A/N: I cannot say thank you enough to all of you who reviewed! Honestly, your reviews make my day. It means the world to me, truly. So thanks. I've been watching Dawson's Creek and because of that I am very emotional right now. Lol! So I'm not sure if that will effect this chapter or not, but we shall see. Anyway, I recommend watching DC before writing drama. No joke. It really gets me in the zone. Lol! Enjoy this chapter! There's only one more and an epilogue left!

Oh and another thing I just got from DC that I think is profound is this quote "Hope dies last." That's beautiful and I believe it to be true.

Chapter 10: Going to California

Relationships are funny. There are so very many varieties of them in the universe. They can bend you or break you. They can mold you into the shape of the being you are destined to be. Indeed relationships are a complex and intricate part of life. For Steven Hyde, there had been very few in his life worthy of note, one of them being his relationship to Eric Forman. Over the many years of their friendship Hyde and Eric had experienced many things, of both good and bad in nature. One truth Hyde had always held to be unbreakable and infallible was that the bond that he shared with Eric would last his entire life. It's true that Hyde had never been the sort to believe in trite concepts such as forever, but in this case, he did. As he stood on the cuspate of his life in his hometown of Point Place, Wisconsin, Hyde felt compelled to make things right. Surely his leaving would accomplish this. With his departure, the two most important souls in his life could find the peace and happiness they so richly deserved, and that thought gave him resounding conviction that the decision he had made was the right one…the only one.

Hyde loitered under the scorching sun in the anterior of a future comic book store, looking in on its owner through the window. He drew in a deep, painful breath before swinging the door wide open and entering. At the swoosh of the door, Eric looked up from the papers he was studying. He glared at Hyde.

"What are you doing here?" He snipped, clearly unenthused by the other man's arrival.

"I'm leaving." Hyde answered simply, with much conviction.

Eric looked confused "Uh you came here just to leave…okay…"

"No I meant I'm leaving Point Place." He shuffled his feet, which baffled him. He was so sure, so completely convinced that he was making the right choice, yet he was painfully nervous about having this conversation. It's amazing how we choose not to scratch the surface.

"W-what do you mean?" The skinny man stuttered out.

"I'm moving to California. I'm going to run the Grooves in San Francisco." Hyde spoke with false certitude. It was certain that he was going; however, it was not certain that he wished to be.

Eric stumbled for a moment as though he were about to collapse with shock. With wide eyes of surprise, he took a seat and put his thoughts together before speaking.

"What brought this on?" He asked, voice laced with perplexity.

"It's the right thing to do." He answered simply.

Eric shook his head "Is this about Jackie?"

Hyde's eyes met the floor "Does that really matter?" He spoke with a small voice.

"Yeah. It matters to me." Eric replied with determination.

"Then yes, it's about Jackie." Hyde spoke honestly.

Eric shook his head and stood up to face his oldest friend "You're unbelievable. What is it, Hyde? You can't stand to see her so happy that you have to move across the country? Or are you using this as some tactic to get her back?"

Hyde sighed "Come on man, I'm not leaving for my sake. I'm leaving for hers." He desperately pleaded with him to understand.

Eric looked confused "Uh how is you leaving town for her sake?"

"Don't you get it man?" He spoke with frustration "I keep messing stuff up for her." He paused sadly.

"Look, I've seen you guys together…you obviously have something…" He sighed "Whatever. She finally has everything she wants, and I just don't want to mess that up for her, so I'm going."

The green-eyed man raised his eyebrows in astonishment "Wow…you're really doing this for her?" He paused before looking up into Hyde's shade less eyes "You must really love her…"

His blue eyes dropped, once again to the floor "Yeah whatever." He looked back up "I'm not just going for her."

"What do you mean?" Eric squinted his brow, not understanding.

"I don't want to mess things up for you either." He replied simply and truthfully.

"Oh…" was all he said in return.

The curly haired man sighed again "Look man, I'm no good with this girly emotional crap or whatever, but I wanted to say…" He huffed in frustration. Communication was never his strong suit "You know…if it wasn't for you…I don't know where I would be, or if I'd even be alive. Man, you have been the closest thing to family I've had in my fucked up existence. I just don't want to lose that forever, that's all." He concluded shyly.

Eric inhaled deeply, absorbing all the emotions "Man, you could never lose me forever."

Hyde swallowed deeply, he felt a distinct choking feeling in his throat "Forman, I slept with your girlfriend after your dad had just had a heart attack. I think that pretty much earns me the scum of the earth title."

That earned a small smile from the other man "Scum of the earth or not, you're still my brother."

Eric's words rang through with complete and utter sincerity "You could never lose me forever." He added with finality.

They looked into each other's eyes deeply, both fighting unsuccessfully to repress the tears.

"So are you sure about this?" Eric asked Hyde.

He nodded "Yeah I am."

"So when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow actually." He replied grimly.

"Wow. Well, good luck in San Francisco."

Hyde smiled slightly "Good luck with the store opening…and the wedding."

Eric smiled and pulled Hyde in for a hug.

"Take care of her, please" He pleaded with Eric.

"I will."

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?!" Fez shouted from the entrance.

Hyde and Eric pulled apart to stare at the foreign man confusedly.

"How come neither one of you holds me like that?" He whined femininely.

Both of them eyed him with disgust before bursting out into laughter.

"Oh my pain is funny to you? Well good day!"

"Actually don't say good day Fez. I have something to talk to you about." Hyde made to follow his friend before turning back to face Eric again.

"So…Bye Forman."

"Bye Hyde." And with that, Hyde left the store to follow after Fez.

