Guess what guys? It's the weekend!

I want to say I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to everyone's reviews. I got swamped with school but I do want to let you guys know that I really appreciate all of your reviews; they give me so much inspiration.

Disclaimer: Others, not me, own That 70's Show.

Dedication:

To the two lovely cups of Mexican coffee that helped me stay up when inspiration bit me.

St. Kelso's Ire

Hyde stared at the back entrance. Zeppelin's Over the Hills and Far Away had long ended and moved on to AC/DC's Thunderstruck. Hyde couldn't appreciate Chibs's good taste though. Instead, he pushed back against the table and jumped out of his chair. He marched to the front entrance.

"'Ey!" he heard Chibs called out, "Did ya fill out the forms?"

Hyde ignored him and pushed open the door. Once he stepped out all he had to do was look up. There it was, staring at him in the face. Like an idiot, he missed the big gigantic sign twenty feet up in the air.

Forman and Son's Auto Shop

"Holy crap," he breathed out and raked his hands through his hair. He marched back into the lobby. Chibs was gone but Hyde didn't care, he quickly looked around. Sunlight was flooding the lobby from the glass walls; random fake plants stood in each corner.

He moved up to the counter and it was then he noticed all the plaques and certificates. A Certificate of Achievement from the University of Illinois in Engineering was framed on the wall; it was right next to another certificate that read:

National Institute for

Automotive Service Excellence

Be it known that

Jacqueline B. Burkhart

Has successfully passed the examinations and met the experience requirement prescribed by the …

Hyde felt a little lightheaded and he finally turned to see a small plaque on the wall by the jukebox. When he neared it he saw the small plaque read "Forman and Son's Auto Shop est. 1981. Store Manager: Jackie Burkhart." Right next to it was a framed picture of a glowing Jackie holding an over-sized pair of scissors over a green ribbon. Red was holding the other part of the scissors with his arm around Jackie.

A bell jingled behind him.

"Hyde?"

Hyde turned around at his name and found Eric and Donna standing by the entrance. His perception of time was all screwed up because by the time he blinked Donna and Eric were in front of him.

"Hyde," Forman waved his hand in front of him.

"Oh, he knows," Donna, whispered to Eric. Hyde focused as he saw Eric pull out his wallet and give a twenty-dollar bill to Donna.

"Have you seen her yet?" Donna asked. He felt her hand on his shoulder and how she was steering him towards the black leather couch.

"Yeah," Hyde sat down, "I saw her wake up from a nap and head to the back."

"Wait, did you talk to her?" Forman asked.

"Nah, she didn't see me."

"Ha! I said he would see her but wouldn't say anything!" Forman pumped a fist.

"That doesn't count! She didn't even see him!" Donna protested.

"Wasn't part of the deal, Donna."

Donna passed the twenty-dollar bill back to Eric. Hyde shook his head and leaned forward to face Forman and Donna who were sitting on the weird red seats in front of him.

"Can you guys cut it out?"

Eric scooted closer towards Hyde.

"So on a scale of one to ten, how freaked out were you?"

"We were going to tell you before we all came to see Jackie but you found your way here," Donna grinned at him, "All by your little self."

"Hey man, how's the El Camino?" Eric asked.

"Totaled," Hyde rubbed his face.

"Sucks," Donna patted his knee.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a few moments. It grew awkward.

"Wait," Eric sat up. He pointed a finger at Hyde, "You're wiggin' out way more than I thought you would."

Donna looked at Hyde and tilted her head. "Yeah, I mean we knew it'd be a shocker to see grease monkey Jackie but you're almost catatonic."

"Not real- I mean I knew she liked cars- or did - a long time ago, but I thought – came out of- wasn't ready to see her."

Eric leaned back in his seat and laughed. "Why would you not be ready to-" he stopped laughing and looked at Hyde, "No."

"Hyde…" Donna narrowed her eyes "it's been five years. There's no way you're still…"

"Stop looking at me like that," Hyde crossed his arms, "I said get out of my face!"

"No!" Donna and Eric gasped in unison and sprang up from their chairs.

They had no time to interrogate Hyde further before the sound of thundering steps came from behind the counter. Hyde leaned forward to get a look but Eric pushed him back down. He signaled for him to stay there. Hyde scoffed at Eric.

"Just trust me," Eric whispered.

Hyde leaned back into the couch, out of view from the counter. Eric and Donna moved forward.

"Chibs, I told you to stop letting the smelly hobos come in and use our phone," he heard Jackie's voice.

