Ok first off I want to thank every single person who has taken the time to read my story and an extra big thank you to those who have actually reviewed. I never even planned on posting any of my stories but you guys are awesome and you make it all worth it :) I also have to say thanks to all the wonderful writers out there who are putting up great stories lately...ya'll put me to shame! And a special hello to everyone on the Forums! You guys rock ;)

Disclaimer - Don't own anything, barely own the lil thoughts in my head.

Takes place after "Do What You Have To Do" and "Breakin' Me"

Contains the song - Somewhere In Between by Lifehouse

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Jackie sighed as she turned over and came face to face with the glaring numbers on her bedside clock. It was 11:11 and she was alone. Bob and Joanne had returned home about an hour ago to find her asleep and Donna, she assumed, was still next door with everyone celebrating. Jackie groaned as she kicked the covers off of her body, she couldn't sleep and she was tired of being kooked up in the house.

She needed air and she needed to think. To think about things other than Steven. She needed to clear her head so she could sleep. With a heavy sigh she pulled herself out of bed and began to stretch her already aching muscles. She was too lazy to change out of her tiny pajamas so she lazily grabbed at one of her furry jackets that she hadn't worn since the fall.

Wrapping her arms around her small frame, she padded down the stairs, careful not to wake Bob or Joanne. Opening the back door, she sighed in relief as the cool air came over her body. Instinctively she shut her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm.

"Where you going?"

Her eyes immediately opened, cursing herself, she was frozen in spot. She had been caught and by the one person she could not handle seeing. What was he doing out here anyways? Didn't he have a party to be at, slutty nurses to see. Why was he sitting out here on the Pinciotti's porch swing, by himself in the middle of the night?

~*-I can't be losing sleep over this no I can't
And now I cannot stop pacing-*~

"I needed air," she mumbled quietly in reply, her back still towards him. "What are you doing here?" she whispered back harshly.

"I don't know," he offered lamely.

Jackie shook her head defensively as she turned towards him, her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to see him, "please Steven. Just don't say anything. Just go back to the Forman's and to your stupid little graduation party with the slutty nurses and leave me out here by myself because I'm fine out here by myself. I want to be by myself, I'm doing fine by myself. I don't need that party and I don't need the basement," she babbled nervously.

Hyde shook his head, Jackie was full of shit and he knew it, "whatever" he mumbled as he pushed his sunglasses further down his nose. Nothing. He still didn't show anything. He really didn't care about her. He grumbled to himself, his arms crossed over his chest as he swung in the porch quietly, staring straight ahead.

~*-Give me a few hours I'll have this all sorted out
If my mind would just stop racing-*~

She didn't want to play games, she had played enough games throughout her relationship with Michael. So she wasn't about to sit here with Steven on the Pinciotti's porch and go back and forth with him. If all he was interested in was playing games than he could play them by himself.

Sighing, she turned away from him and headed towards her empty car in the driveway. She climbed up upon the hood of the car, ignoring the feel of Steven's eyes on her every movement.

"Why?"

It was a question, but it was one word, why what? Damn him, he was trying to rope her into the games and she was falling for it too. "why what?" she asked, aimlessly playing with the fur on her jacket collar.

He stood from the swing and raised an eyebrow at the determined young girl in front of him. He had never seen Jackie like this. He had seen many different faces of Jackie Burkhart but never one that was so determined, so strong, so badass. Damn, he had really rubbed off on her.

She rolled her eyes, "why what Steven?" she asked, louder this time.

Hyde gulped, "why, why did you give me the shirt?" he questioned, hoarsely, not knowing how to get the words out.

Jackie bit her lip, of all the why's she wasn't expecting that one. She looked down at the ground, "its your shirt," she replied nervously.

"I gave it to you for a reason Jackie," he told, taking a step closer to her, positioning himself in front of her.

"I gave you my heart for a reason to Steven but look where that got us," she laughed bitterly as she felt the tears sting her eyes.

She couldn't breathe, she had to escape. She couldn't break down in front of him. She couldn't be that weak lil child. She had to be strong. She grabbed the keys and roughly moved past him, pushing him away from her as she tried desperately to get her keys into the front door lock.

~*-Cause I cannot stand still
I can't be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening-*~

She jumped as she tried key after key but she just couldn't get her hands to stop shaking long enough to get the lock undone. She looked up as he placed his hand over her arm.

