A/N hello again, so this starts on career day but I'm changing it – possibly a lot? I'm not sure yet. I do know I'm not going to bother with the actual interaction between Hyde and Edna cus it sounds daunting and I'm confident ill mess it up, besides, we've all seen it we know what happens. Anyway, this is the chapter where I really start changing the universe, at least, that's the plan. Let me know what you think, unless you want to point out that my spelling and punctuation suck, because I know that already and for me to fix that I'd have to spend a lot more time than I have on each chapter and there would be a lot less story.

Steven Hyde was an angry person on a daily basis, he read the paper, watched the news, was aware of what was happening in the world and it all made him righteously mad. But if there was one thing that could move the needle from 'pissed at the man' to 'so fucking furious he could hardly see straight' it was Edna.

He hadn't asked to be born, if he had he would have asked to get stuck with bud and Edna, and he was sick and tired of hearing his ma's same old song and dance about the circumstances of his birth. Bud wasn't his fault, so far as he could see, he was the one who'd gotten the worse end of the deal where bud Hyde was concerned, but not in Edna's mind.

His feet led him to the Forman's driveway through the haze of his angry musings, by the time he became aware of where he was he was walking into the garage where Red was working on the cruiser, and a pair of tiny boots peeking out from underneath it?

Jackie's been having a bad day all day, since it was career day she had spent her day all alone but surrounded by people. That wasn't out of the ordinary for her, being a cheerleader meant that she had to be the version of her she'd created to stay on top each and every day. She was used to it, but in the last months she'd also gotten used to having Steven around to help her feel less alone.

He knew her better than the other kids at school did, even if it wasn't by much. Maybe it wasn't that he knew her better so much, but that he knew there was something else to find out? He no longer took her shallow façade at face value, he knew there was a curtain to get behind and he was making the effort to do just that.

An entire day without a conversation that didn't involve hygiene in some way was proving more tiring than she would have thought it would – she missed Steven. It took her a little while to admit to herself that she did, it took her beloved housekeeper Maureen to pin point what was bothering her.

"if you're so lonely without that boy dear heart, go find him and cheer yourself up" she said fondly while stirring a pot of something that smelled wonderful, then paused and gave Jackie a sharp look "in a lady like fashion, are we clear?" she amended sternly, she would not allow Jackie to ever go down the path of her mother, whether that meant stepping over the line of her job or not.

"Maureen! I am always a lady!" Jackie gasped with feigned indignance

"aye, you were a picture of gentility while you were crying on the bathroom floor telling me you might be in trouble" Maureen reminded her seriously

"I thought we agreed never to mention that again?" Jackie said in a stricken voice

"no dear, you said that, I decided long ago that I would do what I could to ensure you have a good life, not just making the best of a bad situation" the middle-aged lady with her fiery red hair up in an impeccable bun told her firmly.

"and I love you for it, but if I promise to never be so irresponsible again can we please pretend it never happened? It wasn't my finest moment and I'd like to forget about it" Jackie told her in her rare serious tone.

"and I do understand that dear, but ignoring our pasts does nothing to help us learn and grow, I won't mention it again unless I need to, but I do ask you to not push it out of your mind because if you think it can't happen again you are very wrong my little love, the universe does not wait for us to be prepared for our lives to progress, it's up to us to take care. Now, go see that boy of yours before I go mad from your chatter about him" she said kindly and shooed Jackie out of her kitchen.

Jackie wanted to deny her crappy mood had anything to do with not getting to see Steven all day, but the private honest part of her brain, knew Maureen was right, she missed him and that was starting to happen more and more the longer they were together.

When she knocked on his door there was no answer, not detoured so easily, Jackie knocked again and waited nearly ten minutes before she decided there was no one home and moved on to her next destination – the basement.

She didn't like walking so much, high-heeled boots weren't comfortable for long distances, but she was lonely, the real kind of lonely not just the wanting someone to talk to because she was bored, kind of lonely, and the only person who could stop that feeling was her boyfriend.

It was still peculiar for Jackie to classify Steven and not Michael as her boyfriend in her brain, but it got easier all the time, her biggest secret was now that whenever she did think of Michael and felt any of her old feelings for him, she felt guilty, angry and a little ill. She viewed this as progress.

