Disclaimer: That '70s Show copyright The Carsey-Werner Company, LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. The 10th Kingdom copyright Babelsberg International Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. Beitriebs KG and Hallmark Entertainment Distribution, LLC.

Author's Note: Just a reminder that I've made art for each chapter. Link can be found on my profile. :D

CHAPTER 45
HESITATION

Fez received a hero's welcome when they arrived at Gretel's castle. The royal-blue carpet was rolled out for him. Royal trumpeters played him into the great hall, which was carved from crystal sugar, and the Lord Chancellor greeted him with a low bow. Fez had known this woman since he was a child. She was over a hundred-years-old but not frail by any means. Her cheeks were plump and rosy, and her dark gray hair was braided and clasped tightly at the nape of her neck.

"Oh, Miss Muffet," Fez took her hand and kissed the back of it, "it has been too long."

"My, yes. Hasn't it?" She smiled at him, still a beautiful smile, and her thick hands rubbed the material of his shirt collar. "This will never do." She snapped her fingers at three attendants. "Bring proper attire to all rooms in the royal wing—immediately."

"My friends," Fez said, "this is Miss Muffet, Lord Chancellor of Gretel's kingdom." Then he presented his friends with a flourish, "Miss Muffet, these are my friends," and beckoned Kelso to step forward. "Sir Kelso the Valiant, my best friend and Captain of the Guard."

Miss Muffet bowed to him. "You matter quite a lot to people, Sir Kelso," she said. "Some of whom might surprise you."

"Cool. I like surprises," Kelso said, "unless they're painful. Then they suck... unless they're painful to other people. Then they're cool again. Great name, by the way."

"Thank you, and if you call me 'Miss Muff,' there will be consequences."

"Man, you know that word here, too?" Kelso crossed his arms and pouted. "I hate lost burn opportunities."

Fez introduced Jackie and Hyde next, and Miss Muffet frowned. "You poor children. To be afflicted with such a burden... Whoever cursed you has paid a dear price to do so."

Hyde glanced sideways at Fez. "How'd she know all that?"

"The Lord Chancellor has always been insightful," Fez said.

Miss Muffet looked Hyde over. "My boy, with wounds like that, you shouldn't be standing." She clapped her hands once, and the sound reverberated in the great hall. "A soft chair! Now."

Two attendants carried a thick-cushioned chair and placed it behind Hyde. He sat down and pulled Jackie onto his lap.

"My good friends Eric Forman and Donna," Fez said.

"Eric Forman? My goodness!" Miss Muffet took Eric's hand. "What you did for the Nine Kingdoms... well, it's beyond words."

Eric looked down at the flagstone floor, which was made from peanut brittle. He seemed embarrassed by the praise.

"Being courageous doesn't mean being invulnerable," Miss Muffet said. She could likely read the cause of Eric's discomfort; Fez wouldn't have put it past her. "I have debated with the best minds across the Kingdoms," she continued, "fought off Ogres, and swum across the Lake of Ice, but spiders still do me in."

Eric's head perked up. "Really?"

"Oh, yes. My beloved, Blue, used to take care of them for me, and I always made sure he got a restful night's sleep. He suffered horrible insomnia before he met me." She was still holding Eric's hand and clasped Donna's as well. "Our strengths balanced out each other's weaknesses."

"What do you do about spiders now?" Eric said.

Miss Muffet pulled a gleaming, silver whip from the folds of her dress. "My attercop scourge keeps them at bay."

"Donna," Eric grasped Donna's shoulders, "Donna, I have to get one of those."

"And this," Fez was standing on his tiptoes, and he kissed Rhonda's forehead, "is my Mashed Potato. My Rhonda."

"My darling girl!" Miss Muffet cupped Rhonda's face gently. "You are the one, aren't you? You are Fez's beloved!"

"Gosh, I sure hope so!" Rhonda said, and glanced back at Donna. Donna nodded at her.

