A/N: Now that's what I'm talking about! I got great reviews last chapter, so thank you all!! Now I'm warning you in advance, this chapter might bum you out, but just TRUST ME. It is absolutely necessary. Jackie and Hyde have to face their past in order to have a future right? I have every single detail mapped out, so believe me, you'll want to stick with me.

Don't forget to review!!

Chapters are Maria Mena songs (This is one of my favorites. You should listen to it.)

Chapter 7: Our Battles


Over the past months, Hyde and Jackie had become very, very close. Hyde had been trying desperately to build a foundation. He had never seen himself as the supportive type, but he knew that he had to be there for Jackie if he ever had hope of getting her back. But more than anything, he found himself wanting to be there with Jackie and Will. Hyde was amazed at how much he loved this child who wasn't even his. They shared a connection, a powerful one. It was like Hyde had become the father to Will and a husband to Jackie. Before that would have scared the shit out of him, but not anymore.

Hyde had decided that he was finally going to tell Jackie how he felt. He wanted her back. The night before had finally prompted him to do something. After he and Jackie had put Will to bed, they shared an almost kiss moment, for about the millionth time. Finally Hyde couldn't take it anymore. He was going to get her back. He had asked Mrs. Forman to baby sit Will for the night so he and Jackie could be alone. He asked her out to dinner after her "aerobics class". It was going to be perfect. As Hyde sat on the couch, he heard the front door open followed by laughter, Jackie's and it couldn't be…a guy's? Hyde got up and watched Jackie in the doorway with this handsome man. He felt his heart being ripped out of his body at the sight before him.

"Andrew! You're so bad!" Jackie giggled at Andrew's joke.

She had met him after her group meeting for coffee. They had talked and gotten together a few times over the past month. He was turning out to be a good friend. Jackie thoroughly enjoyed his company, but she had realized that she couldn't be anything more than friends with him. It wasn't that she didn't find Andrew attractive, because she did. Jackie felt that she had to resolve this thing with Steven one way or another before she could think of another guy. Jackie was so excited about their dinner "date" that night.

"Well thanks Andrew. I'll see you later." Jackie spoke sweetly.

"Yeah I'll call you." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking away.

Jackie turned and closed the door to find a very angry looking Hyde staring her down. She knew that look all to well, it was the same look he got that night in Chicago. As if he was trying to harden himself. It was a look of coldness.

"Steven, what's wrong?" She asked apprehensively.

"Well that didn't take long did it?" Hyde spoke with an eerie chill in his voice.

"What are you talking about Steven?"

"I mean we were going on a first date and you've already got a pretty boy on the side." He said with disdain. All the memories of feeling like her second choice, all the memories of Kelso came rising to the surface along with his anger.

"No Steven it's not…"

"I don't give a shit anymore Jackie. I'm done with this." He paused momentarily before laying a final blow "I'm done with you." He walked out of the apartment and drove off, leaving Jackie in tears.

Jackie had made a promise to herself that she would never let Steven Hyde break her again, yet here she stood, in shambles over his lack of trust in her. He hadn't changed in the slightest. Jackie headed out the door and made her way to the nearest friendly face.


Meanwhile, Hyde found himself in the nearest bar drinking away his sorrows. He could not believe that after everything that had happened he still wasn't good enough for her. He had been trying and trying to prove to her that he had changed, but it did no good. Well, he was done with that. He was back to the old Hyde. The Hyde that didn't give a shit what Jackie Burkhart thought of him. It was better this way. It was much less painful.

As Hyde continued to douse his hurt in alcohol, he felt someone take the seat next to him. He looked over to see a leggy blonde smiling up at him.

"Hi I'm Sally. What's your name?" She spoke flirtatiously.

"I'm Hyde." He replied simply.


Jackie knocked on Fez's door as the tears continued to fall freely from her beautiful face.

"Come on Fez open up!" She said to herself.

Fez opened his front door to reveal a frazzled looking Jackie. "Jackie what is it?" he asked with concern.

"I got in a fight with Steven." She squeaked her response "Can I come in?"

"Of course, my goddess." He gently escorted her into his new house "Tell Fezzie what happened."

They took a seat on the couch and Fez put his arm around Jackie to comfort her. She wiped her tears away and began to tell Fez of the events that transpired.

"So he saw me with Andrew and he completely freaked out." She said bewildered.

"Oh I am so sorry Jacqueline, but don't worry. You'll work it out." Fez assured her.

"Like hell! He's the same as before. He's probably out banging some whore right now. Hell, maybe he's on his way to Vegas!"


Hyde entered his apartment with the tall blonde on his heels. She was moderately attractive, nothing compared to Jackie though. She had a similar look to Sam, and from what Hyde could tell, she was just as slutty. This is what he needed right now. He needed an escape. He needed to forget her once and for all. He could feel Sally's breath on the back of his neck.

"Why don't you show me your room baby?" She said in husky voice as she wrapped her arms around him.

Hyde lead her silently to his bedroom. When they entered the room he turned to face her and she began kissing him. This was the way his life was supposed to be. No responsibilities and skanky whores. He wasn't supposed to love or feel loved. He didn't deserve to. He was a loser just like Bud and Edna and it was time he accepted that fate. He kissed Sally back fiercely.


