Hello all my lovely readers! I am so glad to see you are all so enthusiastic about the story :) All of the reviews you sent in are really helping me to continue writing the rest of the story. I hope you like this chapter and will let me know by sending in more reviews! I'll try and update soon!


When Hyde finally got home to his apartment that night, he went straight to the living room and picked up the phone. It was pretty late which means it would be even later in Wisconsin but he didn't care.

He anxiously tapped his foot on the ground and waited until he heard a groggy voice on the other end of the phone, "Whoever the hell this is better be dying…"

"You know she was here and you didn't tell me." Hyde accused Red angrily.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment until he heard rustling sheets. "I figured it would take longer for the two of you to run into each other."

"What the hell Red? How could you not tell me that she was in Seattle?" Hyde yelled into the phone.

"Well she isn't actually in Seattle…she is living in Tacoma which is right next door." Red said as Kitty rolled over in bed and looked at him curiously, he just shook his head and she knew to wait until he was finished talking to Steven.

"Close enough Red." Hyde said leaning his head against the back of the couch. "I mean…didn't you think this would be something I would like to know? Something that I would need to know?"

Red sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Steven I'm sorry. I was just as surprised as you were that you guys are in the same area but doesn't it mean something?"

"What are you gonna start talking about fate and everything now?" Hyde asked sighing.

"Normally I don't believe in that crap but it is pretty crazy don't' you think?" Red asked.

"Sure. Crazy." Hyde sighed, "I mean don't get me wrong…when I saw her tonight I was so happy. But…she didn't look so happy to see me."

"Yeah I didn't exactly expect her to take it well." Red said sighing, "What did she say?"

"All I got was, 'what are you doing here?' and then she ran off." Hyde said closing his eyes thinking back to the look on Jackie's face when he saw her.

"That good huh?" Red said trying to suppress a laugh.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Hyde asked, "I don't know where she is and as far as I know she could be running off again."

"I don't think she'll do that…at least not right away. I have her address if you want to go see her tomorrow and try and talk to her?" Red suggested.

"And what the hell would I say to her?" Hyde asked curiously.

"Oh I don't know…maybe you tell her how you really feel for once in your life?" Red suggested with a smirk on his face.

Hyde sighed and sat back up on the couch, "Red…I don't know if I can do that."

"Steven…if you want to get Jackie back you're gonna have to let go of that pride of yours." Red said honestly, "And I think you do want to get her back…"

"Of course I do." Hyde said sighing, as he took his sunglasses off and threw them on the coffee table. "But I'm afraid she won't take me back…"

"You'll never know until you try." Red said before he paused for a moment, "I know you're mad at me…but I was afraid if you guys knew that you were going to be near each other one of you would change your minds about going. Maybe this way…it will be easier to work things out when you aren't in Point Place…"

Hyde hadn't thought of that before, it did make sense. He wanted nothing more than to fix all this with Jackie because he missed her and he knew he loved her. But he didn't know if she would be willing or able to forgive him for everything. And even if she was…how the hell could he make it all up to her?

But at least it would be better to be away form all their friends in Point Place. Their friends had always voiced their opinions about their relationship and it always caused problems for them.

Sighing, Hyde reached for a pad of paper and a pen next to the couch, "Alright. Give me her address…might as well go over there before she can run again."

"My best advice is…stay as calm as possible. Even if she yells or cries or even throws things…you just let her say what she needs to say." Red said.

Hyde laughed nervously, "She's going to murder me isn't she?"

"Most likely yes." Red said laughing.

"Great…" He said as he started to scribble down Jackie's address on the paper.

He didn't' know what was going to happen tomorrow, but he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to sleep much tonight…


The next morning, Jackie woke up in her bed and rolled over in bed with red puffy eyes. She sighed and threw her sheets up over her head, wanting to drown in her bed and never get out. She felt sick…she had cried so hard last night she was pretty sure there was no more tears left for her to shed.

She closed her eyes tightly and thought back to the night before and what had happened after she ran out of the bar.


The only thing Jackie could hear was the sound of her heels slamming into the pavement and her breathing coming in harder.

This couldn't be possible.