Miss Muffet clapped her hands together again. "Now that we've all been properly introduced, I believe a good meal is in order. It's almost noon. Why don't you take a short rest, and I'll have the attendants call you for lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," Eric said.

"Cornelia, Heddy, show His Majesty's friends to their rooms."

A pair of women, one young with red hair and one much older, led everyone toward the grand staircase. Kelso stayed close behind Hyde and Jackie, maybe too close, because Hyde turned around and shoved him an arm's-length away.

Fez, though, remained behind with Miss Muffet as his friends climbed the sugar stairs. He waited until they—and Eric,he hoped—were out of earshot and spoke in a low whisper: "How much do you trust the staff of this castle?"

"Implicitly," Miss Muffet said. "Why?"

"We were attacked by wolves in the Fifth Kingdom."

Her eyes widened. "My sweet Gretel's murder has consequences that stretch far beyond us. We must learn who killed her."

"Yes. And not only for the people of the Nine Kingdoms..." He gazed up the staircase, at the shrinking backs of his friends. "I have been so irresponsible, Miss Muffet. A bad king, a bad friend. I do not deserve my crown—or to eat candy ever again."

"Now you listen to me," she said, and her face grew stern, "the Kingdoms don't need your guilt. Neither do your friends. What they need is your wisdom. Yes, you have keen insight, too—don't try to deny it." She rubbed his arm tenderly, but her voice retained its urgency. "But you've always been one to get distracted, to need immediate gratification—instead of valuing things earned through hard work, patience, and faith. That is how you lost Rhonda originally, isn't it?"

Fez's heart fluttered. Damn this woman. "But how will I know I can be a good king and still be..." his throat went dry, and his voice hitched, "still be happy?"

She laughed, and it softened her voice. "You won't know until you get there, my dear boy. None of us can know what our destinies hold. We can only act. Did your grandfather know he would find Snow White in that glass coffin?"

"No," Fez said.

"Did he know she would wake if he kissed her?"

"No."

"Did he kiss her anyway?"

"Yes, damn it! Ai..." Fez ran a hand over his mouth. "Miss Muffet, having faith does not come easily to me."

Miss Muffet said nothing, but she smiled kindly and opened her arms. He embraced her, as he used to when he was a young child. Her body was warm and smelled like fresh bread. And she was the only woman he could hug without getting needs.

"You have important choices to make tomorrow," she said.

"Yes." He parted from her and brushed a hand through his hair. "I also have suspicions about Gretel's murderer, but they will not be kind to Eric. He has already suffered so much because of me."

"Sadly, true friendship can lead to sacrifice." Miss Muffet gestured to her attendants. "Tuffets!" Immediately, two overstuffed cushions were placed beneath her and Fez's butts. "This is a delicate time for him. He's growing much—and we're usually at our most vulnerable when growing. But if you show trust in him, perhaps that will help him have trust in himself."

Fez went silent. He did have to show Eric trust, and he knew exactly how to do it. "It's good you've increased security for the Candy and Pie Expo," he said after a moment. "Trolls will be allowed to participate this year, and I want no Troll-on-Elf violence."

"Well," Miss Muffet laughed again, "that would certainly explain the increase of Troll visitors we've been having. I had to pull in soldiers from Moonlight City and Bread Crumb Village... I do not envy you your position as judge. Have you selected the other judges yet?"

"I have some candidates. They have either arrived in Gingerbread Town already or will arrive shortly. I shall present them at the Council of the Nine. We need people with strong stomachs." He grew silent once more. Jackie would not be able to taste soon. And then she would refuse to eat and starve...

"What is it, Your Highness?" Miss Muffet said.

"Oh, Miss Muffet," Fez's voice bubbled into a sob, "my friends will die because of the ring I gave them."

She sighed. "Curses do tend to kill people, but curses can be broken."

"Yes, but I don't know who cursed the ring, how they cursed it, or... why Jackie? Why Hyde? Who would want to destroy them? And why do the wolves want the ring? It is cursed!"

"If I could wear the ring myself," Miss Muffet said, "I could give you some insight."

