THE RIGHT WAY AROUND.

Chapter 9 – Hyde and Jackie do Dating.

A/N: You all may hate me for taking this long to write this chapter but I have barely had time to tie my shoes in the morning what with all the schoolwork I have had to do. After this chapter, I will write one more that will go up at the weekend and we'll go from there. This story has accomplished almost everything I have wanted it to which is showing us that the relationship was not totalled after the Chicago fiasco. Anyway, please forgive me for the time taken but I hope you enjoy this more than anything. 'Cos it's the frickin date!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and after the crap the show spilled out in Season 8, I'm relieved to have nothing to do with the show.

SOMEWHERE IN AFRICA

It didn't take a lot to rock Eric Forman's world. Falling for a beautiful woman wrecked him and having her love him back did so even more. He had been faced with many important decisions in his young life, many of which were a result of his own screw-ups but nothing had been able to shake him to the extent as the letter he had just received from a life-long companion in Point Place had. Steven Hyde, one of his oldest friends, had taken it upon himself to be this month's news giver and had not failed in providing Eric with a thing or two to make him happy that he had gotten out when he had. Among the news of his mom's recent trip to the land of fewer brain cells and of Donna and Jackie's massive blow-up, was the revelation that Jackie and Hyde were headed full steam ahead to a normal, healthy relationship; three words that were not synonymous with the Jackie and Hyde he had left behind 8 weeks earlier.

Re-reading the fifth paragraph again, Eric carefully mouthed the words to himself as if it would provide him with a clearer understanding of what had possessed his friend to take a leaf out of his book pull his head out of his ass long enough to make the first decent decision Hyde had made in as long as Eric could remember.

"- so a bunch of stuff happened with her dad and before I knew it I was down on one knee, asking her out… "

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3 WEEKS EARLIER

GROOVES

"Hyde, man. What are you doing? We got customers to serve here." Leo reprimanded to his boss who was leaned over the counter writing a letter. Hyde's head snapped up.

"Di-di-did y-yo-you…" Hyde trailed off, struggling to breathe at the apparent lucidity of his favourite hippie.

Leo continued, "This giraffe isn't gonna feed itself, you know. Me and the panda over there can't handle everything by ourselves so get back to work." He stumbled off and Hyde felt his heartbeat return to its natural rhythm now that Leo had proven his complete lack of sanity to him. Shaking his head Hyde noticed that Leo was correct in saying that the store was slightly more full than usual, so he put down the barely started piece of writing and returned to helping do God's work by weeding out any Andy Gibb, ABBA, Journey, Elton John or Osmond fans and embracing those who had seen the darkness.

Forman will have to wait Hyde thought to himself.

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THE HUB

Kelso and Fez were seated around the table by the window, glaring furiously at the group of 6 young teenagers laughing and currently occupying the gang's usual booth. Fez couldn't bite his tongue any longer.

"I cannot believe those sons of bitches! When I came to America I was promised a land of freedom, fairness and sluts. And what have I seen? None of it, I tell you. None of it!" Fez breathed heavily and tightened his fist. Kelso shook his head in agreement.

"I know what you mean man. Except for the sluts thing. That's the one thing I love about this country. That, and balloon animals but they're just out of this world!" Kelso finished with a shriek. Jackie walked back from the bathroom and promptly sat herself down on the edge of her seat and bit her nails nervously. Gasping in horror, the two biggest perverts in Wisconsin stared crazily at their princess/ex do-it buddy.

"My God, Jackie, what's wrong?" Kelso started, looking at Jackie's chipped nails in concern.

Realising her actions, Jackie immediately stopped herself and smiled weakly at the pair. "Sorry, it's just my first date is with Steven tonight and I don't think I can handle the wait any longer. I swear I'm gonna bend him over the nearest table I see the second I see him if I have to wait any longer!" Her hands were shaking by this point and Fez was torn between feeling horny and feeling curious.

"Ah well, my horniness isn't going anywhere" Fez thought so, knowing there was a bathroom nearby in case things got a bit, erm, hard to handle, he decided to go with the latter and continue talking with Jackie.

