A/N: Okay so this chapter is actually half of a chapter. The whole chapter was just so long that I had to break it and the bit that I'm posting now is more the set up for the rest (in case you're wondering at the end what the point of it was lol). I don't know how it got so long, or why I just couldn't condense it more...but it is what it is and I'm clearly a rambler. Anyway, thanks again for the reviews guys, I love them!

The morning of Christmas Eve brought with it the heavenly aroma of freshly baked shortbread and pine needles, along with the not so heavenly sound of Christmas carols blaring from the Forman's old record player. Hyde stretched out in his cot and chuckled. He'd come to appreciate just how much the holidays meant to the Formans - well, Kitty in particular, and so he usually tried not to ruin the magic by being too much of a Grinch. That would be a hard task this year though. This year getting through two days of all things green and red was the last thing he felt like doing. This year he had money issues, school issues, work issues, and now - thanks to Jackie's stunt yesterday - girl issues. But, due to the scents and sounds of a buzzing festive Forman family, he decided to shove all of his problems aside for the next couple of days and try to humour Kitty.

Lazily rolling out of bed he searched the floor for his cleanest jeans and froze when he heard a familiar laugh coming from the main room of the basement.

Kelso.

That was one problem he'd momentarily forgotten about.

And one problem that couldn't be easily avoided.

Hyde had figured their schedule would need adjusting over the holiday season but he hadn't managed to catch up with Eric to see if anything had been finalised. Now, on Christmas Eve, the curly haired father-to-be was confronted with a dilemma. Did he go out there, ask for a truce, and try to make the most of the holidays? Or, did he stay in his room and avoid confrontation but in the process piss off an already fuming Red and upset Kitty?

Shoving a sweater over his head Hyde decided it was a no brainer. He had to try and please Red and Kitty, whether it pissed Kelso off or not.

Shifting nervously from foot to foot he took a deep breath before stepping out into the basement. "Mornin'," he said, walking over to his usual seat.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Kelso stood up from the couch, dropping the string of popcorn he held in his hand. "I get holiday days, you get the nights," he said adamantly.

"C'mon, Kelso," Eric said, looking slightly uncomfortable as he placed a tray of pop bottles on the freezer. "It's the holidays, dude, and Hyde lives here...where's he s'pose to go all day? It's freezing out there."

"Well he should'a thought about that before he decided to warm my girlfriend's bed when I was outta town," Kelso shot back, staring down at Hyde with wide eyes.

"She wasn't your girlfriend." Hyde had told Kelso that a thousand times since the truth had come out and each time Kelso had mumbled some lame excuse that she still sort of was. It was growing tiring.

"I'd only been gone two weeks before you started nailin' her-"

"No, two weeks after you left we started foolin' around, it was four weeks after you left that I started nailin' her-"

Donna stood up abruptly. "Enough!" she yelled, her hands slicing through the air in front of her. "I'm sick of this! Kelso-" she turned to look at him as he sat down, "-it's the holidays, you can't expect Hyde to find places to go all day. And Hyde," Donna said, now looking at him, "you gotta stop with the details, dude. None of us wanna know, least of all Kelso."

Hyde folded his arms in front of him and nodded. "Fine. As it's the festive season I'll be civil if he'll be civil."

"Great, thank you." Donna stared down at Kelso who was pouting like a child, his arms crossed defiantly. "And you, Kelso? Can you behave? The drama between you two is making all our lives miserable...can you let it go? Even just for the holidays?"

"But he did me wrong-"

"Yeah we know that," Eric said, sitting down on the arm of the chair next to Kelso. "And we all agree Hyde was a dick and totally broke bro code-" Hyde rolled his eyes and second guessed his decision to get out of bed "- but we've all been friends for years," Eric continued, "and it's time we all hung out again, like we used to. Let's enjoy the few months we have left before Hyde is raising Satan's spawn as we sit back and laugh."

Hyde suddenly felt a great urge to punch Eric, but he'd do that later, right then he had to try and put on a show of indifference.