"That is why it is so complicated. Jackie refuses to take off the ring because the curse's effect will transfer to Hyde." Fez buried his face in his hands. Guilt had hardened over his heart like the candy-coating of an M&M. "They are going to die."

"Perhaps not..." Miss Muffet caressed the back of his hair like she used to do—and just as his mother had done in his youth. "True love never dies."


Kelso followed Hyde and Jackie across the royal wing to their room, but Hyde stopped him at the door.
"Just give me my stuff," Hyde said.

"But I took an oath!" Kelso said.

"Guard the damn door if you want."

Kelso shrugged off Hyde's knapsack. Protecting him and Jackie shouldn't have been this tough. "But what if a wolf climbs up the side of the castle and jum—"

Hyde snatched the knapsack and slammed the door in his face.

"Fine!" Kelso shouted. "But if you and Jackie do it, I'll still be able to hear!"

He leaned back against the wall. The hallway was lit with candles in colorful, dyed-sugar sconces. A thick carpet spun of cotton candy ran beneath his feet. The place reminded him of the circus, which was cool for a little while, but he wouldn't want to live here.

He stuck a hand into his pocket and palmed the pouch of Wolfsbane. Fighting wolves would be so much easier now. Back in Grayhead's house, Hyde had looked like the half-eaten rat Kelso had found once—in the alleyway behind Fatso Burger. He'd never let Hyde get chewed up like that again.

"Wow!" Big Rhonda burst from a room across the hall. "Kelso, did you see the bowls of candy stocked on the shelves?"

"No, I haven't been in my room yet," Kelso said. Eric and Donna had disappeared into their room minutes ago, but Kelso had his duty, which used to be guarding Fez.

"Hey, don't get snippy at me, cupcake." Rhonda popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth. "Fez knows what he's doing. If he wants you to guard Hyde and Burkhart, it's the right choice."

Kelso scowled. He was happy to be assigned the task of protecting Hyde and Jackie, but he didn't like being replaced. The people he cared about kept doing that to him.

"You better take care of him," he said. "'Cause if anything happens..."

Rhonda pulled her club from her belt and hit her hand with it. "It won't."


"Donna, listen," Eric said, but she pushed him onto the bed. He appreciated the softness of the comforter. The accommodations in Gretel's castle were almost as nice as that of Cinderella's, and he was still tired from the last few traumatic days. He could've easily fallen asleep, but he tried again to start a discussion. "Donna, I really—" She attacked his neck with kisses. "We have to—" She started to unbutton his shirt. "We have to talk, here!" he said and forced himself up.

"Not now." Her hands slid up his thighs and toward the waistband of his pants. "I just want to get that image out of my head."

"What—" he swallowed, "what image?"

"You know... Hyde."

"Oh." He cradled the sides of her face, and his thumbs caressed her cheeks. "Why don't we talk about it instead?"

"You really want to talk?"

His gaze drifted to her shirt, over the outline of her breasts. "Donna, believe me, I'd always rather have sex. But—and I'm speaking from experience—the images come right back. Every time."

Donna stared at him. No, past him, as if she were staring into her own mind. "It was awful, Eric. I watched the wolf carry him in the woods. I thought Hyde was a slaughtered deer or something. And then..." Her face grew flush. "Then I saw Jackie the same way inside my head and—and you." Tears clotted her lashes, and she blinked them away. "It could have been you, Eric."

She was crying now, and Eric pulled her into his arms. "But it wasn't," he said.

"But it could've been. My God, Eric, Hyde was a freakin' corpse on the ground. I thought he was gone."

"Yeah, so did I. But he's not, okay? He's fine."

"He's not fine." She withdrew enough so he could see her face. Her eyes were a watery mess, and he just wanted to make her feel better. "He's in pain," she said, "a lot of it. And Jackie... Why did we ever come here?"

"I'm sorry... Donna, I am so sorry—"

"No, don't apologize anymore, okay?" She gave his back a squeeze. "For anything. Just—just tell me what you wanted to say."

