THE RIGHT WAY AROUND.
Chapter 14 – Full Circle.
A/N: Hey again. Seems like a guilt trip and a cliffhanger are the best ways to fuel reviews because you all rocked last time. :) Really, thank you for everything. Now we're at the end of this story and I am really sad to see this end, but it is definitely the right time to go. Thank you for everything and… well, we'll talk more at the end. Happy reading.
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.
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FORMAN HOUSE
"All I said was that you might have had just a little too much to drink. That's all." Red said as he chased his tiny but speedy wife into the house. But Red nearly jumped back into his Corvette when Kitty whipped around and fixed him with a deathly glare.
"That's all?" Kitty asked evenly. "Thanks to you interrupting my conversation with Nicole Macy, this entire town is going to think I am some old drunk! Oh, you, you… ogre-face!" And with a flustered sigh, Kitty threw her bag down on the counter and stormed out to the dining room but came back in a moment later. "And since you seem to be so intent on looking after my best interests, I suggest you lock the garage door extra tight tonight. We wouldn't want the police coming after me for wrapping a car around a tree." Flouncing out again, Kitty quickly climbed the stairs and left Red to break out the emergence wine and the framed picture of Casey Kelso he used for the real emergencies.
That ought to do it Red thought with a grimace.
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FORMAN BATHROOM
Jackie could have sworn she just heard someone come up the stairs, but in her weakened state she couldn't yell loud enough to draw any attention to herself. And this was a first for Jackie Burkhart.
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RED AND KITTY'S ROOM
"That grouchy bastard thinks he can tell me when I have had too much to drink when he spent the entire night putting traffic cones around that stupid car."
Kitty's incessant muttering was bordering on psychotic as she folded, unfolded and re-folded clothes and put them into her dresser. After finally coming down for a breath, she grabbed her dressing gown and went across the hall to the bathroom to change. But just as she began to open the door, she noticed that Eric's door was wide open and that he was nowhere to be seen.
"RED!!!"
"I'm here Kitty, I'm here." Red announced as he bounded up the stairs, wine and photo in hand and a hopeful smile on his face.
Grasping his shirt collars, Kitty proclaimed, "Is alcohol all you think about? Our son has been kidnapped for God's sake!" Kitty ran to the top of the stairs and looked back at Red. "On second thought." She ran back to him, grabbed the wine out of his hand and then ran back down the stairs.
Red stood there, unsure if it was safer for him to go calm her down or to go to bed. Deciding the latter might have him waking up to a sight scarier than the Korean trenches, he begrudgingly walked back down to the living room where Kitty was most likely packing up an arsenal.
But while these two were trying to find their son, Jackie was soaked with sweat on the bathroom floor and was just trying to remain conscious. However, with nobody coming to her rescue anytime soon, this soon became a lost cause and for her, everything faded to black.
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FRENCHIE'S RESTAURANT
W.B. put up with a lot in this lily-white community, but the restaurant he was currently dining in with his son was co clichéd that even clichés would be embarrassed to be associated with it. But before he had any more time to dwell on his reasons for not selling the only remaining Grooves in this 'rhythm-less town' as he had once called it, he felt forced to bring to attention Hyde's distracted behaviour. "Son." W.B. said with a tap on the table.
"Huh?" Hyde asked with only faint awareness although it only took a moment for him to realize W.B. was talking to him. "Oh sorry, what was it you were saying?" Hyde asked him with full attention this time.
W.B. smirked. "I was just wondering why you seem so… distracted tonight. Normally you jump at the chance of a free meal. Even if it is in a place which seems to be painted in cheese." Boy, he had a million of these.
Hyde just shook his head and attempted a laugh. "No, no. It's just Jackie, you know?" he asked him concerned. W.B. gave a chuckle.
"Ah, yes. The final weeks syndrome."
Hyde looked at him in confusion. "The final what?"
"Final weeks. Of the pregnancy." W.B. clarified and Hyde nodded his head in false understanding. "Steven, every father-to-be gets like this just before they actually become a father. Why, I remember when Angie's mother was almost ready to give birth. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. Hell, I couldn't work." Hyde gave a genuine laugh this time as he tried to envision his father not wanting to do business. "I was so terrified that I would miss the birth that I didn't go to the bathroom for three weeks." Upon Hyde's bewildered reaction to this, W.B. grimaced. "You probably didn't need to know that part, huh?"
