Ok...so not as many reviews as the last two chapters...but still I got some. This one I really need a lot cuz this took me awhile to write! SO REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! THANKS!
Three weeks later, Hyde and Jackie were in a bit of a rut. Jackie was busy with school and even though Hyde asked her to stop going to school as much she didn't listen to him. He was working a lot more to earn as much money as he could for when the baby did eventually come. When they were around each other, usually only in the mornings and at night they talked, occasional shared a kiss or two but that was about it. There was no making love…and most times Jackie would either cry herself to sleep or get up and leave the room. She thought Hyde didn't notice but most nights he did and would lie awake trying to think of something to say or do to change their current situation. Jackie spent a lot of time working on projects and homework with Kyle, usually at the library. And even though Hyde had told Jackie he forgave her last time Kyle showed up at their house, he wasn't ok with it but he didn't want to bring it up again. One Saturday morning, Jackie was cooking breakfast for Hyde who was sitting at the table reading the paper. He eyed her gently and could sense she was not feeling so well. She placed his food in front of him and then leaned up against the counter holding her stomach with both hands.
Hyde took a deep breathe and looked at her. "Uh…are you ok?"
Jackie took a few deep breaths and nodded. "Uh…yeah. The baby just keeps kicking the crap out of me."
Hyde fidgeted, fighting with himself on whether or not to go over to her. "Um…I don't know what you want me to say."
Jackie laughed bitterly. "There is nothing to say Steven…just…" She sighed. "Just eat your breakfast and go to work…like usual." She said pushing off of the counter and out of the kitchen.
Hyde sighed and looked down at his breakfast suddenly not feeling so hungry. He grabbed his coat and keys and went to the car to go to work.
That afternoon, Jackie was putting some laundry away when the phone rang.
"Hello?" She said.
"Hey Jackie. It's Kyle." She heard.
She smiled since lately he was the only one she could talk to. Most of her friends were busy with their own lives. "Oh Hi Kyle. What's up?"
"Well I know we said that we were going to get together tomorrow to finish up the project but my sister just called and she's going to be in town then. Is there anyway we could get together today instead?" He asked.
Jackie shrugged. "Um yeah sure…although I'm not feeling so great today. The kid isn't treating its mom so well already." She laughed.
Kyle laughed. "Well I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need anything?" He asked.
She sighed. "No. I don't think there's anything you can do. But thank you."
"Well…would it be better if I came over there to work on the project instead of meeting somewhere else? You would probably feel more comfortable in your own home." He said.
She sat down on her bed. "Um…yeah that is a good idea…its just…"
"You have to ask Hyde first?" He asked.
She sighed. "I just…things have been so bad with us lately…I don't know what to do."
Kyle was silent for a minute. "Jackie…are you ok?"
She started to tear up. "Kyle my marriage is falling apart…and I have a baby on the way. I feel so alone…and I love Steven so much…but I just…I'm not happy."
"I'm coming over ok? Just stay there…we can talk when I get there ok?" He asked.
Jackie nodded. "Ok. Thank you…"
"I'll see you in a little bit." He said before hanging up.
Back at Groove's Hyde was sitting behind the counter staring off into space. Donna came up to the counter and said his name but he didn't seem to hear her. She tried again…still nothing. She tapped his shoulder and he snapped out of his daze and nodded at her.
"Hey Donna…" He said softly.
"Wow…in all my years of knowing you I've never seen you so sad looking in my life." She said nervously.
Hyde sighed. "Donna…things between Jackie and me lately…have been…really shitty."
Donna who was holding Lucas sat down next to him behind the counter. "What do you mean?"
Hyde took hold of Lucas's little hand and stared at him, not Donna. "Well…you've been busy lately so you neither of us have really talked to anyone."
Donna was panicking now. "Hyde…what's going on?"
Hyde sighed. "We were fine…and then she met this guy Kyle at school and-"
"Wait! Is she having an affair?" Donna asked totally shocked.
