Even though it had been a warm day the temperature started dropping pretty quickly once the sun set. Jackie shivered a little and moved closer to Steven. Without saying anything he pulled off his suit coat and draped it across her shoulders. He'd always been considerate that way. Michael couldn't be bothered to remember she was with him half the time, let alone think of her comfort. Jake was polite but he had been raised to be. Steven, who'd been treated like crap by his parents and then left on his own, had always been a gentleman. It was just part of his nature and one of the many things she loved about him.

Jackie Burkhardt may once have been a starry eyed teenager but having your heart broken over and over again had a way of making you grow up fast. By the time she was twenty she had learned life wasn't easy and love didn't always last forever. But she wanted so badly to believe it did.

Sitting next to her ex-boyfriend, his arm around her shoulder, listening to the crickets and the far

off traffic from the highway, she knew that for her there was no one else. She was a fool to think

Jake or anyone else could ever take Stevens place. When the sun dropped below the horizon she found herself doing the one thing she swore she would never do again. She cried for them and everything

they had lost.

flashback

Hyde was trying to watch the game. The Packers were actually making a comeback in the fourth

quarter against the Bears but Jackie was being a real pain in the ass. She kept yammering on and on

about being over him and moving on, even going so far as to flirt with the two half wasted assholes sitting behind them.

When she stomped off –again-he was just pissed enough to follow her. He stopped short when he saw her leaning against a pillar, her little frame shaking with sobs. His heart plummeted. God, it seemed

like all he ever did anymore was make her cry. He knew she wanted more from him but he figured it was just her pushing like she always did. Maybe if she had a job or college to look forward to she wouldn't have gotten so dependent on him for her happiness. But her Dad had used her trust fund on lawyers in a vain attempt to get his jail sentence for bribery reduced and Pam had taken what little was left for another drunken excursion to Mexico. Once again she was living in her parents' house alone,

even though it was up for sale. He knew she got lonely. Sometimes she would stay with Donna or sneak in to sleep with him.

For as long as he'd known her she had talked about getting married and having kids. When she was with Kelso it was annoying. When she was with him, it was downright scary. He never figured he'd get married. It just wasn't his scene and God, they were both so young. What if they got married and ended up like their parents? So he blew her off when she pushed for a commitment and most of the time she'd let it go. Not this time though. He hadn't figured she would break up with him. Pout, throw things, kick his shins-yeah, but not break up with him. It pissed him off. Why couldn't she be happy with things the way they were? So he ignored her taunts and tirades and waited for her to come around. She always did but now, seeing her cry and not care that so many people could see her, he wondered if he had screwed things up for good this time. Would it be so hard to tell her he wanted

to be with her? That when he thought of the future-which wasn't often-they were together. He hated

to see her cry-it tore him up then and it tore him up now.

"Jackie, come on, don't cry," he whispered against her hair. "It'll be alright. Jake will realize what an idiot he was and everything will work out."

Her shoulders shook even harder and feeling helpless, which he hated, he pulled her against his chest and stroked her still damp hair. He held her for a long while, until her sobs faded away. He gently tilted her chin up, looking into her big wet eyes.

"Listen, doll-you and Jake will be ok-"

She put her finger against his lips. "Sshh" she silenced him and he flashed back to that Veterans Day on the hood of her Daddy's Lincoln. He pushed his lips against her finger and she smiled, a little sadly.

"There is no me and Jake anymore. There never should have been."

"What do you mean? You were going to marry him. At least, I think that's what the church and white dress were all about." He pulled back to look at her more fully in the face, which was a mistake because his jacket hung open on her little body and he could see skin all the way down to the waist of her barely there panties. Soft, smooth, flawless skin. He swallowed and forced himself to look up, into her equally flawless face.

"Yes, but it would have been a huge mistake. I'm glad he realized it and called it off," she said. "I

don't think I would have had the nerve."

"Jackie, what the hell? Why would you even think of going thru with it if you weren't sure?" He was pissed now and moved away from her.

She looked him straight in the eye, "Because I didn't want to be alone and he was good to me. He

took care of me-"

He waved his arm towards the Camaro. "Yeah, I'll bet. New cars, fancy dresses, freakin' diamond tiaras. Just what every girl needs," he snarled, stalking to the other side of the pier.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she snapped. "I learned a long time ago that, while nice,

money doesn't mean anything if you don't have someone to share it with," her voice broke and his anger faded as quickly as it came.

"Jesus, Jackie, don't cry anymore. He's not worth it," he crouched down and reaching out, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm not crying for him," she whispered but there was an edge to her voice. Looking in her eyes he knew then that she was crying for them-and what could have been.

"Jackie," he breathed and touched his lips gently to hers.