?"

Jackie's face falls as the earlier conversation comes tumbling back to her. "Steven, we just can't let that woman take Betsy away from us."

"I know. She won't- we won't let her," Hyde reassures her.

"Betsy belongs with us," Jackie says quietly, and Hyde nods. "Oh, what are we gonna do?" she asks, mostly to herself.

Hyde is quiet for a long moment before he answers, "We're gonna do what she says, so that means we've gotta be the picture perfect nuclear family she expects us to be. Just until we're in the clear. So if any other shit comes up between us we just need to push it aside for now and work together, work hard so Betsy doesn't get taken away from us. Okay? 'Cause that's all that matters right now."

"Okay," Jackie slowly nods before another thought occurs to her. "Wait, but she thinks we're together, what if she finds out we're not? What if she finds out that Betsy has two different homes?" she asks, concerned. Carolyn is upset enough with how things are, she'd definitely think they're more unfit to be the parents of her two year old granddaughter if she discovers they're not even together as a couple.

Hyde scratches his chin, thinking over a plan. "We'll just have to pretend to be together then, and that means living together. I can sleep on your couch- if you're comfortable with that, that is," he says. Jackie waves it off, saying it's not a big deal. They're too desperate at this point to be concerned about little things like that. "Alright then, I'll be here with Betsy while you go to work and then we'll switch. We'll have dinner together and go to the park again and act like the happy little family she expects us to be. And she'll never know we're faking it."

Jackie nods, but she still looks unconvinced as she chews her lip nervously.

"Jackie, it'll work," Hyde reassures.

"It has to," she says.

He nods in agreement, just as scared as she is of the possibility of this failing. "It has to."