AN: Alrighty, here's the chapter I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for. This chapter turned out to be the longest I've ever written which is probably a good thing for you guys since it's filled with JH goodness. There is also some ED in here as well. Yes, Eric is finally coming to his senses. The quote I use at the beginning of this chapter is one that I found just when I started writing this story, and it really inspired what happens in this chapter.

Warning: This chapter is rated M for smut.

Reviews have been absolutely wonderful and they seriously make writing this story worth while. I'm hoping for a good response on this chapter, so I'm crossing my fingers right now.

Chapter 10: Come Together

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will
forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

-Maya Angelou

Jackie opened up the door of Hyde's new El Camino, taking in the scenery around her. When she requested that they go to Mount Hump for their picnic, she didn't expect him to take her to the very place where their first date on Veteran's Day occurred. Since that night, they had come up here a few times for other dates, but those were always at night. Now, in the daytime, Jackie took the time to truly appreciate the nature around her. The towering trees shaded the cool forest floor as their interlocking limbs only allowed murmurs of the sun to peak through. Shrubs and flower patches flourished under openings of the deciduous canopy, living it up while the start of spring was still fresh in the air. In a small clearing closer to the drop off of Point Place's "mountain", Jackie took notice of a bed of grass that would be perfect to lay their blanket on and quickly shut the car door to retrieve the checkered blanket from the back.

"Isn't it beautiful out here, Steven?" Jackie cooed as she hopped over to clearing.

Hyde looked at his surroundings and immediately noticed a pair of white panties sitting on a bush nearby.

"Yeah, it's really something." Jackie ignored the sarcasm.

Hyde lifted the very heavy basket filled with enough food to feed the two of them for months. When Mrs. Forman questioned why he was up so early on his day off, he told her without realizing that her motherly instincts would kick in. Well, that was really an understatement. The things Kitty did for her kids always went above and beyond the normal call of duty, and her specialty was making sure they were always overly fed.

Jackie spread the blanket out and sat Indian style in the middle, patting a spot to her side to show Hyde she wanted him to sit next to her. She took a deep breath and the smell of pine and pollen greeted her nose. Usually Jackie felt uncomfortable around nature. She hated the idea of camping or fishing because of the direct contact that was necessary to do either of those activities, but she really loved having a distant relationship like this, just sitting on her blanket, relaxing next to the man she loved.

After he had shown her that box, Jackie took a lot of time to reflect on the situation at hand. No matter how hard she tried to numb the pain, using tactics from getting a job that kept her busy all the time to dating Fez, she never got over Steven, not by a long shot. It was so different compared to the pain she felt when she lost Michael. Both times he left her feeling so hollow and alone, but it was the exact opposite with Steven. She was filled with everything that they had been, and she carried those memories around inside of her everywhere she went. Everything reminded her of their good times and the bad, and every time she was around him, she felt the same nervous excitement that had always been there.

So it was inevitable. Jackie was doomed to be in love with Steven Hyde. He held her heart in his hands, and there was nothing she could do to take herself away from him. He was in her blood. She kept thinking that the safe way would be just to distance herself and ignore his advances at every corner, but after seeing that box, Jackie decided to put her trust in him again. That box spoke to her more than words ever could which was a good thing because Hyde was never good with words. When she saw all of her things in that box along with her Christmas card she was sure he tossed, his words from the beginning of their relationship rang in her ears. I'm never going to be the guy that says the right thing at the right time. He made that fault of his up to her with his gestures, and she loved him even more for it. Words were just words in the long run. Michael had fed her lots of words that he betrayed their meaning without question. Words could be misleading, while gestures showed her the truth without her having to sift the bullshit from the sincerity.

Believing this, this whole plan of hers and bringing him out on this picnic might have seemed hypocritical, but outwardly appearances could be deceiving. True, she did want Hyde to talk to her today, but it wasn't the right words that she was searching for. Just seeing him make an effort to put himself out there for her was the gesture she needed. Talking about himself and his feelings was the hardest task she had ever seen him struggle with, and she knew if he was willing to try in order to be with her, then he was really serious about this. The only factor that could hurt her after this would be his memory coming back to him. That possibility was even darker to her than the unknown of starting a relationship with him again. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he remembered why he stayed with Sam; if he remembered why he stopped loving her.

