AN: Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that you guys liked last chapter because it was the one of the few that I was worried about.

So this chapter is pretty monumental as far as the story goes. It turned out a lot different than I originally planned, but I'm so glad that it did. The biggest surprise to me, however, is that my story is almost over. I have never finished a story in my entire life if you don't count oneshots. This story will definitely hold a special place in my heart forever. Basically all that is left after this is one more chapter and then my epilogue. I'm pretty stoked about the epilogue because it's one of the reasons I actually started writing this.

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Chapter 15: Our Infinite Struggle

A few weeks later

Teenage shoes tip toed up the stairs of the Hyde home. Their owners eyes stayed glued onto the couple that was sitting in the living room nearby watching a movie. Once they made it safely to the top of the stairs without being seen, the two quickly hid in the sanctuary of the hallway. Kat couldn't contain herself anymore as she began to giggle next to Zach.

"Shh… would you be quiet?" Zach whispered as he peaked around the hallway again to make sure his father or Jackie didn't hear her.

"I just can't help it." She whispered back, getting close to his ear. "It's all just too exciting! It's like we're criminals or something."

Zach lifted his eyebrows at her as she continued to giggle in her hands. "Well it's very suiting then because the things I'm about to do to you should definitely be a crime."

Kat swatted at his chest, but Zach quickly grabbed her wrist and pushed her towards his bedroom. "Do you want us to get caught?" He hissed.

"Oh come on. Do you really think your dad will care if we're up here?"

Zach quietly turned the doorknob and slowly pushed his bedroom door open. "Maybe not care to the point I'd get in trouble, but he'd definitely interrupt if he knew you were up here with me. He likes to pester me like that."

As the two entered his bedroom Kat whispered back, "It seems that both of you like to pester each other like that."

"What do you mean?" Zach knitted his eyebrows in confusion as he held the doorknob in the open position to close his door without being heard.

"What I mean is that someone doesn't like that their daddy has a new girlfriend." Kat sang in a teasing voice.

Zach glared at her as she smugly smiled at him as if she just cornered him in a place he didn't want to be. Whatever. He'd show her.

"Pft, I don't care who he dates." He huffed and walked past her to sit on his bed.

"Oh yeah. Well what about at dinner the other night when you were practically insulting her the entire time, and the only reason you stopped was because your dad about gutted you right there on the table." Kat placed her hands on her hips and waited for his response. Fuck. She remembered that. Zach thought as he kept his cool on the outside.

"That's because I don't like annoying people. It has nothing to do with the fact that she's dating my dad."

Kat rolled her eyes. "Sure it doesn't." She plopped herself on the bed next to him. "Well I don't think she's annoying. I actually kind of like her."

"You would." Zach shook his head. When Kat didn't respond, he peered his eyes over to her and saw that she was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. She would have been more convincing if it wasn't for the tiny smile that played at her lips. Before Zach could call her out on her bluff, she pounced on him and began tickling his sides in the spots she knew would break him.

Zach gritted his teeth, trying his best to hold back the laughter that was going to erupt from his body. He grabbed her by the arm and pinned her to the bed. He proceeded to attack her body by finding her own spots that caused her to beg for mercy for him to stop the sensational torture. She began to laugh a little too loudly, so he silenced her with a searing kiss.


Downstairs, Jackie snuggled her head onto Hyde's shoulder as they watched Dawn of the Dead.

"Eh, I always hated this movie. What is the appeal of zombies anyway? Vampires, I can see. At least they have some kind of supernatural feel to them. Zombies are just mindless, disgusting people that want to eat brains. What's so sensational about that?"

"Jackie, the whole point of zombie movies is that it could happen to anyone! One bite and the virus that infects them is spread to you."

"Same thing with vampires, Steven!"

"Yeah, but vampires aren't real!" Hyde shouted.

Jackie met his shout with her own. "Neither are zombies!"

Hyde shook his head from side to side. "Can you prove that there isn't a virus out there that decays your brain and makes you want to eat people?"

Jackie folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "Well… no, but…"

"I rest my case then." Hyde slumped back onto the couch and continued to watch the movie.

Jackie sighed and rested her head against his shoulder again. "Steven, I missed our bickering."

Hyde smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I missed it too, Doll."

Jackie snuggled in closer and rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek for using his nickname for her. "Aw, Steven. You called me Doll."

Hyde ignored her and continued with his claim. "Yeah, cause you always look so hot when you get mad."

