Encounter 5

Can You Still Love Me?

Author's Note: Please keep the feedback coming, I have lots of writing to catch up on and it serves as great motivation. Thank you to all who are reading, and especially to those who have reviewed. I hope you enjoy. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Not Mine.

He'd left her in a near-crazed rage. She fought fiercely to keep a cool and leveled exterior, but inside her blood was at a rapid boil, scorching the very walls of her veins. Jackie sat their deaf to Jacob's oblivious ramblings, blind to Kitty's concerned gaze, internally fixated at the specific brand of anger that had consumed the majority of her most-recent waking hours. She couldn't keep going on like this. The weeks away had been liberating. Her mother had introduced her to Jacob the first night and while he tried eagerly to get her to go to dinner with him, she had politely refused, still preoccupied with the blue eyes that had been both her haven and her prison in turn. But within a few days, through persistence, flattery, Disco music, and champagne, Jackie had warmed up to the charming and poised accountant-to-be. By the end of their first date Jackie had begun to think for the first time that love could exist beyond Steven, and though she currently did not love Jacob, she thought she could learn to.Admittedly, that was a far cry from the romantic notions she used to hold, but it was a hell of a lot better than the loneliness and misery she'd been left with since Samantha had shown up. The engagement of course was her mother's idea, a little security since Jacob would be returning to school in Michigan soon. This way Jackie would havea wayto leave the pain of Point Place behind her and move on with her life. But now, stewing at the Forman's kitchen table, Jackie felt Hyde's parting words laying nails under her skin as they replayed in her head, nails that would seem to forever hold her in a place where he could affect her like this. And she wished to God that her lips didn't still tingle from his kisses the night before. She couldn't take this. She wouldn't.

Hyde stood at Groove's register counting the money for what must have been the tenth time. He couldn't seem to concentrate. He kept thinking the nerve of her, to bring that dillhole into his home for breakfast. At first he felt quite satisfied at the rather distraught look he'd left on her face, but after hours of scrutinizing the morning in his head he'd begun to feel a little guilty, or as close to guilty as he could get. He had hurt her. Again. And hell, he was married, what right did he have to begrudge her happiness? But then he began to reason back his anger. She wasn't any happier. And that Jacob guy would never be able to make her happy. She had just sat there, mutely at his side after she had said such horrible things the day before. And Hyde would consider all this until he was back to being enraged all over again. Beginning to count through the money once more, determined to make it his last time, he looked up at the sound of the door opening.He was surprised to see Donna standing before him with a case of beer in one hand and a familiarly crinkled brown paper bag in the other. He raised an eyebrow at her, serving as both a "Hello." and a "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Fez is on his way and Kelso will be here in about two hours,so long ashe remembers to put gas in the car." Her voice was casual as she seated herself on the store's couch and looked at him expectantly.

He moved from behind the register and opening a beer, sat beside her. "Any particular reason for this little party?"

"You." Her look remained steady. Hyde began to eye her suspiciously, and taking his shades off and hooking them to the front of his t-shirt, his blue eyes asked for an explanation. "Look Hyde, you've always been kind of a stoic-unless-I-am-really-pissed-off kind of guy, and for the most part we've all accepted, even enjoyed that fact. You're "zen" or whatever, and we get it. But last night, that look you gave Jackie, the way you stormed out, me and Fez realized we've been lousy friends lately. You aren't really zen, you're just avoiding. You aren't okay with how things are, and we should have noticed sooner and we're sorry. But now we're going to help you figure things out. And this," she indicated first the beer, and then the bag," and this, are to assist us and ensure some clarity, if you will." She finished with a large smile, and Hyde gave her a slight grin, deciding Donna was more of a girl than she usually let on.

Jackie had put Jacob to bed early, assuring him she'd be in after she took a nice bath and gave herself a facial. Once his breathing had evened out with sleep though, she snuck back over to the Forman basement. She paced the small room Hyde called home, waiting to pounce as soon as he returned. An eternity seemed to pass as she practiced the speech she'd planned out over and over under her breath. Finally, well after 1am, she heard not just one, but several sets of footsteps enter the basement. Hearing a blend of voices she recognized as well as her own, she tiptoed into the shower room once they'd all settled in front of the TV. She hadn't planned on involving their friends in this conversation, and she certainly was not eager to hand him another opportunity to publicly insult her, so she stood still and listened, hoping the others would go home soon.

After an entire episode of Gilligan's Island, and halfway through a rerun of Bewitched, Fez and Kelso announced they'd be heading to the apartment to call it a night. She peeked out and was a little confused to see Hyde give Kelso a hug, thanking him for coming up, before returning to his chair. She heard the bang of the door and wondered how much longer the lumberjack would stay. And that's when the conversation began to pick her interest.

"You know, man, I appreciate what you did." Hyde's voice stayed even, but Jackie thought she heard the genuine quality it took on when he was serious.

"So, do you think you know what you want to do?"

"Well, I need to talk to Sam first and get that out of the way. But really after that, it'skinda up to Jackie." Upon hearing her name, Jackiecrouched topeep out from her hiding space once more. She watched as Hyde leaned forward, elbows on his knees and sighed.

"She still loves you, Hyde. That much is obvious. But you hurt her, more than you or I can probably ever really know. She'll come back, but you are going to have not just say your sorry. But prove it. Graveling will probably have to be involved." Jackie heard him chuckle softly before sitting back up in his chair and responding.

"Man, I can hear her now. 'Steven, nothing says 'I'm sorry' like obviously expensive jewelry. Preferably diamonds.'" Donna laughed, and Jackie had to give a little smirk at how well he knew her.

"Speaking of diamonds, do you still have the ring? Or did you give it to Sam?"

"Are you kidding, man? That ring? To a stripper? It'd be like saying, 'Hey, you just got upgraded to a prostitute, but look it's shiny.'" Donna laughed again before noticing Hyde's expression had turned serious again. "Besides, I bought it for Jackie. The size, the cut, everything about it was what Jackie always hinted, or bluntly stated, she wanted. It wouldn't be fair to give Sam another girl's ring." Donna nodded and smiled.

"Who knew Steven Hyde could be so sentimental?"

"Tell anyone and I will hit a girl."

Jackie heard them both laugh low before the sound of the door opening cut it off. Then she heard the name she'd grown to hate above all others spoken with surprise.

"Sam!"