A/N: As promised, Sam will be gone this chapter! Also, still not sure how long this story will be. I have it planned to 9 or 10 chapters, but as I write, my ideas change and I have to adapt the chapters as I go. Originally this story was planned to only 8 chapters. I'm hoping to get it done in 10, but we'll see. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, I greatly appreciate them and they really keep me motivated to continue!

Chapter Eight – Convincing Steven Hyde: part II

There was silence on the other end of the line, and Jackie nervously wrapped the phone cord around her finger, biting her lower lip as she waited for a response.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Donna's voice asked, "Jackie?"

Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Jackie smiled a little. "Yeah, Donna, it's me."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to call, I figured you'd said pretty much everything you needed to say in your letter."

Jackie winced slightly at the bitter tone in her friend's voice, but she had to accept the fact that she'd left Donna without a proper goodbye, and just when Donna had needed her most. "I know, and I'm sorry about that," Jackie said quietly. "I just…I needed to get out, you know? After what happened with Steven, and then what happened with Fez; things just became a mess."

"Yeah and running away has had such good results before," Donna's voice scoffed. "Like when you ran away the first time, and then when Hyde ran away to Vegas, oh yeah, and when Eric ran away to Africa."

"Donna, I know you're upset with me, and I'm not blaming you," Jackie placated. "I was a horrible friend, and I wasn't there for you when you needed me." She paused and sighed. "I'm not expecting you to forgive me, I just wanted to apologize and to tell you that you're still my friend, even if I'm not yours."

Another long moment of silence followed Jackie's words. At length, Donna conceded, "Jackie, I understand why you left, but I just want to let you know that I think you took the coward's way out. You could have stayed and made things better with Hyde, or with Fez, and you should've stayed because I was always there for you when you needed me – I let you live at my house for God's sake – and now, when I actually really need you, you're gone."

"I know, Donna, and all I can tell you is that I'm so sorry," Jackie said.

Donna sighed. "I know you're sorry."

When she didn't say anything more, Jackie smiled and asked sweetly, "So you forgive me, right?"

She could almost hear Donna's eyes rolling. "Yes, Jackie, I forgive you."

Jackie exhaled with relief. "Thank God, because I have a lot to tell you."

Hyde was alone again in the basement; Kelso had left an hour ago for the Hub. The TV was tuned in to Little House on the Prairie, and Hyde smirked at the screen. He had been mulling over what Kelso had said to him, thinking of how his life had been with Jackie, and the show seemed to fit; it reminded him of a simpler time. Though his life with Jackie had still been filled with ups and downs, it wasn't nearly as complicated as his life was now. With Jackie, he'd known where he stood: she was his girlfriend and she made him happy, and gradually, his feelings for her had grown deeper, and though he'd only ever admitted it to her that one time, he did love her. It was the simple formula he'd always been told love followed: meet a girl, fall in love, get married. Simple. And even if it had taken them awhile to get to the second part, and the journey had seemed anything but simple, they had eventually achieved that goal, and they had been very slowly inching towards that last step. With Sam, Hyde felt at a loss; liked he'd skipped some vital steps in the formula. He had met the girl, but he'd somehow passed over the second part and had gone straight to the third, leaving him with a situation that seemed to continually grow in its complexity. On the one hand, he felt he had basically moved on and had forced Jackie to as well, so he really had no right to go barging in on her life. But on the other hand, he felt he wasn't happy with his life, and going after her could mean changing his life, making it better again.

The basement door opened, and Hyde looked up to see Fez standing in the doorway. His jaw clenched, and he was thankful his sunglasses were firmly in place as he stared hard at the foreigner.

"I assume you've come here to yell at me too?"

Fez shrugged and sat down in the lawn chair. "That was the plan."

Hyde smiled grimly and leaned forward. "Let me save you the trouble. Donna and Kelso have already both been by. They've let me know, in no uncertain terms, that Jackie leaving is all my fault. Oh, and that I'm making a huge mistake by staying married to Sam." He spread his hands and sat back. "So, now that that's all settled, you can go."

Fez nodded. "I see, well, I do agree with them on one point. Jackie did leave because of you." His eyes were hard as they looked at Hyde. "However, I would disagree with them on the second point. I do not think it's a mistake to stay married to Sam."

Hyde frowned, puzzled. "You think I should stay married to Sam?"

"Oh, yes," Fez replied darkly. "Sam is perfect for you; she's the perfect lie for you to hide behind. By staying married to Sam, you don't ever have to feel anything for anyone again."

"What are you talking about?" Hyde snapped.

"You don't love Sam, Hyde," Fez stated flatly. "You're staying married to her because you're mad at Jackie and you're putting up a wall to prevent yourself from getting hurt. Your relationship with Jackie wasn't supposed to get serious, but it did, and that scared you. You tried not to, but you fell in love with her anyway, and that terrified you. Then she left, forcing you to make the biggest decision of your life, and you chickened out when you got to her. Instead of staying and listening to her, you took it as an excuse to leave, and then convinced yourself it was because she was cheating on you. You married Sam because you were angry with Jackie, not because she had been cheating on you with Kelso, but because she'd made you fall in love with her and you were terrified of what that would mean. And now, you're staying married to Sam because she's convenient. She doesn't make you think, she doesn't make demands, and she doesn't make you feel."

Hyde was stunned. Fez had him pegged; he understood Hyde's motives better than Hyde did himself! "So what are you saying I should do?" he asked calmly, trying to hide his surprise.

Fez shrugged. "That, my friend, is entirely up to you." He stood and stared intently at Hyde. "Ever since I've met Jackie, the only thing I've wanted was to be with her. I would treat her better than you ever could." He sighed and shook his head, smirking slightly. "But for some crazy reason, she loves you."