Steven wasn't here…she had been imagining things.

When she finally couldn't run anymore, she leaned up against the concrete wall of the building beside her and slid down to the pavement. The tears were falling freely now and she felt so cold and alone.

"Jackie?" Anna asked as she and Liz finally caught up to her.

She wiped her tears away and looked up at them, "I'm…I'm sorry I ran out like that."

Liz and Anna shared a nervous glance before Liz knelt down beside her, "Are you okay?"

Jackie shook her head and wiped some more tears away, "No. I just…I don't understand how he found me out here. Why is he here? I was just starting to get back on track and now he's here…"

Liz sat down against the wall and put her arm around Jackie, "He really did a number on you didn't he?"

Jackie nodded her head, "I love him."

Anna cleared her throat and knelt down in front of Jackie. "Maybe this means you're supposed to be together…"

Jackie looked back up at her and sighed, "I wouldn't take you for one to believe in fate Anna…"

Anna shrugged, "Well it is kind of crazy…"

Jackie whimpered again and shook her head, "I just want to go home…"

Liz looked up at Anna who just nodded and helped her up, "Come on Burkhart…lets get you home."

As they were walking down the street getting ready to hail a cab, Anna put her arm around Jackie. "Guess you were right about that feeling of yours…"

Jackie sighed and rested her head on Anna's shoulder. "Guess I was…"


Sighing, Jackie threw the sheet off of her and sat up in bed again. She pushed the sheet to the side and crawled out of bed as she walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen and living room.

She was rubbing her eyes when she noticed Liz and Anna sitting on the couch. "What are you guys still doing here?"

"We didn't want you to be alone." Liz said smiling softly at her.

"We made waffles." Anna said holding up a plate towards her.

Jackie laughed and walked over to sit with them as she took the plate, "Thanks you guys. You really didn't have to do this…"

"I guess we feel kind of bad because we dragged you out last night." Liz said grimacing.

Jackie shrugged as she cut a piece of her waffles up, "You guys had no way of knowing that Steven was going to be there. You didn't even know what he looked like."

Anna nodded and reached for her coffee, "So what are you gonna do about him?"

Jackie sighed and put the plate back down before leaning back on the couch, "I don't know yet…I'm going to call Red and bitch him out for not telling me Steven is in Seattle first and then work from there."

Anna laughed and stood up, "Well that's a good start." She placed her coffee cup down on the table again and shrugged, "I figured you might need a day to yourself so Liz is gonna help me out at the photo shoot today."

Jackie looked up at her and then back at Liz, "Are you sure? I could pull it together."

Anna shook her head and smiled down at Jackie, "Don't worry about it. We got it covered. Take the day to wallow in your self pity and then Monday I expect to see you back at work in tip top shape."

Jackie laughed and smiled at her friends as they stared to walk towards the door. "Thank you. I am so glad I met you two…I don't know what I would do without you."

The girls waved and exited the apartment leaving Jackie alone with her thoughts once again. She laid back on the couch and tried to calm her brain down for a few minutes before she realized it wasn't going to happen.

So she reached behind her and picked up the phone and dialed the Formans number in Wisconsin. "Good morning Jackie." Red said on the other end.

"How did you know it was me?" Jackie asked as she curled up in a ball.

"I've been waiting for your phone call since last night." Red said as he leaned against the wall in the kitchen.

"So you talked to Steven then?" Jackie asked as her eyes fluttered shut, feeling suddenly tired again.

"He called and yelled at me for not letting him in on my little secret." Red said.

"Red how could you kept his from me? From both of us? But especially me…you know how vulnerable I was and still am. I came out here to forget about Steven and now he's here and I don't know what to do." She said feeling the tears well up in her eyes again.

"Jackie I get that you are upset with me and so is Steven but I didn't know what to say. If I had told Steven that you were living in Washington he would have still gone because he would have wanted to see you." Red said honestly.

"But you could have at least given me some warning." She paused and sighed, "And what's he doing all the way out here anyway? Doesn't he have a wife to take care of or something?"

"I think you need to talk to Steven about all of this…not me." Red said not wanting to dig himself in any more of a hole than he already was in.

