Disclaimer: I don't own.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for your reviews! I hope you enjoyed Hyde's present for Jackie. I liked it. :)

Warning: Mild language,and a...well, a bit of a racy spot.:giggle: So this chapter is Rish.

Convincing

Chapter 18 – You Have Us

The blue of Steven's eyes was clearer than she'd ever seen them before, the same shade as the lake in Minnesota her parents used to take her to. She remembered that water was warm and smooth on her skin, like sunbathed silk. And as he looked down at her, only the corners of his lips turned up, she felt that same almost ethereal sensation. "So." She spoke shyly, hopefully. "Am I going to get to see your eyes the whole time I'm in the hospital?"

Hyde shook his head. He should have known better than to give her his sunglasses. He was going to get nothing but grief. Then again, he'd always remember the look on her face when she'd realized what he'd given her. And maybe that would make it worth it. But still. He wasn't Forman. He wasn't. "Hell no. I'm gonna buy a new pair." He reached out and put his hand on her knee. He had to touch her. Had to. As much as he could. Because who knew how much more he'd get to…

NO!

Jackie giggled. "Steven." She twisted around and picked up the glasses. Turning back to face Steven, she smiled mistily as she traced again the frames. Her smile faded. Why was she thinking about her parents? Why was she remembering how often they'd given her presents to make up for not being there for her?

Maybe because they aren't here now. Neither one of them have even called.

And neither had even sent any presents.

She'd learned a long time ago that presents were nice. That presents were what she should always seek, because it was the only way to express love. That's what her parents had taught her.

But now…now she knew otherwise. Presents, at least given in the manner her parents had, were nothing more than shortcuts. Lazy shortcuts. Substitues for real love.

Steven hardly ever gave her presents. But when he did…it was never to substitute for anything. Never.

Her fingertip slipped round and round the metal of the sunglasses she knew as well as her own name. "I used to think that I wanted you to give me jewelry." She smiled wryly and met her boyfriend's eyes. "Shiny stuff. Every single day."

Hyde chuckled silently. Shiny stuff. "Well, hey, the glasses are shiny in the sun."

She nodded, but didn't smile, and he wondered what was going on in her head. She was so…serious. So contemplative. Not something he saw everyday in his chick. "Dollface?"

"Did you know that the last birthday party my parents had for me was when I was five? After that, my dad was always gone on business, and my mom was always busy at the country club."

Hyde squeezed her knee. Her voice was blank. Numb. A bitter sort of accepting that didn't quite mask the little girl who had been so neglected by parents who equated money with love.

"They bought me stuff all the time, though, expensive stuff." A fleeting smile. "Shiny stuff." Her eyes remained on the glasses. "I used to think it meant they loved me." She shook her head, and her shoulders tightened until they trembled. "Now I know that…they…don't…"

The wrinkle in her forehead made Hyde ache. His chest burned. Tore. He knew what she was trying to say. All too well.

She knew her parents didn't really love her.

His hand slipped from her knee to her thigh. "Jackie…" Her teary eyes shot up to meet his, and he trailed off.

"But these glasses…Steven, when we first got together, I thought that you didn't really love me because you weren't giving me stuff all the time. And for a long time I doubted..." She smiled and laughed, with a touch of the hysteria that always partners sudden realization, and looked back at the precious glasses in her hand. "But I'm never gonna doubt you again, Steven, because I know you didn't give me these glasses to make up for something." She tried desperately to hold in the tears that wanted to rush out of her eyes. "You gave them to me to show me how much you love me."

The part of him that was so petrified of being close to anyone begged him to go Zen. Protect himself. Not reveal anything to her. Nothing at all.

Remember, she's probably gonna die and leave you just like everyone else does. She's no different. She's just leaving in a different way.

But the part of him that she stirred in him was stronger. The man he saw when he looked in her eyes (although most of the time, he wasn't sure where she got her ideas of who he was) won. At least for a moment.

"Yeah, I did," he whispered.