She was feeling subdued and a little down when she reached the driveway on her way to the basement to find Hyde. It was her deeply ingrained manners that made her stop on her way and say hello to Mr. Forman when she saw him working on Eric's car in her path.

She said hello, and somehow that turned into her holding a flashlight for him? But it didn't end there, before she could figure out what was happening she was using every bit of strength she had to turn the tire iron on the damn stubborn lug nut while Mr. Forman cheered her on?

When she got the tire off, panting and sweaty she sat on the front bumper and the oddest thing happened – Red Forman and Jackie Burkhart had a real conversation.

"your dad hasn't shown you how to change a tire yet? Don't you drive already" he asked curiously

"yeah well, he works a lot so he doesn't really spend much time with me, but he said he's going to buy me a mustang for my birthday so, I love him" she said half-jokingly, but damn if she didn't want that car! The Lincoln was nice and all, but it was huge and she was small so sometimes it was awkward driving what amounted to a Livingroom on wheels.

Red gave her a piercing look "if I were you, I'd get that sort of promise in writing, and also – the mustang has a problematic front end, get yourself a firebird" he advised

"they're too flashy, I want the car I drive to be a backdrop for how great I look, not overshadow me" she said with a grin, not that she didn't mean it but she knew how silly some of her views on things were, but she wasn't going to change them either way.

"well, since I'm on half days for the time being, I might be able to help you pick out a car when your dad gives you the go ahead" he mused off handedly, she guessed so he wouldn't look like he cared, but she was so happy from the offer it was all she could do not to hop up and down clapping.

"I'd really appreciate that Mr. Forman, my daddy is a very smart successful man, but he says all the time that cars don't interest him, and I don't want to pick the wrong one" she told him

"I'll take a look whenever you need, I'm around most afternoons now" red offered with a shrug, she was a nice kid – a lot smarter and more capable than most of the dumbasses his son hung around with, he wouldn't mind at all helping her pick out a good sturdy safe car.

"I have cheer practice most days after school, and games on weekends, but I really do need to get this 'car' thing out of the way, so I'll try to find a time were both free" she said hopefully, her schedule wasn't near as open as the rest of the kids he dealt with.

"football seasons over soon, that should free up some time" he said thoughtfully, kitty had been a cheerleader in high school and she'd mentioned before how hectic football season was.

"yeah but, after football and cheer are done I might have track and field" Jackie thought out loud while she tried to think of a time she could take him up on his generous offer to help her.

This statement however got Red's attention, and his tone was now bordering on actual interest.

"you're an athlete?" he said curiously

"what do you think cheerleading is?" she asked archly, not that it was his fault, but she was a little defensive of people thinking cheer was just shaking pom-poms, she worked damn hard and was in training nearly year-round to keep in peak physical condition.

Red held up his hands in surrender "fair enough kid, I had no idea you did track too" he explained honestly.

"well, I didn't go out for it last year because I didn't have time…." She realized she was lying and stopped short, took a deep breath and started again "because Kelso whined when I didn't have as much time for him, but I'm thinking about trying out again this year" she told him the truth, while the shame for changing her life up for a boy twisted her stomach.

"well kettle head isn't your boyfriend now, and I don't think Steven will whine if you do something you're good at and that you love" Red told her bluntly

"you know about that?" Jackie said startled he was up on the ins and outs of their lives.

Red gave Jackie a steady look "regardless of what those dumbasses would like to believe, I know almost everything that happens in my house, and I have to say you've made a good choice leaving Kelso, but having said that, I'm not interested in who you all are dating – that's more Kitty's concern, but I happened to have been on the track and field team in school and I think that you should definitely go out for the team this year, well, if you're any good that is" he said with another shrug.

Jackie stood up to her full height and put her hands on her hips defiantly.

"I am very good ill have you know! I place in the top three in every event but hurdles!" she told him proudly

"why not hurtles?" he asked crossing his arms

"I'm too short, I lose a lot of speed with the extra effort it takes to clear them" she said unashamed, it was simple fact.