"Yes, I agree," Fez said wistfully. "I miss us all hanging out together, eating candy, looking through nudey-"

"Okay little buddy!" Eric jumped in, breaking Fez's reverie. "That's enough reminiscing out of you for today. Now, are we all in agreement that we can play nicely for the next few days? Or do I have to get my mom down here and get her to have a talk to you guys? We all know how completely level headed and rational she is right now."

Hyde grimaced. Between Jackie's pregnancy hormones and Kitty's menopause hormones he felt as though he was living in hormonal hell. If Kitty wasn't yelling, she was crying. And if she wasn't crying, she was drinking. Jackie, on the other hand, was usually crying and yelling at the same time, or, as Hyde had discovered yesterday, was so hormonal she wanted to screw him. All he wanted today was some Yuletide peace and quiet. A day void of crazy women and their hormones. So it came as a welcome surprise when Kelso muttered 'fine' at the same time he did. Nobody needed Kitty and her hormones sorting out basement gang problems. Nobody.

"Great, we finally have a consensus!" Donna exclaimed, sitting back down on the couch. "So now that we're all friends again we can decide what we're gonna do today."

"Can't we just do what we do every Christmas Eve?" Hyde asked. "Sit here, watch TV, wait for the Forman's party to start, get Eric to steal the booze, then get drunk?"

Eric nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds like it would take the least amount of effort and still equate to a vast amount of joy."

"And we know Hyde's all about avoiding any effort," Kelso quipped, "after all, he didn't go looking for a chick to knock up, he just sat here n waited for one to walk in."

Hyde rolled his eyes as an awkward silence fell over the basement.

"Kelso, are you gonna bang on about this all day?" he asked, turning to face the couch and it's occupants. "Coz if you are, I'm goin' back to bed."

"Don't let me stop you," Kelso shot back as he began threading more popcorn onto a piece of string.

"Blow this." Hyde stood up, done with Kelso, done with trying to make amends, done with Christmas. Lone circles and sleep was the safer option and, contrary to Eric's beliefs, required the least amount of effort.

"Seriously you two?" Donna said before Hyde could take a step. "It's been one minute since you agreed to a truce and I know, if you try, you can last longer than that."

"But he-"

Donna's eyes narrowed at Hyde. "Really, Hyde?" she said in a warning tone.

With a huff, he sat back down. "Fine."

As Hyde's attention turned to the TV and the lame Christmas cartoon that was playing he couldn't help but catch the warm smiles Donna and Eric exchanged. The smiles on his friends faces were ones of relief. Clearly it wasn't only Hyde who wanted peace for the holidays...Donna and Eric had obviously put it on their Christmas wish list too.

"Well anyway," Fez said out of nowhere, garnering everyone's attention. "I have been asked to go to the Christmas Eve dance tonight and I think this girl might be the one."

"The one who what?" Donna asked, her eyebrow arched inquisitively.

"The one who you know," Fez nodded. "The one I do it with."

Everyone's lips curved into half-smiles as they tried to stop themselves laughing at their friend's wild pipe dream. Fez had thought every girl who so much looked at him was 'the one', this chick surely wouldn't be any different.

"And how do you figure that, Fez?" Hyde asked.

Fez grinned proudly. "Because she is Kelly O'Brien and she does it with everyone," he replied.

"Yeah, everyone on the football team," said a bemused Eric. "She likes footballers, Fez, not horny foreign boys."

Fez stood up and walked to the freezer, grabbing himself a drink. "Then why," he started, as he popped open the lid of his cola, "did she ask me to go to the dance with her? Maybe she has realised some warm cocoa goodness beats out white meat and wants to take a sip?"

The penny dropped so loud in Hyde's head he could hear it. "Hold up," he said, eyeing Fez suspiciously. "So a super hot chick like Kelly, who could have any guy she wanted, asked you to the dance?"

Fez nodded proudly, one hand on his hip like he was some kind of superstar.

Hyde continued. "And what did you have to do for her?"

"Yeah, Fez?" Eric asked, somewhat suspicious himself. "How'd you make her go out with you?"

