The next morning, Eric, Fez, Red, and Donna were sitting at the crowded kitchen eagerly awaiting breakfast. Kitty placed a stack of pancakes on the kitchen table, realized she hadn't set out any syrup, and grabbed the bottle from the fridge. By the time she got back to the kitchen table, the serving platter was empty, and the mouths of everyone at the table were full.

Kitty took the empty serving plate off the table and put it on the counter, wishing someone had thanked her for their meal. She started measuring out a second batch of pancake mix, but before she could start cooking the batter, the phone rang. She tossed her spatula down in frustration, and stormed over to the wall to answer the phone.

"Hello?" she asked, her voice tinged with a hint of frustration.

"Well, good morning to you too." The voice on the other end answered dryly.

"Mom!" Kitty gasped. "What's going on? Why are you calling so early?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, Kitty. I just heard about the airport problems in Wisconsin on the news. Is Eric alright?" Bea asked.

"Yes, Eric's okay, he's sitting here in the kitchen with me right now."

"Well, good, because I want to visit him." Bea stated.

Kitty gasped. Her mother actually wanted to come back to Wisconsin. After Kitty's father died, Bea spent all her time out in Arizona, hanging out with a blind Indian with three fingers. The ostrich farm sat unused, acres of land going to waste.

"But how would you get here? The airport's closed." Kitty pondered.

"I'd take a Greyhound. Nothing can stop me from seeing my Eric, or Red, and that other boy, Sean or something."

What about me? thought Kitty. Doesn't she miss me?

"I'm getting on a bus tonight." Bea added, then hung up the phone.

T7S

Jackie shivered, even though she was wrapped up in several layers of blankets. "I'm cold." she whined.

"Well, then why don't you put on some decent clothes?" suggested Hyde.

Jackie sighed and grabbed her Zeppelin shirt off her nightstand. She slipped it on under the blankets, careful to not let any heat out, and turned to face Hyde. "Steven, maybe we should talk. I mean, what's gonna happen to all of us with Eric gone? We all hung out at his house. You were his best friend." She gasped. " What if, now that Eric's gone, Red kicks you out? I can't tell people I have a homeless boyfriend!"

"Jackie, calm down. Nothing's gonna happen. Kitty loves having someone around to take care of. The dog stays under the house, so I'm next on the list of things to take care of."

This seemed to alleviate some of Jackie's concerns, but she still looked worried.

"Well, can we at least call them? You know, to see if Eric got to Africa?"

"Jackie, it's been 12 hours. He's probably stuck at a layover airport."

"Well, let's see if he called Kitty." Hyde sighed. He knew there was no way he was going to win this argument. Jackie picked up the hotel phone from the nightstand, hit the speaker button, and dialed the number she knew by heart.

"Hello?" said Kitty, who sounded annoyed. She must miss Eric, Jackie thought.

"Hey, Kitty, it's me, Jackie! I just wanted to know how Eric's doing. Did he call you or anything?"

"Well, he's here with me right now."

"Wait, what?" Jackie asked, shocked. "What happened?"

"The airport is shut down. The runways froze over. If you two come home today, you get to see Eric again."

"Well, I wanted to see some more of Chicago," started Jackie, not getting a chance to finish, because Kitty cut in.

"So you're saying you'd rather be in some dumb old town then get the chance to see my child again before he leaves for a year?" Kitty demanded. "He could die over there!"

Hyde reached over Jackie and for the phone before she could reply to Kitty. He picked up the receiver, taking it off of speaker as he did so.

"We'll be there by tonight." Hyde replied, listening to Kitty's response. He hung up.

"I wanted to stay!" Jackie protested. "Eric's still going to be home tomorrow. I've been really wanting to check out some of the stores on Mich-"

"Why don't we come back when it's not freezing out?" Hyde cut her off, his voice surprisingly soft.

Jackie squealed with delight, and rolled out of bed, her feet hitting the cold floor with a bounce. "I'll be packed in 20 minutes!" she called, heading into the bathroom.

