Disclaimer: I don't own.

Warning: Mild language

AN: I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile! Work has been crazy, and I've been so tired. But I finally finished a chapter, so here it is. Thought we could use some Jackie/Hyde cuteness. Thanks to everyone who is reading this, and thanks especially for the reviews! I love them. Love your opinions on the story. Enjoy!

Convincing

Chapter 11 - I'm Fine With It

"Christina Fellows, come on down. You're the next contestant on the Price is Right!"

Hyde sat on his chair and stared at the television set. It was 10:00 on a Wednesday morning. He should be at work. But he really didn't care. In fact, it was better that he wasn't there. He was in no mood for company. He was in no mood for The Price Is Right, either, but couldn't be bothered to get up and change the channel. That would require effort. He was sick do death of effort. Effort never got him a damn thing.

He glanced over at the phone. He'd expected her to call, even though he'd decided not to talk to her for awhile. She deserved it after that crap she'd said to him yesterday. But she hadn't called. Not once.

And to his utter disgust, his stomach wouldn't release the knots they'd been tied in since he left her last night. It was worse even than the feeling he used to get before he shoplifted stuff; worse than he'd felt the moment Kelso had walked into Jackie's hotel room in nothing but a towel.

The basement door opened, and when Jackie walked in, Hyde's heart seemed to disappear momentarily, only to return beating faster and faster. Just like it had during their first kiss. Felt nothing. Like hell he'd felt nothing. He'd felt EVERYTHING. He swallowed and crossed his arms over his chest, gave her a brief glance…god, she looked beautiful…then looked back at the television.

Jackie did her best to appear confident and unworried as she smiled brightly at her boyfriend, but it wasn't easy. He had his legs crossed, his arms crossed; his ultimate defensive position, and his glasses were on. He wasn't looking at her, trying to hide, but she knew he was upset. Ands he couldn't blame him. "Hey," she said, forcing lightness into her voice that wasn't naturally there.

"Hey." His mutter was dull.

She walked over to his chair and stood by the arm of the couch. She started to sit down on it, then changed her mind and moved closer to him. She put her hand on his knee and stared at him.

Hyde reluctantly looked up at her. Jackie raised her eyebrows, quickly lowered her eyes to his lap then raised them back to his. She wanted to sit in his lap. And hell if he didn't want to let her, even though he shouldn't. With a purposefully put-upon sounding sigh, he uncrossed his legs and arms. She sat down and settled in, still looking at him, curving one hand around his neck. A slight tremor pulsed his spine when her fingertips dipped into the hair at the back of his neck. That irritated him, and so he glared up at her. Damn, he wished he'd put his glasses on before letting her on him.

He expected her to say something, but she surprised him by kissing him. Softly. Sweetly. And god, so temptingly. He tried to resist, to not immediately move his lips with hers and taste her until the world ended. But she made it difficult. Impossible, actually. She breathed softly through her lips and followed it with a quick flicker of her tongue. He felt both chilled and heated at the same time, all over his body, and he responded. His eyes closed, his hands greedily grabbed her back, his lips hungrily answered hers.

She pulled away long before he was ready for her to, and he frowned.

Jackie giggled and lightly scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, but I have something to say."

Hyde rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly. His mood had improved infinitely from just two minutes ago. Because he'd just had her tongue in his mouth, of course. And the fact that he could see for himself that she was alive and well and could stop worrying. No. Only because of the tongue thing. Right. "That figures." He winced when she dug her nails in his neck. "Hey!"

Jackie smiled innocently and withdrew her nails. She rubbed gently where she'd stabbed. "You should know better!" He sighed, and her smile faded. "Look, Steven," she began quietly. "I just…" She took a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry about what I said before. About…Vegas. And the other stuff." She chewed lightly on her lower lip.

Hyde shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm over it." Her face tensed, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. The corners of his lips turned upwards. "No, no, not like that."

She sighed and swallowed, relieved. And then she smiled. "Well, you shouldn't be surprised that I said something like that. After all…" She lifted her shoulders and cocked her head. "I've always admitted this…I'm a bitch."

