Disclaimer: I own nothing! Not the characters, not the show, not the episode where this story is supposed to take place after.

Author's Note: Hello all! How is everyone doing? Hope you're doing well! I know some of you may already be on summer vacation, like myself if you are—Yay!—If not keep hanging in there, you're almost there! :D Today I have for you a story that I hope you all will enjoy. It's something different from what I usually write, it's a little bit darker and it's not RK—some of you maybe be letting out a sigh of relief there aren't you? lol This story may also not be my best work, it was written during the time of my finals so I' afraid I didn't put my whole heart into it but I still think it's a pretty good piece, I hope you all feel the same! Again as it says in the summary, the rating is only because of the use of smoking, a few curse words, and because I'm a bt paranoid. It does of course take place after the season five finale, 'Celebration Day' does it bother anyone else how the episode went from Red having the heart attack to the scene with the boys sending the message to Fez's parents? Just feel like there was some missed opportunities and so to fix that a bit I wrote this story! Before you go on reading just wanna say some quick thanks yous if you don't mind. Thank you to Lisa (MistyMountainHop) for her help and advice on Hyde. Thank you to Eliza Ghost for pre-reading and helping me out with the ending. And thank you to Marla's Lost for all her encouraging words and help with the stories title. Thank you ladies, you are all so very awesome! Okay done with my thanks yous so lets go on with the show shall we? Again I really do hope you enjoy this story! And please, if you have the time to leave a review on the way out, it would be so greatly appreciated! As always, please, Enjoy!

The Cigarette Conversation

The curly haired young man nearly let out a sigh of relief as he pushed open the glass door and exited the building. He was glad to finally be out of there—he'd been in there for over six hours. And he hated it. He hated the place period.

He hated the way the hallways were so bright and white. He hated that very distinctive smell that filled the place, he didn't know where the smell came from and part of him didn't care to know. He couldn't say he hated the people that worked there because he did know someone who worked there and 'hate' would never be a word he'd use when speaking of them; however he could say he hated most of the people that worked there. Their fakeness, the way they pretended to be so cheerful, the way they pretended to be sympathetic when bad news was given. Luckily this hospital visit had been free of any bad news. Still that didn't diminish any of his hate.

And yet as much as he hated the place he had been the one to make the choice of staying those six plus hours. Even though his friends had one by one made their exit after the third hour, when they'd received the nerve calming news, Hyde could bring himself to leave his surrogate parents after the long day the two of them had had…actually the long day all of them had had.

So he stayed in the room with the parental couple chatting with them every now and then but most of the time just sitting and listening to the conversations had between husband and wife.

A good few hours passed when Kitty had left the room after declaring she'd be back in five minutes. Those five minutes turned into ten minutes and then twenty; after a half hour had passed and Kitty still hadn't made her return both men became curious but instead of speaking about it Red suggested that it might be best if Hyde went home. Well he hadn't said it in those exact words…the actual words used had been more along the lines of 'dumbass' and 'my foot in your ass.' Of course Hyde didn't mind, truth be told he found it almost comforting, as if that foot in the ass comment was thing he needed to hear to be able to believe that the man was going to be alright.

With that piece of reassurance in his head and a light smirk on his lips, Hyde said good night to Red and then hurriedly made his way through the eerily silent and brightly lit hallways before heading towards the nearest exit.

The fresh air was a pleasant change from the sterile air that had filled the hospital and Hyde just about welcomed the idea of having to walk the distant journey to the back of the parking lot where he'd parked the El Camino. He walked on the sidewalk between the hospital and the street when suddenly a thought crossed his mind and he frowned slightly as he wondered, 'Where the hell am I going?'

He could have easily decided to go back home to the Forman House but it would be weird being there and not having Red and Kitty there. And it wasn't as if he would have some thing waiting for him when he got there, he wouldn't have someone either—especially not the someone he wished would be there.

His pace slowed down as he thought over his other options. There weren't too many and none of them sounded all too appealing or exciting. At that next moment he remembered a conversation he'd had earlier with Fez and Kelso before they'd left the hospital; they wanted him to meet up with them later on tonight by the lake and to bring a bottle with him. Hyde wasn't sure what they needed a bottle for but knowing Kelso and Fez it was either something stupid or something dangerous and after the day they'd had today Hyde was hoping it was both. He could use some comic relief from 'Laurel and Hardy.'

