A/N: Well folks, the angst is back. But there's still a little time to fix it, and you all know I'm good for it. I hope you all hang in there, as the pay off should be worth it.

Disclaimer: I don't own 70S SHOW nor Dylan nor any other rock references I may make.

After the food had been consumed and the Foreman clan had gone to the hotel, and the Hodges sans Paul had left, the rest of the group stayed behind and cleaned up the backyard. Jackie and Hyde hadn't said anything to each other since their encounter in the basement. Jackie washed dishes and half listened as Paul rambled about how amazingly smart Donna was and how much he and Eric had in common, and Hyde just helped Ash and Adrian with the grass stuff.

"This was a good day," Ash said. "I'm actually looking forward to going to brunch with the Foremans tomorrow."

"Hey, you're going to brunch?" Hyde asked. "They didn't invite me!"

"Well they want to catch up with me and Mom," Ash said. "I guess they figure they've seen enough of you the past 16 years."

"Ouch," Hyde said.

Jackie watched them through the window, and Paul moved a hand in front of her eyes. She smiled at him, and continued to wash the dishes.

"Was it a success?" he asked. "My parents had a good time. Did Kitty and Red?"

"Yeah."

"Did Ash?"

"Oh yes."

"Did you?"

"…… Of course."

"What's going on?" Paul asked, drying the bowls she'd hand him.

"Nothing!" she insisted.

"I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were," she said.

"You haven't said much since people left," he said. "What is going on?" She was going to answer, when the phone rang. She went for it, happy for her salvation. She grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"What is going on?" Donna demanded.

"Oh not you too."

"You were acting all normal and stuff for part of the party, and then for the last part you got all quiet and distant, what is going on?"

"Nothing's going on! How do you know that isn't what's normal for me?" Jackie asked. "It's been sixteen years, after all."

"Because I know you, Jackie," Donna said.

"Donna, nothing is going on."

"See?" Paul hissed. "Donna knows, you may as well tell us."

"Paul, stop pestering me!" Jackie demanded.

"Oh, is Paul doing it too?" Donna asked. "HE would know. See, something is up, you may as well tell us."

"Donna….. Believe me. Nothing. Happened."

"…… Oh my GOD you and Hyde had sex!" Donna exclaimed. Jackie's face flushed, glad that Donna couldn't see it.

"Donna, that's ridiculous, we did NOT have sex!" she lied, and Paul set down the dish and looked at her, jaw dropped.

"OH MY GOD THEY DID!" he yelled at the phone. "Donna, her face is turning purple!"

"Paul, shut up!"

"See! You always blush when you lie!" Donna exclaimed. "Eric! Jackie and Hyde had S-E-X!"

"I can SPELL you know!" Jackie heard Freddie exclaim, and she closed her eyes. What a nightmare.

"Jackie, what were you thinking?" Donna asked. "He's barely been in your life again and you had sex?"

"Donna, it was a spur of the moment thing, and- Paul would you GET OFF?!" Jackie snapped, pushing Paul away from the phone as he leaned in to hear the conversation.

"Jackie, why do you always go back to him?" Donna asked. "I mean, really?"

"Donna, I will see you tomorrow for breakfast with the rest of your brood, until then I still have to clean up," Jackie said. "Goodbye!" She hung up, and Paul held up his hands, as the tiny sister figure was about to rip him to shreds. Even if she was five four and he was six two, he was still terrified of the damage she could do, especially when it came to the dreaded shin kick.

Ash was talking with Adrian when she saw through the kitchen window her Mom jump on Paul's back. She shook her head, and didn't want to know what it was about. They did that sometimes. He'd go too far and she'd take him down.

"Huh, Leigh, will you look at that," Adrian said, pointing through the window. "Your Mom and your uncle are throwing down."

"What the hell?" Hyde asked.

"It's best not to ask questions," she said.

After Jackie had taken Paul down, they sat on the couch of the living room.

"So are you back together?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said.

"… Do you want to be?"

"I don't know," she said again. "I always fall too hard and then get hurt, so I'm trying not to let myself do that again."

"Oh…."

"I am NOT like a goddamn rolling stone anymore, Paul, I'm NOT."

"I know you're not," he said, knowing full well what that meant. "…. Jeeze, did you have to kick me in the kidney?"

"That was an accident and I apologized for that," she said, her tone clipped.

