A/N: This has been a long time coming, and I want to say sorry about that. I was in Iowa for the weekend and then yesterday got away from me. But it's up now and I hope that everyone enjoys it!

Disclaimer: I don't own 70s Show nor any rock references I may make.

Ash, Maddie, and Sam climbed over the fence at the cemetery, and sat underneath a tree, watching and waiting.

"I'm so bummed you guys," Ash said.

"We know," Sam stated, looking through his camera for anything suspicious. "Just have faith that it will all work out."

"I do, I do," Ash said. "I just want my Mom and Dad to be together, damn it! Isn't that every kids dream? I never thought it would be MY dream, but there ya go…"

"If your Mom can find a way to trust him and junk, that makes her even cooler in my book," Maddie said.

"She's hot too," Sam stated.

"Yes, you've said this before," Ash muttered. "I wish she wasn't so scared."

"Well wouldn't you be?" Maddie asked. "I know I would be. And you can act all tough and crap, Ash, but you know you would be scared…. Kind of like how I'm kind of scared right now."

"One, we're alone here right now Maddie, the only thing we have to worry about is trespassing. And two, maybe I would be scared," Ash admitted.

"Do you think they have security here?" Sam asked.

"It doesn't appear that they do," Ash muttered. "Man, you just jump in the conversation whenever you want, don't you?"

"Did you hear something?" Maddie asked.

"What did it sound like?" Ash asked. "Mournful wails and rattling chains?"

"No, like a twig snapped," Maddie answered.

"Damn, I was hoping for the wails and chains," Sam said, and put his camera back down. "Ash, do you have the video camera? I'm going to start documenting this."

"Yep." She handed it to him, and he turned it on, facing it towards himself.

"Midnight. Calvary Cemetery," he said, turning on the light. "As you can see, my colleagues and I have not witnessed anything yet. But we have not given up any hope. The NIGHT is still YOUNG!"

"Jesus, keep it down," Maddie said. "We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves."

"You mean more than your car being parked by the entrance?" Ash asked.

"Shhhhh," she said.

Hyde sat up, and looked at the phone. Should he call her? Probably not. For one thing, it was after midnight, and it would be rude. Secondly, he couldn't push it. He had to give her some space. But at the same time, what if she just kept running? That was what she had done last time, after all. Maybe he should take the initiative and call her.

"You chicken shit," he muttered. Or maybe he'd just wait for her to call him.

But really, that wasn't his style. Even if he was older and knew better, he called her house. He didn't care if it was after midnight, or if he sounded like he was being a stalker… Okay, he DID care about that. So he put the phone back down, and crossed his arms. You know, when you were younger you would have just gone over there and made her listen to you, he thought. Of course, when you were younger you treated her like crap at the end of your contact with each other, so…..

"What's it gonna be, Hyde?" he asked himself. But the phone rang on it's own. He looked at it as if it were possessed, and then grabbed it.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Steven!"

"Jackie?"

"Ash is gone!"

"…. What?!"

"One am," Sam said, looking into the camera. "As of this moment we have not seen anything too ghostlike, unless you count that weird mist that traveled across the cemetery-."

"You mean the fog?" Ash asked, irritated.

"Fog? Or ectoplasm?" Sam threw back.
"I'm pretty sure it was fog," Maddie said. "Especially since the entire place is shrouded in it. Sam, I'm bored. Can we go home yet?"

"No we can't go home yet!" Sam snapped, turning off the camera. "For God's sake, we are going to make ghost busting history tonight!"

"I don't know why you're so convinced of this," Ash muttered, leaning against a tree. "Why tonight?"

"I don't know, because we're here?" Sam asked, and Maddie and Ash groaned. "Look, I just wanted to do something that would be fun, and then I wanted to take your mind off your whole parenting debacle, Ash. Was that so wrong of me?" Ash smiled, and put an arm around Sam.

"It wasn't wrong," she said. "Only misguided. Look, we can sit out in this cemetery for another half hour, but if we don't see anything, I want to get home, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Sam agreed. "Maddie, is that okay with you?"

There was silence. Sam and Ash looked around in the darkness, looking for the familiar shape that was Maddie. Sam turned on a flashlight, and noticed that she was gone.

"Maddie?" Ash hissed, looking around. "Maddie, what the FUCK?"

