…
"Let's give these two some privacy," Hyde mumbled, pulling Fez by his sleeve and heading to the basement, which left Jackie and Nate alone in the living room.
Jackie blinked at him, noticing his black eye and bloody nose.
"So…" He watched her, looking pathetic. "Guess you really are pregnant, huh?" He gestured toward her baby bump.
"Yes, I am, you ass," Jackie snapped, shooting daggers at him.
He said nothing and held his hand below his nose to stop the bleeding as she stared at him, waiting for him to say anything.
"Fine, just go and clean yourself up in the kitchen," Jackie told him. "There are paper towels on the counter. I'll be waiting in here."
Nate nodded slowly and went into the kitchen, leaving Jackie momentarily alone on the couch. She really wished Eric would come down so she wouldn't be by herself in this. Being alone with Nate now, after everything, just felt insanely awkward.
After a minute, Nate returned, clutching a couple of paper towels.
"So," Jackie mumbled from where she sat on the couch.
Nate stood behind Red's chair, unsure of what to say.
"What do you want?" she asked him, giving him an annoyed look.
"I just…" Nate paused, dabbing under his nose with one of the paper towels. "I wasn't expecting to get my ass kicked, that's for sure." He frowned. "Guess I deserved that."
"Uh huh," Jackie responded bitchily.
Nate began walking toward her. "Jackie…" He sat next to her on the couch and took one of her hands. "I know I was wrong. I even knew it when I said what I said, but… it just freaked me out. If I'm gonna be a parent, I wanna do it right, and at this point in my life I don't feel like I can do it right."
"How the hell do you think I feel?" Jackie asked, snatching her hand away from him. "I wasn't prepared for this, but I'm gonna do it. And guess what? I don't need you." She scowled at him. "I don't need your half-hearted apology and I'm not gonna feel bad for you just because you're all beat up. In fact, I would've done it myself if I weren't in this delicate condition."
Nate lightly snickered to himself. "Still feisty, huh?" He smirked at her while she glared at him in response. "I'm sorry, okay? I… I majorly screwed up, but I've thought it over and I'm ready to do this with you."
Jackie snorted. "Okay, where were you five months ago?"
"Being a bona fide asshole in asshole land," Nate admitted.
"Well, my son doesn't need you and neither do I," Jackie reiterated. "We have—"
"Wait… son?" Nate gave her a serious look. "We're having a boy?"
"I'm having a boy," Jackie told him. "You're having… nothing with a side of nobody!"
Nate lightly laughed, which only further enraged her. "Listen, we had a good thing going on. Can't we pick up where we left off?" He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean, me, you, and this little guy?" He patted her stomach and she winced. "We could be a real family… I know you haven't had one of those and neither have I."
Jackie groaned at him. He was saying the right things, but nothing he could ever say would change her mind. She loved Eric and she wanted that family with him, not Nate.
"Jackie." Nate lightly touched her shoulder. "You're just so beautiful." He began to lean in to press a kiss onto her lips.
"Okay, get away from her!" Eric's voice called out from the staircase.
Relieved, Jackie scooted backwards, away from Nate.
Nate narrowed his eyes at Eric. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm her boyfriend!" Eric told him, walking behind the couch. He placed his hand on Jackie's shoulders.
Nate smirked. "You're her boyfriend?" He tried to stifle a laugh. "You know she's pregnant, right? With my kid?"
"No," Eric replied defensively, nerves evident in his voice. "It's gonna be my kid, okay?"
Nate rolled his eyes and shifted focus to the brunette on the couch. "Jackie, baby, you can't be serious. This guy isn't even the one who kicked my ass. You're shacking up with him?"
"Yes," Jackie responded firmly. She stood up and disappeared into Eric's arms. "He's all I need," she mumbled. She turned her head so it was no longer buried in Eric's chest. "So you can just go away, okay?"
"Okay, you can be with this guy, and screw this guy, or whatever," Nate muttered, shaking his head. "But that doesn't change the fact that I gave you that child, okay? That's my son."
"That you didn't even want until, like, today!" Eric retorted, incredulous.
"Nah, man, I've given myself time to think," Nate told him defensively.
"Yeah, well, while you took your time, I was here for her and you weren't," Eric pointed out, caressing Jackie's back.
"Okay, but either way, I deserve to be in that kid's life," Nate argued.
"You forfeited that when you abandoned her," Eric refuted, and Jackie eagerly nodded along with him.
Nate rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so I'm young and stupid. At least I'm not coming back, like, two years later. It's only been a few months." His eyes focused on Jackie. "And if you weren't such a whore, you would've waited for me!"
Jackie's jaw dropped. "Wait for you?"