Hyde put his hand up to stop W.B. from continuing. "Thanks W.B. but I don't think I have 'final weeks syndrome or anything. I've just had this really bad feeling today about Jackie." Hyde said quietly.
W.B. leaned in to him. "How so?" he asked concerned.
Rubbing his hand over his eyes, Hyde sighed. "I don't know. It's just… Jackie looked kind of pale today and when I talked to her a couple of hours ago, she sounded pretty sick. Like she had the flu or something."
Perhaps he was mistaken, but W.B. couldn't remember another time when Hyde had actually came to him with a serious concern of his that didn't involve work or locking girls in basements. Now he was actually looking to him to give him some fatherly advice. "Look Steven, Jackie has Red and Kitty with her right now. You know that the second she needs you, they will fine a way of letting you know." Hyde didn't look remotely reassured but he tried for W.B's sake, seeing as how they didn't share fears and secrets that often. Both men looked for ways to change the subject without being too obvious and an idea seemed to strike W.B. first.
"Why don't you tell me why you wanted to meet?" he asked his son, surprised that he hadn't asked this earlier. But with Hyde being distracted for so long, it seemed like the purpose of this late dinner had been forgotten.
"Right. Um… this is gonna sound a bit strange coming from me." Hyde told him.
W.B. nodded. "And considering the thing you normally say, I expect this would actually sound normal coming from anybody else. Am I right?" he asked jokingly. Hyde grinned at the ease that had returned to their conversation.
"Pretty much."
A few moments of silence passed where Hyde appeared to have forgotten to speak and resumed eating his meal. "Steven." W.B. said quickly and Hyde looked up. "You were saying… nothing."
Hyde nodded and cleared his throat. "Right, OK, right." His palms were actually sweating so much that the fabric on his jeans was beginning to wear from rubbing them with his hands so much. "I just wanted to ask you, about you know… being a parent."
W.B. blinked. "OK. What would you like to know?"
Hyde stuttered over his next sentence and quickly grew frustrated. This wasn't even about opening up to somebody. This was more about risking the good thing he had going with his father. "Why weren't you one?" he asked out of the blue and W.B. immediately looked confused. "To me, I mean." Hyde clarified.
Speechless summed up William Barnett's current state of mind and Hyde took it upon himself to rely on some old Zen tactics that could make this silence more bearable. Eventually though, W.B. opened his mouth.
"Steven, this really isn't an easy thing to answer. I mean, your mom was a great lady but back then… hell, even now… it's… it probably would have done more harm than good for Edna and I to try and make things work." Hyde laughed bitterly.
"Yeah, because my childhood was so dandy with Bud and her as parents." W.B. sighed again.
"That's not what I mean, Steven. I just thought that being part of a family where your father was a struggling businessman, not to mention black, would have made people treat you like an outcast. Or more of one." Hyde was understandably angered by W.B's explanation.
"That's crap, W.B." Hyde retorted. "In my entire childhood I made three friends and had to rely on somebody else's mom to make sure I was fed and clothed properly. Yet, you want me to believe that I was better of that way?" Hyde's voice was beginning to rise.
W.B. knew that he wasn't going to make Hyde see his point this way so another idea struck him. "Steven, what did you think of Angie when you first met her?"
Hyde frowned. Why the hell is he asking me this? "She was a spoiled, two-faced pain in the ass who would screw anybody over if need be. And she used too much hairspray." Hyde was especially truthful with that last part because her huge 'fro made her an easy target for Fez to store candy without her knowing about it.
"Exactly." W.B. told him. "And that's how you might have turned out if I played a part in your life. Imagine how different things would be if you had been one of the rich kids." This comment sent Hyde into deep thought as he pictured being the embodiment of every student he had ever beaten up. He also pictured never becoming friends with Forman, Kelso and Donna as well as never hanging out in the basement. Never claiming his chair. Never moving into his room. Never burning Laurie over dinner. Never meeting Fez. And never having the hardest summer of his life.