"fair enough" Red accepted the answer and took a sip of his beer, making a face at how warm it had gotten while they talked. Then he adopted a casual tone.

"you know, kitty and I were just talking about maybe catching a football game at the school before the season ends, we usually don't bother because Eric doesn't like to go and its weird to show up without a student, but it wouldn't be weird if you know one of the cheerleaders" he said thoughtfully

Jackie's heart wanted to explode out of her chest, no one ever came to see her cheer! She begged and pleaded with her parents, the gang, Maureen, but no one ever came. Well, Michael had a few times but he just learned at the other girls instead of being there for her.

"would you really come to a game to see me?" she asked, afraid to hope that's what he meant.

"if you want to tell me you're an athlete I'll have to see it for myself, and I wouldn't mind catching a track event or two either IF I had someone to root for?" he told her pointedly

The smile on Jackie's face could have lit up the darkest cavern in the world, she was great whenever she competed, but with someone there supporting her, rooting for her? She would try her hardest.

"oh, I'll make the track team" she declared certainly, if Mr. and Mrs. Forman were going to come to even one event just to watch her? She'd get on that team if it killed someone.

"will you now? Seems to me someone's been out of training for a year" he pointed out with a small grin at baiting her so obviously, this girl was as competitive as she could be, and Red loved it.

"you just watch, I'll make the team and ill sweep the first event! Accept hurdles" she amended dryly

"deal" Red said holding out one grease covered hand to shake on it, Jackie shook his hand firmly and sealed the deal. "now, let's teach you how to find the U-joint" he said purposefully, break time was over.

He was leaning against the cruiser cleaning off a wrench when Steven walked up looking angry…well, angrier than he usually did.

"shouldn't you be at career day?" Red asked casually, he already had a good idea of what surely happened if he had spent most of the day with Edna.

Sure enough, Steven told him what had happened, and it was exactly what Red had expected, he dispensed his advice to the boy and saw some of the anger and stress leave his face then, curiosity and surprise replace it when Jackie rolled out to say she'd round the U-joint, she flashed Steven a smile before replacing her goggles and going back to work.

Red saw the look on Stevens face when he saw Jackie covered in oil, working on a car and it made him feel like there was hope for the two lonely kids that hung around his house. He had told Jackie he knew what went on in his house even if they didn't realize it, and he'd meant it. He knew neither Jackie or Steven had parents who called him to send them home for dinner, neither of them ever stopped showing up because they were grounded, and were always the first to arrive and the last to leave. He wasn't stupid, he knew the signs of having folks who didn't care where you were or what you were doing, and it pissed him off!

What he wouldn't give to have a son and daughter like them. not that he didn't love his own kids, and deep down he was proud of Eric even if he wished he'd show some initiative, he was smart and had potential (even if it wasn't in sports) but all his own son seemed to want to do was kiss the neighbor girl's ass. Steven was smart and brave and he stood up for what he thought, even if it was ludicrous. And Jackie was everything he'd always hoped Laurie would be, smart, driven and ladylike while still being tough. He decided then that, if their own parents weren't going to care about the kids they had that so many parents would love to call their own – he would.

He stepped a way away from where Jackie worked and gestured Steven to follow him, Steven gave him a confused look, but did as he said.

"take care of that one Steven, she's a good one" he imparted sternly before heading inside to see about some sandwiches for him and his helper.

Hyde just blinked at Reds last statement, for one thing he hadn't been aware red knew he was dating Jackie? But mostly he was shocked that Red would think so much of his girlfriend, although, once he thought about it a little it started to make sense.

"hey doll, want to roll back out for a second?" he called to Jackie who was still under the car.

Immediately she appeared, looking far too cute covered in dirt with safety goggles on

"having fun there doll?" he asked with a smirk

Jackie smiled excitedly "did you know cars make sense? Every part goes to another part and there's a reason for each one, all you have to do is learn what they do and you'll know what any problem is" she told him with a satisfied tone of one who has found answers.

"cool" he replied simply, he knew some about cars but didn't match her enthusiasm, but, he thought objectively – who did?