"Don't do this Jackie," he said softly.

She could feel her whole body start to tense as she turned to look at him, her walls were coming down. She caved, the tears spilled, slow at first, and then they came in a rush, she was sobbing. She had broken down in front of Steven Hyde. The one person she wanted to prove herself too.

She wanted to be better than this, than this crying girl in front of him. But once they came she couldn't get them to stop. All of the emotions that she had been pushing back for weeks flooded to the surface. Her sobs grew so loud, she could barely register the fact that he had pulled her to him, cradling her body.

"I'm sorry Jackie, dammit, I'm so sorry," he whispered, placing a kiss on her head.

The sobs just continued, she was sobbing, sobbing for him, sobbing for her, sobbing for their love. Hyde rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm the shaking that was overcoming her body. Jackie, realizing her position and his arms around her, violently began to struggle against him, the tears still falling from her eyes.

"Let me go," she pleaded, sobbing, squirming under his hold. "Shh, Jackie calm down," he said, holding her tightly, trying to calm her. She pulled her fists out and banged them against his chest, trying desperately to be released from his arms. "Let me go," she begged again, the tears would not stop falling.

"Why are you fighting Jackie?" Hyde questioned, his hands overtaking her small fists.

"You made me a fighter Steven," she said bitterly, pulling herself away from him. She fell to the ground upon her release, sniffling as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

~*-This is over my head but underneath my feet
Cause by tomorrow morning I'll have this thing beat-*~

Hyde looked down at the girl sniffling and shaking beneath him. She was a mess in a curled up ball of tears. She sat, perched against the car, tears falling from her eyes, hair a mess, barefoot and wearing only her tiny short pajamas and her big furry jacket. But he still loved her, he still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. But he didn't recognize her.

She was a different person, she had changed and he had broken her. She wasn't the Jackie Burkhart he knew, she wasn't even that strong girl she had been less than 10 minutes before. She was weak and scared and tiny and insecure. She was alone, like him. And he still wanted to be with her and protect her. But how can you protect someone from the hurt that you cause?

Hyde wasn't sure and he didn't even know how to begin to fix things. But he knew they weren't getting anywhere here. "Jackie," he started, receiving only a quiet sob in response.

"Look I read your letter and I came over here because I want to talk to you Jackie. Talk to me Jackie. I know I'm an idiot all right and I made the biggest mistake of my life and I'm sorry Jackie. But just talk to me, I don't know if I can make you forgive me but we'll never know if you don't talk to me all right. Just don't run away from me," he said quietly, reaching his hand out towards her.

Jackie sniffled as she looked up at him, his sunglasses were covering his eyes as usual but she could still tell that he was hurting too.

"Dammit Jackie, ya know this is hard for me. Look at me, I'm turning soft and I'm doing it for you."

~*-And everything will be back to the way that it was
I wish it was just that easy-*~

Jackie tried her best to get up as she stood on her shaky feet. She reached up to wipe her falling tears from her face as she took a step towards him. Biting down on her lip nervously, she placed her hand within his own. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to show him that she was okay, that she could take care of herself. But the walls that she had built up were quickly falling around her.

Hyde smiled and with a squeeze of the hand, pulled her to him, hugging her still shaking body tightly towards his own. This time Jackie didn't fight it. She just let her body fall into place with his own as it had so many times before. So the two stayed, standing there in the Pinciotti's driveway, holding on to one another for dear life.

"Jackie are you alright?" Donna's voice interrupted the two as they quickly pulled apart from one another.
Hyde looked towards Jackie who was still crumpled and crying and watched her nod in response to Donna. "Ook then, well I guess I'm gonna go to bed. Night you two," she waved playfully as she headed inside the house. Once again leaving them alone in silence.

"This doesn't change anything you know," Jackie's broken voice whispered.

Hyde nodded, "I know," he replied as he he took hold of her hand and rubbed it gently.

~*-Cause I'm waiting for tonight
Then waiting for tomorrow-*~

"Where do we go from here?" Jackie's tiny voice questioned, breaking the silence that surrounded the two who were seated together, swinging quietly on the porch swing. They hadn't spoken a word between them in the last 20 minutes, they just sat, fingers intertwined, looking up at the stars. It had brought back memories of the first date they had shared on Veterans Day. They had been so young than and Jackie had been so naive, naive to think she had been in love, naive to think that he hadn't felt anything from the kiss that they shared.