"My princess, you really shouldn't worry yourself. Hyde is in love with you and he will make this the most memorable night of your life," Jackie smiled widely and thanked Fez. "And if need be, you can always bend me over the counter because I am quite limber I'll have you know." Fez said smiling like the loveable sicko he was.

"Aii!" Fez hollered after receiving yet another hit from Hyde. "Oh, hello there, Hyde. I didn't see you come in but just so you know, your head is looking as delicious as ever. My offer still stands, you know, so I'm ready to kiss it even if you are in the shower lathering up your well toned body" Fez rambled.

Hyde stared blankly at Fez. "Don't ever do that." Hyde finally replied. Focusing his attention back onto his girlfriend, they shared a shy smile with and he sat down beside her. Noticing her foot tapping against the floor impatiently, Hyde rolled his eyes and threw his arm casually around her shoulders and she leaned into him immediately. Kelso seemed to have only just noticed Hyde and looked at him quizzically.

"Hey Hyde, shouldn't you be at the store or something?" Kelso inquired.

"Shouldn't you be at the station or something?" Hyde retorted, eating off of Jackie's untouched plate.

"Nah, I was just telling these guys. I got a week's vacation. It's unpaid and I had to get out of there in a hurry but it was a sweet deal after I let our dogs sit in the old execution chair. Man, my job is the best. I thought I'd get in trouble for sure considering what happened." Kelso smiled, oblivious.

Hyde nudged Jackie. "What happened?"

She paused in thought for a moment before answering, "Well, let's just say the Golden Retriever is not so Golden anymore." Hyde's eyes widened.

"Kelso, you didn't!"

"Well how was I supposed to know a dry sponge could give a dog full-blown syphilis?" Kelso yelled in defence.

"Michael, it wasn't syphilis! You skinned its hair! It was like full-body alopecia! Jackie shouted back. Hyde muttered to himself at his friend's seemingly growing stupidity but then saw that Fez was glaring at something over his shoulder and he once again nudged Jackie to look at whatever Fez was seething at.

Jackie groaned, "Oh, get over it Fez. It's not like nobody else has ever sat in our seats before." She soon regretted her words when Fez whipped his head around to her and shot her daggers.

"It is not just the fact that they are sitting in OUR seats that have been OUR seats longer than Charlie's Angels have been on the air! It is the fact that they could not see past their own pale and pasty faces and include someone of another ethnic group in their little clique!" Fez shot up and stormed off out of the Hub, leaving a room full of bewildered faces.

"And on that note…" Hyde started, standing up, "…I better get back to work. There's only so long a guy can fob off the accountant before he starts wondering where all our receipts are going."

"Now Steven, do you want to end up going down the same road as my dad did?" Jackie warned.

"Don't worry, babe. I'm using them for my own pleasure but not in that way." Hyde smirked.

Jackie's eyes widened in realisation. "Oh! You mean-"

"Oregano!" Hyde interrupted, stopping Jackie from blurting out something he would rather keep as a rumour.

Jackie smiled apologetically and stood up to give him a quick kiss. "I'll see you tonight then?" she reminded him.

"Yep."

"And you won't tell me where we're going?"

"Nope."

"But I do have to wear something tight?"

"Well, damn Jackie. Even that's an obvious one." Kelso interjected. Jackie slapped the top of his head and returned her focus to her boyfriend.

"Well, just so you know, I want something momentous. I'm talking carriages, horses, champagne, pianists; the works! I ain't some piece of street trash, yo!" Jackie clarified. Hyde just stared at her.

"No more Richard Pryor on cable!" he told her and left.

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THAT NIGHT

HYDE'S ROOM

Having just walked through an empty living room, kitchen, and basement, Hyde was half-expecting to see his friends or the Formans' gathered in his room. No such luck. Grateful for the solitude, Hyde flopped down on his bed and silently cursed himself for leaving the store with a newbie. When Hyde had returned from the Hub, there was a queue lined up from the cash register to the listening pit and the phone was ringing incessantly. After a few more mishaps, Hyde promptly fired Randy for turning the place into such a circus. He felt a bit guilty but Randy had been screwing up since the moment he had been hired and Hyde wasn't prepared to let his store go down the pits, regardless of his work ethic. Letting out a loud moan, Hyde sat up and checked the clock, realising he had just over an hour before he had to pick up Jackie. Smiling to himself, he couldn't wait until she saw what he had in store for them tonight.