"how's your day been?" Jackie asked interestedly while she wiped her hands on the rag Red had left her.

"not so great, but starting to look up" Hyde said casually

"why not so great?" Jackie asked with real concern for him, their relationship might be out of the ordinary and confusing at times, but a funny thing about Jackie he had realized was that she always cared.

"had a fight with Edna" he said with a shrug

"I'm sorry" Jackie said with a frown, she didn't like when Steven had a bad day, she always wanted to try and help but knew he didn't want it.

"don't be, I'm going to go back and talk to her in a minute but I wanted to know if you wanted to do something later?" he asked, fully aware that he almost never asked her out, they usually just hung out in the basement, trying to ignore all the looks and bitchy comments from their friends about their relationship.

"yeah, yeah that would be cool" Jackie agreed trying to sound casual about it, but she had recently begun to yearn for Steven to 'like' her, she knew of course, that they were growing closer but, it felt like regular friendship, she was honest enough with herself to admit she was starting to want him to want her.

"cool, I'll meet you here about 7 and we'll find something to do" Hyde told her smiled at her before leaving to deal with Edna.

Jackie was floating on air while she finished up on the cruiser, it had turned out to be the best day she'd had in a very long time. she was just starting to wonder how long it could last, when Mr. Forman called through the kitchen door to come in and clean up for lunch, just the word lunch made her stomach growl and she ran inside to do as she was told.

She was at the kitchen sink washing her hands while Mr. Forman made them sandwiches, somehow Jackie happened to see the inside of the fridge and noticed that it was the emptiest she'd ever seen it? A feeling of worry crept into her stomach as the pieces began to fit together in her mind, half days at the plant, empty fridge so quickly after payday – the Forman's were in trouble.

Maybe she would have been worried about them even if she hadn't spent the day with Mr. Forman? she was a decent enough person, she would have probably felt bad for them if she'd realized their problems the day before, but she hadn't, she found out after spending the afternoon being talked to like she mattered, and encouraged to better herself. Under those circumstances, she couldn't stomach just 'feeling bad for them', she had to act.

Jackie had never been good at doing nothing, hell, she couldn't watch tv without painting her nails so there was no chance in hell she could sit idly by and watch the only adults she looked up to have a hard time! she hatched a plan, and then immediately scrapped it because it was dumb and obviously charity. She would not risk bruising Mr. Forman's pride in any way, she wracked her brain for a way to help which would make them feel like they were helping her?

It was Steven who inadvertently gave her the answer.

While they were sitting at the lake watching the fire flies come out, he'd commented in passing about how bad the school food his mom made was, and added with a laugh that she should ask Mr. Forman for cooking lessons.

It all fell together then, and Jackie knew exactly what she would do, the beautiful part was – no one would ever have any idea what she was up to!

When she got home she worked out the details of her plan, that was one problem down.

There was also the matter of getting completely over Kelso, and hoping that Steven would get completely over Donna and then decide he liked her more than he ever liked donna, and while she's dreaming she'd like a unicorn as a pet and to grow about four inches….

Jackie rolled over on her bed and sighed, why was everything so hard? And not just hard but confusing? 97% of her hated Michael Kelso, but that pesky 3% was still hanging onto her old feelings for him, and it was painful, if he didn't act like such a jerk about her and Steven dating, the number would undoubtedly be higher, but luckily for her he behaved like a petulant child about it and her anger at his hypocrisy kept it firmly at 3%.

Then there was the 'Donna' problem, she couldn't help but make snide bitchy remarks to the red head, and although everyone thought they were born of Jackie's' shallow side, they were really the result of jealousy. She had begun to believe that Steven would never like her the way he liked or had like donna, she may have had the 3% left over for Michael, but she spent most of her time wishing she was enough to make Steven get the same look he did for donna.

Jackie wasn't sure how long she would be able to play second fiddle? She knew he was trying and she gave him due credit for it, but then she would see the look in his eye when donna showed up and it was like being punched. She knew she wasn't strong enough to keep going like this if he still felt the same about donna, she also knew it was better to leave than to be left.

