N/A: Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all have an excellent weekend with your loved ones and get many gifts each!
So, due to the holidays, there won't be a chapter next week. I'm very sorry, but I need a chapter is dedicated to the few people who left a review in the last three chapters, and to all my new friends since I joined this fandom. It's been an experience.
Please, if you still like this story, review it. It's really sad how much the response has lowered. It really makes me sad...
Especial thank you to my beta and friend, NannyGirl, who is amazing and just the best, she is th T. Thank you for your help and for always support me, Prissy!
Heart Like Yours
Chapter XIII – Loving Hope
December 4, 1982. Point Place's General Hospital – Harley's room. 9:52 am.
Jackie had decided to stay with Harley, hear how things were for her.
The doctor and nurses had taken her aunts away, needing space and privacy to run some tests on the girl. Later, they would be taking the girl to other places and run more tests, but right now it seemed—it seemed she had no memory of the accident, of who these women were, and her own mother.
Harley wasn't talking either, from what the aunts had said, she wasn't a talkative kid anyway but this was weird enough for the doctor to call a psychologist and later announce their theory about small brain damage for her age and the time she had been sleeping, and the knock on her head.
She wondered if this is why Kat had been desperate enough to reach for help from a little girl.
Back at her room, visitations were a thing and she had heard Fez talking about Caroline's condition and his little fight with Eric. His friend was also informing her about the things she didn't hear from the waiting room, like that Eric and Donna were at The Formans' and Hyde had left to do stuff he didn't talk to anyone about.
Jackie had heard them all enter and leave her room, Milo barely stood near her body anymore and Mrs. Forman kept talking excitedly about how having Harley awake was a good signal, that she was going to wake up soon too.
That loving hope, Jackie wanted to held it with her as she observed Harley stare at the empty pages they had left for her to draw. She was alone now and the little girl kept only looking at the pages until she took one and started to tear it from the tips, taking a line and ripping until a piece was in her hand.
Slowly and carefully, she pushed every line of her piece until they all formed a little star. She didn't smile or look at it for long, she went directly to do more and Jackie sat down watching her work.
"Harley?" she said, her hands caressed her hair, the girl kept doing her stars. "What's going on, baby?"
A couple or nurses entered the room with her aunts again, 'We will be right back, darling' Mrs. Forman said in her room and Jackie wondered who was leaving with her. Mr. Forman surely. Bob? Maybe. Fez? No, he was still holding her hand, 'None of us had breakfast, Milo offered to buy some for everyone and Red is now running behind him to stop him', Fez told her and she smiled.
Milo, he always wanted to please everyone. He had this weird way, he always wanted to pay for everyone's stuff and feed people. Martha, his mother, once told her it was because Lawrence's punishments were to make him skip meals, so even having so much money in the family, Milo had spent entire days without food. So now, the second he saw someone not eating at their hours, he always brought food for them.
'Traumas are powerful', his sister once told her. Maggie was a special educator for kids with different capacities a psychologist too, and she always tried to explain her the little strange details of her brother's behavior.
They were interviewing Harley again, but she kept her mouth shut and her eyes lingered over every person in the room, like searching for something or someone else.
'It can makes us do things our mind think are okay and normal, but to other people are certainly not', Maggie had said, 'It also makes us sensible to other people's traumas.' and in the present, she sat down in front of Harley and waited. 'Milo can't stand someone not eating because he knows what hunger is like, but it goes bigger in his mind because he attached emotional layers to it.'
"Mommy?"
Jackie blinked a couple of times, the women in the room looking at each other to find an answer. This was the first time Harley talked, her voice sounded dry and small.
'What we can do is understand it and learn to live with it, because in a way, it will never go.' Maggie had said, 'But believe me, at the end it all gets better. You just have to keep going.'
"She…"
"Darling," one of the nurses started, "I need to make some questions. Would you answer for me?" Harley blinked a couple of times, then nodded. "Good! What is your name?" they stood in silence, Harley looked at everyone around her like searching for the answer. "No?" she didn't say anything again, and the nurse wrote it down. "How old are you?" again, they waited for her to say something but there was no answer.
Who's your mommy? Where do you live? Do you know who these women are? No answers. With every silence, Jackie's spirit felt smaller and smaller, until there was only cold.