Her smile, and the fact that he could feel her inside of him…it scared him. Because he was going to lose her. He knew it in his bones.

He took his hand away from her and straightened his shoulders, clearing his throat rather loudly. "Just, uh…just remember, Jackie, that the glasses are a temporary thing, alright? You're giving 'em back as soon as they put you in that wheelchair." She smiled, and he tried to sound firm. "I mean it."

Jackie reached out and grabbed his retreating hand. She knew better. He forgot that she could see his eyes, and when she could see his eyes, she could see all of him. Even the parts he wanted to hide. "Right, honey," she murmured with a tiny smile.

After a moment, Jackie let go of his hand and picked up the glasses. Giving him a flirtatious smile, she put them on, and struck what she hoped was a sexy pose for him. "So…what do you think?"

He smirked. Damn. Why had he never thought of trying this before? She looked frickin' hot in his glasses. "Hmm…kind of like it." He cocked his head and studied her some more. She tossed her hair in that inimitable way she had and slowly ran her tongue over her lips. And the fact that he couldn't see her eyes while she was doing this only made her more enticing. His stomach began to open up with heat. "Uh, yeah. It really turns me on." His smirk turned wicked as a very nice image came to mind. "You know, you put on my Led Zeppelin tee shirt, those glasses and nothing else, I'd be…well, I'd be very….happy."

Jackie giggled sexily. "And friendly, too, I bet, huh?"

"Almost as much as I would be if you were naked." His eyes caressed her, up and down, and his wanting for her groaned in his belly and spread through him like wildfire. He inched towards her and put his hand high and in on her thigh. "Which, by the way, is something I've really missed seeing." He leaned in towards her and placed a long, open mouth kiss, accented by a gentle flick of his tongue, against her sweet-tasting neck. "And touching."

Her eyes closed, and her neck arched back. She prayed for more kisses, and he obliged, gliding his slick lips up and down, then side to side, making a chair around the front of her neck. She grasped his shoulders lightly. "Steven…I…oh…"

It felt so good. So good! His hands slid up her sides, his fingers brushing the sides of her breasts, and she couldn't restrain her pleasure, releasing it in a soft moan. She fell to the cot, urged along by Steven's hovering body, and as his feeding mouth drew closer to hers, her heart began to drum almost painfully fast in her chest. "Steven…"

She was nearly begging. Her body felt swollen and literally hungered for his hands to be on her.

Finally his lips covered hers, and she returned the kiss eagerly, lightly gnawing on his. Her arms wrapped around his waist and clung tightly. His back was so strong, so taut and shaped, and her hands couldn't help but wander as restlessly as her body moved under his, trying to get more of him. More. More.

Don't leave, Steven. Don't ever…ever…ever leave.

She spread her legs out and at once, the safety and passion of his form melting into her from head to toe made her mind spiral towards heaven.

The kisses burned, and both were panting when Hyde drew back. His hand was halfway up his dollface's shirt, his fingertips digging into her tight stomach. "Jackie," he breathed on her. Her socked feet were on his calves, rubbing suggestions that went directly to the most immediate ache in his body.

But she'd had such a headache, and he didn't know if she felt okay enough to do this.

"Baby…are you…?"

"Steven," her voice was so breathy as to be almost flimsy. "I'm fine." She cupped his face in her hands. The scratch of his beard only exacerbated the pining her body was suffering from, and she moaned. Her hips arched up, and he smiled before pressing down to her. A shot of ecstasy rocketed up the middle of her. "Oh…Steven, I want to…"

"Steven? Jackie?"

The unwanted and rather sheepish voice made Hyde jump off of Jackie and off the bed, as if they were still children and had been caught doing something naughty. He swallowed hard and prayed that Mrs. Forman would be too distracted by whatever she had come down to tell them to notice the uncomfortably tight fit of his jeans at the fly. "Uh…Mrs. Forman….we were just….hi."

