Izzy stopped herself when she got to the couch, leaning a hand on it to keep herself upright. She heard Donna and Eric behind her, but she couldn't focus on them in the slightest.

Jackie and Nick?

She slowly sat down on the couch, tears coursing down her cheeks but little to no emotion on her face. Clutching the fabric of her skirt, she tried to ignore how badly her hands were shaking.

Jackie and Nick.

"Izzy?" Donna asked slowly.

When she didn't respond, Eric looked at his girlfriend. "Donna, we have to stabilize her. We need Hyde, and we need tea."

Donna nodded. "I'll get the tea."

As Donna went back into the kitchen and Eric went downstairs, Izzy managed to lift a shaky hand and wipe the tears away with her palm.

Jackie and Nick.

Really? She thought. Jackie and Nick? But... she said she wasn't seeing anyone else. When we specifically asked her, she said she wasn't seeing anyone else. Why would she-

"Izzy Bee?" Hyde asked carefully, standing behind the couch. Eric looked at the two, then went into the kitchen to help Donna with the tea. "Can I sit?" His question was met with the ghost of a nod. He sat down next to her, his hands uncharacteristically resting in his lap, his thumbs twiddling.

"Did you know?" She asked quietly, her shoulders stiff.

He sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." Izzy looked at him, and he could see a world of hurt in her eyes. "But she said she was gonna tell you, so none of us-"

"Us? Who's us?" She shook her head quickly. "I- I don't want to hear the answer to that."

"Izzy Bee..." He took her hand in his. "Do you still... have feelings for him?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh my god, Steven, no!" She breathed.

He let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, okay. I just- I needed to make sure." He paused, then lifted his other hand to wipe some tears away.

"It's just... Jackie's supposed to be one of my best friends. It's basic girl code, a- and she broke it. I know I shouldn't be upset, but-"

"Hey, hey, no." Donna said, setting a mug of tea next to Izzy. "You get to be mad. I mean, if Jackie were dating Casey? I'd kick her ass!"

"So," Eric said slowly. "What happens now?"

Hyde chuckled. "Please say you're gonna kick her ass."

"I don't know what happens now." Izzy picked up the tea and handed it to Hyde, who immediately took a sip. Eric and Donna looked at each other confusedly, but neither said anything.

"Oh my god," She whined, putting her head in her hands. "This is gonna be like the month I decided not to wear a bra."

"You what?"

"Those were such dark times, Donna. I had no support. Literally no support."

Donna chuckled and shook her head. "Well, Jackie's at my place for the night, so you don't have to worry about seeing her until at least tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Hyde hummed. "You can do that."

Izzy nodded. "I can do that."

-

"Oh, just a moment!" Kitty held her hand over the phone receiver and turned to Red, who was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. "Red, it's somebody about buying the Corvette!"

Red groaned loudly in response.

Eric, who was standing at the kitchen counter with Izzy and Hyde, grinned. "Well Mom, we've just seen the male of the herd grunt his displeasure. But what does this mean?"

"Grunting indicates aggression, Jim." Hyde said.

"Ah."

Red scowled in their direction. "Idiots."

Izzy laughed. "Well, when the wild bald-headed Packers fan is provoked, a string of hostility follows, not unlike the behaviour of the wild-"

"I am about to sell something special to me because we're having another baby." Red said, cutting Izzy off. "And, to do that, I have to believe that this child won't turn out a smartass."

He walked over to the phone, sighed, and picked it up. "Hello? Yes." He paused. "Don't call here again." The others watched in confusion as he hung the phone up and walked back to the table.

"What happened?" Kitty asked.

"Ah, the guy sounded like he was eating. I don't want some fat bastard eating in my car!"

Kitty shook her head. "Anyway." She set food down on the table, encouraging the kids to sit down. "I'm going to the doctor's this afternoon because I'm pregnant! Oh, oh, and Eric, you're picking your grandparents up from the airport. I'm going to tell them that I'm pregnant!"

Red nodded. "They get in from Phoenix at five. You know, I was hoping when they moved to Arizona, they'd get lost in the desert."

Hyde furrowed his brow and turned to Izzy. "What's wrong with Mrs. Forman's parents?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing. They're complicated people who can't be simplified into an easy description-"

"Grandma yells, Grandpa drinks." Eric said bluntly.

"Eric!" Izzy huffed. "But yeah, that sums it up."

Kitty shook her head. "That is not true! My father is a wonderful man who just... gets a little sleepy. And my mother, well fine, is a little remote. Which, I have learned through many helpful books, makes it impossible for her to say I love you. Even if it's the only thing in the world a sad little girl needs to hear." She turned to Izzy. "Which is why I say it to you every day. Isabelle, I love you!"

Eric snickered, and Kitty turned to him, kissing him on the forehead. "Eric, I love you, too!"

When Hyde pointed at Eric and laughed, it was his turn. "And you, too, Steven. I love you!" She pulled him in for a hug, which he squirmed uncomfortably in.

