…
Jackie spent the night at Nate's (he insisted on being called that, due to the length of his full name) after their first date. Fez had nearly lost his mind when Jackie didn't come home that night.
"I left a note," she had protested.
"Yes, but your car was still here!" he had argued. "You could've been kidnapped. They could've forced you to write that note, aye!"
Fez had been a little weird when he learned where she was, but he overall couldn't be angry. He was just happy that his longtime friend and ex-girlfriend was doing something other than sitting at home watching soap operas, even if it was doing some guy she had just met.
It had been a couple weeks since their date, and Jackie regularly went over to Nate's house to fool around and hang out. His roommate and friend Tom was a little bit pervy, but she liked him nonetheless. She never refused attention from anyone.
Nate reminded her a lot of Steven, in the sense that he was distant, yet pretty protective of her. Unlike Steven, he welcomed her clinginess, just as he welcomed her willingness to spread her legs on the first date. It had been a long time for her, admittedly, because she and Fez felt way too weird doing anything beyond kissing. Nate was a pretty hard-working guy, but Jackie appreciated that he spent any free time he had with her. She was smitten, and she was pretty sure he was, too.
It was ten o'clock on a Friday night when Nate dropped Jackie off. She didn't want to stay the night because she had to be at work bright and early the next day.
Upon unlocking and entering the apartment, she was welcomed by Fez, who was nervously pacing in front of the door.
"Hi, Fez," Jackie greeted pleasantly, albeit with a confused tone.
Fez stopped pacing and looked at her. "Okay, Jackie, we need to talk." He grabbed her hand and led her to the couch before she even had time to take off her jacket.
Jackie felt concerned as she sat down next to him. "Fez, is everything okay?"
"No, no, everything is not fine," Fez admitted. He looked at the floor and sighed. "I know we said that things wouldn't be weird if we kept living together, and I am really sorry, Jackie, but this is weird. I did not expect you to start dating so soon."
"Oh." Jackie bit her lip and nodded. "Okay, I… I understand."
"I, however, may have found a solution," Fez offered. "Bob's house is empty now."
Before he could continue to speak, Jackie wrinkled her nose. "Fez, that would be so awkward; I mean, Donna isn't there anymore. It can't just be me and Bob."
"Okay, so maybe the Formans take you in and I can have Eric or Hyde take your room here," Fez suggested. "That was my other plan."
Jackie raised her eyebrows, the tension in the room becoming very apparent to her. "Fez, I… I can't be a charity case again."
"See, Jackie, Miss Kitty is very welcoming," Fez pointed out.
"Mr. Forman isn't," Jackie responded with a snort.
"But I am formally kicking you out," Fez stated. "You will have no place to go. You can offer them rent if that's how you feel."
"Okay, Fez, don't worry," Jackie mumbled. "I won't stay here. I just… I don't know."
"You can try your new boyfriend," Fez mentioned after slight hesitation.
Jackie quickly shook her head. "No, that is not an option. It's way too early for that, not to mention his place is kind of gross. It's a total bachelor pad." She frowned and looked at her hands. "How much time do I have?"
"I'm not giving you a time limit," Fez said, shaking his head in surprise.
"Okay, well…" She finally looked at her friend. "I'll talk to Mrs. Forman when I'm off on Sunday."
"That will be fine," Fez replied with a nod. He gave Jackie a sympathetic look. "I am very sorry, Jackie."
"No, Fez, I get it," Jackie admitted. "And, I'm glad that you were honest with me about how you feel."
"Yes, well… it is something I am working on with you," Fez said plainly. He stood up. "You have to be at work very early. Maybe you should get some sleep."
Jackie nodded. "You're right. I'll try."
She got up and headed to bed, although she was now wide-awake.
…
"Oh, honey, of course you can stay!" Kitty Forman's voice was as warm and welcoming as ever.
"What?" Eric asked, visibly upset from where he sat at the table across from his father.
Red cleared his throat and put down the paper. "Kitty, don't I get any say in you riddling this house with more kids?"
Jackie bit her lip and awaited the matron's response. This was the part she was nervous about. She knew how tough Red Forman could be after all of her years hanging out under his roof; hell, everyone knew.