~0~
November 14, 1982. New York City – El Ganadero Restaurant & Bar. 10:17 pm.
"So, this place belongs to your ex-boyfriend and we are still enjoying your girlfriend privileges. Aren't you freaking ashamed of yourself, Alice?" Morgan said and Jackie smiled a little.
"Oh, ask for the bill and we can spend the rest of the night searching for another restaurant if that's what you want." Alice answered, followed by a bunch of 'uhs' from their other friends.
She looked at Hyde at her side, he was finding this amusing and she smiled to herself. She needed to be calm down about this. Hyde was her friend, too. Having him getting to know her new friends wasn't such a big deal, but her heart seemed to not register that information correctly.
"That's not what I meant!" Morgan said, "I'm just saying—poor Bruce is probably asking himself what he did wrong, and we are here eating his fancy beef cuts and drinking his also fancy wine, older than us."
June rolled his eyes. "He did nothing wrong, it's just our friend here—" Alice looked at him with that famous frown of hers. "Needed some freedom, because who didn't hear when I told her that dating an older man is not an option if she only wants to spend the time fooling around?" he put a hand over his ear, like wanting to hear better.
"Rolo!" Morgan, Vic and Jackie answered, Hyde laughed at her side.
"Who didn't hear when I told her the guy will obviously want a formal thing, marriage deal and children included?" he put his hand on his ear again.
"Rolo!" they answered once more.
"That's right! I did!" he looked at Alice, who was drinking her enormous wine cup in three gulps. "You know how awkward parties at Jackie's will be now? Bruce is Milo's best friend!"
Jackie smiled at that. While she was here having dinner and fun with her friends, Hyde included, Milo was probably listening to Bruce's cries about Alice on a calm bar with jazz music or something. Alice sighed and looked at her like asking for help, she only shrugged.
"Damn." Hyde said, leaving his cup on the table and looking at Alice. "You were dating Santoro!"
Jackie opened her eyes wide, how did he knew Bruce? "You know him?"
"Yeah, went a couple of times with Harrington while we were working." he answered, then looked back at Alice. "This place belongs to Santoro?"
"Yeah, family chain!" Vic answered for her, "Directly from Mexico!" she smiled. "So… you worked directly with Milo for the stores, uh?"
"Yeah." he answered, "Me and my sister."
"Oooh, there's a sister!" June said and Jackie smiled wide when she noticed Hyde's tensed body. "Wonder if she's as petty as her brother?" Jackie and the girls laughed, her hand softly landed over his thigh.
"Yeah, and she's not in the market."
June opened his eyes wide, then looked at Hyde offended, one hand dramatically over his chest. "Honey, I'm gay."
"What?"
All the women broke into an amused laugh, Hyde's eyes had gone wide and almost white while June pretended to be more offended that he could actually be. Jackie put a hand over Hyde's arm, trying to explain to him, but her laughter didn't let her even breath.
"Oh, my god. Jackie, I'm so offended." June told her, Jackie nodded still laughing. "You know what this mean? It means my mission in life has failed, I don't bring enough gay vibe!"
"Don't yell that!" Morgan kicked his shin under the table and he frowned. "You know how people are here, shut up." But then, she kept laughing.
"Man, I'm sorry." Hyde said, but he had a smile on his face and Jackie bit her bottom lip, stopping her laughter.
"Ugh, it's fine!" he said, "I'm just trying to meet you, all I know about you is you have the name of literature bad boy, have a thing for tiny girls dancing Led Zeppelin songs without clothes."
"June!" she kicked him under the table now, this time he actually felt the kick and almost cried.
"Calm down, Bella, at least he is not saying the nasty parts." Victoria said and Jackie eyed her to shut up. She knew too much, she didn't like Hyde because of her, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring him here with these people after all. "Not like if people don't change, right? Nice pin."
Hyde looked down at his black suit's coat and then at her, nodding. "It matches your tie clip and cuffs… oh! Look at the ring! Morgan, look at the ring!" June said, Morgan looked down at Hyde's hand and extended hers to take it. He barely let her take his, but allowed it anyway. "Oh my god, it all matches!" then he looked at him, tilting his head. "I'm going to judge you so hard if you made sure it all match by your own, but so hard, your grand grandchildren will still hear it."