"I did what I thought was right, Steven. Maybe it wasn't what was best for you but it seemed like the only choice at the time. And, Edna and Bud were not always so bad. They even used to do the laundry." Hyde chuckled. "Red and Kitty, now. They were born parents. Me? I'm a born businessman." Raising his glass, W.B. toasted, "Here's hope that you got a little bit of both in you."
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FORMAN KITCHEN
Almost an hour after Kitty began her vicious manhunt of the phonebook to see if anybody knew where Eric had ended up; in he walked through the door leading into the living room with a huge smile in his face and an equally ecstatic former redhead at his side. Kitty jumped out of her chair and launched herself into her baby's arms.
"Oh, Eric I was worried. Who took you? Was it the Canadians?" she asked menacingly.
Donna laughed into Eric's shoulder. "Mrs. Forman, we have some pretty big news to share with you." She looked at Eric. "You wanna tell her or should I?"
"I'll do it." Eric told her and he clasped his mother's hands in his. "I know Dad pretty much forbade it, but… Donna and I are engaged!
Kitty stared at him blankly. "Again?" she groaned. "Eric, I already spent my entire 4th of July trying to convince people you actually weren't gay. I don't have the energy to reverse the rumour when you run out on Donna again."
Donna stepped forward. "Mrs. Forman, it's different this time. Eric isn't going to run away again."
"Oh, of course he won't sweetheart!" Kitty told her patronizingly. "But just in case, I think we should make a list of possible excuses in the event of another non-wedding. Now Eric, are you into anything weird, sex-wise?" Kitty asked with a notepad and pen in hand.
"Ew, no." "Yeah." Eric and Donna both spoke at the same time and looked at each other in surprise.
"Eric, what are you talking about?" Donna asked with a slight laugh. "Have you completely forgotten about the pinky incident?" Eric began blushing.
"Donna! I told you it was from a movie!"
"Ooh! I think Red and I saw that one!" Kitty exclaimed excitedly. "There was this one scene where they fantasize they are in some old fashioned saloon and the local harlot leans on the bar counter in a red teddy and asks the sheriff, 'Why sir, I do declare that is one mighty fine weapon you have there.' And then the sheriff says, 'Well if you like this, wait till you see what I've got in my gun holster.' Oh, Red and I had so much fun acting that out!" Kitty said in hysterical laughter while Eric and Donna both appeared to be catatonic.
"A pleasure as always, mom." Eric told her and left Donna to find her own way home as he walked up to his room in a zombie-like manner. Once he reached his room, Eric noticed that the bathroom was slightly ajar and went to close it when he felt something heavy leaning against it. Flicking the light switch on, he pushed the door wide open…
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POINT PLACE GENERAL HOSPITAL – EMERGENCY ROOM
The ER doors swung open.
"Give me the bullet."
"20 year old female, found unconscious in her bathroom-"
"OD?"
"No pills were found at the scene and there are no slash marks. 35 weeks pregnant. BP 90/60. Pulse 88, weak and thready. Pupils are sluggish but reactive to light. No apparent sign of head trauma and cervical membrane remains intact."
"That's what I like to hear." Various medical personnel rolled Jackie down the hall while Eric, Donna, Red, Kitty and Laurie followed them closely behind. "They the family?" one doctor asked in reference to the group.
"Yes, we're her family." Kitty told them quickly as she struggled to control her breathing.
"Is she on any medication?" the doctor asked.
"No." Kitty told them
"Has she been ill recently?"
"No, she's been fine!" Donna yelled as she clung to Eric.
"Could be a placental abruption."
"Could be a mesenteric clot."
"Could be a lot of things! Now can we quit with the guessing please?" the attending ordered.
As the doctors pushed Jackie's gurney into the trauma room, a nurse stopped the large group and informed them that they could not go beyond this point and must stay in the waiting room. After several threatening attempts from Donna and Laurie for them to stay with her, Red tried to calm his family and weakly led them to the waiting room. There was nothing to be done.
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FRNECHIE'S RESTAURANT
Mjhzsx, That's amore!
The awful croons of a drunk interracial father and son were rudely interrupted when the maitre d' requested their attention.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hyde?" he asked politely.