"I don't have any intention of going into the city to see him…" Jackie whispered.

"I figured as much." He paused for a moment and looked at the clock, "But you should be expecting a visitor anytime now…"

Jackie's eyes popped open and she sat up quickly, "He's coming here? You gave him my address?"

"Well it would be pretty stupid if you two pretended like nothing happened last night wouldn't it?" Red asked rolling his eyes on the other end of the phone.

"Red! I'm not ready to face him yet!" Jackie said jumping up and running towards the mirror to try and fix her hair.

"Well that's too bad because he is going to be there soon." Red said in a stern voice, he was tired of the two of them running around each other in circles and pretending they didn't care about one another.

"But Red-" Jackie tried to reason with him.

"I know he hurt you. You have every right to be upset but its time you tell him how you really feel about everything Jackie. I supported you when you decided you wanted to leave Point Place but you can't run forever." He said softly to her.

"I wasn't planning on running forever but I thought I'd have a little more than two weeks!" She said angrily into the phone.

Red laughed and shrugged his shoulders before pushing himself off the wall, "Well there's no time like the present kid. Might as well get it over with now rather than mope around for a few more months."

She was about to say something in return when she heard a knock on the door. "Crap…he's here."

"Just be honest Jackie…tell him how you really feel about everything. Don't be afraid to fight…maybe it's what you two need." He said hoping for the best.

"Fine. But I'm still mad at you Red Forman. Don't think you are off the hook quite yet." She said angrily as she walked back to end table to get ready to hang up her phone.

"I never thought I was. Good luck kid. Call me soon." With that he hung up the phone leaving Jackie all on her own.

She took a deep breath and smoothed out her tshirt and pajama shorts before walking over to the door. Her heart was hammering away in her chest as she reached for the handle and it stopped completely when she saw him standing there on the other side.

He smiled sheepishly at her and took off his sunglasses, hooking them on the front of his shirt. "Hey Jackie…"

She licked her lips and leaned against the doorframe. "Hi…"

He stared at her for a moment, it amazed him that even in her pajamas she could still be the most beautiful woman in the world. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets before looking back at her.

"I called Red…he gave me your address." He whispered.

She nodded slowly, "I just got off the phone with him…seems like he kept you in the dark about this little arrangement as well."

Hyde nodded slowly, "I had no idea you were out here in Washington Jackie. He said you hadn't figured out where you were going to stay yet."

She nodded again and stepped aside, "You might as well come inside…I happen to like my neighbors and I don't want to scare them off by what's about to happen."

Hyde swallowed the lump in his throat and walked nervously into her apartment. He looked around and smiled, it was definitely Jackie's apartment. There were flowers and pink throw pillows all around, make up, magazines and nail polish on the coffee table too.

"I like the place." He said looking back at her.

She walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling her legs up under her. "Thanks." She paused and looked at her uneaten waffles. "Are you hungry?"

He shook his head and went to sit down on the recliner chair next to the couch. "No thanks. Grabbed something to eat on my way here."

She nodded again and turned away from him, finding it hard to look him in the eye. "Okay…"

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, neither of them quite knew what to say or where to even start. There was so much tension and unanswered questions and emotions running through them Jackie felt like she was going to explode if he didn't say something soon.

She rolled her eyes when she finally realized he wasn't going to start the conversation, "So why are you here in Seattle? Where's Sam?"

He was grateful that she had broken the silence, but afraid now that they were talking about what was going to happen next. "I uh…I opened a new Grooves out here for W.B. Or well…I'm opening one officially on Monday. And uh…" He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sam went back to Las Vegas…or at least I assume she did. She said she had to go be with her other husband…"

Jackie squinted her eyes at him and frowned, "Other husband? What the hell are you talking about?"

He shrugged, "Turns out she was already married so our marriage wasn't even legal."

Her heart started pounding again and she shifted in her seat nervously as she looked away from him again. "Oh."

He nodded, he didn't expect her to jump for joy when she heard the news, they weren't there yet. "Yeah. But I wanted her to leave anyway…even without knowing about her other husband."

Jackie turned back to look at him slowly, "Why?"