"Come on Jackie. You know that's not true. Hyde has changed a lot." Fez reassured his friend.

"Oh please! If he has changed so much, then why'd he freak out like that just cause I was talking to another guy?" Jackie protested.

"Well, I'm not saying that he's done a complete 180, but he has changed a lot. I mean look how he is with Will." Fez observed.

Jackie contemplated this for a moment. Hyde had been amazing with Will.

"You're right. He's been like a father to Will." She smiled slightly thinking about the special bond between Steven and Will.

"Yeah, and hasn't he been great to you through all of this?" Fez asked.

"Yes he's been wonderful. I'm not sure I could have done it without him." Jackie spoke adamantly.

"There you go. So maybe Hyde really has changed."

Jackie smiled "Maybe he has…Fez I better go find Steven." She stood up and Fez hugged her tightly before she left.


Hyde tried to block out any thought of Jackie as he felt Sally's tongue massaging his, but it was no use. All he could see was her face when he told her about the nurse, her face when he flaunted Sam around. As he felt Sally's hands on his belt buckle it became too much to take.

"Stop." He said forcefully, as he pulled away from her touch.

"What's the matter Hyde? Don't you want me?" Sally attempted to be sexy and sultry.

"No I don't want you. This was a mistake. You need to leave." Hyde lead Sally out of his room towards the front door as she turned to face him once again.

"Come on baby, you know you want this." She peeled off her top, exposing her breasts to him.

Hyde was about to grab her shirt when the front door opened. Jackie took in the sight of a tall topless blonde with her hands on Hyde's chest. A million memories of strippers flooded her mind. When she looked at Sally, all she saw was Sam.

"Get out you whore!" Jackie charged at Sally intent on taking all of her rage that had been built up since the moment Sam announced she was Hyde's wife out on her. Hyde stopped her by grabbing onto her.

"Get off me you bastard!" Jackie shouted.

Sally was frightened by this angry little brunette, so she grabbed her shirt and left quickly. Hyde slowly let go of his grip on Jackie and began to speak.

"Jackie…"

"No Steven, I don't want to hear it." She said angrily. She faced him with tears stinging her eyes "I knew you hadn't changed. I knew you'd do this to me again."

"No listen. I wasn't going to do anything I…"

"Yeah right Steven. You just happened to have a half naked whore touching you." She cut him off.

"No I was going to at first but then I realized that I couldn't. Jackie, I told her to leave." Hyde's voice broke as he spoke. He needed her to believe him.

"Sure you did. Just like you told Sam to leave when she showed up." Jackie allowed the tears to flow freely now.

"Come on Jacks…" Hyde felt saline stinging his eyes.

"No Steven. I'm done with this." Jackie threw his own words in his face "I'm done with you." She said coldly.

"No Jackie, please…" Hyde pleaded desperately.

"I can't believe I let you do this to me again." She said sadly "Well, I can say for sure that it's the last time I'll let you do it. We're over for good. I'm moving me and Will out. I'll just stay with the Formans till I find an apartment."

"No Jackie I can't lose you and Will." Hyde's tears began to fall and he didn't even fight them.

"You won't lose Will. You can still see him. But as for you and me…it's done." Jackie said resolutely.

"No Jacks please just listen to me." He begged as he fell to his knees and hugged her waist.

Jackie ran her hands through his curls for one last time before pulling away.

"There's nothing left to say except, goodbye Steven." She walked away, leaving him broken and lost on the floor.

Hyde sat there processing everything that had happened. He had been so close to the perfect life and he had blown it yet again. All because he couldn't trust in what he and Jackie had. He had been the only one to be unfaithful in their relationship, yet for some reason he could never fully trust her. Jackie had never really given him cause to doubt her. It was probably just his instinct. He wasn't good enough for his own parents to love him. How could he be good enough for her? Yet with Jackie and Will, Hyde felt for the first time in his life, that he might be worthy of love. That maybe his parents were wrong about his worth. Of course now, watching the only woman he had ever or would ever love walk away from him for good, he realized how badly he screwed up.


The next day when Hyde was at work, Jackie had Fez assist her in moving her stuff out of the apartment. Once everything was packed up she asked Fez for a minute alone. Jackie stood by the door and looked on at the place that she had grown to call home. She breathed in her favorite smell, the smell of Steven, one last time before she walked to the table by the door and placed two shiny objects on it and with a tear in her eyes whispered "Goodbye puddin pop."

When Hyde got home he found Jackie's room and the nursery empty. It was official. She was gone. As he placed his keys on the table by the door, two things caught his eye. One being Jackie's key to his apartment and the other…

Hyde's heart broke in two as he picked up the shiny locket he had given Jackie. It was open so he looked inside. On one side there was a beautiful picture of his favorite little man, smiling widely, and on the other side, Hyde was shocked to find a picture of himself.

"God Jacks, I'm sorry, but I swear I'm going to fix this somehow." He said to himself sadly as he held the locket tightly to his heart.

He knew at this moment that he loved Jackie with every fiber of his being. She and Will were his family, and he was going to make this right. With time, somehow he would make it right.

To be continued…


A/N: Okay I know that was a really depressing chapter, but I SWEAR it will get much better. This was a necessary part of their growth process. Anyway, please REVIEW!!