The next morning he found the three remaining Forman's eating breakfast. Kitty was just so happy her baby was back, and Red appeared to be pleased at his son's progress.

In the basement, he sat in his usual chair, not bothering to turn on the TV. Eric had finished his pancakes and was sitting down on the couch. Neither said a single word for five minutes.

"Hyde."

"Yeah?" Hyde didn't look up from his comic book.

"How does it feel to be a dumbass?"

"You tell me, you've been making a life out of it."

The two of them laughed, but suddenly Forman got a hard look on his face.

"So when do I get to meet Samantha?"

Hyde was a little surprised Forman wasn't asking about the letters, but answered his question anyway.

"She should be home soon. She had a late shift last night."

As if she had super powers, she walked in the door at that moment. She looked surprised that someone else was there with her husband.

"Hyde?" She asked.

Eric Forman stood up and looked at the woman who had destroyed his friend's lives. She was hot, but it was fake, fake blonde hair, fake boobs, and fake personality. He introduced himself, and shook her hand.

"Oh, you're Forman! I've been looking forward to meeting you!" She went to give him a hug. He let her hug him, but he didn't reciprocate. She let go, looking at him and then at Hyde with confusion.

Hyde just shrugged.

"So," She said, trying to break the tension. "I heard you've been in Africa?"

"That's right." Eric Forman was usually extremely charming and easy to talk too, but at this moment it was like he was taking a page out of Hyde's book. He was almost Zen.

Hyde knew what his friend was doing; it was obvious that he didn't approve of the relationship. Truth was, Hyde didn't much approve of it either, but he was nothing if not stubborn, and the sex was good. "The sex with Jackie was better" a voice in his head said. He ignored it.

"Well, it's nice to meet you finally. I think I'll go upstairs and see Kitty." She kissed Hyde and left.

As she walked upstairs, Eric muttered to himself, "Oh, I'm sure she'll love that."

Hyde laughed at his friend's comment.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I'm sure you want to go see Donna."

"Actually, you know what man, I don't. At least, not yet, I still love her, but both of us need space."

"You're scared of her aren't you?" Hyde asked.

"Terrified."

The two of them went back to watching the TV, both thinking about lost opportunities and regrets. Finally, Hyde looked up at his best friend. "I need to get out of here, let's go."

They ended up at Jackie and Fez's apartment. Eric thought this was ironic, but he didn't say anything. They stood outside the door for what seemed like an hour before Hyde spoke. "I have no idea what to say to her. Now that I know…"

"How about I'm sorry I was such a jerk and I'll get my marriage to that skank annulled?"

The door opened as the two started to argue, and Fez stood in the doorway watching his two friends with bemusement.

"Ahem." He tried to get their attention.

Eric looked over. "Oh hey man!" The two embraced in a hug.

"When did you get back?"

"Just last night, is Jackie here?" The three of them walked inside the apartment. They could here the sound of the shower running.

"She's in the shower. Man is she going to be happy to see you!" Fez knew about the letters, and had even read some of them. At that moment, it was like he finally realized Hyde was there.

"Oh, Hyde, I'm glad you're here. I need to talk to you about something." He gestured towards the kitchen.

Hyde had a sinking suspicion he knew what Fez was going to want to talk about. He was going to ask for permission to start dating Jackie, and honestly, Hyde didn't know if he could give it. Of course, it would be hypocritical of him to deny Jackie the opportunity to move on like he had, but he didn't care. She deserved to suffer.

Fez paused for a minute before opening one of the kitchen drawers and pulling out an envelope.

"This is for you. Jackie wrote it to you… she thought she threw it out, but I kept it. I think you should read it when you're alone."

Hyde put the letter into his coat pocket. "Thanks man…"

"I uh, just want you to know that if you don't want me to date Jackie, I won't." Fez said with sincerity.

"I'm married now, what do I care what she does?" Even Hyde thought that excuse was getting old, but it was the only one he had left.

Instead of responding, Fez simply shook his head and walked out to the living room to catch up with Forman. The three of them talked until they heard the shower stop. Fez got up and walked to the bathroom door. "Hey Jackie, Hyde and Forman are here. So don't bother putting on your clothes!" Fez joked. He could hear her laughter through the door.

She walked out wearing only her bathrobe and a towel around her head. "I'm just going to put on some clothes, and then I'll be out."

The three of them knew that when Jackie said "I'm just going to put on some clothes." It meant they were going to be waiting for an hour. They were all surprised though when she came out thirty minutes later into the smoke filled room wearing just jeans and a tee shirt, her hair pulled back in a pony tail. Hyde never thought she looked more beautiful. He couldn't help staring as she went to hug Forman.

"You're not supposed to be back for another six months!"