He stared at her for a moment, and saw just how deep her pain went by looking her in the eye. "Because I still have feelings for you."

Her eyes fluttered shut and she shook her head before standing up and walking around the back of the couch. "I can't do this…" She blurted out quickly.

Hyde sighed and stood up as he made a move towards her, "Look Jackie I know things are really complicated right now…but I-"

"Steven I left Point Place to forget you and now you're here…" She said as she turned back to him with tears falling down her face, "You're here in my apartment and I want so desperately to be happy about it and just kiss you but I can't. I can't Steven and I won't."

His shoulders slumped sadly and he nodded his head, "I didn't expect you to be happy to see me Jackie…I get that you're angry with me for what I did."

She shook her head and wiped some of her tears away. "I'm not angry Steven…I'm heartbroken."

His own heart cracked at her words and to hear the raw emotions behind them. "Jackie…"

"I mean…it was bad enough seeing you with her all the time and knowing she was your wife. But then to find out you actually bought a ring but you were to coward to ask me to marry you…that was too much." She said shaking her head sadly.

In the heat of the moment, his heart race quickened and his blood began to boil and he resorted to the one thing he knew how to do well and that was fight. "I wasn't too coward to do it Jackie! But when I saw you with Kelso in that hotel room it kind of put a damper on my freaking plan!"

She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Oh don't go back to that Steven! You know nothing happened! And even if you were upset about it at the time, you could have told Sam to leave and been honest with me about everything!"

"And would you have forgiven me?" He asked stepping closer to her as he felt his heart hammer away in his chest.

She shrugged, "I would have definitely considered it."

He sighed and tried to reach for her but she backed away slowly, a look of fear in her eyes and his heart broke again, "Look Jackie I can't take back what I did…"

"No. You can't…" She whispered shaking her head slowly as she tried to remind herself how to breath normally again.

"But I need you to know how sorry I am for it. All of it…" He whispered trying to show her how sincere he truly was.

She closed her eyes tightly and turned her face from him, wiping some tears away from the corner of her eye. "Sometimes saying I'm sorry just isn't good enough Steven."

Hyde watched her for a moment and tried to rack his brain for something he could say to make things better. But deep down, he knew that no amount of saying I'm sorry or I love you would fix what had been broken.

He stood silent for a few more minutes before speaking again. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I can't apologize and expect it to be okay…but you have to admit that this has to mean something."

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned back towards him. "Steven, what are you talking about?"

He stared at her as a smile grew on his face, "Out of all the places either of us could have gone in the world…we both ended up here in Washington. That can't be just coincidence…"

She huffed sadly and shook her head, "No…it's just my continued streak of bad luck."

He winced slightly at her words, he had hoped she would be somewhat happy to see him but it didn't seem that way. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards her again and tried to be as patient as he possibly could.

"Aren't you in the least bit happy to see me?" He asked softly, hoping she would say yes but afraid she would say no.

She bit her lip to try and keep from crying again as she looked back at him, taking in his face for a moment before answering. "I don't know…"

He sighed and stopped where he was again, "Fair enough…"

"It's just…" She stared and then stopped as she ran a tired hand through her hair and let out a ragged breath, "I'm so confused Steven. I was finally starting to put myself back together and now you're here…and my emotions are all mixed up again and I hate it."

"Do you mean you hate me?" He asked curiously with a sad look on his face.

She pouted softly and shook her head, "Steven even after everything we've been through…I could never, ever hate you."

He couldn't help but smile softly as he let her words sink in, "Well that's a start…"

She laughed sadly and then took her seat again on the couch as she buried her head in her hands. "I really like it out here…" He heard her say through her hands.

Hyde slowly walked back to the couch and sat down beside her, "Well I like it here too."

She sat up and looked over at him, "So…you're going to stay then?"

"In Seattle?" He asked, she nodded her head in response and he nodded back. "Yes. At least for awhile…I want to see how the store does here."

She nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap, "Okay."

He felt his heart start to beat quick again and he worried she was getting ready to run, "Does that mean you are going to leave?"