Hyde chuckled, taking back his hand when Morgan smiled at him, Jackie looked up and waited for his answer. "No, it's all my grandmother's work."
"I'm judging you even more." June answered, Vic laughed at Jackie's side.
"Absolutely, but my grandma is cooler than all of us together. You'll love to have her to fix your clothes if you knew her."
"Oh, now I'm curious." Vic said. "I know your father."
Jackie opened her eyes and looked at her friend, asking once more for her to shut it. Yes, Vic knew both, WB and Angie, but the last thing she wanted was her friends getting into Hyde's life this way.
"Yeah?" he said, "You know Izzy?"
"Nope, but I know her club." she smiled, "That's one hell of place."
For the way Hyde smiled, Jackie understood he agreed. Well, maybe it wasn't that bad.
"Izzy, as in Izzy Barnett?" Alice asked Vic, she nodded. "Holy shit, but you are white!"
"ALICE!" they all said over Hyde's laugh.
"What? I'm half Asian, I can ask crap like that." she said, then looked at Hyde. "So, adopted?"
Hyde shook his head, he didn't seem mad with the conversation and Jackie stopped to give it a thought. Alice was always commenting about racism in the richest circles of the town, and their school; could Hyde get some of that crap, too? What about his family?
"My mother is white."
"You are biracial, too! How cool. I have a cousin whose white passing, he sometimes hates the world."
"Who doesn't?" he said, then nodded. "I just got in contact with this part of my family, but it still gets me by surprise… having to be polite to assholes."
"Cheers!" their cups met and Jackie sighed in some kind of relief, this night seemed out of a dream.
He wasn't putting a face to the conversations, nor wanting to excuse himself to leave them. It seemed like he wanted to be here, and maybe he did. Maybe the idea of spending more time back at the store's opening was too terrible to reject this dinner, or maybe there was something else on his mind, something making him stay right here, at her side, talking about his work and his family.
This was wrong, the way she was feeling.
Jackie was excited about this change, about the fact that she could touch him and survive the rest of her feelings, actually happy of not having to imagine his face as they talked. She just saw him in September, but it had felt like years, and tonight he was real, present at her side, warm and comfy.
"We have actually heard a lot about you." June said over dissert, Hyde looked up at his face. He wasn't eating his tiramisu, only playing with it and his spoon. "Jackie appreciates you a lot."
"Well, he is one of my oldest friends." she replied with a smile. "Hyde also helped me through a really hard time for me, and deep down, he is cute and sweet."
"Crap, woman." he answered, June was smiling with something she didn't like. "Stop saying I'm cute, I ain't a kitten."
"Oh god, say that again, please." June said, Vic started to laugh at his side. "I'm so gonna call you kitten now."
"Shh, we already have one name for him!" Vic said, her cheerful tone was almost scary. "Right? Tra—"
~0~
"TRAINER!"
December 4, 1982. Point Place's General Hospital – Waiting Area. 10:13 am.
Hyde looked up from his hands, he hadn't heard that voice in weeks but the name remained with him ever since this chick chose it for him.
Vic was walking fast to him, Rolo behind her. He half expected to see the whole group, Alice complaining about Point Place's weather and Morgan saying she already knows everything about the town. But only them were here and he wondered why they were running to him and not—
"Oh, I'm so sorry for all this!"
Alright. Hyde kind of hugged Vic back, she was really a handsy person it seems. Rolo smiled at him when he looked for help, and once Vic left him, he shook his hand and both looked at him, expecting.
"She's fine, or that's what the doctors say." he sighed. "Hasn't woken up."
"Fuck." Vic exclaimed, one hand on her forehead. She started to walk to one side and another on a little space, Rolo put an arm around her shoulders and cuddle her to his chest.
"Calm down, she wouldn't like you getting anxious."
"I can't help it! Last time I saw her, we were drooling over Marlo Brando on TV, not in a fucking coma!"
He almost laughed at that, imagining Jackie and this crazy woman talking about Brando. Rolo shook his hand, and they soon asked to get into Jackie's room. He hadn't been there since last night, and after all that happened this morning—no, he wasn't ready for that.