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45 MINUTES LATER

JACKIE'S ROOM

"So he hasn't told you a thing?" Jackie asked through the bathroom door.

"No, all he ever writes about is how scary it is out there and how needed he is to everyone. But apparently I am not everyone because has given me absolutely no indication that he is even thinking of coming back." Donna said, sighing. "I know I should be really supportive of Eric. But I just really miss him and I hate having to listen to him talk about all the people he is with when he should really be with me." Walking around the room, Donna fingered one of the dozens of stuffed unicorns and looked at it sadly. "You got off easy. People keep you around for years just by how cute you are to look at." she said to it.

"Aw, thank you, Donna!" Jackie said through the door.

"No, I wasn't talking to you." Donna replied without thinking but began to panic when there was a moment's pause.

"Then… who were you talking to?" Jackie inquired.

"Uh…" Donna was blushing; embarrassed that she had been caught talking to a toy. "Nobody, just myself you know?" she said, laughing it off.

"My poor Donna. Rule number four of talking to yourself is that you always tell the truth." Donna's mouth opened in offence and she was about to retaliate before remembering that this was Jackie she was talking to.

Taking a different approach, Donna asked, "So what are the first three rules?"

Jackie sighed and began, "Well, rule number one is that you only do it when you are sad or desperate." Donna rolled her eyes and envisioned herself kicking a Jackie shaped ball down a field. "Rule number two is that you never do it when it is about a boy, and rule number-"

"Jackie, are there any rules that will not make me look like a pathetic loser?" Donna interrupted, growing increasingly frustrated at the never-ending tirade of abuse she received from her.

"Donna, if you only want me to say things that make you look good, then we are not going to have a hell of a lot less to talk about." Jackie replied.

"Oh, Jackie just forget it because you-!" Donna stopped mid-sentence when she saw Jackie step out into the room and give her a shy twirl.

"So, do I look OK? It's been so long since I have been out on a date that I'm not really sure what to wear. Steven usually just liked me wearing my cheerleader uniform or more often that not, nothing at all. But this is-"

"Jackie, shut up." Donna said, smiling in amazement. Stepping up to her she continued, "You look beautiful." Jackie smiled widely and embraced her friend in a tight hug. Donna had barely had time to wrap her arms around Jackie when the hug was caught short.

"As touching as this moment is, I will go psycho on your ass if my outfit gets creased!" Jackie joked. They both shared a laugh but stopped when they heard a car pull up. "Oh, my God! It's Steven!" Jackie practically flew out of the room and down the stairs leaving a bemused Donna trailing after her.

"Jackie, wait up!" she called.

Jackie paused at the bottom of the stairs and waited impatiently as Donna joined her. "What? I have to go before I wet myself."

"Well as sexy as that is…" Donna trailed off with a disgusted look. "You might want to take a breath and remember that this is Hyde's first date as well so he is going to be just as nervous as you."

"Yeah, but he is hardly the kind of guy to show it. I'll have to just see how it goes."

Shaking her head, Donna tried to get Jackie to comprehend what she was saying.

"Forget about Zen. What was Hyde before that? What was the one thing he had that every other man had? The one thing that puts him in exactly the same category as every other guy out there?"

Jackie shrugged her shoulders. "His hairy chest?"

Breathing loudly to control herself, Donna tried again.

"Close. What else does he have?" she said slowly.

"Hairy arms." Jackie said.

"Not exactly." Donna said softly.

"His hairy legs?"

"No-"

"His hairy ankles?"

"A PENIS, JACKIE! PENIS! PENIS! PENIS!"

"My kind of girl." Hyde smirked, walking into the foyer.

The ladies spun around and turned red with embarrassment.

"Hyde!" "Steven!" they announced in unison.

Jackie pushed Donna out of the way and went up to put her hands on Hyde's chest. "We were, um, just, um, talking about, um… what Eric is really lacking in!" Jackie yelled, relieved to have found an answer. "Weren't we, Donna?"

