Archive of Our Own

Point Place looked exactly the same as it had when he last left it.

The years that had passed hadn’t changed a thing, and as the El Camino slowly rolled to a stop in front of the house that held a majority of the only good memories Hyde had, he felt both comforted and unsettled by the observation.

The neighborhood was still quiet, with a few kids still playing basketball at the end of the block. The sun still shone behind the ever-present clouds that hung over the entire state of Wisconsin.

The BMW parked at the end of the driveway still made his pulse jump, even after so much time.

Just as soon as his own car door slammed closed, a blur of long hair and model-tall limbs flew off the Forman’s front porch and raced towards him.

“Dad!” exclaimed Hannah joyfully, launching herself at Hyde for a hug that knocked him back off his feet.

Her fiancé followed behind her at a more subdued pace, lifting one hand in a stilted wave. “Sir,” Harrison said, shifting uncomfortably when Hyde only squinted back at him.

Hannah huffed in his arms, but she was smiling when he set his eyes on her again. “How was your drive?”

“Same old,” Hyde answered, glancing over her shoulder at the closed front door. “Yours? Everything alright?”

“Easy peasy,” Hannah said, the tilt of her grin turning wry. “The Bramfords let us take the Ferrari.”

To his credit, Harrison grimaced when Hyde glared at him, avoiding his gaze. “The Ferrari,” Hyde repeated flatly.

Hannah pulled a face. “They took it back to the hotel.”

Of course they had. The Bramfords probably looked at Point Place with disdain, assuming their precious Ferrari might get its windows smashed if they dared to park it on the street for even a few hours.

Hyde knew they’d turned their noses up at the idea of a backyard wedding, and one in the suburbs of Wisconsin, no less. He’d overheard bits and pieces of Hannah’s discussions with Harrison about it, but in the end, she’d turned those big eyes on him and he proved that he was just as terrible at saying ‘no’ to Hannah as Hyde had always been.

And the idiot kid she was agreeing to marry had earned just a bit of Hyde’s respect for that.

Hyde’s eyes flickered to the cherry red BMW again. “Where’s your mom?”

“Inside, with Aunt Donna,” Hannah said, dimpling at him as she rocked back on her heels, fingertips tucked in the pockets of her jeans.

“Keep that look to yourself,” Hyde warned, lips twitching with the effort to hold back a smile of his own as Hannah turned her palms up innocently, shrugging away.

“I didn’t say anything.” She turned and walked off back towards the house, her fiancé slipping his hand into hers.

“You didn’t have to,” Hyde said, hesitating on the porch for just a second before he followed them inside.

Red and Kitty had made some renovations to the place – first, to try to get it to sell, and then to make it more attractive as a rental property in the winter when they left for Florida. Though the wallpaper and carpet and furniture were all different, the atmosphere in the house was exactly the same. The place felt warm and alive, with framed photos of Eric and Donna and the kids on the walls and copies of their report cards displayed proudly.

Hyde heard noise in the kitchen, a loud laugh that could only belong to one person ringing out above the din.

Sure enough, Jackie was there when he stepped through the door, a warm chocolate chip cookie in her hands melting all over her manicured fingers. She was giggling at something Donna had said, between bites, eyes sparkling behind the wispy bangs that fell too-long over her forehead.

Christ almighty, she was beautiful.

Their eyes met and it was like the world slowed to a ridiculous stop – ridiculous because he’d last seen her just a week ago, at dinner in Chicago with Hannah, a monthly tradition he both looked forward to and dreaded, wondering if each evening might be the one where Jackie finally shared big news of her own. They always went around the table and, while Hannah consistently offered up an anecdote about dating and eventually, Harrison, Jackie’s updates only ever involved work, friends or travel.

But that didn’t stop him from obsessing every time he dressed for dinner, every time he walked to whatever new restaurant either one of them wanted to try in whatever stupid neighborhood. Maybe Jackie would have met someone, maybe Jackie would have gotten engaged.

She never had, and that didn’t stop him from obsessing, either, his what ifs turning into why nots.

Jackie set her cookie down on the counter and dusted off her hands. She smiled at him, dimpling just like their daughter. “Hey, Steven.”

“Jackie,” he returned, leaning in to hug both her and Donna. “Forman.”

“I hate it when you do that,” Donna complained, same as always. Everything was the same as it had always been.

His eyes hadn’t left Jackie’s face, and that was the same, too. “How was your ride?”

Jackie waved ambiguously. She was wearing a stylish, tailored pantsuit, her hair feathered immaculately. She must have come straight from the studio. “Fine,” she answered, “No traffic.”

“Did you know the Bramfords sent Hannah up here in their Ferrari?” he asked, scowling.

Jackie laughed. “Yeah, I picked them up at the hotel. Poor Harrison was a nervous wreck, he begged Hannah and I not to tell you. That kid is terrified of you.”

“He should be,” Hyde muttered, though at least he had the good sense not to act tough about it. In actuality, he hardly had an issue with Hannah’s fiancé – the kid was alright, for being born to two rich pricks with a silver spoon in his mouth. At the end of the day, he treated Hannah like gold, and that was all that mattered to Hyde, even if there was a certain sort of twisted poetry in watching his baby girl marry the doting WASP-y businessman he always assumed Jackie would end up with.

“Oh, give him a break,” Donna said, “In a couple days you’ll be family.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hyde grumbled, “Jackie, remind me to give Donna plenty of shit when it’s Carrie’s turn.”

Jackie motioned like she was turning a key at her temple, her full lips tugging up into a grin. She winked at him.

Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs. “Mom,” Hannah called out, dragging the word along into several obnoxious syllables. Mo-o-om. “Betsy called, we’re gonna go get lunch.”

“Okay,” Jackie shouted back, almost directly into his ear. The palm he placed against her lower back was reflexive – instinct. “Be safe, do you need money?”

“No!” Hannah and Harrison banged into the kitchen, their hands still interlocked between them. “She said to tell you Uncle Kelso’s coming over.”

“Great,” Hyde muttered under his breath, ducking his head with a huffed-out laugh when Jackie’s elbow shoved into his spleen.

“Thanks, sweetheart. Just call if you need a ride, okay?” His hand fell away as Jackie leaned in to hug both Hannah and Harrison at once. Hyde folded his arms across his chest, staring menacingly back at Harrison, who seemed anxious. He didn’t break, even when Hannah bounced up on her toes to press a kiss to Hyde’s cheek before they skipped out the sliding door.

“Where’s Eric?” Hyde asked Donna, once they’d gone.

Donna grinned gleefully at him. “He and Kitty took the kids grocery shopping.”

Hyde whistled lowly. “How’d you get out of that one?”

“Red pretended like he needed my help setting up the backyard. I’m pretty sure he’s asleep in the hammock.”

He ducked his head on a slight smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jackie pick up what was left of her discarded cookie, breaking it in half. She held a piece out to him wordlessly.

Hyde took it, ignoring the tiny sparks that lit up his skin where their fingers brushed. “Thanks,” he murmured.

He also ignored the look Donna was giving Jackie as he chewed and swallowed. “Is everything actually set up in the backyard?”

“More or less,” Jackie shrugged. There was a tiny smear of chocolate at the corner of her mouth. Both his thumb and lips ached for it equally. “The tents and the lights are done. We just have to put out the chairs in the morning.”

Hyde nodded, rubbing a hand along his beard. “Dinner tonight is at 7, yeah?” When Jackie nodded, he asked, “Ride over together?”

Jackie paused for a moment so brief it would have been imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know her as well as he did. She craned her neck to look over his shoulder out at the driveway, but he’d parked on the street. “Sure,” she said, unknotting something in his chest even as his stomach seized. “I’d like to get there a little early, if that’s alright.”

“Six?” Hyde prompted, lips twisting upwards when Jackie hummed her agreement. Okay, sure. His heart skipped a beat. Sure. There was no reason to be nervous. It was only their daughter’s rehearsal dinner. It wasn’t like they’d be alone – they’d be more surrounded by people than ever. It wasn’t like it was a date.

Commotion in the driveway broke the odd tension that had settled into place between them. Forman and the kids seemed to be arriving at the same time as Kelso, if the booming sound of childlike voices was any indication, and in moments, Hyde found himself with an armful of teenage twins while Jackie was lifted off her feet beside him by her ex-boyfriend.

“Uncle Hyde,” Carrie said, demanding his attention. His ears still burned hot despite the fact that he wasn’t looking; Jackie was giggling in a way that meant Kelso was spinning her around. “Grandma brought us into the liquor store.”

“She did?” he asked evenly, pretty pleased with himself for keeping his voice level despite the clear sounds of shoulder-smacking and an exasperated Michael.

