A/N: Sorry this is late! I had a crazy busy day yesterday and didn't get a chance to get on the computer and update. Thanks again for the reviews...I'm pleased you're enjoying the story so far. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Hyde kicked his boots off and fell down on his cot. His head hurt, in fact it was pounding and the pain was part of the reason he'd walked home from the hospital instead of sticking around to watch Kelso scream in agony. No amount of friend humiliation, wheelchair fun, or hot nurses could've kept him in that hospital. He had to get out of there.

At home, in his dark room, on his small cot, was the only place he wanted to be. He reached for his old tin under the cot and opened it, the smell of dope hitting his nostrils instantly. He'd paid extra for this stuff after being told it was strong and skunky and by the smell of it he'd been wise to shell out more. Hopefully this would get rid of the pulsing pain in his head, and maybe even the endless stream of thoughts running through his mind.

He was an idiot. A concert-tee-wearing, frizzy-haired, skirt-chasing idiot, and now he was going to pay the price for his idiocy. Red was gonna kill him. Kill him then kick him out. Kelso was gonna hate him. Actually, his tall friend would probably more than hate him, if that was even possible. Kitty would be disappointed in him. As would Eric.

Hate. Disappointment. Homelessness. As Hyde rolled his joint he was undecided about which one was worse. He'd been hated before, many times. He'd also been homeless. And he was fairly sure numerous teachers had been disappointed in him in the past, especially those ones that thought he had potential. But none of those people or situations had mattered. He could shrug those off. But having those closest to him be pissed off because of his actions was gonna hit him hard.

And there was not a thing he could do about it. It was out of his hands. And all inside Jackie's belly.

He could've done something twelve weeks ago. He could've, and should've, ignored that damn purple shirt and the girl who wore it so freaking well.

...

Three Months Earlier

Hyde sat on his chair in the basement trying to block out the incessant chatter going on around him. He'd only been home from the Fotohut for twenty minutes and already he wished he'd found somewhere else to go. Hanging in a hot basement with Fez and Jackie was not his idea of Friday night fun but with Eric blubbering like a baby in his room all day and night, and Kelso in California, Hyde's social options were limited. He was stuck with these two morons. At least one of them was easy on the eye, something Hyde had been unable to ignore over the last couple of weeks. Jackie had really come into her own recently, filled out in all the right places, so to speak. Especially in the purple shirt she was currently wearing which pulled fairly tightly over her more developed chest.

"The first paragraph is mostly about what a wonderful girlfriend I was and how lucky he was I took his cheating ass back." For the last twenty minutes Jackie had been rambling about a letter she was writing to Kelso. Some sort of break-up letter that Hyde was fairly sure Kelso would never bother reading. Listening to her whiney voice was irritating as hell so between watching I Dream of Jeannie Hyde did his best to focus not on the small brunettes words but on the way her chest moved as she talked.

Fez seemed focused on both her chest and her words. "Yes, Jackie, Kelso was very lucky you took him back. If I were your boyfriend I would never have cheated on y-"

Fez's lame attempts at seduction went unnoticed by Jackie who kept on with her task at hand. Explaining every fucking paragraph of her stupid letter.

"The second paragraph," she explained, "goes into more detail about what a great girlfriend I was. I back that up with examples, like the time I helped him remove one of Eric's stupid miniature dolls from his nose-" Hyde crinkled his own nose, wondering if Eric knew his action figures had Kelso boogers all over them, "-and the time I gave him twenty dollars to buy me a birthday present."

"You were such a kind girlfriend," Fez said, nodding his head in a sympathetic manner while also snaking his arm around Jackie's shoulder.

Hyde chuckled to himself. Poor Fez didn't have a shot in hell with Jackie and to be quite honest he didn't understand why anyone would want a shot with her anyway. She was shallow, immature, needy...the top three things to avoid when looking for a girlfriend, or even a casual hook-up. Yeah, she was annoying alright. But still, the way that shirt clung to her tight little frame was sending feelings other than disgust through Hyde's body.

And when she lifted her fluffy ended pen to her pink, glossy lips Hyde could no longer deny it. Jackie was hot.

When the fuck did she get hot?