"Probably." Hyde said before he and W.B. burst out laughing.
The maitre d' cleared his throat and spoke again. "Yes, well. There is a Mr. Bob Pinciotti at my station and he says that there is a family emergency which requests your immediate presence."
Hyde looked shocked. "Oh my God, Forman must weigh more than Donna!" The maitre d' gave up trying to talk to them and beckoned Bob over to the table. "Hey, Bobbo!" Hyde shouted. "Sit down and have a drink with us."
Bob, who would have normally jumped for joy at being invited to join a party, was instead trying to sum up the courage to inform Hyde of where his pregnant girlfriend was currently residing.
"Steven, listen to me. They've taken Jackie to the hospital and we need to go now." Bob spoke so low and so solemnly that Hyde's euphoria transformed into complete bewilderment.
"Come on Bob, you're ovractin'." Hyde slurred. "Shez juz nappn, is all."
Bob snapped. "Steven, listen to me! Jackie. Is. In. The. Hospital. She and the baby are in danger! Now come one!" Nobody was more surprised than Bob himself, that he reacted in such a way. But Jackie had pretty much been the one to help Donna overcome Midge's leaving since he had been so preoccupied with Joanne and Pam and every other woman who breathed his way.
At the mention of the baby, Hyde seemed to become more alert. "Wh-Wha…"
"Steven, come with me. I'll explain in the car." Helping Hyde stand up, Bob looked for any means of sobering Hyde up before they got to the hospital. Because if Hyde got there in his current state and couldn't get near Jackie, all hell was going to break loose.
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WAITING ROOM
Nobody in this room was a stranger to hospitals. After all, Kitty actually worked in this one, each of them had accompanied Kelso everytime he had fallen off of the water tower, Eric had worked here for a day back in junior year and Red had even been admitted himself when he suffered a heart attack. So the waiting wasn't the problem. It was the guilt.
Each of them had been so consumed by their own lives that they had neglected to even check on Jackie. Red had been worrying about his car, Kitty was scouring for Eric, Laurie was out shopping with her fiancée and Donna and Eric had been busy getting engaged. They were all perfectly entitled to worry about their own lives, but when compared with a young, pregnant girl lying unconscious and alone for God-knows-how-long on a bathroom floor in an empty house, it was pretty easy to see how they could each be so filled with guilt.
"Are you here for Jackie Burkhart?"
They all looked up at the sound of the nurse and immediately stood and crowded around her.
"How is she?"
"What's wrong with her?"
"Can we see her?"
"Is the baby OK?"
"Everybody quiet!" Kitty commanded and at once the group shut up. Kitty knew this nurse well but she also knew that she hadn't been working on Jackie so whatever the news was, Kitty was betting on it being difficult to hear.
"Well, the doctor wanted me to tell you that Jackie is in a serious but stable condition. Her blood tests showed that she had an elevated white blood cell count so we gave her an abdominal ultrasound which showed that she has suffered from a burst appendix. As a result-"
"Wait a minute." Eric interrupted. "I had my appendix out years ago and it was all over in a couple of hours. Why can't you just take hers out?""
"Because," the nurse continued, "a burst appendix means that an appendectomy can't be done and the bacteria have already spread into her liver."
"Oh my God." Donna muttered and began crying softly.
"Coupled with her pregnancy, her heart is having to work incredibly hard and the doctors fear that she is at risk of heart failure." By the point, everybody in the room was struggling to keep standing and the nurse feared continuing with the bad news. So she did what any good friend would do. "Kitty, could we talk outside please?"
Kitty looked up from Red's tight embrace and slowly nodded, following her out into the corridor where the nurse began to fill her in on the rest of the situation.
"I can't believe this." Eric muttered and for once, Red didn't tell him to shut it and Laurie didn't start taunting him. They were past that point.
After a few minutes of waiting and praying, the door to the waiting room burst open and the group looked up expectantly. But instead of Kitty with good news, they saw Hyde panting and Bob coming in right behind him. "Wh-Where… is she?" he asked, breathless.
Red shrugged helplessly while everybody let their dead silence tell him the gravity of the situation. Hyde was ready to storm off in search of anybody he could pound for information, when Kitty stumbled back in weakly.