Hyde grinned.

T7S

Hyde and Jackie were on the highway home, albeit traveling a bit slower than normal due to the snow. Hyde drove, one hand on the steering wheel of the El Camino, the other intertwined with Jackie's.

Hyde felt Jackie go limp, her hand slipping out of his. He realized she had fallen asleep, her head resting against the Camino's window.

He wouldn't let any nightmares haunt her tonight. He would wake her when they got back to the Forman's.

Until then, he would let her sleep.

T7S

Jackie and Hyde had barely gotten through the kitchen door when Kitty ran up to them, wearing an apron and rubber gloves. She handed a bottle of Windex to Hyde, and gave Jackie a sponge mop.

"Good, good, you're back! We need you to clean, clean, clean! My mother's visiting!" said Kitty. She sighed. "I need some emergency bourbon."

Behind her was Fez, who was cleaning out the fridge. Donna was cleaning the countertops, and in the other room was Eric, who was picking up knick knacks and dusting them. A loud squeal was heard from the living room, followed by a 'thunk, and an 'oh, thank god'. The color drained from Kitty's face.

"Don't break my Shirley Temple figurine!" Kitty called into the living room. " Oh, for God's sake, let me do it!" Kitty hurried into the living room.

"Steven, I'm scared," squeaked Jackie.

"Well, I'm gonna need a circle after this." Hyde decided.

Kitty came back into the kitchen, her figurine in her hand. " What happened to cleaning?" she asked loudly, her curls shaking as she spoke.

"Umm, how do I work this thing?" asked Jackie, holding the mop as if it might bite her. "Do I just kinda push it?" Kitty gave her a death stare, her face getting redder as the seconds passed.

Hyde silently crossed the kitchen, plugged the sink and turned the water on, hoping to avert disaster.

"Just wipe it back and forth across the floor after dunking it in the water," he said, then grabbed a bottle of soap. He poured its contents into the sink, and watched the water grow bubbly.

"Ooh, Hyde knows how to clean," mocked Fez, even though he himself was wiping out the fridge.

Donna just laughed. "Mrs. Forman will kill all of us if she comes back in here and it's not spotless. Does it really matter who knows how to clean and who doesn't, as long as we make it out of this alive?"

For the next hour the gang did housework while Kitty cooked and cleaned. She rewarded them with a plate of cookies, which she made them eat on the porch, even though it was freezing out. "My house will be crumb free when my mother arrives." She declared.

Fez decided to go home for the night, mainly to check on Kelso. He had a tendency to lick poles and get stuck to them when the temperature dropped this low. Donna and Eric went up to his room for some " alone time," leaving Jackie and Hyde alone on the porch.

"Steven, it's cold out here. Can we go inside?" asked Jackie, putting down her cookie plate.

"Fine, but stay quiet. I don't want Kitty coming downstairs and realizing what a mess the basement is."

The two walked through the basement door. Jackie snuggled up next to Hyde on the couch as he flipped channels, mumbling about the lack of cable television in the basement. He was warm, and soft, and smelled like home. She could feel her eyelids drooping, and before she knew it, a gentle " Hey, Jackie?" from Hyde had woken her up.

" Hrmm?" she asked, her eyes closed, still half asleep.

"Do you want to stay here tonight? I mean, since it's cold out and snowy and all, you know," said Hyde.

"Yeah." She murmured. "That would be nice."

Before she could stand up and walk back to Hyde's room, he had her in his arms, and was carrying her to bed. She felt him duck as the two of them went under the entrance, and before she had opened her eyes, she'd been laid down on top of the comforter. Jackie slipped underneath the covers, and wiggled her jeans off. Hyde wordlessly tossed her a pair of sweatpants, which she gratefully accepted.

She loved having a boyfriend that would let her sleep over without asking for sex, someone who would gladly let her wear their sweatpants and redecorate their room.

Right now, she couldn't ask for a more perfect boyfriend.