But Milo was nowhere to be seen, and they didn't know anyone else in the hospital. Jackie would hate him if he didn't accompany her friends, they had been nice to him back in November and he didn't have reasons to not return the favor to them. So, he walked them to the room and opened the door to find Kelso and Betsy putting stickers on the bed's wall.
"What are you two doing?" he said, Fez was holding Jackie's hand and Brooke was writing down something. "Are those glowing stickers?"
"Yes!" Kelso answered. "We found them in the gifts store, and Betsy thought it was a good idea to put them for Jackie."
"God-mommy will like them!" Betsy said.
"Oh, you must be little Betsy!" Rolo leaned towards her, she smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Rolo."
"Hi!"
"Uh…" Brooke looked at them, Hyde moved to make the introductions.
"These are Jackie's friends from New York." he started, "June Roland and Victoria…"
"Franco." she finished, taking Brooke's hand. "I remember you! You were at Milo's birthday with your hubby—you! You are the husband! Michael, right?"
"That's me!" he smiled. "Hey, Rolo!" and the man waved his hand at him.
"You know them, then?" Hyde asked, Fez shrugged and shook his head. "Oh, and this is… Fez."
"Fez?" Rolo walked towards him, Fez offered his hand.
"Name too long and too strange to pronounce. Fez is good."
"Rolo," he smiled and then signaled at Vic. "and this is Victoria."
"Vic it's fine!" she answered, shaking Fez's hand and then looking at Jackie. "Oh, whoever fixed her hair has my love."
"Mrs. Forman." Fez answered as Vic took his place, sitting beside Jackie with Rolo behind her. "They just took away the breather, the doctor said it's a good sign that she is breathing on her own now."
"I'm glad." Vic said, but she sounded far away from here. Jackie had that effect on everyone right now. "Hey, you…" she murmured, Jackie's hand between her fingers.
"We—" Brooke started, Kelso had basically run to her side to help her. "We can leave you alone if you want?"
"Oh, no!" Vic said. "No, no. It's fine, really. We don't want to disturb any of you."
"It's fine, I need to do a call anyway. And this little lady and I will also bring some balloons, right?" Fez said, talking to Betsy at the end, she nodded happily. "We'll be back soon."
"Okay." Brooke smiled at him. "Betsy! Don't run from your uncle, I don't want you wandering the hospital again. If you do it again, you're staying at your grandma's, you hear me?"
"Yes, mommy…" she answered with an innocent expression, last time Hyde found her out of the room alone, Brooke almost had a heart attack.
"You should eat something." Kelso talked to Brooke. "Why don't we go for something?"
"Milo is there and I don't want him trying to pay our food…"
Vic laughed at that. "Oh, damn. He does that here, too." she looked at Jackie's face. "That guy's crazy, Bella."
"You have to eat!" Kelso insisted. "Let's go… oh! We can go outside the hospital! Let's get Betsy and go."
"Where is Jess?" Hyde asked, the kid wasn't anywhere to be seen and his parents weren't talking about him.
"Poor Mr. Forman got attacked by him, hasn't let him go in all morning since we came." Brooke answered, Hyde tried not to laugh at that, but it was impossible. "Hush! Don't be mean!"
"I'm sorry, it's just—you have to accept it, it's kind of funny. He can't say no to Jess, but I'm sure he is dead inside."
"I think being around the kids is returning him from the dead." she answered, walking to the door with Kelso's hands on her shoulders, like when they were in kindergarten and went out the school. "You want something?"
"No, man. I'm fine…" he sighed, looking back at Jackie. Now that the respirator was gone, her face was more visible, the purple bruises distracted him too much and he just—couldn't stay here. But he also wasn't feeling like doing guard outside. "I'll stay here."
"Good, that's good." she smiled. "We'll be back in a sec, and I hope by the time we are back, you are finally willing to explain to me what you and my daughter are up to."
"I told you!" he said. "Nothing. I just found her in the kid's section, didn't know she was going to be there."
"That's super weird, Hyde." Kelso announced. "What were you doing in the kid's section?"
"Uh…"
Brooke signaled him. "You two have been weird, and you are going to tell me what's up when I come back."
He heard the other two's laugh as his friends left the room, his arm extended almost by instinct, leaving the door wide open. Hyde took a look around to pretend he was just checking for more people, not that he wanted the door open as Betsy had say earlier this morning. Just in case Jackie was really here, just in case she needed it.