She looked back at him and shook her head slowly, "No. I like my job and I've made some good friends in the short amount of time I've been here. I think I could be happy here…"

Hyde smiled at her and nodded his head, "Good. I'm glad."

Jackie looked at his face for a moment and then sat back on the couch, curling her legs up and leaning her head on her knees again. "It's never going to be over between us, is it?"

She had spoken so softly to him he wasn't even sure at first if he had heard her right. He let her question hang in there air for a few moments before looking back at her as he rested his elbows on his knees and he shook his head.

"I don't think so Jackie…" He whispered back.

She licked her lips slowly and let a tear fall out of her eye as she nodded slowly. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say or do now…"

"You don't have to say or do anything if you don't want too." He said still staring at her intently.

She leaned her head back against the couch and stared deep into his eyes, "She's really gone?"

Jackie didn't have to say her name for him to know what she meant; he nodded his head and answered her. "She's really gone Jackie."

She squinted her eyes and tried to read his expression for a moment before she asked, "Are you sad?"

He didn't hesitate to answer this question as he shook his head, "About her leaving? No." He paused for a moment and then continued, "But I was sad when Red told me that you left…"

She didn't move as she continued to stare at him before she responded, "I had too…"

He nodded and moved his body to face hers on the couch. "I know."

"Everything hurt." She whispered as her voice cracked, "I thought I could hold on…but then when I found out about the ring…" She took a deep breath and shrugged, "It's like something inside of me snapped Steven…I had to get away as fast as I could."

He reached his hand out towards her and placed it gently on her knee, he felt her body stiffen but he didn't move it away. "I am so sorry for the way I treated you Jackie…I will never be able to apologize enough for it."

The lump in her throat was growing by the minute and it was taking all of her strength not to lunge at him. Whether she wanted to kiss him passionately or beat the crap out of him she wasn't quite sure.

"What do you want from me?" She said in such a sad and tired voice, Hyde was sure it had pierced his heart like a knife.

"I want to know that you are going to be okay…" He whispered. "I want to know that we can move past this…"

She let more tears fall from her cheeks as she answered him. "I will be okay eventually Steven…"

He nodded slowly and cleared his throat as he asked his next question, "And what about us? Are we going to be okay?"

She stared at him for a moment before sitting up straighter and letting her legs fall down so her feet touch the ground, their knees were touching and she reached slowly for his hand. The feel of her small hand against his once again sent shivers up his spine and he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her fingers as they traced the lines in his palm. It was something she had often done when they were alone together in bed after they made love and it always comforted him.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen with us Steven…" She whispered to him sadly as she continued to play with his hands, her eyes slowly moved up towards his face and she swallowed hard. "I obviously still have very strong feelings for you…"

He nodded slowly as he felt his heart fluttering in his chest, "I have very strong feelings for you too Jackie…I always have. Even when I was with…"

He couldn't seem to say her name and Jackie was okay with that, she didn't want to hear her name on his lips anyway. She looked back at their joined hands and took a deep breath before she continued to talk.

"The thing is I'm very confused…and I'm still very hurt by what happened." She whispered softly to him.

He nodded and watched her face as she continued to play with his hands, "I know…"

"And I'm not sure when and if I will be able to get over everything that happened." She whispered sadly.

He felt his heart drop to his stomach at her words and he decided to start talking again. "I came out here to Seattle to make myself better…"

Her eyes traveled up to his again and she stared at him with a confused expression on her face. "What do you mean?"

"You always told me I deserved more and could do more than what I was doing in Point Place…" He whispered to her, searching her eyes for any sign of hope. "I told Donna I wasn't coming out here because I wanted to try and get you back. But it was a lie…"

"Steven I don't understand…" She whispered shaking her head, "I thought you didn't know I was here…?"

"I didn't." He said shaking his head, "But I thought maybe if I could get my life together and really prove to you that I was becoming the man you wanted me to be…" He shrugged slowly and tried to smile at her. "I thought maybe someday you would come back to Point Place and hear about what I was doing. And then maybe you would be impressed and want to try and give me another chance…"

She licked her lips and looked deep into his blue eyes, "I don't know what to say…"

"Red was the one that made me see that it is kind of fate that we're both here Jackie." Hyde whispered to her, "I don't usually believe in that kind of stuff but I think he's right…it has to mean something."