"You know, I don't need to know about what Forman has got. Or doesn't for that matter." Hyde said, freaked. He attempted to regain his composure but that was shot to hell when he took in Jackie's appearance. What she was wearing seemed pretty irrelevant to him because at the moment, all he could take in was that she looked absolutely breathtaking. How the hell could I have slept with her for two years and never noticed how beautiful she is? Jackie had noticed Hyde's penetrating gaze at her and she felt buoyed by his reaction. Taking his hand, she led him out into the hall and waved a short goodbye to Donna. Once they had reached the path, Jackie realised that Hyde was without his sunglasses meaning that she was fully aware of how focused he was on her.

"Steven?" she questioned.

Hyde heard her but had apparently forgotten that the normal response to a question was to speak an answer. Or to speak. Period.

"Ste-ven?" she tried again in a sing-song voice. Jackie decided that since Hyde wouldn't be answering her anytime soon, it would be better if she just ushered him to the car.

Getting in, Hyde slowly put the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the driveway, all the while keeping his gaze focused on anything but Jackie. The last thing he needed was being in court charged with dangerous driving by cause of a hard-on the size of the Empire State Building.

Twenty minutes into the drive, Hyde's silence had turned Jackie's glee into pure nervousness. Sure, it had been nice to have him literally speechless at the sight of her, but an awkwardly silent Hyde was much more difficult to handle than a pissed off/jubilant/turned on/depressed silent Hyde. However, they had been driving for almost half an hour and Jackie decided that enough was enough.

"Look, Steven, this silence was flattering but now it's just creepy. How about we try some flirting, huh?" she asked while looking closely at him. To her surprise, he turned and looked at her for a moment before shrugging and returning his attention to the road.

"That's cool." Hyde said in a sincere, un-Hyde way. In fact, Jackie didn't know how to handle the un-Hyde Hyde since it had taken her so long to adapt to the Hyde Hyde.

However, he hadn't been silent for 20 minutes purely because of how hot she looked. That had only taken up 7 minutes and 34 seconds according to the clock strapped to his dashboard. Hyde had spend the rest of the time feeling completely terrified at what he was supposed to do now that they were actually on a date. It was foreign territory for the pair of them and with their history; things were not bound to go smoothly.

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10 MINUTES LATER

Hyde had livened up a bit and they were now in the middle of a very animated debate about why Jackie thought headlights should be dark purple with a light pink middle so that people could be blinded in a fashionable way. In her eyes, it would provoke less road rage. Hyde, however, couldn't disagree more and argued that any guy who flashed him purple and pink lights had better pray to God for a safe trip to whatever ditch Hyde could throw them into fast enough. Hyde was about to respond to the absurdity Jackie's comment that his car should be her test model when she suddenly pulled out a long, wide book from under her seat and laid it open on her lap.

"Jackie, what the hell is that?" he quizzed.

"It's the Jackie and Steven date diary. Duh!" Jackie scolded, holding up the book to show him the half pink, half navy cover which had two pictures of them glued to the front with a heart surrounding them.

"And why was it in my car and why the hell am I in a big heart?" Hyde's voice was rising and Jackie was quick to appease him.

"Well, I put you in the crooked half of the heart. See?" she said, quickly pointing to the half of the heart which was pointed and rough compared to the smooth half that encompassed her picture. "You agreed to date me, Steven. And if you thought I was obsessive before, or with Michael, then you are sadly mistaken." Jackie finished, not looking up from her work.

In the last hour, Hyde's face had gone from amused, to stunned, to nervous, and now to completely freaked out. He swore right there and then that if he didn't get laid tonight, then the pages of that book were going to help provide him the sweetest bonfire. Seeing the sign for their destination, Hyde stopped the car.

"We're here." Hyde said.

Jackie looked around at the field they had stopped at. Too confused to say anything, she stared at her boyfriend.

"We should probably get going." Hyde added. He got out and walked around to her door and gave her his hand to help her out. "Oh, hey could you give me my keys. I left them on my seat." Hyde smiled at her and she turned and bent in to get his keys. However, she soon lost her vision when she felt herself blindfolded.