Meanwhile in a posh clothing boutique in Madison, Wisconsin, Jackie Beulah Burkhart stood before a full-length mirror, the purest of white cascading over her entire body. As she watched her figure stand, wrapped in elegant fabric, looking dream-like, she felt a pain in her chest. A pain was not the right word. It was more of a pressure. It was as if an elephant were seated on her tiny frame, and she had no hope of grasping for air, let alone attaining it. This day had been a deep-seated desire of hers for as long as she could remember, yet here she stood, dying to escape, standing on the edge of a precipice, longing to plunge into the angry flow of water below, or to be pulled back. She wasn't sure which.

"Wow Jackie, you look incredible." Donna, who sat on a plush pink cushion spoke in awe.

Jackie breathed deeply "You think?" She asked, examining herself in the reflective glass before her.

"Of course! You look freakin' gorgeous. That dress is perfect!" The redhead rose to her feet to stand next to her petite friend.

She sighed "Yeah, it's a nice dress."

"Jackie, are you okay?" She asked with concern.

At the tone of Donna's voice, Jackie remembered her enthusiastic demeanor and reapplied it.

"Yes I'm great!" She cheered with a charming smile.

The taller girl seemed unconvinced but accommodated her tiny counterpart none-the-less.

"Okay…" She took a seat as Jackie sat with her.

"So I talked to Mitch on the phone last night for hours. He read me a bunch of poetry he wrote for me, mostly about how my red hair is like the fire of the sun in his life or something like that." they both giggled "I'm thinking of bringing him to the opening of Eric's store tomorrow night."

Jackie's tone became somber "Donna, are you just doing that to get over Eric?" She paused before getting rather excited "Oh do you need me to call off the wedding?!"

Donna was shocked "What?! Of course I don't need you to call off your wedding!" She looked at Jackie incredulously "Are you having cold feet or something?" She asked, suppressing her hope.

"What?! No!" Jackie asserted "My feet are warm. If they were any warmer it would feel like I was walking on burning coals!" She insisted.

"Uh okay…" The redhead was still lost.

The brunette sighed "I'm just worried that you feel like you have to settle for Mitch." She took the other girl's hand in her own.

Donna smiled sadly "I like Mitch. I mean I don't think we're going to end up together or anything, but he's fun to be around, and that's all I'm looking for right now."

Jackie smiled "Well okay. Just so you're happy." She stood up and looked herself over in the mirror again.

"Hey Jackie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for forgiving me." Donna said gratefully.

"Thanks for supporting me." Jackie replied sweetly as the two smiled at each other through the mirror.

That night, Jackie got home from Madison quite late. She entered her bedroom quietly, stripping out of her clothes, leaving her in her undergarments. She crawled into bed softly, as not to disturb her fiancé, but he was already awake.

"Hey Devil." Eric spoke softly, pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead.

She smiled "Hey nerd boy. How was your day?"

"Pretty good I guess." He stroked her hair as he spoke. "Yours?"

"Not bad. Are you nervous about the opening tomorrow?"

"Nah. It's going to be great. You designed the place perfectly. It looks fantastic." Eric said sincerely.

"Aw thank you, Eric." She cooed as she kissed his lips softly.

He sighed "Jackie, I have to tell you something." He held her tighter as though he feared she would run away.

She could hear the apprehension in his voice "What is it?"

"Hyde came to see me today. He…Jackie, he's moving to California."

As soon as the words were spoken, Jackie felt her heart stop. It was as if someone had stolen her capability to process thought, to breathe oxygen, and to speak. Down to her very core she felt sick and turned topsy-turvy.

"Moving? When? Why?" She managed to squeak out her words.

"Tomorrow. He's going to run the Grooves store in Frisco." He answered quickly, sensing her reaction and fearing it's meaning.

"I can't believe this…"

She gave herself a moment to absorb this incredible blow. Steven…Her Steven was leaving. He was moving across the country. He was abandoning her once and for all. Deep down she always believed he would fight for her. He would storm into the church and bellow out her name just like Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate", but she realized that her internal hopes had been wrong. He had given up on them, just like he always did. It was over. He was out of her life forever.

"Jackie, are you okay?" Eric was barely able to ask before her lips crashed onto his.

The kiss was strong and urgent. They both fought with all the strength in them to feel the passion they desperately wanted to feel. This was right. This was their place. And as Eric slipped inside of her, they both strained against the images in their heads, images of tall redheads and curly haired rebels. They belonged with each other. That's all there was to it, and as they climaxed together, they each ignored the empty feeling in their hearts, minds, and souls. There was no turning back. In two weeks, they would be husband and wife.

Jackie ran through the police station frantically. Her breathing was erratic and she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that she had lost something precious to her.

She ran to the front desk "Hello! I need help!" She shouted through her tears.

"What is it miss?" The police officer asked.

"It's my son. I've lost my son!" She shrieked out.

"Alright, calm down. What's his name?"

"Hyde…Eric Hyde." She cried out.

The officer looked through his papers and shook his head "I'm sorry miss. No such kid exists."

She squinted in confusion "Wait, what do you mean? he's my son. I lost him."

The officer continued to shake his head "Sorry, he doesn't, nor has he ever existed."

She shook her head "No. I don't understand! He's my son! I just lost him, but you have to find him!" She screamed.

"He was never born!" The policeman shouted "Now get out of here, before we throw you out!"

"No wait." Two officers began to pull her by her arms "I want my son! Please! I want my son!"

To be continued…

A/N: Okay, so I know that is a strange place to end it, but yeah, I had to. Lol! Anywho, Please review! That is, IF you want to see the grand finale! Lol more extortion…muhahaha!