She shook her head of the thoughts as she turned towards Hyde who shrugged in response to her question. Jackie sighed as she turned away from him and looked back up at the full moon in front of her.

"Let's just focus on now Jackie and now I want to be with you and I don't know how you feel but that's ok because I don't deserve to know how you feel. Let's just focus on tonight and we'll analyze it to death in the morning okay?" he questioned, removing his sunglasses from his eyes.

Jackie nodded wordlessly, that wasn't what she wanted exactly but she missed Steven and as hurt as she was, she was lonely and it was too difficult to argue at this point. She knew she loved Steven, cheater or not, she loved him and she wanted to be with him. She just no longer knew how to allow herself to be with him. But that was just something they would have to worry about in the morning.

~*-And I'm somewhere in between
What is real and just a dream-*~

Hyde rubbed his eyes wearingly as he pulled Jackie closer to him, he smiled as he felt her head settle into the crook of his neck. He could feel her warm breath upon his skin as she breathed in and out. He had missed this. He had missed being able to just reach out and hold her at any moment. He had missed her in his life.

"I'm sleepy Steven," she murmured against him.

Hyde nodded as he placed his arm around her small body and guided her up, to stand on her shaky feet.

She looked up at him and placed her arms loosely around his neck, to steady her on her feet, "I don't want this night to end Steven. I'm scared I'll wake up and you won't be there," she whispered, tearfully. And she was, she was scared of the way her heart was feeling. Her heart kept telling her to forgive but her head knew better.

But for one night Jackie wanted to think with her heart and nothing else.

Hyde hugged her close to him, "come on Jackie," he said quietly, grabbing her hand and leading her off of the porch and away from the Pinciotti's towards the quiet Forman house.

"No questions ok?" he asked, looking at her as he stopped at the basement door.

She nodded as she chewed on her lip nervously. She didn't know what she was getting herself into but she knew she couldn't turn away.

He smiled at her, "lets just focus on tonight," he whispered as he led her inside the basement and towards his bedroom.

~*-Would you catch me if I fall out of what I fell in
Don't be surprised if I collapse down at your feet again-*~

Hyde shrugged off his jacket as he watched Jackie climb into his bed and settle underneath the covers just like she had done so many months ago. Wordlessly she reached over and clicked off the bedside lamp as he kicked his jeans off and climbed in next to her. He pulled her body closer to him and cradled her, placing a soft kiss upon her neck. "I love you Jackie," he whispered as he kissed her hair.

Jackie stiffened and turned over, facing him. She had only heard him say those words to her once and before she had the opportunity to run but now she was trapped. Trapped with no where to escape from the situation at hand. "I don't want to wait until morning Steven. I can't just pretend that you didn't cheat on me alright? I want to talk now," she told him as she looked up into his eyes.

Hyde sighed and nodded, "alright Jackie, you wanna talk, talk," he grumbled, sitting up. All he wanted was for them to just have one night alone. Just one night where they wouldn't have to focus on the problems between them. One night where they could just be.

Jackie ran a hand through her hair, trying to untangle the curls, "I want you to trust me Steven. It hurt more knowing that you don't trust me and that's why you slept with another woman. I just, I wanted to be enough for you Steven. I wanted to be that person in your life who moved you, ya know. That person who loved you for you and who didn't give up on you, that person who made you believe in yourself. And it hurt me to know that I wasn't enough to even make you trust me," she whispered, the tears spilling from her eyes. She was crying yet again and once again she couldn't get the tears to stop.

~*-I don't want to run away from this
I know that I just don't need this-*~

"Dammit Jackie" Hyde swore as he reached over her to flip on the lamp, he rubbed his eyes as he looked at her tear stained face beneath him. "What do you want me to do Jackie? Okay, just tell me what you want from me cause I don't know how to make this work, alright" he sighed as he sat up uncomfortably, squished against the side of the wall.

Jackie sat up as well, angrily wiping the tears off her face, "forget it Steven, I don't know what I was thinking," she mumbled as she pushed the sheets off her, pulling herself off the cot.

Hyde rolled his eyes as he got up to follow her. She was now in the basement, seated on the couch, shivering in her tiny pajamas. He sighed as he watched her sniffling to herself, he hated himself for making her hurt, for bringing her pain. He was supposed to be the one that took those things away and yet here he was, inflicting them upon her.