Hyde, Ash, and Adrian walked in.

"The backyard is clean," Ash said. "Okay, what happened between you two THIS time?"

"Nothing," Paul said, standing up. "I should be getting home, I'm beat and I have some documents to work on. Adrian, it was nice to meet you, Hyde, always a pleasure, Jackie, I'm going to get you for that kidney kick."

"It was an accident!" Jackie cried, and Paul nodded, smiling at her. "Bye, Paul."

"Bye." He let himself out, and Ash shot Adrian a look.

"Hyde, are you going to be here for a little while?" she asked.

"Uhhh," Hyde said, shooting a look Jackie's way, who nodded. They needed to talk after all. "Yes. Yes I am, Ash."

"Okay, I'm going to walk Adrian out then," she said. And they went out the back door.

"Hey, that's the back door," Hyde said, and then stopped himself.

"So, we need to talk," Jackie said.

"Yeah, I figured as much…."

Ash and Adrian walked to the deck, and Ash grinned at him.

"So thanks for coming today," she said, sitting on the step. He sat next to her, and he reached into his pocket. "What's that?"

"I brought my own mix tape," he said. She knitted her brow, and he put it in the tape player. Firehouse's 'Love of a Lifetime' began to play, and she laughed loudly.

"Can you believe these guys beat Nirvana and Alice in Chains for best new hard rock group?" she asked, laughing. He laughed too, and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"God, talk about a blunder," he said, and she laughed some more. He smiled at her, and took her hand. She stopped laughing, and just smiled at him on the stoop. He kissed her awkwardly and quickly, but as first kisses go it was pretty good. Probably because it actually meant something.

"Thanks," she said. He smiled a little.

"You're welcome, Leigh."

"You better be careful, though. Hyde may come charging through and kick you the hell out."

Back inside, Jackie was pacing, and Hyde was sitting on the couch.

"Okay, so what do you think this means now?" she asked.

"I…. Huh?" he asked.

"Today in the laundry room," she said. "What does this mean now?"

"Oh," he said. "I…. Hm. Well, I guess the first question is did I knock you up again?" She tried not to laugh but did anyway. He was funny, always had been.

"Let's hope not," she said. "So…. I think we should just leave it at that."

"Uh…. okay," he said, surprised at this Jackie before him. The LAST time something like this had happened she had wanted to get back together. And he had hoped that this was the case this time.

"Just because I know you don't want a long term relationship," she rationalized. "It's okay, we've done this before and this time I'm not going to storm off in a huff."

"Well, you don't know that I don't want a relationship," he said, irritated that she was making assumptions.

"I want to stay cordial for our daughters sake."

"Me too, but maybe-."

"Steven, I'm not going to do this dance again," she stated, firmly.

"What dance, what are you-?" he began, but Ash had walked back into the house.

"Hey!" Jackie said, standing up and happy for the change of subject. "Your father is off, I think."

"Oh, okay," Ash said, and walked to him. "Well, it was good to see you, as always and….. Wait a minute. What am I walking in on here?"

"Nothing," Jackie said, but Ash was suspicious.

"….. What is going on between you two?" she asked, eying them both.

"Nothing!" Hyde said, shooting Jackie a dirty look. Ash looked from one parent to the next.

"…… Oh my GOD you two had sex," she said, gasping.

"No we didn't!" Jackie protested, wondering if someone had put a sign on her forehead.

"Aw JEEZE, you DID!" she exclaimed. "That's GROSS!"

"Wait a minute. Hey, it's not gross," Hyde said, vaguely insulted.

"Well what does this mean now?" Ash asked. "Are you back together or still apart or what?" Hyde and Jackie exchanged looks.

"No. We aren't together," Jackie said, and Ash's heart fell but she didn't show it externally. "I mean, we're still friends, and we still have your best interests at heart."

"Yeah yeah, blah blah blah," Ash said. "Well that's fine, whatever, but I thought that maybe you had both matured enough from when you were dumb kids to maybe work it out." She left the kitchen, seething at her parents. Jackie sighed, and put her hands to her forehead.

"Wow, that was cold," he stated.

"Yeah, she's pissed," Jackie said. "She has a temper, that one."

"Yeah, I've seen it too," he said. "… Jackie, I want to get back together." She sighed, and put her hands to her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said.

"Why not?" he asked. "Jackie, this past week… It's been so great, and I really want to be with you."