He leaned his head back. The ceiling was as white and fluffy as clouds. Had to be cotton candy up there, like the carpet. He returned his attention to Donna, but she was obscured by his own damn tears.

"When we went back through the mirror," he said, "after the first time—when we returned to Point Place—I didn't really come home. I'm still in that ballroom, huddled over Laurie's body, and I don't... I don't know what to do, Donna. She's never gonna have a chance to—to—" his forehead pressed into Donna's shoulder, "to feel this. To experience what it's like having someone who loves her, really loves her. I took that away."

"She took it away from herself," Donna whispered by his ear. "When are you gonna get that? She made her own choices, Eric. You saved her. She's okay."

"No." His released Donna from his embrace and eased himself off the bed. A long run outside would've done his knotted thoughts some good, but he'd started this conversation. He had to finish it. "If I'd been more of a man, none of this ever would've happened. I could've gotten through to Laurie before she was in that park, before she let herself be pulled into the mirror!"

A vanity made from gingerbread stood beside the bathroom door. It had an oval mirror, and he drew back his arm and smashed his fist into the glass. The mirror splintered but didn't shatter. Shards of glass didn't lodge in his knuckles—because the mirror was made of sugar.

And it was repairing itself. Each fissure smoothed over as if it had never existed... If only his heart could do the same.

"If I'd been more of a man," he said, "Fez's parents would still be alive. We wouldn't have come here for our honeymoon. Hyde and Jackie wouldn't be screwed with that curse—"

"Eric, you can't do this," Donna said, and her arms slipped around him from behind. She hugged herself into his back. "These things did happen. Maybe they were meant to. I mean, we got back together because of it. Hyde and Jackie did, too. Our story's not done yet."

"Then what's the damn subtext?" He turned and looked her in the eyes. "I have to know... I have to know why Laurie wanted me to come here, what all this wolf-stuff means about my family—what it means about me. Donna, I have to see Penny."

"I don't—" Donna's voice was thick with tears, "I don't want to lose you, Eric."

"You've already been losing me..." His hands glided up her back and pulled her into another embrace. "I have to do something to stop it."


Steven guided Jackie to a soft bed. She sat, and the weight of his hand settled on her knee. They had to be in Gretel's kingdom. The place smelled so good, like the best bakeries her father had ever brought her to. Fez had described the kingdom well before she went deaf, and she was relieved to be here. But the nice smells weren't enough to keep her from lying down. She was incredibly bored. Steven hadn't kissed her much since he'd recovered. Was he in that much pain?

She clutched what had to be a pillow, and she bit down on her tongue to ward off tears. Wearing the ring on her finger was supposed to keep Steven from pain. But, of course, he'd found a way to bring it on himself anyway.

No, that wasn't fair. He must have tried to get some answers from the wolves, and what they'd done to him in return made her glad she was blind. Feeling his nearly lifeless body had traumatized her enough.

She reached for his hand. It had moved from her knee to her thigh, and she grasped his fingers, but then he lay against her back and hugged himself to her. His warm breath puffed against her ear. He was saying something, and she desperately wanted to hear it.

"What are you telling me?" she said into the silence. "What?" No answer came, and she pulled the sheets over her mouth and screamed—and kept on screaming until she had nothing left.

Losing her sight had been awful, but going deaf along with it was so much worse. Her world had shrunk even further. The things about herself she considered important—her beauty and fashion sense and being adored by the public—none of it mattered anymore. All she had now was her own body and Steven's, and without him, she was dead.

His hand slipped over her wrist and pulled her off the bed. Time to go somewhere, apparently. What was she going to lose next? Her sense of smell, the ability to taste? After that, all she'd have left was touch. Once that went, she'd be trapped, completely trapped. Just a mind in space with no connection to anything or anyone. She really would go mad...

Hopefully, she'd starve before then.

They walked forward a few steps—then Steven disappeared. His hand was gone; his shoulder didn't warm her arm. No part of him was touching any part of her, and panic rose in her chest.