"What the hell?!" she screamed while grasping the doorframe. Hyde chuckled at her pose.

"It's all part of the surprise." he reassured her. Standing her up, he led her forward and in the distance, music and laughter could be heard. They were almost there…

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Jackie had been blindfolded for almost five minutes but was aware of the loud noises around her and the sounds of people laughing and joking. Suddenly, the blindfold came off and Jackie was speechless.

"You brought me to a carnival?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Yep." Hyde said, proud of himself. Jackie, however glared at him.

"That's the best thing you could think of to do for our first date?"

"Nope." Hyde replied. "It's the best thing you could think of to do for our first date." This comment left Jackie a bit lost for words. A little off-put by her confusion, Hyde reminded her…

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SEPTEMBER 1978

HYDE'S ROOM

Jackie: Wait a minute. You're mad at me for telling Donna a secret? Steven, I tell secrets, it's who I am.

Hyde: Look, all I'm saying is if you're gonna be my girlfriend, you can't go running around shooting off your big, fat cheerleader mouth.

Jackie: You just called me your girlfriend.

Hyde: No, I didn't.

Jackie: Yes, you did.

Hyde: No, I didn't.

Jackie: Yes, you did.

Hyde: No, I didn't.

Jackie: Yes, you did, and shut up. You're ruining it. Okay, now listen to me. (Jackie moves to sit by him and puts one leg over his as she faces him.) I'll keep my mouth shut if you admit that I'm your girlfriend.

Hyde: No, the price is too high.

Jackie: Okay, fine. You know what? I'm telling everybody everything anyways, starting with the fact that you called me your girlfriend.

Hyde: You're blackmailing me? (Jackie nods and Hyde grins.) You're coming along nicely. (They kiss.)

Jackie: So, now that I'm your girlfriend you're gonna have to take me out on dates.

Hyde: Sure, and then we can go play with unicorns and talk about how great Kelso is in bed. (Hyde frowns)

Jackie: Look, Steven, the entire time I was with Michael I could only get him to take me out as long as I paid.

Hyde: Yeah, well I don't care if he made you drive the cab, I'm not taking you to some roller disco or ABBA tribute show. (scoffs)

Jackie: No, that's what we do on our anniversary. The perfect first date is… going to the carnival! (Hyde stares) I never got to go when I was younger because of well… (Jackie clears her throat) it wasn't seen as something my family would do but I swore that I would get my boyfriend to take me to one on our first date. So you just tell me where and when. (Jackie smiled while Hyde stood up and left)

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END FLASHBACK

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"So, I'm telling you here and now." Hyde said softly but inside he was already preparing to say goodbye to his balls because there was no way he could keep them after this. Oh, crap! Jackie lifted her head and tears were streaming down her cheeks. He took her in his arms and she clung to him fiercely. After a few minutes, her tears began to subside so Hyde brushed away some of the tears from her face.

Jackie was still too awed to speak and instead leaned up to him and captured his mouth so that she could show him how overcome she was.

The pair stood, locked in their kiss, and to passers by, they appeared to be nothing other than a happy, young couple in love.

And for the first time, that was what they were.

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"Steven! Quick, quick!" Jackie said to him as she rushed towards the carousel. Hyde, meanwhile, was barely moving as he was weighed down by the stuffed panda, the stuffed, horse, the stuffed, duck, the stuffed pig, the stuffed, dog, the stuffed bear, and of course, the stuffed unicorn. Not to mention the bag slung over his shoulder which was overflowing with candy for Fez, an inflatable axe for Donna, a toy shotgun for Red, a beer bong for Kelso, and a witch's hat for Kitty.

Hyde eventually caught up with Jackie and she smiled lovingly at him. Hyde put the items down and bent over to catch his breath. Jackie patted his hair and couldn't get over at how perfect he was being. Even though he had told her over, and over again that this was a one time thing, Jackie didn't care because it was worth dealing with the old Hyde for the rest of her life if she could keep with her the memory of this night.

"So, are you coming or not?" Jackie asked when he had settled down.