"Wasn' a hobo. It was the guy with the totaled car," Chibs said.

"Eric! Donna!" Jackie squealed as soon as she caught sight of them. She was carrying a glass vase full of sunflowers. She placed it on the counter before moving to Donna and Eric.

"Oh Donna, your hair!" her arms spread out, "Thank God you changed it. You were staring to look like David Coverdale."

"I missed you too, Bitch," Donna laughed.

Jackie laughed and straightened her shirt. Then she turned her attention to Eric.

"Eric," she said in a low voice.

"Satan," he challenged. Out of nowhere, Eric started running backwards as Jackie ran back behind the counter. Eric stretched his right arm back, like he was getting ready to throw something.

"Think fast, Dorkwad!" Jackie yelled from the counter as she threw something at Eric. He caught a book as Jackie caught the one he had thrown. Jackie turned over the novel and looked at the cover.

"Ender's Game? Eric, this is sci-fi geeky crap!" Jackie yelled.

"Yeah," Eric laughed.

"We agreed!"

"That was before you made me read Princess Daisy!"

"Because you made me read Cosmos!"

"Which I paid for by having to read Rage of Angels!"

Jackie gasped, "You said you liked that one."

"Children," Donna put her hands up and stood between them as Jackie walked back towards them, "Let's not fight. We all know the rules."

Jackie stomped her feet, "It's not fair, I actually picked a really good one for you."

Eric looked down and studied the small book Jackie had thrown at him.

"The Key to Rebecca," Eric sounded doubtful. Hyde watched him turn the novel over and read the back, "Well… doesn't sound too bad." He sighed, "Fine, just give it back and I'll try and find another one."

"No," Jackie put a hand on her hip, "It'll give you a head start. I want you to feel bad when I finish it first and you realize how great my book is."

Hyde was getting impatient. All he could see was the back of Jackie while Eric and Donna were facing her. What was up with Jackie and Forman? He was seriously weirded out. Hyde tapped his foot, five years man, he told himself. Why was he waiting? He had to get in there, Hyde stood up.

Donna's eyes grew wide and she elbowed Eric. Eric groaned until he saw Hyde move towards them.

"Uh, Jackie," Eric blurted out nervously, "S-sorry we didn't come over last night when we got into town. We were waiting for a f-friend."

"Eric," Jackie lifted a finger, "I told you I didn't want to meet any of your minimum wage, nerdy talking, polyester wearing teacher hacks with a cereal box degree."

"Wow, you've given that one some thought, huh?"

"Well, I was saving it for you but I figured this was as good as any."

"Jackie," Donna stood in front of her, "What Eric was trying to say was… Well, when we got to Point Place there was someone there with Kitty and Red."

"Someone who hadn't been there… in a while…"

"Bob?" Jackie's hand slid slowly off her hip, "It wasn't Bob was it?"

"Hey Jackie," Hyde said right behind her.

She screamed. She twirled around and abruptly began to smack him with the novel Forman had thrown her. Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Ow! Jackie! It's me!" Hyde tried to cover himself with his arms.

"Ste-Oh my God!" Jackie dropped the book in a second. Her hands went up to her mouth slowly. Hyde couldn't stop staring at her. Her skin still looked smooth, her eyes were still big and brown.

"Holy shit!" she said through her fingers.

"Did you just say 'shit'?" Hyde was taken aback.

"You look-" Jackie gestured at him with her hands. Before she said anything else, she shocked Hyde by wrapping her arms around his shoulders. A quick sniff let him know she wasn't wearing her usual lavender.

"Eww," Jackie said near his ear, "I can feel your bones." She released him and stepped back to take a look at him. The hug had been so light and fleeting, he had hardly felt it. This was not the reaction he had been expecting.

"You smell like mini-mart cologne," she wrinkled her nose. She looked up at his head and her eyes grew wide, "Oh my God, your hair. It's huge! You look like a dirty used cotton swab." She made a face.

"Yeah. Well you look-"

"I know!" she twirled around, "I look badass!"

Hyde could see the logo of the auto shop on her sleeveless shirt, two patches to the left of her chest. One said ASE Certified Automobile Technician while the other had the name "Jacks" in black cursive stitching.

"I own an auto shop!" Jackie clapped her hands.

"Jackie," Forman moved up beside her, his arms crossed, "my dad owns an auto shop."

"Okay, half – whatever."

"Mechanic," Hyde found his voice. Jackie was a mechanic, the very thought was making stupid sensations run through his veins. He relaxed his face. "Far out."

