Yes, I know. I know I am a few days late. (Laughs nervously and pulls at collar.) Please forgive me. Work has been shorthanded and I got called in. Plus, you know crazy the holidays get. (Tries to straighten hair that is sticking up in 900 different directions) Hopefully you will all be happy once you have read this chapter. Please note due to Christmas I may have to skip this next Sunday's update because of work and family. I am sorry but it cannot be helped once the holidays are over it should be back the weekly updates. (Wishes she could make a sign that says Please save me from being an adult all I want to do for a living if write Fanfiction but no one would understand.) Thank you in advance for your patience.
Also please remember to be kind I have no Beta. And it does help to have reviews. Thank you.
Chapter Four – Watching for Comets by Skillet
Kitty P.O.V. - January 3, 1980 - 12:51 PM
Kitty stood quietly leaning against the doorway of Jackie's room, watching her husband slumped in the chair next to the bed with his girl's hand placed in his own as his thumb brushed repeatedly back and forth over her small knuckles in a soothing motion. Sighing she slipped in and placed her own hands-on Red's shoulders massaging them gently, as they both examined the lines made on the heart monitor, fixated on every beep each of the machines around them made, Kitty placed a loving kiss upon the top of his head. It was overwhelming, even as a nurse, seeing all of this attached to one of their kids, the ventilator that was keeping her breathing, the machine which they had hooked to her IV to push all of medicine and fluids, the wires monitoring her heart and other vitals, and of course the crash cart the were keeping in the corner of her room for if her heart gave out again.
Although Jackie had made it past Dr. Asher's original 48-hour critical status warning, she keeps having seizures every time her body comes under too much duress, which in turn can and has caused yet another cardiac arrest. So, Dr. Asher, Red and Kitty had decided to keep her in ICU on the ventilator in a medically induced coma, until her body was in better shape. Dr. Asher suggested it would be best for Jackie, as well as her body, if they waited to take her off until she had completely detoxed Cloud-Nine and was done with the withdraw symptoms of the drug. As a nurse Kitty knew he was right, but as a mother figure, she was having a hard time with the knowledge that there would be two more long weeks of this. She didn't know if all of them would last two more weeks; especially judging by the last two days. And then there was their girl…
Jackie was far to pallid, her usual olive complexation gone, Kitty detested the sight of how very still the usual bubbly brunette was every time she walked in this room; and don't get her started on how bizarre it was be sitting with her, brushing her hair without a word spoken. Kitty lifted one of her hands, brushed away a silent tear and went back to rubbing Red's shoulder's. She needed to be the strong one right now, Red was the one who was refusing to leave Jackie's side, since her last cardiac arrest, at four o'clock this morning and Kitty knew for a fact he hadn't eaten since lunch time yesterday. Maybe he wasn't allowing any of the other's kids in to visit Jackie, but that Library girl had come in from Chicago and Kitty was hoping he would let her visit long enough for her to get him to go for lunch.
"Red, honey…" Kitty had only just begun before she was cut off, Red knowing exactly why she had come. Dang it, she knew the massage would make it look like she was trying to butter him up for something, which well, she kind maybe is, could have been a little bit of a motive too.
"No Kitty, I've already told you, I not leaving her alone again. And until she is awake and can tell me she wants those idiots here beside her; they aren't coming in either." His voice gruff, harsh and to the point with the exact same words he has said every time she has asked him, if he would let one of the other kids come visit, even if only so they could go home and rest.
"I know, Red. Trust me, I know. I was just going to tell you, that Brooke has driven down from Chicago and was hoping to have some time with her. She, Kelso, and Betsy have met up with Steven in the waiting room." She began with a sigh, walking around his chair to face him before she actually started speaking this time, her tone a bit firmer, which apparently still didn't seem to mean much since he cut her off again.
"Steven? He's still here? I thought I told him to go home." He was starting to become more agitated; she could tell by the way he straightened up in the chair, bringing his foot down from the knee he'd had it rested on.
"Well Red Forman, Steven's not going to leave here anymore than you are. You're just going to have to accept that." Kitty threw right back at him, getting a little irritable herself, as she let her hands fall to slap against her legs as if that marked the period to the end of Steven going anywhere.
"All I'm saying is he's a little late showing up for her now." He mumbled under his breath but still clearly enough to make sure Kitty could hear him. Not that she excepted any less of her husband, which is why she made sure not to pull any punches of her own, after all Red shouldn't except any less of her either.
