Disclaimer: I don't own.
Author's Note: It's almost over. Are you relieved? Hee hee. Thank you to everyone who's read this story, and a special thanks to those of you reviewing. You guys are just awesome, and you've really kept me going. One more chapter after this, hopefully up sometime by the beginning of next week.
Warning: Language, violence (slight)
For Her Sake
Chapter 26 – For Her Sake
You're Gonna Pay Up
"In here."
Jack followed his former employee into what apparently was a living room. The room was decorated formally, with dark furnishings and gold lamps, elegant accessories such as glass vases filled with fading flowers, an ornate rug underneath the coffee table. A bookcase lined the back wall, full of books that looked as if they'd been in existence since the formation of the country. He looked around. Funny, it reminded him of his own living room, high end, the best. Nothing but the best. Though this room seemed a little dusty. Near the window, he noticed a man, a large man with a familiar build gripping the red curtains, and he sighed deeply. "Sammy." His two henchmen, turned against him. He smiled wryly. He could appreciate irony.
Sammy turned and stared coolly at the man he used to work for. The man he'd always thought rescued him from a life of cleaning toilets and emptying trash cans in some fancy office building, getting more or less spit upon by the lawyers and accountants. He crossed his arms over his chest. It had all been a scam. Something Jack did to ease his guilty conscious…or rather, his wife's guilty conscious. "You owe us some money, Jack."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "What, no good to see you? Just a demand for money?" He shook his head. "I have to say, Sammy, your manners have gone straight to hell." Now he got it. They'd taken his daughter. Lured him here with that godforsaken, sick tape. And the letter. Fools.
Sammy shook his head. "You ain't gonna bully me, Jack. You owe me and Carl money, and you're gonna pay up."
Jack shook his head and began to pace the room, chuckling softly, knowing what buttons to push, how to intimidate the spineless giant. "Now, Sam. What is this about?" He stopped just in front of Sammy, and unabashedly looked into his eyes. "Tell me what the problem is, and we'll work it out." He patted Sammy's shoulder firmly. "We always do."
Carl shook his head, unable to stay silent. "Your wife killed Sammy's daughter." He pointed at Jack. "And you're going to give us the money you owe us and then some. You're going to pay for what your wife did."
Sammy shook his head and held up his hand, looking briefly at his friend. "No. No." He looked at Jack, swallowing the pain that was always there. "You ain't gonna pay for what happened to my Kimmy. There ain't no amount of money that can…" He took a deep breath. "No amount of money will ever make up for my daughter's life."
Carl rolled his eyes and threw up his hands, turning away from Sammy and looking out the window.
Jack smirked, though he was slightly surprised these two space cadets had figured out his wife's secret. "Good, because I've more than paid for Pam's mistakes."
Sammy clenched his fists. "All I want, Jack, is for you to pay Carl and me what you owe us. The last few jobs we did for you. And…" He straightened his shoulders. "I want you to leave your daughter in peace. I want you to leave her and Hyde and that sweet little one alone."
That one name lit fury in Jack, and the smirk on his lips disintegrated. He glared at Sammy, tempted to rush the man and beat him senseless. "Bring Jackie to me." He raised his chin. "I want to talk to my daughter. Bring her to me. Now."
Sammy nodded. "You can talk to her, Jack. And then you're gonna pay up."
For Her Sake
Jackie couldn't look at her father as she stood in front of him. Instead, she rested her forehead, eyes in, on Steven's shoulder. Her entire body trembled with cold pulsations, and even though she clung to Steven's hand, she felt no comfort. That man in front of her, she felt his eyes on her, heavy on her, plunging into her, that man had considered and thought about killing her.
"I want to talk to Jackie alone."
Hyde chuckled. "Yeah. That's not happening ever again, Jack, so forget it." He set the baby seat he held in his free hand down on the ground. Jackie whimpered on the other side of him, and he squeezed her hand. "You want to talk to her, you get to talk to her in front of me."
Jackie lifted her head, looking up at Steven. His eyes met hers, and he winked, telling her without words that she was safe, he was there, right there. She smiled weakly, took a breath so deep, so hard that it hurt her rib cage, and turned her eyes on her father.
