The next thing Hyde knew, he was alone in the kitchen. He frowned. "What'd you clear outta here so fast for, ya big babies?" he yelled, when suddenly a chubby guy with a bad disco suit stepped into his line of sight.
"Dude, guests aren't allowed back here." he said uncomfortably.
"I'm not a guest, and you're not really in the hotel anymore." the man told him.
"Right... look, weirdo, I'm not in the mood for this."
"You made a wish. You wished you could see what would happen if you and Jackie never got together."
Hyde frowned. "This is Foreman trying to burn me, isn't it? Come out here, you dumbass!" he yelled.
"No one can hear you. You're in the holding pattern between life and death. My name is Wayne, by the way. I met your friend Eric once- whiny little girl of a boy, isn't he?"
Hyde smirked. "Yep, that's him."
"Well, do you want to see or not?"
Hyde stared blankly at him, and Wayne snapped his fingers, transporting them to The Hub.
"I got shocked, didn't I? This is some freaky hallucination..."
"Then, what have you got to loose by seeing it through?"
Hyde shrugged. "Okay, whatever." he said noncommittally. He looked over at his friends sitting at a table- sans Jackie- and went to sit down. "Hey, Foreman." he said, nudging at Eric. But, his hand went right through him, and Eric acted as though he could neither see nor hear him. Hyde looked at Wayne accusingly.
"Hey, this is a glimpse, buddy, they can't see or hear you."
Hyde frowned, and started laughing when Jackie came out in a waitressing uniform.
"What kind of a bad joke is this? Jackie wouldn't work here..."
"Why not? She worked at the Cheese Palace..." Wayne reminded.
"Okay, it's my first day, so you guys go slowly with your orders." Jackie said, pulling out a notepad.
"So, we get freebies, right?" Kelso asked automatically.
"No, Micheal." She said flatly. "Freebies come out of my pay. They wouldn't be free."
"So... our food's on Jackie!" Kelso said triumphantly. "Sweet!"
"Jes, thank you, Jackie!" Fez said, clapping his hands.
"No, no, no! I need my money!"
"Now, that sounds more like her..." Hyde snorted.
"I still can't believe you're married to that looser and have to work here now. If you had told us we would have stopped you..."
"Chippie is not a looser, Donna." Jackie said quietly. "But, he's trying to get his band off the ground, and he doesn't have time to work. Besides, he got me pregnant."
"Jackie, he roofied you."
Hyde's fists clenched at his side, his jaw ticking tightly.
"I'm pregnant, Donna. It wouldn't be proper to be an unwed mother." Jackie said softly, sitting down.
"He doesn't treat you right, Jackie..."
Jackie sighed, sitting down. "My mom threw me out of the house for being pregnant, and he offered to marry me. I didn't have a choice!"
Donna sighed, putting an arm around her.
"Yeah... that's not getting us sodas..." Eric sing-songed.
"Get bent, Eric." Donna snapped.
Wayne tilted his head at Jackie. "Such a shame... that body being hid by that unflattering uniform..." he tsked.
"Man, stop looking at her!" Hyde snapped.
"You could've waited for me." Kelso informed her.
Jackie made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "You left, Micheal." she said flatly. "I went on onedate I don't even remember, and now my life is wrecked. Don't even start with me." she sniffed, putting her head into Donna's shoulder.
Donna rubbed her back gently. Hyde knelt down in front of her. He knew she couldn't see or hear him, but he reached out and touched her cheek gently anyway.
"Oh, babe..." he whispered.
She paused, a hand going over Steven's hand on her cheek, and Hyde froze. Donna looked at her curiously.
"What?"
"Nothing... my cheek just got really warm all of a sudden." she said.
"You're probably gonna puke again..." Donna said, gingerly pushing her off.
"No... it was kind of nice." Jackie admitted.
"You felt that? Oh, Jacks, you felt it..."
"Probably her connection that she's meant to be with you." Wayne said condescendingly.
"Stop talking." Hyde ordered. "Just... stop."
"I miss Hyde..." Fez sighed.
"We all do, Fez, but he's not coming back. You know that." Eric said.
"What? Why not?" Hyde demanded, frustrated. "Where the hell am I?"
Wayne merely shrugged his shoulders, giving a smarmy little smirk.
"Eh, you are the worst angel ever! You're no help at all!"
Meanwhile, in the real world...
Donna and Eric came into the hospital room, where Kitty was sniffling over an out-cold Jackie and Hyde. Jackie was on top of him, her arms wrapped tightly around him, her face tearstained and swollen from crying.
"We had to sedate her." Kitty said before Donna could ask. "She wouldn't get up, and we don't have the heart to move her, but I was afraid she'd make herself sick, or go into an asthma attack from it."
"How could this have happened?" Donna asked, her voice cracking.
"He'll be all right." Eric said, trying to be stoic. "He... they both have to... he's my brother. He has to..."