"Yes well, so were we. Anyways, I figured that if anyone was a good friend to Jackie, it was Brooke. She should get to see her Red, and while she does, you and I can go get something to eat, maybe go back to the house for a shower and change of clothes."
"Okay, I guess you're right about Brooke. If you want to go get her, I'll wait here until she arrives." He finally conceded in his own bull-headed, stubborn way, not that Kitty had seen it happening any other way before she had stepped into the room.
"Alright. I'll meet you in the waiting room then." With a small smile she bent over and pressed a light kiss on his cheek, her heart melting, as it did every time, she watches him blush lightly from her showing him these kinds of tiny affectionate displays.
"Yeah, sure." He grumbles halfheartedly, as Kitty then bent over and pressed a kiss to Jackie's forehead as well before she shuffles from the room.
Kitty really was doing her best to try and not take sides in the exhausting situation, but as she looked back over her shoulder towards the ICU where she knew Red was sitting in Jackie's room, she nervously rubbed her hands on the blue jean skirt as she came up to the corner where she would turn towards the hallway that led to the waiting room which held Brooke, Kelso, Betsy and Steven… Poor Steven the other stubborn male in her household who had refused to leave the hospital other than to be gone long enough to shower, shave, (Hallelujah, he shaved that awful mustache!) and change, even though he had been sentenced to the waiting room.
She was hoping that in the time Brooke spent with Jackie today, while she and Red were out today, she could plead Steven case again. Hopefully, she could change Red's mind and not just for Steven but for Jackie too. She was going to know when she woke up that her friends, were changing, that they were actually there for her and truly cared. How Steven did more than refusing to leave the hospital but carried around that black t-shirt and pink journal like he'd appointed himself her personal security guard over.
She knew he called WB as well, although if it was in regard to work or not now that Kitty could not say, because the man had driven down from Milwaukee to check on both Jackie and his son just yesterday. Of course, Kitty wasn't sure what all was said between the two men, but WB had stayed more than 6 hours that day talking to Steven, Red had let WB visit Jackie in the ICU but only briefly, so surly they talked about that, but it was the first time Kitty had even seen the younger man ever openly crying. Granted it was somewhat in anger at himself, but still his father seemed to calm him quite well, and Kitty slipped away before she could be noticed standing there holding the bags of food. She took Red's burger and fries to him first ate with him and them venture back out to the waiting room with the father and son.
"Michael, you need to stop bouncing her around like that. I'm warning you. Your excuse of, she's older now, doesn't mean she won't still vomit on you; besides that, she just ate." Kitty saw the beauty warning Kelso as he threw their now 14-month-old daughter up in the air again and caught her before spinning them both around making an airplane sound.
"But look Mommy, we are having so much fun. Aren't we Bets?" Michael laughed along with his daughter, as she clapped her hands giggled along with her father. Yup, sorry Brooke looks like that girl maybe more Kelso, but boy oh boy if she isn't the prettiest little girl Kitty hasn't ever seen.
"Dude just listen to her Mom will you Kelso. She said it's not good for her, and you don't want Betsy to get sick do you, you moron. How hard is it to find something else that Bets likes to do? You know something that won't make her puke. Come here Bets, you want to go look in your bag with Uncle Hyde? Maybe we can find some toys, huh?" As Kitty walks up to meet them, she watches Betsy practically jumps from Michael's arms and into Steven's. A sight that warms and breaks her heart all at once with the knowledge she has now, thanks to the diary Steven clings to.
"Damn, Hyde I only just…" Michael had begun to complain, only to shut down by Brooke quickly.
"Michael language." Brooke corrected, slapping the back of his head lightly with the tips of her fingers, Kitty couldn't help but chuckled at the exchange.
"Sorry." Michael apologized before slinking away to the corner to meet Steven and Betsy as they started to dig thru a bag Brooke had clearly packed to keep her occupied the little girl during her time here.
"Kitty, I'm so sorry. How very rude of us. How are you? How is Jackie?" Brooke turned sharply when she heard Kitty's chuckle behind her.
"It's fine dear, I should have let you all know I was here. I'm…Well, to be quite honest. I'm exhausted, but other than that I am good, honey thank you asking. As for Jackie, well things are… well things are not so good, but our Jackie is a fighter. She's hanging in there." Kitty answered carefully as she glanced to her side knowing the Steven was hanging on every word they were saying, even if he was keeping up all pretenses of playing with Betsy.
