The following morning Hyde wakes up with a sore back. He groans as he stretches his body to undo the knots that formed along his spine. As he does so, he feels a warmth next to him and sees Sam lying on the edge of his cot, her body as close to his as possible to prevent her from falling. He looks at her long, slender body. Her long legs practically dangle off the cot and her blonde hair is spread over the lone pillow they now share. His blue fuzzy blanket, a gift to him from Jackie, draped over her milky skin. Hyde shudders, perhaps as a result of the concrete wall pressing against his back.
Slowly climbing over his wife, Hyde makes his way out of his room and into the dark basement. He glances down at his watch and tries to make out the hands in the dim light. He groans once more when he sees it wasn't yet six in the morning. He walks over to the couch and twists his his back until he hears a cracking sound that brings alleviation to his spine.
This was the first time in a very long time that he's been up at the crack of dawn. The last time was right after the nurse debacle when Jackie broke up with him. He had woken up and sat alone in the basement listening to country music. He remembers being careful with the stereo volume for he didn't want to wake anyone in the house and have them see him in a state that would easily embarrass him and undo his tough exterior. He got so into his own head that morning, just going over his huge screw up. This time, it has more to do with him having to share his already too-small cot with someone who wasn't five feet, ninety-five pounds.
Besides the lack of space on his cot, his first night with Sam had gone pretty well, better than he had initially expected. They had remained in the basement for a few hours just talking about their favorite bands, cars and politics. She fetched them a few beers and when they grew tired of talking, he flipped on the television and they channel surfed. The silence hadn't been uncomfortable which was good. She was able to keep him company very late into the night as she was "used to hitting the sack late" as a result of her job at the club. He wouldn't admit it, but he liked having someone sit with him in the middle of the night. Jackie could very rarely hang and would always be in bed before twelve.
Hyde flipped on the television, mostly for the background noise and sprawled out on the couch, his back feeling progressively better. He needed to figure out what he and Sam were going to do since the Formans were not too fond of having Sam stay in their house. They needed to take initiative and start looking for their own place.
Later that morning-
Sam wakes up and looks next to her to where Hyde was the night before but now wasn't. She lays on the cot and looks around the small room. It was gray and very drab. Save for a few purple candles and the blue blanket, there was nothing vivid or warm about the room. Surely the would have to find better arrangements, at least in terms of an actual mattress because her back would not be able to handle the cot for too long.
After a few minutes, she forces herself out of the room and smiles when she sees her husband asleep on the couch with the television light illuminating his face. She takes a few seconds to admire his appearance. He was a good looking man and she loves the beard. When, though, had he come out here? She walked over to the T.V and flipped the power handle to turn t off. She slowly walks over to him.
"Hyde" she whispers as she kneels before him. "Hey" she says a little louder when he doesn't budge.
He finally starts to stir and groan. "Come on, lets get you to bed" she tells him.
"What time is it?" he asks groggily.
She reaches for his arm and looks at his watch. "Eleven" she replies.
"Shit" he says more firmly and sits up rapidly on the couch. "I have to go" he says.
"Go? Go where?" she asks a bit nervously. She hadn't expected to be left alone on her first full day in Point Place, especially after the welcome she received the day before. She had expected Hyde to spend the day with her, properly introduce her to his friends and family and possibly show her a bit around town.
"Gotta go to work" he says as he gets off the couch and heads towards his room.
"Wait" Sam calls out as she runs after him, "can I go with you?"
"To work?" Hyde asks, eyeing her curiously.
"Yeah, why not? You can show me around, I could see where my husband works" she says sheepishly.
"Uh, maybe next time. I'm kind of in a rush" he says turning his back to her to grab his towel and head to the shower.
He didn't notice the look of disappointment on her face which suited him just fine. Frankly, he didn't want to have her tagging along and having to play tour guide all day. He needed time to think, get his thoughts in order and figure out what their next step was going to be. He knew they needed to figure things out in regards to their marriage and where they were going to be living. They needed to figure out what she would do as far as work, because no wife of his would be stripping. Hyde wasn't traditional by any means, but that was a no-go.
Later that evening-
Hyde strolls into the basement after a long day of having to deal with preppy high school students and burn out hippies. All he wanted to do was relax with a beer and watch some television. Instead, he walks in to find Sam parading around in front of Fez, her shorts much too short and Fez is clapping as she twirls her hips before him.
"What's going on?" Hyde asks from his spot by the door.
"Oh hi hubby. I'm just showing Fez here some of my most popular dance moves. He's a really good dancer but I thought I could show him some of my own moves" Sam replies.
"And what wonderful moves they are" Fez says as he turns and looks at Hyde. Hyde gives his friend a menacing look which forces Fez to quickly turn around and shrink in his seat.
"Do you want to see them too hubby?" Sam asks not having noticed how uncomfortable the situation is making Hyde.
"Nah man, I'm just going to go to the room" he answers as he heads towards the back of the basement.
"Okay, I'll come in a little later" Sam calls out, but Hyde had already closed the door to the room.
As he steps inside the tiny room and closes the door to tune out the noise his wife and friend are making, he lets out a loud breath. He plops down on his cot and closes his eyes. The silence and solitude are appreciated. Being away from people gives him time to think about all the changes going on in his life. Just two fays ago, he had come back to Point Place unattached, with no real responsibilities besides Grooves and was thinking of reconciling his relationship with Jackie. After a few weeks away, he realized that he owed it to her, and himself, to at least hear her out. Who was he, after all, to judge her after he cheated? Besides, Jackie wasn't the cheating type. Even after Kelso cheated on her countless times, she remained loyal. Why would she risk losing him, whom she claimed to love, just to be with a serial cheater?
Hyde shook the thoughts of Jackie away, no use in thinking about something he could no longer fix. Now, he had to figure out what his future was going to be with his wife. He spent a few hours after work looking at a few vacant apartments within his budge and found a few decent ones close to Grooves. Tomorrow, he would drive Sam to see them and have her pick out the one she liked best.
He suddenly hears the door creak open and in walks his scantily dressed wife.
"Hey hubby, you still up?" she calls out.
Hyde grimaces at the term of endearment. "Uh huh" he calls out.
Sam walks towards the cot and starts cuddling up to him. As subtly as possible, Hyde pulls away from her grasp. He must learn to grow comfortable to her touch in order to not offend her, but he notices that she doesn't see to care much as she doesn't say anything or tries to touch him again.
"Hey, so I was thinking we could check out a few apartments tomorrow" he tells her.
"Really?" she exclaims excitedly. That's the first time she has shown so much excitement since the previous night when she first arrived.
"Yeah" Hyde replies.
"We can finally start our lives as husband and wife" she says jokingly which Hyde kind of likes. She's not fawning over him or instantly starts talking about decorations or having kids running around their new place. Her reaction was the complete opposite from what Jackie would have had and Hyde liked the simpleness of it, it reminded him a bit of himself.
"Uh huh" he says again.
"Cool, maybe we can go shopping for a new mattress too and replace this cot" she suggests.
Hyde doesn't reply. They both just lay silently looking up towards the ceiling for several minutes. Suddenly, Hyde's curiosity gets the better of him and he asks the question that's been on his mind since she showed up. "Hey Sam, what happened the night we got married?"