"Steven." she stated calmly. "Good, I'm glad you're here for this. Um, Eric, Donna and Laurie? Could you please excuse Red and me for a moment? We need to speak to Steven."
The three of them looked at each other in uncertainty but reluctantly went with Bob and left Hyde alone with Red and Kitty.
Hyde's stare remained fixed on Kitty as he pushed her for information. "OK, Steven what we have here is-"
"Just tell me she's alright." Hyde interrupted impatiently. Kitty took him by the arm and led him over to the couch where she sat with him.
"Steven, about an hour and a half ago, Eric found Jackie unconscious in the bathroom." Despite the seriousness of what was going on, Hyde found himself being calmed by her voice. It was the loving and nurturing tone she used in moments where he needed reassurance and protection. But he was about to get neither.
"We called an ambulance. They brought her here very quickly and the doctors began working on her immediately. They found out that her appendix had burst and this caused an infection to spread into her bloodstream. At the moment, the baby is in no danger and Jackie is in a stable condition. But the longer we wait, the more the infection will spread and the more difficult it will take to stop. And because of her pregnancy, Jackie's heart was already working harder than usual but this infection is making it work even harder. Steven, the doctors can't treat the infection as long as she is still pregnant because the medicine they want to use can be harmful to the baby." Hyde was focused solely on Kitty's eyes and she felt herself begin to buckle under the pressure of his intense gaze. "They want me to tell you that there are two choices. You can allow them to deliver the baby early before it is in any danger and to administer Jackie the medication necessary to stop the infection from becoming life threatening. Or, they can go ahead and administer the medication and monitor the baby closely so that they can deliver it if they sense it is in any distress."
Hyde blinked a few times to make sure he was still awake and was not in the middle of some karmic nightmare. "But if they deliver the baby now… would it be OK? I mean it's still early and…"
"It's a bit earlier than they would normally like. But there is still a good chance that it will be fine." Kitty told him in as soothing a voice as she could manage. "But Steven…"
"What?" he questioned. To him, it sounded like the best option.
"Steven, the delivery can be very traumatic on the body and in Jackie's weakened state…" Kitty trailed off, at a loss as to how to break this to him. "Steven, there is a chance that a natural delivery could be too much pressure on her heart and that a caesarean could put her at risk of further infections so I… she might not make it if we go ahead and deliver the baby." Hyde stood up and flinched back from her touch.
"So you're telling me that I can either let them deliver the baby and risk Jackie die, or not let them deliver and let the baby die?" Hyde was hysterical and searching Red and Kitty's eyes for them to tell him he had heard it wrong. That he wasn't going to have to let someone he loved die.
Kitty stepped towards him slowly. "Steven, Jackie and the baby could both come out of this fine. There's no reason to believe that they can't deliver the baby and then fight the infection before any more damage is done. We just want to make sure that you are aware of the risks before we do anything."
Hyde shook his head and was silent for a moment before telling them, "Fix it." Kitty looked at Red, unsure of what to say. "Just fix it." Hyde turned and sped out of the room before either could stop him. What the hell was he supposed to do?
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CAFETERIA
Eric, Donna, Bob, Laurie and Fez all sat around a tiny table in the near-deserted cafeteria.
Since Fez had joined them shortly before, he had resigned himself to silence and said nothing to any of them once had had been informed on the details. Eric looked at the fractured group. This was wrong. "Anybody call Kelso?"
"I left a message with Brooke." Donna answered, speaking for the first time in almost ten minutes. "She said she'd try and reach him at work." Eric barely nodded because he was already back to acting out in his head every possible scenario of what could happen. None of them really had a happy ending, but then again, he wasn't exactly the optimist of the group. That role belonged to…
"Jackie." Laurie stated. "How the hell does something like this happen to Jackie? I mean. She's the only one of you that I can stand."
"Didn't she, like beat the crap out of you once?" Eric asked with a smile.
Laurie rolled her eyes. "Please that was nothing. Just a little tiff." Eric snorted and Laurie decided that she much preferred silence.
"Jackie does have something of a bad side though." Donna said with a laugh. "I mean, how many times has she kicked Hyde in the shins with her boots?" The group all shared a small laugh.