Jackie just smirked at his attempts to conceal his cute remark. "Please Steven. I look hot all the time."

She turned her eyes back to the movie but couldn't seem to watch it. Something was bugging her.

"Steven, are you going to tell Zach and Kat to get out of his room?"

"Not just yet. I like to make him think that he succeeded at sneaking past me, and then go interrupt when I know he's really up to no good."

A feminine laugh sounded from upstairs. "Yep," Hyde wrapped his around Jackie tighter. "Any minute now and I'll be pounding on his door."

"Aw, you're such a good daddy, embarrassing your son in front of his girlfriend." Jackie patted his stomach and shined her smile that always lit up a room up at him.

Hyde smirked down at her but his stomach suddenly took a loop for the worse. He hadn't been such a great father lately. Zach was burning Jackie left and right, and he hadn't done much to get him to stop. He understood that Zach was uncomfortable and upset with the new situation, but it was getting a little ridiculous. Luckily, Jackie was handling everything gracefully. She didn't even seem phased by Zach's words half the time. He would say it was hot just how badass she was being if the situation wasn't so serious. What was the most shocking of all was the fact that Jackie was having a hell of a time coping with the distance from her own son, and she really didn't need the negative pressure from Zach at the moment. However, she didn't complain once. Instead, she held her head up high and carried a mysterious, knowing look in her eye.

Hyde cleared his throat, and Jackie immediately averted her attentive eyes to him. It was a trait of his that she picked up on long ago when he wanted to talk about something serious. "Jackie… about the things Zach has been saying to you…"

"I know. It's okay." Jackie patted his leg and met his eyes. "I understand, and it doesn't really bother me. I know it'll take some time for him to come around."

Hyde smiled at her strength. The Jackie he used to know would have been very upset with the idea of someone not liking her. This Jackie though, she had a whole new confidence.

"Well, I'm going to go break Zach and Kat up." He pecked her on the lips and left her to watch the cannibalism playing on the TV screen.

As Hyde made his way up the stairs, a question that had been plaguing his mind for the past few weeks popped up again. He wanted to ask Jackie to move in with him. She was still staying at Eric and Donna's and hadn't found a job yet. She was talking about opening up her own store in Point Place, but that was a long time in the future. Besides, it wasn't just Jackie's living situation; he really wanted her to be here all the time. His commitment to Jackie was real this time, and he didn't want to jeopardize their relationship in any way by backing out on his feelings again.

The only problem of course was with Zach. He knew that he wouldn't stand for it. Hyde didn't want to have to choose between the woman he loves and his son.

There's was only one thing he could do. He and Zach were going to have to have a talk, and a long one at that. No more beating around the bush or ending things with the false comfort of apathy. Zach and he were going to have to actually communicate and figure out where each of them stood. He just hoped it wouldn't blow up in his face.


Zach spooned Kat as they relaxed on his bed. He was hoping that maybe he would get somewhere past second with her that night, but it seemed like she just wasn't ready yet. He didn't mind too much. He had already decided that this was something he really wanted, and he didn't care how long the wait would be.

"So how are you going to feel when Jackie moves in?" Kat said sleepily to him.

Zach lifted his head up to look at her face. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Kat turned her head to face him as she gave him a stern look.

"What gave you the idea that Jackie is going to move in?" Zach snapped back.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Zach, this is what adults do. They date a while, and when things go well, they move in with each other. It's usually what happens with my dad."

Zach held in the biting comment he wanted to lash at her. He kept reminding himself over and over again in his head that it wasn't her fault he was so angry. The last thing he wanted to do was take it out on her.

"Well," he answered with a tight voice. "Maybe things will be different with my dad."

Kat shook her head. She knew him and his stubbornness. "Just don't be surprised if it does happen, okay?"

"Alright."

A loud rapping sounded at the door that made both Kat and Zach jump out of their skins.

"Maybe if we're really quiet he won't know we're in here and he'll go away." Zach whispered as he eyed the door.

"Zach," his father's voice called. "I know you and Kat are in there."

"Damn it."


Zach sat at the bar eating a late night snack before going to bed. Jackie had just left for the night, and his dad was in his office. The warning that Kate had given him ate away at his brain. He tried his best to shake the idea off, but there was just something so ominous to her words. He racked his brain as he tried to figure out exactly how he would react if this moving in idea really came true.

Hyde slowly entered the kitchen as he watched his son chomp away at a sandwich he had made. That nervous feeling in his gut he always felt when he had to confront someone came back again. The clock was nearing midnight, and everything in the house was completely silent.