“Uh-huh. And dad knocked over a display and got us all kicked out.”

“He broke a whole case of wine bottles,” Luke interjected, hopping up onto the counter and snagging a cookie off the sheet for himself. At the rate he was growing, he was almost as tall as Donna.

“Sounds about right,” Hyde smirked, finally giving in and cutting his eyes to the left. Kelso and Jackie were standing innocently side-by-side, not touching at all. He held back a sigh. “Hey, man.”

“Dude, what’s up?” Kelso beamed, the same bright-eyed eagerness from their teens still displayed on his face, “Can you believe Hannah and Betsy are hanging out at The Hub? It’s just like old times, man.”

Jackie frowned beside him. “I can’t believe they turned The Hub into a coffee shop.”

“Yeah,” Hyde remarked, “Guess our kids will have to get food poisoning someplace else.”

Eric and Mrs. Forman walked in with grocery bags, and Hyde rushed to meet them, pulling what felt like a paper bag full of champagne bottles out of Kitty’s hands. “Hey, Mrs. Forman,” he said politely, “Thanks again for having us.”

“Oh, Steven,” Kitty sighed, “You know I always hoped someone would want to get married here, before my son broke my heart and my daughter ran away to Italy.”

“Tell us how you really feel, please,” Eric said drily, motioning at Luke to get down off the counter. “It’s so hard to read you, sometimes.”

“Actually, Steven, Jackie, I meant to ask – is it alright if I put you both down in the basement tonight? Eric and Donna are sleeping next door, but I’ve got Luke in Eric’s old room and Hannah and Carrie sharing Laurie’s.”

Jackie shrugged carelessly, barely glancing up at him. “That’s fine for me. Thank you, Mrs. Forman.”

Hyde’s mouth ran dry. That was fine for her? What did she mean by that? As thought it was not his own, Hyde heard his voice answer, “Ah, yep. That works.” Satisfied by the resolution, the commotion in the kitchen continued around them. Eric and Mrs. Forman unpacked the groceries while Luke and Carrie bickered over the cookies; Kelso pulled a beer from the fridge. Hyde leaned down and quietly told Jackie, “I can take the couch.”

Again, she only shrugged. “Whatever,” she said casually, breezing past him to the door.

Hyde stilled, staring off after her. Her heels clicked on the paved driveway, and, distantly, he heard her pulling more bags from the car.

Whatever, she’d said. Okay. Okay, sure. It was nice to know he wasn’t alone in being unaffected by this.

The strange stirring of emotions had started when Hannah first told them she was engaged. He’d known Harrison was planning to propose; he’d pulled both Hyde and Jackie aside at Hannah’s last birthday party to ask them together. Jackie had been over the moon, bouncing on her toes and clapping while Hyde shushed her, frowning down at the pair of them.

How could his little girl be getting married? She was barely twenty-two, was it really time for that? Had it been that long?

Hyde had expected his stomach to settle after the news had time to sink in. Hannah was overjoyed, after all, and anything that made her so happy was easy to get on board with, like when he and Jackie had dropped her off at college and saying goodbye had felt impossible. Jackie had cried the whole way back to her apartment, even though Hannah’s dorm at Northwestern was barely thirty minutes away.

But he never stopped feeling uneasy. In fact, things only seemed to get worse the farther along Hannah got in the process of wedding planning. Jackie took to it all like a fish to water, and maybe that was the worst part. He finally had to watch her plan the wedding of her dreams with no limitations on budget or moratorium on talking about it in front of him, because it was all for Hannah, this time.

He started to feel stupid when it turned out that a backyard wedding at the house he’d grown up in with twinkly lights strung amongst the trees was enough to make Jackie’s eyes misty and still hadn’t stopped.

It all could have been for them, maybe, if their lives had taken a different path. If he’d asked Jackie to marry him before Chicago, maybe they’d be the ones living in the Formans’ house; maybe they’d have never split up in the first place.

Maybe they could’ve found a way to make the wedding happen any of the times Hyde thought about it after Hannah was born, before things got so unbelievably messed up. Maybe if he’d had the courage to ask she could’ve toddled down the aisle as a cooing flower girl and everything else would still be the same.

Instead, nothing was the same, and while he was so happy for his daughter he could barely stand it, part of him was nauseated watching all of this happen to someone else.

Everything had changed. He’d followed Jackie to Chicago and she’d been thrilled – that was part of the plan, after all, even if he was late getting on board with it.

The first few weeks were bliss. Hyde realized quickly Jackie would have never been happy as a housewife in Point Place. She was so good on TV he never missed a broadcast of hers – first, when she was doing the weather, and then when she was a beat reporter and, eventually, when she was an anchor on the evening news and so talented at making murders and robberies sound incredible that it left him breathless.

He bounced back and forth between the Formans’ in Point Place and Jackie’s apartment for over a year, running the record store and exhausting himself driving on the weekends so they could be together.

Until Jackie found out she was pregnant, and everything changed again. Suddenly he was a person who could divest his interests and put a down payment on a condo, a person who lived with his girlfriend and was expecting a child, a person someone was eventually going to call Dad, whenever they figured out how to talk.

They were more in love than ever. Hannah was born utterly perfect, with Jackie’s big eyes and button nose. They were on opposite shifts, and he delighted in playing Dad while Jackie read the headlines every night, and in the blink of an eye, Hannah was in kindergarten and school plays and Christmas choirs, and they were a couple who spent Thanksgiving at home in Wisconsin with the friends he’d grown up with and their kids, who treated Hannah like a cousin.

His sister came to visit and they drove out to see Jackie’s mom; their goddaughter delighted in visiting Chicago and squealed over the skyline view from the building they lived in.

Jackie went back to beat reporting for its better schedule and he got a job booking talent at a music venue downtown.

Everything was perfect, until it wasn’t.

In the doorway, Jackie groaned, startling Hyde from his thoughts. She was struggling under the weight of the grocery bag in her hands, and he moved to take it from her, pulling it from Jackie’s arms just as her knees buckled.

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly, “Jeez, these champagne bottles are heavy.”

“Must be expensive,” he joked lamely, struck by how closely she was standing to him. Jackie straightened to her full height, but still had to look up at him from underneath her full eyelashes. “You look nice,” Hyde found himself saying.

“Thanks,” Jackie said again, “So do you.”

“Really?” Hyde asked, “I figured you’d want me to shave for pictures.”

Jackie shrugged. Her eyes lingered on the line of his jaw, something like fondness in her gaze. “It’s your face,” she said.

That unnamed emotion was back again, doing somersaults in his chest. “I’ll do whatever you want me to,” Hyde said honestly.

Jackie’s perfect face flushed. “Ask your daughter what she prefers, then,” she said quietly.

With a nod, he stepped aside, bringing the bottles into the kitchen. Unless Hannah was vehemently opposed to it, Hyde already knew he was going to shave.

Eventually, they all found themselves in the basement, just like old times. The kids had gone to the movies and Eric’s parents for a walk, and they were alone in an empty house that soon grew loud with their laughing and shouting, folded up like pretzels on the floor in a circle.

“Man,” Kelso said, smoke drifting from between his parted lips, “Brooke and I don’t even know what to do with her. She’s a total maneater. Left another guy crying in our living room again last weekend.”

“That is amazing,” Jackie laughed, her narrow shoulders shaking with giggles. The movement slumped her slightly against his side, and Hyde resisted the urge, driven by some long-held muscle memory, to pull her into his lap. “But I’ll ask Hannah if Harrison has any friends for her.”

Hannah would like that, probably. She was a city girl through and through, but Hyde knew she took to the simpler parts of a life in Point Place in a way that neither of them ever had. Hannah missed Betsy and the Formans and The Hub something fierce whenever they left.

“Betsy would eat those country club dorks alive,” Hyde said aloud, because it was true. Donna snorted at him.

“Well, Kelso, if it makes you feel any better, Luke’s totally in love with the neighbor girl next door,” Eric grinned, “So I guess history does repeat itself.”

“Don’t say that,” Kelso gasped dramatically, “I don’t want Betsy to cheat on anyone or fight with her friends or fall off the water tower.”

“Definitely not four times,” Donna agreed.

He snuck a glance over at Jackie. She was humming to herself, swaying back and forth. Her hands were spread over the legs of her pants.

Jackie always got touchy when she was baked, but she was keeping those freezing cold fingers to herself, now, bare ring finger and all. Probably, she’d never reach for him the way she used to again.

How the hell was he supposed to sleep in the basement with her tonight and tomorrow? His head was messy enough with Hannah getting married.