Feeling better, now that he knew he wouldn't have to return home to the empty house so soon, Hyde quickened his footsteps again as he headed to the parking lot. Then just as he was about to turn himself onto the paved street, he saw something off in the distance that right away caught his attention.

'What is she doing out here?' he asked himself while staring at the petite figure standing under the pavilion in front of another hospital exit. His eyebrows scrunched up closer together as he noticed something near the familiar form, 'Is that cigarette smoke?'

Figuring Bert and Ernie could wait a little while longer for their bottle, Hyde marched his way over to the pavilion and the woman standing underneath it. Approaching closer to the hooded area, he was able to tell that the smoke he'd seen from far away was for a fact from a cigarette; it had that distinctive, well-known smell and he could see the small white stick between her fingers.

Her back was turned towards him, so she never saw him coming her way. He took slower, more cautious steps as he got closer; he didn't want to startle her but at the same time he wanted her to know she'd been caught.

"What're you doing out here?"

She jumped up at his question before quickly turning around, wearing a startled expression on her face until she recognized the young man in front of her.

"Oh Steven." She breathed sounding relieved as she let out a small laugh, "Oh, I thought you were Eric."

He shook his head and stepped into the pavilion, "Nah. Pretty sure he and Donna took off to her house…"

"Right, right. To finish packing up their things so they can leave to Madison all those hundreds of miles away." Kitty said in a tone that was anything but understanding before she moved her cigarette back up to her lips.

"Maybe." Hyde said not wanting to talk about the Eric moving away situation with Kitty since she really wasn't the biggest fan of the idea and because now that Red was in the hospital Hyde wasn't so sure Eric would be moving away—at least not as soon as he had planned.

Watching her take another drag off the cigarette, turning her head away from him as if that would hide what she was doing, Hyde shook his head and held back a smirk as he asked a question he already knew the answer to, "Mrs. Forman, are you smoking?"

Kitty looked back over at Hyde, pretending to be surprised by such a question and tried to appear innocent though the worry in her eyes and the smoke coming from the lit cigarette she'd 'hidden' behind her back were enough evidence to show she was guilty of the crime. Nonetheless she refused to go down without some sort of a fight.

"No, no. Of course not." she answered with a loud and very nervous giggle, "Why would you think that?"

Hyde titled his head to the side so he could see behind his adopted mother's back; Kitty followed his gaze and gave out another nervous laugh as she moved her hand holding her cigarette between the two of them.

"Oh this? I was just…holding it for a friend." She gave an attempt that even she knew was weak.

Hyde crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head with sadness, "After all you went through the last time you quit."

It felt weird being the one to play the guilt card on Kitty and not the other way around but at the same time he was glad he had done it. Kitty's smoking had been a serious concern of her family—himself included—but mostly Red and Eric. In fact Hyde was willing to bet that that was why she had been so startled when he first came over and she had thought he was Eric.

"I know, I know, it's terrible." She said, clearly ashamed of her actions, "But I just needed something to help me calm down while I came out here for some fresh air."

"Yeah, I hear cigarette smoke is the best kind of fresh air." Hyde stated, still not letting up and enjoying himself just a little bit as he played a parent like role to one of his own parents.

Meanwhile Kitty didn't find it at all amusing and she shot the young man a warning glare that quickly whipped the smug smirk off his face. Satisfied with the reaction she received, Kitty grinned a tiny triumphant smile and brought the smoke back up for another take. Hyde thought about protesting but then realized getting Kitty to put out the cigarette was going take a lot more than a few argumentative statements. Besides now was really not the time for anything argument related.

"Do you have any more on you?" he asked not really intending on joining her in a smoke.

He'd only asked the question because he knew it would upset her to hear him ask for one and then she'd go into Nurse Mode and lecture him on all the reasons that smoking was bad for you. Hopefully one of the reasons would open her eyes and get her to put out her cigarette.

Kitty shook her head, her mind elsewhere and distracting her from figuring out what Hyde was really up to, "No. I got this from one of the girls when I was…" she stopped midway through her sentence as she processed the question that she had been asked; a scowl made its way to her forehead but was more of a disappointed frown rather than an angry frown.

