To every one that is still actually reading this, I'm extremely sorry for the delay. I've been working 50+hours a week, and just haven't had the time to think of anything creative at all. So I hope you guys like this chapter, I was pretty pleased with it. Let me know what you think.

Movin' on Up

Jackie pulled down the visor in front of her and checked her reflection for what must have been the hundredth time. She sighed. Also for the hundredth time. Hyde had never in his life hit a woman, but Jackie was seriously pushing him to break that record.

"Jackie." He said it quietly but firmly. She knew she was annoying him, he knew she knew it.

"I'm sorry, Steven. I just wish this ugly cut would go away. It doesn't cover up very well, and it makes me feel so ugly." He sighed in frustration.

"Jackie, you are not ugly. And the cut will heal. But it's kind of like when you're waiting for something to happen, and you keep watching the clock, and because you're watching the time it seems to move slower. That's how the cut is going to be. You may have a lot of will power, but even you can't force you're face to heal. Just be patient." However, he knew it was a hopeless cause. Jackie didn't know the meaning of the word patient, let alone how to act that way.

"Fine." She said flipping the visor back up. But less than two minutes later she was at it again, and he had to bite his lips to keep from screaming in frustration.

Finally they arrived at the apartment complex. Jackie hopped out of the car, and headed for the rental office, with Hyde trailing closely behind her.

At the desk stood a very stern looking older man, who seemed to disapprove very much of Jackie's bouncing up and down in his office.

"May I help you, young lady?" He asked her with an air of some one who is very, very busy.

"Oh! Yes, well I read your add in the paper, for the one bedroom? And I was wondering if maybe I could see it?" The man once again tossed her a withering glance, but went to find the key. When he returned he handed it to her a bit reluctantly.

"It's in complex G. That's right next to I and H. The apartment is number 6 on the second floor. Please return the key once you are finished." Jackie was totally oblivious the subtle insult to her intelligence that the man had dropped in to his statement, which Hyde found particularly amusing considering she was the queen of backhanded compliments.

Once again he found himself following her. The complex was actually fairly nice, especially for a place in the city. It had lots of trees planted around, and a large park in the middle of the buildings. It looked as though several of the residents were walking their dogs. Hyde figured it looked like a pretty safe place, which made him more inclined to urge Jackie to live here.

Inside the apartment, Jackie was in raptures. It opened on to a fairly good-sized living room, which had a fireplace; there was a breakfast bar separating the living room and kitchen, which was a good size for an apartment. All the appliances looked up to date, and just to the side of the kitchen sat a sunroom, ideal for a dining set. Just off the living room was the bedroom, and next to that door was the door to the bathroom. The bathroom, Jackie determined, would be plenty big enough for all of her beauty products. There was a washer and dryer in a closet next to the bathroom. After finding the walk in closet in the large bedroom, Jackie was sold. This was definitely the place for her.

"What do you think, Steven?" She asked, after she had given the place a twice and third over.

"It's really nice Jacks. And it looks like you can have a pet if you want, so you'll have some one waiting at home for you. I think you should take it." He hoped he sounded supportive.

"Really?" She looked around one last time. "Ok let's go. I want to get this figured out today. Hopefully we can move out of the hotel tomorrow." Hyde nodded and followed her back down the stairs. By the time they reached the rental office, Jackie already had her checkbook out. The proprietor, who they learned was called Mr. Bellkin, informed them that they were allowed to paint, and that Jackie would be allowed no more than two pets in her apartment.

Jackie wrote the check, was given the key to number G6, and the two of them headed back to the car.

"What now, doll?" Hyde asked as he started the engine.

"I'm hungry. And I have to go to Michaels to get all my stuff. And I guess I need to find some furniture…and well pretty much everything else a person needs for their home. I can't believe I have my own apartment." She threw a nervous glance in Hyde's direction. "So…do you think…could you stay and help me with all of this?" Hyde gave her a reassuring pat on the knee.

"I'm here for what ever you need."