Jackie looked up and caught him staring. Her lips spread into a slow, easy smile. “What are you looking at?”

Hyde blinked at her. “The prettiest girl in the room,” he answered, before he could stop himself.

“Hey,” Donna said indignantly, reaching over and smacking him on the arm. “I can hear you.”

He ignored her. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing else in the basement but Jackie and the soft look of cautiously pleased wonder on her face, pink spreading across her sweet nose.

“Butter me up all you want,” she murmured, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder. He caught a waft of strawberry shampoo – same as before. Same as always. “You’re still driving tonight.”

Forman and Kelso groaned in tandem. “Oh, burn,” Kelso said childishly.

“Guess the rest of us will have to drink enough for you, too,” Eric offered, and when Hyde kicked out blindly, still refusing to look away from Jackie, his feet missed both of their flailing shins.

Time passed in a blur after that. The comedown was quiet, and Jackie disappeared to go get ready. He and the guys had one last beer before he wandered upstairs to find Hannah and did, in Laurie’s old room with rollers in her hair.

“Why aren’t you dressed yet?” she asked him, sounding so much like Jackie it made his ribs squeeze tight.

“I’ll be ready in ten seconds,” Hyde promised her. “Do you need any help?”

One eyebrow arched delicately – another move she’d learned from her mother. “Let me get my dress on,” Hannah said, after a moment, “You can zip me up.”

She disappeared into the walk-in closet and emerged moments later in a silky, cream-colored dress with a slit at its side. It was obvious the dress had been chosen as a middle finger to the Bramfords’ conservative ideologies, and Hyde shared a proud smirk with his daughter before she turned around. Atta girl, he thought, pulling the zipper up for her easily. Fuck ‘em.

Hannah looked even more like Jackie all dolled up with her hair set and, not for the first time, he marveled at the fact that he was actually her father, that Jackie was her mother and that their little baby was old enough to be getting married. That it was finally time for her to start a family of her own.

“You okay?” Hannah asked quietly. Hyde scrubbed a hand down his face, wondering what his expression was doing.

“Yeah, you just – you’re so grown up. Seems like just yesterday your mom and I were arguing over whose turn it was to do your diaper.”

Hannah laughed, giving him a moment to recover from how choked up he felt. She sat down at the vanity and started to slip into her shoes.

Hyde cleared his throat, shaking off the sudden onslaught of emotion. “Your mom wanted me to ask you if you think I should shave for tomorrow.”

Hannah hummed noncommittally. “Doesn’t matter to me,” she said. “Mom likes it both ways, yeah?”

“She likes it off,” Hyde said thoughtlessly. “But it’s your wedding.”

Hannah smiled crookedly at him, the same way Jackie did. “It’s your face.”

Hyde matched her grin. “That’s what she said, too.”

“Well,” Hannah said, turning back to the mirror, “If you’re trying to win her over…”

“Hey,” Hyde laughed, “Who said I was trying to do that?”

She glanced up at his reflection, unimpressed. “Dad. Come on.”

“Hannah,” he said, matching her tone, “You come on.”

“No, you come on,” she repeated stubbornly. “It’s so obvious you both want to get back together. I’ve been watching you pretend like you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about ever since I graduated.”

She had a point. Things were different once Hannah went away to college. When they didn’t have her schedule to coordinate, he saw Jackie far less often than he liked. Gone was his excuse to come over to her place or meet her at the studio. With Hannah away at school, there were no more surprise movies or nights out seeing a band, no more why-don’t-you-just-stay-for-dinners or I-can-just-grab-a-ride-with-yous.

And he missed those. And he was pretty sure Jackie had, too. The pair of them barely made it to Halloween before they were bothering both Eric and Donna respectively to organize something that would give them plausible deniability to spend time together.

With Hannah away, there had been other things to talk about. Conversation extended beyond how they spent their time with her or what they ate together. They got to catching up. They got a little closer. Admittedly, it did feel like they were back to the dance that had kept them busy for most of their teenage years.

But that didn’t mean he had any idea what he was supposed to tell Hannah. He couldn’t bear to give her any false hope that he and Jackie would get back together; he never could, even when she was a tearful ten-year-old.

The fact of the matter was that there was too much history between them to ever have a real relationship, maybe. After all this time, if there was a shot of things working out, they would have found a way to work out on their own, right?

Maybe.

“And I’m going to keep at it until your wedding is over,” Hyde said finally, his voice firm. “The next few days are all about you.”

Hannah scoffed at him from the vanity seat. She started to pull her hair free from the rollers, letting it fall to bouncy curls at her shoulders. “How come you and Mom never got married?”

He shrugged, drumming his fingertips against the doorframe. It was far from the first time Hannah had asked, but he was feeling inexplicably tender towards her today. His baby girl was getting married, after all – surely he was allowed just one moment of softness. “When we first moved out of here, things were kind of fragile. Then they were good and I didn’t wanna rock the boat. Then we had you. Everything else sorta took a back seat.”

Juggling their careers with having a kid and their relationship had been nearly impossible, but they’d made it work. Somewhere down the line, Jackie had stopped asking about a wedding, even as each and every one of their friends and former classmates tied the knot themselves. She even stopped reading the announcements in the paper.

Hyde cleared his throat. “Then things got bad again. You know the rest.”

Hannah hummed noncommittally, running her fingers through her hair to loosen her curls. “You never asked?”

Damn this kid. She was good. One look was like truth serum. “Almost did,” he admitted. “Bought a ring.” He stopped just short of telling Hannah he still had it, back in Chicago, buried in a dresser drawer.

Hannah paused where she was putting her mascara on. Had Jackie really never told her this story before? She twisted to look at him dead on instead of catching his reflection in the mirror. “Really? What happened?”

“TV station called, offered her a job. We had a fight – a fight about getting married, actually. Your mom took the job, skipped town. Caught up to her that night, had the ring on me and everything. Some crappy motel.” Jackie had been so excited to see him she’d apologized for pushing so hard on the wedding thing, swore up and down she’d never mention it again if he’d stay.

So he’d agreed.

Hyde swallowed, shrugging again. “Got to talking,” he said, trying to force the details from his mind, “Started making plans. Didn’t seem like the right time, or even all that important anymore, so I never… I don’t think I ever told her.”

Hannah’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of her head. “You never told Mom you were going to propose?”

He scratched at his beard uncomfortably. “No.” That was a conversation best saved for someone who was about to propose, so Jackie wouldn’t have had to wonder why he hadn’t then and still hadn’t. And he had never been about to propose again, even if he’d thought about it plenty.

“But –”

“Steven? You up here?”

The sound of Jackie’s footsteps followed her voice, and a moment later she appeared behind him in the hallway. “We’ve gotta get going soon, you need to…” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Hannah. “Oh, baby. You look so beautiful.”

Hannah smiled at her. “Thanks, Mom. You do, too.”

She did. Jackie had changed into a form-fitting blue dress with gentle ruffles that fanned out down the back, drawing his eyes low. He averted his gaze before she could catch him staring. “Do you need any help in here?” Jackie asked her, stepping further into the room. Her eyes slid over to Hyde curiously. “Steven, you’ve got to go get ready.”

He nodded at the pair of them, then left, hoping like hell Hannah would keep what they’d talked about to herself. His throat felt tight as he considered even the possibility of having to explain himself to Jackie, having to finally talk about the mess they’d been putting off for so long.

It was the piece of the puzzle he never could quite place. Why had Jackie given up on asking him for the big proposal, the beautiful wedding? Why had she stopped reading the announcements, stopped picking up the magazines? Why had she continued to politely correct Miss every time someone saw the three of them out together and incorrectly assumed Mrs.?

Hyde went to the bathroom and carefully shaved his face. He wore a jacket and tie a lot less often these days, let alone dress shoes, but, like he’d promised Hannah, he was ready in no time and waiting in the living room when Jackie finally made her way back down the stairs.

Jackie blinked at him, startled. “You shaved,” she said, sounding pleased. Was it his imagination, or did her hands twitch down at her sides, like maybe she wanted to reach out and touch his jaw herself?

He nodded. “It’s Hannah’s big day.”

“Right,” Jackie said. “Harrison’ll be by to pick her up soon. We should get going.”

The restaurant they’d planned the rehearsal dinner at was just a short drive away in Green Bay, and there was no traffic, which was ideal – having Jackie back in the passenger seat of the El Camino was messing with his head worse than just being back in Point Place had. In Chicago, they hardly ever drove, and his car was so old it was far from reliable, so when they did, it was usually in Jackie’s BMW. Seeing her across the bench was a painful sensory memory.

