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Sam sat in Hyde's room, on a ratty green armchair. He was pacing the room. She was looking around, trying to learn more about him from his things. She wasn't getting much.
"So… what exactly happened the night we… got married?" He seemed to force the last two words out, as if he didn't want to say them.
Sam wasn't sure how to answer that. She knew what had happened, she hadn't been as drunk as him. "Um… We just decided to get married, that's all."
"That's all? What do you mean, 'that's all'?"
"There's nothing else to say, Hyde. We got married because we were drunk. And I like you, so I thought… I don't know."
He sat on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm so fucked…" he muttered under his breath.
She stared at him. He had been talkative in Vegas, since he was mostly drunk or high. She knew about Jackie. Hell, she'd seen Jackie run screaming out of the room when she arrived. "You still love Jackie."
He blushed a little. It was cute. "Yeah, I do," he said, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Does she love you?"
"Probably not after this."
Sam nodded. "So… You definitely don't want to be with me, right?"
He looked up at her. "No. I'm sorry."
She smiled softly. "Don't be." She kissed him softly on the cheek, then left the room. He followed her.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I figured I won't be here much longer, so I should go explore the town."
"Oh. I can show you around if you want-"
"No, that's okay. I'd rather explore on my own. I'll come back before I leave, all right?"
"All right…"
She was out the door of the basement before he could say anything else. She was on a mission now. She went next door, where Hyde had mentioned one of his friends lived. She knocked on the door, and a blonde woman answered the door. "Hi, are you Donna?"
"Yeah…" Donna eyed her suspiciously. "You are…?"
"I'm Samantha Bennett. I'm Hyde's wife."
Donna glared at her. "Oh, so you're the bitch that's making my best friend cry."
Sam frowned. "Sorry. I'd really like to make her stop crying. I have a plan. It doesn't involve me and Hyde being together."
"Why should I trust you?"
"I'm the only person who actually knows what happened the night Hyde and I got married. He doesn't remember any of it."
She relented. "Fine. Come in." She walked upstairs, Sam following her. She went into a bedroom.
Jackie looked up, her face red and wet. She shrieked indignantly when she spotted Sam. "Donna, why would you bring this whore here? When I am literally still crying because of her?"
"I'm sorry. She says she doesn't plan on staying with Hyde." Donna sat next to Jackie on the bed. "Let's hear the plan."
"Well, this is it," Sam said. "I just want to talk to Jackie." She pulled a desk chair over and sat down. "Hyde doesn't want to be married to me. He told me. He still loves you."
"I don't love him," Jackie protested, sniffling.
"You're sobbing over him, of course you love him," Sam said, a little stern but caring. "Look, I was the one who suggested we get married that night." A lie, but no one had to know that. It would be easier for Hyde and Jackie if the truth didn't make it out. And Sam was a great liar. "He was really fun to be around, and I wanted something new. I knew about you, but I thought he was over you. He was really drunk and confused, and he just went with it. I figured he'd be okay with it in the morning, but he didn't remember. He said he had to go home before he made any dumb decisions."
Donna snorted at that. Jackie slapped her arm. "What?" Donna asked. "It's funny. He made the dumbest decision possible before leaving."
Sam nodded with a small smile. "Exactly. But blame me, not him. I took advantage of him. I'm sorry for that. He loves you, he talked about you all the time. He wants to be with you, not me."
Jackie wiped her eyes. "Why are you doing this? Being so nice?"
Sam shrugged. "I like Hyde. I want him to be happy. I don't know him very well, but I feel bad for taking advantage of him like I did. I want to right that wrong." In reality, Sam hadn't taken advantage of anyone. Hyde had suggested the marriage, for reasons unknown to Sam. She'd gone along with it because she'd never met anyone quite like Hyde.
"Tell him he should come talk to me. I'm not gonna forgive him if he's not really sorry," Jackie said.
"Of course not. I'll talk to him." Sam stood up. "Wash up, I'll send him over now." She left the room and found her way out of the house and back to the Formans' basement. Hyde was now pacing near the couch. "Hyde, you should go talk to Jackie next door."
"What? Why are you back so soon?"
"I went over to talk to Jackie." She put her hands on her hips. "Look, I suggested our marriage. I took advantage of you. I'm already married, so the marriage is null anyway. You need to go talk to Jackie and tell her you're sorry and you love her and you want to be with her. I'm not leaving until you do."
