Chapter thirty-two:

HYDE

I close the magazine and I glance at my watch for what has to be the hundredth time since Jackie started her therapy session.

It's been over an hour, and I'm taking that as a good sign. If Jackie didn't like the therapist, she would've left a long time ago.

But I'm not going to lie, I'm starting to get a little uneasy here. I want to know what's going on.

Then I hear the door opening and I see Jackie leaving the room, the tall redhead therapist following her. Jackie's eyes are red and swollen, and she gives me a weak smile when she sees me.

"See you on Wednesday then, Jackie?" The therapist asks, and Jackie nods

"Yeah," Jackie says. She and her new therapist say their goodbyes and as soon as she's gone, Jackie engulfs me in a tight hug.

I hug her back and lean my chin on top of her head. God, it feels good to have her in my arms.

We stay like this for a few minutes, until she takes my hand in hers and we start to walk towards the car. She didn't say anything yet, but judging by how fast she's walking, I'm assuming she wants to get the hell out of here soon.

I open up the car for us, and we get in. The second I sat down she snuggled closer to me.

"How was it?" I ask, taking her hand in mine

"Cool, I guess" She answers, not looking me in the eye

"Jackie, was it not good? Do you want me to find a new therapist?"

"No, Steven, she's really nice" She looks up at me "It's just… It's weird, talking about my life with a stranger"

"It's what going to help you get better, doll," I say and she nods "Tell me more about it"

"She asked questions, I answered them," She says, leaning her head on my shoulder

"Questions about what?" I ask

"My life" She answers "My childhood, my parents, my friends, you…"

"Huh," I say, starting up the car and not letting go of her hand "She must not like me very much then"

"What, why?" She says, confused. I send her a look and she sighs, understanding what I meant "Steven, stop that! If it weren't for you, I would probably be dead by now. You're the reason I'm trying, alright? If it's up to me I would stay in bed all day, doing nothing but wait for death. Instead, I got up, I went to therapy, and it was all because of you! Because I don't want you to be upset because I'm such a mess, because I love you and if me going to therapy makes you feel better, then I'll go to freaking therapy, alright? Please, stop that"

"You're supposed to do that for yourself, doll," I say after a few seconds

"I will, eventually, okay?" She says, snuggling closer to me "Right now I don't really care about myself, but I care about you, a lot"

I look at her tenderly and I press a kiss on top of her head. I'm not telling her how hearing her saying she doesn't care about herself is killing me on the inside. It'll do no good. But acknowledging her effort, showing her how proud I am of her for trying, and making sure she knows she's loved, that'll help.

"Thank you for going, I know how hard this must be for you," I say, and she gives me a shadow of a smile. "I love you and I just want you to be well"

"Thanks, baby," She says, pecking me on the lips "I love you too"

"How about we pick up some burgers before we get home?" I suggest

"And fries?" She asks expectantly and I smile

"And cheesy fries," I say and she smiles "We'll curl up on the couch, watch a nice movie, and chill until Donna complains that the apartment is smelling like cheese"

"Sounds perfect," She says


"Hey, Hyde, man" I hear Forman's voice and turn around to look at him. He's leaning at the kitchen doorway and holding a bottle of pop in his hands. I'm washing the dishes while Jackie waits for me in her room.

"Hey"

"How was it?" He asks bluntly, "Do you think it's going to help?"

"I don't know man; I sure hope it does"

"Here's the thing man, I'm letting you know with two weeks of advance because then you can talk to Jackie and…"

I raise an eyebrow at him. What the hell is he talking about?

"I bought us tickets to the new Star Wars movie," He says "One for everyone, Fez and Kelso are going too, and it would be pretty cool if you and Jackie go with us. You know, for old time's sake?"

"I don't know if she'll be up for it, man" I answer honestly

"C'mon, just promise me you'll talk to her about it" He pleads "Kelso and Fez want to see her and it might be good for her. And it's just a movie, she won't even need to talk…"

"I'll talk to her" I reply "And I'll let you know"

"Thanks" He smiles and I leave the kitchen, going to Jackie's bedroom.

She's sitting on her bed, reading a Cosmo magazine, and I smile softly at her. She's been so strong today; I love her so fucking much.

"Hey doll," I say, sitting next to her in bed. She immediately closes her magazine and lays her head on my shoulder

"Hey," She says, closing her eyes

"So… I was just talking to Forman, and he was telling me about the new Star Wars movie"

She grimaced "Are they really making another one of those?"

"Yeah" I answer, grabbing her hand in mine and absentmindedly running my thumb through her wrist "It premiers in two weeks, and he bought tickets for everyone"

She raises her head to look at me "Everyone?"

"Everyone" I repeat "Including us, and Kelso and Fez. He really wants us to go"

She sighs "I don't know if I'm ready for that"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Jackie," I say honestly "We can stay here"

"Steven, you shouldn't deprive yourself of going because of me," She says sadly

"Not leaving you alone" I promptly say "If you're not going then I'm not going"

"I…" She mutters "Tell Eric that I'll try my best to go"

I smile at her "You will?"