Kitty tried to smile, but she couldn't erase the worry from her eyes. "I'm sorry to…well…interrupt." She giggled nervously, but the smile immediately disappeared. Her eyes moved to Jackie, who was now sitting on the bed and pursing her lips. "Jackie, I need you to come upstairs. Your…your mom's on the phone and she wants to talk to you."

Hyde watched his dollface jump to her feet, her expression change almost instantly to one of that little five year old girl she'd been at her last birthday party. And the ache in his own body became less sexual and more angry. Because he knew what was coming. From Jackie, and from Jackie's mom.

"Oh! Maybe she's gonna tell me she's coming home for the surgery!"

The smile she flashed at him on her way out the door only made Hyde more angry, and he balled his hands into fists. Despite everything, Jackie still hoped for her parent's love and attention. She still thought it was possible. She still craved it. Even years of being essentially without them hadn't cured her of that. She wasn't like him. She wasn't able to shut it down. Probably never would be.

But her parents always let her down, and Hyde knew it would be the same thing this time.

A few minutes later, Hyde sat on the Forman's living room couch, next to Donna. Eric was on her right side, Red was in his normal chair and Kitty was pacing nervously around the room. They were all quiet, until Donna spoke.

"Her mom has to come back for the surgery. I mean, even Pam can't be so dumb that she doesn't understand how serious this is or how much Jackie needs her." She looked at Eric. "Right?"

No one answered. Everyone knew the answer, but no one wanted to actually give voice to it.

The door that separated the kitchen and living room creaked and opened slowly. All eyes focused on Jackie as she stepped through into the room.

Normally, all the attention would have thrilled her. Now, it only made her feel sick. She tried to smile, tried to hide the tears looming in her eyes, tried to breathe. Tried to justify….tried to forget. "Uh…she uh…" Her shoulders shrugged. "She's not gonna be able to make it."

That's exactly what her mother had said. "I just won't be able to make it, Jackie. So much is going on down here…I can't afford to miss any of it. I would be able to come in a few weeks. Or…a month. Do you think you could reschedule?"

Make it. Like she was going to miss a party or get together. Not a surgery that could very well kill her daughter. Reschedule. Like it was just a nose job or something.

And she hadn't even sounded sad about it. At least not sincerely sad. She'd used that same phony regretful voice she always used. This time wasn't any different. It wasn't ANY different to her mother. Her mother.

Her lips trembled, and all her efforts into putting on a brave face collapsed. She was just too tired to do it. "She…she's not coming."

Kitty rushed to Jackie as she broke down and drew the sobbing girl into her arms. "Oh, sweetie," she whispered, running a hand well practiced in giving maternal comfort up and down Jackie's back.

Hyde's fists tightened on his knees. Bitch. Stupid, stupid bitch. Can't even come home for your daughter's surgery. Couldn't care less that you might never see your daughter again.

Couldn't care less.

You stupid, stupid bitch!

He stood up, and breathing hard, left the living room.

Eric watched him go and frowned. "Where's he going?" he whispered to Donna. She shrugged, but said nothing.

Kitty held Jackie close. "Sweetie, I know this isn't the same, but I want you to know something." She pulled slightly away and smiled tenderly, even though the tears on Jackie's face and the hurt in her eyes broke her own heart to pieces. "I know I'm not your real mom, but…" She brushed Jackie's damp cheek. "I think of you as my own daughter. And I love you as my own daughter." She planted a kiss on the flushed forehead. "I really do." She glanced over at Red. "Red and I both do, don't we Red?"

Red rolled his eyes, but when Jackie looked at him, he stopped. He stood and walked to her, and Kitty let go of her. He took her shoulders. "Jackie, you're a pain in my ass, just like the rest of them. Maybe not as bad as some of them. At least you can be helpful around a car." He shook his head angrily. "Your floozy of a mother should be…" He sighed, and smiled as gently as he could. His voice softened. "But whatever we can do for you, we will, okay?" He grimaced when Jackie threw her arms around him, but then returned her hug. This poor girl. Petrified, and facing death. And her lousy parents gave nothing to her, at least nothing real. They'd never prepared her for anything like this.