Hyde gaped at her for a minute, blinking rapidly. He shook his head to clear the confusion. "She's at Donna's?"
"Yes. Go!"
He nodded and walked out. Sam smiled and turned on the TV, then sat on the couch. Hopefully, that was enough to fix things.
~
Hyde knocked on Donna's bedroom door. She answered it. "That was faster than I expected. I figured you'd put off talking to her for a few hours, at least."
"Yeah, I'm trying to be better about that. Can I talk to her? Alone?"
"Mhm." Donna stepped out and let him in, closing the door behind him.
Jackie was sitting on the bed, her face red. He could tell she'd been crying, and he hated that he was the one who made her cry. "I'm so sorry," he started. "I really am."
"You better be," Jackie said. "You ditched me for two weeks and married someone else."
"Yeah, it was a really shitty thing to do. I really am sorry. Will you hear me out?"
"I guess," she said, trying to seem aloof. He could tell she really wanted to hear what he had to say.
He pulled over Donna's desk chair and sat across from Jackie. "I'm a dumbass. I never should have left you in Chicago. I was being stupid 'cause I was angry about everything that happened. Not just Kelso, but the ultimatum and you leaving before I could answer. So I took it out on you. And I really regret it, 'cause I love you a damn lot and nothing is worth giving you up."
"Not even meeting Led Zeppelin?" she asked.
He smiled. "Not even that."
She smiled too, but it faded after a second. "You really didn't want to marry Sam?"
"No. The only person I ever wanted to marry is you. And it could have happened if you hadn't run away."
She stared at him. "You were going to say yes?"
Hyde nodded. "Of course."
"Would you still say yes?"
"No. Because I don't think we're ready. We've been fighting about it a lot, so I think we should take some time to figure it out. Then we can get married."
"So you do want to get married?"
"Yeah. Just not right now. But one day. Y'know, when I can afford your white doves and stuff."
She grinned. "Oh, Steven…" She moved closer and took his hands in hers. "So, are you getting divorced?"
"I don't have to. Sam's already married, making our marriage null."
"Great." Jackie leaned in and kissed him tenderly. “I love you, even when you’re being a dumbass.”
“I love you too.” He kissed her again, thanking whatever higher power might exist that Sam had looked out for him today.
~
Sam had her bags packed and in the back of Hyde’s car. He was driving her to the airport. He and Jackie were in the driveway with her. Jackie had insisted on coming along.
“Thanks for helping me out, man,” Hyde said. “I really appreciate it.”
Sam smiled. “No problem. I appreciate you giving me an excuse to get out of Vegas. And sorry again for the whole marriage thing.”
“Yeah, you should be,” Jackie muttered. “Slut.”
Hyde gave her a look. “Jackie.”
Jackie put her hands on her hips. “What? She tricked you into marriage.”
“That doesn’t mean you should call her names,” Hyde said.
“It’s fine,” Sam said. “I’ve had worse. And it’s only fair.” It really wasn’t fair, but Sam didn’t care. She was getting a new start, and she’d helped out someone who was sort of a friend to her. She was happy with that.
“Let’s get you to the airport.” Hyde got in the driver’s seat. Jackie sat next to him on the bench, and Sam sat on her other side.
They drove in a tense silence, made tense by Jackie’s occasional glares at Sam. Hyde seemed uncomfortable.
They finally made it to the airport, and Sam collected her bags from the flatbed. “You don’t have to come in, I can handle myself from here.”
Hyde nodded. “Good luck. You know where to reach me if you need anything.”
“Yep.”
Hyde looked at Jackie. “Anything you want to say?”
“Not really,” she said bitterly.
He gave her a cute look. “Please?”
She sighed. “Fine. But only ‘cause you asked so nicely.” She turned to Sam. “Thanks for talking to me and Steven and helping us get back together. Of course, we wouldn’t have had any problems if you hadn’t shown up, but… Thanks for the help.”
“No problem. Really.” She smiled. “I’ll probably never see you guys again, so bye! Good luck together. I hope it works out.”
Hyde slipped his arm around Jackie’s waist. “Yeah, me too. See you around, Sam.”
“Bye!” She headed off towards the airport, happy that she had helped Hyde out. He deserved to be with Jackie, from what Sam could tell.