A/N: this is just some filler to hold us over until the climax. there are two more chapters after this one, plus an epilogue. just a heads up!


Hyde sleeps in Jackie's bed every night now, and even though they're keeping it innocent, things are continuing to happen between them. They're so comfortable with each other now, Hyde wraps his arms around her, pulling her close to him on purpose now so he doesn't feel the need to apologize for it in the morning. Jackie snuggles up against him too and they're both sleeping the best they have in months.

They haven't put a label on their relationship yet, it's still new. Of course, that's not to say that Hyde doesn't want them to make it official, it's just that whenever he tries to bring it up, Jackie either changes the subject or simply reminds him that she wants to take things slow or that they have more important things to focus on right now. He suspects her hesitation has more to do with fear than anything else and that's something he can understand- making their relationship official makes it real and susceptible to another breakup. He wants to tell her that she doesn't have to worry about that, that they won't make the same mistakes as before, and that he's here to stay, but he holds back, at least for now. He respects her wishes and doesn't want to push her too far. Still, it's difficult.

Betsy seems to have noticed the change in their relationship, too. She's happier and more comfortable than ever, blissfully unaware that her found family is being threatened. It's better that way, Jackie and Hyde figure. They don't want her to have to worry about such things- not that she would really understand anyway. As far as she knows, things are better than ever and it's best that it remains that way for as long as possible.

Their trial run is coming to a close, however. They've reached the end of the four weeks Carolyn gave them and they're anxiously awaiting her answer.


Week Four

Day Seven

"So let me get this straight: Carolyn told you she's coming over for dinner tomorrow to do a 'final evaluation' and tell you whether or not she's decided to let you two raise Betsy?" Eric asks. He and Donna are standing in Jackie's apartment getting filled in on the details of Carolyn's last visit.

"Yep, that's what she said," Hyde says from where he's sitting on the couch, armed draped over the back of it. Jackie has her head resting against his lap as she occupies the rest of the furniture's space.

"Yeah, that's not stressful at all," he says sarcastically.

"How are you guys feeling about it?" Donna asks the couple. "Be honest."

"How do you think Donna? We might get our precious baby taken away from us," Jackie snaps in agitation. She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. "Sorry, I'm just- I'm really stressed out right now. I've been trying to be hopeful about it, but in reality, I honestly think the chances of Carolyn wanting to get custody are pretty high."

Hyde squeezes her shoulder with the hand that's not resting across the back of the couch. He's been trying to remain positive as well- at least outwardly, for Betsy and Jackie's sake. But truth be told, he's also just as on edge.

"Well, if she does she's insane," Donna rants. "I mean, anyone can see that you guys are doing your best to raise Betsy the right way."

"Maybe their best isn't enough," Eric comments and everyone turns to glare at him. "For Carolyn, I mean!" he quickly explains, but the glares on him don't let up. "Sorry, I shouldn't have...I'll just shut up now."

"Good," Donna says, "we're trying to support our friends here. Because apparently some rich bitch doesn't think they're good enough for her granddaughter. Which, by the way, is ridiculous because while she was on some frivolous vacation abroad, who was here with Betsy after the accident happened? Jackie and Hyde, that's who. She didn't even know what was going on."

Jackie is silent, feeling conflicted. She thinks that's a bit unfair of Donna to say, considering the fact that they don't know all the details of Carolyn's absence. She does know that authorities had tried to contact her but were unsuccessful due to foreign complications. Meanwhile, Carolyn had previously informed Brooke that she would be hard to stay in contact with during her trip but would send a few letters. She knew the letters would take a while to reach her and that Brooke was busy, so she wasn't too concerned when they weren't being answered. On the other hand, Jackie recognizes that Donna has a point- a point that's been in the back of her own mind as well. No matter what exactly the circumstances were, the fact is that Carolyn wasn't here when Betsy really needed her. Herself and Hyde were here, though, doing their very best. It's unfair of Carolyn to show up now and say they're unfit for the job.

"You know what? Screw Carolyn," Hyde says. "Even if she does want to fight for custody, so what? We'll fight back. The judge will see that Betsy is happy with us and that it would be bad to uproot her again."

"I don't know, Carolyn is a close blood relative of Betsy's. Usually in cases like that they…" Eric trails off as he realizes he said the wrong thing again. The glares have returned.

" Anyway," Hyde says pointedly, "we're not gonna lose Betsy so easily. We're not going down without a fight, I promise you that." He takes his right arm off the back of the couch and uses it to take Jackie's hand where it's resting against her abdomen. "You got that, Jackie?"

She smiles weakly. "Yeah. I just hope everything goes well tomorrow so it doesn't have to come to that."

"It will go well," Donna insists, trying to spread some positivity to Jackie. She then snaps her fingers as an idea for easing her friend's worries comes to mind. "Hey, Eric and I can come over and help out before she gets here. We'll get this place all cleaned up, and get you guys all cleaned up, and help with dinner. It'll all be good, you'll see."

"That's not a bad idea," Hyde admits, figuring it can't hurt. He and Jackie have done all they could up until this point, they might as well accept any extra help just in case. He looks down at Jackie. "What do you say?"

She bites her lip. They do need all the help they can get. "Yeah, okay," she agrees.

"Great! And we'll bring Fez, too," Donna says. "You know, have the whole gang and all."

The words Except for Kelso go unsaid but heard just the same.

"Yeah, with all of us there it'll go smoothly," Eric pipes up. "It has to, right?"

"I better not regret agreeing to this," is Hyde's only response.