"Steven?" She groped for him blindly until his fingers closed around her hand. "You asshole!" she shouted. "Don't do that again!" His lips pressed into her cheek. They were moving as if he were speaking. It felt like...

I'm sorry.


The moment after Hyde had shut the door in Kelso's face, he'd brought Jackie to the bed. She curled up on it like a cooked shrimp, and the sight hurt as much the pain scraping his nerves. She wasn't doing well, trapped inside that head of hers. She probably could've used a joint, same as he desperately wanted one, but since that option wasn't available...

He put the knapsack from the butcher on his lap, and he pulled out the pouch of shredded Elf blossom. Rolling it was gonna be impossible with one hand, but taking his hand off Jackie's leg wasn't an option. He could've called Kelso in to do it, but he let the idea go and stuffed the pouch into his pocket. No way of knowing what effect that stuff would have on him, and if the wolves did find them in the castle, a clear head would be an asset. Maybe after some food, he'd go to plan B.

Jackie's fingers found his hand on her leg. Sunlight streamed in through the room's windows, and the blue diamond of her ring glinted at him. Getting engaged, man... another fucking cosmic joke. He stared down at the knife holster around his hips. Plan C.

"Jackie," he said and lay down behind her. His arm slipped around her waist and pulled her close. "If I haven't figured out this shit before you lose... whatever it is you're gonna lose next, I'm cutting your finger off."

Jackie grabbed the sheets as if she'd heard him, sucked in a breath, and let it out like a scream.

I haven't done it yet, he wanted to say, but the door to the room creaked open. Adrenaline rushed into his bloodstream, overriding some of the burning pain. He yanked Jackie off the bed and stood in front of her protectively, but it was only Kelso standing in the doorway.

"Lunch time," Kelso said. "Don't know about you, but I am starving."

"Yeah..." Hyde walked only two steps before his legs gave out. He crashed onto the soft carpet and blacked out for a second.

Kelso rushed to his side and helped him up. "Dude, you gotta get some real food. Cookies and milk are great and all, but you're never gonna feel better without, like, a whole cow or something."

Hyde turned and spotted Jackie fumbling blindly for him. He'd let go of her hand in the fall. He took hold of it again, but her eyes were wide with terror.

"You asshole!" she mouthed. Then she said something he couldn't make out. He'd quit touching her for only a few seconds, but it had freaked the hell out of her.

"Hey," he said into her cheek, "don't worry..."

'Cause he wasn't letting go of her again.


Eric couldn't believe how delicious the food was here, on par with the Peeps' magical fare in Little Lamb Village. The chef had prepared venison with pork fat and bacon, an incredible combination. The rich smell had cut through his rare lack of appetite, and the bread tasted like no bread he'd ever tasted before—a rough-grained and perfumy puff of dough. He used it to sop up the juice from the venison, which made his eyes roll back in his head from delight.

Everyone was seated at a long table in a lavishly decorated dining room. The designer had fashioned chocolate to resemble wood. It paneled the walls in chestnut brown and gave the chairs a rustic knobby appearance. Amazing that none of it ever melted, but magic must have been mixed into the chocolate.

Donna kept a hand on Eric's knee during the meal, as if she were afraid to let him go. His intention to see Penny didn't have a pleasant effect on her. She was picking at her food when she should have been gobbling it up. He understood, though. His cousin was a troublemaker, and Donna trusted her as much as he did—which was not at all. But he had to see her.

But he also didn't want to think about it right now, so he shifted his attention to the rest of the table. Kelso had his dagger sheathed at his side. He was sitting next to Hyde, who'd cut Jackie's meat for her. She ate with a smile on her face, a nice change from the last few days, but Eric wanted to do something to help them.

"Hey, scruffy," Hyde said and chucked a corn kernel at Eric's face, "quit staring."

Eric touched his chin. He hadn't shaved since they left Cinderella's kingdom, and while his beard didn't feel as thick as Fez's looked, it had to be thicker than Hyde's seven-day growth. Huh. Donna was right. Being a wolf had let him sprout a manly amount of facial hair.

