28 ~ Dancing Days

You know it's alright, I said it's alright
I guess it's all in my heart
You'll be my only, my one and only
Is that the way it should start?

[Present moment; where we left off in Sunshine Of Your Love]

Hyde looked up at Jackie for the billionth time that day. It was always the same. She was still floating, way out of his reach.

He was sitting off to the side of the cavern with the others. They were talking about what to do once Jackie came down. Hyde probably should have been paying attention and contributing to the conversation, but he couldn't get his mind off Jackie.

Whenever a hint of doubt about Jackie coming back crept inside his brain, he replaced it with thoughts of Jackie's strength. She was one of the most amazing and impressive people he knew. She would make it out. He had faith in that.

In the next second, something inside of Hyde shifted. His gaze shot to Jackie. The glow surrounding her brightened ten fold, nearly blinding him. When the glow subsided, she began to fall very slowly, more like floating to the ground.

He bolted over to the flat rock beneath her. She was coming back. She was finally coming back. The others turned to watch, abandoning their conversation. Once she was close enough, he gently guided her to the ground. The second her feet hit the rocks, she sank to her knees.

Hyde knelt with her and cupped the sides of her face. Her eyes were closed, but he could feel her breathing. "Jackie! Jackie, can you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered open. "Steven? Steven, oh my God, you're here! You're really here, right?"

"I'm really here," Hyde said, grinning with relief.

Tears filled her eyes. Hyde would be lying if he said his eyes were dry. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her to his body, hugging her tightly. He never wanted to let go of her. It felt so fucking good to be able to hold her again, to feel her solid form beneath his arms.

She hugged him back, wrapping her arms around him tightly. A disbelieving laugh escaped him. He was so happy to have her with him again. She just squeezed him tighter and buried her face in his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while, kneeling on the rocky cavern floor and hugging each other like the world would end if they separated.

"I missed you so much," Jackie said into his shoulder.

"I missed you too," Hyde said.

Jackie pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. She balled the material of his shirt in her hands.

In less than a second, there was no space between their bodies and they were kissing for what felt like the first time in years. Hyde focused on the soft push and pull of her lips, the feel of her tongue and hands. He had missed this so much. He had missed her so much.

When they eventually parted, they rested their foreheads against each other.

"Jackie, I love you."

"I love you too, Steven."

He kissed her again and cupped the sides of her face, running his thumbs over her wet cheeks. Kissing her felt right. And it felt so real, unlike it had the past few months. They'd fallen apart, and now they were fully pieced together again.

"Is everyone else here?" Jackie asked.

"Over there," Hyde said, nodding his head to the side of the cavern.

Jackie looked over and grinned at their friends. Then she gasped. "Wait. You just said you loved me in front of our friends!"

"He sure did!" Donna said as she ran over. She hugged Jackie, practically tackling her. Hyde had to let go of her so he didn't get tackled too. Jackie laughed and hugged Donna back. They sat up and smiled at each other. "I missed you, Jackie."

"I missed you too, Donna."

Forman and Fez helped Kelso walk over to the three of them, then they gently laid him down near Jackie. Kelso wrapped his arms around her and leaned into her. She just hugged him back wordlessly.

Fez piled onto the hug, followed by Forman and Donna. Forman looked over at Hyde. "Come on, you're part of this group hug."

Hyde rolled his eyes, but joined in. He didn't even mind the group hug. The group finally felt complete, and it was nice to be so close to them all.

Eventually, everyone moved away. Hyde stayed close, keeping an arm around Jackie. Jackie wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. She looked around the cavern. "This is where I was for… How long was it? There was no night or day."

"It's been nearly two weeks. Sixteen days since Chicago, twelve since we started looking for you," Hyde said.

"Oh my God. You guys have to tell me everything that happened!" Jackie exclaimed.

"We will. But we should get out of this cavern. Your kidnapper could return at any moment. We don't want to put you in any more danger," Fez said. "Kelso, do you think you could walk with our help?"

"Yeah. Probably just out of the mountains, though," Kelso said.

"Good. We should get going. We can catch each other up on the way," Fez said. He stood and began packing everything up. Donna followed. Forman turned to Kelso and started getting him ready to walk.