Michael Kelso's Apartment

1 hour later

Jackie stood on the sidewalk, looking up at the building she had called home for a time. It seemed so surreal to her that once again she was right back where she had started with Michael. It was a mistake to ever become romantically involved with him again. It just wasn't ever going to work between them. She glanced at the man standing next to her. He was more handsome than ever. It still surprised her how much she loved him. Before meeting Steven, she had never known that it was possible to love some one so much.

"Are you ready?" He asked her, disturbing her thoughts. She jumped.

"Yes…I think I am." He seemed to understand that this was something she was finding very hard to face. He reached out and took her small hand in his larger one, and gave it a squeeze.

"It's going to be just fine, I'm right here." She smiled up at him gratefully, then led him into the building.

Kelso opened the door to them, looking slightly disheveled. "Um…hey…guys." He said, clearly uncertain of how to approach anything that even resembled conversation with the two people in front of him.

Jackie stepped forward, ready to be the first to make peace, and get them headed down the road to reconciliation. She reached up on tiptoe and kissed Kelso on the cheek. Hyde convulsively clenched his fist, but controlled himself, waiting to see Kelso's response to Jackie's nearness. Kelso hesitantly wrapped her in a friendly hug, and when Jackie pulled away from him she was smiling. Hyde relaxed.

"Michael, Steven and I are here to pick up my things." Kelso looked as though he would like to argue with this, but stepped back into the apartment, opening his door wide in welcome.

"Ya…of course. Come in." Hyde followed Jackie over the threshold. He and Kelso sat on the couch enjoying an awkward silence as Jackie bustled around, packing things into the cardboard boxes she and Hyde had brought with them. Every once and a while she would give a command to one of the two men, but other than that she left them to themselves.

Hyde was having a very hard time forgiving Kelso for what had transpired between him and Jackie the previous weekend. He and Kelso had been friends since they were kids. He would have been able to forgive Kelso for almost anything. But all bets were off when it came to Jackie. Despite the fact that he would barely admit it to even himself, he loved her. He, Steven Hyde, had never, ever truly loved many people. Sure he cared about quite a few of them, but he had never had real parents. He loved the Formans, and he loved Eric, as a brother, of course.

Jackie was different. He was in love with Jackie, he felt sure now that a part of him had always and would always be in love with her, and because of this he was extremely protective of her. A part of him had wanted to kill Kelso the night Jackie had showed up at his house, covered in bruises and bleeding, because of him. Because of Kelso. Finally, Hyde was able to control his emotions enough to speak to the friend sitting next to him. He waited until Jackie had left the apartment to carry one of her boxes down stairs.

Standing he turned to Kelso. "Look man, I want talk to you. You're one of my best friends, but so help me, if you ever so much as lay a violent finger on my girl again, I will kill you. I'm not speaking figuratively either. I will murder your ass and bury you in the desert in Nevada. I scoped out some good spots on my way back from Vegas." Kelso, short of throwing up the defensive comeback that Hyde had come to expect from him looked truly filled with remorse.

"I'm sorry." He said hanging his head. "I'm really, really sorry." Hyde sat back down on the couch waiting for Kelso to say something more. "I've stopped drinking. I really have. And I've been talking to Brooke, and Betsy. I'm going to go visit them sometime soon. I feel so bad about everything with Jackie, I was upset about my life, and instead of trying to fix the problems, I took it out on one of the best girls I've ever known, and I can't forgive myself for that."

For the first time ever, Hyde felt the urge to hug his goofy friend. Instead he hit him on the back. "You're a good guy Kelso. You just made a mistake. Just don't do it again, man." Kelso smiled at him, recognizing the forgiveness his friend was offering.

"Thanks man. Oh, and I'm so going to tell every one that you looove Jackie!"

Upon her return to the apartment, Jackie was welcomed by the sight of two of her oldest friends, and the only two men she had ever loved, wrestling on the ground, as one cried out, "Damn, Hyde, that was my eye!" She smiled and was so relieved; she didn't even demand that they carry all of her things to the car.