She still slid out the side door with grace, smoothing her skirt back down like always. The only difference now was that she carried herself like a woman in every sense of the word. The Jackie he had fallen in love with was a girl, and they’d had a number of immature arguments that proved that. But the Jackie he knew now was all grown up, and though he missed being with her so much it was all he thought about sometimes, most days he could still hardly believe he’d been fortunate enough to see the transformation from up close.

Jackie stood waiting for him at the front of the car, perfectly still, staring unseeingly at the restaurant’s lit-up sign. She didn’t make a move to head inside. “Everything alright?”

She turned towards him, then, eyes huge in the moonlight. “Why didn’t you ever tell me you were going to propose?”

He sighed heavily, rubbing his fingers over his now smooth jaw. “Can’t tell that kid anything,” Hyde lamented, shaking his head. “Got a mouth bigger than her mother’s.”

Jackie’s lips twitched. “Steven.”

He lifted his shoulders high. I don’t know hardly seemed like a good answer with her staring at him like that. “Figured you knew,” was what he settled on. “You said, ‘propose or break up.’ I came to Chicago. That’s not ‘break up.’”

“But you didn’t propose.” Jackie’s voice was soft, though there was no one else in the parking lot but them. They had their run of the place tonight, and due to Jackie’s obsessive need to be early, they were the first to arrive. “You never asked.”

“Tearful reunion hardly seemed like the right time,” he muttered, annoyed with himself. There had been so many other times. Birthdays, anniversary dinners, moments alone in the kitchen when Jackie was pregnant and couldn’t sleep or rushing around to eat dinner at four o’clock and get ready for the evening news at the same time. He could have proposed to her during any one of those moments, in between the bites of spaghetti he fed her while she shouted at someone on their kitchen phone, cradled between her ear and shoulder because her nails were drying.

“Steven,” she said again. Suddenly he saw exactly where Hannah had learned all her tricks from. He felt the words clawing their way up his throat like vomit.

“Can we talk about this later?” Hyde asked, wondering, for a moment, if what he felt coming up was actually vomit. He was certainly nauseous enough. “It’s not like you won’t know where to find me.”

Jackie laughed under her breath. She did reach out for him, then, brushing the backs of her fingers against his left cheek. “Alright,” she agreed, then pulled away and walked inside the restaurant.

He took a deep breath and followed her. Predictably, everything was already either set up or in the process of being set up. He’d known the restaurant wouldn’t need their help when he’d agreed to drive Jackie early just as surely as he’d known that there was no arguing with Jackie on things like arrival times and beating the Bramfords at the arbitrary games she’d made up in her head. Years by her side had taught Hyde that it was better to go along with her and stand together in whatever demented winners’ circle she’d crafted than to be cast out alone.

Jackie circled the room twice, double-checking the seating arrangements and the favors before finally slowing to a stop beside him, standing closer than she had out in the parking lot. “They did a nice job,” she admitted begrudgingly. The restaurant had been the Bramfords’ suggestion.

Once upon a time, he might’ve said something oblivious like isn’t that a good thing? and gotten one of Jackie’s you-don’t-know-me-at-all sneers for his trouble. But Hyde knew better now. He knew her inside and out. “The centerpieces you picked out for tomorrow are much nicer.”

Jackie beamed at him, both dimples deepening sweetly. He stared at them, transfixed. “I know, right? All the money in the world can’t buy taste, I guess.”

She could say that again. In another life, Jackie could have been the Bramfords. Hyde always assumed it was what she’d planned for, somewhere, in the back of her mind. Everything in Point Place was fun and games until Jackie got real and remembered she wanted to be with someone who had a trust fund and left everything in the rearview for a cookie-cutter slice of picture-perfect life.

But she’d never done that. She’d gotten pregnant without marriage on the table and she didn’t even talk to her father anymore, wherever he was. And she’d never looked back, not even once. Not even during their nastiest arguments, when Hyde had pressed her. Not even when he resented her for something she’d never done or ever planned to do.

He was struck, then, by the desire to kiss her. It had been a passing urge in the Formans’ kitchen, as fleeting as the dab of chocolate that Jackie licked off her lips. Here it was a full-force want he was battling, one he’d even leaned closer to act on before Jackie obliviously turned away to straighten a wine glass on the table they were standing in front of.

“Did you practice your toast for tomorrow?” Jackie asked, “You’ve been so secretive about it.”

Secretive was one way to describe it, sure. Panicked was another, and probably more accurate. “I’m still working on it,” he answered evasively.

He’d figured Jackie would see straight through that, and she did. “Steven.”

“What? I’m not gonna copy anything you say tonight, relax.”

Jackie shook her head at him. “Like you could even make it sound half as nice.”

Hyde scoffed. “And now, at eleven, we go live to Jackie Burkhart, sharing well wishes for her daughter’s marriage. Jackie?”

“Thanks, Steven,” Jackie said brightly, every bit the field reporter waiting for her cue. Without even missing a beat, she chirped, “Fuck off. Back to you, Chip.”

He was laughing so loudly neither of them noticed the Bramfords’ arrival until they heard a faux-polite cough and turned around. Harrison’s parents were just as awful as Hyde remembered them being, with the sort of nasty fake smiles rich people who thought they were better than you had turned on him his entire life.

Jackie, who was unaccustomed to being on the other end of those smiles so often before meeting the Bramfords, usually handled them a lot worse than he did. He could see her physically biting back a scathing retort as handshakes and mindless pleasantries were exchanged.

Hyde steered her away towards a waiter pouring wine just as soon as he was able to. Guests had started to arrive, meaning Hyde had been gifted the rare opportunity to say the exact right thing, and the priceless knowledge that he was about to do so. “Boy, they sure cut it close, huh?”

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Late to their own son’s rehearsal dinner,” she agreed, even though absolutely no one was late yet. “They’re the worst.”

“Ignore them,” Hyde told her, for what was probably the one-hundredth or one-thousandth time since Hannah and Harrison had started dating. Every time they crossed paths seemed to be just as horrible as the first time, Parents’ Weekend at Northwestern Hannah’s sophomore year.

They were just different, and while Hyde had long since stopped caring what people like the Bramfords thought about him, he knew Jackie never had, and probably never would. Often, just ignore them wasn’t an option for her.

Betsy and Brooke found her, then, before she could say anything, and Jackie, genuinely delighted by the sight of her goddaughter, was distracted into smiling again.

He continued to run interference until Hannah showed up to take the spotlight, and then he and Jackie were free to sit for a moment as the salads came out. Jackie’s hand slipped under the table and reached for his, squeezing it tight. “Thanks,” she said quietly, shooting him a fond look out of the corner of her eye.

Mrs. Bramford stood to give a toast, but he hardly heard a word of it. Jackie kept her hand in his the entire time Harrison’s mother spoke, and so they were the only two people in the room who didn’t clap politely when she was done.

With one last squeeze, Jackie stood to take her place. “Thank you all so much for coming tonight, and celebrating this special occasion with us,” she started, lifting her wine glass up. “When Hannah first told me she wanted to get married in Point Place, I’ll admit that part of me was horrified. Those of you who know me well can probably imagine my reaction. No ballroom? No tulle? No champagne fountain? Not for my baby girl.”

Chuckles echoed around the room. Jackie’s gaze softened as it landed on Hannah. “But seeing her here, where I grew up and fell in love myself… well, it’s more special than I have the words to say. I can’t think of a more fitting place for Hannah and Harrison to say ‘I do,’ and I’m so grateful to the Formans for letting us use their house – a house I spent more time in than my own, growing up – for such an important event. The Formans’ house introduced me to Hannah’s father. It jumpstarted my entire future. And I believe it has one last perfect new beginning in it, for the two people in the world who deserve it most.”

Embarrassingly, Hyde felt his throat close up again. He was sure Donna was staring at him from across the table, but he didn’t pull his eyes from Jackie, even when they grew damp.

“Hannah, Harrison. I know you’re both so excited for this next chapter in your lives. For the chance to start a family of your own, and to make the kinds of memories we made with you yourselves. But the next few years are going to be challenging. They’ll be amazing, yes, filled with more happiness than you can think of, but there’ll be hard times, too. And you’ll find that not everything can be fixed with money, or discussion, or even just wanting things to work out.

But I see the love you two have for each other every day. And I know how devoted you both are to building a life for yourselves. And I’m so grateful that my amazing daughter has found an equally as amazing partner to walk through life with – someone who’s just as dedicated to an honest future as she is. So I wish you both all the happiness in the world. I’m so excited to see where you take this next chapter. To Hannah and Harrison,” Jackie finished, lifting her glass high. “Congratulations.”

Hyde flicked his eyes to their daughter. Hannah was crying, and mouthed I love you at Jackie from across the room.