Hyde laced his fingers between Jackie's. "I'm really glad you're back."

"Me too," she said. She kissed him softly and quickly.

He smiled at her, that special smile he only showed her. She beamed back at him.

Jackie walked hand in hand with Steven. They were leaving the mountains, finally. Donna was only a few steps ahead of her and Steven, guiding them with the map. Fez and Eric were helping Michael walk.

They'd caught each other up on what had happened between Chicago and the present moment. Donna had shown her the new ring. Steven had promised to tell her about the time she visited him in the forest. She and Michael had told everyone about their time in her mind together.

Jackie didn't really have any more questions. Except for one.

"So, did you ever figure out who kidnapped me?" Jackie asked.

"Not exactly," Steven said. "I have a few theories, though."

"Who?" Jackie asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's a woman, because my prophecy said it would be and other parts of the prophecy were right. If it is a woman, I think it could be Laurie, or Forman's Grandma Bea."

"Grandma Bea has arthritis. She wouldn't be climbing in these mountains," Eric said. "As for Laurie… I don't think she's that evil."

"Then I have no idea," Steven said. "There are a lot of options 'cause Fez told a bunch of people about his homeland."

Jackie nodded. They would have to do some investigation.

The mountain path ended, giving way to a flat expanse of grass. Way off to the side, Jackie saw that it dropped off. It must have been a very large hill. Trees lined the other side, creating a border to the forest.

"Your homeland is pretty beautiful, Fez," Jackie said.

"Yes. I have not seen this side of the island much. I grew up on the other side, down the river. Of course, we cannot go on the river because it is controlled by the Dream Wizards, but hypothetically you could follow it to my town." Fez looked around. "This seems like a good place to stop. Kelso needs to rest."

Michael nodded. They walked closer to the edge of the trees and set down their bags. Eric and Fez helped Michael lay down in the grass, where he quickly closed his eyes.

"How about some food?" Donna suggested. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm really hungry."

"Yeah, same," Jackie said. "What do you have for food?"

Steven looked through their bags. "Not a lot."

Fez grabbed his bag. "I'll go find something. My father taught me to hunt when I was young. This forest does not seem too different from the one he taught me in."

"Thanks, man," Eric said.

"No problem." Fez shouldered his bag and set off into the forest.

Jackie sat on the grass next to Steven. He put an arm around her and she draped one of her legs over both of his. She smiled, basking in the feeling of being close to him again. Since the cavern, some part of them had always been touching. They couldn't seem to separate themselves.

Donna turned to Eric. "Why don't we get some wood from the forest and build a fire?"

"And you'll protect me from, like, wild tigers and stuff?" Eric asked.

Donna smiled. "Of course."

"Sounds good to me, then!" Eric took Donna's hand and they set off into the forest, in a different direction than Fez.

Once they were out of sight, Steven laid down on his back. Jackie laid down with him, cuddling into his side. She looked over at Michael to find him asleep. Meaning she and Steven could talk quietly without being interrupted for a little while.

"So… Can you tell me about what happened in the forest when I visited you?" Jackie asked quietly.

"I was sitting in the forest alone, then you appeared out of thin air. You were glowing this bright, white light. You said you had to come see me because you'd heard the things I'd said."

"I remember that. Wishing you'd never fallen in love with me." Jackie frowned at him.

"I told you that I didn't mean anything I said because it was the magic forest controlling me. And I don't wish that I'd never fallen in love with you. In fact, I'm really freaking glad I fell in love with you. 'Cause it's one of the best feelings in the world."

"Oh my God, Steven…" Jackie sat up a little so she could kiss him properly. He threaded his hands through her hair and deepened the kiss. God, she had missed him so badly.

She straddled his waist so that she was no longer twisted to kiss him. She parted the kiss eventually, but stayed on top of him. "What happened after that?"

"You said you missed me so fucking much," Steven said with a small smile. "You said you wouldn't remember it. I promised to tell you about it. Then you asked what would happen when I found you. And then…"

"And then?"

"I told you I love you. You kissed me and we… exchanged pieces of our hearts."

"Ohhh. For some reason I didn't even question why I had a piece of your heart. It just felt…"

"Right," Steven finished her sentence.

