That 70s Show fanfic: Homecoming (8)

[jennickels]

Homecoming
by jennickels (aka Jen Connelly)
That 70s Show
Jackie/Hyde
23,369 words
rating: PG-13

Twenty years ago Hyde left Point Place without so much as a look back. What happens when he suddenly finds himself back in town and trying to restart his life?  Will his friends take him back? 

don't own... wish I did, but I don't. No infringement intended.

Chapter 8: Making Up For Lost Time

Meals at the Forman house had moved from the kitchen to the dining room where the table was bigger. Breakfast was nothing like when Hyde had been living here. Back then, everyone sat in near silence, trying not to annoy Red before he had his coffee. This was completely different. The kids and Eric ran in, grabbing what they could before having to rush out the door. That left Hyde and Donna alone. It had been three days since the emotional outburst on Saturday and so far nobody had mentioned it.

Hyde still felt uneasy around Donna. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to talk about his past. So, instead he just sat silently, munching on his burnt toast. He was relieved when Donna started talking to him as they cleared away the dishes.

"So, what do you have planned for today?" she asked, casually.

"Um, well, my dad's in town so we're going to meet for lunch and discuss business."

"You're still working for WB?" Hyde swallowed hard-he could see where this was heading. WB had been another way for him to at least let his friends know he was okay and he hadn't used it. In fact he had made his dad promise not to discuss him with his friends.

"Uh, yeah. Back in St. Louis I was head of the Midwest Division," he said quietly. He really didn't want to talk about his career. It seemed like it would be a touchy subject after seeing where Jackie lived.

"What does that mean?"

"I was in charge of about twenty stores, my own office, all that stuff."

"You're a suit? Now that is funny," she chuckled. He was glad she was smiling again. He wasn't sure how much more of her crying he could take.

"Yeah, well, since I'm the boss I instituted casual Friday, five days a week." She laughed again and so did Hyde, feeling better.

"So, are you going to take over up here?"

"Not sure yet. That's what we're going to discuss." Hyde wiped his hands on a towel, fidgeting with the frayed ends. "I think I'll bring Steve with me."

"That's great, Hyde. So what do you think of him? He's a great kid, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Hyde said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down at his stocking feet. "Jackie did a good job."

"She did. And it wasn't easy. She had no one to turn to. Her mom was never around and when she was she just looked down on her. She took a job at the hospital in one of the offices. She did it all on her own. She had to grow up fast." God, Donna knew how to get to his heart. He didn't think it was possible to feel any worse then she went and said that. He felt his stomach churning and a crushing feeling in his chest.

"I can't change what I did, but I'm going to try to make things right. Do you think, um, could you maybe-"

"Talk to her?"

Hyde nodded. Donna gave him a reassuring hug. "I was going over there this afternoon. I can't promise you anything but I'll put a good word in for you."

At eleven, Hyde was in his room putting on his shoes when he heard Steve come in.

"In here," he called.

Steve poked his head in the door. "Hey-" he started to say. "What do I call you anyway?"

Hyde looked at him, surprised. "Uh, you can just call me Hyde, if you want. Whatever."

"Oh, okay," Steve said with a little relief in his voice.

"It took me a long time before I was comfortable calling my dad 'Dad.' I didn't meet him until I was nineteen either. Never called the guy that raised me Dad either." He was only trying to get Steve to see that they had a lot in common. Hyde was noticing it more and more as they spent time together. He finished getting ready and watched Steve looking at the picture on the shelf, biting his lip. He did that a lot, Hyde thought.

"Mom doesn't keep pictures in the house, not of when she was young anyway."

"She was beautiful," Hyde told him. He was at a total loss.

"Did you love her?"

Hyde furrowed his brow. He wasn't sure if Steve wanted to know or if it was something Jackie wanted to know. Maybe it was both. "I did." He was sure Steve wanted to know why he left but he wasn't ready to explain that to him yet.

"Come on, let's go."

Twenty minuets later they were walking in the front door of DeBuck's, a leather bound sports bar. The kind with memorabilia and beer steins from around the world on the wall and a dozen big screen TVs all tuned to different sporting events. It was enough to give anyone a headache. It wasn't even noon yet but the place was filled with sports junkies watching ESPN news and half drunk business men trying to forget their lives in their short, forty-five minutes lunch breaks.

