Chapter Ten: Rolling In The Deep

She was staring out the window of a little coffee shop, watching the people outside hurry along the streets as rain came drizzling down unexpectedly. Business men and women taking cover under newspapers like the cheesiest films, others fighting for cabs. The world suddenly so hectic because of a few drops of water falling from the sky. Almost like none of them had ever experienced rain before, like it was the strangest thing.

But she was used to it, it was so normal for her. Because for the past month all she found was grey clouds following behind her, she saw rain every day.

'Jacqueline, you okay?'

Blinking away from her sight of a pregnant woman taking refuge from the rain underneath a bus-stop, Jacqueline Burkhart refocused her attention at the person sitting next to her. 'Em, yeah, sorry.' She cleared her throat, reeling in her cup of coffee closer to her as she could feel the eyes from the person boring into her face. 'You were saying?'

Andrew Taylor frowned at the brunette, but repeated once again what he had already said. 'Mister Goldstein, the attorney of the firm, mentioned that he had a few connections with local television stations. And I, being the man that I am, I let it slip that Miss Burkhart happened to have worked on T.V. before and that she was looking to restart that career.'

'You remembered that?' Jackie asked a bit surprised, the both of them quiet for a few seconds as the waitress brought them their breakfast-muffins. 'I only mentioned it once.'

The man smiled. 'I remember everything you have ever said in my presence, Jacqueline.' But before the brunette could lose herself in a bubble of silence, he continued. 'Anyway, he wants to meet with you at the end of your shift today. I really think he'll get you restarted in your career path, Jacqueline. You'll get to work in television again.'

'…Oh.' Jackie furrowed her brows, not really expressing the emotion the man was expecting to see. 'That's really nice of you, Andrew, but I can't.'

Andrew frowned again . 'What do you mean you can't? This was your dream, you've said so countless of times before.'

The brunette woman picked on her muffin, counting a few seconds so she could repress anything that would jump out and verbally attack the man. '…Not anymore.' She whispered truthfully, because she owed it to him. Because he didn't know that for a month now, since she arrived in Chicago, all of her dreams had died and faded. 'It's who I was.' She added in a low voice.

And she couldn't go back to that.

'So what now, Jacqueline? You want to clean offices' for the rest of your life?' Andrew retorted, growing angry. (Couldn't she see that he was trying to help her? To give her a proper job?) 'Look, I understand you don't want to talk about your past, and I respect that, but that shouldn't mean you should give up on success.'

'For who, though?' Jackie asked in a broken murmur, her bright eyes filling with tears. 'I have nothing. I have no one.'

Andrew shook his head. 'You have me, Jacqueline.'

But somehow, inside her destroyed heart, Jackie found no comfort in that. '…You don't know me.'

'I know that you're broken, and that already sums you up.' The man spoke sincerely, almost no sympathy in his voice. 'You don't have to go back, Jacqueline.' He reached for her hand, taking it away from the hold of her coffee mug and staring at her intently. 'Wherever it is that you came from, you don't have to go back. You can stay here forever, move on faraway, because here is where you are safe. If you go back, you'll continue being broken. I can see that.'

Staring into the man's emerald eyes, at all the honesty, at all the need, Jackie felt almost hypnotized by them. The more she looked into them, the more she wanted to believe. She wanted to believe that she was finally safe, finally free. And somehow she felt that around him; she felt like someone did care for her, that someone was willing to listen and support her.

She was safe.

'…They didn't love you, Jacqueline.' Andrew whispered to her, his voice so bewitching as she shed silent tears. 'If they did, you wouldn't be here.'

Jackie bit her lip, a nod coming from her after his comment. '..They didn't.' She agreed, believing that too.

Smiling a little as the brunette wiped away her tears, Andrew squeezed her hand tightly. 'I love you, Jacqueline, so stay here. I can help you, I care.'

And knowing subconsciously that she should have known better, because love can not come so easily and purely from someone she only knew for a month, Jackie squeezed his hand in return.

She just wanted to be wanted, wanted to be cared for. She just wanted to be loved, wanted to survive.

