A/N Sorry for the wait. I haven't forgotten about this fic or anything. School just started, so I've been kind of busy, moving into my dorm and figuring out classes and stuff. It should calm down soon, so I'll be free to update a lot more. enjoy

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Chapter 3: Thoughts

What was she doing? Why was she coming back? Steven obviously didn't trust her. If he didn't trust her, how could he love her?

Ever since Hyde stormed out of the hotel room, Jackie had been sitting in the dark, crying her beautiful eyes out, not knowing where to go or what to do. For some reason, however, at two in the morning she had this indescribable urge to return to Point Place.

Desperate to ignore the nagging voice in her head, Jackie had tried to go to sleep, hoping things would look better in the morning. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind off Steven Hyde, and the horrible turn their relationship had taken.

They used to be so happy. So fun. But how long can you just stay in one place? Jackie had wanted their relationship to grow and change, just like each of them had grown and changed throughout the course of being together.

She thought they could still be happy, have fun, and have a serious relationship. Marriage. Kids. The whole sha-bang. But Steven didn't want that.

Jackie refused to acknowledge that any of this was her fault. Sure, she had made mistakes, but she had never given up. She was always apologizing, always opening her heart to Steven, but he just wouldn't give her what she wanted. What she needed.

She needed him to trust her. To love her. To love only her and at least want to spend the rest of his life with her. She needed him to know. She knew that he could do all of these things, that he could be the man she needed, but for some reason he just wouldn't.

I don't know.

Jackie was not going to be the one to come crawling back to him this time. The old Jackie, the one before Steven, before the nurse, would have, but not now. Not after everything that had happened. So why was she headed back to Point Place?

Well, just in case, Steven was planning on manning up and growing a pair. Just in case, Steven was willing to apologize. Maybe he would finally buy her something really shiny.

Not that Jackie was shallow. Oh, no, in the time she was with Steven, she had developed a lot more depth, or at least she felt free to express the depth she already had, but what girl didn't like shiny things? Even, lumberjacks like Donna had to appreciate the appeal of all things shiny. Oh and pink. And definitely pretty.

With a deep sigh, Jackie approached a crossroads. Donna's or the basement. Looking at both options, she finally decided that a good cry with her best friend was her best choice. She'd deal with Steven tomorrow. Or the next day.

Maybe she should finally realize that Steven wasn't that guy. He never would be. He wouldn't buy her things, he was honest to the point of cruelty, and he would never back down. In the beginning, that was a huge part of his appeal. She thought that meant he would never try to buy her love, cheat on her, or give up on them.

But really it meant that when he cheated on her, he would be honest about it, and when she really needed him to give her something that went against his nature, he wouldn't do it. She had to admire that.

That was the main reason she refused to back down on this marriage issue. A small part of her still idolized him, still wanted to make him proud. Shouldn't he be proud that she was sticking to her guns about something that mattered so much to her?

Instead, he was angry that she didn't want the same things he did. As she knocked on Donna's door and collapsed into her arms, sobbing, she started to wonder if maybe this was really the end for them.

Maybe his apologizes wouldn't be enough. Maybe he would never love her like she loved him.

And if there's one thing she learned from Steven, it was to never risk getting hurt, never show your emotions. But what if she was in too deep? Then again, how could she possibly hurt more than this? What was she doing?

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A/N some jh interaction in the next chapter! Finally!