Slowly, Hyde picked up the receiver and dialed the number on the small piece of paper Eric had left. The digits were so unfamiliar to him, and he was hoping the person on the other line wouldn't be also.

The ringing seemed to go on forever in Hyde's mind until finally he heard a click and then a voice he knew all too well.

"Hello?"

**
As soon as he heard Jackie's voice, Hyde contemplated hanging up the phone. What would he say to her? 'Hey I haven't spoken to you since I chose the stripper over you, how's life?' She would probably hang up on him. But hanging up would just be childish, and that was something he was not..anymore.

"Hello?" Jackie asked again.

"Um..yeah hello, is this, uh..Jackie?"

"Yes, this is she. Who's this?"

"Hey, it's Steven...uh Hyde" he finally responded.

For a few seconds there was what seemed like an uncomfortable silence before she spoke again.

"Oh my gosh, Steven are you okay? Are you still in the hospital? What did the doctors tell you? Tell me everything."

Hyde sighed in relief. He was thankful to see that as far as he could see she was still the same Jackie and that she obviously cared about him.

"I'm ok. I have to stay in the hospital for a day or two for tests but the doctors said everything's fine."

"Oh thank God. When Eric called I got really nervous."

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay, just glad to know you're alright."

"Yeah, um...I thought I would call and let you know."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, sure."

Once again, there was a sudden silence between the two in which it hit them that this was the first time they were speaking in nine months.

"So...how are things?" Hyde finally continued.

"Um, good. Really good actually. With you?"

"Oh you know, the usual. As good as it gets here in Point Place."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah. So Donna told me you work for 'The Facts of Life' now. That must be exciting."

"Well I'm just behind the scenes so it's not really that exciting."

"Oh well, sorry then."

"It's okay, pays the bill you know."

Hyde uttered some unintelligible sounds which she took as a sign of his understanding.

"So... What exactly happened?"

"Oh, um...just got distracted and drove into this other car. Stupid mistake. I'm pretty sure the Camino is totaled also which sucks."

Jackie laughed. "I see you still have your priorities in order seeing as how that is your main concern."

"Yeah man, I loved that car."

"I know you did Steven."

There was a short silence this time and the Hyde said, "hey Jacks I have to go now. Is it...um..alright if I call you again?" She was surprised to hear how nervous he was asking her and it seemed endearing, a word she had never though of when it came to him.

"Yes, feel free to call whenever."

"Whenever?"

She laughed again. "At a decent time Steven, I know you suffer from insomnia but I'm usually not up at three in the morning."

A small smile formed on his face and he said good bye to her again and reluctantly hung up the telephone.

It had felt nice to talk to her after such a long time. It was also not what he had expected. He expected yelling and indifference but she was the completely opposite. She was cool, collected...zen. And most important, she was caring. It actually appeared as if she gave a damn about him which made him feel really good, though he wouldn't admit it .

"Alright Mr. Hyde I'm just going to change your IV since you're almost done with this one" said a nurse that had walked into his room. "Also," she continued, "Ms. Wright is going to be taking care of you for the night shift. She has all your information and will take good care of you."

Hyde simply nodded. He didn't particularly care which nurse was assigned to him and just wanted to get some rest since his head was killing him.

"Okay, all set Mr. Hyde. Have a good night and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

He mumbled a sarcastic response, along the lines of "the hell you will." If he was awoken before 12pm, there would be hell to pay.

As the nurse exited the room, she flipped the light switch off and within minutes, Hyde was asleep.

Over in California however, Jackie was not as peaceful as Hyde was.

The shock of having spoken to Steven after so many months had her a bit shaken up. Even though the conversation had went better than she could have imagined it in her mind, she had not been mentally prepared to speak to him. She had played many scenarios in her mind of when she would get a chance to speak to Hyde again, but she had not anticipated for it to happen now or under the situation where he was in the hospital.

All the things she wanted to say to him regarding all the hurt she felt, and how she was not the same person she was before flew out the window because, like old times, she wanted to comfort him and make him feel better, and this scared Jackie to no end. After all they had been through and all the heartbreaks they both endured, she still wanted to be the one who took care of him and she could not take on that role anymore, she still wasn't strong enough to put herself in that position. That was the problem with her and Steven Hyde, no matter how much they hurt each other, they always went in this continuous circle, and it was time to break that cycle. That's what she needed, what she wanted.

But then...why did she tell him it was okay if he called back?