Fez was now looking decidedly uncomfortable and edging closer to the outside door. "I did..noth..nothing..."

"She didn't happen to want some information did she?" Hyde questioned. "Some information about a certain pregnant girl we know?"

Donna's eyes grew wide as she swung around to look at their foreign friend. "Fez! It wasn't you was it? You didn't tell everyone about Jackie did you?"

Fez gripped his bottle tightly as beads of sweat began dripping down his forehead. He couldn't handle a grilling, especially one delivered by Hyde and Donna.

"She promised me she wouldn't tell anyone..." He was a bumbling idiot, scrambling for any excuse. "I thought she wanted to help Jackie...I thought they were friends...she said they -"

Just as Hyde stood up Fez dropped his bottle and ran for the door. Forgetting to grab his coat, the foreigner bolted up the stairs, leaving the door swinging in his wake.

"Idiot!" Hyde yelled, slamming the door after him. "I can't believe him, man!" he said to nobody in particular as he sat back down.

"Told you it wasn't me," Kelso proudly declared, looking straight at Donna.

"Well what was I supposed to think?" she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You've hardly been the biggest supporter of this pregnancy. Why wouldn't I think you'd get off on humiliating Jackie."

"Um, because humiliating her means humiliating myself!" Kelso stated as though Donna should've known this already. "What does it say about me when my girlfriend gets knocked up by him." Kelso pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Hyde.

"Good question." Hyde nodded. "And she wasn't your girlfriend."

Before Kelso could open his mouth Donna opened hers. "God, Jackie must be a mess," she said, shaking her head slowly. "She was freaking out about everyone finding out and we were meant to have a plan in place before they did."

"Oh, don't worry," Kelso said casually. "Hyde took care of her...even held her hand as they walked outta school together."

Hyde shifted slightly in his seat. "She was cryin', man! What was I supposed to do?"

Kelso narrowed his eyes in Hyde's direction. "That's always your excuse right, Hyde? Jackie cried, so you took her to prom. Jackie cried, so you went n got arrested for her." Shaking his head he looked back at the TV before adding, "you always gotta be the hero. Always gotta try n look better than me."

"Well I never had to try very hard," Hyde scowled. "And at least I used the same excuse. What were your excuses for treatin' her like crap again? Oh, she's too pushy so I had to nail Pam Macy...she's too needy so I better nail Laurie...she wants to marry me so I better run to California. Pfft, you didn't need me to make you look like a moron, you did that all on your own."

Hyde was well and truly pissed off now, and not just with Kelso for harping on about Jackie. He was pissed off with himself too. Kelso's little reminder list had not only reminded him of all the things he had done for Jackie, but also of all the times she'd taken his help before running back to Kelso. As hard as it had been climbing off of her yesterday and denying his body of it's need for her, this little pow wow with Kelso had reassured him he'd done the right thing.

Jackie would always go back to Michael Kelso. She always had.

Hell, she'd told him yesterday she wished the baby was fuckin' Kelso's. Hyde's fist clenched at the memory.

"Enough you two," Donna growled. "What matters now is Jackie and how mortified she must be. I should probably go call her, she was asleep when I tried last night."

Before Donna could stand up Eric stopped her. "No need, she'll be here in a few hours, you can talk to her then."

Hyde's ears prickled. After yesterday's drama he hadn't counted on seeing Jackie today. She'd been quiet on the car ride back to her house and hadn't mentioned coming over anytime soon. He'd assumed she'd be too embarrassed and would show her face when she was over it. And truth be told, he needed bit of space from her. Things were getting murky between them. Lines were being crossed. Hands were being held.

He needed space from hormones and murky lines.

"Oh, great. What time's she coming?" Donna enquired.

"As crazy as this sounds," Eric said, flopping down on the chair Fez had so quickly vacated, "I am not Jackie Burkhart's personal assistant." The skinny boy's snarky comment earned him a furious stare from his girlfriend so he sweetly added, "All I know is my mom rang Pam Burkhart to invite them over tonight and I overheard something about Hyde picking Jackie up later."