"Hyde," Donna chuckled, "No one says 'far out' anymore."

He had no time to think of a good burn. The bells on the door jingled and the lobby soon filled with the sound of crying. Everyone turned around to face the entrance. Over the top of their heads Hyde could see the sound was coming from a little girl that looked to be around four years old. She was being carried by an extremely tall police officer.

"Jackie!" he heard Kelso's voice. He walked towards the group. Jackie immediately stepped forward and ran to Kelso. "She misses Mommy."

Jackie nodded and took the crying little girl in her arms. Her long brown wavy hair hid her face but Hyde could see that she was missing a shoe and her overalls were caked in mud. The little girl kept crying as Jackie carried her to the back entrance and disappeared.

Jackie and Kelso had a kid? What the hell was going on? Hyde could feel a throbbing pain start in his head.

"Kelso, what happened?" Donna moved towards him.

Kelso stood facing the back entrance behind the counter. "Some punk kid was making fun of her at school today." Kelso whipped his head to face them, "I swear if that little-"

His face froze when his eyes landed on Hyde. He slowly took off his blue cap and Hyde could see the stubble around his chin and cheeks.

"Hyde?" Kelso croaked out.

"Hey Kelso," Hyde grinned. Strands of Kelso's combed back brown hair were falling into his face. He had a strange look that Hyde couldn't read. He watched Kelso walk towards him, determination on his face.

"Kelso-" Donna called out as he passed her.

"Hey ma-" Hyde started.

Crack!

Hyde felt Kelso's fist land squarely on his jaw. His head went flying back while his feet stumbled back. Hyde fought to keep his balance and was barely able to stay standing.

"Kelso! He didn't know," he heard Donna's voice.

"It doesn't matter," Kelso said through gritted teeth.

Once Hyde regained his balance he was able to zero in his vision across the lobby and onto Kelso. He was nursing an injured hand. Immediately, Hyde lunged forward.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on!" Eric intercepted him and pushed him back down onto the couch. The force with which he landed on the couch momentarily shocked Hyde. What the hell was going on? His lip stung as he wiped it with the back of hand. He was bleeding and he could taste the iron in his mouth.

"What the hell?" Jackie walked into the lobby.

"Jackie!" Donna said from beside Kelso, "get your first aid kit."

Jackie pulled one out from behind the counter and tossed it towards Eric. She looked at Donna and Hyde watched Jackie jerk her head slightly. Donna nodded.

"Kelso, why don't we head out and look at that Rolls Royce Juice has been working on?" Donna asked. Hyde could only hear Kelso mutter and mumble about his hand hurting while Donna steered him through the side entrance. Hyde hoped Kelso's hand was broken.

Jackie started heading towards the back entrance.

"Wait," Eric practically jogged to the counter, "where are you going?"

Jackie lifted a hand onto her hip, "I need to find another first aid for Michael's hand"

"Let me help you!"

"You gotta help-"

"I don't wanna" Eric whispered, he pointed at his lip and made a face. Jackie made a swift glance at Hyde. She rolled her eyes.

"It's just blood, you wuss," she hissed before snatching the first aid kit from him. "There should be another inside the clubhouse's bathroom."

"Thanks!" Eric looked relieved and sped out the back door.

Hyde watched as Jackie made his way closer to him. He was trying to keep the bleeding from his lip with his hand. What the hell was going on? The whole friggin' fiasco had him paralyzed. One minute he was hugging Jackie and the next Kelso had clocked him. Since when did that happen? He wasn't even sure what the hell he was supposed to be thinking.

All his brain could make out was Jackie walking towards him in her cowboy hat, dark denim jeans and black boots. Those black boots with the green shoelaces. They looked so silly on such small feet. Yeah, that's why he was fixated on them… because they looked silly.

She grabbed one of the few normal looking blue chairs and twirled it around until the back of it was facing her. She placed it in front of Hyde and sat down. Her arms leaned on the back of the chair.

"How's the little girl?" Hyde said the only thing that could occur to him while he watched Jackie open the first aid kit and rummage through it.

"She's fine. She's sleeping in the clubhouse," Jackie said without looking at him. She pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls and a small tube of ointment.

"Why'd Forman split so quick?"

"Try not to talk so much, your jaw must hurt," Jackie placed a cotton ball on the opening of the bottle and tilted it upside down. She placed the cotton ball on Hyde's lip. He immediately winced but he stayed still as it stung.

She was really close to him and he was kind of pissed all he could smell was the stink from the peroxide.

"He had a bad experience with one of his students and a bleeding knee."