"Yup," Kelso scratched his own face, "we could all use a shave."

Hyde pointed at Kelso with his fork. "Man, your beard's as patchy as it was the last time you tried to grow one."

"Yes, that is true," Fez said from the head of the table. Big Rhonda and Miss Muffet were sitting on either side of him. "I dub thee 'Sir Patchy... the Patchy'."

"Hey!" Kelso shouted with a mouth full of food. "I've grown this out a few times, and chicks seem to dig it. Jackie, you thought it was hot, didn't y—" Hyde frogged him, but it was a weak punch. Kelso didn't even yelp. "Right. The whole deaf-thing... This really sucks, you know? I liked the break, but now I miss her bossy voice."

"Yeah..." Hyde ran a finger along the sutures on his jawline, but his face contorted as if it caused him pain. The red thread was supposed to absorb into his skin eventually. "Maybe I'll look like Z.Z. Top by the time we get home."

Keep the conversation light, Eric thought and drank from his glass of apple cider. It was nearly as delicious as that bastard Colin Peep's had been. "I'll shave after lunch."

"Don't," Donna said. "I wanna use it tonight."

Kelso laughed. "Oh, Big D's gonna let Eric touch her big Ds!"

Everybody finished the main course, with attendants refilling glasses and bringing more bread as needed. No one was drinking alcohol, even though wine had been offered. They'd all silently and collectively agreed, it seemed, to keep their minds sharp.

Plates were cleared, and at least a three-dozen different kinds of dessert were brought in—puddings, souffles, fruit sculptures, cakes and pie. Miss Muffet dismissed the attendants, but they seemed confused by the order and didn't leave.

"I will summon you when you are needed again," she said, but the attendants shuffled their feet. She clapped her hands loudly. "I said, 'Dismissed!'" and they scurried from the dining room.

Fez had always said Willy Wonka reminded him of family. Now Eric knew why. Miss Muffet was the original.

"My friends," Fez said, and he dug into a small chocolate cake drizzled with caramel, "now I can tell you why I said, 'Good day,' to the Red Caps. The highest royalty in all the land will arrive here tomorrow for the Council of the Nine. I could not risk the Red Caps seeing them and alerting Queen Riding Hood to their presence."

"Why not?" Donna said. "Penny rules the northern part of the Second Kingdom. Shouldn't she be at the meeting?"

"That requires a complex answer." Fez looked at Eric with sad eyes. "Eric, I would like you to join me tomorrow."

"Me?" Eric hadn't touched any dessert yet, but he grabbed a cream puff and crammed it into his mouth. "Whammee?"

"The content of the meeting will involve your family. It's only right that you be there."

"'Involve' his family?" Hyde said. "How?" His voice had the hint of a threat in it, and though Eric appreciated his protectiveness, he didn't want it.

"Well—" Fez began.

Eric interrupted him. "You mean Penny."

"Yes." Fez passed Kelso a plate full of cookies. "I will also need you there, Sir Patchy."

Kelso's face brightened. "Really?"

"You are my Captain of the Guard."

"But..." rainbow crumbs flew from Kelso's lips, "who'll guard Jackie and Hyde?"

Rhonda waved a pastry in the air. "I'll snap the neck of any wolf who tries to mess with ya, Hyde."

"Thanks, man," Hyde said. He was holding a chocolate-covered strawberry to Jackie's lips, and she took it into her mouth.

"So, Eric... will you join me tomorrow?" Fez said.

Eric slid his fingers over Donna's hand, which hadn't moved from his knee. "Only if Donna can go, too. If it involves my family, it involves her."

Fez nodded, and Donna leaned her head on Eric's shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered.

Eric squeezed her hand. No thanks were necessary.


Everyone filed out of the dining room to the hallway. Miss Muffet offered to give a tour of the castle and its grounds, but Hyde had only one thing he wanted to do.

