Chapter Six: Uncertainty Lies Ahead

A/N: I'm very, very, very, VERY sorry about how long this chapter took to write and put out. It's sort of a pivotal moment in the story, but also one of the hardest parts to write. Still so much more to go though, I don't think I've even began to cover what I really want to in this fic, so this won't be ending any time soon. I don't honestly expect to update any time before next Friday, and even that's pushing it. Sorry guys! But I will be on vacation in a week, so, hopefully that will provide much more time to write! Thank you so much for all of your kind and positive reviews, I was rather surprised at how many I received, and they made me feel so good, so, thank you so much! Please keep reviewing; it keeps me writing :)

Rating: The rating might be R here for some adult situations, basically, if you're not comfortable with that kind of stuff, I wouldn't recommend reading this fic, because I don't think you'll like it!

…

Hyde hated waiting.

When he was little, he would wait for his father to step through the front door. He imagined that he would open his arms and cry, "Steven! I've missed you so much!" Then on his fifth birthday, after receiving a piece of beef jerky in the mail from his father as his gift, he realized he needed to stop waiting for him.

So he did.

He always waited for his mother to come home every night though. There he sat on their tattered couch, waiting for his drunken mother to stumble in the door. Despite the fact she was usually so drunk or high she didn't even notice him in the room, it gave him a sense of security that she always came back.

And then one day, she didn't.

Hyde never had to wait for Jackie. It was actually one of the things that had first drawn him to her that summer when they first started sleeping together. Every day, she was there the same time without fail. Every time she said she would be somewhere, she was always there.

And he loved that about her.

Now, for the first time, there he sat, waiting. Surprisingly, he had subsided his urge to cry and those tears that had threatened to fall down his face so many hours ago had traveled back inside, to be kept far away and not be shown again. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around a bit startled to be pulled out of his daze. There Donna stood, looking at him nervously and tired.

"Hey." She said sort of timidly.

He nodded at her, not having the energy to speak any words at that moment.

"So, I just talked to the doctor and he said that she's sleeping, and but that we can go in one at a time to see her if we want. And well, I figured you might want to go before me."

He pulled off his sunglasses and allowed his eyes to reveal the thankfulness he felt but could not express in words.

She gave a sad smile and pointed down the corridor to where the doctor was standing.

The doctor held out his hand, "I'm Dr. Lewis."

"Steven Hyde."

"Well, Steven…" Hyde cringed slightly at the use of his first name, it usually was only uttered through the lips of Mrs. Forman or Jackie. "She's in pretty bad condition, she was beaten badly and I just need you to prepare yourself."

Hyde paused a moment before going down towards the door that separated his body and heart. He looked in the doctor's eyes for a moment, dreading the response the question he was about to ask. "She wasn't just strangled, was she?"

The look on Dr. Lewis' face was enough to let Hyde know the answer to his question with out words.

Silence, it had always been the communication he had known the best.

"That son of a bitch." Hyde muttered furious under his breath. "Do they have any clue who it was?"

"Even if they did, I'm not sure they would tell me their leads. And well, they don't want anyone taking matters into their own hands."

Hyde nodded his head and walked to the door and peered in the window. There she lay, his chick, her face bruised and her hair all mused. Although she lay still and looked rather peaceful, Hyde knew better. He knew that sleeping position, for he had seen it almost every night for the past two years.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside, listening to the monitor beep monotonously. He grabbed a chair as it screeched across the floor. The room was rather dark, only a tiny lamp and the illuminating moon provided light that shadowed across her face. He sat down, unsure of what his reaction should be. He could not bring himself to cry in sadness or smile in relief. He felt blank, useless.

Her fists were clenched and he took her left hand, gently removing her fingers from the fist and laced them through his own. He gently kissed her the back of her hand and saw her body relax and inwardly smiled, knowing, that she was calming.

…

"Please, please, don't." she whispered in a pitiful plea.

The stone cold gray eyes inspected her body. He had long since ripped off her dress and now stared at her milky body, covered only in a bra and underwear. He watched the goose bumps from fear rise on her skin and he dragged his fingernail along her thigh.

She gasped slightly in disgust and utter horror as his fingertips grazed the hem of her underwear. "No, no, no." she sobbed quietly, "Please don't."

He grinned vicariously at her, "I wouldn't scream if I were you." He pointed to the knife sitting on the table. She struggled to against the ropes he had tied her wrists down with.

He ran his dry and calloused finger along her porcelain skin and smirked, "You're mother might have satisfied me enough if only she hadn't screamed. Hmm, what a pity I had to shoot her before I had my way with her."

She felt him become slightly aroused as he ran his finger along the seem of her bra on her breast and felt warm tears pulsate down her cheeks.

She knew there was no escaping.

…

Hyde continued to just stare at her as he watched her breathing change all of a sudden to faster pace. He was then greeted with her terrified aqua marine pools bursting open, with fresh tears already on the tips of her eyelashes. She looked completely petrified until she met his eyes.

"Steven?" she whispered.

"I'm right here babe." He said standing up and placing his arms gently around her.

She sobbed harder then she had ever remembered crying in her whole entire life that moment on his chest. He stroked he hair gently and didn't say a word. She echoed throughout the room as she continued to relieve her pain.

Slowly, her sobs subsided to a steady flow of tears running down her cheeks. She looked up at him and he took his right hand and wiped away a few of the escaping droplets soothingly.

"Steven, he, I mean…" she looked up at him, a mixture of disgust and shame in her eyes.

"I know." He said pulling her in closer to his body. "You don't have to say anymore."

And there they stayed, embracing one another, wondering, where did they go from there? Was there some place ahead that they could reach for or was this a moment to remain frozen in time forever?

Uncertainty frightened both of them, but the truth of their problems only began to plague them.

…

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