That was what did him in. As Jackie sat back down again beside him, he became aware of the fact that he was crying, too, and took a big sip of his drink in the hopes of covering it up. Where the fuck were his sunglasses when he needed them?

“Jackie, that was beautiful,” said Donna sincerely from across the table. More compliments echoed from their friends, and Hyde gratefully took advantage of the momentary distraction to discreetly wipe his eyes.

“Yeah, no way you’ve got anything that good prepared, Hyde.” Kelso grinned at him. “I hope you were taking notes.”

“Man, would you shut up?” Hyde shot back, though his heart wasn’t in it. “Jackie’s on TV, of course her toast is gonna sound better than mine.”

Jackie laughed musically, a sound that was worth enough tears for ten lifetimes. “Oh, come on,” she said, as their friends turned away to their own conversations and the food on the table, “Yours will be perfect.”

“Well, it won’t be like that,” Hyde muttered.

Jackie shook her napkin out and unfolded it across her lap. She effortlessly picked up the salad fork beside her plate and, after a moment, he followed her lead. “Of course it won’t,” she said privately, dimpling at him again. “That’s what makes it special.”

True to form, Jackie drank just enough to avoid having to drive, but not so much that it made her sloppy. She was louder and more affectionate than normal, doting on Hannah and the rest of the kids, whispering conspiratorially with Betsy whenever she thought no one was watching her.

Admittedly, Hyde spent most of the night watching her.

“You are so embarrassing,” Donna told him delightedly over cake. Jackie was taking coffee at one of the other tables, talking to Angie and her husband.

“It is kind of sad,” Forman agreed with her, pushing his slice of cake towards Donna. “You used to be more subtle.”

Hyde scowled at them both. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Yeah, but you wanna,” Donna teased. “You wanna go over there and give Jackie a big, fat –”

“Would you stop?” he sighed. “I already gotta hear it from Hannah, I don’t have to hear it from you.”

Donna mimed like she was buttoning her mouth, pushing her empty plate away in favor of Eric’s slice of cake. Hyde stared at her for a moment while she took a giant bite – the wine glass next to her plate was empty. Untouched.

He blinked. “Are you pregnant?”

Donna and Eric both froze, looking at him with twin, wide-eyed expressions of guilt on their faces. “Maybe,” Donna said cagily.

Hyde grinned. “Oh man, Carrie and Luke are going to freak.”

“You can’t tell anyone,” Forman said, “Not even Jackie.”

“Forman, if Jackie doesn’t beat it out of me tonight, it’ll be Donna tomorrow morning,” Hyde laughed, scraping his fork against the icing left on his own plate. “You can’t put that on me.”

“Speaking of Jackie,” Donna interjected, leaning in a little closer across the table, “You two are camping out in the basement together tonight?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Hyde said evenly, staring down at his empty plate. His thoughts drifted, stuck on the soft shape of Jackie’s lips when she’d said whatever.

“It’s kind of a big deal,” Donna insisted, catching the attention of Kelso, who also leaned in from his seat at the front of the table, a big, dumb grin already stretched across his face.

“Are we talking about Hyde and Jackie?” he asked. “Did they get back together yet?”

The back of his neck felt hot. “We’re not getting back together,” Hyde said firmly, “And don’t let Hannah hear you.”

“Well, why not?” Donna asked petulantly, looking like she was moments away from stomping her foot. “Have you guys even talked about it?”

“No, and we’re not going to.” Hyde glanced up and saw each of his friends staring at him expectantly. “Look, even if I wanted to –”

“Which you do,” Eric said correctly.

“– it’s not on Jackie’s radar,” he finished, glaring menacingly at Forman. “She’s not interested.”

Kelso rolled his eyes at him. “And they say I’m the stupid one,” he said, turning back to Brooke to finish off what was left of her cake.

Forman turned away, too, making his way over to the table that held his parents and the twins. Donna just inched her chair in closer. “Hyde,” she murmured, staring at him intently from around the ugly centerpieces, “Don’t you think there’s a reason Jackie’s never dated anyone else, all this time?”

“Jackie’s been busy with work,” he said, repeating the reasons he’d long ago convinced himself were the truth, “And with Hannah. Neither of us have had time.”

“Because you’ve spent all your free time with each other,” Donna scoffed. “Come on. You’re together almost as much as me and Eric.”

Hyde sighed, leaning back in his seat. It didn’t mean anything, as much as Donna might’ve wanted it to. When they split up, they’d agreed not to become the sort of people who couldn’t stand to be around each other. For Hannah’s sake, they’d pushed aside how much it hurt to make sure she didn’t have to divide her holidays and sporting events, to make sure she’d always have both of them in the audience at the school play.

Somewhere along the way he’d learned how to be Jackie’s friend, and it turned out that they got on just fine when sex was off the table after all.

Now things were good, and there was no reason to throw a wrench into his perfect status quo. The last thing he wanted was to feel unsure around Jackie again.

“Would you drop it?” he asked tiredly, rubbing at his bare face again. God, he missed his beard.

“No,” Donna said, “Because you guys are my best friends, and I know Jackie misses you, too. You were so good together. Now you’re older, and things are different, and… you could give it another shot. I know you can.”

“You heard Jackie,” Hyde told her, “Wanting things to work out isn’t enough. God knows we tried the other stuff plenty. Fucked it up too many times.”

Donna frowned at him. Just as she opened her mouth to argue, Jackie flounced back over, the soft fabric of her dress swishing when she moved. “Did you guys get coffee?” she asked, walking around to his side of the table and slipping back into her seat. “It was actually alright.”

Hyde smirked meanly across the table. “Donna had two slices of cake,” he tattled.

“Donna,” Jackie chided, “You know Eric needs all the calories he can get.”

Donna rolled her eyes at them, and Hyde leaned back to slip his arm over the ledge of Jackie’s chair. “It was pretty good cake,” he said fairly.

“I wouldn’t know,” Jackie murmured, “I was so busy with your sister that I didn’t get any.”

“What?” Hyde asked, already lifting his hand to flag down a passing server, “What did she want?”

“Nothing, Marcus was just going on about his investments,” she answered, shaking her head. “Steven, you don’t have to do that.”

“Hey, is there any cake left?” Hyde asked as the server drew closer, ignoring her. He smiled charmingly. “Mother of the bride didn’t get any.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll be right back.”

He turned and found Jackie smiling fondly at him. “My hero,” she teased.

Hyde cleared his throat. “Just keep it away from Donna,” he whispered loudly, jerking his legs out of the way as Donna kicked him underneath the table.

She stormed off towards the rest of the Formans, leaving them alone on their side of the table. Kelso and Brooke were still seated at its other end, but were turned away talking to Hannah and Betsy, giving them the momentary illusion of privacy.

Hyde watched Jackie eat her cake. She hummed happily as the first bite made its way past her lips. “Motherfuck, this is good,” she said, startling a laugh from him. Jackie only ever swore so viciously when she was angry. “I don’t want to give those bastards the satisfaction.”

“The cake sucked,” Hyde said obligingly, nodding in mock-serious agreement. “The Bramfords have no taste. Whole dinner was a bust.”

“You always know just what to say,” Jackie sighed, batting her eyelashes at him. Once upon a time, that expression meant she was feeling sweet on him. It usually signaled the need to find a hasty exit.

It still tugged at his heart all the same. Maybe even worse, now. “Years of trial and error,” Hyde answered quietly.

“Mmm,” Jackie shrugged, turning to her side in her seat to look at him better, “Not that much error.”

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, at a loss for words. Things were getting bad. It was almost the end of the night, and he still hadn’t thought of what he was going to say to Jackie when they were alone in the basement. He stared at her mouth, which was shiny with buttercream. “You want another piece?”

“Yes,” Jackie huffed, “But not where Donna can see me. It’s okay.”

“Yeah,” Hyde answered thoughtlessly, “Wouldn’t want her thinking you’re pregnant, too.”

Jackie set her water glass down heavily. He realized his mistake a moment too late, wincing in anticipation of the scream she was about to let out. At the last second, Jackie seemed to remember they were still surrounded by people and swallowed, leaning in close instead. “Too?”

“If she asks, you tortured it out of me,” he said, glancing guiltily around the room. “I just guessed. She wasn’t drinking.”

Jackie gasped theatrically. “She didn’t take any hits this afternoon, either!”

“Tortured,” Hyde repeated, nudging Jackie gently with his shoulder. “Seriously. Maybe you even hurt me a little.”

“Right,” Jackie agreed with a nod, “There was smacking. Shouting. An ABBA album on repeat.”