"Okay, that's it," Eric muttered, removing his grip on Jackie and standing in front of her. "Do you want your ass kicked again? 'Cause, believe me, I've been wanting to do this to you ever since you bailed."
Nate sneered and opened his mouth to say something, but Eric's fist hit his jaw before he could. Nate hit him back, and the two continued fighting as they yelled obscenities at each other.
"Guys!" Jackie yelled, watching them throw punches and feeling totally helpless.
"Jackie, get out of here," Eric told her; worried she could get hurt.
Jackie scurried into the kitchen and yelled for Fez and Hyde, who soon retreated up the stairs.
Hyde entered the living room and saw Nate and Eric. He rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and broke the two up, while Fez remained in the doorway of the living room with Jackie.
"Man, get the hell out of here!" Hyde snapped at Nate. He looked at Eric. "Forman, what the hell do you think you're doing, fighting around a pregnant chick?"
"He—he called her a whore," Eric breathlessly uttered.
Hyde's fist flew out and hit Nate in the nose. Nate fell back and hit the front door.
"Yeah, man, there's the door," Eric called out. "Just leave and don't come back."
Nate grunted, holding his nose in place. "You all," he said slowly, looking at everyone in the room, "Have got some serious issues. I was just trying to do the right thing."
"Yeah, well, you went too far!" Jackie yelled, trying to walk towards him, but Fez held her back.
Nate rolled his eyes and walked out of the front door.
Jackie ran over to Eric. "Baby, are you okay?" She put her hands on his face, studying the fresh cuts and bruises.
"I'm… I'm fine." He looked slightly defeated. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah… I'm okay." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a long kiss. "Don't scare me like that, though!"
Fez watched the show of affection with wide eyes, while Hyde tried not to groan.
Jackie fell into Eric's arms and looked over at her two exes. "Thank you, Steven, for what you did… and thanks for holding me back, Fez."
"You should know better," Fez reminded her.
"Yeah… whatever," Hyde mumbled from where he now sat on the couch.
"Aren't you gonna thank me?" Eric asked, feeling slightly offended as he looked down at the girl in his arms.
"Of course," Jackie replied, turning to face him although she was still wrapped in his arms. "Thank you, my prince charming."
He kissed her on the top of the head.
"Aww," Fez said, watching them. "It's like Jackie was on the Dating Game, but the three suitors did not work out, and then she found Eric." He grinned at his analogy.
"Was that a burn on me or you guys?" Eric wondered aloud.
"It doesn't matter," Jackie told him. "I'm just glad you're alright, you… you idiot."
"Hey, I defended your honor," Eric replied. "How would it look if Hyde did it but not me?"
"Yes, but, baby, Steven has… well, he's…" She trailed off, wondering how to put it without insulting him.
"I've kicked way more ass in my day," Hyde finished for her. "Meanwhile, Forman, you're fragile… like a pretty flower." He grinned menacingly at his friend.
Eric rolled his eyes. "Anyways, that guy was a total ass. I can't believe you dated him."
"To be honest, I never took him as someone who would act like that," Jackie admitted. "I mean, him coming to talk to me was fine and all, but—"
"You were fine with it?" Eric asked.
"Well, yeah," Jackie stated. "It's, like, I had so much I needed to say to get this weight off of my shoulders and now that I did, I feel amazing." A small smile formed on her face. "Although, watching him get his ass kicked was also pretty great."
"Okay, I was winning, right?" Eric looked around the room for reassurance.
Hyde cleared his throat. "You did better than I would have anticipated."
"You did wonderfully," Jackie added encouragingly. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Eric told her, lightly squeezing her closer to him.
"Yeah, well, that's about all the excitement I can take for today," Hyde commented. "Think I'll head back to the apartment for a circle. Feels weird doin' it here now that I'm not staying in the basement."
"But Steven, it's my birthday," Jackie insisted, pulling away from Eric. "You guys should be here. Mrs. Forman's making a pie."
"Nah, I can't take much more of you and Forman's sickening displays of affection," Hyde muttered.
Fez nodded in agreement. "Yes, we get it; you like each other!"
Eric smirked at his friends, feeling sorry for his girlfriend but also understanding where they were coming from.
"Okay, well, fine," Jackie mumbled. She walked towards them and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you very much for helping me handle that situation," she told them. "It was very sweet of you guys."
Hyde scoffed at the kiss, while Fez grinned. Ultimately, the two of them were happy that their friends were happy, despite the odd circumstances.
"Yeah, well, whatever," Hyde responded. "Just doing what a man should do."
"Jackie, I would gladly fight a guy for you," Fez told her. "Just… maybe like a very small guy."
Despite rolling her eyes at the comment, Jackie had a smile on her face.
…