Hyde shook his head adamantly. "No…no."
"Well then I don't get it?" Donna said confused.
Hyde sighed. "I don't know…I just bugged out when I saw her with him. And after I first met him…that night everything seemed fine. But then…I don't know…I've been working a lot and she's been busy with school. We hardly talk…and if we do we are either fighting or talking about bills or her appointments."
"Geez…" Donna said sadly.
"Yeah…we haven't…" He blushed. "Ya know…"
"Had sex?" Donna laughed.
"God Donna…don't say it so loud." He said nervously looking around.
Donna rolled her eyes. "Since when have you been shy about sex?"
Hyde gestured towards Lucas. "Since kids got involved in our lives."
Donna sighed. "Whatever. How long has it been?"
Hyde sighed miserably. "Three weeks."
Donna's eyes bugged. "No!"
Hyde sighed. "Oh yes…"
Donna rubbed his back. "Wow…that's like…forever. Especially for you two."
Hyde nodded. "I know…no…ok wait…that's not the point here. She's unhappy…I can see it. And I'm unhappy…I just don't know what to do."
Donna held Lucas closer. "Hyde…can I ask you something?"
Hyde nodded. "Shoot."
"Do you love her?" She asked honestly.
Hyde smiled just thinking about happier times between them. "Yeah. I do."
"Ok then…fix it." She said simply.
Hyde stared at her for a moment and then opened his mouth to speak. "Fix it."
Donna nodded her lead. "Yep. Fix it." She shrugged.
Hyde stared at her confused. "Ok but…I don't know…how?"
Donna sighed and looked at Lucas. "Honey…I hope you are taking mental notes. I don't want you to be as stupid as your Uncle Hyde is."
Hyde scoffed. "God Donna…you don't have to be so mean about it."
Donna rolled her eyes. "I do when your being an ass."
Hyde gasped. "What the hell?"
"Hyde…your wife is having a baby. Do you realize that?" She asked.
Hyde nodded. "No…I just thought she was getting wicked fat." He said sarcastically.
Donna's eyes narrowed. "You better pray I don't tell Jackie that…that will only make your problems worse."
Hyde fidgeted nervously. "I didn't…could you-" He paused. "Please don't tell her."
Donna smiled. "I can use this to my advantage."
Hyde narrowed his eyes. "You woman are evil."
Donna laughed. "Well we women have got to stick together when we have you morons to deal with."
Hyde nodded. "Suppose that's about right."
Donna nodded. "Ok…to fix that…tell me she's beautiful."
Hyde smiled thinking about her. "She's gorgeous."
Donna smiled. "Good. And you already told me you loved her so I'll let that one slide. Now…back to the problem at hand. How you fix this little tiff you seem to be having." She said waving her hand in front of Hyde.
"Yeah…how do I do that? Cuz I really wanna do that…" He said.
Donna nodded. "You're gonna need flowers."
Hyde nodded. "Flowers. Flowers are good."
"Do you know what her favorite flowers are?" She asked.
"Roses of course. I mean…it is Jackie. She's a helpless romantic and roses just signify true love." He paused. "Those are her words not mine."
Donna nodded approvingly. "Good cuz that just sounded gay."
Hyde shrugged. "Whatever."
"Yeah…ok what else will you need? Oh! Chocolates! I mean those are always good but since she is pregnant that will just make her happier."
Hyde nodded as he started writing this all down. "Ok this is good…what else?"
Donna nodded. "And you need to tell her all the things you told me. Tell her you're sorry and that you love her. Tell her that you want to make things better…back to what they were before this all happened. I know you don't like talking but that's the only thing you are going to be able to do to fix all of this."
Hyde nodded. "I know…I'm just not so good with words."
Donna patted him on the back. "Well you're gonna have to be."
Hyde nodded. "Alright. After work I'm gonna go straight to the store and get all this stuff ready. Thanks Donna."
