Ok, so a heads up on this chapter. I have no idea how long it takes to get from Point Place to Chicago, so if my timing on the road trip is a little off, bare with me. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and if you do please let me know, thanks!

On the Road Again

July 5, 1980

The Forman House

Hyde stood idly in the kitchen while he munched on the sandwich Mrs. Forman had just made for him. He waited patiently for Jackie, thinking that a road trip, with just the two of them was either going to be very uncomfortable or very interesting. Probably both.

"Son of a-" he heard Jackie curse, followed by a loud thump from the living room, so he hurried in to investigate, and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight that met him.

Jackie sat, in a quite unladylike position at the bottom of the stairs. The large suitcase Kelso had left at the house the night before had toppled on top of her. She glanced incredulously in Hyde's direction,

"You know, you could help me here!" He grudgingly walked over, slung her suitcase over his shoulder and offered his free hand to help her up. Once she was back on her feet, he tossed the suitcase back into her arms, to which she replied "Umph!"

"Come on, I have to do some stuff before we can blow this town." With that he headed out to the Camino, not waiting to see if she was behind him.

July 5, 1980

Grooves

Randy was standing behind the counter of the record store when Jackie and Hyde arrived.

"Hey, Randy, how's it going, man?" Hyde greeted his employee. Randy looked up, a note of surprise on his face.

"Hi Hyde. I thought you had today off? Isn't Amy coming in? Hey Jackie, how are you!" Randy's greeting was very enthusiastic, and Hyde moved in front of Jackie, to block her from Randy's view. This did nothing to dissuade Jackie, however. She bounced around Hyde and gave Randy a hug.

"I'm really good, but I miss every one." She shrugged. She noticed that Randy wasn't looking at her face, he was staring down, and she followed his line of vision to the large bruise on her wrist. When he met her eyes, she saw a question there, but Hyde, seeming to sense how the conversation was about to turn spoke to Randy once more.

"I'm going to need you to cover the store for about a week, man. I'm going to Chicago, with Jackie." At these last words, he reached around, grabbing Jackie's elbow, and pulled her back to his own side, and away from Randy. It was becoming apparent that Jackie's sudden return had excited a very new interest in Randy and Hyde had no desire to see his friends act out some sickening romance. Because she was after all, just his friend, right?

Randy looked to Hyde nodding that this would be fine. "Ya, I think me and Amy can totally handle everything. Don't worry about it man…so are you two like…you know back together…?" Hyde threw him a last withering glance, then pulled Jackie out of the store and away from his lecherous employee.

July 5, 1980

Hyde's El Camino

Jackie sat in the passenger seat, absently staring out her window. Hyde was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in time to his Led Zeppelin tape. He wasn't sure how to start a conversation with the small girl beside him, and supposed that if she wanted to talk to him she would.

He couldn't stop thinking about Randy. Well it wasn't technically Randy that was bothering him. It was the way he had looked at her. Hyde still thought of Jackie as his girl…it didn't matter that he had given up that right a long time ago, he felt possessive of her and jealous of any man who looked at her. The recent months she had spent with Kelso had been a slow torture for him.

Kelso sat in the lawn chair, Jackie perched on his lap. She dropped feather light kisses all over his face, while he laughed. He wrapped both arms around her pulling her closer to him. She whispered something in his ear, and he wrapped his fingers in her hair, pulling her to him for a deep kiss, which she returned.

Hyde sat in his chair, staring at her from behind his glasses. It was pure agony to watch the two of them this way. He couldn't see the expression on Jackie's face, but he could clearly read the desire, and the need written all over his friend Kelso's. When the two of them finally came up for air, it was all Hyde could do not to breathe a sigh of relief. He wasn't supposed to care. She meant nothing to him. He didn't care.

But as the two stood up, he couldn't help but watch her. When she turned in his direction, he was startled by the look on her face. Not the hazy lust he knew so well, and not the satisfied happiness he had once been used to seeing. She looked…resigned and… sad. In that moment, he knew that she wasn't in love with Kelso. That whatever she felt for Kelso was a love more akin to friendship, and that she had settled for that, rather than try to find the passion she had once had with Hyde. Maybe because she was afraid of what they had shared. He wasn't sure what that meant, but it didn't comfort him at all.

More than that was the idea that she had settled for Kelso, who Hyde felt didn't deserve her at all. It killed him every time he saw the two of them doing something as innocent as holding hands. He knew it was childish and unfounded. He had refused to give Jackie a chance. He had chosen Vegas and eventually Sam. But no one knew Jackie like he did. No matter who loved her, who held her, who kissed her, who touched her, he, Hyde would always own her heart. It wasn't something neither of them had control over. He had tried to stop loving her, had attempted to move on. But they belonged to each other. After they had cleared the air, and spent that night together, though, he had realized that no matter where he went in his life, his love for Jackie would be his constant companion.

