Much to Jackie's annoyance Donna ditched her in the middle of the Forman's driveway, her parting gesture a quiet 'goodbye' and a pat on the back. Jackie had frozen when her friend had bolted, the voices of teenage boys filtering out of the kitchen preventing her from moving any further. This is why she hadn't been to this house in two weeks; it was all too awkward. Even before she knew she was pregnant she'd found herself becoming increasingly more uncomfortable in what had always been the most comfortable, albeit basic, house she'd ever frequented. Kelso's crude comments about satisfying any physical needs she may have, accompanied by Hyde barely even looking at her, had made visits to the basement unpleasant.
And this visit would probably be the most unpleasant of them all.
Fez was the first to notice her from his seat at the kitchen counter.
"Jackie!" he called out, "why are you just standing there? Are you lost?"
In an instant Kelso's head was peering out of the open sliding door.
"Hey, Jackie." His smile was as gorgeous as ever and his whole face lit up as his eyes trailed her from head to toe. It was moments like these that made Jackie cling to the 'Jackie Kelso' fantasy...the one where he was a doctor and she was his devoted wife organising children's charities in their name. But that fantasy was always ruined by him nailing blonde skanks or hightailing it to California with her best friend. She narrowed her eyes at the memory as he asked her, "So are you coming in or should we just admire you from here?"
Despite her heart pounding in her chest, Jackie tilted her chin high in the air and purposefully walked inside.
"Morning, boys," she greeted them before noticing that the usually immaculate Forman kitchen looked like a scene from a frat house movie. There were eggshells, bacon, cereal, and juice all over the place, evidence that the lady of the house was not home and that four teenage boys had attempted to feed themselves. "I'm guessing Mrs. Forman is at work?" she asked, slightly nauseas at the sight.
"Early shift," mumbled Eric from his seat at the table. "She could've woken us with breakfast before she left."
Jackie rolled her eyes. "Awww, poor mommy's boy had to fend for himself for once," she chided.
"Says the girl with a hundred servants," Eric shot back. "Why are you here anyway Jackie? The place has been Jackie-free for two weeks, don't tell me I have to call the exterminators in again?"
Before Jackie could shoot back Kelso stood up and puffed out his chest. "She's here for me, Eric. Ain't that right, Jackie? You've finally come to your senses and decided to put all that California business in the past so that we can move forward...toward the bedroom."
He winked at her and Jackie glared at him before noticing the eggs he'd just piled onto his plate. Usually she would remind him about his egg allergy but for his crude comment she decided to let him spend the morning at the hospital.
"Whatever, Michael," she said, "just sit down and eat your eggs. You'll be needing your strength for later."
Smiling, Kelso sat down and started spooning forkfuls of egg into his mouth. Moron, Jackie thought. How did she think he was going to become a brilliant surgeon saving people's lives when he couldn't even remember to stay away from eggs? Shaking her head Jackie glanced over at Hyde who was frying bacon on the stove. He hadn't looked at her once since she'd walked in so she strolled over to him to force some sort of interaction.
"Hi, Steven," she said quietly as the others talked nonsense to each other.
Hyde didn't look up but mumbled a "Hey, Jackie," before scooping up some bacon and calling out, "Who wants this piece?"
"Me!" shouted Fez, scuttling over to Hyde. "I am always the last one to get fed. Just because I am foreign it doesn't mean I should have to wait for the leftovers."
Jackie's mouth opened to say something back to Fez but she decided against it. She wasn't here to remind Fez about the natural pecking order, or to remind Kelso he was allergic to eggs for that matter. She was here to talk to Hyde about an egg of her own that he had fertilized.
"Just go sit down, Fez," she ordered. "I need to speak to Steven."
Hyde looked at her confused. Aside from the odd 'hi' or 'bye' or 'this programme sucks', the last real conversation Jackie had had with Hyde had been when they were naked in her bed. An hour after that conversation Donna and Kelso had returned and unknowingly brought with them an icy chill that had set over Jackie and Hyde's hot summer fling and frozen it solid. Jackie knew that as far as Hyde was concerned they had nothing to discuss.