"Zach." Hyde's voice cracked through the air. Zach turned to his father. Their eyes made contact. It was now or never.

"I have to talk to you about something, son." Hyde walked over to the bar and took a seat.

The reluctance in his father's voice made Zach begin praying to the god he didn't believe in that he wouldn't say what he thought he was going to say; what his body was dreading he would going to announce. "What is it, Dad?"

Hyde took in his son's image. His hair was still shaved short, advertising his rebellion for all to see; however, his eyes weren't as cold as they once were when he returned from Vegas. The blue oceans that were mirror images of his own reflected fear and innocence. That little boy that he had raised all by himself reappeared to him. His natural need to protect him and help him in any way possible emerged, and Hyde suddenly knew exactly what he needed to do. He needed to convince Zach to be okay with Jackie moving in. Zach needed a family just as much as Jackie did.

Hyde lifted his head in confidence. "Zach, I want to know how you feel about Jackie moving in with us."

Zach's body was immobile. The situation wasn't exactly irony because he was expecting it all along, but it certainly still came as a surprise to him. He squeezed fists that were hidden under the bar together as he tried his best not to finally explode.

"I don't care." He said as he looked down at his half eaten ham and cheese sandwich. He wasn't even hungry anymore.

"Yes you do."

Zach snapped his head to his father and questioned his statement with the testing look he shot at him.

"You care, Zach. Now just tell me what the problem is." Hyde's voice remained calm and steady, trying his best to coax a confession out of him.

"Nothing is wrong, Dad." Zach's voice was pushing over the edge of nonchalant and falling towards aggression. He needed to get out of the situation.

"Then why have you been so rude to Jackie lately? I understand that 'burning' might be something we do, but you have just been cruel lately."

Zach huffed in his seat and pushed himself off the stool. "Whatever. I'm out of here."

For a man of forty, Hyde was surprisingly fast as he quickly blocked the exit from the kitchen.

"Get out of my way." Zach demanded, smoke practically steaming from his ears.

"No Zach." Hyde crossed his arms and defiantly stared his son in the eyes. "You can't expect me to open up and answer all of your questions just to close up yourself. It's not a one way street in this family."

Zach felt like hitting something when his father threw that in his face. He held his ground even though his zen was crumbling beneath him. "Well what the hell is it that you want to know?"

"I want to know what you're thinking about all of this!"

Zach shook his head and scoffed. "This is so fucking ridiculous." He said to himself.

"Well then tell me why it's so fucking ridiculous, Zach."

Zach stopped and placed his hands on his hips. Zach stared his father directly in the eyes, and Hyde could see he was having an internal battle. After a few seconds of silence, Zach finally let go and shook his head.

"I don't know." His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Everything is just so damn confusing."

Hyde patiently listened as he watched Zach begin to pace.

"I mean, all of this shit is just thrown at me, and I haven't even had time to get used to it.

Hyde nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry about that."

Zach barely heard his words. Pandora's box had been opened and all the evils were racing from him.

"It's a little hard to find out that the person who you thought had all the answers to about that missing part of your life is just a whore who ruined your dad's life."

"It wasn't completely her fault, Zach." Hyde interrupted. "Yeah, Sam's a bitch for running out on you, but the fact that we were together in the first place was my choice."

"Regardless. It doesn't help to know that the woman who gave birth to you is just a big disappointment."

Hyde closed his eyes as his own insecurities bled through. How right he knew Zach's words were. They were both silent a while as they stewed in that pain that they shared.

"Look, I don't know exactly why it is that I don't like Jackie. I just don't." Zach held out his hand, hoping the conversation could just end.

"You're going to have to give her a chance, Zach." Hyde's solemn tone demanded. "She's important to me, and I think she could be important to you, too."

Zach kept his gaze to the floor as he thought about his father's words. Jackie's promise from a few weeks before escaped from his memories and showed itself again. His dad had said she could be important to him too. He didn't want to run away with her. He wanted to share with him whatever magic he saw in this woman that Zach just couldn't see yet. An unspoken promise that sealed itself in Zach's head pushed him towards acceptance.

"Alright," His compliant voice assured Hyde he wasn't lying. "She can move in with us."


AN2: My family is coming in tomorrow for my graduation on Saturday, so I'm not sure how long it'll take for the next chapter to go up. Hopefully not very long.

If you haven't yet, check out mine and elphabachan's story That 70's Slasher Movie.