"What?" Hyde's head shot up when he heard his driving services had been offered without his knowledge. "Since when am I Jackie's chauffeur?"

"And since when did your parents ask the Burkharts to their parties?" Donna added.

Eric looked at Hyde first and answered, "Since you knocked her up." He then looked at Donna and answered, "Since he knocked her up which, according to my mom, means they're now family."

Hyde's head fell back and he ran his hands over his head. Picking Jackie up wasn't space. Spending Christmas Eve with her wasn't space either.

"Looks like you got your hands full there, Hyde, with the whole Burkhart family," Kelso mused gleefully, swinging his string of popcorn around in front of him. "Rather you than me."

"Whatever." Hyde stood up and began making his way up the stairs to track down Kitty. Menopause or no menopause, he had to know now what she'd gotten him into.

After pausing to check she'd made the right choice, Jackie's fingers dove into the box and pulled out a chocolate. Rosa was currently busy scouring the contents of Jackie's large wardrobe for the perfect dress so the brunette decided she didn't need to eat her treat in a ladylike manner, she could shove the whole thing in her mouth and enjoy it's deliciousness all in one go.

So she did.

Forgetting that certain Mexicans had eyes in the back of their heads.

"You gonna look like girl from that movie if you not careful, Miss. Jackie," Rosa growled, pushing the summer dresses to one side so she had better access to the winter ones.

"If you're referring to Violet Beauregarde just remember she got fat from chewing gum, not chocolate." Jackie pulled another chocolate out of the box and flopped back on her bed. "Stupid Violet, she was in a chocolate factory and chose to chew gum till she popped. Her basic disregard for the finer things in life, like chocolate, truly amazes me. Perhaps she was from the South?"

Rosa pulled a blue dress out of the closet and held it up. "Southern or no Southern, you still gonna look like her if you keep eating chocolate like that. You popping no good for baby."

Jackie shook her head at the dress and licked the melted chocolate off her thumb and finger. "I won't pop, Rosa. I'm too pretty for a fate so horrific-"

"You also say you too pretty for teenage pregnancy but-"

"Yeah, okay Rosa, I get it." Jackie put the lid back on the red box and threw it on the floor. "No more chocolates."

Truth be told Jackie didn't even feel like eating, but for some strange reason shoving food in her mouth had helped her forget that in approximately thirty minutes she would be seeing Hyde. Last night she'd convinced herself that what had happened yesterday, at school and in Hyde's bedroom, could be forgotten about for a few days. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were supposed to be spent with her parents and Rosa. People who loved her and didn't make her feel like crap...even though she had disappointed them by getting pregnant. But, thanks to Kitty and Pam, she was being forced against her will to go to the Forman's Christmas Eve party and act like everything was fine.

Jackie sighed loudly as she imagined the night ahead. Just the thought of chatting to Donna and working class old folk while Hyde avoided her had her reaching down to the floor for the chocolates.

"Miss Jackie..." Rosa warned just as Jackie's fingers found the box.

"Fine!" Jackie quickly released the box and sat up. "But I don't get why they're making me go, Rosa!" she whined. "Mom and daddy aren't even going, why would they make me? It's Christmas Eve, we should be together as a family."

"You weren't saying that last year when you climb out your window to meet that boy." Rosa held up a dark green dress with a low neck and mid length sleeves. It was elegant and tasteful mixed with a little bit of sexy.

Jackie nodded her head at Rosa's choice. "Well last year I wasn't a loser. Now the only friends I have all live in this house...not that you'd know, what with everyone in and out of it all the time all the time like it's freaking Grand Central Station."

"Miss Jackie." Rosa sighed as she forced Jackie to stand up and get into the dress. "You just upset 'cause curly hair boy blow you off. You need to forget boys now and look after that baby."

"You sound just like him," Jackie said, rolling her eyes. "I might be pregnant but I'm still seventeen and I still want a boyfriend and I want that boyfriend to be Steven. Why's he being so difficult? He hasn't even called me today to ask how his child is."