"She is a young woman, Red, not a kid," Kitty pointed out.
"Well," Jackie interjected, "Fez actually was saying that maybe if Eric or Steven moved with him, it wouldn't be so intrusive of me… and it would help him with rent."
Eric opened his mouth and Kitty quickly shut him up.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," she mumbled. "My baby just got back from Africa. He is not moving away from me."
"Why the hell not?" Red asked, now intrigued by the concept.
"What about Steven?" Jackie inquired, just as Hyde retreated upstairs.
"What about me?" he muttered.
Jackie drew in a deep breath. "Fez thinks it's too weird if we live together, so I was gonna see if I could stay here and maybe you could live with him."
"Live with Fez?" Hyde snorted as he sat next to Eric at the table. "Yeah, that sounds real fun."
"But Steven, he's hardly even home," Jackie pointed out. Hyde looked unconvinced. "You'd get your own bedroom, and actual bedroom."
Hyde shrugged. "I don't know, man. I've gotten so used to sleeping in a storage room that I might start to act a little entitled if I had my own space." He darted his eyes toward Jackie behind his sunglasses. "Kinda like you."
"Okay, well." Jackie stopped to think. "The alternative is living here with me. So, think about it… Fez, or me?"
"Alright, you've convinced me," Hyde replied, with a light smack of satisfaction on the table.
Eric dropped his spoon into his bowl of cereal. "What, Hyde, no! You can't just… leave me here with her."
Jackie rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Listen, Eric, I'm not that difficult to live with. It's not like we hang out, anyways."
"She'd better not be difficult to live with," Red casually mentioned, still invested in his paper. "Or I'm blaming you." He glanced at Eric.
"What? Why me?" Eric asked, incredulous. "Mom's the one who—"
"Eric," Kitty uttered sternly. She looked at Jackie. "I'm sure that you will be a wonderful housemate, Jackie. It'll be nice to have another girl around, although I am sad to see my Steven go." She kissed the top of her surrogate son's puffy head while he pretended to be annoyed.
"I'll pay, too," Jackie insisted.
"No," Red grunted, setting down the paper and looking at the young woman. "You see, if you paid, that would make my house kind of like a hotel… and I am not running a damn hotel!"
"Yeah, I really am not comfortable taking money from you," Kitty agreed. "I know you've had gone through some… difficulties in the past year and I want to see you come into your own without me and Red draining your finances."
Jackie sighed. "I am not a charity case. I'm not like Steven, okay?"
"Hey, I paid my fair share of rent," Hyde pointed out.
"Alright, there are too many damn kids in this kitchen," Red muttered angrily as he stood up. "I'm going in the living room." He exited the kitchen.
Kitty rolled her eyes at her ornery husband. "So, Jackie, Steven… when do you want to do this?"
"I'd like to as soon as possible, honestly," Jackie admitted. "It's just… getting a little weird."
"Well, yeah, 'cause you're banging another dude in your ex-boyfriend's apartment," Hyde stated flatly.
"For your information, he has not been over once," Jackie stated defensively. "I'm being respectful of Fez, okay?"
Hyde smirked. "Yeah, you were real respectful when you started dating a dude a week after you guys broke up. I'm just surprised you're not trying to woo Forman, 'cause it seemed like you were just trying to make your way through all of us."
"Ew," Eric mumbled.
"Uh, no," Jackie responded sharply. "Steven, you're being kind of an ass so I'm just gonna leave." She stood up and grabbed her purse. "Thank you, Mrs. Forman."
"Yeah, and you're kind of a bitch," Hyde called after her as she exited the house.
Kitty gave him a disapproving look. "Maybe it's best that you two aren't under the same roof."
"Yeah, and now I'm stuck with her," Eric whined. "I mean, Jackie and I have only ever been alone maybe three times ever, and trust me, it never ends well."
"Nothing with Jackie ever ends well," Hyde retorted.
"Well, aren't you two a couple of party poopers," Kitty stated. "I'm just gonna leave you both to your negativity."
She exited the kitchen, leaving Hyde with the anticipation of living elsewhere and Eric with the discouraging notion of sharing a roof with Jackie.