"Oh Steven, no!" she scolded slightly, "Even if I did have another one of these I would never give one to you. Do you know what smoking does to you? It changes your voice, it turns your lungs black, you could end up having to breathe through one of those holes they have to make in the middle of your neck…." She rapidly shook her head back and forth not wanting to imagine this young boy that she loved as much as her own son having to go through any of that, "No, absolutely not."

"Um, Mrs. Forman." Hyde said a bit awkwardly as his eyes fixated on the smoking cigarette she continued to hold.

Not needing to see what he was looking at Kitty looked firmly over at her adopted son and said, "Steven, you do as I say not as I do."

"Alright, yeah." Hyde chuckled faintly, "I guess today has been a pretty stressful day for you."

"Try a stressful year." Kitty scoffed lightly as she sat herself down on the cement bench, before she caught the curious frown on Steven's face;

She shook her head and waved a dismissive hand, "It's nothing, Steven. Forget I said a thing."

"Mrs. Forman…it's okay. You can tell me. If you want." Hyde said; he could recall a handful of time when he had been troubled and she had lent him a listening ear—after of course she'd managed to get him to actually talk about what was bothering him—and he figured it was time to return the favor.

"Well it's just…" she sighed and went on, "I mean I always knew the year you kids graduated from high school would be hard one for me because it meant you all were growing up and not be my little babes anymore. But nothing could have prepared me for this."

Hyde mutely sat beside her, waiting for her to continue.

"First Eric ran off to California to get Donna back, which while very romantic still left me in a mess of nerves. Then I thought I was pregnant but it turned out I was just barren and only a few years away from death." She laughed a forced sounding laugh, "My mother paid three visits in the past nine months, my father passed away during the last. And then we found out Eric and Donna were engaged and hid it from us for months. And now on the day that I thought would make everything better, my baby boy is getting ready to run away from home, my daughter had a courthouse, green card wedding, and my husband had a heart attack!" her voice broke as she began feel all the emotions she'd been feeling these past few months all over again; she lifted up her cigarette, "I deserve this cigarette!"

Listening to Kitty's rampage Hyde didn't know what to say, so he sat there silently. He never realized how difficult these past few months had been on her—he didn't think any of them had—and he hated himself for it. Kitty was always able to tell someone had a bad day and she'd try to help the person feel better by whipping up a batch of homemade cookies or wrapping them up in a warm hug; sometimes a combination of both. But what had they done for her? Nothing. Nothing except pass off her emotional outbreaks as side effects from her…lady problems.

Disappointed in himself Hyde moved his eyes down to his clasped hands, trying to find the words to say next.

Concerned by his quietness Kitty looked over at her adopted son, "I'm sorry Steven, I didn't mean to break out into a little sob fest like that."

"You're apologizing?' Hyde asked as lifted his gaze, "Mrs. Forman, after the year you had and none of us ever even noticing…I'm sorry."

"Oh sweetie, don't apologize." She said as she placed her free hand over his, "I'm glad you kids didn't notice that this year, while it wasn't the worst, wasn't the best either. You all were so busy with other things. Better, happier things."

The smile she gave him assured him that she really was glad that it had gone unnoticed. He gave a faint smile in return but that same smile instantly dropped when Kitty continued on.

"Which reminds me, how are things with you and Jackie?"

"Not so good." Hyde replied while scratching at his cheek , maybe he'd grow that beard back now, "For starters there is no 'me and Jackie' anymore."

Kitty's own smile flattened, "Oh no. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." he shook his head.

"Are you sure?" she pressed.

"Yeah." he nodded and then let out a light chuckle, "But I'm pretty sure you're gonna keep asking me until I give in and tell you everything."

Her grin made a reappearance as she spoke happily, "That's right."

"Mrs. Forman, I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Well, the beginning is usually a nice spot." Kitty said letting out a small giggle.

Hyde shook his head again, his back still remaining slouched, "I still don't know where that would be."

Hearing his muttered words, concern became written on Kitty's face as her brows inched closer together, while she watched the young man, patiently waiting for him to explain. Talking about any of this was the last thing Hyde wanted to do and it caused him to heave out a heavy sigh. The sigh was created not only because he knew her pestering wouldn't stop until he gave in and started talking, but because he also knew that if there was one person who he was going to spill out the details of the recent events to it was going to be Mrs. Forman.