"Where did she go?" Sam asked, moving the flashlight across the headstones. "Shit! This is so fucked up! Do you think the ghost got her?"

"Sam, come one!" Ash exclaimed, but wasn't going to rule it out. "Crap. CRAP. We need to find her."

"RAWR!" Maddie exclaimed, jumping from behind a headstone. Ash and Sam both screamed, and she laughed hysterically. Ash, who was furious, took off her boot and threw it at her. It hit Maddie in the shoulder. "OW!"

"You deserved that, you bitch!" Ash snapped. "Jesus!! Give me a fuckin' heart attack!"

"Oh come on, it was just a little joke," Maddie said, tossing the boot back to her. "You're big kids, you can handle it."

"One ten am," Sam said, filming Maddie. "Instead of dealing with a ghost, we've had to deal with a mutinous skank in our own outfit."

"Oh don't be so dramatic," Maddie said, and primped for the camera.

Hyde showed up at the Burkhart house, and Jackie opened the front door, looking tired, frantic, and yet still gorgeous. How does she do it? He wondered, and got out of his car.

"Do you have any idea when she left?" he asked, walking into the house.

"No," Jackie said, and they walked into the kitchen. "But I know she left at her own free will."

"How do you know?"

"The doors were all locked and she took a sweatshirt from that coatrack," Jackie said, pointing at it. "I'm going to KILL her when she gets home!"

"Can I help?" Hyde asked, and Jackie poured him some orange juice. "So… I notice that you didn't call Paul…" She looked up from the juice, and shrugged fitfully.

"Well, you are her father," Jackie stated. "For the good and the bad. This is what we call 'the bad'. Oh Steven, what if something happens to her out there? What if she gets hurt, or even worse-!"

"Jackie, calm down," he said. "I'm sure she's out with friends, we used to do this all the time when we were kids."

"Yeah, in Point Place! This is Minneapolis! Didn't you know we get the nickname MURDERAPOLIS?!" He put his hand on hers.

"She's fine… And I did not know that," he said. "She's probably out with that punk boyfriend of hers."

"Adrian? He seems like the type that would keep her from doing dumb shit," Jackie said.

"Has she ever done something like this before?" he asked. "I mean, snuck out in the middle of the night?"

"…. Once before," Jackie said. "She went to a midnight movie with her friend Shelly once, they were showing 'Dead Alive' at the Uptown theater… She got grounded for that one. Apparently that didn't stick."

"She'll be home soon, maybe she went to another midnight movie?"

"On a Sunday?" she asked, and Hyde shrugged. She finally stopped pacing, and sat across from him at the table.

"Jackie, if you want I'll wait here with you until she gets home, then you can deal out whatever punishment you see fit, and I'll be on my way," he said. She looked at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Well, I know that things are weird between us right now, so-."

"That doesn't matter!" she stated. "What matters is that Ash is out there somewhere and I'm THIS close to calling the police!"

"Don't call the police yet."

"Why not?"

"Because they don't take that stuff seriously until after she's gone for at least two days."

"Oh my GOD…"

"Okay, that was the wrong thing to say…"

"Ya THINK?!"

"What I'm saying is that right now we have no reason to be worried. Just pissed off as all get out."

"Well I'm already that far."

"Good!" She rested her head in her hands, and sighed. "Jackie, it's going to be okay."

"You know, you're probably right," she said. "But I'm still going to worry."

"One forty five am," Sam said, feeling mighty dejected. "My comrades are getting a little restless,-."

"And sleepy!" Maddie exclaimed.

"And sleepy," he continued. "I think that tonight's ghost hunt has been a complete bust… And that sucks. But there's always next time around!"

"So he thinks," Ash whispered, and Maddie giggled.

"We're going to see something in one of these cemeteries one of these days," Sam stated. "I promise you that. I PROMISE you that. I- Hello, what was that?" He turned the camera, and Ash and Maddie both looked to where he was looking.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Maddie asked, and he waved at her to shut up. "What is he doing?"

"I don't know…" Ash said, her voice lower now. "Sam, what do you see?" He crept forward, very slowly, and then motioned for them to come closer. Maddie and Ash complied, and lugged their bags with them.

"What, Sam?" Ash whispered, and he pointed. Ahead through the darkness, it looked as if there was a woman, but Ash couldn't really tell. "What is that?"