"Yes, I knew in my gut that something was off. I knew, I should have come down here checked on her sooner, but she just sounded so convening on the phone when I called. Especially, after the… anyways. But she just kept insisting that I didn't come. I should have known better." Kitty watched as the young beauty struggled to swallow and brushed away a couple a silent tear, it was clear she didn't want to break down in front of her little girl. She had been through a lot with Jackie, and for that Kitty would never be able to thank her enough for, grabbing her hand in one of her own Kitty patted it with her other and gave it a squeeze.
"Don't take it personally dear, Jackie had quite a few of us fooled. Well, sort of, when I look back… I really should have known better too. I mean really her dating Fez?! That has red flags all over the place." Kitty couldn't help but wave her hand in front of her own face, as she let out her signature nervous laugh, which turned into sort of an awkward silence when she let her laughter die out once she caught sight of the perplexed looked on Brooke's face.
"Wait a minute? Jackie wasn't dating Fez. She never said anything to me about dating Fez. Just her meeting this guy named Dylan. She didn't say anything about dating him though, just that they were getting really close." Brooke questioned Kitty, truly confused and lost to the fact that Jackie been dating anyone, especially Fez.
"Well, I can assure you Jackie never mentioned meeting anyone new to us and she hated cheaters. I just can't see her…" Kitty knew she may be going a bit overbroad. However, she felt as if Brooke had insinuated that Jackie had in fact been with someone else, as well as Fez and Kitty felt the need to defend her girl.
"Well as I said Mrs. Forman, Jackie never told me…" Kitty watch the librarian stiffen as she crossed her arms making her look defensive, with one of her sharp eyebrows arched high and the edge in the tone of her voice, told Kitty, she was just getting started, thankfully they had both been cut short.
"Brooke did Jackie happen to tell you when or where she met this Dylan guy?" Steven was suddenly standing so close to both a look mixed between rage, hope and desperation in his eyes. Huh, where were his sunglasses? Looking around Kitty spotted the young Betsy Kelso with Steven Hyde's infamous sunglasses and a huge smile on her face behind him.
"You know, I'm not sure. I think she started talking about him around late July, and if I remember correctly, she said she met him at Groove's." The young beauty's focus instantly shifted as she brought her finger to her chin, as she recalled the information innocently. Kitty however, caught sight of how Steve had turned a pile when Brooke said that Jackie had met Dylan at Groove's and she knew she had to stop this conversation in now.
"Oh goodness me, Brooke sweetie, Red is waiting, and you really should get you back there before he goes and changes his mind." Turning Brooke towards the way she came and shooing her away she didn't give Steve or Brooke a chance to say anymore on the subject and on a mission, she turned back to the boys.
"But…" It was the only word Steven was able to get out in protest as Kitty wrapped an arm around him and led closer to where Michael and Betsy were playing.
"Steven, why don't you and Michael take Betsy here to the park across the street for a little while? I am sure Betsy would love it, and you mister could use a little fresh air and an hour or two out of this place yourself. Michael honey, make this boy eat something will you."
Hyde's P.O.V. - January 3, 1980 - 3:47 PM
He was back in the waiting room once again, sitting in what he was sadly beginning to think of his corner writing on one of the clean pages behind Jackie's own handwriting of her diary, well now it was becoming more their diary than just her he supposed. In the past couple of days, he has read her words over and over whenever he was alone, both the good times and the bad.
"Excuse me, which one of you are Steven Hyde?" Hyde's head shot up and looked up at the nurse standing in the waiting room entrance. There was only him and one other much older guy sitting in the room now, Kelso having taken Betsy back to his mom's house for her afternoon nap.
"I am, that's me." He shot up quickly and walked up to the woman all of a sudden nervous as to why she would be there calling for him. Surly Red gave Brooke instructions not to let anyone near Jackie's room but Kitty or Red, himself.
"The woman in Jaquelin Burkhart's room asked me to come get you. If you could follow me, please." God, no this isn't happening again. Please, please let Jackie be okay. Hyde found himself begging.
"Yes, just let me grab a couple things real fast." Practically running to his chair, he picked up the pink journal, pencil and black t-shirt he kept with him at all times and jogged back to the nurse again.
"Right this way." Sure, she was looking at him as if he were a bit crazy but when it came to Jackie, really was there a time that he wasn't in some way shape or form crazy for her. This nurse could bite him, and she could pick up the pace while doing so, the hag was walking much to slow.
