A/N: thanks for all the lovely comments on the last chapter! i truly appreciate each and every one, even if I can't to reply to them all! anyway, here's the rest of Jackie and Hyde's first week.
Also, don't forget to follow me on tumblr for literally no reason lmao @ zenmastersandfelso
It's strange, really. One day Jackie and Hyde are raising a child separately, in their own houses, in their own ways, not speaking to one another- and when they do speak to one another they're yelling or making nasty comments- and the next they've moved on and are living in the same apartment, working together to raise a child in the best way they know how. It's amazing what the necessity of a situation can do. A harsh wake-up call is all they needed, the threat of losing Betsy outweighing their personal issues to the point where they don't give it another thought. They have to get along, end of story. There's simply no other option. Betsy has become too important in their lives.
And so, by the end of the first week they manage to go back to how things were before their big fight. In fact, they do even better than how things were before. They pretend like Carolyn is in their presence all the time, analyzing their every move and hearing every word. They figure it's the safest bet for her to buy it.
They fall into a routine, find their old rhythm, both doing their own part to run a functional household. When one person's at work, the other stays home with Betsy, and then they switch. They start eating meals together again and, to Betsy's delight, start going to the park together again.
Before long, it doesn't feel like an act anymore, it doesn't take any effort to pretend.
Of course, there's still some tension between Jackie and Hyde. Sometimes it becomes too much and they begin to argue, before quickly stopping themselves. They take a deep breath and try to talk it out civilly, avoiding conflict. Pretty soon, that doesn't take much effort either.
Week One
Day Six
"I can't believe you and Donna are moving into an apartment together," Jackie says to Eric as she places some of his folded clothes into a cardboard box. "For real this time," she adds, remembering how Donna and Eric had packed up at least once before, thinking they would be moving until Red had a heart attack and Eric decided to stay home. Now it looks like it's going to happen for real. They're not moving far (yet), just across town, but they're more than excited to finally have their own place. Jackie offered to help Eric pack, so she's sitting in his room doing just that while Betsy occupies herself with whatever she can find, wandering around looking through Eric's belongings.
"Yeah, I know, right? At this point I kind of thought I was gonna end up living with my parents until I died. And apparently, Donna didn't like that," Eric deadpans.
Jackie rolls her eyes and laughs. "Well, I'm very happy for you two." And she really is, they've been through enough and they deserve to be happy together, to have the life they want. She only wishes the best for them. "So, are you worried about having to get along while sharing a space with her? Because if you remember, I lived with her for a while. And believe me, she can be more than a little uptight."
"Yeah...I don't think I'm gonna have the same problems you did with her because I don't plan on making out with other people on her bed or playing ABBA to fall asleep to, but thanks," Eric responds snarkily. He remembers Donna's complaints about having Jackie as a roommate all too well.
Jackie just scoffs. She wasn't that demanding.
There's a thud and Eric looks for the source and sees Betsy going through his closet. "Hey, be careful with my stuff, Betsy! I don't want you breaking anything."
The toddler sticks her tongue out at him in response. He suspects it's a behavior she picked up from Hyde.
"I'm telling you, she really doesn't like me," Eric says to Jackie as he turns back to her. "But anyway, I feel better about moving in with Donna now that I've seen you and Hyde make it work so far," he remarks. "'Cause you're still getting along, right? And I'm pretty sure if you and Hyde can do it, so can me and Donna."
"Eric, it hasn't even been a whole week since Steven moved in yet," Jackie points out. "And besides, we have something serious at stake here: Betsy. That kind of puts things into perspective. Without that, I don't know if we could do it."
Eric shrugs. "I dunno, might be easier than you think."
Jackie crosses her arms and narrows her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
He sighs as he sits down on the bed. "Look, all I'm saying is, you and Hyde used to get along just fine. I don't think it's as hard for you two to do as you make it out to be."
"Eric, that was before," she reminds him. "Things have changed."
"Enough to make it impossible for you two to go back to how things were before?"
I don't know, she thinks.
"Yes," she says, voice hitching.
Eric's eyes soften, realizing he may have used the wrong approach. "Well, okay, you're probably right. But just...don't get so stuck in the past that you can't move forward. You don't want to be so focused on how bad things went and how things can't possibly go back to how they were before that you miss out on how things can be. Because things might not be the same, but they can be close. Or who knows, they can even be better."
Jackie stares at him thoughtfully, taking in his words. She wonders if there's any truth to that, at least in this case. She also wonders when Eric became so insightful. "When did you get so deep?" she questions, eyebrows creased.
