"Steven, get me out of here..." Jackie said, clinging tightly to him.
Hyde nodded. "We're going, babe, I promise..." he said, looking around.
In one way, he wished the guy would show up so he could give him what he had coming, but, he didn't want Jackie further frightened or upset, so maybe it was better to just leave for now. Besides, guy probably wouldn't come in with the cop car in the middle of the yard...
The guys climbed into the car, Jackie still in Hyde's arms. Angie looked up from the backseat. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay-"
"No talking from you right now." Hyde warned. "I mean it, shut up."
Jackie snuggled into Hyde's chest, and he stroked her hair and back gently as Kelso put the car into drive, reaching for the C.B. Radio.
"Man, what are you doing?" Hyde demanded.
"I have to call it in, Hyde. It's my job." Kelso reminded. "This is Cadet Micheal Kelso calling in... Okay, that A.P.B. on Jackie Burkhardt has been taken care of- vic has been found, repeat, vic has been found."
"Who the hell is 'Vic'?" Jackie demanded.
"Oh, it's police shorthand for 'victim'- ow! I'm driving, Hyde!"
The radio suddenly crackled to life. "Yo, Mikey, you found the girl, what about the suspect?"
"Who's that?" Fez asked curiously.
"That's just Kelly; they put him on the hunt." Kelso explained before pressing the button again. "Suspect Kenny Beauman is still at large- there was no sight of him." Kelso said in his 'cop' voice, putting the radio down with a doofy grin. "This kicks so much ass; I'm so Burt Reynolds right now!"
"Nu-uh; you're Smokey 'cause... you're a cop." Eric said. "I get to be Bandit."
"You? Why you?" Fez demanded. "I'm more Bandit than you; you can't even grow facial hair!"
"Everyone shut up with this stupid argument and drive us home!" Hyde snapped. "Besides... I'm way more Bandit than any of you." he said with a slight twitch of his mouth.
At this time, the radio crackled to life once again.
"Mikey, drive the girl to the station house; she has to give a statement and get any possible injuries documented."
"Can do; thanks Kelly." Kelso nodded.
Jackie ran her hand over Hyde's scruffy cheek. "You haven't shaved..."
Hyde shrugged. In truth, he hadn't changed clothes, hadn't slept at all, barely had eaten...
"Let's worry about you right now, okay, Doll?"
_
Kitty walked into the basement where Hyde's room was a few hours later, and turned and walked out just as quickly, leaving a plate of fresh-baked cookies and glasses of milk right next to it on the small nightstand table near the bed. Jackie was lying underneath Hyde's arm, her left arm wrapped in an ace bandage and in a sling. Both were dead to the world asleep.
Suddenly, a voice near her ear made her start.
"Are there any cookies left, Mrs. Kitty?"
"Oh, yes, Fez... right upstairs in the kitchen." she nodded. "You kids go help yourselves."
"Sweet! Cookies!" Kelso said, racing Fez up the stairs.
Kitty shook her head with a light smile. Some things never changed...
"You two want any cookies?" she asked Eric and Donna, who hadn't moved from the couch.
"Uh, we'll be up in a minute, Mom, yeah. Thanks." Eric nodded.
"Okay, well, I'd hurry before Fez and Micheal got to them all." she warned, going upstairs herself.
Eric looked over at Donna. "I can't believe all this happened... and the dude's still out there..."
"I just feel so awful... I mean, I brought her up there, and she was just easy prey for him. I should've looked after her..."
"Donna..." Eric sighed, playing with her fingers gently, "you couldn't have known..."
"No, but I feel awful because my first thoughts were that she ditched out on me." Donna admitted. "I was mad at her..." she said guiltily, blinking a bit. "She could've died, Eric... or worse... and she's my best friend."
Eric sighed, pulling Donna close to him with one arm. "She didn't. She's okay. And, if it makes you feel better, Hyde's probably not gonna let her out of his sight like... ever again?"
"He'll get over that eventually." Donna smiled.
"I dunno, maybe..." Eric said doubtfully. "He's at least gonna be like this till that dude's caught... I wonder how he got her, anyway?"
"Well, before she passed out from the pain pill your Mom gave her, she said one minute she was looking around the booth, familiarizing herself with everything, and the next she felt this wet rag on her face, and everything went hazy and then black. It's so easy for someone just to get into a place like that... it's was so easy for him to just carry her out..." Donna said quietly, blinking back tears again.
Eric sighed, rubbing her back gently. "Everything's okay now, though, okay? She's fine, she's safe. And, they'll catch this guy. They have to... cause if they don't Hyde's gonna go hunt him down, and we don't want that..."