"- -This actually smells good." Interrupting the silent memory playing inside the cook's head without actually knowing, Red Forman sat himself in his regular seat on the kitchen-table; smiling at the little brunette turning off the stove. "Better than dog-food, I am impressed."

Entering through the swinging-door of the kitchen, Hyde smirked as he heard Red's comment from the living room. "Who knows, man, maybe it is dog-food." He teased, grabbing a chair by Mister Forman's right.

"Shut it." Mister Forman warned, the smell of bacon filling his nostrils for the first time in a very long time. "Be thankful that the loud-one offered to at least try and cook something. We have been surviving off potato-chips and Poptarts for God-knows-how-long."

From his seat, Hyde got a small glimpse of a faint smile on Jackie's lips, making her eyes sparkle in a way he hadn't seen for a while. And even though as he had a smirk on his face, Hyde was grateful he took the chance to run up to his new bedroom to change out of his sweats and grab his glasses; because if he hadn't, he was sure someone would see content playing hide-and-seek in his eyes.

He didn't know exactly why he was feeling it, but what he did know was that it could not be because of Jackie Burkhart. He still hated her, he wanted to make that perfectly clear. Even if he was accepting her food, that meant nothing. (A man had to eat, right?) It was just to go with the flow, to be civilized until she left.

…Until their lives went on like they had for the past couple of years.

Coughing away that thought, Hyde pulled on his handy-dandy Zen; looking completely blank and plain in a second. "Donna cooked for us a couple of times, Red, remember?"

"Just because she brought the takeout does not mean she cooked for us, Steven." Mister Forman snorted.

"Stop talking." Jackie said to both of them, placing a glass of orange-juice on either sides of their plates.

"She just told you to shut up, man." Hyde looked expectantly at the older man, both of them with raised eyebrows at the brunette. "Are you gonna take that?"

"Are you going to take that, dumbass?" Mister Forman retorted, a leer on his face as Hyde frowned and Jackie brought him a cup of coffee.

Shaking her head, her brown curls swaying behind her back as she did, sending the smell of lavender out into the air, Jackie headed back to the stove. "Both of you stop." She sounded almost like she was scolding two little kids. "No more bickering about my cooking, alright?"

"Whatever." Hyde snorted, crossing his arms as he waited for his plate of food.

Laughing slightly at the awkwardness of the situation for his adoptive-son, Red Forman felt strange for having company around him. (Granted, he didn't necessarily like them, but it felt normal.) He felt slightly less alone - well, his mind did. Like he finally had distractions from those memories that live upstairs.

"- -It was a joke, God, Donna!" Entering through the sliding-door of the kitchen, a palm smacked onto his left eye, Kelso stomped his way in. "There was no need for your bestiality!"

And following after him, with the same angry stomp, Donna aimed a punch to Kelso's shoulder. "Well stop going through my…delicates, Kelso!"

"I was gonna put them back!" Michael defended for himself, now rubbing his eye and shoulder at the same time.

"You were not!"

Looking up from the newspaper Jackie had so graciously left on the table for him, Red glared at the two shouting idiots. "Both of you, shut the hell up."

And almost like they had seen a ghost from Christmas past, Kelso jumped away from the table at the sight of Red's angry eyes just as the redhead practically headed out the door again. "Holy shi - sky!" He managed to catch himself before he cursed as Eric came inside the kitchen with two kids on either of his sides. "It's Red!"

Mister Forman glared even more.

"Dad." Eric's voice came out a little high-pitched. "You're up - you're here - out of bed. How did - Jackie!" Still stumbling on his words due to his surprise, he turned towards the brunette assembling plates. "You got him out of bed."

Noticing his intense shock but radiating gratitude at the same time, Jackie smiled at him in return. "Sure did."

"Unbelievable."

"Yeah, way to go, Jackie." Donna spoke after her boyfriend, grinning encouragingly. "We leave you alone for a few minutes and you manage to do more than we have been attempting to for months."

"Hey, I got him out of bed too!" Michael called, taking his hand away from his eye and looking insulted. "Remember? No one thanked me for that."