A beat, and then, "You know, I've been listening to this motivational radio talk show. I think that's it."
"Ah."
"Who's ready for luuunch?" Kitty says in a sing-song voice as she enters the room.
"Mom," Eric protests, "I told you I would be busy today. Jackie's helping me pack."
"Well, honey, there's always time for lunch," she says as if it's something everyone should know. "Especially when you're going to be leaving me soon!" she adds, suddenly aggressive. "Seriously, how could you? And so soon after Steven went to stay with Jackie."
Eric blinks at her. "Mom, I'm... twenty-one. I think it's kind of overdue."
"Mrs. Forman, I'm sure you'll still see him and Donna all the time," Jackie tries to comfort the distraught woman.
"Oh, I certainly hope so," she agrees indignantly. "I expect regular visits from all of you; Donna, Eric, Jackie, Steven, and Betsy. Fez already stops over here all the time."
"Okay, we promise," Eric consoles her. "Really. It won't be that different, you'll see."
"Well, alright," she settles. "But right now you are coming downstairs and you're going to eat the lunch I made. That's an order. That is if you can pull Betsy away from those dolls."
"Dolls? What-" Eric spins around and sees what Betsy's been occupying herself with while she's been suspiciously quiet: his G.I. Joes. He gasps and rushes over.
"Oh, Betsy," Jackie whines. "Those are toys for boys. "
"They are not toys! They're action figures! How many times do I have to tell you people?" Eric asks, exasperated. He snatches the action figures from Betsy, who looks up at him with big, sad eyes and trembling lips. "You can look at me like that all you want, but I'm sorry; these are not for playing with." He starts to put them in one of the boxes.
Betsy begins to cry and runs over to Jackie. Jackie glares at Eric as she comforts the toddler.
"Eric," Kitty admonishes.
"But I-" Eric starts, looking from Kitty to Jackie. He then looks down at the crying child and feels guilty. He sighs. "Fine." He takes the G.I. Joes out of the box and walks over to Betsy, crouching down to her level. "I guess maybe...since I'm going to a new place, these guys could use a new home, too. Do you think you can take care of them for me?"
Betsy sniffles and nods, a shy smile creeping onto her face.
"Alright then, they're all yours," Eric says, holding them out to her. To his surprise, she doesn't take the toys from him right away. Instead, she pushes past the toys to give him a hug. He stares up at Jackie, stunned, before he smiles and returns the hug.
Week One
Day Seven
"And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids," a voice from the TV complains. Hyde's chilling at the apartment with Betsy while Jackie's at work and they've once again found themselves sitting on the couch watching cartoons- Scooby-Doo specifically, this time.
"You know, your dad liked this show, too," Hyde shares with Betsy. "Guess that's just another thing you got from him, huh?"
Betsy doesn't respond, simply keeping her eyes on the television set. Hyde stares at her and frowns. It could just be that she's a toddler and is easily distracted by cartoons, but he thinks it's more than that. Right from the start, he often talked about Kelso with her- despite refusing to talk about him with pretty much everyone else- and showed her pictures of him, trying to keep her memory of him alive for as long as possible. But he always feared it was a losing battle, knowing how fleeting the memory of young children is. Lately, Betsy has been responding to his Kelso reminders less and less, and he's beginning to suspect his fears are quickly becoming a reality.
Hyde's about to prompt her some more and find out for sure when there's a knock at the door. He mentally prepares himself before answering it, having a pretty good idea who was on the other side. "Hey, Mrs. Rockwell. Betsy, come see who's here," he says, trying to sound decently polite.
"Hello, Steven," Carolyn greets, stepping past him into the apartment.
"Hii," Betsy greets, waving clumsily.
"Hello, my darling," Carolyn says, picking up the girl and giving her a kiss. She looks around the apartment. "Is your girlfriend here?" she asks Hyde.
"Nah. She's working," he answers.
"Oh," she says in response, and Hyde wonders if she's surprised to find him at home with the kid while the woman works. Even though he actually works too, it still pisses him off to think that Carolyn might see a problem with that. "And uh, what does she do?" she asks curiously.
Hyde considers lying and saying Jackie works at a supermarket because it's funny to picture her working somewhere so normal, and also because he's not sure of how Carolyn will react to Jackie's real job, but he decides against it. "She's a model, actually," he answers truthfully.
Carolyn crinkles her nose in response. "A model? That's not exactly a job fit for a young woman raising a two-year-old girl, don't you think?" she judges, and Hyde guiltily remembers saying that same thing to Jackie just a week ago. He'd said it in the moment, just to hurt her back, but he hadn't meant it at all. Hearing Carolyn say it, he knows she does mean it. And it pisses him off.