Finally, once Hyde caught sight on Brooke over the slow pokes shoulder, he raced ahead to her his questions already flowing. "Brooke, is she okay? Did she have another cardiac arrest? Have you made sure they called Kitty and Red?"
"Hyde, Hyde, Hyde! Stop, nothing has happened alright. I need you to take a deep breathe." Brooke grabbed me by my shoulders and reassured me as she encouraged me to breathe. Breathe, yeah, I could do that now that I knew Jackie was still breathing too.
"Now, I want you to listen to me. I don't want to talk to you like I have to talk to Michael, but I will. I was not equipped to witness my friend the state I just beheld her in. Personally, it's of my opinion that you're not ready to see Jackie, she loves you so much, she loved that baby so much… you truly have no idea. Great I'm rambling." Hyde had never seen the young women usually so articulate and put together, have to stop and take a breath as she ran her fingers through her hair. Had seeing Jackie in the condition she was in behind that door, truly rattled her that much. If that was true, it meant that Jackie was in far worse shape than Kitty, Red and his father had led him to believe.
"Brooke, I…" Hyde began, every fiber in his body now longing to be with Jackie on the other side of that damn door. He was so close, yet so very far away.
"Jackie and I, we experienced a lot together Hyde. Jackie was and is a real, true, honest friend to me too. In fact, she had become one of my dearest friends. As such, I feel I am allowed to be honest on her behalf, which is exactly what I told Red and Kitty when they called twenty minutes ago." It wasn't so much what Brooke said it was how she had said it that made Hyde realize what this was. She had said earlier to listen and he had. She had said she didn't think he should see Jackie, that he had no idea what Jackie what went through with the baby or how much she loved was there but Brooke did because she was there when Hyde wasn't. And he couldn't argue that one bit.
"Is that what you told them, that I don't deserve her. I wasn't there for her when I should have been, the way you were. That I don't understand that she loved me, and for that reason I shouldn't get to be here for her now. Like this isn't crap I already didn't know." He was seething, letting his fear, anger and pain show as his eyes misted over behind his sunglasses. He was so damn close and he could say or do absolutely nothing in his defense.
"Hyde that's not what…" He watching her stammer a bit like a fish out of water, as she took a step back from him clearly registering his anger as she tried to put together a few more words he took the opportunity to continue his rant.
"So, what is this then Brooke? Is this your big screw you? Let me have one last look at the only woman I will ever love before the whole lot of you cast me out of her life? Look… I know I'm messed up, but I am begging you, I'll do whatever it takes. The only way I am going to be able to go on functioning as even half a normal human being is if I have even the hope of Jackie in my life, Please. Call Red back and fix this." It wasn't often that Hyde let people see the true him, that he exposed himself to people but this was about his future with Jackie and he was willing now to do whatever to took to make sure that happen. Sliding his sunglasses off Hyde looked Brooke in the eyes with his own misty one's, so she knew how sincere he was in his pledge to Jackie.
"Are you done now?" She asked simply and he nodded before she nodded herself and pointed towards the chairs that were placed next to the ICU door 3 with Jackie last name under it. Once they were seated Brooke took a deep breathe and began again.
"Okay, the very first thing I said to you was to listen. What came out of your mouth just now, was nothing close to what came out of mine, Hyde. Clearly you are dealing with your own demons in how you've treated Jackie, but I am asking you not to push them off on me. This just strengthens my opinion in the fact that you, Hyde, are not ready to deal with seeing, Jackie as she is now behind that door. Do you hear what I am saying now?"
Suddenly, he does understand. He see's it in her own eyes, the effect of what seeing her dear friend in that room has done to her. She wasn't ready either. Hyde eye widen and he head automatically turns towards the door he knows he won't be able to see through be he can't help be look at anyways, as he realizes yet again, that it must be way worse than his memory holds of her in the basement. Even that memory of her small still body with pile blue lips, makes his stomach turn and his hands shake. Then to think of the paddles, the way she small body was hitting the floor in a sickening thud… oh god no. Don't think about she's alive, she is breathing, she is here. Hyde had to remind himself as he bent over to rest his elbows on his knees and focus on his breathing.
"Hyde, I need you to look at me." Brooke said bring his attention to her so the he was looking her in the eyes again.
"When you walk through that door you are going to feel guilty. You are going to be overwhelmed with what part you played in putting her there and you can not fall apart. Do you hear me? This is not about you, or how this makes you feel Hyde. This is about you being there for Jackie, you need to be her strength, you need to be her comfort. Most of all you need to be that safe place she always told me that she missed so much, that you were to her." When he went in there, is she saying what he thought she was? Did Brooke really convince Red to let him to be able to visit Jackie?