"And what about what I want?" Jackie asked, suddenly.

"You don't want to be with me?" he asked, the feelings of rejection being replaced with feelings of anger.

"It's so much more complicated than that," she said. "You know it is."

"Is this because of what I did to you sixteen years ago?" he asked.

"It's not some spiteful thing, if that's what you're asking," she stated. "I'm not ready to trust you yet. Today I let myself go, and I really didn't want to but I DID because I never got over you completely. And right now you say that you want to be with me, but what about when I start asking about marriage? What about when Ash wants her Dad in her life FULLY? Have you actually gotten over your fears? Is this feeling you have, this idea of a happy family, something you REALLY want? Or something you just want today?"

"That's not fair, Jackie."

"And I'm sorry about that," she said. "Steven, I care for you, and I never stopped caring for you. And that's really confusing because it's been 16 years. I can't get hurt again. But mainly, I can't let HER get hurt. It REALLY wouldn't be fair to her if you had one of your commitment freak outs!" He just took it all in, and put his hands together. She didn't know what he was thinking, and was preparing for him to storm out like he always used to. But he stayed briefly. Because he had something to say.

"Jackie, I know that I don't deserve another chance," he said. "I did a lot of crappy things to you in the past, and I regret all of them. I regret letting you go to Chicago, I regret Sam, I regret telling you that you were just fun, and I REALLY regret hurting you so badly you didn't think you could tell me about our kid. But dammit, I'm different now. I lived everyday of those years just trying to get by, and when you let me into Ash's life, and your life, I wasn't just surviving anymore. I was living.

"You don't have to trust me, and you don't have to forgive me, but you have to know that I… I still love you," he continued. She closed her eyes, it hurt so bad to hear those words again. "So if you will just give me another chance to prove that, this time I will NOT screw it up. Because if I did, that'd be it, it would kill me." She looked up at him, her eyes so full of pain and fear that it was heartbreaking.

"I don't know if I can," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"So I guess I just have to wait," he said, fiercer than he intended. His piece being said and her response being what it was, he left the house. She closed the door behind him, and sighed. She did what she had to do, but she felt like complete and utter crap. She walked into the kitchen, poured some wine, and went into the main room to turn on the radio.

Ash looked down at her Dad from the second story window as he got in his car. He fiddled with his keys, and looked up, feeling her eyes on him. He saw her, and it was like a punch to the gut. She closed the curtain, and was out of sight. He got in his car, and drove away.

Jackie was drinking the wine, and the radio kept going.

"Well, that was Janis Joplin on KQRS, classic rock," the DJ said. "But right now, let's hear something from our own local boy, Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan. Minnesota pride, Bobby. This is 'Like a Rolling Stone', you're listening to KQ 92." Jackie laughed sardonically. Of course it would have to be this song. Karma, you must really hate me, she thought, and sipped her wine.

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
A Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

She felt tears slink down her face as she sat in the chair. It was very similar to sixteen years before, listening to Dylan and crying over him. She sat in the chair, and hugged herself.

Ash stood at the top of the stairs, and listened to the music. She was pissed at Jackie, but when she heard the song, the song that never really meant much to her but obviously signified something bad for her mother, she made her way down the steps. She walked to the chair, and sat on the arm of it. She put her hand on her mom's shoulder, whose face crumpled and began outright crying. Ash hugged her mother, and felt some tears slipping down her own face.

"I can't let him do it again," Jackie said. "Can you understand that, Ashleigh?" Ash nodded, sniffling. "I'm not strong enough. I'm just not strong enough."

"It's okay, Mom."

"Please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you, I don't."

"He'll just run again, he always did."

"It's okay, Mom."

Hyde drove aimlessly, and realized that he hurt. He hurt really really badly. He pulled his car to the side of the road, as he couldn't see for some reason. He stopped the car, and rubbed his eyes. He realized that it was tears that were hindering his sight, and he snorted a little bit. So for three of the four times he'd cried out of emotional pain, Jackie was involved. Figured. He'd fucked it up so bad in the past it had killed his future. And now it wasn't just Jackie who was hurting, it was Ash. He turned on the radio, and heard Bob Dylan and that song that had caused so much pain for Jackie. And he realized something. Jackie was never the rolling stone. It had been him all along.

How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be on your own?
With no direction home?
Like a complete unknown?
Like a rolling stone?