“Any man would break,” he mused. “What was I supposed to do?”

Jackie giggled beside him. She set her empty plate down on the table, leaning her elbow on it first and then propping her chin up on her hand. “Did you have a nice time?”

Hyde shrugged. “You know me. I always have the nicest time I’m ever gonna have when I’m with you.”

Jackie blinked. She was staring at him strangely, her lips parted.

He hastily cleared his throat, nodding his head at Hannah, who was still standing behind them talking to Kelso at the other end of the table. “You guys, I mean. Both of you.”

Jackie nodded slowly, twisting to glance over her shoulder. “I think she liked it.”

Hyde’s eyes found Hannah’s profile, too. Sure enough, she was laughing, leaning heavily on her cousin with tears of joy in her eyes. “She likes everything,” Hyde said fondly, “No clue where she gets that from.”

“Me, either,” Jackie agreed. “Must skip a few generations.”

“Guess the grandkids will be like us, then,” he grinned, “Angry and shrill.”

“How dare you?” Jackie demanded dramatically, “I am not shrill.”

“Of course, dear.” Hyde leaned back a little as Hannah skipped over, but if she had a smart comment to make about the way they were sitting, she kept it to herself, bending down into Jackie’s lap to hug her tightly.

“Thank you guys so much for tonight,” she said earnestly, “I had the best time. This is the most amazing weekend of my life.”

“Oh, baby, you know we’d do anything for you,” Jackie said, squeezing Hannah back hard. “I’m so glad it’s felt as special as you are.”

“Stop, you’ll make me cry again.” Hannah pulled away to hug him, too, folding herself over Jackie to reach his shoulders. “Thanks for everything, Dad.”

“Thank the Formans,” he told her, sure that Hannah already had.

“Of course I did,” she scoffed predictably. “But I owe Grandpa Red about a million more – one for every time he made Harrison’s mother make that face.”

“We got one out of her earlier,” Jackie said proudly, “Before everyone got here.”

Hannah’s eyes lit up. “You did?! What happened?”

“Your father was provoking me –”

“Hold on, I was not –”

“– and we were just joking around, of course, having fun –”

“Your mom was swearing like a sailor –”

“Oh my god,” Hannah interjected, “This is adorable. You guys are the best.”

Hannah and Jackie were the only two people on the face of the planet who ever dared to call him adorable. She might’ve been his kid, but Hyde scowled at her for it anyway.

“Well, they could stand to lighten up a bit,” Jackie sniffed instead of acknowledging the comment. Hannah nodded with a grimace.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said, sighing as someone called her name from across the room. “Guess that’s my cue. But thank you again for everything. I’ll see you back at the house?”

Jackie waved her off. “Have fun, don’t wait around for us. We’ll just be getting our beauty sleep.”

Hannah leaned in to hug them both close again. “I love you guys,” she murmured into Hyde’s hair, then bounced away just as quickly as she’d come.

“Hell of a kid,” Hyde murmured, watching her go. His voice was conspicuously tight again. “That’s all you.”

“Please,” Jackie said modestly, “A lot of the best parts of me are things I learned from you. Besides, I’m… really glad you’re her father, Steven. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”

Her words only made the lump in his throat expand. “Yeah,” he said, trying to cough it away. “Me, too, Jackie.”

Jackie tilted her head and met his eyes. “It’s funny,” she started, “We’re back here all the time for holidays, but this trip feels…”

He nodded as she trailed off. He knew exactly what Jackie meant. Something about being in Point Place for his daughter’s wedding had him nostalgic in an incredibly painful way, lost in his own memories and stuck thinking about all his regrets. The happy moments were there, too, but it was impossible to think about them without the ruin they were associated with. Chicago had brought them so much more, even if it had led to their eventual undoing.

In Chicago, he could go about his day without staring off into space recalling something wonderfully awful about his relationship with Jackie. Here, it was hard to find a single square inch of space they hadn’t once stood together in, where their problems had seemed laughably small.

Where he hadn’t felt uncharacteristically optimistic about their future together, and invincible with Jackie by his side.

“Guess it’s that Hannah’s getting married,” he said softly, after the silence had stretched on for too long. “It’s crazy how fast the time’s passed. Feels like just yesterday you found out you were pregnant.”

Jackie laughed, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. “God, I know. Remember that day? I thought you were going to have a stroke.”

“Like you were much better,” Hyde snorted, “You were crying so hard you couldn’t even get the words out. I thought somebody died.”

“Now Eric and Donna are having another,” Jackie sighed. “Betsy’s twenty-five. It’s like a million years since graduation.”

“So much is still the same,” he mused, “Messes with your head.”

“Really? It’s what’s different that messes with mine.” She braced her hands on her thighs and stood before he could begin to unpack that statement. “People are getting ready to leave. We should go and say goodbye.”

He followed Jackie to go exchange handshakes and pleasantries with everyone they knew and the few people on Harrison’s side of the family he didn’t completely despise. Their friends lingered in the parking lot after they sent Harrison back to the hotel with his parents and Hannah off with Kitty and Red.

Jackie got into the El Camino with a big yawn and one last blown kiss for Betsy, but Donna stopped him before he could slide in on the driver’s side. She hugged him tight and said, “Remember what we talked about,” lowly into his ear.

Hyde squeezed her waist affectionately. “Don’t get your hopes up,” he told her.

She punched him on the arm. “Just kiss her, you bitch,” she said, banking correctly on the fact that he wouldn’t hit a pregnant woman. Hyde stared after her as she joined Eric in their car.

The drive back to the Formans’ was as quiet as the ride to dinner had been. Neither of them said a word as they let themselves into the dark house and meandered down to the basement; Jackie ducked into what was once his bedroom to change and came out with her hair pulled up and her face bare, every bit as pretty as she had been before. Maybe even more so.

“You tired?” she asked him, standing by the freezer while he made up the couch with the blankets that had been left out.

He was, but he knew Jackie well enough to read an invitation. “Nah,” Hyde said, tossing the pillow to the far end of the couch and sitting down in its middle. “Come here.”

Jackie did, wedging herself between him and the couch’s other end. He clicked on the TV and stared blankly at the evening news, passing the remote to Jackie.

She leaned forward and set it on the table. Hyde turned just in time to catch her staring at him, but Jackie didn’t waver once he’d noticed. Their eyes locked, and she held his gaze intently.

“Do you ever think about,” she started, so hesitant that he knew instantly what she was going to ask him.

“Yes,” he interjected seriously, swallowing hard, “All the time.”

Jackie laughed quietly under her breath. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask you.”

“Yes, I do. And I think about it all the time.” What went wrong. The good times, the bad times. Getting back together. Trying again. “All of it.”

She laughed again, tipping her head back against the couch. “When did we stop caring so much about being the first one to break? I remember we used to be so stubborn.”

Hyde shrugged, studying her profile. “Some things are more important.”

“There’s a lesson that took a while.” Jackie turned her cheek to look at him again. “Have you always wanted to…”

Again, she trailed off. It didn’t matter – he knew what the unsaid words were. He nodded.

Jackie smiled sardonically. “You never made a move.”

He sighed. “Wasn’t so sure you wanted me to,” he answered, though the explanation was bullshit and, judging by Jackie’s scoff, she knew it, too. Jackie was many things, but subtle wasn’t one of them. “But mostly because everything was great and it didn’t seem worth it to maybe fuck it all up again. Even if we weren’t – if we didn’t, I still had you and Hannah, and I could call you whenever I wanted and you’d pick up. I didn’t think I could stand something changing that. Not after everything.”

She stared at him some more. The words had made him uncomfortably vulnerable, but they felt good to share, somehow. It was just Jackie he was talking to, anyway. She knew how to keep her big mouth shut when it counted. Always had. “Maybe I would’ve changed my mind if you ever started dating again.”

“Didn’t you think I kept picking up – that I didn’t date – for a reason? You must’ve known I looked for excuses to see you, Steven. You must’ve noticed I…” Her breath caught. He watched helplessly as Jackie pursed her lips and shook her head, her pretty eyes growing shiny. He sighed again.

“Jackie,” Hyde murmured, reaching a hand out for her. He caught her bare arm under the sleeve of her t-shirt and slid his fingers down her forearm to her hand. “Believe me, I wanted to. I want to.”

“Then we should have this.” Her bottom lip trembled precariously, but no tears fell from her fierce gaze. “Everything is different. We deserve a chance to see if we can get it right this time.”

“Jackie,” he said again, gently, “Everything is the same.”

