"Don't marry him."

Jackie shook her head, "What?"

Hyde removed his ever present sunglasses and looked at her in that love struck gaze only he could manage. "Don't marry him."

She glared back at him. "Are you kidding me? Ugh! This is so typical of you! Show up at the wrong freaking time and expect me to drop everything!"

Hyde stepped closer to her. So close she could feel his body heat. She didn't back away, but she didn't move towards him either.

"Jacks… you know I'm not good at this stuff. It's just… it's always been you. Don't marry him."

Jackie sighed, "You know even so much as a year ago, I would have given anything to hear you say that."

Hyde's face was every bit as pained as the day he'd told her he'd cheated on her. His eyes pleaded in the same helpless way as he said, "Come on Jackie…"

And like all those years ago, her eyes filled with tears as she started to pull away. "No, Steven, I'm sorry."

Hyde caught her face gently and pulled her back to him. He kissed her tenderly, and she shuttered. It was passionate… but sad. Hyde felt like his heart would break if she walked away from him now. Like he would never recover if she didn't return all the affection that seemed to be overflowing from him. It would hurt every bit as much as the day his "wife" had appeared at the Formans and Jackie ran crying. So Jackie pulled away, and Hyde's heart broke.

"We can't" She said.

He grabbed her hands, "We can."

"No, Steven. You're too late." Her eyes were still misty, but no tears fell.

"It's never too late. Not when it feels like this." He insisted.

Jackie sighed. So much pain was behind her eyes. The once proud and shallow ice queen had unexpectedly paid a visit to the school of hard knocks, and she'd come back a different person. She'd been cheated on, lied to, betrayed, abandoned… And she was tired.

"Did you ever read any of Shakespeare's plays?"

"His brow furrowed, "What?"

"Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet?"

"Aren't those the sad ones?"

She laughed softly before correcting, "Tragedies."

He shrugged, "Okay."

"They're tragic because it should have worked out. Hamlet should have married Ophelia and avenged his father. Romeo and Juliet just needed to catch a break and Othello… well he just needed to learn to talk to his wife."

Hyde shook his head, "What does this-"

"They're tragic," She continued, "Because the answers should have been simple. Because it could have, and should have, all worked out. Because every time you hear the stories you hold your breath for a second, just hoping this time it will end differently. That the letter will somehow reach Romeo, or Juliet will wake up just a moment earlier."

"But it never works out." Hyde said seriously.

Jackie looked at him, and they both knew they weren't talking about the play's anymore.

"No matter how many ways you see it, no matter how many people try to help, or how much you hope things might be different, it never works out."

"But it should," He said firmly.

She nodded. "Yes… it should."

She walked by him and opened the door to her apartment. She refused to look at him as she held it open for him to leave through.

"But it won't."