"Because he not a silly little girl and he probably busy," Rosa scolded holding up two silver earrings that would match Jackie's dress perfectly.

Jackie took the earrings and put them in her ears, checking her make up as she did so. She looked good, better than she'd done in months. Now that the morning sickness was gone colour had returned to her cheeks and the black rings had disappeared from under her eyes. Aside from the baby bump that was fairly visible in the tight dress she looked as great as she had over summer. A small smile appeared on he lips as she looked at her reflection. Perhaps once Hyde saw her he'd forget their argument and the things she'd said and find her as irresistible as he had back then. A glint flickered in her eye as she imagined Hyde checking her out.

A glint not unnoticed by a certain housekeeper. "No boys, Miss Jackie! Baby remember?"

"Geez, Rosa, why don't you go wrap me up some Christmas presents or something," Jackie said, swinging around. "And they better not be cookbooks like last year...I don't know why you think I need to learn to cook when I have you around."

Just then Jackie's bedroom door opened and Hyde stepped in.

"Treatin' the help with the courtesy and respect they deserve I see, Jackie," he sarcastically remarked as he brushed past her and sat at the end of her bed.

Jackie looked to Rosa with pleading eyes, disconcerted by Hyde's sudden presence.

"Oh Miss Jackie like to play around," Rosa chortled, glancing at Jackie sympathetically as she made her way to the door. "Always the kidder."

"Yes, Jackie's certainly a kidder," Hyde scoffed, twirling his keys around his index finger.

When the door closed Jackie turned to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with an angry tone as she tried to cover up the embarrassment she felt. Usually she wouldn't care if people heard her bitch at Rosa but the fact that Hyde had witnessed her snottiness had her reeling. He'd always thought she was a stuck up bitch and ordering the help to wrap her up some presents was doing little to dispel that idea.

"Nothin'," Hyde answered. "You ready? It's startin' to get icy outside, I wanna get back."

"I never asked you to pick me up, Steven," Jackie said, searching her closet for the perfect coat to match her dress. "In fact, I didn't even want to come to the Forman's tonight."

"Then why are you comin'?" Hyde lay down on her bed and Jackie couldn't help but think back to the summer when he'd lay on that very bed. Those times he'd been wearing a whole lot less clothes and there had been a lot less distance between them. Her cheeks flushed at the thought and she quickly walked to her mirror.

"Because my mom's making me. But believe me, I'd much rather be going to the Radcliffe's party with them than eating homemade sandwiches while people scull beer straight from the bottle."

What was she doing? She was sabotaging herself now and the look of disdain on Hyde's face told her she was damn good at it.

Hyde scoffed. "I've seen you drink beer from a bottle, princess."

"When in Rome..." Jackie sing-songed.

His eyes narrowed as he stood up. "Go to the Radcliffe's. I'll tell Mrs. Forman you're sick."

Panic swept through Jackie and her reached out, grabbing Hyde's arm just as he reached the door. She didn't want to go the Forman's party because she didn't want to suffer Hyde's rejection but here she was almost forcing him to reject her. It was all too confusing.

"Sorry," she said, looking up at him. "I'll come."

"Don't bother."

"But it's Christmas Eve and I'm all dressed up." Jackie held her arms out, displaying Rosa's work. "I can't sit here all night by myself." Even though I'm a complete bitch that probably deserves to, she thought.

"I can drop you with your parents if you need a ride."

Jackie shook her head. "No, I've been avoiding Mrs. Forman and she invited me so I should come. Besides, I kinda think my parents were happy that they didn't have to take me to the Radcliffe's." Jackie's eyes left Hyde's face and locked on the floor as she remembered how adamant her mother had been that she go to the Forman's and not with them to the Radcliffe's. Her parents were embarrassed of her. She was no longer their straight A daughter. They were no longer proud of her. "Can't be fun having your pregnant teenage daughter tagging along with you to society events," she said casually, as though it didn't hurt like hell.

