Disclaimer: I don't own.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! One more chapter after this and then an epilogue. Sigh. Seems like it's taken me forever, but I'm going to finish it! Yay! (I have to confess that I have another story in mind...in fact, I've written the first chapter of it...but I thought I'd hold off on that one until this is done.) Hope you enjoy!

Warning: As usual, mild language.

Convincing

Chapter 21 – Be With Me

Early Thursday morning

Somehow, Hyde let Jackie talk him into sneaking out of the house at 3:30 in the morning and taking her to Mount Hump to watch the sunrise. Another stupid, girly, Forman-type thing to do. He vowed to himself that after she was better…if she got better…there wasn't going to be anymore of this crap. He wasn't this guy.

Of course, when she told him to bring a couple blankets and a pillow, he had the feeling that the trip to Mount Hump wouldn't be entirely wasted.

And he was right. They lay in the bed of the Camino, their clothes balled up somewhere, he didn't know where. Probably the ground, considering the way she'd been kicking her legs around. Her head was on his chest again, and his hand rubbed her back. Still damp. He grinned. He loved her body all sweaty. Even more, he loved making her all sweaty.

Jackie stared up. Clouds of pink and purple floated in the freshly blue sky, and soft, golden hues of the new day's sun cast serenity all around her. It was like a painting. She wondered if she'd remember this moment, or how Steven had looked down at her while they made love. He'd been haloed by that sweet light, the vibrant colors, and the blue of his eyes seemed to deepen to impossible depths. Love. It was love in his eyes. She smiled and sighed happily. She'd seen that look in his eyes before, but in this setting, it just seemed so much more. So deep.

Hyde glanced at the top of her head. "What are you sighing about?"

She giggled and raised up, turning over to rest her chin on his shoulder. "I was just thinking that that was the most romantic moment of my life."

He shook his head. "No, you mean it was the hottest moment of your life."

She rolled her eyes. "Most romantic."

"Hottest."

She swatted at his chest. "Steven!"

"Come on, Jackie, give me something. I came out here, didn't I?"

She stared at his raised eyebrow. "Fine. It was the hottest moment of my life."

He grinned and patted her backside, letting his hand rest there longer than necessary. "Thank you."

She scooted up his body so her lips were near his jaw, and placed several tiny, nibbling kisses. Her lips moved up to his ear, and she suckled him softly. "Most romantic," she whispered, just before biting his earlobe softly.

Hyde rolled his eyes, but smoothed his hand up and down her back. More of that stuff, dollface. She gave a little more, then settled down on his chest again.

They lay there in silence for a few minutes, until it bothered him, which was odd. He wanted her to talk. Wanted to hear her voice. So very strange, and it left him quite uncomfortable. But silence between them, right now, seemed wrong. He cleared his throat. "Uh…hey, you wanna hear something sick?" He felt her nod, and smiled. Sure. Now she got quiet. "Never thought I'd say this, but I wish you were just pregnant."

Jackie sat up and met his eyes. He had that look on his face, the one where he tried to cover up his real feelings with jokes and lightness. But she knew better. She reached for his cheek and rested her fingers on his beard. So scruffy. She smiled sadly. She knew exactly what he was saying. Pregnancy before this had seemed like the worst that could happen. Something that would ruin everything, both their lives, everything. And now…mere pregnancy would seem a blessing. "I know what you mean," she answered quietly. She looked at him again. "Do you want kids, Steven?"

She'd never really asked him. They'd never really talked about the future, mostly because he'd been so resistant and she so insistent. But they'd never even talked about it in general terms.

He stared for a moment at her bare breasts, such beautiful ones, but averted his eyes to the sky. "I don't know. I mean, if parenting skills are genetic, it's probably better that I don't." He tried to keep the bitterness in check. Tried to keep the Zen strong. But it never seemed to work with Jackie.

Jackie's hand, still resting on his cheek, slid down to his chest, and she petted him softly. Her lips curved up. "I think you'd be a great dad, Steven. Nothing like your parents." She giggled. "Probably more like Red."

He turned and gave her a grin. "Yeah, and it would be my luck I'd get a son as girly as Forman."

She laughed and leaned down to give him a lingering kiss. She drew back only an inch or two and stared into his eyes. "You'd be a great dad, Steven."