Turning a piece of bacon in the pan, Hyde said, "Ah, no you don't."
Jackie glared back at him. "Yes I do."
"What-" Eric started as he turned around and pointed his fork back and forth between Hyde and Jackie, "- could you two possibly have to talk about?"
Thinking on her feet Jackie replied, "Steven asked me to take at look at his car the other day, I have to show him what needs doing on it."
"Man, Hyde, you got a girl to look at your car?" Kelso was laughing now which made Jackie smile. He wouldn't be laughing in approximately ten minutes when his face swelled to three times it's normal size. "If you get a girl to fix your car it means you got a girl car."
Yeah, Kelso was never going to be a doctor.
Hyde scowled at Jackie and opened his mouth to yell something at Kelso but before he could Jackie flicked off the stove and pulled him through the kitchen door. As she dragged him down the driveway toward the Camino, Hyde pulled away.
"What the hell, Jackie?! What the fuck is wrong with you?" he growled, stopping at the front of the house. "Stop pulling me."
Jackie turned around and tried to grab his hand to lead him to his car. "Can we just go to your car?" she asked. "They'll hear us here."
Through his shades Jackie could see Hyde's eyes narrow. "No, we have nothing to say to each other, so I'm gonna go back inside and finish my breakfast." He began making his way back up the driveway and for a second Jackie considered letting him go. But Donna was right, she didn't have to go through this alone. If her life was going to crap, then so was Hyde's. She pulled on the hem of his t-shirt, stopping him from walking any further.
"Steven, I said I have to talk to you, so will you please just come with me?"
Hyde was mad now and pushed her hand off his t-shirt. "Like I said, we have nothing to say to each other, so run along and draw some pictures of unicorns or whatever it is you do in your spare time."
As he turned to walk up the driveway Jackie bit down on her lip, and again contemplated just letting him go. Steven Hyde had always been difficult, he was never one that made things easy. One time in the Hub when he was on his way to the counter Jackie had asked him nicely to grab a coke for her. As she went to hand him the money he had laughed before telling her to get it herself. He didn't do things because others asked him to, he only did things he wanted to do and right now talking to her wasn't one of them.
But she had to talk to him.
"Steven I'm pregnant," she blurted out, her voice soft, cautious of prying eyes and ears.
Her words stopped him in his tracks and he stood still. Jackie noticed his hands clench at his sides and the seconds before he turned around felt like hours. With his jaw clenched Hyde strode toward her, grabbing her by the wrist before pulling her to the curb where the Camino was parked. Jackie's heart was racing as she was dragged behind him and she suddenly wished she'd let him walk away only a few moments earlier.
He dropped her wrist, leaving her at the edge of the sidewalk, while he walked to the front of his car and popped the hood. Jackie glanced up and down the street, thankful that on this sunny Saturday morning all the boring Point Place residents were holed up in their homes therefore unable to witness the screaming match that was surely about to unfold. Airing dirty laundry was not something Jackie liked to do in public, well, not if it was her dirty laundry that needed airing anyway.
Once the hood was popped Hyde ordered her to stand next to him and she reluctantly obliged. If he was going to yell hopefully the big black sheet of steel would block some of the words from filtering too far.
"Are you're sure?" Hyde said quietly, unscrewing the lid off the coolant.
"I'm pretty sure."
Hyde didn't look at her, choosing to remain in character and pretend to poke around in his car for nobody's benefit at all. "Well what did the doctor say?" he asked.
"I haven't been to a doc-"
Hyde's face shot up, as did the the corner of his mouth. "You haven't been to the doctor? Jackie, you're probably just late, happens to chicks all the time," he informed her enthusiastically. Gosh, who knew Steven Hyde knew so much about women's monthly cycles?
Jackie sighed. "Steven, I'm not late, I'm pregnant. You don't need to go to the doctor anymore for a pregnancy test, you can buy them at the drugstore. I've done 16 tests in 6 days and they all say the same thing. I'm pregnant."