"Yeah, or smack Kelso over the head." Eric added.
"Or get into girl-on-girl fights with Donna?" Fez said. He was more eager to speak now that they were moving away from the seriousness of the moment.
"Oh yeah…" Eric and Bob both said with perverted sighs.
"Ew, Dad!" Donna protested at the thought of her dad getting turned on by her fighting.
Bob raised his hands in defense. "What? Jackie's hot." Bob stated and Donna shuddered.
Eric clicked his fingers at Donna. "Hey, do you remember the time we were looking for your ring on the water tower and Jackie just let me fall instead of helping me up because-"
"He touched Peetos!" Donna and Fez mimicked and the whole group began laughing hysterically as they pictured Jackie spurting out something like that.
"There's just something about getting close to Jackie and falling off of the water tower. I mean, think about it. Kelso starts dating her and he falls of the water tower every week. Hyde starts dating her and he falls off the water tower."
"To be fair, Donna did push him." Fez interrupted and Donna lowered her head in embarrassment.
Eric nodded. "True enough. But then I stand next to her on the water tower for the first time, and I fall off for the first time."
Fez laughed. "Yes, it is a good thing I never dated Jackie. My balls would turn black and blue."
"Fez, there are so many things wrong with the thought of you and Jackie dating that I don't even know where to start." Donna said chuckling but her bemusement began to cease and she looked at the group of people surrounding her. "Guys, should we be acting like this? Joking, laughing, reminiscing like she's-"
"But she's not." Eric told her. "Jackie is fine so we can go on and on about the curse of Miss Burkhart for many years to come. OK?" This wasn't so much of a question as a case of daring her to say otherwise.
"OK." The four people said quietly.
Bob spoke up. "Hey, I've got a good Jackie story. It was a little while after she moved in with me and Donna and uh, I was looking for some M&M's down the side of the couch. Anyway, Jackie walked in and went on and one about how gross it was for me to be looking for food in the furniture, which as all of you know was like telling me to suddenly start straightening my hair. But I digress, the next day, I was making breakfast when I opened the refrigerator door and saw a little decorative bowl lying there. So I took it out and opened the bowl and you know what I saw?"
"What?" the group chorused, so enraptured by this story.
"A bowl full of M&M's." Bob choked out. "And there was a note saying 'Eating is the only cause I seem to be able to help with in this household, so enjoy." Everybody laughed, especially Donna as she remembered all the teasing she and her dad had received from Jackie while eating dinner. "But of course, when I came home that night, the bowl was empty." Bob looked to his right, glaring.
"Well, don't act so surprised!" Fez told him.
Laurie cleared her throat. "You know, I have a pretty good Jackie story too."
"Oh God." Eric groaned but Laurie frogged him in the shoulder.
"Shut it, or I will eat you." Eric gulped as he fully believed she would follow through on her threat. "As I was saying, a few months ago Jackie and I went to pick out some baby clothes and we found this really cute dress but it was way too expensive for either of us to buy. So, Jackie tells me to wait in the shop for a few minutes and she'll be back with the answer. Little do I realize that Baby Bloomers is right around the corner from Grooves and that she just went to Hyde to get the money. So later on, I asked her how he gave her it so quickly and she told me that she went into the store, dragged him out into the back alley and gave him a blo-"
"OK, Laurie. Enough sharing." Eric drawled loudly. "I don't need to be made aware of the sexual favours Jackie gives Hyde in return for cash."
Bob interrupted. "Yeah, I thought that you were the hooker of the gang."
"Well, for $50 I can be." Laurie said with a wink in his direction. Bob gulped while Fez whipped out his wallet and began counting his change.
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JACKIE'S ROOM
How is it possible to be afraid of somebody who isn't even awake?
Hyde had asked himself this question so many times since first stepping foot into her room, that he was beginning to think it was as profound as 'What is the meaning of life?'
Jackie's BP had dropped earlier but had now returned to a steady 110/85 and she was now sleeping peacefully. Hyde thanked God that she hadn't gone through any life-threatening moments. Yet.
