Disclaimer: I don't own.

Author's Note: I've finished my fanfic contest fic, so I'll be concentrating again on this and Frames (which I'm going to work on next, so look for it soon). Thank you to everyone for reading, and especially to those of you who review. You guys say such sweet things, and I can only hope I actually deserve them. Enjoy this chapter, because, well, you know me. Hee hee:)

Warning: Language

For Her Sake

Chapter 11 - Afterglow

Look Like an Angel

Hyde had seen a painting of a sleeping angel once, hell if he could remember when or where. He did remember the splayed hair so dark against the white backdrop, the pinkish skin, the peace and quietness of the angel's features. As he lay on his side and gazed down at the sleeping Jackie, a soft smile, the kind he tried to never let anyone see, crossed his lips. That painted angel was no match for the live one in his bed who exhaled her life's breath in sweet, kittenish sighs. Her lips, a rose shade of pink, parted every so often, and his heart flipped every time she mouthed his name, every time she made even the tiniest of sounds.

His fingers hesitantly combed over the raven-shaded hair fanning her shoulder. "Jackie," he whispered.

His mind, as muddled as loving her had left it, worked overtime. What now? Are we back together? Is that even possible? And what in the hell am I supposed to do about her father? Maybe he's forgotten. Maybe he doesn't give a rat's ass anymore. She hasn't talked much about him lately; maybe he's gone back to being gone all the time. Yeah. Yeah, I bet he has. Besides, if we get back together, I'll be around to protect her. Yeah.

Yeah. Sure. Right.

All he really knew for sure was that he wanted her. Wanted to be with her. Felt like he was seeing light for the first time in ages, only because he'd just been inside her.

"I know you're watching me sleep, Steven."

He grinned. She was struggling to contain a smile, struggling to keep her eyelids down. "No, I'm not."

That did the trick. Her eyes opened, and she smiled up at him. "Yes, you are," she retorted. "I always knew it when you watched me sleep." She rolled over to her side and cuddled into Hyde. Her hands settled on his chest, and she sighed softly when his arms encircled her. "And I can't really blame you, 'cause I look like an angel when I sleep."

It was like she could read his mind, and he shook his head. How in the hell does she do that? He slowly ran the palm of his hand up and down her back. Crap, he loved her back. Her skin was so soft and pure, and the indent of her spine, for some reason, was incredibly sexy to him. "Oh yeah? How do you know that? You watch yourself sleep or something?"

She giggled. "It's just a given, Steven."

"Of course it is," he said, still grinning, but not in that sarcastic way he usually did. Not mocking. Not in response to a well placed burn. This grin even felt different. His eyes felt different, saw different. Maybe it was just the afterglow of hot sex, but he felt…Only one word seemed to fit. Lovesick. Yep. Definitely lovesick. No wonder he felt both at peace and knotted up with want. He stared at her, her lovely, exotic features. She looked like a Russian fairy. Delicate, fragile, but so stable, exuding strength and truth. His truth. Or what used to be his truth. And maybe could be his truth again. Maybe. Or something stupid and pansy like that. "You're beautiful," he said before he could stop himself.

If she hadn't already been lying down, Jackie would have fainted. Words like that from Steven…and now, after all the hate and pain between them…Instead of fainting, she started to cry. "Steven," she whimpered. His fingers traced her jaw, her cheek, but it was too much. So long she'd hurt, so long she'd felt his hate, and now he was with her. Now he'd just touched her as if he still loved her. Her eyes closed. "I missed you so much, Steven." Her hands gripped his shoulders tight. No matter what, this time he wasn't going to retreat from her. "Did you…did you miss me?"

Hyde watched her, her eyes squeezed closed just as a vice squeezed his heart. Of course she was afraid of his answer. How could she not be? He stopped the train of tears on her right cheek with a fingertip. "Jackie, look at me." She opened her eyes, and he grinned. "I missed seeing you naked." Before she could protest, and the look on her face told her she was going to, he closed her lips with the same finger he'd caught her tears with. His smile faded, and for the first time in too long, he lost himself in those mismatched eyes. "Jackie." He brushed his lips over hers. "I missed you." His lips hovered hardly above her mouth. "You have no idea how much."

He kept her quiet with another deep kiss, and tried not to remember just why he'd had to miss her so much.

Jackie sighed, this time her eyes closing in pleasure while Steven's kisses moved to her neck. "Steven…" She arched her back, pulling on his body to get him closer, until a very unbecoming and not at all sexy growling came from her stomach.