~0~
Point Place's General Hospital - Jackie's Room. 10:22 am.
She had recognized Vic and June's voices back in Harley's room, and while Jackie hated to leave the girl and her aunts, she also wanted to see her friends.
Milo had told her they were coming, in fact, he had said everyone was coming. But at the end, she wasn't so surprised Alice couldn't come, she was in China for the holidays after all; while Bruce, Milo's best friend, he probably had other things to do. He knew by now she and Milo weren't together anymore, so there he had it easy to decide.
Who was weirdly not here was Morgan. Maybe if she stays enough with—Steven had the door open, she wondered if he had listened to Betsy or was really checking something out. As she walked, Jackie couldn't help but look at his face. Poor man was tired, but there was something glowing in his eyes and she wondered if whatever he did outside had helped him look more… relaxed.
"Dear, you are so gonna hate the purple marks on your face…" June was, in fact, caressing her face and Jackie looked at her friends.
"June!" Vic slapped his hand. "Don't do that!"
"Awn, woman. I'm not doing anything bad…"
Jackie smiled at them, walking to sit at her head's side and watch them. Sighing, she saw them fight a little about June touching her bruises and Steven closed the door, going to sit on the blue couch without a word. He was too silent even for him, she had the idea that maybe he had liked her friends. But maybe it was just that, an idea.
Later, as Vic let her know she had all her stuff in her apartment, Steven looked up. Yeah, he didn't knew that. She was living with June and Victoria now; when she left the city, she asked her friends to make sure everything that was left in Milo's apartment was delivered at theirs. A three people apartment sounded crazy, but in New York, six people apartments was normal. Especially if those people were students like them.
"Uh, guys?" he called, both her friends looked at him. Steven was standing now, but refused to look at her body. "No one knows Jackie and Milo…" he did a funny sign with his fingers, something splitting, and she smiled. June arched an eyebrow. "You know…"
"No one?" Vic looked at him with shock. "Milo didn't, like, cry to everyone about it?"
He looked like wanting to laugh but didn't, only nodded. "No, he didn't. It's fine, Jackie's insurance exists thanks to him, so I thought—for the time being, not say anything. So, please?"
Vic sighed, nodding. June seemed to think about it a little, but let it go with an empathetic smile. "You must be dying inside."
Her friend slapped June's stomach, but she moved her head to one side. "Don't bother him now, let the poor guy alone."
"What do you mean?"
"Aww, honey!" June sat down again. "A blind man can see you have feelings for Jackie!" and Vic slapped his arm this time. "Ouch, stop that!"
"Leave the poor guy alone." she said, then looked at her face. "We have a terrible friend, Bella. Don't worry, I'll protect the poor Trainer."
"Hey, I'm right here." Steven said, suddenly taking a chair and putting it at her other side, right in front where she was sitting. She smiled at him and looked between them as they talked.
A little surreal but not unwelcomed, she saw them get along without her and happily realized this could work, this could happen. Her two worlds were now colliding and no disasters were happening, so maybe, if she makes it through this one, and things go her way, maybe she wouldn't have to say goodbye to any of the portions she was now.
New York was still her life.
That's the city where her things and her school are, where uncle Barney had accepted to take her father next year if his condemn was reduced as they appealed a few months ago, where she had her new friends and wanted to get a job.
She loved the people at Point Place, even when the town was haunted by her past and her sorrow, her shadow waiting for her to walk at her side again, but—to completely come back, it felt like a defeat.
At some point she should find something to have both worlds with her, find what was it that made her life suddenly cold in the city during these past months.
Maybe the answer was sitting right in front of her, calling her friends by their nicknames and explaining her situation, using words and expressions like 'hopefully' and 'I'm sure', smiling and laughing, even with the apparent big weight on his shoulders.
"Holding up." he answered to June asking how he was taking all this, then Steven moved his head and sighed. "It's going to be fine."
Jackie smiled at him, she didn't realized she had stand up as the door opened and a too happy Eric came in. "Good morning, everyoneeeeeeeeeeeee!" he greeted, Donna was behind him shaking her head, walking inside with a laughing Morgan and an equally delighted Noah.
"Eeeeriiic!" Vic and June singed with big smiles.
