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CHAPTER 18
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Brooke is standing in front of a floor length mirror in a private suite at the church. She's wearing dark sunglasses and having trouble standing without the aid of a wall.
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Jackie is on the floor with several pins clenches between her teeth, arranging last minute tweaks on Brooke's dress. She stands up and organizes the veil.
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"You look beautiful" Jackie sighs, feeling emotional. "Michael is going to flip when he sees you. In fact, he's probably going to take one look at you and drag you off to the bathroom for a Molly Hatchet redo" she laughs.
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"Shh. Too loud" Brooke whispers, her head throbbing loudly.
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"Oh boy. You're going to have loose the sunglasses soon, so just try really hard to pull yourself together, if you can," she frets. "Nobody wants to see you barf on your groom."
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"Jackie, what happened last night?" the bride turns to ask.
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"Well, you drank entirely way too much..." Jackie starts.
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"I mean with Hyde. And you." Brooke specifies.
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Jackie busies herself with the bustle of the wedding dress. "Nothing" she says casually.
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"You haven't spoken to him all morning, and he keeps looking at you with these sad, puppy dog eyes" she observes.
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Jackie turns around to face Brooke. "Steven and I are totally fine. Today is your day. Michael looks extra handsome in his suit and he's really nervous, in a cute way."
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"He is?" she wonders shyly.
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"Yeah. Excited nervous, not 'run from the church screaming' nervous. Just to clarify." she grins.
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"I can't believe I'm finally getting married after everything we've been through. It feels so surreal" she muses.
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Jackie fixes the curls at the bottom of the bride's hair. "Nah. You guys are the realest couple I know, and I couldn't be happier for you" she leans over and kisses her on the cheek. "I'd hug you, but I don't want to crumple the dress."
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Brooke smiles and takes a deep breath as her maid of honor pulls the sunglasses from her face. "Okay. I'm ready".
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The wedding procession has begun and all of the groomsmen have already made their way down to Pastor Dave.
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Jackie quickly straightens out Brooke's train and takes her position, taking a second to re-secure the hot pink daisy she is wearing behind her ear. She leans over and gently coaxes Betsy to walk down the aisle. The little girl makes it halfway down the aisle and then turns her flower basket over, dumping all of the rose petals into a heap, much to the amusement of the guests.
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Jackie stifles a giggle and quickly runs out to fetch Betsy. She grabs a handful of rose petals, helps her Goddaughter grab some too and then at the count of three they throw them up into the air, littering the white aisle with a splash of color.
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She them aims Betsy at Kelso and gives her a little push on the bottom in that direction after telling her to go to her daddy. Jackie picks her bouquet up off of the floor, straightens out her dress and walks the rest of the length down the aisle as if it never happened.
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Hyde hasn't taken his eyes off of her the entire time and she can feel his gaze boring a hole into her, which she finds unnerving and comforting at the same time.
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As he watches her come towards him, he's brought back to the Valentine's Day dance when she also wore a flower behind her ear. She pressed into him so closely that night he almost forgot they were dancing. She wore little white ones in her hair at prom too. He found a few of them in his coat pocket the following day and it brought a smile to his face, despite the fact Edna screamed at him for coming home too late. He's surprised to find he remembers details from almost all of their significant moments together.
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The guests all stand and Brooke is escorted down the aisle by her father. Kelso is rapt as he sees his bride approach, and Jackie can't help but be touched by the love Michael feels for his fiancee.
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The ceremony isn't long, but the bride and groom recite their own vows, and Pastor Dave talks about finding your own path, and how even though Brooke and Michael did things out of order, they ended up together in the right spot.
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As he holds Brooke and Kelso's rings in his hand, he can't help but wonder what it might feel like to do this with Jackie. He'd always been so averse to marriage for all of the obvious reasons, that he didn't stop to think about the good things marriage provides.
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When the ceremony is over and they are officially wed, Hyde notices a look on Kelso's face unlike anything he's seen his goofy friend flash before: Peace.
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As the procession back down the aisle begins, Jackie is forced to give Hyde her hand, which he loops under his arm and holds tightly against his body. Contact with Steven always makes Jackie lightheaded, and this is no different. The aisle feels a mile long and each step is sweet torture. When they reach the end, she tries to break apart, but he pulls her in the opposite direction instead.
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"Steven, we really need to get back to the party" she tells him curtly.
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"Yeah, I know that, but you weren't taking my calls and we don't have another wedding to go to until May, so I'm not taking my chances," he says as he pulls her into a pew.
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"You look really beautiful" he says, looking longingly at her with tired eyes. She feels a pang of satisfaction knowing he didn't get much sleep either.
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"I know." Jackie stares at her shoes which barely touch the ground, and steels herself for his speech.
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A few minutes pass as they sit next to each other in complete silence. He pulls the glasses off of his face and puts them in his pocket, but he can't bring himself to talk.
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"Well, as enlightening as this has been, I really do need to be getting back" she announces as she hops to her feet.
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He grabs her hand. "What happened with Casey?"
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"Figures that would be the first thing you care about" she says, rolling her eyes.
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"This isn't easy for me Jackie" he asserts angrily.
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"Really? Because I absolutely live for these little talks" she huffs.
