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Now and Then

March 16, 1980

Chicago

Jackie stood nervously in front of her ex boyfriends door. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, cursing herself for not wearing more practical shoes. She had wanted to look her best when she arrived, to ask him for a favor. Hesitantly, she raised her hand to knock on the door but before she could, she heard yelling him from inside the third floor apartment.

"Damnit, Brooke!" Kelso screamed, and something hit the door. Jackie jumped back in surprise. She had never heard such anger in his voice before. She hadn't seen him much in the last year, he had moved to Chicago, and had a child. But she had always assumed that things with him and Brooke had been good. It seemed, now that she had been wrong. It was now silent in the apartment, so she decided to take a chance. Quietly she knocked on the door.

She hardly recognized him when he opened the door. His hair was unwashed, his face was unshaven, and he looked exhausted. Jackie smiled at him hesitantly.

"Michael? I was wondering, if um…maybe could I stay here awhile?" Kelso looked at her with a look of surprise. He could see that she had been crying, probably all day, and with out hesitation he enfolded her in a warm hug.

"What's up? Are you ok?" He pulled her into his relatively tidy apartment, and sat her on his couch. He waited patiently as she explained that she had left Point Place in the middle of the night. She had called a cab, after leaving notes for Donna and Fez on the kitchen counter. Things just weren't working out in her relationship with Fez, she didn't love him, and she was afraid that all the two of them were going to do was ruin their friendship.

Then there was her 'friendship' with Steven. The two of them had once again started the subtle flirting that had already led them down the road to heartache. Jackie needed to get out of Point Place, before she made any more mistakes. She needed some time to get away and re-evaluate, so she could figure out what it was she wanted from her life.

"You're the only person I know who's not living in Point Place. I just thought maybe I could stay here for a while until I figure everything out, I mean if you don't mind?" Kelso looked at her warmly.

"Of course you can stay here. I have an extra room, it was Betsy's but…" his sentence trailed off, and Jackie looked at him with concern.

"What's happened, Michael?" He sighed, not knowing where to start, or how to explain that there was nothing he could do to keep from losing his daughter forever.

"Brooke's getting married…and the guy lives in California. Brooke and Betsy are going to move out there…and he…he's going to adopt Betsy." Jackie's heart broke for him, and she pulled him to her shoulder and let him cry there.

July 4, 1980

Eric Forman's House

2:45 a.m.

Jackie sat on Hyde's bed rocking herself back and forth, her arms wrapped around her knees pulled up under her chin. She tried to ignore the things being yelled out in the other room, by thinking of the day she had moved in with her boyfriend.

Jackie hadn't noticed it right away, but Kelso had changed. This man wasn't the boy she had grown up with. The loss of his daughter and the depression he felt about it had made him drown his sorrows in alcohol. He became angrier, mostly with himself for not fighting Brooke more, for believing her when she told him he would never be a good enough father, for signing the papers that allowed Brooke to denote the title of Betsy's father on a different man.

The yelling in the other room had ceased, and she heard a soft knock on the door, and Hyde's voice calling her name. She got up off of the cot, and pain shot through her hips. She walked to the door and opened it, standing back awkwardly as Hyde walked into the room. It had been a long time since she had been in this small room, alone with him. He sat on the cot and rested his head in his hands. Jackie could hardly stand up her hips were hurting her so bad, so she leaned gently on a dresser across the room, trying not to wince in pain. Finally he looked up at her.

"Jackie, what the hell is going on with you guys?" Silent tears began flowing down her cheeks again. She didn't know where to start. Hyde stood up and crossed the room to her, but when he enfolded her in his arms, she flinched, and he stood back to look at her.

"What's wrong?' He asked her tenderly, but she just gestured to her aching hips. Hyde lifted her gently and laid her small body on his cot. He looked up into her eyes, and again was struck by the trust there.

"Jackie, I'm going to pull your clothes off ok? I want to see where you're hurt." She nodded at him, still having said nothing since he had returned to the room. He leaned down, gently unbuttoning her pants, and slid them off her tiny legs, and had to suck in a breath to keep himself from audibly gasping.

Jackie's hips were peppered in bruises. Finger and hand shaped bruises. They were obviously fresh, and he guessed that she had gotten them during her altercation with Kelso earlier that evening. He looked at Jackie's face once again, tearing his eyes from the ugly bruising covering her hips and torso. She was looking at the bruises, and now sobs were issuing from her throat.

"He didn't mean to, he was drunk…and I went to walk away from him and he grabbed me…I just think, I think he didn't know how rough he was being." Hyde didn't care how drunk Kelso was; he had no right to leave marks like this on his girlfriend. Hyde slid up on the cot so he was right nest to Jackie's face.

"How did you hurt your cheek?" She reached up to touch the gash, but he stopped her. It didn't look like she needed stitches, but he was sure her beautiful face would carry a scar. He would wait until the morning and get Mrs. Forman's opinion.

She sniffed and began speaking, she told him how they had argued, and she had slapped Kelso. Hyde wasn't surprised that Jackie had caught Kelso cheating, he was surprised, however, that she had actually confronted him about it. He was relieved that Kelso hadn't purposely caused the gash on her face, but quickly became angry again when she told him Kelso had slapped her. He wasn't really sure how to handle the situation, but his first instinct was to protect Jackie, so he was going to go with that.

"Jackie, baby, you have blood all over you. I'm going to go get a washcloth so I can clean you up, ok? Just wait here." She nodded, completely trusting him, and he felt angry, suddenly. She shouldn't trust him. He had repeatedly hurt her, and yet she felt safe with him. He didn't deserve that. He was even angrier that he had chased her into a relationship with Kelso; that was obviously destroying both of his friends. If only he had told her everything that night almost five months before. He stood up and went upstairs to get something to clean Jackie up with.

By the time he had cleaned Jackie's face and hands, she seemed to have relaxed a lot more.

"Thank you Steven." She said quietly after he had given her one of his shirts to wear. He smiled; it was nice to hear her call him that.

"Anything for you, doll" he replied, shrugging hit off. He sat next to her again on the cot.

"No, don't act like it's nothing. It means something to me that when I need help or I'm in trouble, I can come to you." She snuggled into his side, and something in him rejoiced. He had so missed the feeling of her there with him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder reassuringly.

"Look you can sleep in here, I'll go out on the couch, ok?" He pushed her back under the covers, and she smiled sleepily up at him. "Good night, baby." He whispered as he closed the door behind him. It felt so nice to have her here with him. He sighed when he thought about Kelso. He didn't want to think about what was going to happen tomorrow. He felt bad for his friend, he knew that he had had a rough couple of months, and he couldn't imagine losing a child that way. But that didn't make it ok for him to treat his girl like crap.

Hyde lay on the little couch, trying to get comfortable, and finally he drifted off. He got the best nights sleep he had had in five months. The next morning he tried to convince himself that it wasn't because Jackie was there in the house with him again.