Jackie felt the cool dancing of wind on her skin mixed with the burning heat of Hyde's stare. Jackie had always been a person who loved all eyes on her, but whenever those eyes belonged to the curly haired man that she loved more than herself, her insecurities began to well up inside of her. She always felt as though he could see straight through her and read her thoughts. Sometimes, she would wonder if she ever had the same effect on him. If just looking his way ever made his skin crawl with excitement.

Jackie whipped her head towards him, confirming her assumption that he was indeed staring at her. He smirked at her, and Jackie felt her own mouth turn upwards into a shy smile.

"So, I take it that you're happy to be out here." Hyde said as he continued to look down at her even after she turned her eyes away from him to stare out into the woods once more. He watched as a wide smile formed little dimples in her cheeks. He thought she was so beautiful when she smiled like that.

"Yeah, I really am. Are you happy?" Jackie looked at him once more, carefully studying his reaction.

"I'm okay." Hyde responded as he normally would. He noticed Jackie's face turn from pensive to disappointed fast and he caught himself before she could scold him. "Well, I mean, picnics aren't my thing, but this is nice."

"So if picnics aren't your thing, why did you come?"

Hyde thought back to the day before when Jackie practically demanded that he take her today. Her entire demeanor was so different then compared to now. But that was typical Jackie. She put a strong face on so she couldn't let the world get the best of her, but in reality she was small and needed to be taken care of. Hyde had always seen that and no matter how much he used to deny it, he always responded to her hidden quality by wanting to be the person to watch out for her.

"I thought I didn't have a choice." Hyde teased as he lightly nudged her shoulder with his arm.

Jackie smiled at his little attempt to ease the tension, but she had to push him harder. She looked up into his eyes that were shaded by rose colored glass. "You always have a choice, Steven."

Hyde didn't break her stare knowing that now was not the time to shrug her off. He felt the words he wanted to say on the tip of his tongue, waiting to spoken once more by him. He silently wondered if he ever did tell her that he loved her again during the two years that was missing from his mind. He wondered if the sting from the first time he said those words to her ever dulled, and he actually tried to tell her once more. For the first time since his accident, Hyde began to feel the twisting pull of regret working a number on him deep in his chest. This whole time he had been somewhat relieved that he couldn't remember, but now he wanted nothing more than to see all the things he missed out on with her.

"You know why Jackie."

Jackie felt it again, that magnetism that always existed between them. She felt her chest being pulled to him, her body needing to touch his. However, she resisted her skin's cries and focused on those two eyes still shielded from her. She reached up her hand, her fingers lightly grazing the smooth skin of his cheek. She thought she heard him take in a sharp breath from her contact, but she was too distracted by the fire roaring in her stomach, its heat coursing through her arm. She lightly grabbed the sides of his aviators and slowly slid the sunglasses off his face. Sunglasses are meant to shade the eyes from the dangerous rays of the sun, but Jackie sometimes felt that it was the opposite for Hyde. The intensity that his clear blue eyes emitted could be shocking for most. Jackie knew it was for her the first time she found herself staring straight into his uncovered eyes.

Hyde didn't know of the loneliness he felt when he and Jackie were broken up for so long, but what his mind so carelessly forgot, his body definitely remembered. Her eyes were locked onto his, and his heart was pounding in his chest harder than he could remember.

"Did I ever tell you again?" He asked, hoping that she understood what he was referring to.

Jackie was taken aback by his question, but she still continued to hold their gaze. "Yes."

Hyde was about to ask her how it happened. He knew she would explain it perfectly to him, but the look in her eyes stopped him from wanting to search for the details. The rims of her lids held in her tears until the warm liquid surpassed the threshold and ran down her cheeks. Jackie quickly looked away and wrapped her arms around her body, hoping that maybe if she squeezed herself tight enough she would wake up from this dream that she had apparently fallen into.