Behind his aviator-glasses, Hyde rolled his eyes. "That's because you almost burned the house down, idiot. He came downstairs to kick your ass."

At the memory of the swift blow he got to give Kelso, an itch that he has been wanting to scratch for the past sixteen years, Mister Forman smirked. "Sure did."

And noticing that gleam of satisfaction for admitting he did in fact attacked his Uncle Kelso, Aidan took a step away from the elderly man; looking slightly scared.

As Kelso frowned at that memory too, everyone else grinning or leering at him, Jackie was the only one to noticed Aidan's scared face. And knowing instantly what it had to do with, she immediately decided to clear his fear. "Aidan, baby, that's Mister Forman, he's Eric's dad." Walking over to him, she pushed him a step forward. "He's a wonderful man."

"It's true." Red agreed, smiling at Jackie as her friends scoffed in the background.

"…Hi." Aidan mumbled, taking another step towards the man with his mother's help. His little palm extended out politely like his dad had taught him to. ('Respect your elders or else' was the lesson.) "I'm Aidan."

And just as he placed the newspaper on the tabletop, Mister Forman saw a gleam of light bouncing off the boy's eyes; making him stare at him with a searching eye. There was just something about that flicker crossing the boy's gaze, Red was sure of it. There was something he had seen before, something that was filled with fight, with the need to strive and live.

But looking past that, Red could see a lot of Jackie in the boy as well. He had the same wide-eyed shape, the same freckles on his temples that his mother always hid with makeup, the same wavy hair, and that glow of something out of the ordinary.

Clearing his throat as he could see how the others were staring back and forth, Mister Forman shook the little boy's hand. "Good morning, boy."

"- -Good morning, Grandpa Forman!" Not liking that all the attention was on the new boy that her father told her was her 'cousin', especially since she was standing there looking exceptionally cute with that pink dress her mom bought her, Betsy waved her hand at Mister Forman. Stepping in front of Aidan as the latter happily hid from the prying eyes of the adults in the room.

"Kid." Red gave her a single nod, but a smile on his face despite his cold greeting. (He did enjoy having the little girl's company around the house - at times - but she was still a Kelso and that automatically put him in a bad mood.)

"Alright, how about all of you sit down now." Jackie spoke, taking a deep breath as the meeting went well. (That was one less introduction that she had to do.) "Aidan, you and Betsy take the stools, okay? The adults get the table."

Obediently as always, Aidan nodded and pulled out a stool by the kitchen counter.

"So what did you buy to eat, Hyde?" Donna asked, pulling out a chair for herself as she watched her friend's son curiously.

Not really listening to the redhead's question, Hyde narrowed his eyes at the boy, looking at him the same way every one was apparently doing as his thoughts were faraway from the present.

There was something about that kid, he was sure of it. He saw it in the way Red looked at him, like he too saw something more than the boy's presence. It was like something clicked in his head, like Red saw something than no one had. But at the moment, Hyde couldn't figure out what it was. The only thing he was sure of was that there was something about Aidan Taylor.

"Hyde- -" Snap.

Clearing his throat as Donna snapped her fingers in his face, Hyde uncrossed his arms as he grabbed his glass of orange-juice. "I didn't buy anything, Jackie made breakfast."

Leaping away from the table, Kelso looked like he was just electrocuted. "No way!" He shook his head rapidly. "Come on, Bets, we'll go to Fatso Burger. There's no way I'm letting you eat anything Jackie cooked."

"Thinking about it, I'm not very hungry." Eric spoke, standing from the table as his girlfriend nodded in agreement with him.

Jackie frowned at her old friends. "Sit."

None of them moved, all looking wary. Almost if they thought she was about to throw a knife at them.

"Michael." The brunette called, folding her arms as she knew she'd get him to obey first. "Sit."

"…Fine."

"Whipped." Eric snorted at his friend, watching him sit himself back on his chair.

"I can't help it." Kelso admitted, knowing deep inside that he would always be a sucker for Jackie Burkhart.