"Exactly." She pressed her hand on his chest, over his heart. She could feel it beating beneath her palm. She liked knowing that her heart was beating with his.

One of Steven's hands cupped the side of her face, making her look at him. His sunglasses were nowhere to be seen, giving her access to his whole face. His thumb traced over her lips, but he made no move to kiss her.

"What?" she whispered.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

She smiled at him softly. He smiled back at her.

She hadn't seen him in a while either. In memories, sure, but not in person. His beard had grown back, slightly thicker than the last time. She scratched it lightly with her fingers.

"How long has it been since you shaved?" she asked.

Steven squinted slightly as he thought. "A week? I brought my razor. Haven't had many chances to use it."

"I kinda like it," Jackie said. Her fingers trailed down his neck to his necklace. "I really like your necklace."

"Donna said you would. She told me you thought my necklaces were foxy." Steven had a teasing smile on his face that made Jackie's heart flutter.

"They are," Jackie said. She kissed him, not hesitating to deepen the kiss. She got lost in the sensation of his fingers in her hair and his rough beard on her soft skin. She never wanted to go without his touch for so long again.

"All right, lovebirds, break it up." Eric's voice brought Jackie back to reality. She rolled off of Steven and sat up. "Walking in on you guys once was enough."

"It's a little late for that, isn't it? You already caught us," Steven said.

Eric waved his hand, as if clearing the thought away. "Eh, technicalities."

Donna shook her head and set down the firewood she'd gathered. "Does it matter? There's Fez. Let's get started on some food."

Fez walked out of the forest with several birds that Jackie couldn't identify. Random forest birds were definitely not her first choice of meal right now, but she knew that was as good as it was going to get.

Hyde looked around the little camp they'd made for themselves. Everyone else had fallen asleep shortly after nightfall. Only he and Jackie remained awake.

"You wanna take a walk?" he asked quietly.

Jackie nodded enthusiastically. They stood up and started towards the forest. Hyde slipped his hand into Jackie's as they walked.

They walked through the trees in silence until they found a small clearing. The grass was thick and soft, like it had been at the grotto where Kelso came back to life. They both stopped in the center of the clearing.

"You up for a little stargazing?" he asked. Jackie smiled and nodded. Hyde laid down in the grass and gestured to his side. "Come here."

Jackie cuddled against him, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. They looked up at the stars through the gap in the trees.

"I can't find any northern constellations… Must be the southern hemisphere," Jackie said. "I haven't been to the southern hemisphere before, but I've read about the constellations. I don't know if I'll be able to find them."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Hyde said.

"No, wait…" Jackie pointed to a cluster of stars off to the side of their view. "That's Centaurus."

"Even in the southern hemisphere she can find the constellations. That's gotta be a special talent."

"Or you're just bad at it," Jackie teased.

Hyde chuckled. "Yeah, probably."

They fell into silence for a little bit. Then Jackie sat up and looked down at him. "When did you guys realize I was missing?"

Hyde sat up and scratched the back of his neck. They hadn't talked about that while they were catching each other up. "Well, uh… They didn't tell me until four days after Chicago. They started to realize a day or so after I left you… Kelso tried to visit you again and you weren't there."

"Why didn't they tell you until four days later?"

Hyde shrugged. "I don't know for sure. They probably didn't want me to freak out. Once they did tell me, we went looking for you at your house. It was… It was really scary when you weren't there."

Jackie took one of his hands in hers. He decided to lighten the mood a little.

"While we were there, I stole something from you." He took the picture out of his pocket. "I didn't know you'd framed it."

Jackie smiled and took the picture from him. "I framed it after I found out Michael was cheating with Laurie. Y'know, when I…"

"Started stalking me?"

Jackie gave him a look. "I guess. I didn't have any pictures of just the two of us except this one, so… I didn't take it out of the frame when I got back together with Michael. I just put it in my closet. I put it back out when our fling started." She handed him the picture back. "I want you to keep that."

"Why?"

"It's your memory now." Hyde didn't fully understand that, but he put the picture back in his pocket anyway.

"So, uh… are we counting the past three weeks as a breakup?" he asked.

"Oh, we were definitely broken up the second I gave you the ultimatum," Jackie said. "So, yeah, this counts as a breakup. And I'm ready for it to end."