He only had short time before a decision had to be made. No, that wasn't true; the decision had already been made. Hyde just hadn't found the courage to announce it. If he didn't let them induce, both Jackie and the baby would probably die. But if he did, both Jackie and the baby would not necessarily live. So what was his decision resting on? A leap of faith. Somehow, the words; Steven Hyde and leap of faith didn't seem to match. Steven Hyde and cynicism. Steven Hyde and cruelty. Now they had a bit more of a rhyme to them and at that moment, he would give anything to be able to be cynical about this current situation.
But…he needed Jackie. Everybody knew it and everybody had made it their business not to point it out to him. She was demanding, she was persistent, she was annoying as hell and he could very easily find somebody else who asked nothing of him and got nothing from him, yet! He still kept coming back for more when it came to this girl. And why? Because he needed this girl. So the decision was made.
Steven Hyde was going to take a leap of faith.
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OPERATING ROOM
Jackie had been put under anesthesia at the request of the attending OB doctor and they were getting ready to make the incision. After little question, Hyde was permitted to sit with Jackie while the C-section took place and that explained why he was currently sitting in a chair next to her while an oxygen mask covered her mouth.
"How long will this take?" he asked the nurse.
"Just a few minutes." Hyde nodded and resumed running his left hand across the top of her head. Normally, Hyde wouldn't be caught dead showing such open affectionate moments but he had been missing her so much over the last 12 hours that he was willing to do anything just to feel her again. And as a plus, he was going to be a father in a few minutes. That's always going to give a guy a high. But it wasn't going to be all celebration. The doctors had told him beforehand that they would have to keep the baby under close observation for the next 72 hours and that Jackie had quite a long road ahead of her. The trauma of delivering a baby means that she will take longer than the average patient would to fight off this infection but Hyde wasn't too worried. After all, since when had this woman stepped down from a battle.
As the doctors stepped up to the operating table, Hyde was surer than ever that he was ready for this now. For the surgery, for parenthood and for whatever else he would come up against. And it looked like he was about to find out.
"Scalpel."
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"Knife."
Hyde was snapped out of his flashback by the incessantly demanding voice that seemed to be more determined than ever to send him into premature deafness.
"Knife." Hyde stated, handing it over to her. He was fixated as she sliced the carving knife through the thick layers of cream, jam, coconut and M&M's. The last one was really just a last-minute Fezzian addition.
Hyde looked around for the guest of honour and practically soaked his hair with beer when he flew out of his seat upon seeing his 1 year old son moments away from stabbing his grandfather in the ankle with a pair of scissors. Hyde quickly scooped him into his arms and came face to face with a miniature version of the scowl it had taken Hyde many Zen lessons to perfect.
"Bad Da!" he yelled while smacking his dad on the chest. Hyde groaned when he realized he had come across yet another person who could get away with hitting him.
"You know, your mom is like 20ft away. Wanna let her know what you were up to?" Hyde asked him tauntingly. For a moment, the tiny guy did nothing but then wrapped his arms around his daddy's neck and hugged him. "Can't say I blame you." Hyde muttered as he looked down at his son who was minutes away from falling asleep. And if that happened, a hug was not going to spare Hyde from Jackie's wrath.
All around, people Hyde had never met were milling around his back garden and seemed to be taking it upon themselves to help themselves to whatever they wanted from his beer supply. Leave it to a birthday party for a one year old to give me a social life.
Regardless of his dwindling supply, Hyde wasn't about to complain about having this party because it was the reward for one of the most hellish years of his life. The caesarean had went smoothly and the baby suffered no complications but the procedure had done Jackie more damage than anybody had anticipated. After they had ensured all the afterbirth was delivered and that her uterus was in solid condition, her heart rate slowed to a dangerously low level and Hyde spent the next few hours sitting in a nursery with a little boy who did nothing but sleep, waiting for the slightest bit of news. But then things of course got better and Jackie was eventually getting back to full strength. The medication hadn't been the most pleasant of substances and it hadn't had the most pleasant effects. As much as it was behind them all now, Hyde faced a daily reminder of one of the most horrific moments of his life – the day his son was named. Hyde loved the name Tony when it was suggested because it reminded him of an old 'acquaintance' of his from the alleys he had frequented often in the past. However, Hyde was not so jazzed to later find out that it was only suggested in the first place because Tony had began breastfeeding for the first time when Jackie had requested Donna turn the TV station to the Tony Awards. Apparently it had been a sign for Jackie but it was a sign that Hyde had worked overtime expelling from her mind. Having his son named after… that was something he simply couldn't live with and he vowed to change the meaning behind the name if it was the last thing he did.