Her fingers stopped moving against his hand as she let his words sink in, "Maybe it does…"

"I'm not asking you to forgive me this second…" He whispered. "I know it will take some time…" He took a deep breath, "But do you think it could ever be like it used to be with us?"

She squinted her eyes and shrugged. "I don't know…" He was about to respond when she interrupted him. "I just…" She paused again and looked down at his hands, finding it hard to meet his eyes, "I think I need some time…"

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he listened to her words. He knew it had been a long shot coming here thinking that she would automatically forgive him for all the crap that he had done to her. But he couldn't deny the fact that he had fantasized about her falling into his arms and being able to make love to her again after all this time.

He knew he was lucky she had even let him into her apartment and listened to what he had to say at all. She could have yelled and screamed and told him that she never wanted to see him again. But she hadn't…she had let him say the things he needed to say and she said the things she too needed to say.

And here they were holding hands on her couch and even as nervous as he was about what the future held for them…he still felt some sense of hope.

"Time…" He whispered back to her, still staring longingly at her face.

She nodded and looked back up at him as she let go of his hand and placed hers on her own lap. "Yeah. Time…"

He already missed the warmth of her skin against his and he wondered when he would be able to feel it again. But rather than ask her, he nodded his head and took a deep breath as he sat up a little straighter.

"Okay…I understand." He whispered as he watched her stand up from the couch and walk towards the door.

She nodded thankfully and looked back at him. "I don't mean to throw you out…but I just think it would be better if I had some time to process all of this. On my own that is…"

He nodded slowly and felt sad to leave her again, but he told himself he had to start putting her needs first. So he pushed himself up off of the couch and walked towards her at the door.

"It's okay. I sort of just showed up unannounced here…I expected you to throw me out right when you saw me." He said with a smirk.

She laughed sadly, "The thought did cross my mind…"

Hyde nodded and walked through the open door as he turned back to her, "Well uh…I guess I'll see you around?"

She rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at the ground quickly before looking back at him. "Yeah...I just need a few days to think things through."

He nodded slowly as he put his hands in his pockets. "Okay…well I'm having my grand opening of the new Groove's on Monday at noon if you want to come. It's right by the bar we ran into each other at on Friday. You don't have to come if you don't want too…you know if it's too soon or whatever…but you are more than welcome to come by."

She smiled at him and nodded, "I'll think about it."

He stared at her for a moment, afraid that he wasn't going to see her again unless he came here to talk to her himself. "Okay…"

She saw the fear in his eyes and she sighed softly, "I'm not going to run again if that's what you are afraid of…" She paused for a moment and laughed, "I would if I could…but I ran out of all my Dad's money."

He chuckled and nodded, "Good to know."

She put her hand on the door frame and took another look at him. "Thanks for coming by to talk to me Steven…"

He nodded slowly and smiled, "Of course. I figured it was the least I could do…"

She smiled, "I'll see you around. Goodbye Steven."

She shut the door quickly before retreating back into her apartment. As soon as she locked the door, she walked back to her room, crawled back into bed and curled up into a ball. In less then a second the tears began to pour out of her eyes and her body shook with sobs as the confusion and emotions overwhelmed her…


Back in his car, Hyde began to drive back to Seattle and he thought about the conversation he had had with Jackie. He was sure it could have gone better, but it also could have been worse. He wasn't sure if she was going to come to the grand opening of Grooves…he hoped she would.

But she had said she needed time, and maybe she meant more than just two days. For the time being he had to think positive thoughts and believe that what Red had said was true. It wasn't just coincidence that they both ended up this close together...it had to mean something.

And what he hoped it meant was that their story definitely wasn't over yet...


So what did you think? Let me know by sending in a review! It doesn't take long!

Up next-Jackie talks to Liz and Anna about her feelings for Hyde and asks them what she should do about the situation and if she should go see the new store on Monday.
Hyde tries to focus on the grand opening of the store but will he be able to concentrate with worrying about if Jackie will show up?

The quicker you review the quicker I'll be ready to update!