"Yeah, I really was a great girlfriend, Fez," Jackie said, twirling the fluffy crap across her lips, while one leg swung over her other. It was then Hyde decided to watch a live brunette instead of a blonde television character. Turning toward her, just a fraction so it wasn't obvious, he tried to listen to her ramblings. "And Michael needs to be reminded of that so that when my letter gets to the bits about what an asshole he is he really feels the pain. It's like putting him in a happy place - that happy place being me - before ripping him out of it and showing him he is no longer in that happy place because he is a fool that chose random beach trash over a loving, kind, extremely beautiful, fiancée."

Hyde didn't hear of word of what she just said but he did notice how full her lips were. He'd never noticed that before.

"So what's paragraph three about?" Fez asked. "Is that when you tell him he is a no good sonofabitch?!"

Jackie laughed. "No, silly! That doesn't start 'til paragraph 14. Paragraphs 3-7 are about dividing our assets. You know, the stuff we share custody of or own together."

Okay, Hyde could not ignore that. What the hell did those two morons own together? He knew the answer would be all kinds of ridiculous but he had to ask. "Jackie, you and Kelso are teenagers, and let me remind you Kelso can barely scrape together a dollar for a soda. What, pray tell, do you two own together or share custody of?"

Jackie swung around to look at him and before she spoke, wet her lips a little with her tongue. Hyde sat up straight, trying to shake the awkward attraction he was suddenly feeling toward someone so annoying.

"Well, Hyde, there are a number of things," she began, "there's the stuffed gorilla he won for me at the fair last year-"

"The one that sits on his bed?" Fez asked, standing to get himself a popsicle. "Kelso said that's his."

With a scowl Jackie replied, "No, it's mine. I gave him the 50c to play the stupid shooting duck game and he said if he won I'd get the prize, so it's mine. He was allowed it during the week but I have it on the weekends."

"Seriously, Jackie? A black gorilla toy? Why would you even want that, it's not even pink," Hyde said folding his arms.

"I want it because my boyfriend won it for me, it means a lot to me."

Fez plonked down beside her and opened his popsicle. "But, Jackie, he's not your boyfriend anymore."

At this not-so-new revelation Jackie threw herself back on the couch, her notepad falling to the floor. "Thanks for reminding me, Fez," she said in her usual dramatic manner.

Her dramatics irked Hyde, they always had. But during this performance he found he couldn't turn away from them. Her shirt had come untucked and he could see about an inch of her flat, toned stomach just above her jeans. He bet her skin was soft. He internally kicked himself for not copping a feel when he had the chance on Veterans Day. A kiss was all he got that night, a kiss that at the time felt too platonic to go any further. What he was wondering now though, was whether kissing her would still feel like that?

Hyde's eyes darted up from her stomach when Jackie continued her woman scorned routine. "How could he do this to me right after proposing?" she wailed. "Now I'm all alone and it's summer time and my best friend is gone and I have no one and-"

"You have us, my princess," Fez offered sweetly.

With that Jackie sat up, pushing her shirt back into her jeans. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and picked up her fallen notepad, in an attempt to regain composure. "Thanks, Fez," she said with a small smile. "But you and Steven don't count. You're too pervy to go anywhere with -" now it was Fez's turn to fall back on the couch in defeat, "-and Steven doesn't listen to a word I say."

Hyde leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, a wicked grin on his face. "Jackie, you keep comin' round here talkin' about assets n wearing that top," he said with a sly wink, "I promise you I'll do more than listen."

Jackie's mouth fell open as Hyde stood up and walked to his room, the whole time feeling her eyes on him. Yeah it'd been a bolshy comment and one that she wouldn't have expected from him. But she was grown now, and hot, she had to get used to smarmy comments just like Donna had. He chuckled as he fell on his cot and lit a joint.

A summer spent watching Jackie might be fun after all.

...

Three days later Hyde was chilling out on the couch watching the Price Is Right. Fez was down at the pool. The Formans were at work. Jackie had been MIA since his comment a few nights earlier so he figured she was off somewhere licking her wounds and cursing him to hell. He had the day off work and the house to himself...life was good. What more could a guy ask for?

His best friend's kind of ex-girlfriend wearing a purple shirt was definitely not what he should be asking for. But that's what he got when a smiling, sweet-smelling, purple shirt wearing, brunette breezed into the basement and sat down next to him. Pulling one leg up onto the couch she turned and said, "Hi, Steven."