"Fez, there's so much that's happened between us," Hyde began, staring down at his hands. "Even if I tried to get her back, I don't see how she could forgive me."

"You have screwed up, a lot, maybe more than Kelso," Fez agreed and smiled at his friend in amusement.

Hyde glared at him. "That's not helping."

Reaching into his pocket, Fez pulled out a crumpled letter and handed it to Hyde. "Maybe this will," he said and then turned and left.

Hyde looked at the letter and rolled his eyes as he saw "Fez" written in Jackie's handwriting. "Man, am I the only one she didn't write a letter to?" he asked as he opened it up and began reading:

Dear Fez,

I don't know how else to tell you this, so I'll just come out and say it. I'm moving back to Chicago. I've decided it's time for me to move on with my life; Steven has clearly moved on with his. Whatever I thought might happen between us when I came back was just a silly whim. I am sorry for the impersonal goodbye, but I didn't want to run the risk of seeing him again, or of having you try to stop me from going. And I'm also sorry for that night. I know we both decided it was just a one-time thing, but I still shouldn't have used you like that. I was hurting because unfortunately, I still love Steven, I think I'll always love him, and he chose someone else. I guess that's probably how you feel right now, and I'm truly sorry that things between us can never be what you want them to be. But Fez, I want you to know that you mean the world to me, and I do love you. You are one of my best friends, and I'll always be grateful to you for being there for me that night when I desperately needed someone. You've always been there for me, and I hope you know how much that means to me. I'll see you soon, I promise.

Love,

Jackie

Hyde sat back and folded up the letter. She still loves me, he thought, and he couldn't help the smile that crept over his lips, or the warmth that thought sent coursing through his veins. She still loves me, and that means I have a chance.

He was still smiling softly to himself when Sam entered the basement. She cocked her head to the side as she saw him there, a dazed expression on his face, and came to stand in front of him.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked, a smirk on her lips.

Hyde snapped out of his daze and looked up at her. "Oh, Sam, uh…hey, we need to talk." He took her hand and she sat down on the couch, looking quizzically at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it's just…Sam, I think we should get a divorce," Hyde said, his voice steady.

Sam frowned. "But why? Steven, aren't you happy with me?"

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Sam, being married to you has been…well, easy. You don't tell me what to do, you don't force me to work harder, and you bring me beer." She smiled at his words, but it faded as he continued, "But that's the problem. You don't drive me crazy, and that's something I apparently need. Being with you is like riding a Ferris wheel; it can be fun, but it's predictable and it doesn't change. I need to be on a roller coaster. I need to feel the ups and downs, the hairpin turns, the loops, everything. I need to feel challenged and afraid."

"So you don't want to be married to me because I'm not a roller coaster?" Sam asked, confused.

Hyde grinned. "Exactly!"

Sam leaned forward and took his hands. "Steven, I don't understand. I thought things were going great between us."

"Sam, you're just…not what I want," Hyde said, putting her hands back in her lap. He stood up, but her hand on his arm stopped him.

"Wait, so what does this mean? You're asking me to move out?"

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, Sam. Pack up your stuff and I'll drive you to the airport. I'll go to the lawyer tomorrow and get the papers, then I'll send them to you." With that, he headed out of the basement.

"That's great, Jackie!" Donna exclaimed on the other end of the line. "I knew it wouldn't take you long to find an apartment."

"Yeah, it's so perfect, Donna," Jackie squealed excitedly. "It's small, but that's okay, I'll get used to it."

"When do you move in?"

Jackie grinned. "That's the best part! The landlord said I could be in by the beginning of the week!"

"Wow, that soon?" Donna asked, surprised. "Jackie, that's only a few days."

"I know, but I just can't take living in this hellhole any longer," Jackie replied, glancing around the motel room with a mixture of hatred and disgust.

"Well, that gives us the perfect excuse to come down and see you!" Donna cried happily.

Jackie gasped. "Oh my God, Donna, I hadn't even thought of that! Oh, now I'm even more excited!"

"Yeah, I'll tell the guys and we'll all head up there this weekend."

Jackie's smile instantly faded. "Wait, all of you? As in, Steven and his stripper wife too?"

"No, no, not Sam," Donna assured. "Just the guys."

"So that includes Steven?" Jackie asked, her voice full of dread.

"Well, I'm sure he'll want to see you too, Jackie," Donna tried to explain, but Jackie just snorted.

"I doubt it, Donna. The last conversation we had wasn't exactly pleasant, and you know the letters I wrote to you and Michael and Fez to tell you goodbye? Well, I didn't even give him that."

"Ouch," Donna said.

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, so I highly doubt he'll want to come down." She brushed her hair off her shoulders and said flippantly, "Not that it matters. In fact, I'm totally over Steven." She ignored Donna's snort of disbelief and continued, "Actually, there's this really cute guy that I work with. His name's Daniel and he's been after me since the last time I was in Chicago. I should invite him to come help us."

Donna hesitated. "Well, I guess, Jackie, I mean, if you think he'd like to help."

Jackie laughed. "Why wouldn't he, Donna? He'll get to spend a whole day with me." Silence met her comment and Jackie asked, annoyance evident in her voice, "Donna? Hello?" Still no answer. Jackie was really annoyed now and she practically shouted into the phone, "Donna!"

Donna's voice was unsteady as she came over the line. "Uh, Jackie, I'll call you later."

"Wait, Donna!" Jackie cried, but the dial tone answered her. She sighed and placed the phone back on its cradle.

Meanwhile, in Point Place, Donna was staring wide-eyed at the door. "Oh my God, Eric?"