"I think she can have whatever kind of job she wants and she'll still do a great job raising Betsy," he says, defending against the very words he'd said to Jackie not long ago. "She's smart and responsible and she can do anything she puts her mind to." This time, he means every word.
"Hm. So you don't mind that your girlfriend is being made up for thousands of men to gawk at? Isn't that a little...floozy?" she presses.
Hyde clenches his fist and bites his tongue to hold back all the rude responses going through his mind. Again, he's reminded of saying something similar to Jackie himself. And God, he hates it. "No, I don't think that at all. And I don't mind it," he firmly assures. Truth be told, he's not exactly thrilled at the idea of Jackie being ogled by who knows how many people, but he reminds himself that they're not together. And even if they were, he wouldn't be able to stop Jackie. She loves modeling and she can do what she wants. She's gorgeous and she knows it; if she wants to have her beauty be appreciated by thousands of people then why shouldn't she? She has every right.
"Alright then," Carolyn nods, a bit surprised by his readiness and passion to defend Jackie and her work. She walks into the living room and sits on the couch, adjusting Betsy so that she's sitting on her lap. Containing his annoyance, Hyde follows and sits in a chair next to the couch.
"So, how are things going since the last time we, uh, spoke?" Carolyn asks. "Have you decided to get your act together?"
"Things are going great," he answers, plastering on a smile. "Jackie and I are more determined than ever."
Carolyn hums in response before looking down at Betsy. "How have you been, Betsy? Have Steven and Jackie been taking good care of you?" she asks. Hyde holds his breath. Things have been good, and Betsy's been happy, but she's also two. And you never know what a two-year-old is going to say. They can be little rats.
"Good," the toddler answers. "I had a donut for breakfast. And I watched Scooby-Doo ."
"I see," the grandmother replies. "I hope you don't eat donuts every day, that's not healthy, you know."
Hyde rolls his eyes.
"Do you like living here with Steven and Jackie?" she presses.
"Yeah," the toddler answers absentmindedly, sliding off of Carolyn's lap and heading over to her box of toys. Maybe a short attention span is another trait she inherited from Kelso.
"Hm." Carolyn watches as her granddaughter takes out some toys and starts playing with them on the carpet.
Hyde can't decide whether it looks like she's watching fondly or thoughtfully. He plays it safe and stays silent, waiting for her next move.
Finally, she turns to him with a serious, but curious expression on her face. "Tell me, Steven, why are you so determined to raise my granddaughter? You and Jackie are still so young, most people your age like to have a few years to themselves so they can live a little before they take on the responsibility of having a child."
Hyde holds her gaze before answering calmly. "Mrs. Rockwell, Kelso was one of my best friends. We knew each other since forever. And these aren't normal circumstances, okay? When he," Hyde clears his throat, "well, after the accident...of course I want to honor his wishes. He thought Jackie and I could do this, he chose us, and I don't want to let him down."
"But of course, he could've been wrong, right?" she quizzes. "And doing what's really best for Betsy is more important than honoring whatever Michael thought would be best for her."
"I don't believe he was wrong," Hyde says firmly. "Not about this."
It's late when Jackie comes home from her last shoot, a bit later than usual. It's dark out, but the moon is full and bright tonight, casting her slim shadow in front of her as she walks to the apartment building from her car. She eagerly half runs up the stairs, holding her skirt as she does so, and for a minute she feels like Cinderella running home from the ball. Except, unlike Cinderella, she wants to go home. As much as she loves her job (it is her dream job, after all), lately, she finds herself looking forward to going home to Betsy. And now to Steven, too.
Having made it to her apartment door, Jackie manages to unlock the door in the dark and quietly step inside. There's the faint sound of the TV on, and Jackie makes her way into the living room to see if Hyde's awake. Instead, she finds him sitting on the couch fast asleep with one arm around Betsy, who's laying against his chest, also fast asleep. Jackie stills, taking in the sweet sight as a warmth fills her chest. It's something out of one of her old fantasies, back before everything fell apart.
Tiptoeing her way over to the couch, Jackie leans over to give Betsy her nightly kiss on the head. She hesitates briefly before also leaning over to give Hyde a quick kiss on his forehead. She flushes slightly, thankful for the darkness hiding her face, before heading towards her bedroom.
In the far corner of her mind, Eric's words from yesterday faintly echo:
"Because things might not be the same, but they can be close. Or who knows, they can even be better."