"You don't- No- That's okay- Really, it's alright- Okay, I love you, too!"

-

"I can't believe you knew that Jackie and Nick are together and you didn't tell me." Izzy huffed, falling back onto the basement couch. "I'm a big girl, I can handle these things."

"We... barely knew." Eric said.

Donna nodded. "Yeah, we knew, but we were in denial, cause it's so... unnatural!"

"Like radioactive spiders."

"The thing is..." Izzy said quietly, crossing her arms. "It's not, though. I was trying to think about all the reasons they'd never work, and I- I couldn't."

Hyde cleared his throat. "I can. One, he's your ex. Two, she's your friend. Three... I don't like him."

Kelso and Fez came down the stairs, and Fez was fixing his paisley-patterned shirt as he said, "Oh, I am guessing Izzy found out about Jackie and her new lover?"

"About time." Kelso scoffed.

Izzy's eyes widened. "You two know?! I- Fez knows?! Fez never knows anything!"

Fez grinned. "I know, I'm really coming into my own."

"Okay, how many people know?"

Kelso scoffed. "Duh, like everyone."

Izzy scowled. "Wait, why aren't you freaking out? Jackie's your ex, shouldn't you be all... ready to try and fight him like you try to fight Hyde all the time?"

He held up a finger. "Nuh-uh! I win those fights with Hyde!"

Donna chuckled. "No way, he always gets you in your eye, and you chicken out."

"Well that's- I just- damn, Donna! Fine!" He pouted, crossing his arms. "I'm not freakin' out, cause I found them, like, our first day back."

This surprised everyone.

"What?!" They all said in unison.

"Yeah, I was goin' over to Jackie's to apologize, and I saw him leaving in his stupid Corvette. I mean, when a guy's driving around in a car like that, I can't really blame her." Kelso turned to Izzy, an airheaded grin on his face. "So are you gonna fight her? Tell me now, so I can find a camera." Hyde leaned over and hit Kelso on the back of the head. "Ow!"

Izzy shook her head. "That's not how girls fight."

"That's how I fight." Donna said simply.

"Yeah, my point stands." She sighed. "Girls are just too... passive aggressive. Not aggressive-aggressive. Especially Jackie."

As if on queue, Jackie came in through the basement door. Izzy stood from her seat and locked eyes with her. The whole room fell silent, waiting for one of them to talk. Neither did, though. They just stood there, looking at each other.

"That's what I thought." Izzy huffed after too long spent in silence, turning on her heels and heading upstairs.

Eric scowled. "Okay, what the hell was that?"

Jackie sat on the couch's armrest. "She knows about Nick, doesn't she?"

"How'd you know?"

"That, just now? Was the worst fight we've ever had!"

-

"Burt, honey?" Kitty's mother asked, sitting on the living room couch. "Why don't you come and sit with us?"

Burt lifted his drink slightly, looking down at the bar with a smile. "Ah, I'm fine here."

"We'd really like it if you would sit and join the party."

"I'm part of the party right here."

"Sit!"

Burt hurriedly rushed to sit next to Bea, who smiled as though nothing was wrong. Izzy, Eric, and Red shared an awkward look, waiting impatiently for Kitty to return from the doctor's office.

"So, Burt." Red offered, trying to make conversation. "You're looking fit."

"Dry heat, central air. That's the key."

Red sighed. "Uh-huh."

"I've even got an air-conditioned garage. We can go from the house to the car without ever feeling the heat!"

"Wow," Eric said sarcastically. "They literally never have to breathe fresh air, wow."

"Who needs it?" Bea asked brightly.

Izzy chuckled. "More people than you'd think, Grandma."

There was another awkward silence.

"Well." Red said, once again breaking the silence that Izzy and Eric were quite comfortable in. "Those are some real nice sandals, Burt. Hardly ever see those on men."

Bea nodded. "Made by a handicapped Indian! What spirit."

Kitty then came into the living room from the kitchen, stopping when she saw everyone. "Oh," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "Um... everybody's here. Hello Mom, Daddy."

Red jumped to his feet. "Kitty, tell everyone your wonderful news! Quick!"

"Um, I- I'd really rather not right now, Red."

"But that's why we're here!" Bea said.

Eric nodded nervously. "Yeah, for the love of God, mom, tell them."

"No, um... I said not right now."

Izzy smiled. "Mama, they came all this way, come on."

"Fine! You wanna hear the big news? The doctor told me I started menopause!" A quietness fell over the room, and Kitty just nodded, clearly frustrated.

"Kitty!" Bea scolded. "Language!"

Red paused. "You're not pregnant?"

"No. No, just barren. Talk about that." And with that, she rushed into the kitchen, followed closely by Izzy, who gave her father and brother a glare that could kill.

-

"Mama..." Izzy said quietly, watching as Kitty went straight to pull out the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. "I'm really sorry. I know you wanted a baby. I wanted a little sibling, too."