A crack of thunder booms throughout the sky that night, loud enough to make even the most straight-faced person jump. Being a light sleeper, Hyde is awake and lost in thought as he stares at the ceiling, arms behind his head. He rather likes storms, the low rumble of thunder and the consistent rhythm of rain beating against the roof make for a peaceful symphony perfect for late-night pondering.

At the moment, he's thinking about how lucky he feels to be here right now, laying in bed next to the woman of his dreams, with who he happens to be raising a child. Both the woman and the child have changed his life in ways he'd never imagined. He seriously never thought he'd be in a position like this and more than that, he never thought he'd end up enjoying it. Yet here he is. His life feels more fulfilling now than it ever has been.

He hopes to God it stays this way, he doesn't want to think about losing either Jackie or Betsy now. No, he can't think about it even if he wanted to. Why? Because he seriously cannot imagine his life, his future, without either of them in it. They're both that ingrained into his heart and soul at this point. Such a future simply doesn't exist. It can't.

But with Carolyn's threat of taking away Betsy, he knows that the possibility is very real. It makes him unreasonably angry just thinking about it. He, Jackie, and Betsy have gotten too attached to one another by now. They're, well, they're a family. An imperfect, still-healing, unlikely family, but a family nonetheless. They need each other and that's that. Carolyn can't take them away from each other now, it would be cruel.

Hyde looks over at the woman asleep in bed next to him, She laying on her side, facing away from him, but he can still see her abdomen steadily rise and fall with her breaths.

No, he thinks to himself, I can't lose her again.

Suddenly feeling the need to be closer to her, Hyde moves over to lay right up next to her, draping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. He tucks his head into her neck, giving her bare shoulder a quick kiss before resting his head there, trying to wrap himself in her comforting presence and block out all their worries. Closing his eyes, he tries to fall back asleep.

He's only just nodded off when a tiny voice causes him to stir awake again.

"Mommy? Mommy are you awake?"

Hyde pulls away and opens his eyes to see Betsy standing in front of Jackie on her side of the bed. "Bets? What are you doing up?" he asks, trying to clear his head from the fog of sleep. "Wait, how did you even get here?" The guilty silence tells him all he needs to know. "You climbed out of your crib again, didn't you?"

"Umm. Yes."

Hyde sighs and is about to respond when Jackie stirs next to him.

"Who's talking and why?" she asks, her voice groggy.

"Me and Betsy. She got out of her crib again," Hyde explains.

Jackie squints at Betsy, blinking through the darkness as her eyes adjust. "We've talked about this. You have to wait for one of us to come get you out, you can't do it yourself."

"But I was scared," the toddler reasons. As if on cue, a strike of lightning flashes across the sky, lighting the room up for a millisecond, before it's almost immediately followed by a crack of thunder. The storm is right on top of them at the moment. They all jump, Betsy most of all. She moves as close to Jackie as physically possible.

"It's alright, baby," Jackie comforts her. "It's just a storm, it should be over soon."

"Can I sleep with you?" Betsy implores.

Jackie looks back at Hyde and even in the darkness, he can read her expression perfectly: how can she say possibly no?

"Okay, of course you can," she assures Betsy. "Just for tonight though." She then carefully helps the child climb up onto the bed.

Hyde moves over a little so Betsy can settle between him and Jackie. She makes herself at home, bringing Hyde's pillow closer to the middle to use as hers and then sliding under the covers. "You comfy?" he asks sarcastically.

"Yep! I like Mommy's bed. It's nice and cozy."

"Me, too."

"Is that why you started sleeping here, too?"

"Uh, sure. That's it."

Another crack of thunder booms, combined with the howling of the wind, and Betsy jumps again before diving under the covers to hide. Hyde peels back the blanket, exposing the cowering toddler. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe."

She looks up at him with wide eyes, wanting so badly to believe him. She trusts him, she does, but she still needs a distraction from the scary sounds. "Can you tell me a story?" she asks.

Jackie smirks. "Yeah, Steven. Can you read us a story? About a princess?" she teases as she slides closer to Betsy, adjusting the pillow underneath her head. The toddler lays down and snuggles up next to her, allowing Jackie to protectively curl her arm across her abdomen.

Hyde eyes her in annoyance through the darkness, hoping she realizes she's lucky she is who she is. He wouldn't do this for literally anyone else in the world except for these two. He lets out a loud sigh. "Once upon a time, there lived a young princess…"

His calm voice soothes his audience and he tries his best to make the story interesting enough to keep their minds off the storm. It works, apparently, because ten minutes later they've visibly relaxed, along with the storm. "..and the little princess was returned to her parents at the castle where she lived happily ever after with them. The end," he finishes the story.

"She's asleep," Jackie whispers, watching the child with heavy eyelids herself. "Thank you."

"Yeah, sure," Hyde nods.

Jackie slightly lifts her eyes from the toddler up to Hyde, vulnerability written across her face. "Are you as scared as I am about tomorrow?" she asks softly.

Yes.

"Jackie, everything's gonna turn out, okay."

"Do you really believe that?"

No.

"Sure. Now try to get some sleep, alright? That'll at least make tomorrow go easier," he suggests.

Her eyes are already closed, not needing his encouragement. Her face relaxes and she's silent for a few long moments, Hyde thinks she may have fallen asleep already, but she says one last thing as she finally drifts off the rest of the way, her words barely more than a mumble. "I don't want to lose her."

"We won't," he assures her, trying to convince himself as well. At that, Hyde softly stares at the two girls asleep next to him, thinking about how he loves them more than he ever thought he could love a person.