"Jackie." Hyde called to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. He tried to get her to look at him but she continued to look down at the blanket. After a few moments of Hyde searching his mind for anything that he could say to make this all better, she finally spoke.

"I just don't understand." Her voice was raspy and shaking, and Hyde scooted in closer to hear her and with hopes that she would let him comfort her. The last thing he wanted was for her to run from him now. "You might not remember what it was like for us, Steven, but I do. I remember all the moments we shared and the love we felt. And I also remember how it just disappeared and we forgot about it all. So this," Jackie moved her hands back and forth between them. "How you are fighting for us and wanting it all to come back, it's just so confusing. I still hurt from what happened, and you can't tell me the things I need to know."

"Well, what do you need to know?" Hyde asked still keeping his grip on her shoulder firm.

"I need to know if you loved me while we were apart. I still love you, Steven, and I can forget all of those things just to be with you if you just tell me."

Jackie waited for his reaction, for his gesture to try for them. She watched him carefully as he thought about his answer, first his face drawing a blank and then his eyebrows knitting together as he searched his mind. The whole time she was quietly pleading for him to say anything but "I don't know." She needed him to try for her, to give her something tangible so she could fully trust him again.

Finally, Hyde sat back, ready to give her his answer.

"I did."

Jackie sat still, her heart stopping in her chest. "How do you know?"

Hyde closed his eyes. He didn't know why. He just knew. What was he supposed to tell her? That ever since he realized what he felt for her was love, he couldn't think of a time he didn't feel this way, that he couldn't imagine not feeling that way about her no matter what. He hated this. He hated having to explain himself because he knew it would just come out wrong. But he had to say something, for her, if he wanted to make this right.

"I just feel it."

As soon as the words left his mouth and entered Jackie's ear, she snaked her arm around his neck and captured his lips in a searing kiss. Even though he was caught off guard, Hyde quickly responded by kissing her back and moving his hand down to her hip so he could pull her in closer. Jackie kissed him with all of the buried passion that had lain dormant inside of her for so long. Hyde could feel everything Jackie was feeling in that kiss, and he knew that this was his last chance he would ever get with her. He made a promise to make sure that he would never have to ask for another one ever again.

Donna ran her fingers through her hair that had just completely dried from her shower. She looked down at the lock that hung limp over her fingers tips. The light was hitting it just right to reveal a vibrant shade of red. The lightness of her blonde had taken the red well, almost as if her hair had missed the color and soaked up every bit of the dye that it could. The color looked so bold compared to the washed up paleness of her hair just hours before. She almost felt like a new person again, and from the way she had been acting recently, that was a good thing.

A soft knock sounded from the front door, and Donna's heart lunged into her throat. Without even looking, she knew it was him. Even though she had been waiting for him this whole time, for a brief second she considered not opening the door. What if it took him so long because he decided he didn't want to be with her indefinitely? Donna knew she was the one that broke up with him, but she did it to help their relationship, not hurt it. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. There was no sense in being afraid of him. It was just Eric. She could take it. Whatever his decision would be, it'd be for the best.

All of Donna's confidence drained from her body when she opened the apartment door. Eric stood before her with a nice button up shirt and black slacks. His hair was combed neatly to the side and the light color of his shirt really brought out his tan that he had got while in Africa.

"Hey, can I come in?" He asked. Donna nodded her head and moved out of the doorway so he could enter. Eric walked through the door with his hands in his pockets, and they both felt the tension in the room rise. Donna closed the door as quietly as she could, taking her precious time before she turned around to face him. Once she did, she found Eric's eyes on her, reading her as she stood there.

"You dyed your hair again."

Donna gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I felt like I needed a change."

Eric nodded his head approvingly, his eyes still glued to her. "I like it."

"So," Eric began, looking down at the floor with his hands in his pockets. "Have you been here all week?"

"Yeah, Jackie wanted us to spend some quality girl time with each other."