In the midst of his wandering, Hyde had neglected to notice that most of the guests were on the road to Slower Reflexes so he took the opportunity to find some much needed alone time with Jackie. She however, seemed to be the only one missing from this scene.
"Forman, have you seen Jackie?" Hyde asked. Eric was currently holding Donna's face away from his as she lay fast asleep in a drunken haze.
"I think she's putting Tony down."
Hyde nodded and smiled menacingly at the sight of his two oldest friends. "You know, you two are just so damn adorable that I have to take a picture." Satisfied at capturing their embarrassing pose on film, Hyde walked across the patio and into the kitchen of the house he had kept secret from Jackie for months. The plan had been to bring her home to it after the baby had been born when she asked to go home, but that didn't work out so he settled for just surprising her with it one night after they walked back from having dinner. She had been stunned and he had been horny; but it seemed like back then he was always horny since they found out all too bluntly that they had to refrain from having sex for a few weeks after the baby had been born. But if Hyde had known that buying a house would recharge Jackie's batteries, he would have committed a long time ago.
And speaking of commitment…
"Hey Jackie, you got a second?" Jackie looked up from one of her boys to see her other boy standing nervously in the doorway.
"Sure." Jackie looked at him questioningly and followed him when he led her to the living room couch. Kitty sat passed out behind the stairs and Hyde couldn't believe the irony of their current situation. "Steven, you wanted to talk?" Suddenly her face turned stormy. "Wait, is just you trying to get me drunk enough so that I'll do it with you on the couch? Because that's how we broke the last one." Jackie said with irritation but she soon wished she hadn't said it as Hyde gave a proud grin. "God, Steven. We get it. You're great in bed. Really great actually." Jackie said as she thought back.
Hyde smiled. "Not so bad yourself." Clearing his throat, Hyde spoke again. "You and I seem to have a thing for couches, don't we?"
Jackie picked up her glass and took a sip. "Of you are referring to a certain summer expedition from my teenage years, then I am going to have to act like a lady and ignore you." Jackie looked at him with the most conservative expression he could ever remember but she then proceeded to stick out her tongue and flop back onto the couch with a smile. "But, if you wanna revisit old times…" she suggested.
Hyde groaned. He knew if he took her up on this, then he would lose his nerve. "In a minute, babe. There's something I need to ask you."
Jackie sat up and smoothed down her skirt. "OK. Ask ahead."
Hyde took a deep breath. "I told you once how I wasn't ready to get married yet. But I am now." Putting a hand in his pocket, Hyde continued, "Nothing is holding us back anymore. No Kelso. No trips to Vegas. No dads suddenly popping back into our lives." Hyde pulled out the small case from his pocket and opened it. Jackie's stunned gasp gave him a bit more confidence.
"Is that a…?"
"Uh uh."
"And are you…?"
"Uh uh."
Jackie smiled.
"So, can I…?"
Hyde smiled.
"Uh uh."
Hyde placed the ring on her finger but had to ask.
"So are we…?"
Jackie smiled again.
"Uh uh."
Hyde smiled again.
"Well, this doesn't suck." Just then the doorbell rang. The pair sighed and got up to open the door. "Red." Hyde stated."
"Jackie. Steven." Red smiled at the pair. "I think you have something of mine." Red said, pointing to his wife.
As soon as Red was gone, Hyde shut the door and said, "I hate doorbells."
The End.
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A/N: Wow, it's over. You've all been great, everyone of you. I don't get overly-sentimental but if you all have enjoyed reading this half as much as I have enjoyed writing it, then I'm a happy guy lol. I said at the beginning that this was designed to show us what could have been and I really hope I did it justice for all of you. So how do I sign off on this one? Well, I guess I could always ask for a review.
Stay safe and I'll be back with more stories very soon. :)