“No it’s not.” Jackie’s voice was thick with emotion, her words rushing together. She always spoke more quickly when she was excited or anxious. “It’s not, and do you know how I know it’s not? At dinner tonight, you said you always have the best time you’re capable of having with me. Well, I know you, and that’s an ‘I love you,’ Steven. Don’t act like it’s not.”

She turned her palm over and squeezed his fingers. “What do you mean?”

“In all the time I’ve known you,” she said, voice wobbly, “You said ‘I love you’ three times. You said it without saying it ten times, and one of those times was tonight. And you said it like it was nothing.”

God. Was he really so embarrassingly transparent? Apparently he always had been. And Jackie had not only noticed it, but kept count. His heart started to beat faster. “So what?”

“So that’s different, Steven. You’re different, and I’m different, and maybe everything just feels the same because of our memories and because we still have the same feelings for each other.”

Hyde stilled. He hated when Jackie was right. It was even worse when she made sense. But she did, and she was. Everything felt the same because he felt the same, back in Point Place and hopelessly in love. But the woman before him held only a physical resemblance to the Jackie Burkhart he’d first disliked, then felt protective over and eventually grew to care about.

They’d both lived a million lifetimes since then. And even since the last time they were together romantically, all those years ago, before Hannah was a teenager, things were different.

Everything was different now, even if so many parts of it still felt the same, in that comfortable and painful way only Point Place, this basement and Jackie ever could.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I do love you, Jackie,” was what he said when he felt like he could trust his voice. “It’s only ever been you.”

One tear rolled cinematically down Jackie’s cheek. Of course she even cried pretty. “Well, I love you, too. I want us to have this, Steven.”

He leaned in closer on the couch, meeting her halfway in the scant space between them. “I think we’ve earned it,” he agreed, lifting the hand that wasn’t holding hers to catch Jackie’s chin between his fingers.

“We’ve –” Jackie started, but he didn’t give her a chance to finish. Hyde ducked in and kissed her, firmly, pressing his lips against hers before she could complete her thought.

Jackie reached up with their joined hands and whacked his shoulder, but then she tilted her head and kissed him back, sliding her free arm around his stomach and pulling him in closer.

It had been decades since they last made out on the couch in the Formans’ basement. Everything was different, but the shape of Jackie under his hands and the weight of her as she climbed into his lap was the same. They fit perfectly on the narrow slope of the furniture, same as always, and knew just how to move without tumbling to the floor like they had so many times before.

Jackie unbuttoned his shirt, sliding her hands over his chest. If it had been years since they last kissed it felt like it had been eons since they last did this, an eternity ago and even longer since they’d done it here.

With herculean effort, Hyde lifted his head from the crook of Jackie’s neck. Her eyes were sparkling like stars when they blinked open, her lips bitten red with her cheeks flushed to match. He smiled at her. “Wanna take this to my room?”

“Do I ever,” Jackie hummed, squeezing her legs around his waist so he could lift her up into his arms and carry her off to the cot that sat waiting for them to cram themselves on together.

In the morning, they did their best to slink inconspicuously up to breakfast. Mrs. Forman was making what smelt like bacon and possibly waffles, and Hyde did his best not to stare too goofily over at Jackie while she poured them both a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter.

Donna took one look at them and said, “Oh my god, you two totally did it last night.”

“What?” Jackie demanded with far too much outrage to be believable, “We did not!”

“Yes you did,” Forman exclaimed from beside his wife, “Hyde looks guilty and happy and your hair’s all messed up. Are you getting back together?”

“Would you shut up?” Hyde shoved Eric off his stool as he strode through the kitchen to meet Jackie by the counter so he could take his coffee out of her hands. His free arm slid around her waist. “It’s Hannah’s big day, don’t start with that shit.”

“Language,” Mrs. Forman chided idly from across the room, where she was indeed manning a waffle iron set up on the table. “But really, Steven, Jackie. Couldn’t you have waited until after the wedding?”

Jackie huffed indignantly. “Well, Donna’s the one who’s pregnant.”

“Jackie,” Donna practically shouted. She turned on Hyde with her eyebrows arched high. “You told her?”

“Hey, she tortured it out of me,” Hyde said, sipping calmly from his coffee.

Donna scowled at him. “Oh, I’ll just bet she did.”

“Donna, are you really pregnant?” Mrs. Forman asked her, eyes shiny with tears. “Oh my god! Eric, how could you not tell me?”

“We weren’t going to tell anyone,” he rushed to explain, voice pitched high with panic.

“Honestly, Eric,” Jackie said, rolling her eyes. “On Hannah’s wedding day? Have a little class.”

Forman dropped his head into his hands with a groan. Donna glared at them both poisonously, though there was little she could do with Mrs. Forman swarming her, talking a mile a minute about vitamins.

Quickly, Jackie piled a plate high with waffles. “I’m gonna go get Hannah up,” she said. “When Brooke and Betsy get here, send them upstairs, okay?”

She bounced up onto her toes to press a kiss against his cheek, then strolled out of the room. Hyde stared off after her.

“Talk went well, then?” Eric asked smugly, inching away from his mother as quickly as he could while still maintaining an air of nonchalance.

“It was alright,” he shrugged, draining the rest of his coffee. “Don’t press it and I’ll let you pretend to be doing wedding stuff with me.”

“Deal,” Forman agreed, and the pair of them made their excuses before heading out to the backyard, pretending not to see the murderous expression taking over Donna’s face.

There wasn’t much to be done – the chairs Jackie had mentioned yesterday were set up where the ceremony would be taking place, and the tent and the dance floor were ready to go, with lights strung up above the tables and flowers draped over every available surface.

“Place looks great,” Kelso declared when he arrived, passing out cigars.

Hyde felt he needed something much stronger to calm his nerves, but took it anyway, trying not to think too much about how close they were to the ceremony and therefore his toast and first dance with Hannah, two events that ensured everyone they knew would be staring directly at him for a prolonged period of time.

“Man, Jackie and Hyde hooked up last night,” Eric said, after Kelso had only been there for about five minutes.

Kelso did a spit-take of the beer in his hand. Before he could say anything, Hyde rushed to tell him, “Donna’s pregnant.”

Kelso did a double-take, spitting again. “You guys know you can’t drop news like that on me back-to-back!” For a moment, he faltered visibly, the gears of his brain turning behind his eyes. Eventually, they settled on Hyde. “Start with you guys.”

“It was nothing,” Hyde mumbled, “Don’t say anything in front of Hannah. I don’t want to distract from today.”

“Like the entire world couldn’t see the way you two were looking at each other at breakfast,” Eric scoffed. “Makes me sick.”

“This is huge,” Kelso said, “This is the best news ever!”

“Okay, ouch,” Eric said, at the same time Hyde insisted, “It’s not news. And you can’t tell anyone until I get a chance to talk to Hannah and Jackie about it.”

“Fine,” Kelso moaned, “But you ruin everything.” He grew serious again a second later. “You guys are gonna go for it though, right? Give it another shot?”

Hyde sighed. “Yes, Kelso. But if I find out you told anyone –”

“I won’t say a word,” Kelso promised quickly, which meant that the news was sure to be everywhere in a matter of hours.

“Good,” Hyde smiled blithely. “Because if you do, you’re dead. I have to go get dressed. Try not to do anything stupid for twenty minutes.”

“Try to lower your expectations,” Forman called after him as he walked away.

Hyde went downstairs to get ready, though he found that his panic only grew worse without anyone around to distract him. He messed with his hair for longer than he was comfortable admitting, and was still having a meltdown in the bathroom when Betsy came to get him.

“Hey,” she said casually, like she was having the best time in the world. Hyde spun around from the mirror in a panic, wondering if he’d somehow managed to miss the ceremony entirely. It couldn’t be time for his toast already, could it? “Everybody’s lining up. Aunt Jackie’s asking for you.”

Betsy was dressed in her lavender bridesmaids’ dress and had her hair pulled back elegantly. Hyde blinked at her, suddenly recalling the first time he ever held her when she was a baby, and then the day Kelso had asked he and Jackie to be her godparents. He nodded dumbly. “Okay, thanks. You look nice.”

Betsy laughed at him. “Wait until you see Hannah, you’re going to die. She’s like a little doll.”

“Harrison’s up there?” he asked, following her towards the stairs. If he left his daughter at the altar, Hyde was going to kill him.

“Yup,” Betsy said, grinning. “Seems pretty nervous. Might be sweating through his jacket.”

“Good,” Hyde said, as they stepped out into the backyard. Sure enough, when he blinked the sun out of his eyes, he could see Harrison standing with his parents and fidgeting, getting ready to walk down the aisle. Behind him, the rest of the bridal party had started to line up together.

In the back was Jackie, who seemed just as anxious as he felt. She was holding the flowers in her hand tightly, her eyes fixed on a middle distance out in the crowd.