"A few weeks back I told Jackie I didn't trust her and Kelso being left alone." He began to explain, "And it's not that I don't trust her, it's him I don't trust."

"Steven…"

Shaking his head, Hyde had a feeling he knew what Kitty was going to say and he cut her off before she could even start, "I know, I know, he's my friend and I'm supposed to trust him. But I can't. Because I know him. I know he loves sex, anything that has to deal with fire, and supergluing things together—in that order."

"Well if you know him so well then you should know that he wouldn't try to steal Jackie away from you." Kitty said in that motherly tone, "Just like you're his friend, he's your friend too."

"I don't think it really works like that, Mrs. Forman." He commented and then continued on with the topic of Jackie and Kelso, "I guess the fact that Kelso and Jackie had been a couple for so long and have all that history together, it's always in the back of my mind. Then there was that whole thing with Jackie yelling at Annette to get off her boyfriend when she saw her with Kelso. And Kelso bought Jackie sweater for her birthday, well technically he stole it but Jackie didn't even tell me it was her birthday." He moved his gaze downwards once again, "I couldn't take it anymore so I told her I didn't want her hanging out alone with Kelso and she got mad."

"Of course she got mad. You were telling her she couldn't see one of her friends anymore. That is just like a man too, trying to control us women whenever…"that crazed menopause look was starting to make its way onto Kitty's face as she ranted on, luckily she caught herself and managed to control herself with the help of another inhale on her cigarette.

"Oh right, you were telling the story." She gave a awkward, nervous giggle and waved her hand slightly, "Continue."

With a nod of his head, Hyde quickly did as he was told—he was grateful for being spared of a menopausal outburst and didn't want to take the chance of another one; after all one could only be so lucky.

"Then awhile after I told Jackie all that I found her and Kelso sitting together on the couch and misunderstood it all. And that led me into doing something so stupid." He took in a deep breath, as he thought back to his actions of that night. They were going to disappoint Kitty. They'd made Jackie hate hm. They'd made him hate himself. "I…"

Before he could say another syllable, Kitty reached over and placed a comforting hand on his, "I know what you did, Steven."

Her tone was soft but not in a soft disappointed kind of tone, it was more of a soft understanding tone. However her tone wasn't the only thing that surprised Hyde, with all that had been going these past few weeks with her own family Hyde was shocked that Kitty knew what he'd done with that nurse. Sure she had seen him at the convention but she had been more drunk than Fez was that time he got into a heated argument on the phone with himself.

Catching his shocked expression, Kitty let out a small laugh while nodding again, "Yes, I know. I may have been hopped up on a few too many of those little yellow pills these past few days but I still know plenty of the things going on with my babies."

Hyde nodded and then turned his eyes away from hers, "I still can't believe I did it." He looked back at her, "I almost told Red so he would shove his foot up my ass but instead I told Jackie. Should've gone with Red. Probably would've been less painful. I thought I was doing the right thing by telling her but I think it only made her hate me even more. She said I was just like Kelso and she broke up with me."

"Oh sweetie." Kitty said in a sympathetic voice.

He went on before she could, "And to make matters worse, ever since the breakup Kelso's been trying to win Jackie back. She had the two of us fighting over her the last few days because it was fun for her. Can you believe that?"

"Yes." she replied and his wrinkled expression made her giggle, "It actually is pretty fun to watch two boys fighting over you." She giggled again at his eye roll before going back into mother mode, "But I can also understand how upset it would make you. Go on."

"We told her she needed to make her choice and right before…all of this happened she told us that she picked herself, because she loved herself the most." He said, feeling his anger over her answer build up all over again, "Can you believe that bul…eh…bizarreness?"

Kitty laughed at the 'sneaky cover up' word Hyde had used, "Steven, honey, I think if you're old enough to hear me talk about my ovaries, your old enough to curse in front of me."

"Can you believe that…" he hesitated, whether he was old enough or not didn't matter; it still didn't feel right to use foul language in front of the woman he had the highest respect for. Still no other word could really summarize the way he really felt about the answer Jackie had given him and Kelso, he still wasn't sure this one did it justice either, "Bullshit..Sorry. I couldn't think of a better, cleaner word."

