California-

After throwing away the burnt food, Jackie sits on her 2-seat dining room table getting more frustrated about the conversation she just finished having with Jason. Did people really think she was this stupid? I mean why the hell would she give Hyde another chance? Not only had he cheated on her and married some whore, but throughout their entire relationship he failed to trust her. In hindsight, Jackie didn't understand how she even stayed with someone who couldn't believe anything she said. She was like the boy who cried wolf...except she never had.

It amazed her how many problems she recognized in her relationship with Hyde. The only problem was that she realized them too late. She was a smart girl, she should have noticed all the red flags from the very beginning and save herself the heartache and pain that followed. Whoever said love is blind was not kidding; that person probably dated Steven Hyde too.

The thought that kept recurring through her mind that bothered her the most was how she had done the same thing her mother had. Maybe she hadn't stayed for money like her mom, but she stayed in a destructive relationship for years, and for what? To be tossed aside like garbage or a pair of last season shoes?

that insecure little girl couldn't understand how she could be so indispensable that a man who slept in a closet size rooms with nothing but a few records and a pair of sunglasses could get rid of her as if it didn't mean anything. Though perhaps it never did.

It's not like Hyde was known for his long term relationships. She had met him as the town womanizer. The young man who fucked them and left them without so much as an explanation or reason.

The thing with Jackie was that she was a Burkhart. That Burkhart pride solidified her idea that she could do any damn thing she wanted by just batting an eyelash. Her philosophy of life growing up wasn't "my way or the highway" but simply "my way." There was no other option, she got what she wanted, and what she wanted was Steven Hyde.

He would be the man of her dreams, as soon as she reformed him to her liking of course. He would replace beer with wine, pot with imported Cuban cigars, and he would give her expensive jewels and flowers instead of foil-wrapped burgers. He would become the man of every girl's dream and she would go down in the books as the legendary Jackie Burkhart, the girl who tamed the beast.

In hindsight, Jackie should have known you can't change anyone. She had tried to do the same thing with Michael. She constantly sought out ways to keep him from cheating. She read Cosmo, she basically threatened every girl in Point Place (which cost her a few friends and earned her a few enemies). Hell she had even written "Don't date Kelso" on the "Welcome To Point Place" sign just in case some new girl visited the town. In the end, all her efforts were in vain since his cheating progressively got worse and ultimately led to their demise.

In the end of it all, when she had to restart her life over in California, Jackie came to the realization that she was the one who needed to change. She needed to lower her expectations for people and understand that a princess didn't fit in a cynical world. Wasn't that what had gotten Snow White poisoned in the first place? She was just too damn happy and perfect so just needed to go. And just like Snow White, Jackie had to start her life over in a brand new place. The only difference was that Jackie wasn't surrounded by cute rabbits, birds and squirrels. Instead, she was in a world of hippies, stoners and tanned beach trash. She also stopped believing in Prince Charming a long time ago. Broken hearts turned one into a cynic afterall.

The one thing that bothered Jackie the most was that, no matter how much she told herself that she hated him and no matter how many times she went over all the things he did to her, a part of her remembered only the good times they had together. Her most vivid memories of Hyde had nothing to do with cheating or his marriage. She didn't think about the arguments or the lack of trust...all she ever thought about were the good times they had throughout their relationship.

One memory that always played back in her mind was right after the first time they had made love. It had been a really hot summer night and they had waited until everyone else went home. When they were finally alone they went into his small room in the basement and for the first time proved their love to one another.

What made that one time particularly special was what happened afterwards. As they both laid on his tiny cot, trying to regulate their breathing, Hyde placed a small kiss on her forehead and told her things she was sure he had never, nor would ever, tell anyone else. That was the night she realized he loved her. He did not even have to tell her, she just knew. What was best about that night was how much he trusted her. He trusted her enough to confess to her his inner demons and tell her about his life. That was one of the few times she remembered him trusting her. A few weeks later, when Kelso and Donna came back from California, Hyde would tell her less and less. She had thought that it was because there weren't many more secrets for him to tell her, but now she knew that his trust in her decreased over time. It was as if the more her and Kelso hung out together, the more Steven distrusted her.

How had it taken so long for her to figure out that Kelso frightened Hyde? The idea of Jackie going back to Michael like she had countless times in the past must have always been in Hyde's mind. She could easily blame his insecurities for breaking them apart, but she never reassured him that it wasn't a possibility. Even after she told him she loved him, she wasn't capable of choosing between Steve and Michael when the time came.

Looking back on it, she would have felt the same way had one of Steven's exes been around all the time and he couldn't make up his mind as to who he wanted to be with. All the games she played, the "I want what I want when I want it" moments definitely hindered their relationship, and she was clearly partly to blame for pushing him away.

Jackie sighed in frustration. Here she was again, making excuses for Hyde, just as Jason said. But she couldn't help it. Yes Hyde broke her heart, and yes she could never forgive him for some of the things he did to her, but she didn't place all the blame on him regarding their failed relationship. They had both played a part in each other's downfalls, but their egos would not let them admit it.