Eric nodded his head. Donna felt that this small talk was just torture. The longer she waited for him to say something, the more her stomach tied in knots and her head spinned in a dizzy blunder. She considered just running from the room if this kept up. Luckily, Eric made his move just in time.

"Look Donna, I'm really really sorry about breaking up with you while I was in Africa. I just thought that you were wasting your life away waiting for me like that. And I know that I did the same thing about the wedding and sorry isn't enough, so I guess." He stopped fumbling around, took a deep breath, and looked up at her with his sincere, green eyes. "Will you go out on a date with me?"

"What?" Donna asked, completely taken by surprise.

Eric walked to her and held her hands in his. "Go out to the Vinyard with me. We'll talk about everything and just completely start over. I already made reservations, and I even managed to get the table that we had our first date at." He paused seeing that Donna was still staring at him with wide eyes. "Please, Donna. I love you and I really want to make this work this time. I'm not going to back out on you anymore."

Donna looked down at their hands and then back up into his eyes again. A wide smile took over her features and she let go of his hands to walk to the door. "Well, can we at least go home first so I can change into something nice?"

Eric smiled back at her and followed. "Of course."

Jackie fished her keys out of her purse, trying her best to not let Hyde's light nibbling on her earlobe distract her from entering her own apartment. To her grateful disappointment, the tickling that danced on the left side of her neck fogged her brain just enough to completely forget that the hard, metal keys dangling in her hand were her ticket to getting in her apartment and furthering things in the bedroom.

"Steven," she giggled, pushing his body away from her as best as she could with her hip. "I'm trying to get into the apartment."

Hyde's unbroken arm that was wrapped tightly around her mid section tightened his hold on her body. She felt his warm breath against her neck and she froze, anticipating his next move. When she noticed he wasn't doing anything and was actually chuckling at the effect he had on her, she elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to groan in pain.

"That's what you get, you tease." Jackie said, pushing the keys into the slot and opened up the door.

Hyde ran after Jackie who had taken off to her bedroom as soon as they were granted entrance into the apartment. He found her giggling on her bed, giving him her best sex kitten eyes, daring him to come and play. He growled deeply in his throat and pounced on her body, causing her to shriek even more with laughter. He silenced her with his mouth, leading her lips to clamp down onto his in a fiery kiss.

Jackie rubbed her hands against his tee shirt, feeling his chest muscles underneath the AC/DC logo. She moved her hands to rub his shoulders, feeling his strong muscles flex underneath her fingers. She needed to feel his skin against hers. It had been way to long for her and she was in no mood for foreplay. She shot her hands underneath his shirt to give his chest and stomach one longing rub before she began working her fingers to undue his pants.

"Someone's a little anxious." He pointed out, smirking at her frantic pace.

Jackie got his belt undone and began working on his button and zipper. "It has been a really, really long time, Steven. Now take off your shirt."

Hyde chuckled but couldn't help but get even more turned on by how demanding she was being. He straddled the sides of her legs for balance and tried to get his shirt off as fast as he could with one arm. Jackie quickly noticed that it was taking him a while.

"What's wrong?"

Hyde groaned, still struggling with his tee shirt. "It's just my cast." He managed to get the shirt off one side and pulled it over his cast with his free hand.

Jackie bit her lip. This was not how she imagined how this moment would be. She knew if they started out how they normally did, his cast would definitely get in the way and it would make the entire situation awkward. She had to think of a way to avoid that and fast.

"Get on your back." Jackie demanded. Hyde perked up an eyebrow at her forwardness but did as he was told.

As soon as his back hit the mattress, he felt Jackie's tiny body jump on top of him and straddle his hips. They usually never did it this way because Jackie liked Hyde on top better, but she had a serious sexiness in her eyes and Hyde knew not to voice any kind of protest. She meant business, and Hyde was never one to get in the way of a lady's work.

Jackie looked down at him, her eyes skimming over his chest and stomach. She didn't tell him much, but he was the sexiest man she had ever seen and probably ever would see. She wanted to make sure that this time would be just as good for him as she knew it would be for her.

