A/N: Just a little note to say thanks for all the wonderful reviews. ReginaBina33, Jessi, fisharecoolies, crazyschick, spuffyshipper, YouThinkYouNoeMe, sexyzenfox, soapmama, hmmart, danalee48, thanks for reviewing chapter 5. I really appreciate your kind words and i'm really glad you're enjoying it. There are 2 more chapters left in the fic + an epilogue if so requested. :) Thanks everyone.

Chapter 6

He sat at the kitchen table, staring at the top, his mind running a mile a minute. She wanted him to give up everything and follow her. It was fair, he supposed. She'd been willing to give up everything for him. And when she did, she arrived home to a stripper claiming to be his wife. He'd been so shocked himself at the time that he'd never considered what that must have done to her. What pain it must have caused. It only now dawned him that if he'd been in her shoes, he'd never give her an option. He'd never forgive her. It would be over. But she wasn't him. She was offering him one last chance, just as he'd been begging for. So why was it so hard to make a decision? He never heard the swinging door. And he never heard Red moving towards him until he spoke.

"What are you going to do?" Red asked as he sat down across from him. Of course he knew what Jackie had asked of him. He'd been listening. Or more likely, Kitty had been listening and she'd sent him in here to talk to him about it. Probably to convince him his only option was to stay. She didn't want to lose another child.

"I don't know." He answered softly. He really didn't. It was a gigantic risk.

"You don't know?" Red's voice sounded annoyed. "So you were willing to fight for her while she was the one giving everything up. Now that it's your turn, you're not sure."

"That's not how it is." He said trying to fight the urge to be defensive and angry at Red's words.

"That's exactly how it is. You wanted her, wanted to be with her, while it was convenient for you. But as soon as it got a little tough and required a little work, you bailed. Every time Steven, you bailed. And yet, she still forgave you, every single time. Now you go and do something incredibly stupid and unforgiveable, yet she's willing to try again, if only you give her something. Something to hold on to. Some piece of you that proves to her that you do mean all the things you've said. That they weren't empty promises. And you can't even give her that. My god boy, she deserves at least that." He was giving Hyde that look. The look he always gave Eric when he thought he was the stupidist thing to ever walk the earth. This time, Hyde thought, he may just be right.

"In fact. I'm suprised she doesn't make you crawl on your hands and knees all the way to California." He stated, adding more venom in his voice than he ever did when burning Eric.

"I know. I've been a dumbass." He stated dejectedly.

"You don't even know the half of it. You think I don't know what you've been doing to that poor girl since the first day you kissed her? You think I don't know what goes on in this house? I know everything that any of you have ever done here. I always have. And I know all the crap you've been dishing out to that poor girl. So she may have made a few mistakes. Get used to it! People make mistakes. But what makes a man Steven, is not running from them. Whether their hers, or yours. You step up to the plate and you fight for the woman you love. " He was yelling now. And Hyde knew that his defense of Jackie wasn't merely Red's instinct to protect the small, it was his fatherly instinct to protect his child. Jackie had found her way into Red's heart, the hardest of all of them to get into, and she'd done it. Without even trying. This strong man before him loved her as the daughter he'd always wished Laurie could be. And Steven was the boy who broke her heart.

Steven didn't know why Red wasn't leaping over the table to shove his foot up his ass. He certainly didn't expect Red to sigh and slump his shoulders. The anger was washing away, being replaced with sadness. His voice softened as he continued.

"There are a lot of things in this world that are frightening and are capable of destroying you Steven. When you find a woman who's strong enough and willing to stand beside you through all of it. You don't run. You grab her and never let her go. And if you happen to be madly in love with her, and she loves you back. Than you fight like hell, for her." Red leaned forward and looked Steven directly in the eye. "So the question is Steven. Are you strong enough to fight?"

Red stood from the table and left the room. As soon as the swinging door to the living room closed, it was swung open again. Kitty stepped into the room and up to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder before sitting down opposite him.

"Are you going to yell at me too? Tell me how stupid I've been. Because, I got the memo." He drawled sarcastically, his eyes looking anywhere but at her.

"No honey. I think you've heard enough about the things you've done wrong. Speaking of which, did your divorce to Samantha come through?" She asked with her trademark laugh. He nodded and waited for her to continue. "Good, because you shouldn't even be thinking about going after Jackie if you were still married."

She paused and searched his face. There was one thing that had been bugging her about the whole situation. Something that now that Steven was trying to get Jackie back, she couldn't put off asking any longer.

"Steven, honey. Do you miss her?" He looked up at her then. What a question to ask. He'd missed her every day. He nodded mutely, looking into her eyes so she could see the truth. "Do you hurt?" She saw the confusion on his face and elaborated. "Do you hurt when she hurts? Do you hurt because she's gone?" Kitty almost gasped as she saw his eyes tear up. His face was set hard, he would never let them fall, but they were all the answer she needed. He was hurting almost as much as Jackie was. So why did he treat her so badly?

"Tell me Steven. Why did you say those things to her? Why would you want to hurt her like that?"

"I don't know." He got a far away look in his eyes as he shook his head. "I don't know why I did it. I guess I figured if she were angry at me that it would be easier to be away from her. I didn't realise that it wasn't making her angry. I was only hurting her." His voice broke slightly and he stopped. "By then though, it was too late. I couldn't take it all back. Nothing I did would make it better. And..." He trailed off. He'd said so much, it was so out of character for him, but he was so lost right now. Yet this last confession was too much. He didn't think he could tell anyone this.

Kitty reached out and took his hand. She squeezed it gently, encouragingly. He could trust her. He always could. She would never betray him. So he told her. Told her the deepest fear he had. "And I don't deserve her. She can do better. She is better. It's just a matter of time before she realises that. I thought it would be better if..." His eyes lowered from her. He felt her pull her hand from his and looked back up at her. Kitty was standing in front of him. She looked down at him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"She deserves to be happy. She's leaving it up to you to decide if you want to be included in that happiness. Do you want to be?" And then Kitty was gone. Back through the swinging door into the living room. Leaving him there with what should have been one of the hardest decisions of his life. But as he sat, staring at the linolium table top there was only one thing in his vision. Jackie's face. Smiling at him, her voice sounding in his mind as she whispered that she loved him. Fear constricted his heart as he thought of never seeing her face again. Never hearing her voice. And he knew he only had one option.

Hyde stood from the table and walked into the living room. Kitty and Red were sitting on the sofa, seemingly waiting for him. They looked up at him and he almost lost his nerve. But her face clouded his vision the moment he closed his eyes. It was time to grow up. To become a man and fight for her.

"I'm sorry. But I have to go." His voice was void of emotion. And he stood rigid, waiting for the explosion he expected. But it never came.

"I know honey." He heard Kitty say as she stood up and walked towards him.

"That's it?" He asked. He was sure she would say more than that. Become emotional or angry. Anything other than a smile.

"You're a good boy Steven. You always were. You did things sometimes that left a lot to be desired. But you know right from wrong and I know you'll always eventually make the right decisions. This is the right decision. It's time to grow up honey." She smiled at him and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Steven. I think you have some things to take care of. The plane leaves at 3pm tomorrow." Red said looking stern but Hyde could see the makings of a smile on his face.

Hyde nodded and headed out of the room. He could do this. He could be everything she needed him to be, because she'd always been willing to be everything to him.

TBC...