"Gotta pass," he said. Jackie was hugging his arm to her chest, and the pressure shot throbbing spikes of pain up his neck and into his skull. "Nap-time."

Kelso groaned. "But I wanna see the castle!"

"Go ahead." Hyde was already bringing Jackie toward the grand staircase. He didn't give a crap what anybody else did right now. It was time for plan B.

"No, I'll guard your stupid door," Kelso said and followed him.

It was a good thing, too, because Hyde's legs felt as insubstantial as soggy paper. Halfway up the stairs, he collapsed.

"Whoa—" Kelso caught him before the stairs slammed into Hyde's face. Hyde would've hauled himself up using the bannister, but having Kelso made things a helluva lot easier. "Burn."

"You gonna say that every time you gotta pick me up?" Hyde said.

"Yup."

Kelso supported him as they climbed, and Hyde glanced at Jackie. He thought he'd understood her frustration before at being dependent on him, but now he got it from the inside-out. He understood something else though, too: having people around who gave a shit didn't suck. After everything they'd done to each other through the years, Kelso was still one of his best buds.

They reached the royal wing without another incident, and Hyde and Jackie made it to their room. But before Kelso could barge his way inside, Hyde shoved his pouch of Elf blossom at him. "Papers are inside, man. Roll some up."

Kelso seemed happy at having an assignment. He peeked inside the pouch. "Where are the matches?"

Hyde merely laughed and locked the door on him.

He led Jackie to the bed and grabbed his knapsack off a pillow. He pulled out a lambskin condom, hoping like hell she was up for it. The Red Caps said sex would cut his pain in half, but causing Jackie pain in order to do it wasn't gonna happen.

"Jackie..." He cupped her face between his hands, and she puckered her lips like she knew what he intended. Then her palm found the back of his head and pulled him into a deep kiss. Though his cheeks and lips burned at the contact, the pounding in his skull abated.

He unbuckled the knife holster from his hips, and it dropped to the floor. He moved Jackie onto his lap, and she slid her hands underneath his shirt. Her fingertips brushed lightly over the healing wounds on his chest. Surprisingly, they didn't hurt at her touch, and he intensified the rhythm of his kiss. Only one thing he needed now, and it was her.


Jackie smiled into Steven's fuzzy cheek as he pushed her panties down over her hips. Finally, he was connecting with her the way she needed. His fingers slipped over her wrists and clasped her palms. The stitches sewn into his skin scratched her, but the warmth between their hands made her anticipate him filling her body.

But he didn't do it. The tip of his erection remained on her thigh, unmoving. Up until now, he'd spent half his usual time pressing open-mouthed kisses into her neck, stroking her breasts with gentle fingers, and eliciting happy, unheard cries from her. Considering what had happened to him, she was glad he wanted to be with her at all, but now he was giving her nothing.

"Steven," she said and squeezed his hands. "Why are you hesitating?"

His breath breezed against her face, and the vibration of his voice shuddered from his chest into hers.

"I don't know what you just said," she released his hands and sought the nape of his neck, "and I don't know if you can tell what I'm saying, but..." Her fingers dug into the back of his curls, hoping it would tell him what she wanted, but his stomach contracted sharply, as if he'd gasped in pain. "Oh!" She dropped her arms to the bed. "I'm sorry, baby... I'm sor—."

His lips met her mouth and cut her off. She wrapped her arms around his bare back and swept her palms over his scabbed-up wounds. His skin was hot and already slick with sweat. He was hurting, but she needed to feel him all over her, inside her...

Because it would likely be the last time.


"Not sure I can give you everything you deserve,"Hyde said before they really started, but Jackie's thighs spread to let his hips settle between them. She wanted him—probably as much as he needed her—yet something about this moment frightened him, and it wasn't the pain coursing beneath his skin, and it sure as hell wasn't the idea Kelso was gonna hear them.

It was the possibility, the Goddamned real possibility that this would be their last time.