He grinned, he couldn't help it. She was so damn cute. "I'd agree, but I feel like keeping the skin on the back of my neck," he teased. She laughed, and he chuckled. He really liked her laugh. Her eyes got all shiny and bright, and they hadn't been that way much lately.

"Shut up!" she said, still giggling, and she lightly swatted the back of his head. But as she looked into his eyes, she remembered what she wanted to tell him, and her laughter faded. "Okay, Steven, look. There's something else I want to say to you." She took a breath. "I know I've been acting like a baby about this surgery, and I just want you to know that I'm not going to anymore." She nodded curtly, even as the mere thought of the surgery sent her stomach plummeting into hell. She noticed that Steven was raising his eyebrows like he was suspicious, and she made her voice especially bright. "That's right. I'm not going to cry or whine or anything. I'm fine with it."

Hyde frowned. She was lying. And not well. "Jackie, you haven't been…"

"No, Steven, I have. I've been being a big, sniveling baby, and I'm not going to be anymore. So you don't have to worry about me, okay? And I promise that I won't make you try to make me feel better or comfort me or anything." She laughed, and even in her own head, it sounded phony. "Not that I'll need it. Because I'm fine. Not scared at all."

He swallowed hard. She wasn't fine. She wasn't not scared. And he knew why she was saying this crap. Because he couldn't give her what she needed. Because he couldn't comfort her in the way she wanted, and she didn't want him to even bother to try. "So…" Damn, his voice cracked. His stomach tightened and he tried to find that familiar steel, that Zen he'd perfected. "So…what? You're going to just pretend everything is okay?"

Jackie cupped his cheeks. "I don't have to pretend, Steven," she said haughtily, keeping her act up. "Everything IS okay." He closed his eyes and looked away, and she turned his face back to her. "And you need to stop worrying, Puddin' Pop, because it's gonna be fine. I'm gonna be fine. Okay?"

Hyde was about to retort, but she kissed him, and he liked her kissing him. He liked kissing her. And so he responded to her. Mmmmm, she tasted so good. So sweet. Soft. Warm. How could he stop kissing her? Damn, that was her tongue grazing the bottom of his upper teeth. And then darting up to tease the roof of his mouth. She was talented. No way was he going to stop her.

Besides, what could he say?

God. Yeah, she wanted him now, even thought she knew though she knew he couldn't give her what she really needed. But someday that could change. She could decide that she just couldn't deal with that anymore.

It won't happen if she dies.

She picked that moment to break the kiss, and he looked up at her. Her eyes met his, and he could see her. The real her. The fear. She was scared to death. "Look, I just…" His words broke off when she slipped her arms around his chest and buried her head against his neck. He felt her shudder slightly against him, and tightened his arms around her waist. He turned his face towards her and his lips brushed against her ear. "Jackie," he whispered. His lips pursed and kissed the slender lobe.

He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to pretend to be okay. That she didn't have to pretend to not be scared. That he'd try harder to be comforting. But he couldn't. Because he'd only fail and make things worse.

She drew back and sighed with a slight smile. "So no more crying. Or anything like it. I'll be back to my wonderful, normal, beautiful self. Okay?"

Hyde smiled faintly at her tone. So cocky. So her. Such a cover up. But…if this was what she wanted…. He sighed in resignation. "Okay."

Jackie brushed her lips over his, relieved that the conversation was over. She decided to flirt. Making out would be good right about now. She slid off his lap and walked over to the couch. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she sat down, bringing her right leg up to the cushions. Her left foot stayed on the ground, leaving what she hoped was a very inviting and tempting space for him in between the two. She gave him her best sexy smile and crooked her finger at him. "Come here."

This time, Hyde's smirk was real, and he slowly stood up. God, he loved it when she gave him that look. Come and get me, Steven. Come and get me GOOD. He licked his lips and he took the few steps over to her and gently lay down on top of her. "Here I am," he said, his voice low and husky.

She giggled and pulled on his neck, drawing his lips closer to hers. His breath was hot on her chin, and it made her shiver in delight. Yes. This would make her feel better. Even just for the moment. It would make her feel better. "What, don't you know what to do?" she purred.

He chuckled, then dropped his lips to hers and kissed her mercilessly. He was just about to slip his hand under the hem of her shirt when the door to the basement opened.