"Yeah… I'll talk to Clara about it, and I have two weeks to prepare myself mentally…" She says, giving me a determined look "I think I'll go, but I can't guarantee anything"

"Thanks, baby" I press a kiss to the top of her head and feel her body relaxing. She lays her head on my shoulder again and I notice how tired she looks. "You okay?"

"I'm fine… Just exhausted" She answers "And I have a killer headache"

"Want to go to bed?" I ask, but she shook her head

"It's too early, I think I'll just have an aspirin," She says, and I freeze for a few seconds. There's no aspirins or any other drug in this apartment. Donna and Forman helped me throw them all away after I broke down yesterday.

She looked at me and sighed, she was always able to see right through me, I can't hide shit from her.

"You took all the drugs, didn't you?" She asks, and I nod "It's okay, I get it"

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be, you did the right thing" She says, closing her eyes

"I can go to the drugstore real quick and get you an aspirin if it's that bad"

"No, stay with me," She says, tightening her grip on me

"Anything for you doll" I reply, kissing her forehead and laying down with her.

She scooted closer to me, resting her head on my chest, and I start to run my hands up and down her back.

I breathe relieved, around this time yesterday, I was crying like I never cried in my entire life, terrified with the possibility of losing Jackie forever, and today, she went to her first therapy session, and it's like I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end.


DONNA

"Eric, you are not bringing your lightsaber!" I say impatiently

"But Donna!" He whines behind me, and I roll my eyes

"Let's go, Eric. I'll never hear the end of it if we're late" I say "Jackie and Hyde are already waiting for you at the car, and I'm afraid they're going to leave without us"

"They're not going to leave without us"

"Are you forgetting who we're talking about here?" I stare at him "Jackie and Hyde might've been through a lot, but they still appreciate a good burn, especially if it's on you"

"You're right…" He mutters, taking his lightsaber and the apartment keys "Let's go, m'lady"

"Eric…" I say "Leave the lightsaber here. If you take it, Hyde's going to beat you up with it"

"Fine! But I am taking my Luke Skywalker action figure!" He says, leaving the apartment. I bite back a smile and follow him, locking the door behind me.

When we arrive at the Cruiser, Jackie and Hyde are waiting for us in the backseat. Hyde looks pissed and Jackie looks nervous.

"Sorry it took us so long," I say apologetically "Eric really wanted to bring his lightsaber"

Hyde frowned "I'm glad he didn't, or I would've used it to kick his ass"

"I told him that," I say, then I turn to look at Eric, "I told you that"

"Let's just go, Kelso and Fez are probably already waiting for us," He says as he starts driving the car

I glance at the rearview mirror and I see Hyde whispering something in Jackie's ear. I couldn't help but smile a little. I'm so proud of Jackie for coming with us.

Hyde's been telling me a little about Jackie's therapy sessions and it looks like it's been helping her a lot. She goes to therapy twice a week, and she has had 4 sessions so far. She comes back completely drained from them, but she always looks more lighter in the next day. She's not normal yet, and it'll probably take her a long time to be her old self again, but she's improving, little by little, and that's good.

"I'm glad you're coming with us, Jackie" I say, and she gives me one of her soft smiles

"I wouldn't miss it for the world" She answers "I'm pretty sure the unfashionable princess is going to end up with that rebel guy, and I think that's going to be an amazing burn on Eric"

"Leia's not going to be with Han!" Eric says from his seat, rolling his eyes "She and Luke are soulmates"

"Oh please, they have no chemistry, they might as well be brother and sister," Jackie says, and Hyde and I exchange very amused smiles. That's the midget we all know and love.

Eric laughs as if Jackie had just told a joke. I can see that he looks amused too "Well, Leia would never end up with Han. In what universe does the pretty princess end up with the scruffy rebel?"

Hyde chuckles loudly "Forman man, c'mon"

"You two are an exception," Eric says

Hyde and I laugh as Eric keeps on driving, and when he parks near the theater, we see Kelso's convertible nearby, which means that he and Fez are already here.

We leave the car, Jackie and Hyde hand in hand. I tried to hold hands with Eric, but the poor thing is just so excited that his hands are extremely sweaty, so that's not going to happen.

In the midst of all the nerds, I spot two particularly excited men, waving enthusiastically at us. I smile, Kelso and Fez are still Kelso and Fez.

"Jackie!" I hear Kelso and Fez yelling at the same time, and before Hyde and I could do anything about it, they ran to us, and Jackie was squashed between Tweddle Dee and Tweedle Dum, both of them hugging her tight.

Hyde and I exchange worried looks, and he was about to forcefully break their embrace until he noticed that Jackie was smiling.

It wasn't her happy smile, we haven't seen one of those from her in a while, but it's an honest smile, she doesn't look uncomfortable.