"I don't know how to do this Jackie," he whispered as he stood behind her and placed his hand upon her shoulder.

Jackie nodded as she looked up at him, as she looked into his clear blue eyes. She always loved his eyes and she knew they were her weakness. It almost killed her to have to lie to those eyes because those eyes saw through her. Those eyes knew her soul and her being. Those eyes knew she loved him. Those eyes told her the words he couldn't. Those eyes were enough.

Carefully she leaned up and took his face in her hands, kissing him softly at first and then more heatedly as he responded.

"What are we doing?" Hyde questioned as he pulled away. He didn't know how she had gone from crying to this but frankly he was much happier with this.

"I don't know," Jackie shrugged, leaning in to kiss him once again. All she knew was that she did in fact love him and she had missed kissing him and for now that was enough.

"I want to be with you Jackie, I want to make this work," he told breathlessly in between kisses.

Jackie pulled away and grabbed at his hand as she led him off the couch and back into his room, shutting the door with a kick of her foot, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips firmly against his.

"I want you Steven" she said in a hush whisper.

Hyde knew in the back of his mind that this would only cause more problems but he couldn't get the nagging out of his heart that this could be his only time to be with Jackie and he couldn't walk away from that. He was shaken from his thoughts as she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, and began kissing him fiercely. He had definitely never seen this side of Jackie before.

~*-Cause I cannot stand still
I can't be this unsturdy
This cannot be happening-*~

Jackie didn't know what had gotten into her but she couldn't deny the fact that she was enjoying it and she didn't want to stop.

"Jax" Hyde tried getting out between her furious kisses.

"Don't talk Steven, just do," she told as her mouth moved down to the skin on his jaw line.

So Hyde did as she said as he reached his hands underneath her ass to support her weight around him. She giggled as she pushed her 95 pound frame upon him and the two fell back on the cot with a loud squeak.

Jackie removed her tangled arms from him as she stood in front of him. She smiled as she looked down at him nervously and slowly began to remove the thin straps off of her pajama top. She bit down on her swollen lip as she waited for Hyde's reaction as she felt the flimsy top fall to the floor.

"I can't do this Jackie," Hyde spoke quietly breaking the silence that had filled the room as he looked down at the rumpled sheets beneath him. He had been waiting for this moment since the summer but seeing her stand in front of him, looking so small, so innocent, so afraid, so fragile. He couldn't take advantage of her. He couldn't pretend that things were okay cause he knew by doing that things would just be worse.

Jackie felt the tears sting her eyes as she finally realized the position she was in, her hands hurriedly went up to her breasts to cover them as she bent down and placed her top back on. "I'm sorry Steven, I don't know what got into me," she babbled as she looked down at the floor, her back to him.

Hyde reached out to her as he pulled her towards him and cradled her small body, "shh Jackie it's okay. " he said as he pushed back the hair from her neck and placed a small kiss upon her shoulder.

Jackie choked back the sob as she let herself fall into bed beside him, she turned her back to him as she flipped off the lamp and pulled the sheet up. She squirmed as she felt Steven's arm fall around her waist and pull her closer to him.

~*-Cause I'm waiting for tonight
Then waiting for tomorrow-*~

Jackie groaned as she began to toss and turn, she was having another nightmare. She had been having them consistently since the breakup and they were always the same. Steven and her would be together, kissing and then as it grew more heated she would turn into another woman. Sometimes someone she didn't know and other times Laurie or Pam Macy and even Donna at times. She squinted as her eyes began to open, not being able to sleep anymore in peace.

She sat up as she looked around at her surroundings. She wasn't in the basement, she was no longer in Hyde's cramped bedroom. She was in her comfy bed in Donna's bedroom. Her favorite stuffed unicorn was at her side and she was still dressed in her cotton candy pink Pajamas. Her eyes fell over to Donna's snoring form. Had it all been a dream?

Jackie sighed as she pulled herself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She stopped as her eyes fell upon the crumbled black t-shirt in the corner of the room. The Led Zeppelin T-shirt, Hyde's favorite shirt that he had given to her for her birthday. The same t-shirt that she had given back to him. Maybe it wasn't all a dream.

~*-And I'm somewhere in between
What is real and just a dream-*~