"Oh god….sorry."

Hyde stopped kissing Jackie and opened his eyes to find her looking just as annoyed as he felt. "Damn it, Forman," he muttered as he rolled off of Jackie and stood up. He glared angrily. "You have the absolute worst timing, you know?"

Surprisingly, neither Donna nor Forman responded. They both stared at Jackie, who was standing as well and fussing with her shirt. And then Eric lurched towards her.

Jackie was stunned when he pulled her into a hug, but by instinct her arms wrapped around him in return. "Uh….Eric?" She looked over his shoulder at Steven, whose expression told her he was just as confused as she was.

"I'm sorry, Jackie. For everything. Every time I've ever said something rude, or anti-unicorn…I'm just sorry."

Jackie pulled out of the hug and stared up at Eric. He looked solemn. And his voice was soft. Serious. Sincere. And it was so weird. It was like he…it was like he knew.

"I really am, Jackie."

She pushed him away and glared accusingly at Donna. "Did you tell him, Donna?"

Donna raised her eyebrows. "Well, yeah," she said. "But in my defense, when I told him, he already knew." She looked pointedly at Hyde.

Hyde rolled his eyes and looked away. Somehow he'd burn Donna good in return for THIS favor.

Jackie looked at her boyfriend. "Steven? Did you tell Eric?" She wasn't sure if she should be upset or not; after all, she'd never told him NOT to tell anyone. And maybe he'd told Eric because he was so upset about it that he just couldn't handle it.

Right. More likely, he was complaining to Eric about how babyish she was being.

She sighed and repeated herself when he didn't answer. "Steven?"

Hyde shrugged. "Forman beat it out of me." He grinned, hoping a smart aleck remark would help him avoid trouble.

Jackie couldn't help but smile at that. The idea of skinny little Eric beating Steven up was too ludicrous not to smile at.

Eric rolled his eyes and put his hands on Jackie's shoulders. For some reason, the news of her…was it an illness? He supposed so. The news of her illness had him shaken. It was too adult for their group's world; he wasn't prepared. And he didn't think any of them were. "Okay, look, the point is that I want to be here for you, Jackie. I'm hoping that 'being there' involves a lot of roller disco…" He glared at Donna and then at Hyde when the both groaned, then looked back at Jackie. "But seriously. I want to be there. Here. Where ever you need."

Jackie looked into Eric's eyes, and she saw real care and concern. Worry. And for a moment, the ache in her heart, the fear, the agony she was doing her best to stifle, surrounded her. Tears began to bitterly tingle in her eyes, and her parted lip trembled slightly. He wanted to comfort her, and oh, how she wanted to be comforted. It wouldn't be the same as if Steven would, but still.

"Look, Forman, she doesn't want to talk about it, okay?" Hyde snapped. Actually, it was more like HE didn't want to talk about it. Not in front of Donna and Forman. They both could read him, not as well as Jackie, but enough for him to know better than to tread down any emotional road right now.

Jackie's back stiffened at the harshness of Steven's voice, and her determination to pretend that everything was fine beat back that vulnerable need to be comforted. She backed away from Eric. "Look, you all need to stop worrying," she said, doing her best to sound sure of herself. "I'm fine. This is no big deal, anyway. I'm fine, and that's all there is to it!"

Eric glanced at Donna, confused. She'd told him that Jackie had been a wreck.

Donna shrugged and leaned closer to him to whisper in his ear. "I'll tell you later."

Jackie reached for Steven's hand and pulled him closer to her. "Okay. Come on. Lets go out. I'm hungry, so let's go to the Hub." She smiled flirtatiously at Steven. "I'll let you buy me a cheeseburger, Steven. And…" She raised her eyebrows. "I won't even complain if you play pinball all night."

Hyde smiled lightly at the expression on her picture perfect face; as if she were really making a sacrifice for him. "Boy, it must be my lucky day," he commented dryly. He squeezed her hand, and her lips broke out into the smile that could turn his heart over a thousand times in just one minute second.

And when she smiled, he was fine with it. More than fine with it. He'd worry about her behavior later. Right now he could just use a night of her smiling.