"My goddess, I missed you so much" I hear Fez muttering as he and Kelso finally let Jackie go

"Man, are you crying?" Hyde asks, eyeing Fez

"Yes I am, you son of a bitch" Fez says, wiping his eyes "And I missed you too"

Hyde shoved Fez away before he could hug him, and we all laughed. Jackie went back to Hyde's arms, and we all made our way to the theater.

I look at one of the Star Wars posters hanging on the wall, and I sigh. Han is dipping Leia and staring deeply into her eyes - honestly, it's kind of hot, but if that means what I think it means, then I'll probably have to buy a ginormous amount of food to console my boyfriend tonight.

Eric's so excited, he didn't even notice the poster, he's just skipping through the theater with a big smile on his face, looking oblivious to Jackie, Hyde, Kelso, and Fez's malicious stares.

I send a quick prayer for whatever God's willing to listen to me, I'm going to need a lot of patience tonight.


"Man, the empire totally kicked their asses!" Kelso says as we left the movie theater. I gently rub my hand through Eric's shoulders as he stares at the floor in shock.

I have to admit, it was a pretty great movie, and we had a lot of fun. I think even Jackie enjoyed it, judging by the way Hyde's protective posture softened and how he keeps giving her secret little proud smiles.

We all make our way to where the cars are parked and say our goodbyes to Kelso and Fez. They hugged Jackie one last time, Kelso made her promise that she would see Betsy one of these days, and Fez said that she has to visit him at the salon now that he was finally promoted as a hairdresser.

Hyde took the keys to the Cruiser to drive us back since Eric's too stunned to do something at the moment, which means that I am now trying to console Eric from the backseat while Jackie and Hyde are in the front seat, making googly eyes at each other.

Once we finally arrive home, I open the apartment door, and before we can even enter the place, Eric barges inside, frantically searching for something in the living room.

"Eric, what the hell are you doing?" Jackie asks

"I'm looking for some stationery paper" He replies, while he shuffled through the drawers from the TV stand

"You can borrow mine, it's on the desk in my room. But the paper is pink and it has flowers on it." Jackie says, looking confused. She sends me a look as if asking me what the hell is going on with Eric, and I just shrug.

"Thanks!" Eric exclaims, getting into Jackie's room.

He leaves a few seconds later, holding Jackie's stationery kit in his hands. He sits on one of the chairs from our kitchen and places the stationery kit on the table.

"Okay Eric, what are you doing?" I ask, placing my hand on his shoulder as he frantically starts to write on the paper

"I'm writing a letter to George Lucas," He says, not raising his head to look at us

"Because of the Star Wars thing?" Hyde asks "It's just a stupid movie, Forman"

Eric raises his head and looks at Hyde like he went insane "It is not! It's a masterpiece and they just ruined it by pairing Leia with Han! And what's the deal about Vader being Luke's father? And what's Luke supposed to do without a hand?! Everything is so messed up!"

"Don't forget that the hot guy was trapped into that carbonite thing" Jackie says

"Yeah, that actually made me really sad," I say "Poor Leia"

"Poor Leia? Poor Luke! He doesn't have a hand anymore! His father is the most evil creature in the universe!" Eric says, his voice cracking as he starts to get worked up.

"Alright, I have a feeling he's going to spend his whole night doing this" Hyde says, frowning at Eric "So Jackie and I are going to bed. See ya"

Jackie looks at him and gives him a relieved smile. The day was good, but it probably drained her. Hyde mentioned once how tired she gets after walking down the street, so I can only imagine how she's feeling right now.

Hyde punched Eric's shoulder before wrapping his arm around Jackie's waist and leaving the room.

"Donna, can you get me an envelope?" Eric asks "Actually, get me all the envelopes you have. Mr. Lucas is going to receive a lot of fan mail from me"

I roll my eyes and go to my room to grab the envelopes for Eric, but I couldn't help but smile a little when he started to bit his tongue in concentration as he desperately put his angry thoughts into paper.

It kind of reminds me of those crazy conspiracists who spend their entire days writing angry letters to the government. We always thought Hyde would be the one ending up like that, but life's surprising.

I go to the fridge and I take out the ingredients for a sandwich, judging by the way he's writing, Eric's probably burning some calories he can't afford to burn, and he's going to need to replace them soon.


A/N: I am so sorry it took me this long to update this story! I had this chapter half-written already when I published chapter 31, and I could've never predicted how much I would struggle with it later on.

I'm not going to lie, I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, not at all. I couldn't find a way to make a decent time jump without breaking the chapter in two, and I couldn't break the chapter in two because not only would they be incredibly small chapters, they would completely ruin my schedule.

Anyways, I hope it wasn't that bad and that you enjoyed it at least a little.

About this chapter: Jackie's very slowly getting better, she's far from being okay, but the therapy is helping her. She still has a long road ahead of her, and in the next chapter, we are going to see one of the bumps in said road.

Oh, and I just wanted to let you guys know that the further chapters length is not going to be as long as they once were. Some of the chapters might be longer, some might not, but I decided I'm not going to worry about that anymore.

That being said, I would love to know what you're thinking about this story so far. I'll see you all again very soon, thank you so much for reading!