Hyde smiled and rubbed her back, his hand plummeting into her thick mane of hair. "And you'd be a gorgeous mom." Her eyes lit up, and he shook his head affectionately. "Come here." He put her head down on his chest. Suddenly, quiet sounded good.

She lay on him for a few minutes, but as the dawn began to give way to morning, she sat up. She'd never paid much attention to sunrises or sunsets, or anything like that. She'd never noticed how majestic the trees were, or how lovely meadows could be. Even the wildflowers and rocks that nestled at the foot of the trees seemed so much larger now. So beautiful. The world seemed so magical.

Maybe because it also seemed so momentary. Slippery. Because she could be about to lose it all.

Hyde reached up and traced his fingers down Jackie's bare back. "Dollface?" His eyes skimmed up and down her flesh. Her back was so smooth, olive toned, flawless, curving sweetly into the column of her spine. God, who knew that a back could be so sexy? He wanted to breathe every inch of it, taking slow tastes of it as he did so.

She stared at the horizon and watched as the shape of far away buildings and landscapes freed themselves from shadows. So much she hadn't looked at, hadn't heard, hadn't felt or experienced, hadn't done. There was so much she'd missed. And so much she could miss forever. Her eyes became wet and the beautiful sunrise blurred. "I keep thinking that this might be the last sunrise I ever see, Steven."

His entire body stiffened, and his hand dropped from her body. "God, Jackie, shut the hell up!"

He didn't want to hear her say that. He didn't even want her to be thinking it. And yet…how could he not expect her to, when it was in the back of his mind every single second?

Still. He didn't want to talk about it. At all. Ever.

Talking about it made it a real possibility.

Like it isn't a real possibility if you don't talk about it?

She turned to look at him and found him staring up at the sky, his jaw more tensed than she'd ever seen it before. And his eyes looked as bitingly angry as his voice sounded. "Puddin' Pop, we need to talk about it."

He glared at her. "No, we don't, Jackie."

They stared at one another, neither one wanting to give in, one needed to talk, one needing not to talk. Both of them silently pleading, still, with God to make this entire thing a nightmare they'd soon wake up from.

Finally, Hyde rolled his eyes. "Damn it, Jackie, I just wanna be with you right now. Stop ruining it."

Please, baby, please. Don't make me talk about it. Don't…I can't…just don't.

Jackie knew she'd probably pushed him too far, and she smiled weakly, taking comfort in the fact that she knew why he didn't want to talk about it. Because he didn't want to admit that it was a possibility. He didn't want to lose her. "Okay, baby." With a sigh, she laid back down, her head again on his chest, her body curled up on her side as close to his as she could get. She couldn't stop herself from turning her lips to his chest and giving him a long, sweet kiss.

His eyes closed. Sensual reverberations stiffened his body. "Jackie…" No other woman had so easily turned him on with such simple touches.

She rolled on top of him and stared down into his eyes. "Steven," she whispered. Her fingers cupped his face, his beard surprisingly soft to the tips of her fingers.

He watched her eyes dance between his, then stop, dead on, piercing his with everything she was. A rush of feelings filled him, so intense he was paralyzed for a few seconds. Love. Fear. Desire. Sadness. Pain. More love. More and more love. God. So much…

"God, I love you, Jackie."

His lips responded immediately to her kiss, but she kept it brief. Her hot breath replaced her lips on his, making his own breath become labored. He gripped her backside and pressed down lightly.

"I love you, Steven."

Another tiny kiss. A flick of her tongue into his mouth.

"Be with me."

He nodded, his fingers squeezing her. She sounded almost desperate, and he felt more than desperate. "Be with me."

They kissed, and quickly it turned passionate.

Even so, both of them knew that what they so desperately wanted from each other wasn't only the physical. And both of them knew that what they so desperately wanted from each other might not be possible.

Friday morning, Point Place General Hospital

"So the doctors said you could wear that tee shirt instead of a gown?"

Jackie sat in her hospital bed and smiled down at her chest. "Yep. Well, I have to wear the gown too, but they said I could wear this underneath." She'd had to sob her eyes out to convince the doctor, but it worked. Good thing, since they refused to let her wear Steven's sunglasses during the surgery. She had to settle for the Led Zeppelin tee shirt.