"I don't understand what's happening here." He had to have confirmation.
"As I said earlier, Red and I talked on the phone. Although it's hard for some people to understand, especially after watching things play out the way things did here, but Jackie talked to me a lot the phone while I was in Chicago. We talked about how she hated herself for lying to you about the baby, how she unfairly in my opinion blamed herself for your baby's death, called herself a murder on more than once, she believed she deserved all the nasty things you all said to her. Not that this excuses you for your behavior Hyde because it most certainly doesn't." He didn't understand, Jackie had written many things in her diary but there had never been anything about her being a murder in them. He had seen some things about her regret in lying to him, or saying nothing at all but nothing to the extent of what Brooke was saying. In fact, there was more things along the lines of her wanting to forget, or just go numb, as a matter-of-fact Hyde suspected she had written a few entries completely high. All she talked about was wanting to go back to being the little girl she was before Kelso and he ever enter her life, just pretend everything bad never happened, so that it didn't hurt.
"How the hell could you have heard these things and not come? Or at least not come and ripped us a new one? I would have. You should have." Hyde confronted her. Don't him wrong he was grateful for everything Brooke had done for Jackie. But he did wish she had come down from Chicago and torn into him. At the very least he'd had know what was going on much sooner, and at the most he had gotten what he'd so greatly dissevered.
"Trust me I wanted to. I did. Why do you think I made Michael choose Chicago and his daughter or Point Place and you guys? You have to understand that Jackie was giving me reasonable explanations. She told me she was seeing a therapist, even told me the name and number of the guy so I could call and verify when I really pressed the issue. She told me they had put her on some medication to help with depression when her friend Dylan suggested she ask for some. I'm telling you Hyde she has all her bases covered." The moment she said his name again Hyde couldn't help but tense up again. Dylan, the guy who Hyde was certain Jackie called her special friend in her diary, the special friend that give her the pills. The special friend she met outside of Groove's that Brooke confirmed today. Dylan who apparently Brooke said she had grown really "close" to. Hyde didn't have enough proof yet that this Dylan was Jackie dealer but he would get it if it was last thing he did.
"When I find this Dylan, he is a dead man. You were the only one of us Brooke that… I don't know how to use words very well but Thank you." Hyde mumbled the first part causing a frown on the woman's face sitting next to him. Quickly he cleared his throat and turned his face back towards hers and began again, he needed to thank her even if he wasn't the best with words. He had to try.
"You don't have to thank me I didn't do anything." Yes, yes, he did. He owed her more than she could ever image. His entire world sat in the room beside them, not that he'd ever forgot that fact, he just become very bitter about it for a while because he'd foolishly denied himself of it. Then stupidly inflicted suffering of the acutest kind upon both him and Jackie.
"Yes, you did you were there. Hey, can I ask you something?" Hyde rubbed the back of his neck as he questioned the women beside him. He needed ask, hoping that this was going to end with Brooke leaving him to stay with Jackie until Red and Kitty came back to take over for their next watch. Red had said he wasn't going to let anyone else in until Jackie said she wanted them there and it was starting to look like maybe, just maybe Brooke had been close enough to Jackie to have been able to speak on her behalf as to who she would have wanted to be here.
"Sure." He watched as she titled her head waiting for his question.
"You said you talk to Red about this, and I understand that Jackie's frame of mind was messed up even though honestly that was probably on me too…" For a smaller woman she a quite a grip, she has me shoulder in her hand before I know it and has me turned towards her in an instant.
"Stop, I thought I told you to listen. This is not about you Hyde. The point of me telling you all of that was to know for Jackie there is another side of this story. She still loves you, in that head of hers, she has made mistakes too. Mistakes, rightly or wrongly Jackie blames herself for and she needs her safe place to be there for her, to fight for her. That would be you, Hyde. But you can't…" Ever the mother that she was by the end of her little lecture she had one of her fingers up pointed towards his chest, just itching he bet to poke him with it.
"Make this about me, I know, I know. I'm listening." Hyde cried out lifting both of his hands up as if in surrender. Persistent not the word a would use for the woman, they need a new word for her, and put her picture next to in the dictionary. It was no wonder she had a kid with Kelso, she was most likely the ONLY woman in the world who would ever be able to handle the both of them.
"Finally! You know for all the flack you guys give Michael, sometimes I wonder." Okay. So maybe she had a point there too. They were all kind of hopeless from time to time. Kelso was just more obvious about it than the rest of them were.
"Do I get to see her now?" Leaning down he picked up journal and pencil that had been wrapped in the black Zeppelin t-shirt he'd set between his feet before standing to his along with Brooke.
"Just one more thing before you go in. What you said earlier about doing whatever it takes to be back in her life, just know I holding you to that Hyde. And you think Red's boot is scary just take a look at the heels I'm wearing." She stated nonchalantly as she straightened the skirt she was wearing with a sly smile. Hyde couldn't help but chuckle, Kelso had no idea what he'd gotten himself into with this one.
"Not that the thought of those heels near me ass aren't absolutely terrifying, but they won't be needed. Keeping Jackie loved and safe is my number one priority for me from now on, that includes me and my bad habits. I've already started working some of my crap out with the help of my Dad. And I am detoxing here along with, I going to go sober with her. I know it going to be a hard road but I figure, it's a hard road we could do together. I promise, Brooke, I will cut myself out of her life before I ever hurt her like that again." Brooke had been brutally honest with him; it was only fair that he be the same with her. Beside he had a feeling Brooke was going to be around for the long hall and he and Jackie were going to be seeing a lot of her. They, both he and Jackie were going to need her support in the months and years to come.
"Alright then I am going to go. Just remember this is not about you, take a deep breath and go in." Without seeing it coming, before he knew what was happening Brooke leaned forwarded and gave him a hug, and just as quickly turned and walked away.
Hyde faced Jackie's door took a deep breath walked a couple of steps, placed his hand on the door knob and closed his eyes. He knew he needed to clear his head before he walked inside of all the crap, he'd been carrying around the last couple of days, like Brooke said. This was not about him, this was about him being there for Jackie.
He opened the door walked in looking down at his feet on purpose, turned to close the door so that when he saw her for the first time, they could have this moment together alone. He could hear all kinds of noises, beeping, and air rushing, and dipping sounds, his hands shook a little as he set the t-shirts filled with the diary down on the chair next to the door and took the sunglasses that hung on the collar of his own t-shirt and placed them on top of it. Closing his eyes once more, taking another deep breath, Hyde then slowly turned to face his Doll, and he about hit his knees.
Brooke was right, he wasn't ready. She was smaller than he ever seen her, so damn helpless and there was absolutely nothing he could do but stand there like and idiot that he was and star to tear up as he took every thing in. The most noticeable thing was the giant tube they had in her mouth going down her throat he was sure, that was connected to the machine making the rushing air noise, that was doing all her breathing for her. It was like clockwork, in… 1.2.3, whoosh, out… 1.2.3, whoosh, her chest would fall and rise. Then there seemed to be thousand wires coming out the top of her hospital gown, Hyde new they were keeping track of her heart and a few other of her vitals, she had two different I.V. locations. One he could see clearly in her right hand and the other it looked like they had also place somewhere in her chest as well.
Swallowing back the urge to give in to become a sobbing mess and fall at Jackie's side and beg her to forgive him for all that he had done. He reminded himself what he promised Brooke and Jackie, this is not about him. He had to be here for Jackie. He has to be strong for her. Walking up to her side he took her cold hand in his. She was raised up just slightly so she was not lying flat, she was so pale that he had to watched the monitor for a minute just to reassure himself that her heart was still beating. Leaning over ever so lightly Hyde placed a soft kiss on the brow of forehead, then he shifted so that his lips were right next to her ear for and the first time in over a year he spoke name he only ever called her in private.
"Hey Baby Doll, sorry it took me so long to find my way to you. I need you to listen to me right okay. I know things are crap right now. You and I we've been through some really crummy times before. We were abandoned by both our parents. We were both left to fend for ourselves in our homes as teens. I realize now one of the reasons we always made it through so easily is because we had each other. Well, we are going to make through this together too Baby Doll. I'm right here. I love you, Jackie."
Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe it was lack of sleep, maybe it was real but at that moment Hyde swore he felt Jackie's hand ever so slightly squeeze his own. It was all he needed for a smile to break across his face because he knew somewhere inside his Doll had heard everything he'd just said. Sure, that didn't make it okay. Yes, they had a long road ahead of them, especially once she awoke up. But his But his Baby Doll, had just agreed to fight the good fight with him and in the moment that was more than enough for Hyde.