"I don't know," Sam muttered, and crept forward more. "Crap, I can't get a good shot of it."

"Guys, can we please go?" Maddie asked, getting a little fearful. Ash and Sam walked forward, as Maddie held back. "Guys?"

"Shhh," Ash hushed, and she and Sam stopped behind a tree, peeking out around the trunk. "Sam, are you getting this on film?"

"I don't know what we're filming but I'm getting it," he said, and began narrating again. "Though it may be a little premature, I believe that what we are witnessing is none other than a paranormal-."

"Stop with the commentary!" Ash hissed. Whatever it was ahead, it turned, and began moving towards them. Ash and Sam both screamed, which caused Maddie to scream, and they all tore through the cemetery towards the entrance.

"I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you Sam!" Maddie shrieked.

"Just run!" Sam exclaimed. Ash was quite a bit ahead of them, until she tripped over a small headstone and fell on her face. She swore, and tried standing, but her ankle burned in pain.

"Ahh FUCK!" she yelled as the red hot hurt ripped through her ankle. "Guys! Help me!"

"Oh my GOD she's been GRABBED!" Sam exclaimed, and Maddie ran to her.

"You dumbass, I think I sprained my ankle!" Ash snapped, and Maddie helped her up. She leaned on Maddie and hopped the rest of the way to the car. They got in, and Maddie revved the engine and sped away from Calvary Cemetery. Sam watched the tape through the camera, and swore.

"What?" Maddie asked.

"You can't see a damn thing!" he wailed. "We may have seen a ghost and we have no proof!"

"Fuck you and your ghost!" Ash exclaimed, and pulled off her shoe. "I'm royally screwed, you guys!"

"Are you sure you can't walk on it?" Maddie asked, glancing back at her.

"I'm pretty damn sure, yes," Ash snapped. "How do I explain THIS to Mom?"

"… You fell out of bed?" Sam suggested.

"Don't help me, Sam," Ash muttered. "Okay… Okay……. Okay, here's what I'm going to tell her. I'm going to fake falling down the steps tomorrow morning. That should work, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that should work," Maddie said. "You are a klutz sometimes."

"Whatever!"

"Well you DID manage to trip over a headstone…"

"Maddie, just drive," Ash said, and winced in pain about her ankle.

Jackie and Hyde were sitting on the couch, just waiting in silence.

"It's almost two," Jackie said.

"Yeah…"

"…. Steven, I'm so worried."

"I know…. I'm worried too."

"Do you think this is my fault?"

"Why would it be your fault?"

"….. She really wants us to get back together."

"….. Oh."
"And I…. I rejected you…."

"…. Well that may be, but this isn't your fault. She's a teenage girl who has ME as a Dad. She's bound to get into trouble, if you ask me she has a lot of catching up to do."

"She's probably acting out, ya think?"

"Jackie, I don't know, okay?" She nodded, and stood again. She began pacing some more. "Would you stop pacing, please? You're making me dizzy."

"Well I'm SORRY," she snapped. "Our daughter is just out there in Minneapolis doing GOD knows WHAT!"

"Well why did you even come out to MURDERAPOLIS anyway?!" he demanded, having had enough of her tenseness and not enough sleep. "You didn't have to come out here, you know!" She stopped pacing, and just looked at him.

"Yeah, I know, thanks," she said, testily. "I didn't HAVE to, but it seemed better than the alternative!"

"Being alone here with our kid seemed better than being back in Point Place with me?" he asked, standing up too.

"We wouldn't have been with you, Steven!"

"How do you know?" he asked. "You don't know! You didn't know that I wouldn't have gotten back together with you!"

"No, I didn't know, but I had a pretty good hunch!" she bit back. "Steven, people can't be together just because they have a kid together! It isn't fair to them or to the kid! What kind of environment would that have been for Ash? Constantly at each other's throats, unable to trust each other? That's not how parents are supposed to be!"

"We wouldn't have been that way! We WON'T be that way!" he yelled back, and she felt tears beginning again. He saw that she was getting upset, which was a step in the wrong direction, and decided to back off. "Okay, I'll stop. I'm sorry, I know you're worried. We're both worried, we won't talk about this right now….."