Steven still hadn't entered her yet, and Jackie didn't know what he was waiting for. The weight of his body felt good on top of her. His elbows were flush against her bare shoulders, and the back of his fingers were caressing her cheeks.

"Steven, please," she said, and as if he'd heard her plea, he pushed himself inside her.

Her body tensed at the initial feeling but soon eased into his movements. He rose and fell away like billowing waves, and she laughed at the comfort that gave her. The rhythm was uniquely Steven. Michael had always been bouncy, like a little kid, but Steven was smooth and powerful like the ocean.

She tightened her grip on his back and clung to him. His heart was beating against her chest, and it made her face flush. Words weren't adequate to describe how he made her feel. "Love" was the best choice she had, but when they were together like this—the press of his forehead on her shoulder, his lips warm on her skin, the way he drew back his hips and thrust into her—she didn't need his words to know his feelings. The proof of them was in everything he did. He'd grown so much, so much... and, maybe, so had she.

She'd been such a fool, always searching for what was missing instead of seeing what was already there. He gave her an incredible amount, and though the curse deprived her of enjoying those things, they were hers. He 'd never given them to anyone else, and he probably never would.

Steven's movements remained steady and sure. He didn't seem to be in pain anymore, and Jackie clung to him as if his body were a life preserver. Ecstatic pressure was building up inside her...

But she couldn't lose herself to it.

His blue eyes always carried such intensity when he made love to her, but only darkness graced her vision now. The sound of his pleasure often turned her on as much as his body—and the way he'd sometimes playfully growl drove her over the edge—but she was deaf to anything his voice could be letting loose. She longed to hear his exasperated sighs when she went on about her hair. And his peaceful breathing when they sat together doing nothing. She ached to see his arms cross when he disagreed with her. And how they went limp when he knew she was right. She missed him, all of him, whether he was grumpy or frisky, cocky or humble...

She missed him.


The agony in Hyde's body had diminished to a dull ache, but an unrelenting pressure replaced it inside his chest. The strain made his throat tighten, and he wanted to climax already by speeding up, but he'd kept his strokes consistent for Jackie's sake. This was the only way they could truly connect now, sex. He once thought that would be enough; it was laughable how wrong he'd been.

She was holding him in a vice grip, and he used all his willpower not to do the same to her. His face buried itself in her hair; he took in her smell, and now he knew what that pressure in his chest was.

He missed her. The feeling rose up and hit him like an aluminum bat, making his eyes shut tightly. Holy fuck, did he miss her.

"I need you," he blurted hoarsely, "every damn piece of you. Your voice, your freakouts, your abrasiveness... I want all of it back. It's mine, and I want it the fuck back."

He fell back into silence. His thrusts had grown stronger without him realizing. He'd started to come.

A groan left him, resembling something like Jackie's name. He straightened his arms and pushed himself up onto his hands. He had to see her, but rivulets of tears were cutting down her face.

She was crying.


Jackie's climax made her feel isolated and far away, as if she were in a dark tunnel that had no end—but she had little time to think about it. Steven pulled out of her and sat her up in his lap. He must have blanketed his legs with the bed's duvet because her butt rested on something soft and fluffy. Her face, though, felt hot and wet. Her breath sped from her lungs erratically. She was crying. Uncontrollably crying.

Steven encircled her with his arms. He rubbed her back gently, and his rough cheek slid against her smooth one. He was trying to comfort her.

"Steven, I want you back," she sobbed. "I want you back!" as if that would change things, as if that would break the curse. She threw her arms around his neck and wept into his heartbeat.


Hyde's eyes were shut as he held onto Jackie's shuddering body. "I'm sorry," he said, and his voice shook with grief. "I can't fix this, doll. I can't fucking fix it..."


Jackie gasped as Steven's body trembled against her. She drew back and touched his face. It was wet. Was he sweating? Her thumb traced his cheek up to the wet rim of his eye. Those were tears, and the feel of them jolted her.

Something had to be very wrong. He never cried, never. She gripped her ring and began to slide it off her finger.