Quickly getting annoyed by the entire situation, because at this rate he was never going to get his breakfast and all he would have to satisfy himself with is that coffee, Red glared at his son and at the neighbor-girl ."Eric, Donna, sit down."

Donna and Eric shared a skeptical look.

"Now." Red hissed instantly and he watched the two drop back down on their chairs.

Watching as Hyde and Michael laughed at the expense of their two friends, Jackie couldn't help but to feel like her memories were going to start bursting in from every corner of the house; like they were going to slither their way in through the doors and reel her back into them. She could see everything, all those moments she sat in that same table with them, either with Michael or Steven at her side, and laughed mockingly at someone. She could see herself patiently waiting for Mrs. Forman to hand her a plate of food, or she could still hear the faint rants Mister Forman would give after reading something that he did not agree with.

Shaking her head once to herself to get rid of her thoughts, Jackie swallowed a knot of emotions at the same time. For the first time since she found herself living in hell, she couldn't wait to go home.

"Hey, Jackie- -"As the silence got too heavy to listen, Donna spun her chair a little so she could get a good view of the brunette; wanting to make small talk to fill in the open spaces in the air. "How did you learn to cook, anyway?"

"I tried to remember everything Mrs. Forman taught me." Jackie answered, placing a plate full of the ultimate breakfast by Mister Forman and Donna's side. (Pancakes, eggs, hash-browns, and bacon. All that goodness they were used to when Mrs. Forman was up and cooking for them early in the mornings.) "And when that failed, my mother-in-law taught me."

"Really?" Donna raised an eyebrow, eyeing the food carefully as Jackie continued passing out plates of breakfast. "At least three years of experience then?"

"And not a complaint since." Jackie almost snapped at the redhead, walking towards Hyde's side and handing him his food. Her hand accidentally brushing by his shoulder, sending another threat of memory to go jolting up her spine.

"…Thanks." The curly-haired man whispered in return, looking uncomfortable by her quick touch.

Grinning a little as he forked his eggs as he heard Hyde's perfect manners, Eric thanked Jackie too. He wondered if by lunch Hyde and her would have a civil conversation so he could brag to Donna how he was finally able to get through them. (That ought to score him some points with his girlfriend, right? It had been a few days since…they cuddled.)

"- -Oh, baby, no. That's not your plate." Watching silently and undetectably , because he had the skills of a ninja - and he had the outfit to prove it - Kelso saw Jackie walk over to the kitchen-counter and take her son's plate before he could even begin to eat. "Here you go, Betsy, this one's yours."

And barely having had picked up her fork to attempt to cut her hash-browns, Betsy smiled brightly at Jackie as she took her plate too and switched with her son's. "Thank you, godmother." She said knowingly.

Jackie looked momentarily stunned. "No problem." She whispered to the little girl, heading back towards the sink.

Glancing back and forth between his plate and his daughter's, Michael noticed that something was missing from both - eggs.

'Wanna see something hot- -'Stopping the tiny brunette in her tiny bikini from leaving the Formans kitchen, Kelso he lifted a cup towards her face. 'Watch me drink raw eggs.'

'Oh, Michael- -'

'- -Jackie, hold on, I'm drinking my eggs.' He really wanted her to see this.

'No, Michael- -' She had frowned at him.

'- -Jackie, whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait until after I drink my eggs.'

'Fine.' She frowned harder, looking annoyed instantly.

But not caring at the moment that she was, plus sensing Hyde still behind him, Kelso took one brave inhale and downed the cup of eggs. Chanting to himself mentally, 'it's just oj, it's just oj', even though he knew perfectly well that orange-juice did not taste like dead baby-chickens. (And he knew a thing or two about eating dead animals.)

'Now, what's so important?' He asked, picking out a tiny piece of eggshell from his teeth.

'You're allergic to eggs!' She hissed at him, her incredulity burning in her eyes.

Debating about whether or not that was true, Kelso decided it was best to believe his ex-girlfriend. (After all, she was the one who always remembered everything. His birthday, their anniversary, when he had appointments at the pediatrician …) 'Oh, man, I am!'