Donna smiled. "No problem. Let me know how it goes…oh and another thing."
"What?" He asked.
Donna pointed at him. "Do NOT screw this up!"
Back at their condo, Jackie had tried ten times to call him at Groove's just so he knew that Kyle would be there. But he wasn't answering so she hung up frustrated by this. She knew that it would be better to tell him that he would be there then for him to happen upon it. That would only make things worse. Jackie was sitting on the couch when the door bell rang she jumped up and opened the door.
"Hey Kyle." She sniffled.
He had bags of junk food in his hands and he smiled at her. "Hey…brought some comfort foods to cheer you up."
Jackie smiled. "Aww…that was sweet of you. Thank you. Come in." She said moving aside to let him in.
"So I figured that we could eat and you could vent…and then we'll work on the project later ok?" He said setting everything down on the coffee table.
Jackie smiled. "That sounds great."
Kyle opened some bags of chips. "So…what do you want first? Cheese puffs or sour cream and onion chips?"
Jackie smiled. "How about both?"
Kyle poured them both into a bowl. "Both it is."
Jackie sat down on the couch. "Seriously…Kyle this was so nice of you. Thank you for doing this."
He shrugged. "Hey…what are friends for?"
Jackie smiled and put a chip in her mouth and cleared her throat. "Steven is jealous of you."
Kyle stared at her in disbelief. "Really?"
Jackie nodded. "He said he was over it. But I can tell he's not…I always know he's angry and when he's jealous."
"Hey Jackie?" He asked trying not to laugh.
She looked up at him. "Yeah?"
"I'm gay." He stated.
Jackie looked up at him in shock. "Wait…what?"
He laughed. "I'm gay."
Jackie smiled at him and hugged him bumping him with her baby bump but not caring. "Oh that's great!"
Kyle shrugged. "Wow…you're the first person to say that."
Jackie laughed and pulled back. "Oh…I just…I'm sorry. I mean…I don't care that your gay that's great for you! And…now
Steven really does have nothing to worry about."
Kyle nodded. "I wanted to tell you before…I just haven't told many people…"
She placed a hand on her heart. "Oh…and you felt comfortable enough to tell me."
Kyle nodded. "Yeah…I mean we're friends right?" He asked nervously.
Jackie nodded. "Of course we are."
"Good…" He took a deep breathe. "See I moved here from New York City at the beginning of the school year. I told my parents I was gay and they weren't so accepting of it…I wanted to start over. And when I met you in class…you just seemed really nice. I didn't mean for it to cause trouble with you and Hyde…I was just looking for a friend…I didn't mean to seem like I had a thing for you. I mean if I was straight I'm sure I would. You're hot." He said.
Jackie laughed. "Why thank you."
He laughed too. "I really am sorry…"
Jackie patted his thigh. "It's fine…I'm glad you could open up to me."
He nodded. "Its great for me too…I've been looking for a friend to talk to about it."
Jackie smiled. "Well now you have one."
Kyle waved his hand. "Yes I do…and now that that is settled…let's talk about you. I mean that's what we're here for."
Jackie smiled. "Well…I just I really want things to back to normal with us. We we're doing so great…we've had such hard times before…but things we're finally good. And especially since I'm pregnant now…I don't want to be fighting with him. I don't want to loose him…again…" She said tearing up again.
Kyle scooted closer to her again. "Oh don't cry…"
"I can't help it Kyle…I just love him so much." She said crying harder.
"Oh honey…" He said wrapping an arm around him.
"We barley talk anymore…I kissed him once maybe twice this week…I mean we haven't had sex in three weeks!" She yelled frustrated.
Kyle's eyes bugged. "Wow…and he's is hot."
Jackie nodded. "I know!"
"I mean when he came down here that day I met him, he was in that tight rocker T-shirt and his muscles were just bursting at the seams. And his jeans…damn they fit just right." He said.