Now he began to feel that her love him would be hers.

Jackie turned to Hyde, figuring some one had to start up a conversation, but just as she opened her mouth the car began making odd chugging noises. Hyde looked concerned, and when the engine stalled, he rolled the car off to the side of the road. Both of them hopped out of the car, and Jackie had the hood popped before Hyde had reached the front end of his El Camino. He heard her sigh at what she saw there, and despite this dismal portent, he smiled. It always impressed him that she knew cars so well.

"It needs to go the shop, Steven. We're going to have to call a tow truck." Hyde looked at her incredulously, before bumping her out of the way with his hip so he could lean over the car himself. Immediately he saw that she was right. It was already dark, however, and he didn't like the idea of the two of them walking to the nearest gas station in the pitch black.

"We'll sleep in the car tonight, and get some help tomorrow, ok?" She nodded her assent, and walked back to her side of the car. He climbed in next to her. Glancing over, he noticed her arms were dotted with goose bumps. "You cold?" At her second nod, he held out his arm and she scooted closer to him on the seat, finally snuggling into his warm side. "Better?" He asked quietly. She looked up at him with her mismatched eyes and smiled.

"Much."

July 6, 1980

Hyde's El Camino

Hyde was jerked from a sound sleep by the sound of tapping on the window. He confusedly looked around, before he remembered where he was. The car. His arm was still wrapped around Jackie, and he happily saw that her head was nuzzled into his shoulder. The tapping started again. Hyde glanced out the window and saw that a man was standing out side the car. He instinctively pulled Jackie closer to his side. He held up a single finger, indicating that he would need a minute before talking to the man out side the car.

"Jacks…baby, you need to wake up." Gently he shook her, and finally she turned her sleepy eyes in his direction. "Hey some one is out side the car…I'm going to roll down the window and talk to him, I don't want you to say anything ok?" She started to sputter and protest, but he put a calloused finger over he lips to stop her from speaking. "Trust me ok, I just don't want you drawing attention to yourself in front of a strange man." Once he saw understanding surface in her eyes he turned from her and rolled the window down a crack, saying to the man outside, "Can I help you?"

2 Hours Later

The man outside the car had turned out to be the owner of a near by auto shop. He had used his tow truck to bring Hyde's El Camino to his shop. For the last couple of hours the two men had been working under the hood of the car. After they both determined that it would take at least two days to get the part to fix the problem, Jackie pushed the seasoned mechanic and her ex boyfriend out of the way. After giving a few directions to one of the assistant mechanics, Tom, she had easily diagnosed the problem as a quick fix. Tom assured her that the car should be ready in about an hour. He loaned the two of them his car, and sent them to a near by diner to grab some lunch.

"I'll have a cheese burger, fries, and a cherry soda please." Jackie told the waitress sweetly. After the waitress walked away Hyde contemplated her with a mixture of respect and disbelief. "What?" She asked feigning innocence.

"You know what. What you did back there, I'm pretty sure you're one of the most amazing women I know." She just grinned.

"Ya, I know." She gloated. Before he could give her any more compliments, however, the waitress put their lunch on the table. Hyde began eating his own burger. Before he had devoured even half of it, however, he glanced up to see that Jackie was polishing off her own.

"Wow, I guess you were hungry!" She smiled, a big toothy grin in response and he couldn't help but chuckle. She quietly finished off her fries as he finished the rest of his lunch. "So, I guess we should get back to the shop, the car is probably ready to go."

4 Hours Later

Hyde pulled up outside of a small motel on the outskirts of Chicago. Jackie threw him an exhausted look. She was tired of traveling, and was excited to sleep in a bed tonight, rather than a car. She got out of the car, and walked to the office to get them a room. Pressing the bell, she called out into the depths of the office, while Hyde stood in the doorway watching her.

"Excuse me, is any one here?" A tired looking woman came out of the back room, and looked at Jackie over her glasses.

"Hello young lady, how may help you?" Jackie began explaining that they would need two rooms for the week, but before she could finish the proprietor cut her off. "I'm sorry sweetie, there is only one room available for the week. It's a very busy time for us right now." Jack tossed an uneasy glance in Hyde's direction.

"I'm sorry, but we really, really need two very separate rooms." Jackie insisted, but before the woman could provide an answer to this demand, Hyde stepped forward pressing a hand to the small of Jackie's back.

"One room will be fine, Mrs…" she smiled widely at him.

"Corning. Mrs. Corning, should I get the key?"

"Does the room have two beds?" When she nodded in response he turned to Jackie. "There you go doll, nothing to worry about at all, you'll be perfectly safe in your own little bed, Sister Jackie." She glared at him, but wrote a check for the room, and took the key from Mrs. Corning. Hyde walked to the car and grabbed their two suitcases and met her at the door to their room. Jackie unlocked the door, and the two of them made their way into the room.