Drifting away from that memory that seemed to have taken place thousands of years ago, Kelso snorted to himself with a hidden grin. Eggs - nothing important, nothing memorable, but it mattered to him at the moment; mattered that she remembered it.

Almost six years of them not being together, four years of him not seeing her, and yet she still remembered what would most likely kill him. Something that he might have passed down to his daughter. (She didn't know if he had or not, he knew, but she still protected his kid either way.)

Looking up from his food, Michael let his long-living love for Jackie take over his eyes for a few more seconds; just enjoying a moment or two of watching her. (It felt good; almost normal and comfortable again.)

But deciding to shake his head and concentrate on the ongoing conversation on the table about Eric's no-good-for-nothing Space Center still lying about in the basement that Red wanted to get rid of instead of all the 'I love you's' he had once said to Jackie, Kelso decided to leave that in the past.

"….Mommy, are you okay?" Seeing past the supposed productiveness his mother was doing by washing the fryers, Aidan looked at his mother intently.

Breathing in deeply, letting the strong smell of the soap crawl inside her nostrils, Jackie nodded once at her son. "Of course." She replied in a careless tone, not wanting to drag attention to herself as she saw from the corner of her eye as Hyde looked up for a quick second. "….Perfectly fine." She muttered to herself, scrubbing harder.

She was losing it, she could feel it. It was starting to increase like boiling-pressure, igniting in her collarbone, rushing down like hot water inside her veins and on the outside of her skin, all of it reaching to the tip of her fingers. She could feel her heart banging so heavily inside her chest, making it hurt.

She just couldn't anymore - well, not for much longer.

All the people around her, they all meant something to her old self; each and every one of them. And she couldn't contain it, couldn't deal with it because she wasn't Jackie Burkhart anymore. She was Jacqueline Taylor in reality, and that woman destroyed everything that existed before. Time had made sure the process had gone accordingly so.

And all of them - from Mister Forman to Betsy Kelso were important. They all had pieces of her heart, fragments of her memory that would not go away. They had all been her friends, her people, her family at a certain junction of her life. They had watched her suffer, laugh, and cry; before.

They were her past, and she knew perfectly well that the past was something not meant to be dug up from its grave. And she was no about to attempt to do it. Not even if every second she spent around them, in Point Place, tempted her to do so.

Her heartache was more powerful than wanting to relive what happened before, and she could not forgive them. (None of them.) Her dreams involving them had been that of a child's, impossible. And because she got slapped with reality, her senses coming back to life and showing her how things actually were, she ended up finding Andrew Taylor one stormy night.

Him, Chicago, and everything else that came after leaving Wisconsin was her life now, and she knew that with all her shattered pieces of heart. It had been fate, destiny, and all of those grand powers of the universe that brought her and Andrew together, and she could not complain; she had learned to accept it long ago.

It was not ideal, not perfect in so many ways, but none of that really mattered to her. Being with Andrew had brought her some joy and eternal happiness; it was because of him that she had her son, that Aidan was in the world. (And that was something that was not in the past, something she was not willing to take back.)

Not being able to inhale much air inside the suddenly overcrowded kitchen, Jackie turned off the faucet of the sink abruptly and headed towards the sliding-door. "I have to go." She managed to say without squeaking for air.

"Jackie- -"

"I-I have to see Mrs. Forman, I'll see you there." She added to Donna's would-be halt; heading fast out the door and leaving her scent behind like a trail.

"Well, that wasn't weird at all." Kelso said, stuffing his mouth with more food. "She left her kid."

Eric snorted. "Typical. She better come back, I'm not raising the devil's son."

Mister Forman frowned, making his son stop his chuckling instantly. "Shut it, dumbass."

Not really paying attention to his adoptive-family's discussion, Hyde paused himself to stare at the open door; wondering to himself what the hell had happened. Why had Jackie stormed out like that.

Blinking away from that spot of her departure so no one would notice his curiosity, Hyde's blue-eyes connected with younger ones. Both him and Jackie's son staring at each other, the same look of questioning in their gazes.

AN: Hey guys! Well, I just wanted to say thank you for reading this rewrite! I'm so glad you all keep reading. (: