Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with That 70s Show, and I certainly don't own Johnny Cash.
Jackie sat up the next morning, and realized she was in her old room. She was confused for a second, and then remembered the night before. She smiled, and looked over at Hyde, who was still asleep. She nudged him, and he woke up. She grinned, and stretched.
"Good morning," she said, and streched. "Did you sleep well?"
"I slept better than I've slept in a long time," he said.
"Well good."
"Yeah." She rubbed her eyes, and began humming. He listened to the song, and sat up in surprise. "Are you humming Johnny Cash?" She looked at him, and thought for a second.
"I guess I was."
"You like Johnny Cash?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Since college."
"College certainly did a number on you in more ways than one," he said, and she chuckled, and shoved him a little bit. "How did that happen?" She blushed slightly.
"It's a silly story…"
"I wanna hear it." She chuckled, and sat up.
"Well, if you must know, I started liking Johnny Cash when one of my boyfriends played it for me while he was performing." Hyde was kind of thrown.
"You dated a musician?"
"Yep. Pete. We had just started dating, and I was at one of his shows. And he said 'I'm gonna play a song for a girl I know. I'm sure you all know it, but it's for her.' And he started playing 'Walk the Line'."
"I bet you loved that." She laughed, and nodded.
"Hey, he was singing a song about how he'd never cheat on me," she said, laughing some more. "Of course I loved it."
"Did he keep to his word, or was it just a line?" Hyde asked, subconsciously tickling her shoulder.
"…. He kept it," Jackie said. "But it eventually didn't work out."
"Why not?"
"… It's not important." He smiled, and they kissed quickly.
"So… What time is your flight this afternoon?" he asked. He always knows how to ruin a moment, even when he's thirty one, she thought.
"It's at five fifteen," she said. "Barry and I are going to hit the road at two, just to be sure." He nodded, and she looked at the clock. It was nine on the dot. "So, we have five hours left. What should we do?" He shrugged, and tickled her stomach a little bit.
"We could go again, for old times sake," he said.
"Steven! We went at it three times last night!" she laughed, and he tackled her to the bed. "Wait wait wait."
"What what what?" he asked, kissing her neck.
"Steven, while screwing around is all fine and dandy, you should understand that I love you and… Can we make this work?" she asked. He sighed, and sat up again.
"I don't know," he said, and she sighed angrily and sat up too. "What?"
"Nothing," she said, and smiled at him, trying not to mess it all up like she tended to do when they were together. "Never mind. This was fun. It was good closure. We got the closure we needed." He nodded, but knew she was disappointed.
"Oh my God, I should probably get back to Bob's," she continued. "I have to pack, and say goodbye to everyone, and Barry and I have to hit the road." He nodded again, and she began throwing her clothes back on and hiding her hurt.
"I'll drive you," he said.
"I should hope so," she said, teasing a little bit. He smiled, and also got dressed.
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He parked the car in front of the Pinciottis, and they sat for a little bit.
"Are you going to stay, or say goodbye here?" she asked. He thought for a second, and didn't know what he was going to do. It would be easier for him to just let her go, a clean break, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to do.
"Well, I have to take care of some things at the store, but I will be back to say goodbye," he said. She nodded, and knew it was all she could get from him.
"Okay," she said. "Well, I guess I'll see you at 1:45, then."
"Yep," he said. She nodded, and wondered if she should kiss him. But she didn't want to spook him. To him it may have been just a one night thing. His closure. She told him that's what it was to her, but she didn't want it to be. So instead, she smiled, and got out of the car. "See ya." She waved, and walked up to the house. She turned, and his car was already down the street. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? she thought, and sighed.
She walked into the house, and closed the door behind her. She was about to throw the door open and run down the street in a tizzy, but Donna and Eric walked out of the kitchen.
"YOU STAYED THE NIGHT!" Donna yelled, pointing. Jackie jumped in surprise, and exhaled.
"JEEZE, Donna," she said. "Give me a heart attack!"
"Did you two get back together?" Donna asked, hopeful. Jackie shrugged.
"I don't think so," she said.
"But you had sex?" Eric asked.
"Yes, we had sex, Foreman," Jackie said, and walked past them and up the steps. Donna and Eric looked at each other, and Donna groaned.
"I thought Hyde was past the whole 'I'm a dumbass' thing," she said, and followed her friend. Eric sighed, and went back into the kitchen. Barry was sitting next to Tommy, and Eric shook his head.
"Is Jackie home?" Barry asked.
"Yeah."
"How did she look?"
"Crestfallen."
"Ah, I remember days like that at NYU," Barry said. "Does Donna have it under control? There's only so much a gay man can do."
"I think so."
"... I really don't want to have to do this, but I may have to kill that Hyde fellow."
"I think my wife will be more than happy to help you."
Donna knocked on the door, and Jackie gave her the okay to come in. She opened it, and Jackie was packing.
"Okay, what happened?" Donna asked.
"I was an idiot," Jackie said, throwing clothes in her suitcase.
"How come?"
"Because I opened my heart to Steven Hyde again and I got it stepped on," Jackie said, and began changing out of her clothes from the night before. Donna closed the door, and sat on the bed. "I told him I still loved him."
"You told me that you didn't," Donna said.
"Oh come on, Donna, we both know I was lying!" Jackie said, and Donna smirked a little bit. "I told him that, we had sex, I asked how we were going to continue our relationship, and he totally blew me off!"
"I'm sure that he loves you too."
"Donna, before today he had only said that to me once," Jackie said, fuming. "And that was when I was mad at him for cheating on me!"
"I know, but-."
"And I am starting to wonder if he just wanted to not be in trouble with me because I was an easy lay!" Jackie snarled, and threw on jeans and a sweater.
"For Hyde, actions speak louder than words, you know," Donna said.
"But for God's sake, Donna, it's just nice to hear the words once in awhile!" Jackie exclaimed. Donna sighed, and stood and hugged her. Jackie accepted the hug, and was too angry to fall apart.
"Well, this is fine, I got closure, I got sex, I can go back to New York City and immerse myself in my work and get rich and then I can BUY myself a husband," Jackie continued. "Who needs love? I've survived without it all these years, I can survive more." Donna just hugged her, and Jackie sighed.
"And you always have Barry," was all Donna said, and Jackie laughed a little bit. "Oh honey. You want some help packing?"
"… Yes," Jackie said. "I would love some help." Donna nodded, and helped her pack her bag. "Donna, while I was in my first semester at NYU, I tried so hard to forget Steven. I would latch on to any guy who looked my way. I would sleep with them so quickly, because I thought that if I did, I would forget about Steven and they would love me. And of course, as it always is and as I should have remembered, that wasn't the case. In fact, I was on the road to being considered a slut in my dorm that first semester."
"I'm sorry," Donna said. Jackie shrugged.
"Barry actually sat me down one night and told me he was worried about me," she said. "And he was the only one of my friends there who said anything. We've been attached ever since. He's the one who told me that a guy would one day see the beauty in me. I finally got my life together, I had a few serious boyfriends, but they didn't work out. I was in love with one of them, Pete. But I couldn't get past how much he was like Steven. We just became friends, and he actually married our friend Mandy. I still talk to them, but that's not really my point." She was rambling now, and Donna knew she needed to vent.
"I promised myself I wouldn't let that happen again, and it did last night," Jackie said. "And I feel like that scared freshman who associated screwing with loving." Donna took her hand, and Jackie looked at her closest female friend. "But this time, instead of it being some dumb college boy I just met, I love him. That's the ONLY difference. And it makes it that much worse." Donna nodded, and helped her pack.
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At 1:45, Jackie and Barry were all packed, and most everyone had shown up to say goodbye to their favorite ex-cheerleader. Everyone but Hyde.
Kitty gave her a snow globe that said 'Wisconsin' in it.
"I hope that it will help you remember us," Kitty said.
"Kitty, I'm going to be back more often now," Jackie said. "I'll be back before you know it."
"I know, I know," Kitty said, wiping her eyes. Kelso hugged Jackie, and lifted her up again. She groaned, but smiled.
"You should come in to Chicago and see me and the family too," he said.
"I will, Michael, we'll figure something out," Jackie said. "I want to see my god daughter as soon as possible." Kelso set her down, and Fez was next in line.
"I'm going to miss you," he said. She nodded, and hugged him. "We had some fun times."
"Yes we did, Fez," Jackie said. "I hope the salon does well in the next year too." She turned to Donna and Eric. Eric was holding Tommy, who was smiling at her.
"Goodbye, Tommy Foreman," Jackie said, and Tommy smiled at her.
"Bye, pretty lady," he answered. Jackie grinned, and kissed his forehead. Eric pat her on the back, and kissed her head.
"You need to come see us too, Satan," he said. She laughed, and nodded.
"You and Donna should come see me sometime," she retorted. She turned to Donna, and Donna smiled at her. They threw their arms around each other, and hugged very tightly.
"You're still my best girl friend," Donna said. Jackie nodded, and felt the tears coming on.
"You're mind too," she answered. "Not including Barry."
"Har har," Barry said, loading up the bags in the trunk. Kitty and Red missed the joke, and Donna and Jackie pulled away. She looked around, and knew that Steven wasn't coming. She nodded, in acceptance, and turned to Barry.
"Shall we hit the road?" she asked. He nodded, and said his goodbyes as Jackie looked around, hoping that Steven's car would turn around the corner before they started up theirs and drove off. But her hopes were in vain. Steven Hyde, once again, had let her down.
They drove down the street, and Jackie stared out the window, numb.
"I'm sure he had a good reason," Barry said. She snorted.
"He always had a good reason," she said, meekly.
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Forty minutes after two, Donna answered a knock at the door. She opened it, and Hyde was standing there, hands in his pockets.
"A little late," Donna said, flatly. He sighed, and walked in the room. "What happened, Hyde?"
"I got caught up at the store," he said, and sat on the couch. She sighed in exasperation, and chuckled a little bit.
"Must have been one HELL of a dilemma," she said. "Hyde, you let her down."
"Don't be so melodramatic."
"I'm not being melodramatic," Donna said, harshly. "I am telling you the truth. That woman loves you more than anyone ever has loved you, and you just let her walk away. Without saying goodbye, without telling her how you felt about her, without giving her the respect she deserves!"
"She knows how I feel about her!" Hyde snapped.
"Are you so sure about that?" Donna demanded. "How could she possibly know? Did you ever tell her how you feel? How do you feel?"
"Donna…"
"Hyde, how do you feel, right now, about Jackie Burkhardt?" Donna asked. "Do you care about her? Was she just the lay that you needed again?"
"No! How could you say that about-!"
"How do you feel!"
"Donna-!"
"Face your feelings for once! How do you feel?"
"I love her!" he yelled back. She put her hands on her hips, and raised her eyebrows at him, so as to say 'I told you so'. He growled, and sat down on the couch again, resting his forehead in his hands.
"Then where were you today?" she asked, calmer this time.
"Donna, she lives so far away," he said. "I'm here, she's in New York. That would never work."
"… So who says you have to stay here?" she asked.
"Donna, I have a business here," he said. "I have the Foremans, and Fez, and I have a good life here..."
"Hyde…" He knew that he was fooling himself. He pulled his hands away from his forehead, and looked at his oldest friend. She put a hand on his back, and he leaned his head on her shoulder.
"I really messed up again," he said, and Donna sighed. He groaned, and she hugged him. "Why do I always mess things up with her? Why do I continually hurt the person I love the most?" Donna shrugged, and pet his hair.
"Sometimes in life, the best way to tell someone how you feel is by saying it," Donna said. Hyde nodded.
"I never told her."
"I know."
"She told me, but I never told her."
"You told her once, I hear."
"… That was a long time ago." She nodded, and he actually got a little misty eyed.
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On the plane, Jackie was staring at the ground below, and Barry rubbed her hand.
"Well loves, when we get home I am going to go out, get us some movies and ice cream, and we're going to have a night to ourselves," he said.
"Ooh, what movies?" she asked, though it was obvious she was sad.
"Anything that doesn't depress you or make me want to hurt guys," Barry said. "We have enough of those emotions at the moment." She smiled at him, and laid her head on his shoulder. He put that arm around her, and she fell asleep, trying to suss out what she thought of that trip back home.