Jackie laughed. "I can honestly this is a first for me…I've never talked to a gay man about how sexy my husband is."
He laughed. "Is it making you feel better?"
She laughed. "Yes it is."
"Good." He rubbed her shoulders. "God…you're tense. You need a massage."
Jackie smiled. "I would love a massage…" She nudged him. "If you're willing to give one…" She teased.
He smiled. "Gay men give the best massages."
Jackie smiled. "This would be another first for me."
He smiled and got up behind the couch and stood behind her slowly beginning to massage her shoulders. She relaxed at his touch and melted into it.
"God…that feels so good." She smiled.
"Good. Just relax and continue venting." He urged her.
"Ok…where was I." She said in deep thought.
Just then the door opened with Hyde standing there with roses and chocolates in his hands. "Jackie I'm-"
He stopped mid sentence noticing Kyle standing behind Jackie massaging her shoulders. All thoughts of working things out with Jackie seemed to disappear and his main purpose was to kill Kyle.
"Steven its not-" She said.
"Save it Jackie." He said throwing the flowers on the chair beside the door.
"Hyde…you should probably listen to her I'm not here to-" Kyle started.
"To hit on my wife? To have your fucking hands on her?" He yelled stalking towards him.
"Steven stop it!" Jackie yelled fearing the worst.
Hyde laughed bitterly. "I can't fucking believe I came here to try and talk to you and work things out and here you are with this moron. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and told Donna you weren't sneaking around behind my back." He paused. "Guess I was wrong."
Jackie started to tear up. "Steven I'm not cheating on you!"
He laughed. "Where have I heard that before?"
She put a hand on her hip and tried to stop her hands from trembling. "That's not fair…nothing happened between me and Michael."
"So you said…" He said feeling the rage become worse within him.
"Steven I'm not cheating on you Kyle is-" She tried to say but Hyde's fist collided with Kyle's eye before she had time. "Steven!"
"Fuck…" Kyle said standing up and grabbing his jacket. "Jackie…call me later ok?" He said glaring at Hyde. "You don't know how lucky you really are man…" He shook his head and walked away.
Jackie smacked Hyde on the arm and he turned around to look at her, a mix of rage and devastation was coursing through her. "I hate you Steven Hyde."
Hyde rolled his eyes. "You are the one who is cheating."
Jackie cried harder. "I'm not cheating on you! I would never cheat on you! I thought we got over this! God damn it Steven! If you had listened to me for five seconds you would have heard me finish my sentence telling you Kyle is gay!"
Hyde rolled his eyes. Part of him wanted to believe her while the other part was still raging with anger. "Right…"
"He is! He just told me he was. He moved away from his family and he found me and wanted to be friends with me…he confided in me and he was here to cheer me up. We we're supposed to be finishing our project but he wanted to make sure I was ok." She said starting to get more angry then sad.
Hyde scoffed. "Yeah…by giving you a massage."
Jackie shook her head. "I really thought we we're past this Steven but we're not are we? You still don't trust me…"
Hyde looked all around the room anywhere but at her. "You could have at least called me to tell me he would be here."
She sighed. "I tried. But you didn't answer."
Hyde looked back at her with such rage in his eyes it scared her. "Yeah right."
"Steven I-" She said suddenly feeling scared.
"No. Ya know what? I don't need this. Enjoy the flowers and the candy…although I'm not sure you deserve it. I'm outta here." He said storming out of the house once again.
Jackie collapsed on the couch in tears clutching her stomach. She slowly reached to the table beside the couch and picked up the phone and dialed Donna's number.
"Hello?" Jackie heard.
"Donna…" Jackie sobbed.
"Jackie?" Donna asked nervously as she stopped washing the dishes.
"Donna…" She hiccupped. "Steven…he's-I…Steven…" She cried harder.
"Jackie I can't understand you…" She said nervously. "I'll be over in a minute ok? Just hand on."