"Me too." Hyde cupped the side of her face and kissed her. She laid back in the grass, pulling him down on top of her.

He trailed one of his hands under her shirt, over her warm skin. As he crept closer to her bra, he stopped. "Is this okay?"

"Yes. Steven, I wanna be with you again. Fully," Jackie said. "But, um… do you have…?"

Hyde pulled a condom out of his pocket. "Forman had some in his bag. I stole one when I grabbed something to eat yesterday."

"Why did he… No, nevermind. I don't wanna think about Eric right now." Jackie shook her head, clearing the thought away. "All right, I'm ready now."

Hyde laughed a little. Then he leaned in and met Jackie for a heated kiss. His hand continued up her shirt as her hands crept under his. Soon, their clothes were gone, strewn to the side.

Hyde kissed down her neck, over her shoulders, down each arm to each of her knuckles and back up to her chest. He placed kisses over her heart, feeling it beat beneath his lips. He kissed down her stomach to her legs. She squirmed a little when he kissed her thighs.

He kissed every inch of her body, glad that he was able to kiss it. They had been separated for far too long. Not just the past few weeks, but before then. Their relationship hadn't felt right in the months leading up to the ultimatum. But now, in this unfamiliar forest beneath the stars, it felt right.

He kissed back up to her mouth, kissing her softly. "Ready?"

"Yes."

Hyde entered her smoothly, holding her hand as he did so. It felt different, in a good way. It felt… complete. Maybe it was the piece of her heart in his, maybe it was the way they were coming back together after weeks of separation. Whatever it was, it felt like it should have always been this way.

They moved together, the stars shining above them. They came seconds apart from each other. Hyde kissed Jackie softly afterwards.

He gazed down at her when they parted. She smiled at him softly, eyes shining in the night. She looked so beautiful. An idea struck him.

"Jackie, I know I said I was gonna wait until we got back to Wisconsin-"

"Wait for what?"

Hyde paused. "Do you not remember what I said?"

"I only remember pieces."

Hyde smiled. That would make this better. He slipped his eyeball ring off his pinky. "Jackie, will you marry me?" He offered the ring to her. "I'll get you something better in Wisconsin."

"What- Are you serious?" she asked, sitting up.

He smiled at her. "Completely serious. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me. I love you, Jackie."

"That's the third time you've said that to me today. You only said it five times in two years, why are you saying it so often now?"

"You went missing. I realized I should tell you while you're around." Hyde nodded to the ring. "So? Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Of course I'll marry you!"

He grinned and slid the ring onto her ring finger. It was way too loose, so Jackie moved it to her thumb. "I'll get you an actual ring when we get out of here."

Jackie nodded. "Still, this might be the best night of my life."

Hyde chuckled. She leaned in and kissed him passionately. "I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too, Starlight."

The next morning, Hyde sat close to Jackie on the ground. They had returned to the others a little while after his proposal and fallen asleep together. Now, they were finishing up breakfast, the fire still burning slowly.

"So, Jackie, I noticed you have Hyde's ring. What's up with that?" Forman asked.

Jackie grinned. "Steven proposed. This is a placeholder."

"Awwww!" Forman, Donna, Fez and Kelso all crooned.

"You can all get bent," Hyde said, glaring at them all.

Kelso exchanged a look with Fez. Then they started singing, "Hyde and Jackie, sitting in a tree! They're in love like two monkeys!"

"That's not even how the song goes," Hyde said.

"We know," Kelso said. "It's fun to annoy you."

Hyde rolled his eyes. Jackie giggled and laced her fingers between his. The band of the eyeball ring was cold against his hand when her thumb ran over his own. He smiled softly, just happy to be with her like this.

His smile quickly disappeared as a voice spoke from somewhere behind him.

"There you are, you little shits. Thought you could get away from me, huh?"

Cold dread dripped down his spine. He thought he would never hear that voice again. That voice that had tortured him for so many years. Jackie seemed to recognize it too, judging by the way she was squeezing his hand so hard.

"Look at me, Steven. You can't hide from me anymore," the voice said.

Hyde turned around, even though everything in his body was telling him not to. Years of repressed emotions rose to the surface when he laid eyes on her, the woman he'd hoped he would never see again.

Edna.