"Well of course not because you're right. It's bullshit."

Hyde wasn't exactly sure how he'd done it but he was able to keep his jaw from dropping open when he heard the curse word slip out his adopted mother's mouth.

"But." Kitty was quick to add, "I'm sure it's bullshit that will pass. And then before you know it everything will be back to normal."

"Mrs. Forman, I don't even know what normal is when it comes to Jackie." He started to explain, "I mean I thought she had matured since we started going out. She started showing that she cared about other people, she cared less about money and material things. but now she's back to being childish and selfish and even shallow by choosing herself because she loves herself the most. I thought she had changed."

Kitty's compassionate eyes stayed on Steven. She felt bad for the young man sitting beside her, she could hear his despair as his tone of voice went from loud and angry to soft and sad.

"She has changed, Steven, you both have. Just like you've both become happier since you started your relationship. Jackie never looked as happy as she did these past few months when she was with Michael. And I don't think I had seen you that happy since…ever." She giggled again.

"Yeah." He smirked ever so lightly, "We did have a pretty good thing going on." His tiny smirk vanished, "Till I screwed it up"

"No Steven, you didn't." Kitty argued, "You just need to give Jackie some space. I'm sure that's why she chose herself instead of deciding between you and Michael today. She sees this as a big decision and she wants to make sure she makes the right choice. She wants the time to herself to think, about you, about Michael, about herself. Just give her that time she wants so she can think and remember how happy she was with you. And I'm sure before the end of the summer you two will be back in each other's arms."

A smirk crawled onto Hyde's lips, as clichéd as Kitty's words were he couldn't help but hope they were right.

"Everything's going to be okay, Steven." Kitty assured in a comforting voice, "This is just a little bump in the road. A little test that yours and Jackie's love has to go through. Every great love goes through handfuls of them. It's what makes those great loves so great."

Smirk still in place, Hyde scoffed a bit, "Yeah, every great love except yours and Red's."

Kitty released another Kitty laugh, "Oh honey, remind me to share with you a few of the stories from the days when Red was courting me."

When he heard her statement Hyde wondered what she meant by it, however his curiosity was short lived when his eyes caught the sight of the cigarette. Though Kitty was still holding the cancer stick between her finger, Hyde realized she hadn't moved it up to her lips since he'd started telling her about Jackie and she'd stepped in to help him. His smile grew at this detail.

"So," she began, "are you heading home?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Red kicked me out of his room just a few minutes ago."

"Oh." Kitty said as her smile spread onto her lips, "He took a lot longer than I thought he would."

She let out another laugh and Hyde joined in.

"Same here. I guess the heart attack softened him up a bit." He remarked.

Not exactly in the mood to talk about her husband's small brush with death, Kitty changed the subject, "Well when you get back home you be sure that you kids cute into that cake. Don't go waiting on Red and me."

Hyde scowled, a bit puzzled, "What cake?"

"The cake I made to celebrate you kids' graduation, silly." she informed smiling, though her grin faded a tad as she went on, "I mean you may not have actually graduated with your classmates since you all were too busy riding around in the back of a truck filled with pigs, but you did still technically graduate from high school."

A smirk formed on Hyde's lips, he couldn't resist, "You know, sitting in that pig truck did actually feel a lot like sitting with some of our classmates."

Kitty laughed as she shook her head before doing something she'd been waiting to do all day; she wrapped her arms around Hyde and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Congratulations, Steven, you're a high school graduate." She said giggling and then pecked his cheek, "And we are just so proud of you."

"Thanks Mrs. Forman." Hyde answered with a hint of embarrassment in his voice as he eyes fixated on the ground again, "Really. Thanks. Without you and Red, I don't know where I'd be but I know I wouldn't have a high school diploma." He paused realizing he didn't actually have the piece of paper since he and the gang had missed their graduation ceremony, "Well I wouldn't technically have one."

Frowning, Kitty shook her head back and forth, "Oh Steven, don't talk that way. Besides Red and I had nothing to do with you making it through high school, you did all the hard work. All those essays, quizzes, and tests that was all you, sweetie. Which is why you deserve a great big piece of that graduation cake, okay?"

"Okay." Hyde nodded, smiling shyly before looking back at Kitty, "What about you? Are you coming home soon?"