"On the carousel? No, I think I'll just go ahead with the testicle removal. 'Cos that would be a hell of a lot less painful, babe." Hyde smiled and Jackie relented, surprisingly.

"OK, but I am going on regardless because I told you that I wanted horses, carriages, champagne, and the works." Jackie stated.

"But you forget. We already have those." Hyde said, holding up everything he had won for her after she had taunted his masculinity. He knew she had been trying to get a rise out of him by making him win her the prizes but he figured there was no point in suddenly acting macho. Plus, he had gotten a scorching kiss everytime the vendor handed him the prize so he figured he could handle a little more torture.

"Not enough, Steven. I have loved carousels longer than I have loved you so there's nothing that can stop me now." Jackie grinned and stuck her tongue out at him. She turned around and climbed onto the horse while Hyde smiled despite himself.

A few minutes later, the carousel was full and began to move round and round. Jackie felt like she was on cloud nine at that very moment as she was fulfilling at childhood dream of having her boyfriend take her to the carnival. Things were better with her dad after their meeting in the park and she knew that, given time, she might have a somewhat normal family. With that issue gone from her mind, she simply let herself enjoy the moment and worry about life another time.

As the ride ended, Jackie felt completely exhilarated and launched onto Hyde, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Hi." She said sweetly.

"Hi." Hyde replied, in a mockingly sweet voice.

"Watch it." Jackie warned him, playfully.

"Oh, no. I think that after everything I have done for you tonight, I should at least be able to make one sarcastic comment.

Jackie shook her head. "My sweet Steven. You don't seem to understand that you don't get to do anything anymore unless I tell you." she reminded him lightheartedly.

"It's how Red always told me it would be." Hyde said in reflection. Hyde tapped her thighs making her jump down. He smirked, grabbed her hand, and said, "Come on. We've got one more ride to go on." Jackie looked at him quizzically before he started running with her dragging behind him.

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5 MINUTES LATER

"Raise your arms!" the operator hollered and Jackie and Hyde did just that as the bar was moved down over them.

"OK, even this is a bit too scary. I can only handle the sweetness for so long before it starts to unnerve me. How can you possibly be willing to ride a ferris wheel? Don't you know that even Eric wouldn't be girly enough to do this?" Jackie joked.

"Well, you see, most guys think a ferris wheel is supposed to be romantic so they never do it. But…" Hyde trailed.

"But?"

"It's the ultimate aphrodisiac." Jackie looked perplexed. "High up, under the stars, nobody to interrupt you, and nobody who can see you." Jackie's furrowed brow quickly turned into a wicked smile.

"Oh, you are so the guy's guy." Hyde laughed and like a couple of French people at a frenching festival, they started frenching.

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BACK IN AFRICA

"… So as tempted as I was to go ahead with the sex change, Jackie has been making it worth my while.

So I'm less pissed off again and you're not even around to see it. That sucks, man. Come home soon because I can't wait for you to see Han and Leia get it on-"

"That's just sick, Hyde!" Eric yelled out, startling the entire classroom. Eric put his head back down and finished off the letter.

"…But, whatever Forman. You're doing good out there and we're all doing pretty good back here. Except for… well you don't need me to go into it.

See ya.

Hyde. \o-o/

Eric sighed to himself and knew what, or who, Hyde wasn't going to talk about. Damn he thought.

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ONE MONTH LATER

POINT PLACE

FORMAN BASEMENT

Jackie sat on the couch with a completely blank expression. Before she had any more time to wallow, the door opened and in walked her boyfriend with a look that she recognized as "I'm happy but don't expect to know why". But Jackie noticed something different about him and as soon as he had told her his reason for being so happy, she blurted out her reason for being so glum.

"I own Grooves!"

"I'm pregnant."

To be continued.

A/N: See? Isn't pure fluff nice every once in a while. Well, almost pure fluff. :p Sucky ending but it wasn't going to be a meaningful revelation in my eyes. Hyde was frighteningly out of character but the same could be said for him in Season 8 so that's my excuse lol. Hope it was worth the wait because we are nearing the end of our ride so could you please prepare for the final stop by dropping me a review

Stay safe.