"Whah?" Hyde was barely able to ask.

"Eric. That's why he went to go look for the other first aid kit. He's not good around blood."

"Oh," he sighed in relief once Jackie removed the cotton ball.

Before she could reach for the tube of ointment, Hyde put his hand out to stop her.

"What's going on, Jackie?" he asked. Or at least he hoped that's what he asked. The swelling in his lip was making it hard to enunciate. She looked at him, right in the eye and tilted her head, like she was trying to come up with her words.

"You, uh…" she cleared her throat, "Look, when you left you didn't say good-bye to anyone. Not to Fez, not to Donna, not even to Michael. You didn't call, you didn't write. The only people that got anything from you, any kind of sign that you cared were the Formans." Jackie leaned back and rested her arms on the chair. The entire time her eyes never left Hyde's. The intensity was making the pounding from his swelling reach his head.

"You made it pretty clear the only people that ever mattered to you were the Formans, everyone else could eat it. All that was left was for you to do was to put it up on a big tacky billboard."

Hyde felt himself sink in the couch. The pounding had turned into hammering and Jackie's stare was making him uncomfortable…

"I'm sorry I shou-"

"It's cool," Jackie sat back up in the chair and grabbed the ointment tube. She gave him a grin and all the intensity from her eyes was gone, "Michael's the one that's upset."

He sat in silence as Jackie used a cotton swab to apply the ointment on the cut in his lip. He could see the rise and fall of her breathing. Her eyebrows weren't as thin as they used to be, they were fuller but arched the same. What threw Hyde back was that she was hardly wearing any make-up. There was still some of that shiny junk on her lips but the only other thing she had on her face was the pencil black stuff on her eyes.

"Jackie," Hyde could hardly hear his voice. Jackie looked up and met his gaze, "Didn't we hate each other the last time we were-" Something got lodged in Hyde's throat; he couldn't bring himself to say 'together'.

Jacked smiled at him, but it was a smirk that didn't even reach her eyes, "It was a long time ago. Kind of ancient history, you know?"

Hyde nodded slowly.

"Plus," she stood up and moved to the vending machine, "You look like a hobo that came back from war prison. And I," she picked out the can of pop and twirled towards him, "own an auto shop. I can afford to be the bigger person."

She handed him the can of pop and gestured at his lip. Before Hyde could help himself, he laughed. She could still burn like back in the basement. He placed the cold can on his jaw and felt instant relief.

She disappeared behind the counter and came back with a bottle of pills.

"Take two for now. The pain's going to be a bitch in a few hours."

"Jackie," Hyde asked again.

"Yeah?" she stood away from him and crossed her arms.

"You're not telling me everything. Who's the little girl?" Hyde looked up at her. Is she really your kid? He was too afraid to ask.

Jackie whirled around. Her face darkened as she frowned. She marched over to him and Hyde could feel himself shrinking.

"That was Betsy. You know… your goddaughter?"

"That's Betsy?" Hyde couldn't help himself from feeling lighter, though now a different dark feeling started creeping in, "She looks so-"

"Small? Yeah," Jackie nodded and sat back on the chair. Certain warmth started to spread into her eyes. Then she blinked.

"Did you know that when you left Michael thought you'd been abducted? He didn't even find out until weeks after you were gone. He went back to the water tower to look for you."

"Because that's where the mother ship would land," Hyde finished.

"Exactly. Well, he was pretty convinced. It took Eric a long time to get through to him. " Jackie stopped talking abruptly. She lifted her hand to her temple and began to massage. "None of us really saw each other that year until after Thanksgiving."

"Why?" Hyde asked.

Jackie shrugged and glanced away. Hyde watched as she started biting on the inside of her lower lip.

"What is it, Jackie?"

Jackie rose from the chair. She walked to the jukebox and stared at it for a while. When she spoke it was barely a whisper. "After Betsy's second Thanksgiving, Brooke got into an accident with some thugs."

"They were mugged?" Hyde started rising from his chair.

Jackie nodded. "They found them because Betsy was crying on the ground next to Brooke. They rushed them to the hospital but- but Brooke-" she started pushing random buttons on the jukebox.

"She didn't-"

Jackie shook her head, "No, she didn't make it."

UPDATES:

So, I really hope you guys liked this chapter. The great news is that the bug has really bitten me so a new chapter might not have to wait until this weekend. I might post it sometime around Monday or Tuesday so stay tuned!

As always, any thoughts or questions in form of reviews make me a very happy midnight joker :D

- RckNRll Ninja