He used to be so handsome to her, the most handsome man ever. He used to be so smart, so funny, so perfect. He'd been an idol to her, nearly a God. Her Daddy. Her hero.
And now, he was only a monster.
"Pay Sammy and Carl, Daddy," she said, her voice soft and tentative. Steven let go of her hand, and she looked at him. He smiled reassuringly, his hand slipping underneath her hair onto her neck. She smiled back. Her true hero was standing right next to her, his fingertips gently rubbing her skin in warm, tiny circles. She looked down at the baby seat. She couldn't see Stephanie, but felt her deep inside. This was her life. This was her family. With a new sense of purpose, she wrapped her arm around Steven's waist and looked again at her father. At her past. The past that wasn't going to haunt her the rest of her life. "And after that, you can just forget that you even have a daughter."
Jack frowned and took a step forward. His breathing tightened his chest. If he could only reason with his daughter, this sick hold Steven Hyde and that bastard child had over her might be broken. "But your letter, Jackie. You said you wanted to hear my side of the story. You said you doubted…" He looked in disgust at the lowdown scum touching his daughter, then winced as he unwillingly recalled how he'd groped her on that tape. He pointed a disdainful finger at Hyde. "That Steven was telling you the truth."
Jackie shrugged. "I lied." She shook her head sadly. "Are you surprised, Daddy? You shouldn't be. You taught me how to do it well, didn't you?" Heat flooded her cheeks, just as anger overwhelmed her chest. "I know what you did, Father. I know that you forced Steven to marry that stripper…"
"It was HIS idea, Jacqueline! HIS idea!"
"Because you said you'd kill me if he didn't stay away from me!" She stepped towards her father, out of Steven's touch, but still felt strong. Still felt him with her, because now, he was inside of her, and she was inside of him. That knowledge gave her power, strength to stand up to her past, at last. She pointed at her father, and her finger was steady in the air. "You forced him to fake his own death after you found out we were back together. You did all of that, Jack, and there is NO WAY I can forgive you for any of it!"
Jack shook his head rapidly, his composure slipping away as his daughter looked at him as if he was the scum of the earth. He'd never seen that look, that hatred, that repugnance in her eyes before, and he couldn't handle it. The breath that had tightened his chest now rushed out in increasing pants. "I did it for you, Jackie. For your sake." He turned to Carl and Sammy. "I did it for HER sake! Don't you understand? You understand…." He turned back to Jackie, walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Those shoulders had once been so tiny he could hold them in one hand.
She pulled away.
Jack erupted. "You were going to kill yourself because of him, Jackie!" He gestured wildly at the bastard. "Twice! How could I let there even be a chance he could do that to you again? HOW? I couldn't! I had to protect you! I had to make sure you stayed as far away from him as you could! Don't you understand?" He approached her and again took hold of her shoulders, shaking her slightly.
Hyde grimaced and pulled Jackie out of her father's hands, stunned at what he'd just heard. He turned her to him and looked into her eyes. "Jackie, what is he talking about?" His stomach tied itself in tiny knots, all of them pulsing with more and more tightness, more and more urgency.
Jackie shook her head, her eyes downcast. "I just…when we broke up…"
"When you said you didn't know if you could see a future with her. And then when you picked a whore over her."
Jackie stared at her father and yelled harshly. "That was YOUR fault, Dad! That was YOUR FUCKING FAULT!" She dropped her head into her hand, and the tears started.
"Jackie."
A soft touch on her back, his soft voice and she looked up into blue eyes that were confused and anxious. She smiled sadly, and lifted a shoulder. "I used to tell him everything. I…I said some things…I was just so…" She looked down. "I'd lost you, and I wanted to die." She smiled at the floor, bitterly. "I thought I was dying."
Hyde stood stiffly, his hand on her back. He'd never realized…no, yes he had. Because the truth was, he'd felt that way too. And he'd self-medicated his pain. Beer and pot. And more of the same. She'd…talked to her father. Always thinking that her father loved her. Never realizing…until now.
"I didn't, though, Dad." Jackie looked up, her eyes blazing, once again renewed by the feel of Steven's hand on her. She could almost feel his hurt, his blood through that touch, and it energized her. "I love Steven, Dad." Her voice was clear and strong, and the words reverberated in her toes. "He's my daughter's father. He's the love of my life, and we're a family now."