"Hey," was all he could manage in response. What the hell was she doing here wearing that top again? He was fairly certain that he'd once overheard her giving Donna fashion rules and one of those rules was- clothes were never to be worn twice in any seven day period, except jeans, they were okay to be worn twice. Hyde remembered that specific rule because, like most rules, he broke it regularly and that made him happy.

Right now Jackie was breaking her own rule. And it pissed him off.

For the next ten minutes he tried to actively ignore her presence. He tried avoiding glancing at her lips every time she licked them or bit down on her bottom one. He tried to stop himself staring at her right hand as it glided up and down her calf muscle slowly. But it was useless. By the time she mumbled something about an old lady and he declared he could never watch the Price Is Right again his willpower was gone. When she turned her head to look at him he had to have her. Just once.

The kiss was sweet and slow. And nothing like their Veterans Day kiss. Well not for him anyway. When they pulled apart he waited for her to say something about no sparks but she didn't. To his relief seconds later she was practically on top of him devouring his mouth with her own.

And as much as he hated it, it was just about the best kiss of his life.

And to his disgust he wanted to do it over and over again.

And so he did, any chance he got.

Luckily Jackie, the naughty little minx, was a very willing participant. After that first day not a day went by without her sneaking into the basement or the Fotohut to steal a few moments with him. Hyde also felt pretty lucky because not only did he get to kiss her and feel her up, but he got to do it without having to talk to her. They barely said anything to each other than "over here" or "come down to the basement, it's empty", and that was a good thing, because Hyde wasn't one for talking. Especially to Jackie.

Talking would just complicate things and would eventually lead to talking about Kelso and Kelso was the last person Hyde wanted to think about, much less talk about. Out of sight out of mind; that was Hyde's summer mantra. Besides, all he and Jackie were doing was making out and that really wasn't a big deal. He'd been kissing girls since he was nine, kissing was nothing. It was as if there was an unspoken rule regarding their fling, kissing, touching, but no sex and that was fine with Hyde. Surprisingly. He got to taste Jackie's lips, touch her perfect body, feel her as she straddled him...that was enough for him.

Except that wasn't enough for him. Or Jackie. They had to go and ruin everything by having sex and now their big mistake was going to ruin both of their lives.

Hyde dragged on his joint and closed his eyes. What the fuck had he done? He could see no way out of this mess. Everyone was gonna be hurt, but no one more so than Kelso.

His oldest friend.

In his head Hyde had justified hooking up with Jackie by telling himself Kelso was a crappy boyfriend. Actually, he wasn't the only one banging on about what a dick Kelso was to his girlfriend, Jackie had harped on about it a trillion times over the years too. It was common knowledge that as a boyfriend Kelso well and truly sucked. But he didn't deserve this, because Hyde knew that deep down Kelso loved Jackie, and probably always would. It wasn't the same kind of love that Eric felt for Donna - it was more of a twisted, fucked up Kelso kind of love - but it was still love.

Hyde was also fairly sure Jackie still loved Kelso, even after all the crap the moron had put her through. Hyde could tell by the way she stared at the big buffoon, or the way she tilted her head when he said something stupid. She cared about him. Which is why Hyde should've left her alone over the summer. He'd already been the third corner of a love triangle and those pointy things never worked in his favour. Jackie would never have chosen him over Kelso, just like Donna refused to chose him over Eric.

But now Jackie was stuck with him as the father of her kid. And he was gonna be stuck with her moaning about it for the rest of his life.

No home. No friends. No family.

Just Jackie.

Who would've fucking predicted that shit?

...

It was late Sunday night and Hyde was fairly proud of himself. He had done a tremendous job of avoiding all contact with people over the weekend but had still managed to be fed and watered. Dear old Kitty was a sucker for the man flu, especially when it was Hyde claiming to have it, so he was able to lie in bed all day and pretend to be asleep when she made her food deliveries. It was awesome, and something he could get used to. But he was having a kid therefore he knew that sometime in the next few months he would probably have to get out of bed.