Jackie hung up the phone and cried harder and harder until Donna finally showed up. Donna had keys to the house so she let herself in and ran to her friend's side.
"Hey…hey what happened?" Donna asked taking the very pregnant Jackie into her arms.
"Steven came home to talk to me…because things haven't been so good between us lately. And Kyle was here…he was giving me a massage because I'm so stressed and tired…and the baby is killing me." She hiccupped.
"He was giving you a massage?" Donna asked nervously.
Jackie rolled her eyes. "Oh not you too…"
Donna shrugged. "Well…"
"Donna he's gay." She stated simply.
Donna's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh…he is?"
Jackie nodded. "Yes! And I tried to tell Steven that but he wouldn't listen to me and he accused me of cheating and he stormed out! Donna…" She said tearing up again. "He left me…he actually left me."
Donna sighed and pulled Jackie to her again. "Oh Jackie…this is not how I wanted things to turn out for you guys."
Jackie pulled back again. "What do you mean?"
"I went to see Hyde today at the store and he told me what's been going on. I told him to come here and apologize and fix things with you…the flowers and candy and all…that was my idea." She said looking over at them beside the door.
Jackie tried to take a few deep breaths. "Donna…I love him so much."
Donna nodded and rubbed her back. "I know you do…"
"And I'm pregnant…I'm due so soon…and I can't do this on my own. I need his help…but now he walked out on me." She said crying even harder.
Donna sighed. "Oh hon…"
"I just don't know what to do…" She said falling into her friends arms once again.
At Eric and Donna's house. Hyde was banging on the door in a fit of rage when Eric opened the door.
"Figured you'd be showing up here." Eric said moving aside to let him in.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" He yelled.
"Donna just went over to your house to see Jackie…to comfort her I suppose." He said.
Hyde rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Donna told me what's been going on with you two…and what happened this time?" He asked.
"She is fucking cheating on me with some moron from school named Kyle. She claims he's gay but I fucking doubt that." He said pacing around. "She said she tried to call me too...but she said I didn't answer. The phone never rang."
Eric sighed. "Why do you always doubt her?"
Hyde looked back at him. "What?"
"Hyde…you always think the worst. And from what I can see…Jackie loves you very much. She doesn't want to hurt you…and if you think about it…whenever you get in these situations you do something to hurt her." He pointed out.
Hyde tensed. "I didn't do anything wrong this time."
Eric sighed. "You haven't been the best husband lately." Hyde opened his mouth to talk but Eric interjected. "And she hasn't been the best wife either…but she's pregnant and she needs you…and man…" He paused. "You walked out on her Plus I tried calling you too...you didn't answer. Kelso went by to check on you and saw that Leo had unplugged the phone. But the point is here...you walked out. Not her..."
Hyde stood motionless for a moment thinking of what to say. "I…I didn't…"
"That's the one thing you never wanted to do when you got married…you didn't want to be your parents." He said.
Hyde felt like he was being stabbed in the heart at the realization. "I…I don't…I didn't mean to do that…" He said sitting down next to Eric.
Eric nodded. "I know man…but now you need to go back there and fix this. She needs you…she's bringing a baby into this world. Your baby…her baby…don't you want to be a part of that?" He asked.
Hyde nodded. "Of course I do."
"Then you need to go back there and talk this out with Jackie. She is due so soon…and if you walk away there is no going back again…she gave you this last chance man…don't fuck it up." He said standing up and opening the door for him to leave.
Hyde sat there for a moment letting his friends words sink in as he stood up and exited the house before turning to Eric. "Thanks man."
Eric smiled. "Anytime. Now go get her…"
Hyde pulled up to the condo and saw Donna's car in the driveway. He got out and let himself in and saw Donna cleaning some things up. But there was no sign of Jackie. That made his heart pace quicken.
"Donna?" He asked nervously.