Kitty didn't look at her. "Will you get out the bowls please, Isabelle?"

Izzy nodded, settling for a comfortable silence as she got out the cooking utensils and started helping her mother make the batter.

"The boys are stupid." Izzy finally said, measuring out the flour. "They just don't know how to handle girls, I can promise you that."

"Oh, I know." Kitty said quietly. "I was just hoping... I wanted another baby, Isabelle. I miss having babies around here."

Izzy cracked a smile. "Well, I can babysit more. Our neighbors down the road just had a baby, I'm sure they'd be more than happy if I offered to watch her from time to time. Plus, Eric, Laurie, and I are gonna have kids when we're older, you don't have to worry about that."

Kitty looked up at Isabelle. Her eyes searched her daughter's face as she tried to think of the right words to use. "When you have kids, Isabelle... do you think they'll be Steven's?"

Izzy raised her eyebrows, not expecting that question. She chuckled nervously. "Um... I hadn't really thought about that."

Another silence fell upon the room as the two girls continued making cookies.

After another few minutes, Izzy leaned against the counter, smiling. "You know, before he and I started dating, we would joke about having kids all the time." Kitty fought down a smile. "We always said I'd raise them to be artists, and he'd raise them to be conspiracy freaks." She giggled. "God, we'd be awful parents."

Kitty shook her head, unable to hide her smile any longer. "Don't say that. I see the way you two treat Fez."

Izzy laughed. "We even had names picked out. Peter, if it was a boy, and Katherine for a girl."

Kitty looked up.

"Steven picked out that name. I offered Imogene, but he..." She chuckled. "Katherine." She looked at her mother. "Kitty."

-

Izzy sat in the basement that evening, having been sent down there so Kitty could talk to her parents. She sat in Hyde's lap, resting her head on his chest and focusing on his steady heartbeat. He had his arms around her, one around her waist and the other holding her head against him. They were watching television with the rest of the gang, but it felt as though they were in their own little world--peaceful and happy.

Of course, that peace wouldn't last long, since Jackie burst into the basement, pointing at Izzy.

"We need to talk."

Izzy looked up at her and nodded slowly. Hyde moved his hands and helped her stand up. Fez even turned down the television so everyone could watch what was about to happen.

Well, again, nothing happened.

The two girls stood there once more, staring at each other in silence.

"Oh god, look at them." Kelso mumbled.

"They're like silent, angry statues." Donna whispered.

Eric shuddered. "It's terrifying."

"And a little bit erotic." Fez said.

Hyde shook his head. "Very erotic."

There was another pause.

"Did you wash your hair?" Jackie asked. "It looks really clean."

Izzy gasped loudly.

"And then! You told Tommy Larkin that I was on my period!" Izzy cried.

"He wanted to know why you were wearing jeans in the pool!" Jackie sniffed. "I was defending you!" She wiped tears away. The two were delving into all the fights they never had over their entire history of friendship, not sparing either one's feelings. "Okay, so what's next, Izzy? Are you gonna talk about how I intentionally gave you the wrong lipstick color before your date with Steven-"

"You did. You did-"

"Even though you could have checked in the mirror-"

"I had a purple mouth!"

"It was aubergine!"

"Okay, that's enough." Donna said, standing up. She looked between her two friends. "You two aren't stupid, alright? So stop acting like it! Izzy, Jackie already apologized to you about Nick. Stop bringing up other arguments. There's a statute of limitations on these things, people!"

Jackie nodded. "Uh-huh!"

"And Jackie. Promise her you won't bring Nick around until she's okay with it, then leave it there! Drop it! It's not that hard."

Kelso scowled. "When I thought about a girl fight, I pictured like... hair pulling, tearing each others' clothes off... not crying."

Hyde chuckled. "Yeah, but Izzy Bee totally won."

"She did not!" Fez said.

"Uh, yeah she did."

Donna turned around. "Stop being gross boys! Kelso, Fez, go home. Eric, you and I are going to go get some damn ice cream! And Izzy and Jackie, you two are gonna hug and make up. Got it?"

Izzy looked at Jackie. "Do you love him?"

Jackie nodded. "I do."

"Promise not to bring him here?"

"Of course, Izzy."

The two embraced in an incredibly awkward and bumbling hug, and then everyone went their separate ways.

Izzy turned back around to Hyde, who stood out of his chair and came over to her.

"You really kicked her ass, you know that right?"

Izzy chuckled. "If by kicked her ass, you mean I cried until we hugged?"

"Yeah, I totally mean that."

Izzy smiled and rested her forehead against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close to him. She listened to his heartbeat, letting it calm her down.

"If Nick tries anything around you, though, I swear to Robert Plant I'll break his goddamn neck."

Izzy looked up at him through her eyelashes. "My hero." She said sarcastically.

He chuckled and kissed her slowly. "You got that right."