Hyde stopped kissing her and looked at Jackie's flushing face, chuckling. "Hungry?"

She rolled her eyes and swatted at him. "Well, sorry, but I haven't eaten since the popcorn last night." She looked away, but her giddiness from spending the night in Steven's bed almost forced her to giggle.

He turned her face back and nodded. "And I'm pretty sure we worked off that popcorn about seven hours ago." He kissed her forehead. "You wanna go upstairs? I bet Kitty has breakfast ready."

Jackie pouted playfully. "You should bring me breakfast in bed."

"Why should I do that?"

She pushed his chest. "Because, I just spent the last twelve hours satisfying your dirty urges, that's why!" Her smile turned sheepish and she squirmed beneath him. "And…I'm kind of…sore."

Hyde nodded proudly. "So, what you're saying is, you can't walk." He laughed and trapped her swatting hand on his chest. "Fine, fine." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. "I'll get you breakfast. But this is the one and only time, so you'd better figure out how to walk after twelve hours in my bed." Probably safer, anyway, if Jackie stayed down here. He'd be spared the lectures on the "birds and the bees".

Jackie shook her head as he walked to the door. "You're assuming that I'll ever spend twelve hours in your bed again." She rolled over onto her stomach and gave him her best sexy grin when he reached the doorway. "I'm not sure that's a guarantee."

He winked at her. "Oh, it is. Trust me. It is."

Thank You

Hyde's good humor evaporated by the time he reached the kitchen.

If he finds out…damn it, what in the hell am I gonna do? I can't tell her. I can't be with her. What am I gonna tell her? Thanks for the sex, now get the hell out of my life. Yeah. Sure.

Damned thoughts he didn't want to have. Thoughts he couldn't deal with. Not now. Not when Jackie was naked in his bed. Not after being with her again and tasting her and feeling her, and remembering her.

He slowly walked towards the kitchen. If he were to get her to stay away from him again, and therefore not incur the wrath of her psycho father, he'd have to do something drastic. Tell her he was heading back to Vegas to find Sam. Tell her he just wanted a few more lays from her. He'd have to break her heart. Again.

And it just wasn't something he wanted to do.

He sighed heavily and walked into the kitchen. Just as he'd told Jackie, Kitty Forman stood by the stove, dishing eggs and bacon onto two plates. "Hey."

Kitty turned and smiled brightly. "Well, good morning, Steven. Here. I'm just fixing breakfast for you and Jackie."

He smiled, then frowned. How in the hell did she know that Jackie hadn't left last night? And why was she grinning and not screaming about the Playboy mansion and baby Jesus? It had to be a trap. "What? No, Mrs.Forman. Jackie's not here. I just need breakfast for me."

She shook her head. "Now, Steven, I'm not stupid. I know that Jackie didn't leave last night. Her car is still parked outside the house." She picked up the two plates and held them out to the young man. "And you don't have to tell me you slept out on the couch. I know you didn't." She smiled, and her eyes became a bit teary. "I'm just so glad the two of you are back together. You haven't been happy in so long, and I know she makes you happy, I don't pretend to know why, though." She laughed. "Here. Take this down to her."

Hyde smiled, giving up. Might as well. Kitty wouldn't believe any of his excuses.

Kitty pushed the kitchen door halfway open, but turned to him. "I'm just glad Red was away in Milwaukee." She raised an eyebrow. "I could hear you two all the way up in my bedroom!" She tried to look scolding. "Now, get down there before I have to be a good mother and talk to you about the birds and the bees."

Hyde snickered. "Okay, Mrs. Forman." She turned to go. "Mrs. Forman?"

"Yes, honey?"

He shrugged. "Just…thank you." Whatever he decided to do about Jackie, about him and Jackie, he'd always have last night, those amazing hours they'd spent together. And Kitty had let him have that time.

She smiled sweetly. "Oh, honey, you're welcome. See, isn't it nice to have a nosy mother who loves you?"

He grinned. "Yeah. It is."

She left still smiling, and he sighed, his own falling. The phone rang.

"Steven, can you please get that?"

"Sure." He put the plates down on the counter and walked over to the phone. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Steven Hyde."

Hyde's stomach tensed. "Yeah, that's me." His fingers tightened around the phone.

"You've forgotten our conversation in Las Vegas, apparently."

Hyde closed his eyes and swallowed hard. The voice was cold, hard, ruthless. Jackie's father.

"I haven't forgotten."

Hyde opened his mouth, his eyes still sealed, and tried to say something. His throat was suddenly dry, too dry, and he couldn't speak.