Eric replied, "Yeah, but I had to come back. How are you?"

Hyde watched as a variety of emotions crossed Jackie's face. They all knew what Eric was really asking. Jackie seemed to be thinking of what to tell him.

"I'm okay. Have you talked to Donna yet?"

"No, I'm a little nervous. She's seeing that new guy and I don't want her to feel uncomfortable."

"I understand… it's kind of like setting your hair…" Hyde looked up at Jackie as she started to go on about hair, and he remembered when she had given him the same speech. Okay, he was really thinking of the kiss she gave him. It was on his type five list of favorite kisses from Jackie during their relationship.

"If you don't wait long enough, it's totally flat and bleh…" He interrupted.

Jackie looked over at Hyde and smiled. It was the first time she had smiled at him since he had come back from Vegas, and it made his heart swell.

"Jackie, you'll never guess who I sat next to on the plane." Eric said.

"Was it someone famous? Was it David Cassidy?"

"No, it was your grandmother!"

Jackie looked at Eric in shock. "My grandmother? Really?" She was starting to get excited. "Tell me everything."

Eric proceeded to tell them all about Jackie's grandmother. They could see the smile on Jackie's face get bigger and bigger.

"Wow. I haven't seen Granma since I was nine. I think her and mom got into a huge fight. How many cats does she have now?"

"About ten." He told her.

Jackie turned around and Hyde could see a strip of green in her hair.

"Jackie, you still have some green in your hair." He told her.

She turned around and grinned. "I know. I kept it as a reminder."

"Of what?" Eric asked her.

"That no matter what you do, no matter what you say, there is always going to be someone who wants to hurt you. Besides, I'm hot no matter what color my hair is." It was obvious that she wasn't talking about Fez. She walked back into her bedroom.

"See, I ruined her." Hyde told Eric and Fez.

Eric looked at his friend. "Don't worry; I'm going to fix it." He said with conviction.

They had gone to the hub after that to catch up. They each tried to convince Forman to see Donna, but all Hyde could really think about was the brown haired pixie across from him. He wanted more than anything to talk to her alone, but he knew that it was too soon for that. Every time he looked at her he remembered Chicago. Even though he knew now that nothing had happened, the memory was still too raw.

Eric watched as two of his friends played the game of looking while the other wasn't paying attention. They clearly weren't over each other, no matter what Hyde wanted to believe. He glanced at Fez who simply shrugged his shoulders as to say, "See what I've had to put up with." He gave a head motion indicating that they should leave. Fez, bless him, understood and they made up an excuse to leave.

Jackie watched with amusement as the two blundered their way out of the Hub. She turned back to Steven who had an unreadable expression on his face. Before she could say anything though, he spoke.

"So, I uh, heard about your conversation with Sam, and I just wanted to let you know that…"

She interrupted him. "What Steven? What about it? That I deserved it?"

Hyde was shocked at how Jackie was reacting. It was like she was expecting him to hurt her. And then he realized that was exactly what she was expecting, because that was exactly what he had been doing. Forman was right for once in his life, he was a dumbass.

"No Jacks, I wanted to say that what she said was uncalled for, and if it happens again, tell me and I'll take care of it."

Jackie gave a short nod. "Look," She said, "I should get going. Fez and I are going out tonight."

"Yeah, how is that going?"

She smiled and ran her hands through her hair. "It's good. I mean, he's not the love of my life, but he's a good friend and we make each other laugh."

Hyde wanted to ask her about the love of her life comment, but she was already getting up and saying goodbye.

That night, Hyde read the letter Fez had given to him.

"Dear Steven,

Today you and I had another fight. I said you were a coward with no feelings and you said I was a spoiled bitch. I thought you knew me better than that, but I guess I was wrong. I thought long and hard about why you would say that, and I came to a conclusion. You're afraid of me. You're afraid that if you just accepted that you still cared for me then you would have to actually do something with your life instead of staying in the basement drinking all day. You're better than that. I always said you could be anything you wanted, and I still think so.

So, in my best interests, I'm going to stop trying to explain what happened in Chicago to you. You clearly don't want to know the truth, and I'm tired of being shouted out every time I try. I will say this though. NOTHING HAPPENED! Why don't you trust me?

I will never stop loving you Steven, even after you get Sam pregnant and have children you should be having with me, even after we're both old and can't remember our own names, I will still love you.

Please don't forget we spent two years together.

Jackie.

He re read the last line in the letter ten times. It was true; he was acting like the last two years hadn't happened. It was just easier that way. He knew then why he never got to ask her about the love of her life. It was because it was him. It was just as he had read in her letters to Forman. She was never going to get over him.

It didn't take him long to accept that he wasn't completely over her.