Jack snickered, backing away, his body shaking. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the gun. "Like hell you are, daughter." Pointing the gun at Jackie, he shook his head, his eyes wet, growing foggy around the edges. "Like hell is he or that fucking bastard child your family!"
Hyde stepped in front of Jackie, his heart racing. Why hadn't they anticipated this? A gun…they should have known, should have fucking known. "Jackie, take the baby and get the hell out of here. Now."
Jackie shook her head, stepping around Steven, her eyes locked on her father. The gun meant nothing; so what if he killed her? Better her than Steven, or her baby. "No! I'm not…" Steven's hands gripped her waist and moved to her away, and she struggled. She turned to him and tried to get him to stop. "Steven, no! I'm not leaving you in here with him!" She began swatting at his chest, breathing hard, crying harder. "Steven, please don't make me leave you in here with him!"
Her father would kill him.
Hyde held her shoulders tight, and looked over her to Sammy. He'd never win with Jackie. "Sammy, get Stephanie out of here." As Sammy began to walk to them, his eyes darting between Jack and them, Jackie looked up at Hyde, and he shook his head. "Go with Sammy, Jackie. Please."
She shook her head and lifted a hand to his cheek. She touched him softly. "No." And she whirled around, to face her father. Carl stood in back of him, frozen and obviously unsure of what to do. "If you're gonna kill him, you're gonna have to kill me first, Dad."
Jack's hand trembled and he swallowed. Sammy left he room with the child. Good. One less person to deal with. He could sense Carl behind him. Had to take care of that. He lowered the gun slightly, shifting it in his hand so that he held the barrel. He smiled at his daughter, so innocent, so damn naïve. And with that thought in mind, he turned around. He swung the gun hard, and hit the side of Carl's head with all his strength. Carl yelped, then crumpled to the floor. He turned back to the couple and smiled, again pointing the gun, the handle now slightly sticky with droplets of Carl's blood, at them. "Now. We're finally alone. Well, almost. Only one more person to get rid of."
Hyde again began pushing Jackie to toward the door. He could hardly breathe, but it didn't matter. Nothing did. The fucking gun didn't matter. The only thing he could think of was that he had to get her out of here. "Damn it, Jackie," he hissed. She was hitting again, digging her nails into his arms to try to get around him. "Get the hell out of here!" She struggled, her tiny body much stronger than he or anyone else had ever given her credit for. Kicking his shins. Finally, he pushed her hard, harder than he would ever, ever think of doing under normal circumstances, and she stumbled backwards, falling to the ground on her backside. She looked up at him with those teary eyes, but he didn't give in. He pointed at her and spoke briskly. "Get. Out. Now."
"See, Jackie? See how he treats you? I don't like it. Nope, I don't like it one bit."
Hyde turned back and noticed that Jack had cocked the trigger. He smiled sardonically and stood straight in front of the barrel. "You wanna kill someone? Go ahead. Kill me."
Jackie, shocked and physically exhausted, unable to summon the strength to stand up, screamed with the last of her. "NOOOOOOOO!"
Hyde didn't turn at her harsh cry, though he wanted to. He shook his head, staring down the man who had to be the devil incarnate. "It won't change anything, though." His mind worked crazily, flashing memories, most of them, all of them involving that little cheerleader he'd fallen so damn hard for. "She'll hate you even more. This isn't going to get your daughter back, Jack" Down deep, he knew reason wasn't going to work.
But damned if he knew what else to do. His heartbeat was now so fast it was a blur inside.
"Daddy, no!"
And she was there again, in front of him, trying to push back against him, trying to move him while still facing her father.
"Fuck," Hyde muttered as he again struggled to get her out of the way. Finally, in utter frustration, he called over his shoulder. "Sammy!"
Jack walked towards them, somehow managing to hold the gun stead. "Jackie, I just want to protect you. This is all for your sake." He laughed rather manically and met Hyde's eyes. "Don't you see that this is all for her sake?" He shook his head, still laughing, his words stumbling together. "I'm just trying to save you, Jackie."
Sammy came in, and Hyde tried to hand Jackie to him.