Donna looked over at him and nodded her head upstairs. "She's in your room."
"How mad is she?" He asked.
"She's more sad then mad Hyde…you left her." She said.
"I just…I had to leave." He said running his hands through his hair.
"Kyle is gay…" She stated.
Hyde nodded. "I know."
"Why don't you trust her Hyde?" She asked stepping towards him.
Hyde shook his head. "I don't know…I really don't know."
"Well you better figure out why and fix it because you can't keep doing this to her…" She said. "I sent you here to fix things and I told you not to fuck it up…and that's what you did."
Hyde sighed defeatedly. "Don't I always?"
"Sometimes. But it doesn't have to always be like that…" She said.
Hyde nodded. "I think I can take it from here."
"Are you sure?" She asked nervously. "Last time I left you to handle it…it got worse."
Hyde nodded. "I won't let that happen again. I promise."
Donna nodded. "Ok then…call me later."
Hyde nodded. "Will do…and thanks."
Donna just smiled and picked up her things and left. Hyde saw the flowers he had bought were in a vase and the chocolates were mostly gone. He smiled weakly and then walked upstairs to their bedroom. He opened the door gently and saw Jackie curled up on her favorite comfy chair, sipping hot chocolate. She looked over at him and sat motionless not sure what to do. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it staring at her, in all her beautiful glory.
"Hi…" He whispered.
Jackie looked down at her cup and then set it down on the tabled beside her. "Hi…"
"Jacks…I'm so sor-" He started.
She stood up and put her hand up to stop him. "I don't want you to say you are sorry Steven."
He nodded in understanding and stepped towards her. "I know…but I am."
"Steven…how could you walk out on me?" She asked starting to cry.
He hung his head in shame. "I don't know…"
Jackie rolled her eyes. "I hate those words…"
Hyde nodded. "I know…"
Jackie looked up at him with rage. "Steven…when we get into a fight…yell and scream until your blue in the face! Break something if you have to! But don't you ever! EVER! Walk out on me again…" She said shoving him backwards.
He stared at her wanting nothing more then to collect her into his arms and kiss her until the end of time. "Jackie-"
"Steven that's the one thing you promised you would never do…everyone in my life has walked out on me…I never thought you would. No matter how bad things got…I know I've been off lately too…but I would never do that to you. Or cheat on you for that matter." She said tearing up again.
Hyde took another step towards her. "I will never do that again."
Jackie wiped a few of her tears away. "Steven I-" She grabbed her stomach as a sudden surge of pain pulsed through her body.
"I…" Another one. "Oh shit…" She said sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Jacks…" Hyde said suddenly feeling more nervous then before.
"Steven…" She grabbed her stomach again. "Oww…Steven something's not right…" She said looking up at him with fear in her eyes. "Steven…call 911."
Hyde's eyes widened with surprised and he ran to the phone forgetting their conversation…worrying about nothing but his wife and daughter.
"911. What is your emergency?" The woman asked.
"My wife. She's pregnant…she's in a lot of pain." He said.
"How pregnant is she?" She asked.
"About eight months. She shouldn't' be going into labor. Something's not right. Please…send doctors…please…" He begged.
The woman replied. "Where do you live?"
"28 Elm Street." He said.
"Ok. The Paramedics are on their way." She said.
"What do I do now?" He asked.
"Stay on the phone with me and go to your wife…hold her hand until they get there." The woman said.
"Ok…" He picked up the receiver and brought it over to Jackie and took her hand. "Hey…hang in there. There coming to get you ok?" He asked.
Jackie nodded. "Ok…" She cried.
Hyde pulled her closer and kissed her head. "It's going to be ok…I love you." He said.
She nodded her head and held her stomach for dear life. "I love you too…"
To be Cont...
Well...you know what to do. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I'm hoping for a lot like in chapters 8 and 9! That really gave me the motivation to write! So if you want to see what happens next SOON REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW:D THANKS!