Jackie worked her fingers to un due the buttons of her blouse, keeping her eyes on the man beneath her as he enjoyed the beginning of the little show she was about to give him. Once she got to the bottom, she let the soft material slowly slide off her shoulders and arched her back so it could fall off her arms. Keeping her position, she fingered the hooks of her bra, unclasping the black lace. She noticed the hungry look in Hyde's eye as he waited for her to remove the piece of underwear that had been covering the mounds he had been eyeing since she had taken her shirt off. Jackie took the garment off at a painfully slow pace, and she enjoyed every minute of the erotic torture she was giving to him. She flung the bra across the room along with her shirt, the feeling of being completely exposed causing her nipples to harden.

Jackie felt Hyde's free hand that had been resting on her hip this whole time move upwards against her stomach. She stopped his journey short, causing him to groan in protest.

"What's wrong, Steven? Do you want to touch me?"

"Yes." Hyde said, his voice becoming breathy as the tension built inside of him. He was starting to not like this helplessness.

"Do you want to touch me like this?" Jackie asked as she cupped her breast with her hands, kneading herself in the same way he would.

"Fuck, Jackie." Hyde watched as Jackie pleasured herself, wishing so badly it was he who doing the pleasuring, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her. This was probably the single hottest thing his young eyes had ever witnessed.

Jackie grinned down at him, satisfied with the aching need she saw in his eyes. She moved her body further down his body, taking off his pants so that he could be completely naked. She quickly noticed that he was still wearing his boots, and got off the bed so she could pull those off.

"You know these just get in the way of this." Hyde rolled his eyes at her snarkiness, but chose to just keep his mouth shut because she was undressing him. He was really getting into this Jackie being in control, and what was even better was she was getting into it even more. His dick pulsated underneath his jeans as he thought of how great it would feel when she climbed back on top of him and he could feel her surround him completely.

Once she had gotten his pants off, Jackie unzipped her skirt as she took in his naked body just lying on her bed, and he was definitely very ready for her. She slipped out of her skirt and left it on the floor. She playfully tucked her thumbs under the sides of her panties, seductively shaking her hips at him.

"You're going to kill me." Hyde groaned. Jackie smiled once more and tore the last barrier away from her body that stood in the way of their long awaited union.

Jackie climbed back up on the bed, her naked body hovering just inches over his. The heat radiating from their skin made their complete exposure very real for the both of them, and Hyde reached out to touch her again. He rubbed the side of her hip, trying to coax her to finally give him what they both needed. Jackie lowered her head down to his, sensually kissing his lips. He opened his mouth, allowing their tongues to get one last taste before they took the plunge. After a few moments of making love to each other's mouths, Jackie broke the kiss and sunk down on his dick, moaning at the contact.

Once he was completely inside of her and she was comfortable, Jackie rocked her body backwards and forwards, panting at each stroke's in and out motion. Her hands positioned on each side of Hyde's shoulders held her body and just the right angle for his head to hit her g spot with each bounce. Jackie felt her climax building inside of her as she quickened her pace, but she just wasn't moving fast enough. As if he read her mind, Hyde met her with his own thrusts, and he aided her rocking with his hand that now pushed against her hip. Jackie was at her brink. She wanted this orgasm to be perfect so she moaned through her pants, "I want you to come with me."

Hearing those words escape from her mouth almost made Hyde come right then. He quickened the pace of his thrusts, his dick pounding against the walls of her pussy. Jackie felt her body meet its threshold, and she screamed his name as ecstasy and release clouded her mind. She collapsed her body against Hyde and he continued to pump in and out of her as they both rode off their orgasms together.

After catching their breaths, Jackie rolled off Hyde and rested her head on his chest and wrapping her arm around his stomach. She whispered, "I love you." into the air and felt sleep take over. Just when she was falling completely under, she could have sworn she heard his deep reply, "I love you, too."

AN2: So, I didn't realize until now what a double entendre the title of this chapter was. Hehe, I think it's better that way.