November 26th, 1981

11:39 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

Considering that Steven still had to go back to Point Place at least one or two days a week, and that they visited the Foreman's and Kelso's as much as possible, they'd decided to keep the apartment just as it was. Upon entering, Jackie took her shoes off and walked tiredly to the kitchen. Steven left his wallet, keys and shades in the table by the door, and took off his shoes and jacket. Following Jackie to the kitchen he asked: "Are you alright, doll?"

She took a can of soda from the fridge and turned back to him. She looked a bit tired and traces of the annoyance from before still lingered in her eyes, but after a second it melted away and a resigned smile and sigh followed. "It's just hard for them to understand" she shrugged

"They don't know the Jackie I know" he said simply. She left the can on the counter and walked towards him.

"And who might that be?" asked her sliding her hands under his sweater, slowly, tantalizingly. Steven leaned down and kissed her softly.

"A strong… independent… witty… smart… beautiful woman" he replied, kissing her lightly between each word.

"You forgot bitchy" she said, her breath quivering slightly.

He laughed merrily and kissed her again, this time hot and deep. She pulled herself closer to his body, making him stumble backwards until his back hit the counter. There he turned them around and lifted her on top of it. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, and deepened the kiss.

Something between a moan and a grunt escaped his lips as her hands slid under his sweater again, this time pulling the garment up. His hands left her hips to pull her jacket out of her arms. As soon as his sweater and her jacket were on the ground, he lifted her again and tumbled out of the kitchen, through the living room and into the bedroom, without breaking the kiss.

/-/-/-/

November 27th, 1981

2:25 am

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

Jackie slept peacefully next to him. Her hair was fanned on the pillow under her head. He was laying on his back, facing the ceiling but looking at her face every few minutes. She was laying on her side, one leg popped on top his hip, her arm draped over his chest.

He always woke up a little while after they made love. It was a quiet and comfortable moment and he especially enjoyed the feeling of her naked body next to his, her face peaceful and happy. He usually used these times to think and analyze things. Making love with her always left him with a calm and clear mind.

He was glad that Jackie had let go of the topic. He still flinched at the memory of their last talk about marriage and weddings before Chicago and Las Vegas. It had been an awful conversation and it had led to an even worse situation. After Chicago, in the months they had been apart, something had changed within Jackie. Though, thinking about it, he realized that the change had started when she had ventured on her public access show, over two years ago.

A few days after she had broken up with Fez, she had started working in a clothing store in the mall. There she had gone from checking people's items at the dressing rooms to stacking shelves, folding stuff and organizing hangers, all the way up to salesclerk in just a bit over a month.

While working there she had met Charlotte Bell, who only a couple of weeks later became her boss at the station in Kenosha. She had made a great impression in the fascinating woman. After helping her find at least five different outfits Mrs. Bell knew all of Jackie's work-related struggles. She was good at her job in the store, but she loved her job at the station. Mrs. Bell took her under her wing and taught her every secret and behind-the-camera tricks.

While in Kenosha she'd realized that she enjoyed the behind-the-cameras work much more than being in front of them. She had a small weekly section in the show, but after a few weeks the excitement wore off and she realized that the uncomfortable feeling that she had first attributed to excitement would not fade.

Now, working in the station in Madison, she felt happy and accomplished. She was a junior producer, which meant that she was part of the team that decided the show's content. Her job ranged from researching trending topics – which meant that she had to read at least two or three newspapers every day – to engaging public figures for the host to interview. Sometimes she had to go with the crew of cameramen and reporters to various locations and be in charge of running the "out-of-studio" set.

Most of her life, her only goal had been to find a suitable man to marry, run her home with the help of many maids and other staff, raise children and spend all of her husband's money in the mall. Much like her mother had done all her life.

She hadn't really understand what it meant to work when she had worked at the Cheese Palace. Back then it had only been a rebellious lapse born of out stubbornness, in the illusion of her love for Michael. But after her father had gone to jail and her mother had disappeared somewhere in the Caribbean, she had been forced to learn to fend for herself.

She was enjoying her work, seeing how far she'd gone from the Cheese Palace, to sweeping hair in that awful salon, to the store and – finally – to the TV industry. She was excited to see how much farther she would get, as she was making a name for herself.

She and Steven had talked about this that weekend in the woods.

"If we go to Madison" started Jackie after a small silence. Steven looked up at her from his seat near the fireplace. "What about this?" she asked again, pointing at her left hand."Do you want to get married now?" he asked. She was silent for a while, her gaze fixed on the dancing flames. He noticed she was nervous, she was fidgeting. "You don't want to get married?" he asked, uneasy. He didn't know how to feel about her silence and nervousness, and was rather shocked to feel so upset at the idea that she might not want to anymore"I do!" exclaimed Jackie, tearing her gaze from the fire. "I do" she repeated in a softer tone. She held out her hand to him.Steven left the marshmallow he'd been roasting in the tray and moved to sit next to Jackie, pulling her legs on his lap. She placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him softly. It was a long, sweet kiss. She kept her eyes closed and her forehead resting on his for a few moments before pulling away.

"I do want to marry you" she said again "but I don't need to be married to know that this is for real, that you are mine"

"As you are mine" he stated, kissing her softly behind the ear. She shivered slightly at his light touch and sighed.

"As I am yours" she professed.

"So you don't want to marry… yet?" he said after a small silence. She nodded.

"For the first time" she explained "the name Burkhart doesn't go along with 'in prison for embezzlement' or 'topless on a beach in Mexico'" she smiled, finally putting into words what she had been musing about for many weeks. "Before you, nobody expected me to be anything other than Jack and Pamela Burkhart's daughter and then someone's wife. Not even Donna saw beyond that. You are the only one that never saw me under the shade of my parents. But now everybody else is starting to see me for who I am. I am not someone's daughter, I'm not someone's wife. I am my own person and it feels so damn right!"

They remained silent for a long while. Outside of the cabin the rain had turned into a storm. They could hear the thunder up in the mountain and the wind hauling through the trees. He put more wood in the hearth and returned to sit in the same position as before. He looked at her straight in the eyes, serious and intense. Jackie became nervous again and after a few seconds he couldn't contain a wide grin from spreading through his face

"The world must have turned upside-down" he said, jesting. "I never thought there would come the day you'd be thinking about work and not be blabbing like crazy about becoming 'Mrs. Hyde' and planning our wedding and honeymoon"

She smacked him lightly in the shoulder, laughing.

"So let's just go one step at a time" he said, moving back to the front of the fireplace and stabbing a new marshmallow. "There's a lot to plan if we're moving to…" he stopped in mid-sentence and looked back at her. "Are we moving to Madison, Miss Burkhart?"

Laughing again she nodded, immensely happy and grateful to have him by her side after all they'd gone through.

"Go back to sleep" said a drowsy voice in his ear.

Steven turned to face her. He'd been so focused staring at the ceiling that he hadn't noticed that she'd awoken. He turned to his side and held her closer, inhaling her intoxicating scent. He kissed her lightly in the temple.

"What were you thinking?" she asked softly.

"That weekend in the woods… and tonight" he said.

"Do you think we should set a date?" she asked after a couple of silent minutes.

"Not really" replied Steven, knowing what had prompted the question. "Do you?" asked he in return.

"Only if it means they won't bother us anymore"

"Have you met them?" asked him, merrily "They won't leave us alone with all the planning"

She laughed. "Yeah, you're right"