She shook away from the four hands trying to catch her. "NO!" She turned to her father. "Daddy…."
Hyde took a few steps, seeing nothing but Jackie, and pushed her. Hard.
Jack pulled the trigger, still laughing, still mumbling about her sake. For her sake. Her sake. For her sake. All for her sake.
"I'm just trying to save you, Jacqueline!"
The explosion of the shot hovered in the air, bouncing from wall to wall to wall to wall. Sparks sparkled at the barrel, darting through the hazy smoke.
A body fell to the ground.
Another shot rang out, more sparks, more smoke.
Another body hit the carpeted floor with the unmistakable thud of death.
Sammy stood, his arm raised, the gun pointed towards where Jack had stood, his entire arm shaking, his mouth set in a grim line. He panted and closed his eyes, tears welling quickly. He'd never killed a man before. The line of his mouth broke, his arm lowered, and he began to sob.
He'd never killed a man before.
He whispered two words over and over. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" He opened his eyes, saw that the tiny girl, that precious little Jackie, had crawled to her lover, was bending over him, her hand pressed over his stomach and quickly turning red with his blood. She was crying his name, screaming his name.
"I'm so sorry, pretty girl. I'm so sorry…"
He Ain't Gonna Leave You Alone
Six hours later, Jackie sat in a sterile, dull waiting room of Point Place General Hospital. She sat between Kitty and Red, each of them holding a hand, and Donna was crouched in front of her, saying something that she could hardly understand. She was soaked through with ice, through to her bones, through to her mind, and nothing seemed to be functioning.
She didn't care. The others, Fez, Michael, Eric…they were all there. She didn't care.
"Stephanie's at my house, with my dad, Jackie. I just talked to him, and she's okay."
Jackie lifted a shoulder. Her eyes focused on something beyond Donna, on the floor. Ugly floor. So ugly. White with green specks.
But as she stared, the green specks turned red. Then spread until they were pools. Blood. Pools of his blood.
Kitty squeezed her hand and looked across her to Red as the girl began to shake uncontrollably. "Red…"
Red shook his head. "I don't know what to do, Kitty." He let go of Jackie's hand and put his arm around her shoulders, tried to draw her close, but she remained stiff. He sighed and closed his eyes. Nothing was going to comfort this girl. Not until Steven was out of surgery. Not until they got the news they were all praying for.
No one noticed the man who'd walked up to them until he spoke. "Pretty girl."
Everyone looked up, including Jackie, and she stood up. The others watched in slight awe as she threw herself into the man's arms. "Sammy! Oh, god, Sammy…" She drew away and looked up at him. "Are the police done with you? They know what happened?"
He shrugged, giving her a smile. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. He was pretty sure he'd be chatting up with the cops soon, but for now, what mattered was Jackie. "Sure they do, Jackie." He patted her cheek. "Jackie…" He took a deep breath. "I…I'm real sorry that I…that I killed your father."
Jackie laughed, the tears streaming down her cheeks. She had no grief for her father. None. Maybe later she would, just a little, but right now, there was nothing. "And I'm sorry that my mom killed your daughter."
Ironic. Steven would love it. He loved irony. He loved a lot of things. So many things, even though he'd never admit it.
"How's the kid doing? Is he out of surgery yet?"
She shook her head and then leaned it against Sammy's shoulder. "No. And they said it would only be a few hours…it's been six. I'm so…" She couldn't finish her sentence.
She didn't need to. Her sobs told Sammy everything. He rubbed her back. "Hey, hey, he's gonna be okay, pretty girl. He is. That kid is crazy about you and that little baby girl you got. He ain't gonna leave you alone." Jackie lifted her head and gave him a sweet smile, and he noticed the others gathered, looking at him curiously. He pulled back sheepishly. "Well, I should get going. You got your family with you and all…"
Jackie shook her head and grabbed Sammy's hand. "No. No. You're my family, too, Sammy," she whispered, her heart aching. "You saved my life…and Steven's, too." She broke down and again threw herself into him. "I hope."
Sammy hugged her and smoothed the back of her head gently. "Now come on, pretty girl. I already told you. He ain't gonna leave you alone." His eyes closed, and he prayed.
The kid just had to be okay. For her sake.