Hyde had a similar problem he was dealing with where Jackie was concerned, he had admitted to himself and later her, that he liked her and he meant it, but, whereas Jackie had 3% feelings left for Kelso (which Hyde guessed at but didn't know for sure) he had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% left for Donna.

He felt like the biggest scum bag in the world about it too.

Jackie was his girlfriend, his chick, his doll, and she was beautiful and smart and funny, so why the hell did donna still take up so much time in his mind?! He didn't know what the problem was, but he was positive it lay with him and not Jackie, so he tried as hard as he could not to let any sign of what he felt show through, because he knew it would hurt Jackie and he hated hurting Jackie. What he wouldn't have given to talk to Forman about it and ask him what he thought, but that wasn't an option, he'd have to find someone else to seek advice from. Unfortunately, his options were severely limited.

Then a thought occurred to him, there was one person he could go to who's opinion counted at all – Kitty Forman.

At the first opportunity, he had, Hyde went to see her but what he found wasn't what he'd been expecting, and it certainly made what he wanted to talk about impossible.

Standing at the kitchen counter with Kitty, wearing an apron and staring at a cookbook – was Jackie?

"now this recipe isn't too hard Jackie, and I'll explain everything I do while you pay close attention, we'll work up to you trying to do it yourself" Kitty was saying to his girlfriend, while she gave the older lady her full attention.

"what're you doing?" Hyde asked them curiously, from the look of it they were making a Sunday dinner on a Tuesday?

Mrs. Forman turned to him to answer, but he noticed that Jackie was staring resolutely at the peeled potatoes?

"Jackie asked me to teach her how to cook" kitty answered with a happy proud smile, she rightfully took it as a compliment that Jackie would seek her out specifically.

"really, how come?" Hyde asked casually, he knew Jackie well enough to know she hated cooking, he raised a curious eyebrow when Jackie fled the room with the excuse of needing to use the bathroom, something was up and he knew it even if Kitty didn't.

"it was the cutest thing Steven, she showed up here a few hours ago and explained that she was terrible at cooking and didn't even understand how to shop for groceries, but that in two years she'd be going off to college and doesn't want to – and this is her words here – 'get fat eating take out or cafeteria food' so she's asked me to teach her how to shop smartly and to cook decent meals for herself, she says with how bad she is it'll take about two years for her to figure it out" kitty told him laughing at Jackie's candid explanation.

"so, your letting Jackie practice on your own meals? I don't want to be rude Mrs. Forman, but isn't money a little tight to let Jackie experiment?" he knew their situation better than most did thanks to Eric.

"not that I'm admitting to what you say about money right now, but no, I took her shopping and she bought her own ingredients to learn with, were all her test subjects tonight" she explained and went back to preparing dinner.

If he'd felt like a scum bag before, he didn't know a term for how low he felt now? He saw right away what Jackie was really doing, and it made him see her in a whole new light. That clever little girl had found a way to help the Forman's without for a second wounding their pride, but not only that, she was making Kitty feel useful while she did it!

She was brilliant and kind and he couldn't get over an arrogant red head.

This was no longer a problem he could take to Kitty, he needed the last resort option available for guys like him…Red Forman.

He found him in the garage, drinking a beer while he read the classifieds.

"what do you need Steven?" he asked without looking up from the paper.

"I have a problem" Hyde began hesitantly, this was not a subject he was comfortable with and he knew it wasn't Reds favorite either.

"your mom and you fighting again?" red asked looking up now with concern

"no, well yeah, but that's not why I want to talk to you" Hyde said awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking at his feet.

"so, what's the problem with you and Jackie?" Red asked knowingly, there weren't a lot of situations that would bring Steven to him for advice, but his tiny assistant could.

Hyde looked up at him clearly shocked that he'd guessed what was bothering him, but did him a favor and didn't ask how he'd known, instead he got to the point (something Red had always liked about him)

"she's a great chick, she's smart and a lot kinder than people realize, she's good at a lot of things but even when she's not she works hard to learn how, she doesn't take any crap off people but she'll do everything she can for the people she cares about" Hyde told Red quietly

"but you can't make yourself like her" Red finished for him

"I do like her! Just not enough ya know?" he tried to explain

"yeah Steven, I know, I don't understand but I know" Red said flatly

"what can I do?" Hyde asked miserably, he hated feeling like this

"let's pretend that I don't know the reason you can't appreciate what you have, for now let's speak as if I don't know what a moron you are and see if I can't shed some light on your problem" red began sternly, making Hyde reconsider going to him for help seeing as how he seemed a lot fonder of Jackie than he'd thought.