At least it was something of his. It even smelled like him. She'd made him wear it for awhile before putting it on.

Eric looked around the hospital bed. Fez, Donna, Kelso, Red, Kitty and Bob were gathered. No Hyde. "Speaking of Hyde, where is he?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "He forgot my favorite teddy bear. Can you believe that? I mean, I can't stay in this…" She gazed around the room distastefully. "In this room without him. Especially since I have to be all…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked down. The doctors had made it clear that no one would be able to stay with her. And even Steven's whispered reassurance that he'd sneak in hadn't made her feel better.

Kelso shrugged. "Well, it's probably better that you don't have a roommate." He chuckled. "I mean, they'd probably die laughing from seeing you with a bald head!"

Hyde scowled as he walked into the room, just in time to hear Kelso's comment. "Shut the hell up, moron." He went to the bed and tried to grin at Jackie. "Here's your teddy bear."

"And a present!" Jackie squealed, her horror at Michael's insensitive comment forgotten because of the brightly wrapped package Steven placed on her lap.

Hyde nodded. "It's not from me. The post man was at your apartment and he left it with me. I opened it to make sure it wasn't another nightie from Kelso." He glared at Kelso, who cowered slightly and stepped backwards, away from Jackie.

Jackie giggled and opened the present. She gasped. At least two dozen brightly covered, silk scarves lay in the tissue paper. Her mouth hung open as she pulled them out. "Oh my god…these are so beautiful!"

Donna nodded and reached out to finger the silk. "And silk, too. Jackie, these will be perfect for you to wear until your wig is done."

Fez nodded. "And very stylish!"

Jackie nodded, but she was distracted by the card found at the bottom. Her fingers shook as she slid it out and read it. "Oh my god," she murmured.

Jackie, Sorry I can't be with you. I'm thinking of you. Hope you like these. They're almost as beautiful as me, so how could you not? Love, Mom.

Hyde watched his girlfriend carefully.

"They're….they're from my mom." Tears filled her eyes, and she looked up at Steven. "Steven, they're...from…" Her throat contracted, and she couldn't talk. She wasn't quite sure how to feel. After being so unconcerned and insensitive, now her mother sends her these beautiful scarves? Perfect for covering her bald head?

She just didn't know how to take it.

He smiled and took one of her hands. "And a present is better than her actually being here, isn't it? Hell, these scarves will last longer."

She laughed and squeezed his hand. "Ain't that the truth?"

Twenty minutes later

The group was forced out of Jackie's room in order for some prep work to be done on her, and as they did, Donna pulled Hyde aside. She looked at him curiously. "Hyde, are those scarves really from Pam?"

He looked at her. "Are you kidding? Pam's probably off on another cruise with some sugar daddy."

Eric looked confused. "Wait, then who are they from?"

Hyde stared at him but said nothing.

Eric's eyes widened. "Oh…you bought them and pretended they were from Pam?"

Donna frowned. "But the card…wouldn't Jackie notice if it wasn't her handwriting?"

Hyde smirked. "One of Leo's secret talents is forgery. Jackie has all those postcards Pam sent her. He just copied her handwriting from one of them."

"Awww, Hyde, that's so sweet," Donna said, grinning.

He didn't smile in return. "Yeah, well, Jackie still wants her mom to love her. I just…I wanted to give her something…" He rolled his eyes and looked away.

Plus I don't want her to turn out to be like me. Then…she wouldn't be her. And I…god, I love her.

Eric patted his friend's shoulder. "Seriously, man. That's a really nice thing to do."

The door to Jackie's room opened, and a rather haggard looking nurse came out. "Excuse me," she said to the group. "Is there a Steven here?"

Hyde nodded. "I'm Steven."

"Well, could you come in? We need to shave Miss Burkhardt's head, and she's…" The nurse looked slightly embarrassed. "She's threatening to bite me if I don't let you in to be with her."

Hyde chuckled. "That sounds about right." The nurse gave him a look, and he shrugged. "She's a biter, what can I say?"

He followed the nurse in the room with a slight smile. Yeah. His girl was still her feisty self. Alive and well.

At least for now.