Hyde stalked back into the room and stopped near the couch, watching as Red hugged his dollface.

Kitty smiled as Red and Jackie broke apart. "Now, come on Red. Lets go order a pizza, and Jackie, we'll have dinner in front of the television. We can watch whatever you want, okay?"

Red frowned. "Why do I have to order the pizza?"

Kitty glared at him. "Because I am too upset to talk to strangers, Red, now come on!" She grabbed his arm and led him to the kitchen.

Hyde walked over to Jackie. "Here. Brought you something. Look at me." She did, and he put the sunglasses on her. He smiled. "There you go."

Jackie giggled and frantically wiped tears from her cheeks. "Still sexy?" She hiccupped.

He nodded. "Still sexy."

Eric and Donna exchanged startled glances. "You…you're letting Jackie wear your sunglasses?" Eric's voice cracked. This was something he never dreamed he'd see.

Hyde shrugged but kept his eyes on Jackie. He brushed some strands of hair away from her face. "I gave 'em to her."

The couple on the couch stared at him in shock.

He looked over at them and scowled. "What?"

Donna shook her head. "Nothing!" She smiled as Hyde led Jackie over to Red's chair, sat down and pulled her down into his lap. "Eric," she said, turning towards him and speaking quietly. "He GAVE her his sunglasses!"

Eric nodded. "I know." He looked at Donna. "Hey, isn't this how the apocalypse is supposed to start?" He grinned when she swatted at him.

Jackie sighed and tried to keep control of the tears she still felt like crying. She played with the back of Steven's hair, and for once, he didn't pretend that it bothered him. "Well, I guess its official. I have no family."

Hyde shrugged. "You're better off. Family is overrated. Just think. You'll never have to go to those stupid, uncomfortable family reunions where everyone gets drunk and windows get broken." He grinned. "Although, I gotta say, those can be kind of fun."

Donna rolled her eyes at Hyde, then leaned forward to talk to Jackie. "Jackie, you do too have family. It may not be biological, but…" She smiled. "You have us. We're your family. Us, Red, Kitty, Kelso, Fez. Hell, you know my dad loves you."

Jackie smiled, and the pain inside started to ease. It wasn't going to go away; it probably never would. She'd always have a void. And yet, she DID have people who cared about her. She pushed the sunglasses down her nose so her eyes were visible and looked at Eric teasingly. "What about you, Eric?"

He grinned. "Oh, hell, Jackie, if I say no, Donna will kill me." Donna elbowed him, and he made a face. "See?" But his smile faded, and he looked at her sincerely. "Seriously, Jackie, whatever I can do….I mean it. I'm here."

Jackie's lower lip quivered. "Thanks," was all she could manage in her suddenly choked throat.

"I mean, I can honestly say that I can't imagine my life without you Jackie." Eric's eyes danced. "It would be like Heaven not having a Hell." He glanced at Donna. "For the record, I'm heaven, she's hell."

Jackie laughed, and the others did too. When they were done, Jackie's smile remained, although small. She leaned her head on Steven's, and the touch of his hands on her back reassured her. Made her feel stronger. "I guess I'm not alone after all." She lifted her head and smiled sweetly down at Steven. "What about you, Steven? Do I have you?"

He didn't answer her, but reached up and tapped the sunglasses she wore.

She smiled and leaned down to kiss him, but after the kiss ended, the tears were back, and she allowed him to guide her head to his shoulder.

Her mother wasn't coming. Her mother cared more about getting drunk and spending nights in rich men's beds than her. Her mother didn't even care if she lived or died. She might even be happier if she died. She might even be praying that she died.

My mommy doesn't love me.

"Jackie." His whisper was gruff in her ear.

"What?"

His hands tightened on her back and held her closer.

My mommy doesn't love me!

"I really hate your mother."

She half-laughed, half cried.

"I hate her too. God…Steven, I hate her so much!"

Steven, my mommy doesn't love me!

She sobbed in his arms, and he rocked her slightly.

And no one said anything more.