But she sat down on Steven's lap, and he didn't move. He smiled at Donna who wished him a good day, and who then moved to say 'hi' to everyone else. So Jackie sat down on his lap, and stayed there, watching her friends being together, sharing laughs and smiles.
When Milo appeared with everyone else behind, she laughed at his face while Vic hugged him and Eric hurried them to sit and listen to him. For Donna's face, she knew what was coming and couldn't wait to see everyone's reaction to the news.
Betsy sat down on Steven's lap, right at her side like if she knew she was there too. For a second she wanted to see that imagine, of Steven sitting with her and a little girl on his lap, laughing at the way no one listened to Eric and Michael fought Mr. Forman to give him back his son.
"Alright, shut it!" Donna said, standing in the middle of the commotion.
Every pair of eyes were on her now, and the attention make her suddenly shy. Her cheeks turned red, and Eric passed an arm around her shoulders; Jackie smiling seeing this and waited. He was laughing, but the clean of his pants and the wide of his shoulders remained Jackie that he had grown up. That they had grown up. And they were going to be parents now.
"Well, turns out…" he started, his laugh interrupting his words. Eric was nervous as hell. "Uhm…"
"Just say it, Forman." Steven said, his false annoyance only made everyone smile and some of them laugh.
"Ammm…" Donna looked at Eric and he looked back, shrugging before laughing again.
"Oh, please, you two didn't got married while we were here. Right?" Mrs. Forman asked holding her bag with her food.
All of them where holding one, except Steven who had given his to Vic. Bob had explained he, Michael and Mr. Forman got Milo to let them pay for theirs, Mrs. Forman's, Betsy's, Brooke's, Fez's and Steven's.
He only paid for Eric's, Donna's, Morgan's and Noah's, when they appeared. But they forgot to mention Vic and June, and before he could go out again and buy two more, Donna had made them all sat and listen to her and Eric.
"No!" Eric answered quickly. "No, no, no. None of that! Better!"
"Better?" Mrs. Forman frowned.
"Oh, no…" Steven murmured, but when Jackie looked at his face, he was grinning.
So she stood as the pair in the middle looked at each other again and sighed with a smile, Steven had started to stand too.
"What could be better than…? OH!" Mrs. Forman started to move her hands, jumping to Donna while standing. "You—you are…!"
"I'm pregnant!", "Donna is pregnant!" they said at the same time.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" Mrs. Forman hugged Donna and Jackie started to laugh while everyone else seemed to still be in shock. It wasn't until Steven's 'you little shit!' hug to Eric and then Donna, that the rest of the room realized the news and surprised expressions filled the place.
She stood behind, clapping and jumping happy at her body's side. The cold from minutes ago was still there, but the warm of this room was winning over it somehow. Jackie saw everyone congratulate her friends, people touching Donna's still flat stomach, even Milo and her friends seemed excited for the news.
Back in august, the couple had gone to New York for Milo's birthday and met her new friends. Odd enough, Eric already knew Morgan, since he met her fiancé during his trip to Africa. Noah was a nature photographer, and had the opportunity to form a friendship with Eric years before Jackie even gave it a thought to live in New York.
Now, they all laughed together.
Michael had hugged Eric's neck from behind, almost sending him to the ground if it wasn't for Steven holding him with an arm around his shoulders, Fez to his other side. Like if time hasn't happened and they had just saw each other again at school after a long weekend.
Donna was looking at her body, and Jackie followed her as she walked to sit down where Vic was before.
"Well, where did this come from?" she took the Betsy's grasshopper from her bed and examine it. "Whoever you are, Jackie would love you!"
"That's Mr. Green's brother!" Betsy said suddenly, climbing into the bed to talk to Donna.
Jackie blinked a couple of times, did her goddaughter have two of the same doll?
"Brother, uh? You brought it for Jackie?"
"Nope!" she answered with a big smile. "God-daddy did!" she said, Jackie had probably the same surprised expression Donna did in that moment.
She looked at Steven talking to Eric, Fez and Michael, then back at her friend and goddaughter, Vic and Brooke were walking back at them.
"You want to know a secret, aunt Donna?" she blinked a couple of times, Brooke put a hand on her shoulder but Betsy jumped to the ground and walked to say near Donna's ear: "God-daddy loves god-mommy! Like papa loves mommy!"
