I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. I haven't abandoned either of my stories, I have just had very limited internet access lately. I own nothing.

In Good Time

July 6, 1980

The Lonely Traveler Motel

Hyde lounged lazily on the bed he had claimed, watching the black and white tv that rested on the dresser against the far wall. Jackie had finished unpacking and putting away all of her things, and then had gone in search of a newspaper to see what kind of apartments she could find available to rent.

Secretly he felt the whole apartment search was stupid. She should just move back to Point Place, so that she could be near the people that loved her. She had tried the big city thing; she had gotten a job, and proven to them all that she was more than capable. He was ready for her to be back in Point Place. He missed seeing her every day.

Jackie came back in the room, bearing a phone book and a newspaper. She tossed the phone book on Hyde's bed, before plopping down on her own.

"What's this?" He asked her, pointing to the phone book next to him.

"It's this new thing they have in Chicago now, we call it a phone book." She replied bitingly. He sighed.

"I meant, why is this phone book on my bed?"

"I figured you could go through the yellow pages and find us some place to have dinner." He couldn't really think of a reason why this wouldn't be a good idea, and so didn't argue with her. He began flipping through the restaurant pages, hoping to find a burger joint in close proximity to their hotel. After a few minutes, he noticed Jackie intently reading the paper she had brought in. "Find any thing good?" He hoped his voice sounded casual and not nervous.

"There are some interesting prospects. I guess we wont really know until we go look, but one place is close to work, so that's good."

"Well there's a bar not too far from here that serves dinner, so why don't we go check that out, and we can worry about where you're going to shack up later."

"Sounds good." She said and followed him to the car.

2 Hours Later

Happy's Bar and Grill

Hyde watched in fascination as Jackie devoured her second bacon cheeseburger. The tiny brunette never ceased to amaze him. Though he had had a few beers, he was nowhere near as drunk as she was. She was giggling hysterically at everything he said, and she was eating like an Ethiopian refugee.

"Steven, aren't you hungry?" She asked him her mouth full of food. He just laughed at her. The waitress came to their table to see if they needed anything else. "I'll have another Cosmo." Jackie instructed the young waitress. Hyde tried not to notice the attractive blonde clearly checking him out. She had been making subtle advances toward him all night, and she now turned to him once again.

"A Cosmo for your girlfriend, and anything for you, hun?" She asked, and he had to admit she was good at getting the information she wanted.

"I'm not his girlfriend." Jackie told her cheeseburger, before finishing the last bit. "He didn't really want me." The waitress looked mildly interested in this, but Hyde told her he would just have water. He contemplated Jackie's telling remark before saying something to her.

"That's not true, and you know it." She looked up at him, her lids heavy from the influence of the alcohol coursing through her veins.

"What are you talking about, Steven?" The blond waitress returned, setting the drinks on the table. She slid a piece of paper toward Hyde and walked away, swinging her hips. He looked down at the paper, it was a phone number. Numbly he wondered why he wasn't even remotely interested in the attractive waitress, who was practically throwing herself at him. But he knew why. It was Jackie, it would always ever only be Jackie for him. "Steven?" She said looking at him questioningly, and he was pulled back to their conversation.

"You said I didn't want you. You were the one who came here…after…well I told you everything, what more is there to say, I thought I made myself pretty clear."

"I don't think I want to talk about this." She stood from the table, and headed for the door. Flustered, Hyde threw some money on the table, and hurried after her. He caught up to her on the street and grabbed her by the arm to slow her progress. This was odd behavior for Jackie. Usually it was him that ran out on hard conversations.

"What are you doing?" He asked, slightly out of breath from their rapid departure.

"Nothing, I'm going back to the hotel." She said so quietly he almost couldn't hear her, and he knew immediately that she was crying. He turned her to face him and looked down into her damp face.

"You're going the wrong way." He said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Jacks…why are you crying?"

"Because…because everything is so messed up." She hiccupped, and he briefly thought how incredibly beautiful she was. "Because, Michael used to be my best friend, and now everything between us is bad." This statement disquieted him. Why the hell did she care what Kelso did, especially after how he had treated her. "Because I am homeless, which is really not a part of my grand life plan." Hyde laughed at this, picturing Jackie living in a cardboard box. "And because…sometimes I feel like I love you so much…I just can't breathe." These words hit him like a fist in the stomach, and he instinctively wrapped her in his arms, pulling her as close to him as possible.

"Jackie…you know I love you. I told you how I felt, and you said you needed to be here, so you're here. And you dated that ass, and I never said anything…I just waited. I don't know what you want from me anymore." She looked up at him, her mismatched eyes filling with tears.

"I just feel like nothing makes sense any more. But I really like my job. I like having something that is mine…that I earned, not just from my looks, but through hard work and talent. It's nice to be able to prove to myself that I have what it takes to make it on my own, and I just can't walk away from that. When I worked at the salon, and after you married Sam, all I could think was that if I had a career, I would have something to define me, something I had created on my own, and now I have that, and I'm not giving up on it." She sighed. He could tell she was exhausted, her body sagging gently against his. He put an arm around her, lending her his own strength.

"Come on, doll. It will all seem better soon." And he led her back to the hotel room, where they both settled in their respective beds for a night of restless sleep.

July 7, 1980

9:00 a.m.

The Lonely Traveler Motel

Hyde rolled over with a groan to check the time on the clock, but noticed something else instead. Jackie, lying stark naked in her bed with her sheet draped loosely over her tiny frame. He could only assume that she had tossed off her pajamas in her drunken haze sometime after he had helped her into bed last night.

She stirred in her sleep, and he recognized the signs that she was waking up. He knew they had a long day ahead of them, and he wasn't exactly thrilled about finding her a place to live hundreds of miles away, but he would do it for her. He would do anything for her. She turned to face him and opened her green eye.

"Morning sunshine." He said with a smile. She gave him a sleepy grin, and went to sit up when she realized she was naked.

"Steven!" She screeched.

"No, I mean I didn't…we didn't. I think you just took off your clothes while you were sleeping." Her face was now bright red, and he reveled in her discomfort.

"Oh." She said quietly, trying to cover herself in the sheet.

"It's not like you've got anything hidden under there I haven't seen before, you know." He said playfully, but she just glared at him and threw herself back against the pillows.

"That's not the point." They both remained in their respective beds, absently staring at the ceiling, until he spoke.

"Jackie…I just wanted to tell you that, you know, what you said last night, about work…your job…I can respect that. I mean, I understand. I feel that way about Grooves…and I just wanted to say that I'm really proud of you." He glanced in her direction and saw a single tear course down her cheek.

"Thank you, Steven. That means a lot."