Part 10 by Bunny

Well, it was one of those great stories, that you can't put down at night.
The hero knew what he had to do, and he wasn't afraid to fight. The villian
goes to jail, and the hero goes free. I wish it were that simple for me.~

"Bedtime, Dewey." he said gruffly.

"But---"

"GO."

And, Dewey raced out of the room, as Hyde's tone left no room for argument.

"He brought it here to me... I... Steven---"

Hyde silenced her with a quirk of his brow.

"Let's not go into it; no point." he said abrubtly.

"Oh, no! You are NOT pulling this crap again, Steven Hyde!" she hollered.

~And, the reason that she loved him, was the reason I loved him too. And, he
never wondered what was right or wrong, he just knew--- he just knew.~

"Hmmm... Hope Dewey was able to carry out his part of the plan..." Francis
mused from the basement couch.

"Tscha; just get the two of them talking and arguing... they'll be fine..."

"Get WHO arguing?" Kitty asked, walking down with the laundry.

"Uh, Jackie and Hyde, Mom."

"Ohhh... yeah, they're so adorable together... They're just so darned
stubborn." she laughed.

Francis nodded, thinking of exactly WHERE that stubbornness stemmed from...

~Shadows and shapes mixed together at dawn, but, by the time you catch them
the simplicity's gone. And, so we sort through the pieces, my friends and I.
Searching through the pieces to find the breaks in the sky.~

"Dew, what's goin' on?" Malcolm asked curiously.

"Jackie and Steven... Francis called, and said we were gonna help 'em get
together..."

"From in here?" Reece asked, confused.

Dewey shook his head.

"I did my part... Now we hafta wait..."

"They're yelling, Dewey; they don't sound like Mr. and Miss happy couple to
ME..."

~And, the reason that she loved him, was the reason I loved him too. He
never wondered what was right or wrong he just knew--- he just knew.~

"Shhhh..." Reece said as the phone rang and he went to answer it.

Dewey told Malcolm what Francis had told him to do.

"Yeah, that actually sounds pretty good... they'd make a good couple; I like
Jackie..." he nodded.

Dewey nodded.

"Yeah, she's pretty, and she tells good bedtime stories..."

Malcolm smiled a bit.

"An', I think Steven REALLY likes her... you can tell... he looks at her like
Daddy looks at Mommy sometimes..."

Malcolm quirked a brow at his little brother's surprising observation skills,
and was about to comment when Reece came back and started throwing on clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"Shhh! I'm meeting Caroline..."

"NOW?" Malcolm squeaked.

"Shhh!" Reece admonished. "She said it was important... somethin's goin'
on..."

"Reece, you can't just---"

"I'm going, and if you two tell on me, I'll tell Mom that those magazines she
found of Francis' were YOURS..."

"She won't buy that; Dewey's only SEVEN..."

"OK, I'll pound you?"

"Right, Reece, not gonna work..."

"Fine..." he sighed. "Ten bucks?"

"Each." Dewey said.

Malcolm grinned at his baby brother; he was learning...

~And, we wonder, yes we wonder, how do you make sense of this? When the hero
kills the madien with his kiss--- with his kiss.~

"What the hell are you TALKING about, Jackie?"

"You know what I mean..." she huffed. "You... you... One minute, you're
helping me or protecting me, and the next you're denying you feel ANYTHING
for me... You can't keep yanking me around this way." she said with firm
finality.

"How do you feel about me? You tell me, and you tell me the TRUTH."

"T-truth?" he stammered.

"YES." she stated, coming to him closer. "I. Want. The. TRUTH." she said,
taking off his glasses to look him in the eyes.

"Truth..." he murmured, coming forward and closing the distance between them.

He leant down and captured her mouth passionately...

~Well, it was one of those great stories, that you can't put down at night.
The hero knew what he had to do, and he wasn't afraid to fight. The villian
goes to jail, and the hero goes free. I wish it were that simple for me--- if
it were that simple for me...~