Hyde's happy face quickly subsided and was replaced with one of annoyance, which annoyed Jackie to no end. Yes this affected him too. Yes he would no doubt face some serious consequences. But in her mind none of them even compared to what she was about to go through. Never mind Kelso's face, her body would soon be at three times it's normal size.
Hyde returned his attention to the radiator, while Jackie leaned back against the car.
"Are you sure it's mine?" he asked, his tone soft and non accusing.
Jackie nodded as she stared down the street. She felt guilty for even thinking it but right now she wished he wasn't the father. At least if she were carrying Michael's baby they would have a shot of having a normal relationship. Sure it would be hard and she'd no doubt have to lock him in the house to ensure his fidelity, but it'd still have been nice to be pregnant and have a boyfriend. Not just a boy who was kind of a friend.
"Yes, Steven, it's yours," she said. "I got my period the week after Michael went to California and I haven't had it since." Suddenly her brow furrowed and she nudged his shoulder with her elbow causing him to stand up and get his head out of the engine. "You know you're the only boy I was with this summer right? I'm not a slut. In fact, you're the only boy I've been with other than Mich-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Jackie." To Jackie's surprise Hyde removed his shades and hooked them into the collar of his t-shirt. His eyes were trained on the ground before he looked up at her. It was amazing; he had only known about the pregnancy for around four minutes but already he looked like he had the weight of the world on him. Or perhaps he'd always looked like that but she'd just never noticed? "Look, I had to ask, okay? I wasn't implying that you're a slut or anything coz I know you're not."
"Good," Jackie clipped, sharply turning her face from his. It came as a small relief that Hyde didn't question her character, although she had been fairly certain that he wouldn't. However, convincing other people in their small hometown that she was a girl with morals and standards may prove to be more difficult. For now though, the fact her baby's father wasn't demanding paternity tests was comforting.
"So," she said, tucking her brunette curls behind her ear. "Where to from here?"
Hyde folded his arms across his chest and turned around, leaning back on the car next to her. "You tell me," he shrugged. "Never been in this situation before-"
"Something I find quite surprising," Jackie interrupted with a smile. "With your track record n all."
Hyde raised an eyebrow and a small grin that lasted only seconds appeared on his face. "Like I was saying," he continued. "I dunno what we do now. Like, does this mean we gotta get married?"
Married? While the thought of being a single mother had caused Jackie to endure a week of sleep deprivation, the thought of being Mrs. Jackie Hyde seemed even worse. Sewing red 'A's on all of her clothes was far more appealing than walking down the aisle toward a man in tatty jeans and a concert tee; no matter how hot he was.
"While that proposal was nothing short of magnificent I think I will have to decline. Sorry, Steven." She was sure that over the sound of her own thumping heartbeat she heard Hyde breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm sure we have more pressing issues to deal with right now than planning a teen wedding between friends...or enemies...or whatever we are..."
Were they friends, Jackie wondered as she waited for Hyde to say something. For many years she had absolutely despised the guy and his nasty tongue and dirty clothes. It was as if he had been put on the earth with the sole purpose of ridiculing Jackie and making her life miserable. Never a kind word, never a genuine smile. He had mocked her pretty dresses when she was 10. Pulled her hair when she was 12. Hidden her lunch money when she was 14. Torn her relationship with Kelso to pieces when she was 16. But when she was 17 he had given her one of the best summers of her life.
And she still didn't know if they were even friends.
"We're friends, Jackie," he said, elbowing her gently in the ribs.
She smiled. "Friends who are having a baby."
"So it appears."
The sound of the Vista Cruiser coming down the driveway filled the silence and by the time the car pulled up next to the Camino Hyde's head was back under the hood. He didn't look at his friends, choosing instead to fiddle with every cap within reach.
"What's the verdict?" Eric asked, nodding toward the black car. Hyde said nothing, seemingly unable to face the boys right now.
Jackie came to the rescue. "The radiator," she said. "it's shot to hell."