He'd thought of calling Jackie a couple of times over the weekend but really what was there to talk about just yet? Her stomach was still flat so they didn't have to worry about choosing names. She could still reach her toes so she probably didn't need him running errands for her. No, calling her was pointless. Right now they both just needed to enjoy the calm before the storm. Separately. Him from the safety of his cot.

Needless to say he was startled when the storm found him early and came in the form of a 95 pound brunette with pink toenails bursting into his room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jackie growled as she kicked the door closed behind her.

Confused, Hyde sat up in his bed and turned the stereo down. "Um, I was trying to sleep until you barged in here. Heard of knocking, Jackie?"

"Have you heard of calling, Steven?" she asked, tossing her handbag on the chair in the corner. "Actually, don't answer that - I will. Um, yes you've heard of calling and I know that because you told me you would but then you didn't. Instead you've been lazing about in your bed all weekend!"

Holy crap. She hadn't even had the baby yet and she was already acting like a crazy person. It went against everything Hyde stood for but he decided to try and explain himself...not that he thought he owed her an explanation.

"I was gonna call you but I figured there wasn't anything that we urgently needed to talk about. I figured I'd see you at school tomorrow."

Jackie's eyes widened. "Nothing to talk about? Are you serious? We have a tonne of stuff that needs to be talked about, and what do you mean 'you'd see me at school'? We can't be talking about this at school, Steven! What if somebody heard us? I have a good four months before I get fat and I'm making the most of them, which means no one at school is to find out about the baby. You'd know all this if you'd called me."

Hyde sighed and swung his legs over the side of the cot. "Look, Jackie, I just needed some time, okay?"

"Time?" Jackie said through gritted teeth. "Time is what we're running out of. How much longer do you think my stomach is gonna be this flat for, huh? You should be supporting me not hiding out in your dingy bedroom."

"Supportin' you? I can't change how fat you're gonna get, man...that's all on you n the kid."

"Oh my god, you're such an asshole," Jackie said, tilting her head to one side and folding her arms across her chest. "I thought you were gonna be there for me, you were so calm the other day."

"Jackie, I got a whole lotta shit goin' on in my head right now n I just needed some space. I said I'm-"

"You've got shit going on? Really? Wow, poor you. Must be hard having so much going on...I wouldn't know, my life's perfect right now you see." Jackie tossed her hair over her shoulder and flopped down at the end of the cot, as far away from Hyde as she could get. "God, I hate you," she said under her breath.

"Pity you weren't sayin' that three months ago," Hyde mumbled, reaching under his bed for his tin.

"Oh believe me, I was."

Hyde chuckled as he rolled a joint. 'I hate you' was the last thing she was saying when he was banging the crap out of her on this very cot during the summer. He remembered a few 'god you feel so good's, and, 'fuck me, Steven's, and a whole lot of 'I want you, Steven's, but definitely no 'I hate you's.

"Whatever," he muttered, licking the end of the paper and reaching for his lighter.

As he lit the joint Jackie shot up on the bed, ripping his one form of sanity from his fingertips.

"You aren't seriously gonna smoke that in front of me are you? I'm pregnant!" she growled, leaning over him and stubbing it out in the ashtray. With her body pressed across his legs Hyde could smell the scent of the strawberry shampoo she always used and it took him back to summer. Their summer.

God he loved that smell.

"Sorry, forgot," he said as a swift kick to the shin brought him back to autumn.

"That was quick," Jackie said, settling herself back on the cot. "You've only known I have your spawn growing inside me for two days and you've already forgotten. The benefits of drug ravaged brain I guess."

Hyde ran an exhausted hand through his hair. This was gonna be a long six months.

"Look, Jackie." He turned to her and tried to ignore the evil eye that seemed to pierce his skin. "Shit is gonna get crazy round here. Once everyone founds out you're pregnant everything is gonna change and right now I'm tryin' to get my head 'round it all. I'm sorry I didn't call...if you tell me when I'm expected to call I'll make sure I do."

Jackie blinked so slowly that Hyde thought she'd nodded off. It was when both her eyebrows arched that he realised she hadn't.

"Gosh, I am so sorry that I expected you to call me when you were so busy getting your head around the fact I have a baby inside me. ME, Steven! This is happening to ME and all you can think about is YOU! The changes will be happening to me, not you."

