When I Need You

Author's Note: AU, somewhere around late season 4. Jackie's real father is dead and her stepfather has been abusing her. Thoughts are in italics. Sorry about starting this while I'm working on "Bringing Her Home" but I had to get this idea down on paper.

Jackie pulled on the loose black sweater over her camisole, jeans, and boots. She had her hair down and hadn't even bothered to give it extra volume, so it was just lying flat and straight. It's almost as bad as Donna's. Jackie thought to herself as she added the oversized sunglasses to her ensemble. She groaned, but she was satisfied with the way her outfit covered her bruises. She sighed knowing that she couldn't face school but she wasn't about to stay in her house when he could come back at anytime. She drove over to Eric's basement hoping for some normalcy and a group of people that cared, but didn't care enough to ask questions. She walked into the basement and smiled as convincingly as she could at the group. She said nothing she just took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the coffee table from Hyde.

Donna sat on the edge of the couch closest to her, "Hey Jackie, why aren't you at cheerleading practice?"

Jackie just shrugged and mumbled, "Whatever."

Hyde half-smiled and cocked an eyebrow at the brunette taking note of her appearance for the first time. She looked disheveled, but worse she almost looked broken. He felt betrayed by himself when he felt the need to protect her from whatever it was that put her in this condition.

"Well… on that great note: we should be on our way to school." Eric said like the nerd that he is deep down crept out. Donna, Kelso, and Fez stood to leave with him. Neither Jackie nor Hyde budged from their places.

Kelso walked over to Jackie and said, "Come on, it's time for school unless your sick or something cause you don't look as hot as usual." He laughed and then touched her arm to pull her from the chair but she pulled away as if his touch burned her.

"I'm not going." She glared up at him.

No one bothered to ask if Hyde was going to school, he answered to no one.

As soon as he was sure they were alone Steven Hyde did something completely out of his character. He got out of his chair and went over to sit where Donna had been sitting.

For a few hours the two sat in complete silence and watched television. Funny things happened, but Jackie never even cracked a smile. This did not go unnoticed by Hyde he sat there allowing his eyes to pry into the side of Jackie's head. Finally, lightly touching her forearm to get her attention, he just asked her, "What's wrong Jackie?"

She looked over at him and without a word she took off her sunglasses to reveal not only the fact that she'd obviously been crying for a very long time but much more painful for him to see was the brownish purple marks that stained her porcelain skin around her right eye.

He was completely shocked by what he saw and he didn't know what to say he just scooped her into his arms softly pulling her into his lap. He held her gently as she cried her eyes out into his shoulder for what seemed like an eternity. Her body shook violently with sobs for over an hour before her tears dried up. She pulled herself off of his lap and moved to sit next to him on the couch. Hyde's jaw clenched violently as his fists mimicked the motion, "Who did this to you and please tell me it's just this one." He said lightly touching the bruise around her eye in an intensely intimate motion.

She wiped her face and pushed her hair to reveal another bruise and bite mark on her neck. Then she just looked at him again, "It's my stepfather and it's… a lot more than… this…" She said beginning to cry again.

He grabbed the back of her head and guided her back to his shoulder not knowing how to process the information she was giving him. "Do you want me to shoot him?" He asked in a much more serious tone than he had intended.

She gulped a giggle into his shoulder. "I can't believe I'm letting you see me looking this gross, but at least it's you, you're not that clean anyway." She said laughing a little at her own joke.

He smiled leaving his arm around her even after she sat up. "I can't believe I'm going to say this… but you should go to the police."

"I can't… I can't tell anyone, I haven't told anyone, anyone except you. Please don't tell anyone Steven." Jackie begged.

"You know I'm not going to tell anyone. I can't believe I'm going to say this either… but… I'm here for you Jackie." Hyde said to the small broken girl that sat next to him.

She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight, "Thank you." She said solemnly.

"Whatever." He shrugged as she settled back into a closer spot next to him to watch some more TV. He tightened his arm around her protectively on instinct. They stayed like that for the rest of the day until they heard the footsteps of their friends coming down the stairs and Hyde reluctantly left her there and moved back to his chair while she replaced her sunglasses.

"Hey you two, how was your day off?" Kelso asked sitting down in the place where Hyde had been just a moment earlier.

When Kelso put his arm around Jackie she was so exhausted that she just leaned into her exes embrace eliciting an unfamiliar emotion from the pit of Hyde's stomach, jealousy.

To Be Continued…

Please let me know what you think.