If perhaps she would have realized all of this before, she would have been able to save herself a lot of hurt and disappointment...she might have even been able to have a friendship with Steven Hyde.

Point Place-

Red and Hyde pulled into the garage and were met by a very eager Kitty Forman. As soon as Hyde opened the passenger seat, the older woman lunged herself at him and embraced him as tightly as she could. Finally, her baby was safely home and she could take care of him.

Red just rolled his eyes because he knew that with Steven back, his wife would baby him and he would never leave the house. Hell, with his luck, the other idiots would just come by and take over his house. It would be like 1978 all over again. Although, he did not exactly hate the idea of having the kids around again. Not that he was going to admit to anyone that he missed the boisterous bunch, but it sure beat the hell out of a silent house. Whenever Kitty worked a late shift, he would be home alone and the silence nearly drove him insane.

He would often think about his younger years, before he joined the Army. He and his friends would hang out in a nearby diner. He remembered the waitresses in roller skates and he always tried to convince his then girlfriend Eloise to get a job there because she would look good in the uniform. Not long afterwards she broke up with him and his father told him to join the military, and Red Forman knew better than to say no to his strict father. He met with a recruiter soon after and before he knew it, he was being sent off to war.

Red remembered everything happening so quickly. There he was, a young boy who had just gotten his heart broker, heading to fight a war thousands of miles away. It didn't make it any easier that he had started seeing a pretty young girl, Kitty Sigurdson, whom he was sure would help him forget about Eloise.

"Red...RED!" interrupted Kitty, "Help Steven with his things. I'm going to bake some chocolate peanut butter cookies for my poor baby."

Red rolled his eyes once more as Hyde shot him a "smartass" look. 'Here we go again' he thought as he picked up a bag from the Toyota and headed inside the kitchen.

Over in Madison-

Donna Pinciotti, soon to become Forman, was reading over an essay she had written for her "Women in History" class for about the fourth time that day. It was due the next day and she was not 100% happy with it. She chose to write about the feminists of the 20's and about how the Equal Rights Amendment would change the role of women for years to come.

She couldn't focus however, so she decided to reach over and dial the number of a good friend. Jackie Burtkhart was one of Donna's best friends...is one of Donna's best friends. Actually, she wasn't sure where her friendship with Jackie stood nowadays. They hadn't spoken in a while. Donna tried calling after Hyde's accident, but got so caught up with school and the one time she could talk on the phone, she called Eric who was in Point Place to ask how Hyde was doing.

She heard the click on the other side and then Jackie's voice.

"Hello?"

"Jackie hi. It's Donna."

"Oh hey Donna, how are you."

"Good, good., just reading my paper on feminism How are you? It's been a while."

"Yes, it definitely has. Ive been good, just busy with work you know."

"Yeah , I can imagine. Did you, uh, hear about Hyde?"

"Yes, Eric called."
"Oh, okay good. I meant to call but, well I've been busy with school and all."

"Yeah don't worry, I understand."

"I was wondering if you were planning on going back to Point Place for Thanksgiving."

"Donna...that's almost two months away, and to be honest I don't think that's an option right now."

"Oh, but I'm sure the Formans would really appreciate you going there, we all will."

"This has nothing to do with the Formans, I'm sure you know that."

"Come on Jackie, you can't still be mad at Hydee for what happened. It's been almost a year."

"Wow, still taking Steven's side I see."

"What? What does that mean?"

"It means that you always sided with Steven, no matter what happened or how badly I was hurt, you never once stood up for me."

"Whoa, Jackie where is this coming from?"

"You think everything can just go back to normal now? You think that I will get over everything that happened to me just because all this time has passed? It doesn't work like that Donna."

"I didn't ask you to get back together with Hyde, all I asked was if you were going back to the Forman's."

"No. I'm not."

"Ugh Jackie this isn't fair for the rest of all. We're all a group and you're making it really hard for us to get things back to how they were."

"Who says that's what I want? I'm happy now Donna. I don't have a cheating boyfriend or a best friend who's never on my side."

"Never on your side? I was always on you side!"

"Oh really? When was that? When Michael left for California and you left with him, or maybe when Steven cheated on me with a nurse and you were so determined to get us back together so I would stop "quoting Nancy Drew" oh wait, perhaps it was the time that you befriended the whore he married. Face it Donna, you were never there for me, and I would NEVER do those things to you."

"You're overreacting Jackie. We weren't really friends during the Kelso thing, and you told me you still loved Hyde so I thought I was doing you a favor by getting you guys back together. Oh and as far as Samantha goes, I was just trying to be a good friend to Hyde."

"Yeah, that was always the problem Donna, you were always trying to be a good friend to everyone but me. You know what, I'm just going to go now, but I really hope your feminism paper is about women who don't choose men over their friends or put their lives on hold for one."

With that, Jackie hung up the phone leaving Donna stunned. Had she really been that bad?