"if you're just going to yell at me – "Hyde began to get defensive, but red cut him off.

"sit down and shut up Steven" Red ordered calmly, then opened the fridge and tossed him a beer with a look not to mention it.

"sometimes we get ideas about people that aren't at all accurate, we make judgments and our pride refuses to let us see the truth, that's part of your problem right now, what you originally decided on about Jackie is at war with what you're now learning is the truth, she's a good kid Steven, bright and caring and full of love, she's in there pretending to want to learn to cook so she can buy groceries for kitty, that girl doesn't want to learn to cook Steven, she won't touch the damn eggs for craps sake! But she wanted to help without being rude, so she found a way and I won't ruin that for her or kitty by saying a word. But that's beside the point, back to what I was saying. The other side of what you've decided long ago that you're foolishly holding onto, is that donna is the sort of girl you should be with" he said bluntly, dropping the façade that they were speaking abstractly.

"I don't understand?" Hyde admitted with some difficulty

"you've had it rough Steven, and the way you've had to grow up has come to define you but it doesn't have to, just because circumstances have forced you to be tough and self-sufficient does not mean you have no choice but to want the girl that plays with the boys, donna isn't a bad kind of girl – she's not my favorite person, but she's nice enough over all, but she's a whole lot of talk without much to back it up, whereas Jackie is a whole lot of talk – so much talk – but she's a lot of action too, she stood right there and told me she was a top notch athlete, well, kitty and I went to the last football game at your school and let me tell you, that girl IS a top notch athlete" red said pointedly, with a proud little smile trying to break free. There were a lot of things Red had just said that Hyde wanted to ask about, but the older man wasn't done talking.

"do you see what I'm saying to you Steven? It's the idea of donna you want, because she fits into the image you've created for yourself – the tough guy with the tomboy, it sounds a lot cooler to you than the tough guy with the rich cheerleader. All that means, is that you're letting yourself care about what people think a lot more than you should be" Red told him flatly, basically slapping him in the face with the truth.

"so how do I stop, or change?" Hyde asked

"are you embarrassed to like Jackie?" red asked bluntly

Hyde was silent for a moment before finally admitting the truth "a little bit" he said softly, she was just so different than him.

"then you're the problem, try seeing her for what she is instead of what she shows people to protect herself, you can start by having dinner with us tonight" Red said sternly

Hyde agreed and followed him inside to wash up, while they were walking he asked another question

"you went to watch Jackie cheer?" he said with a smirk

Red turned and gave him an unimpressed look "yes Steven, I did. And let me tell you, she deserves a lot more respect than she gets for it, id puke my guts up if I was tossed in the air that high and expected to turn a summersault" he said with a shake of his head

"yeah I know what you mean" Hyde agreed with a shudder

"she'd like it if she knew you came to her games Steven, instead of hiding under the bleachers so you don't look uncool" red told him pointedly

"how'd you know I was there?" Hyde asked shocked dead he'd been caught

"not much gets past me son, next games this Friday, come watch it with kitty and I instead of crouching under bleachers like a pervert" red invited him in his peculiar way.

Hyde just nodded and followed red inside to the ladies finishing dinner, he stopped and stared at Jackie wearing an apron and smiling contentedly. She was beautiful, and he felt his heart give a strange jolt? It gave an even bigger one when Jackie saw him and skipped over to kiss him hello and tell him animatedly about her day with Mrs. Forman.

A/N so every time I watch career day I feel like they bailed on a story line they set up by not pursuing red and Jackie being close and working on the car, I love that part, especially when she tells Eric 'that's one' just like red had, so I fixed it. I'm taking their relationship slow for a reason, and I'm making Jackie the one who realizes she likes Hyde first because I think she kind of always did in the show, let me know what you think.