Betsy squeezed his arm comfortingly. “Good luck,” she said, just before she wandered off, leaving him alone.

The sunlight reflected off of Jackie’s emerald dress as he moved closer, picking up each golden thread in her hair and eyes. She was glowing from head to toe, curls spilling down her back and bangs brushed off her face, sunkissed shoulders on full display.

“Oh, wow,” she said, before he could force any words up past the lump in his throat. “You look amazing.”

“Are you kidding?” Hyde laughed, “You’re – I mean, Jesus, Jackie. I’m sweating out here.”

He picked up the lapels of his jacket and flapped them as though he was trying to cool himself off for effect. Jackie grinned, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Her nose followed suit when she giggled, scrunching up adorably.

“Fine, we both look nice,” she said primly, “But Hannah – oh my god, Steven. She’s perfect.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to cry in front of all these people.” Most of them he’d known for the majority of his life, and they’d never seen him cry, not once – assuming they’d looked away politely during Jackie’s toast the night before. He was hardly looking forward to the endless teasing that was sure to ensue. “Guess it was nice being cool while it lasted.”

“You had a good run,” Jackie agreed, gesturing for him to button up his jacket.

He sighed. “I think Kelso probably already told everyone here about us,” Hyde said, apropos of nothing, as he stared down at his useless, fumbling thumbs.

Jackie huffed, shifting her bouquet to the crook of her elbow so she could reach out and help him. “If he ruins my baby’s wedding, I will gut him like a fish.”

Hyde snuck a glance at her face. “You’re not mad?”

“No,” Jackie said carefully, watching him back. Her palms smoothed over the front of his jacket as soon as she was done. “They’re all going to see us dancing together at the reception, anyway.”

Just like that, he forgot what he was nervous about in the first place. “Hold up,” Hyde said, “I only agreed to one dance.”

Jackie smirked at him. “Well, I guess I technically didn’t ask you yet.”

God damnit. Jackie knew she didn’t have to ask.

Pointed shifting at the front of the line drew both of their attention away from the other. “Looks like we’re getting started,” Jackie said, reaching for his hand. “I’ll see you in a few.”

He held her back from walking away. “One sec,” he murmured, then dipped down and kissed her square on the mouth.

Jackie sighed sweetly against his lips. Years of practice left the both of them without a smudge of lipstick out of place when they broke apart.

With one last heart-stopping smile, she was off, waiting to be escorted down the aisle by Mr. Bramford. Hyde glared after him. The bastard didn’t even know how lucky he was.

He moved back towards the basement door, holding his breath once the music started. One by one they walked off – Betsy, Harrison’s many cousins and all of Hannah’s friends. Jackie took her seat at the front of the lawn, just one empty chair in from the aisle.

Behind him, the door to the house creaked open.

Hyde felt his jaw drop as he turned around. Hannah and Jackie had refused to give up any hints about her dress no matter who it was asking, so he was gobsmacked as his daughter appeared in a flowing white gown, veil brushed down over her face. Her hair was set into cascading elegant curls, her makeup shimmering in the sunlight of the perfect day they’d been granted.

She was all grown up. And while she may have looked just like Jackie, the smile she sent him, full of false bravado with barely concealed nerves lurking in its corners, was all Hyde.

He held out his arm for her. “Wow,” he said, as she carefully stepped up, bouquet in hand. “You’re so beautiful, Hannah. I’m so proud of you.”

Her painted bottom lip wobbled. “Quit it,” she said weakly, “Dad, I’m –”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Over twenty years later and he still had no idea what he was supposed to say or do when either of them cried. “Hey, you wanna ditch this party? No pressure.”

That did the trick. Hannah laughed wetly, her nails digging into the sleeve of his suit jacket. “Nah,” she said, then drew in a deep breath, “I think I’ll go get married, actually.”

Hyde shrugged, like it was all the same to him either way. “Come on, then.”

He was only distantly aware of everyone watching them as they paused at the end of the aisle. The walk felt like it was over in moments, and in the blink of an eye he was leaving his only daughter with some guy he only mostly tolerated, doing his best to keep himself from crying all over her shoulder when Hannah hugged him tightly, one last time.

He took his seat next to Jackie numbly. She reached for his hand and squeezed it, tear tracks glistening on her own damp face.

The ceremony blazed by in a blur. Hannah and Harrison had written their own vows, but Hyde hardly heard a word of them. All he could concentrate on was Jackie, who had her head on his shoulder and her fingers tangled through his.

A million years ago he’d found her in her own wedding dress, a style that was out of date, now, and certainly unlike something she’d pick if she had her choice today. A million years ago he’d climbed in his car and raced down the interstate with a single-minded determination not to let her go so fast, not like she had, not after everything –

– and here they were now. A few decades and one pretty amazing kid later, they’d split up and gotten back together more times than he could count. Who could say this would be the time that stuck? Maybe it didn’t matter that he felt more sure of himself than ever before, that he and Jackie were so much older and wiser than the dumb kids who thought nothing could touch them once they’d gotten their own place.

Or maybe it did. He knew that Jackie was right – that everything was different, now. That they were so far from the mistakes that had once felt suffocating with their weight. Probably, in another few decades, he’d look back on today with the same distance he saw their first years together from.

Hopefully, Jackie would still be beside him, then, with her head on his shoulder and her fingers tangled through his.

In front of his face, the officiant smiled beatifically at Hannah and Harrison. “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” he said. “You may kiss the bride.”

Jackie sighed beside him, squeezing his fingers tightly. She was actually keeping herself together pretty well, all things considered – he’d stuffed his pockets with tissues, just in case, but Hyde was starting to think he was going to need one before she did.

People were clapping around them. “Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Harrison and Hannah Bramford,” he heard distantly, and rose to stand with the rest of the crowd, catching Hannah’s eye as she beamed and waved.

I love you! she mouthed at the both of them. Then she turned away, and she and Harrison were gone. Just like that, so quickly, after everything.

“I can’t believe they really did it,” Jackie said, dabbing delicately at her eyes. “Hey, do you have a – oh, thanks, Steven.” She took the tissue he held out to her and blew her nose in it. “God, what a beautiful ceremony. And what a perfect day.”

For once, the weather in Wisconsin had decided to cooperate. It was sunny out but still cool, though Hyde was sure it could have been freezing and he still would have found a way to sweat. He nodded, swiping a hand over his face.  

Jackie’s arms snaked around his stomach. “Hey,” she murmured quietly, “It’s not like they won’t visit.”

“I know that,” he answered irritably, annoyed at having been caught out. “Like you have any room to talk, Suzy Snots-A-Lot.”

Jackie rocked forward and stomped on his foot. Hyde winced, ducking his head on a laugh. “I deserved that,” he acknowledged.

“Yes, you did,” Jackie said. She reached under his chin and chucked his face up gently. When Hyde met her eyes, the way she was smiling at him stopped his heart and started it again in double-time. He felt his breath catch. “But it’s gonna be alright, you know? All of it.”

All of it. He’d never been much of a believer in that before – everything turning out okay. He’d spent most of his life preparing for the inevitable worst outcome, actually, and sometimes he was pleasantly surprised and sometimes he was disappointed no matter how satisfied he wanted to be at being proved right.

This was better, though. Jackie’s infectious optimism actually had him convinced, for a second, that things might work out. That they could go back to Chicago and live a life ten times better than they had before this weekend, where they woke up in the same place all the time and Jackie fixed both their coffees, and she stayed out late with him at the club even though she had to be on the morning news the next day.

God, he wanted that. He wanted every last morning and all the evenings he could get. He wanted bedhead and arguments and frozen meals that somehow got burnt in the microwave. Maybe he was greedy, but he wanted it all again, and he wasn’t prepared to give any of it up.

Clarity hit him like a truck. All at once, he knew what he wanted to do, and what he was going to say when it was time for him to give his toast in ten short minutes.

“Hey,” he said to Jackie, just as she started to step away, loosening her grip on him. Their arms hung between them like thread, keeping them connected. “I’ve got something to give you when we get back home.” He swallowed, watching recognition dawn in her eyes. Where there once might’ve been nerves Hyde now only felt peace. “Something I should’ve given you a long time ago.”

A sincere look of honest joy took over Jackie’s face. Something in her expression settled, like he’d given her an answer she’d been waiting for. She looked sort of like he’d just read the lottery numbers out, and they matched the ones she had on a ticket in her hand.

Then she grinned playfully at him and swung their clasped hands back and forth, winking for effect. “Oh, Steven,” she gushed, faux-appreciatively, “I hope it’s a puppy.”