"No…No I think I might actually see if I can sleep here tonight." Kitty started to explain to him.

Immediately Hyde was filled with worry as his mind went straight to the man lying in the hospital bed upstairs. "Red's…he's gonna be okay right?"

"Oh yes, of course he is honey." Kitty tried to assure, her grin was helping calm some of Hyde's nerves, "He's one of the strongest men I know. And his doctor already said he's recovering well and could be back home in the next few days. I just think I'd get more sleep here in one of the chairs in his room than I would at home in an empty bed."

Hyde gave an understanding nod.

"You want me to bring you some extra clothes or something?"

Kitty smiled at the offer but had to decline, "Oh no, that's okay Steven. I'll probably be back home early in the morning to make breakfast for you kids and to pick up my uniform for work."

"We can make our own breakfast, Mrs. Forman. At least I can." Hyde said, not liking the idea of Mrs. Forman running back and forth from the hospital to the house and overworking herself, "And you could take the day off from work to stay with Red."

"I think I'd rather keep myself busy, honey." She shared aloud.

"How about something to eat?" Hyde asked, still not giving up.

Her grin grew at his concern for her, "That's sweet of you Steven, really; but there's the cafeteria here if I get hungry."

"Yeah but that food sucks." He said flatly.

Kitty gave a disapproving scowl, "Steven, just because I said you were old enough to curse in front of me doesn't mean every sentence you say should be a porky mouth sentence."

"Alright." Hyde agreed and then paused before adding, "But it's true."

"The food here is not that bad." She argued not very convincingly, "It's…edible."

Hyde released a light laugh and continued to smirk, "Come on, Mrs. Forman, I can bring you a burger from Fatso Burger, fries and all."

"Well…" Kitty said, fighting back her smile, "I suppose that does sound better than the tuna flavored chicken sandwich."

"Cool." Hyde said, smirk staying in place. "I'll bring it over in about an hour. I gotta go meet up with Kelso and your new son-in-law real quick."

Kitty's smile flattened and she became serious, "Oh Steven, please don't go saying things like that in front of Red. I don't want him having a second heart attack."

"Yeah, we should probably save that second heart attack for when Laurie announces that she's pregnant with Kelso's kid." The statement made Kitty's eyes widen with fear and when Hyde saw this he let his smile grow even more, "Just kidding, Mrs. Forman, don't worry."

A sigh of relief escaped Kitty's lips before she glared lightly in Hyde's direction, "Steven."

Despite the scolding tone she spoke in, Hyde knew she really wasn't upset with him. He could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards and it made his own grin expand. Abruptly, he realized he probably should get going if he wanted to meet up with Tweedledee and Tweedledum and still have time to make it to Fatso Burger for Kitty before it closed for the night.

He pushed himself up and onto his feet, "Alright, I'm gonna take off. I'll be back in a while with your food."

She smiled up at him, "Okay, thank you honey."

Hyde nodded his head up and down but instead of heading off towards the El Camino he stayed in his spot, watching his surrogate mother carefully before bending down and wrapping his arms around her to create a hug that he thought she needed just as much as he did. And he was probably right because Kitty wasted little time in returning the hug with a much tighter grip. He waited several seconds before pulling away and when he did break the embrace he once again caught the sight of her cigarette and knew he had to make sure.

"And when I get back you'll be with Red, not out here smoking another one of those, right." He stated rather than asked.

Appalled by his words, Kitty stared back at her adopted son but soon let her usual bright smile make its way to her face as she extended her right hand over the nearby trashcan.

"Right." She agreed before grounding her cigarette into the trashcan's ashtray.

Seeing his surrogate mother's actions Hyde returned the smile before turning around and walking off to go meet up with his friends.

The End

Author's Note: So what did ya think? Yay? Nay? Good? Bad? Ugly? Please lemme know in a review!

Some quick little notes, really fast before you go! First off if you have not voted in my oneshot poll on my profile, go now! It will be closing by the end of the day. Thanks! Second note, if any of you caught that this is my third Hyde and Kitty story that was posted on 5/31 Bravo to you! This one was actually planned on, but the other two weren't, I just realized it after I finished writing this one and well I didn't want to break tradition lol

Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, see you next time, take care, and have a nice day!