"…. Okay," she said, and closed her eyes. They both sat back on the couch, and looked at each other. He put a hand on her shoulder, and smiled bravely. She smiled at him too, and began to melt all over again. She rested her forehead against his, and was about to take his hand, when the front door began to unlock. Jackie and Hyde both pulled away, and stood up.

Ash opened the, knowing full well that Hyde was there. She knew she was in for it from not only Mom, but Hyde as well. She hopped inside, and was met by two angry parents.

"….. Hey," she said.

" 'Hey'?" Jackie asked. "That's all you have to say? 'Hey'. Ashleigh Lorelei Burkhart, where the HELL have you been?!"

"… I was out with people," she said.

"Out with people?" Hyde asked, and wondered if he was this flippant when he was her age. "At two in the morning?"

"Your curfew is MIDNIGHT, Ashleigh! MIDNIGHT!" Jackie scolded. "You went out past your curfew, and…. Wait, why are you hopping on one foot?"

"…. A ghost chased me and I think I sprained my ankle," Ash said, looking at the floor.

"…A ghost?" Hyde asked.

"Oh my God," Jackie said. "Okay, we're taking you to the hospital. Steven, will you drive? I can't drive and scold at the same time."

"Okay," Hyde said, and they helped Ash to his car. "But don't think this is a get out of jail free card, young lady!" Ash's mouth dropped. It was new having a DAD scold her. It was kind of scary, but also exciting. Things were beginning to fall into place!

They left the emergency room at four in the morning. On the ride over, both Hyde and Jackie were lecturing her and scolding her, and they didn't stop until they got into the examination room. Ash hadn't actually sprained her ankle, she just twisted it pretty badly. The hospital had given her crutches she could use until she was able to walk without pain again.

"So am I grounded?" Ash asked, as they all made their way back to Hyde's car. Jackie shrugged, and opened the back seat door for her.

"Well, I was ready to deal out a punishment of gargantuan proportions, but I think your ankle is punishment enough," Jackie said. Ash sighed, and nodded as Jackie climbed into the front with Hyde. "…. Why did you sneak out, Ash?"

"Because Sam wanted to go ghost hunting," Ash said. Hyde smirked as he drove.

"… Are you serious?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah."

"You didn't go out drinking or anything like that? You went ghost hunting?" Jackie asked.

"… Yes."

"….. That's… a relief, I suppose," Jackie said, looking at Hyde, who was trying his best not to laugh. "Okay…. Tell you what. You aren't grounded. But you do have to pick up a lot of chores around the house at my discretion, okay?"

"With my ankle the way it is?"

"Would you rather be grounded?"

"No! No. Just give me a list and I'll do them." Jackie sighed in relief and exhaustion.

"Thank you for not fighting me on this," Jackie stated. "I'm going to be a wreck at work."

"Me too," Hyde said.

"…… I'm sorry," Ash said. "I'm sorry for being dumb, and twisting my ankle, and making you two worry."

"…. Well, you've experienced karmic retribution," Hyde said. Ash nodded.

"It's just been… hard and I wanted a distraction," Ash said, softly. Jackie and Hyde were silent, knowing what exactly had been hard. "Maybe I subconsciously hurt myself on purpose to bring you two together."

They got back home, and Jackie helped Ash up the steps to bed. She came back downstairs, and Hyde stood up from the couch. She shrugged, and chuckled a little bit.

"Think she actually saw a ghost?" Jackie asked, and Hyde smiled.

"You never know with ghosts," he stated. "Well, I have work tomorrow to, so I should probably go."

"Okay," Jackie said. "Sorry for rousing you out of bed."

"Hey, it was important," Hyde said, neglecting to mention that he wasn't even sleeping when she'd called.

"Well, I'm gonna head off," he continued. "I'll see you around."

"…. Yeah," she said. "….. Drive safely."

"I will." They hugged, and she closed her eyes. He closed his too, but knew that she needed to figure their baggage out on her own. And besides, the evening's events were proof that he would always be in Ash's life regardless of his relationship with Jackie. If that was how it was going to be, he'd be okay with it.

"Night," she said.

"Night." He left, and she went upstairs to try and salvage at least SOME sleep.

Ash elevated her ankle, and Claudius purred next to her head. She pet him, and knew that Adrian was going to give her the worst shit for what had happened.

Which he would. She didn't know it then, but the next day when he saw her he'd say 'So THIS is your idea of a parent trap?'