"Betsy!" Brooke said, but Donna was smiling and Vic was laughing, sitting on the bed and caressing her leg.
"What? It's true!" she crossed her arms and made a pout.
So. Everyone knew that? Was she the only one who Steven hadn't tell her the news? Jackie sighed and looked at the scene again. The cold was back, something behind her gave but every time she turned around, there was nothing but the wall. White, white wall.
"Oh, my god!" Vic said. "Which one is the broken leg?"
"Don't worry, is the other one." Donna said, Vic sighed and continued caressing her leg. Jackie laughed at that. "I'm glad you guys are here."
"Of course we would be here!" she smiled. "Our friend Alice couldn't make it, she travelled to China for the winter break, and well—she doesn't have much money to come back like this."
"Understandable." Brooke said with a hand on her belly. "Where are you staying?"
Donna was still holding Steven's grasshopper, when Eric called her, she gave it to Betsy and the little girl run to put it back at her side. Jackie looked at it, it wasn't like a cartoon but It wasn't quiet the real animal either. Its big black eyes looked funny, but Steven's voice was everything she could think about while looking at it.
'Grasshopper?' he had called her after he finished the song on the phone, months ago. 'Jackie?'
'I'm here…' was her answer, she had started crying back then and this time, she only swallowed and looked at Steven smiling to his friends. 'Hyde? I'm here.'
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah, yeah, I'm… I just—'
Something at her back again, and the cold. Nothing was there, just white and another memory. Was this everything she was now? Memories? Was she supposed to live only of that?
'I miss you… I miss you so much, Hyde—I really miss you…'
Steven had let her cry on the phone that night, had listened to her crying and said nothing after her little breakdown but the truth. He had only said the truth every time they saw each other after she rejected him, but if they were only little details and warm memories, then what?
'Jackie, it's okay. Calm down, you are not al—'
'You don't miss me?'
'Jackie…'
'Oh. I'm sorry, I—oh my god, Hyde, I'm so sorry. I'm—'
'I do. Jackie, I miss you. Every day.'
It made her happy and some kind of excited that day, it still had that effect today. But right now, she looked at the wall and then at her friends. Her father was locked down, not able to see her; and her mother? In LA, with her new boyfriend, no matter that she may die.
God.
She may die.
Right now, in this second or maybe tomorrow. No one was sure. Her body was able to breath by its own, and she was still trapped here. Harley had woken up, no memories for the little girl but the sensation that something was off, that someone was missing. What about her? What awaited for her?
'Hyde?'
'Yes?'
She walked to him, tugged on the tip of his black blazer and nothing happened. He kept talking animatedly with Eric and Fez, Michael was now with his family, Jess on his arms at least.
'Do you think we will be able to be friends one day? Like, for real friends?'
'I don't think so, Jackie.'
'Why?'
He put a hand on his blazer's pocket and Betsy hugged his leg. When he looked down, the little girl asked exactly what she wanted to know, too: "Do you found god-mommy's ring?"
"Yeah." he answered, the cold was gone and Jackie looked up at him while he carried Betsy with him, taking her away from the others. "Check it out, right where you said it was." he showed her what was on his pocket, the ring shone bright between his fingers and Jackie's heart stopped for a second.
"Can't wait for you to wake up, Bella!" Vic said at her bed, she looked at her, then back at Steven's fingers and—no one was seeing this! Everyone was too distracted to notice Betsy holding the biggest engagement ring Jackie has ever seen. "There's so much to talk and see!" Vic said.
"You believe me, god-daddy?" she gave the ring back and Steven nodded, Betsy smiled at him. "Good! Are we going to help Harley?"
He sighed, nodding. "I did that call, it didn't go so well."
Oh no. Jackie closed her eyes, of course Harley's dad was going to turn out to be some asshole.
"But—" Betsy said.
"It's fine, we'll find another way."
"Really?"
'Because all those things Sara wants… I want them. I want all of it, too. But not with her, and I miss the person I want them with. Every day.'
"Yeah." Steven smiled at her. "There must be something we can do…"
Next Chapter: Milo, Betsy and Hyde walk into Jackie's room… There's a reason for everything, including a heart attack and a gossip in Kitty's kitchen.