"You agreed to stay away from her, Steven. And I'm going to hold you to that agreement, no matter what it takes. Did you not believe what I told you in Vegas? Go to the front of the house and look out the window."

Numbly, Hyde set the phone down and walked through the kitchen door. He walked to the windows behind the organ and pushed the curtains open. Across the street, there was a black Lincoln parked. As he watched, the driver's side window rolled down, and he saw a vaguely familiar face. One of the guys who had kidnapped him in Vegas. The big one. Sammy, or something. The guy smiled when he noticed Hyde, and discreetly raised a gun just high enough for Hyde to see it.

Holy shit…they're watching me. Her. Both.

Barely holding in the vomit, he let go of the curtains and went back to the kitchen. His limbs, all of them, stiffened, felt cold. He picked the phone back up. "I…" Throat was still too dry. And now it burned, just like his eyes did.

"I'm watching you, and her, Steven. I know what she's up to. I know you've somehow weasled yourself back into her life. And I don't like it. Did Sammy show you the gun?"

Hyde nodded and choked out a "yes".

"I meant what I said, Steven. I. Will. Kill. Her. I will do anything to keep her away from scum like you."

He closed his eyes, and there she was. Her sweet face smiling at him, those eyes full of love for him that hadn't died even though he'd put her through hell. He heard her sighing his name as she took him inside of her, trusting him even though he'd shattered her life.

"Finish with her today. Do whatever you have to do to make her stay away from you, or…you know what will happen. I'm watching both of you, Steven. And apparently you don't seem to think I'm serious. I'm deadly serious, Steven."

The line went dead, and Hyde dropped the phone. He looked at his hand, shaking hard just as his heart seemed to be doing.

I killed her.

I Don't Want to Talk

Jackie lay in Steven's bed, smiling as she stared up at the ceiling. Occasionally, she'd closed her eyes. Her body would summon the memory of his touch, and she'd shiver. Her entire body felt different, whole again after having been shattered, and she was so warm, despite the cold in the dingy room. Thoughts in the back of her mind, like lingering hurt over Sam, guilt about Fez, and questions of what she was going to do about both of them were there, but she dismissed them for the moment. Right now, she wanted to enjoy Steven. Enjoy being Jackie with Steven again, something much more than her father or Fez or anyone else thought she was.

The door opened, and she sat up, not bothering to hold the blanket to her chest. Steven walked in, carrying a plate, and she grinned. "That was fast. Guess you were right about Kitty having breakfast right." He didn't say anything, just handed her the plate, and turned away from her. She frowned and watched him. He looked a little pale, his eyes seemed vacant, and her stomach knotted. "Steven? Are you okay?"

He nodded, lifting a shoulder. "Sure. Fine." He wasn't. He could hardly stay on his feet; his knees felt as sturdy as a pyramid of playing cards.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"No."

And suddenly, neither was she. She looked down at the food on her plate, and her stomach turned. He was upset. Maybe that short trip up the stairs had been all the time he needed to regret what they'd shared. She pushed the scrambled eggs around on the yellow dish. Did he wish it hadn't happened? Maybe he did. Maybe he really did hate her. Maybe she'd been wrong to think that he could never have loved her the way he had last night if he hated her. Maybe he really was that kind of guy.

Hyde stared at her, and the sickness inside of him morphed. Just one more time. One more time and I'll let her go. Forever. I will. I swear I will. Just one more time. She was naked, her breasts, shoulders exposed to him. He cleared his throat. "Jackie, do you have to eat right now?"

She looked up, and the look in his eyes both confused her and made her tingle. "No, I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought." She swallowed, her stomach still tied in knots. "Do you want to talk or something?"

Hyde shook his head. He reached down and took back the plate of food. "No." He put the plate on the chair behind him. He didn't want to talk. He wanted to tell her everything, wanted her to know everything, but words wouldn't suffice. Only one thing would. "I don't want to talk." He kept staring at her, she stared back, as he shed his sweats. He pressed her back, pulled the blanket that covered her, and took his rightful place on top of her. He kissed her gently, his eyes still open. "I don't want to talk." He stifled her questioning voice with a demanding kiss.

Jackie gave into him, and found herself almost instantly delirious. His kisses were so intense, even more so than before, so deep they pressed below the surface of her skin. His hands wandered her as if searching for the most priceless treasure. And all she could do was touch him in return, kiss him back just as passionately, whisper his name just as reverently.

And for both of them, in that moment, the world apart from their joined bodies ceased to exist.