"I'm pretty sure when Red kicks me out you'll still be sleepin' sweet at night," Hyde said, not even trying to hide how pissed off he now was. Fuck her, and her strawberry shampoo.

"Steven, I am about to lose the one thing I hold dear to my heart. The one thing that gets me up each morning-"

Hyde looked at the door and envisioned her walking right out of it. "If you say Michael I'm gonna hurl," he mumbled, still staring at the grainy wood that separated him from freedom.

Jackie slapped his arm. "No!" she yelled. "Not Michael! My reputation, Steven, I'm going to lose everything I've worked for over the last few years. I'll be a fallen woman."

Hyde responded with a roll of his eyes. That's all she was worried about? Her reputation? Jackie was the type of chick who could walk into any situation and talk herself into some type of friendship. Hyde on the other hand, had made his friendships when he was kid and had planned on keeping them for life. Thanks to Jackie's damn purple shirt though he was about to lose those friendships. Jackie's reputation would be in tatters for all of three minutes before she somehow redeemed herself and shifted gossip in the direction of some other poor soul.

Hyde's friends weren't gonna forgive him that quick.

"Jackie, people will get over it. The talk will last a day then you'll be yesterday's news," Hyde said, rubbing his beard.

Jackie looked at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Do you even know who I am-"

"Unfortunately I do."

"I am Jackie Burkhart...the girl who made the varsity squad freshman year. The girl who got on the prom committee when she wasn't even old enough to go to prom. The girl who has a perfect high school transcript. The girl-"

Hyde shot her an annoyed look and said, "The girl who needs to stop talkin' about herself in the third person."

"You just don't get it." He watched her chew on her bottom lip as her defiant stance finally dropped revealing a little girl scared to death of what lay ahead. "I was perfect, Steven," she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. "I was the perfect student, the perfect cheerleader...the perfect daughter. What am I gonna be now?"

Silence filled the small room and Hyde found himself feeling uncomfortable. Two minutes ago he would've done anything to shut her the hell up but now that she was sitting there sobbing and vulnerable he wished she would go back to loud and bolshy. She was a kid. A pregnant kid and all she had was him right now. That was a heavy burden to carry.

But one he couldn't ignore.

Wrapping an arm around her he pulled her close. He was surprised when her arms shot around his waist and her head nuzzled into the crook of his neck. it felt kinda nice to be needed by her. But knowing she'd need him for the next eighteen years also scared the shit out of him.

"I'll tell you what you're gonna be," he said, brushing a strand of hair off her face. "A perfect mother."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes wide and staring up at him.

"Of course. You said yourself you're perfect so how could you fuck being a parent up?" Hyde could think of a number of ways Jackie could fuck mothering up but he wasn't gonna tell her that. They had six months or so to sort their shit and Red and Kitty to help them do it. Surely with some Forman guidance they'd be okay eventually.

"I hope I'll be a good mom." Jackie sighed and her head fell back on Hyde's shoulder.

"So, when do we have to tell everyone?" Hyde felt sick even thinking about breaking the news to Kelso and the others but he had to know how much time he had up his sleeve.

"Well I'll be three months along in a couple of weeks...Rosa said that's when we should start telling people."

"So mid-October then?" Dammit, there goes Halloween with the boys.

"Yeah I guess. We should probably tell my parents and the Formans before then though don't you think?"

No, Hyde did not think.

"What's the rush? Only gonna upset them earlier than they need to be. Better to just keep it between me n you for now."

"And Rosa."

"And Rosa."

"And Donna."

Hyde's head jerked up. "Donna? Why'd ya tell Donna? She'll tell Forman!"

Jackie tightened her grip around Hyde's waist which was probably a good thing as he was already eyeing up his duffel bag and gasing up the Camino in his head.

"She's not saying anything to anyone, Steven. She knows the drama that's coming and she's as keen as we are to prolong the inevitable. Donna's lips are sealed, I promise."

Hyde relaxed a little, all the while praying that the redhead would keep to her word and keep her trap shut. The one thing worse than telling Kelso Jackie was pregnant was having him hear it from someone else. Hyde had to be the one to tell him. And in two weeks time he would.

He had two weeks left with his friends. Two weeks before everyone hated him.

And he was gonna make the most of it.

Man-flu time was over.