On another side of the country, Steven Hyde laid in a hospital bed as nurses went in and out of his room, asking how he was feeling him or giving him more drugs to scoff down. It had been but a couple of hours since he was admitted into the hospital but it already felt like an eternity.

Also, for a reason he did not want to recall, he cringed whenever a nurse entered the room. Every time one came in his mind reeled back to the time he sat in his El Camino with Jackie telling her he cheated on her with a nurse. God he had really felt like a dumbass then. He had but a mere days prior realized that he was falling in love Jackie, which scared the shit out of him, but he strangely liked the feeling. Then, as if on cue, his walls came closing in on him as they had endless times in the past and made him push her away. All because he thought she was with Kelso behind his back.

He remembered the look on her face when she realized what he was trying to tell her. The hurt she expressed was minuscule compared to how disappointed she must have been. Steven Hyde was never too concerned with hurting others, hell he had hurt Jackie before (though not in such harsh ways) but he did care if he disappointed those he loved, and Jackie topped that list of people.

He knew he didn't deserve a second chance once she ran off, but he would be damned if he didn't make an effort.

For many days after that he called her and went to Donna's house, though to no avail because she refused to see or speak to him. Of course he couldn't blame her. He probably wouldn't either if the tables were turned...not that they ever would be.

Jackie wasn't the kind of girl to cheat on a boyfriend, especially one she claimed to love. See, Jackie loves hard and she puts her all into her relationships. How Hyde could have thought she was cheating with Kelso, both the day of the nurse exposition and Chicago, was beyond him. His best bet was that he wasn't as secure as he appeared to be.

"Hey Hyde man" said Eric who had just entered the room holding a few balloons.

"Wow Forman, thanks for the balloons, but don't expect me to put out" replied Hyde.

"Ha-ha funny, these are from mom. She just couldn't stand the thought of you being in a balloon-less room" answered Eric while rolling his eyes and releasing the balloons in a corner of the room facing Hyde.

"Right. What are you doing here, shouldn't you be in Madison working or like preparing Donna dinner?"

"Seriously, your humor kills me. No, I took off for a few days to...you know. Donna's staying over at a friend's house until I get back."

"Forman, you do know I'm fine right? You don't have to stay here."

"I know I don't have to."

Hyde simply nodded at the response. Eric Forman was always looking out for his friends and putting them first, no matter what. He wasn't afraid to open up and talk about feelings and all that other crap. While this could be a little annoying at times, it was something Hyde had grown to appreciate and even envy to some extent. After all, Forman"s managed to keep Donna all these years so maybe there was a method to the madness

"Fez said he'll drop by after he gets a hold of Laurie."

"What, are the phone busy at the strip club?"

"I guess so."

"I still can't believe those two are together."

"Not just together, married. Not even Donna and I managed that."

"Well to be fair, had you not run off you would have."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"No problem."

"Speaking of reminders, I spoke to Jackie earlier."

"Jackie? Which Jackie?" asks Hyde.

"How many Jackie's do you know?"

No answer. Eric could see how tensed Hyde got but decided to continue the conversation anyways.

"Anyways, I told her about your accident and she seemed really worry so I told her I'd call her later tonight but I was thinking that maybe you should call. I'm sure she'll feel better hearing that you're okay from you."

"Right and Leo's Einstein. Jackie and I haven't spoken in almost a year Forman, I'm sure she's less worried than you think."

"I think she was pretty genuine actually. This is Jackie we're talking about, she always worried about you."

"Alright now we're definitely talking about another Jackie because the only thing Jackie *Burkhart* ever cared about was money and gifts."

"You know you don't really think that right?"

Again no answer, and this time it was Eric's time to nod.

"I took the number down in case you decided to call. I'll put it on your bedside table here. I should probably get going but I'll come tomorrow."

"Yeah okay, thanks Forman. Oh tell Mrs. Forman thanks for the balloons."

As Eric walked towards the door he said, "you should really call her Hyde. She's really worried," and exited the room.

For a few minutes after Eric's departure Hyde contemplated how a conversation with Jackie would go after many months of not speaking to one another. His thoughts came up as two extremes: either she would express feelings of love and forgiveness towards him or completely chew his head off for being a dumbass. Extremes always did seem to be their thing, so he figured he might as well do it.

Slowly, Hyde picked up the receiver and dialed the number on the small piece of paper Eric had left. The digits were so unfamiliar to him, and he was hoping the person on the other line wouldn't be also.

The ringing seemed to go on forever in Hyde's mind until finally he heard a click and then a voice he knew all too well.

"Hello?"

A/N2: I know..another cliffhanger. I'm sorry but I want to leave the actual conversation for a different chapter but I needed to add this part to the story. I'll update really soon, either this weekend or at the beginning of the upcoming week. Thanks for reading!