WB was waiting for them at a table in the back. He stood up when he saw the two men heading over.

"Steven. It's good to see you."

"Dad," Hyde said, hugging him.

"You said you were bringing a surprise. Is this it?" he asked, looking at Steve.

"Yep, this is Steve Burkhardt." WB shook hands with Steve then looked at Hyde.

"Burkhardt? Wasn't that the name of that girl you used to bring around the store?" WB looked from Hyde to Steve and back again. "You too could pass as twins," he laughed.

The three men sat, talking for a long time. WB wanted to know all about Steve and where he was going with his life. It had been awhile since Hyde has sat down with his dad and talked about something other then business and it was nice.

When they left Hyde was the new district manager for the Northern division, which included 15 stores, 3 warehouses and a distribution center in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the upper peninsula of Michigan. Things were actually starting to look up for him. His career was doing good, he was making up for lost time with Steve, Donna was laughing again, and he was home. Of course things were never that easy for him.

He had only been home a half hour when Kelly stormed into his room.

"Daddy, we need to talk to you now," she said. Hyde looked up from his bed. His daughter did not look happy. "NOW," she demanded. He followed her into the basement and found Karrie standing next to the stairs with her arms crossed, foot tapping on the floor and Steve leaning against the back of the couch, apparently trying to decide the quickest way out of the situation. Hyde felt the same way.

"What?" Hyde asked, innocently.

"Do you think we are stupid?" Karrie started in.

"When were you planning on telling us about him?"

Hyde ran his hand over his beard. He had been planning on telling them, he just hadn't known how. They knew so little about his life. To just explain about Steve he would have to give them a short history of his life.

"Well?" Karrie insisted.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Why didn't you tell us we had a brother?" Kelly asked. She glared over at Steve like he was trying to butt in on her happy life. Steve just averted her eyes.

"I just found out myself."

"So, it's true?" Karrie said meekly.

"Well, duh, retard. It's pretty obvious. I don't know how I hadn't noticed before."

"Maybe you're the retard then," Karrie offered.

"Bite me," Kelly hissed.

"I would but I'm too afraid to get some skanky disease."

Hyde had heard enough, but it was Steve that spoke up. "Would you two shut up, you're giving me a headache."

Kelly let out a yelp of indignation and ran off up the stairs. Karrie just shook her head. "I can't believe I have a brother," she mumbled to herself. Steve sighed.

"Are they always like that?" he asked Hyde. Hyde stared up the stairs.

"Not usually, but their whole lives are getting dumped upside down. I don't blame them." Steve shrugged.

"Must be a girl thing, then. 'Cause I'm not acting like a bitch and I think my life is getting more screwed up then theirs." Hyde laughed and clapped him on the back.

"That's the spirit."

After Steve left he went back in his room. Five minutes later Kelly was back, peeking through the doorway.

"Daddy, I'm sorry," was all she said.

"Kids," Hyde mumbled to himself. He laid back on the cot with his hands behind his head and stared at the picture. For the hundredth time that week he wondered what Jackie was doing. Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? He felt so guilty for what he put her through, and by extension, Steve, but that wasn't it. There was something else that was bugging him. Something he was having a hard time putting his finger on.

He caught himself smiling as he remember a time when he felt this way before. A time when he sat, listening to Jackie rant on and on about some bitchy cheerleader she couldn't stand. Hyde had sat listening for a few minutes then had finally asked if she ever shut up. She had gotten all mad and stormed out but had come back in to tell him off. He had gotten up to follow her and they collided at the door. She had looked up at him, all flustered. They had both just stared at each other until Jackie shoved him away, called him an "insensitive jerk," and ran off.

They had barely been friends back then. He used to hate her. When Kelso was dating her she just seemed to get in the way, messing up the fun that he had with the guys. She was always around talking. But as time went on he started hating her less until one day he realized he actually liked her. That was the feeling he was having now. The racing heart, the shallow breathing, the knotted stomach. It wasn't just guilt he was experiencing. He still had feelings for Jackie and that was killing him because he knew she would never be able to forgive him for leaving.

Chapter 9