Eric nodded sympathetically, clearly understanding the pain one felt when their car needed work.
"Explains the face," he said, pointing a finger at Hyde who by now was looking pale and worried as hell.
A pang of guilt swept over Jackie as she realised just how hard life was going to be for Hyde from now on. Forced to not only see his friends everyday but also be the cause of the breakdown of their group was going to be hard on him. Eric, Fez and Kelso were his family but unlike most families that forgive and forget, there were no guarantees that him getting Jackie pregnant would be forgiven.
Jackie patted Hyde on the back and felt him flinch under her touch. "Yeah, well, I've been explaining to Steven that it's not the end of the world. It can be fixed and the car still goes right now so there's no need to worry about it just yet." She prayed he got her message that no one needed to know their secret just yet therefore they needed to go on as normal.
"Yeah, man, forget about it today," Eric said just as Kelso sat up in the back seat, his face already swelling. "Come with us to the hospital, it's shot time for our boy." The grins on Eric and Fez's faces were priceless and Jackie was just a little bit proud of herself for bringing such joy to the boys today. Okay, maybe she didn't bring joy to all of them, but two out of four was pretty good.
Fez poked his head around Eric and held out his hand which was filled with coins. "Yes come, Hyde. I have plenty of money for the candy machines. Candy, nurses, Kelso getting needles in the ass...what more could we ask for today?"
"I'll tell you what we could've asked for today," Kelso chirped from the backseat. "We could've asked for our ex-girlfriend to remind us not to eat eggs when we're allergic to them!" He glared at Jackie, well as much as he could glare considering his eyes were almost swollen shut. "Jackie you know it's your job to watch what I eat. Now I gotta spend all morning at the hospital and I didn't wanna do that today!"
Jackie shrugged and pursed her lips. "Whatever, Michael. You're 18 years old, if you can't remember by now what you are and aren't allergic to then that's your problem." As Kelso slumped down in his seat Jackie turned to Hyde. "Steven you should go with them, there's not much we can do about the radiator today," she said quietly. "Just give me a call when you want it sorted."
Hyde ran a hand down his face before putting his sunglasses on. He still hadn't looked at his friends, or at her, and his anxiousness was now making her nervous. It was like he was ready to either explode or withdraw completely and she didn't want either of those things happening just yet. Now was not the time for everyone to find out so Hyde blurting it out in anger was just not an option. But she also needed him as a partner in all of this, so him shutting himself off from everyone or taking off wouldn't help either. He needed to keep it together. For her. For them.
As if sensing her worry he let down the hood of the Camino and turned his back on the boys, staring straight at her. "You gonna be okay?" he said quietly.
Jackie nodded.
"Look, I'll ah, I'll call you yeah?" Hyde wiped the palms of his hands down the front of his jeans as he spoke. Big, strong, carefree Hyde seemed to be crumbling before Jackie's eyes and she actually felt sorry for him. She had to remind herself that she was the one who was going to get fat. This was about her. Not him.
"Yeah, that'll be good. Have a good day at the hospital, and don't worry too much about that radiator."
As Hyde climbed in the front seat next to Fez Jackie gave a little wave to Kelso. It wasn't a "why couldn't you be the father to my child" wave, but more of a "you're an asshole for leaving me so you deserve a needle in your ass" kind of wave. He grumbled, and she smiled as she casually strolled down the street, swinging her bag as she walked. Telling Donna and Hyde had definitely made her feel better, a bit lighter.
It wasn't all on her anymore. She wasn't alone.
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, faves and follows! I'm pleased you liked the first chapter and hope you enjoyed this one too...if you have a spare moment please drop a review and let me know what you thought.
From now on I'll post twice a week, that way I'll stay ahead with my writing which should mean you never have to wait too long for me to post. I posted this one early as a way of thanking you for your support and also so you got a bit of Hyde nice n early. I know he seems pretty calm at the moment but next chapter is all him and you'll get to see what's really going on in his head as well as a flashback to their summer. Keep a look out Thursday for that one.
Thanks again!