Hyde cocked his head to the side and forced Jackie to meet his gaze, his face now softened a little. "Hey, I'm sure it wasn't like that," he remarked as if he'd read her thoughts. "They probably just figured you'd have a better time with your friends than their stuffy crowd."

Jackie smiled at his attempt to make her feel better but she knew her eyes were giving her away. "I don't care either way," she lied.

"You sure?"

"Course I'm sure," Jackie shrugged, trying hard to keep the tears from spilling. "Now Jenna Radcliffe will have the chance to be the prettiest girl at one of her parent's parties. I'm doing them all a favour by going to the Forman's."

Hyde grinned and gently pinched her cheek. "Always thinkin' of others, Jackie," he teased. "You're practically a saint."

"Aren't I though?" Jackie cringed, knowing Hyde had seen her tears, and was thankful he had pretended they didn't exist. She was tired of crying in front of him like a silly schoolgirl. "Just call me Saint Jackie."

"I said practically a saint, not a real Saint."

"Well I'll take practically a saint then."

"You would," Hyde smirked.

"I deserve sainthood after carrying your child," Jackie said, relieved at the friendly banter between them. "This job ain't easy you know." When the smile faded from Hyde's face and he looked at the door Jackie's stomach dropped. "Steven.." she said, touching his arm again. "What I said yesterday, about Michael and the baby...I don't still feel like that...I don't still wish he was the father. It was just someth-"

"Don't worry about it," Hyde said coolly, "It doesn't matter."

Jackie nervously placed her hand on Hyde's face, turning it slightly to look at her. "Yes it does, I don't want you to always think I'm looking at our child wishing he or she was Michaels."

Hyde shrugged. "Doesn't even matter if you do, coz it's not his."

"Well I just want you to know I won't be," Jackie said truthfully. It had taken months but Jackie was 99 percent sure she was finally over Michael Kelso. Watching him pick up 16 year olds at the Hub on a Friday night and play with slingshots on Saturday afternoons proved to her that he was a boy, not a man. Jackie and her baby needed a man now. One that cared for people and worked and wanted to provide for his family. And that man, she had recently decided, was standing right in front of her.

"Good to know," Hyde nodded, one corner of his mouth turning upwards.

Jackie smiled. "Guess we should get going then, huh? Lots of sandwiches to eat and bottles to drink out of waiting for us."

As Jackie followed Hyde out of her bedroom he suddenly stopped and turned around. "Hey, Jackie," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Jenna might be the prettiest girl at the Radcliffe's tonight, but you'll, ah, y'know, be the prettiest girl at the Forman's."

Jackie felt her cheeks flush and it took all she had not squeal in delight. Gripping her purse tightly she casually said, "Thank you, Steven, that's good to know. I just hope Fez doesn't drool all over my pretty dress."

"Well you won't have to worry 'bout Fez drool, he won't be there, he's goin' to the school dance."

"Really? With who?"

Jackie had forgotten all about the school dance, despite only yesterday morning being beyond excited about it. She loved school dances, and she especially loved showing everyone up at school dances with her pretty dresses and salon done hair. This year it just wasn't meant to be though. After yesterday's humiliation she'd decided she couldn't show her face at the dance and had shoved the red dress she'd bought especially for it back in it's box.

That was after vowing to herself that whoever blabbed would reap the wrath of a very hormonal Jackie Burkhart.

Hyde cleared his throat before mumbling, "Kelly O'Brien."

Jackie eyes widened at Hyde's revelation. "Kelly O'Brien? Why would the second most popular girl at school go with a foreigner to the third most important social event of the school year?"

When Hyde raised an eyebrow Jackie's stomach dropped. That arched eyebrow had confirmed her suspicions. Fez was the traitorous backstabber she'd assumed he was.

"He didn't?" she whispered, gently rubbing the end of her necklace with her fingertips.

Hyde nodded. "He did."

Jackie closed her eyes and drew in a large breath. "Steven," she said as she exhaled. "I know we have a party to get to, but we have a stop to make on the way."