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"I'm trying, okay?" he sighs, refusing to let go of her hand.
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She sits down next to him again and breathes deeply before answering. "I was angry that you lied to me about where you were going, so I suggested to the girls that we go out and get hammered at a dance club and he was there, and he said he'd seen you with a stripper on you lap and then we...we fooled around. That's basically what happened."
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Hyde is sick at the thought of Casey's grimy hands all over his girl, but is smart enough to put the focus back on himself this time. "I'm sorry I lied" he says, sounding contrite. "It was Kelso's party, so I couldn't not go, but I knew you'd be worried if I did."
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"You promised me you'd never lie to me" she charges.
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He nods. "I know, but it wasn't because I planned on doing anything with anybody".
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"That just was just a spur of the moment decision, I guess" she sniffs.
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"I didn't do anything with her!" he assures her.
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"Was she in your lap?" she asks.
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He nods regretfully.
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"Was she grinding into you, playing with your hair, rubbing her fake tits in your face?" she challenges.
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"Not the tits part" he confesses, "But the other stuff, yeah".
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She works hard to hold back her anger. "You still think you didn't do anything with her?" Jackie fans her face in an attempt to dry the tears now welling in her eyes.
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"Jackie, she was just coming onto me...for money, so I gave her some and sent her over to Kelso" he promises. "I wasn't fooling around with her. It's was really no big deal."
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"What if I were doing to another guy what she was doing to you? Would it still be no big deal?" she questions.
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"I'd rip the guys throat out" he confesses honestly.
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"Then you are not going to like what happened with Casey" she warns.
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His whole body clenches at the idea of another man touching his doll face. He feels ownership of her body, her seductive sighs and soft moans. He wants all of her pleasure to belong to him. She's his, and he doesn't want to think of her in any other way. He doesn't need that twisted image burned into his brain.
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"You know what?" Hyde decides, "I don't want to know".
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She looks at him skeptically. "What?"
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"Do you love me?" he asks.
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"You know I do" Jackie answers quickly.
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"Do you still want to be with me?" he questions.
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She pauses for a moment, "Depends. I'm not sure".
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"Well I'm very sure I want to be with you but if you tell me all of the gory details from last night I don't think I can deal with it," he admits, trying to place his love before his pride for once.
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Jackie starts to say something.
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He holds his hand up. "And before you pipe in, yeah, I know I'm a hypocrite, but I can't help it" he finishes.
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She takes his hand. "I didn't sleep with him. Not even close."
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He nods, unable to look at her. "How about we just forgive each other and never mention last night ever again?"
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She smiles, "I'd like that".
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"I'm still kicking his ass though" he admits with a cheeky smile.
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He turns to face her and softly rubs his thumb along her jawline. "I promise I won't lie to you again, okay doll? I'm not perfect, but I'm trying here".
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She grabs his face and kisses him soundly.
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He smiles. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
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She leans in and whispers in his ear "Coat closet. Now."
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He raises an eyebrow at her.
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"You speak English, right?" she snaps.
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He grabs her hand and pulls her towards the nearest closet.
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"We're taking pictures now. Where are Jackie and Hyde?" Brooke asks, turning around to find them.
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Donna looks up at Eric who smirks. "What do you think? 'Crash and Burn' or 'Drunken Rabbit'?"
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"She does get very turned on by formal wear" the statuesque beauty notes.
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"You always pick rabbit" he shakes his head.
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"Can I help it if I'm just a romantic at heart?" she says, batting her lashes at him.
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He leans sideways towards his fiancee and adopts a sexy voice "How romantic?"
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She grabs his hand and pulls him towards the nearest coat closet, but it's locked. "Keep going, there's bound to be a broom closet somewhere" she whispers.
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Jackie's dress is on the floor of the coat closet, along with Hyde's pants and jacket. Their limbs are intertwined and he is pressing her up against the wall.
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"I missed you last night." she says as she snakes her fingers through the back of his hair.
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"Of course you did" he laughs.
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"Steven" she pouts.
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He smiles and looks lovingly into her eyes. "Fine. I missed you too, okay?"
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She kisses him deeply, then pulls off his tie - letting it fall to the floor - and works her way over to his neck. "If I miss you this much after just 12 hours, I don't even want to think about how hard it's going to be when I go off to school" she frowns, before resuming her task.
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Hyde's face falls and his mouth runs dry, causing him to cough. "I forgot about that".
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"You did?" she asks while making her way down his chest. "I think about it every day" she remarks while getting on her knees. She's going to show him how much he means to her - to replace any thoughts of Casey with thoughts of this.
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He looks down and cups her face in his hands. He wants desperately to say something, but isn't sure how to express what he's feeling.
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Before he can form a sentence, she takes him into her mouth and all thoughts of her leaving disintegrate into the ether.
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A frustrated Donna and Eric wander back over to the bridal party.
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"It has to be them" Eric grumps, looking at the locked coat closet. "They must have, like, sex radar for finding the nearest empty room. We have no closet mojo. I feel like Superman after he lost all of his powers" he whines.
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Donna rolls her eyes. "Not sure I'd go that far, but yeah, we have pretty bad luck in the public sex arena" she concedes.
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"I'll bet Superman and Lois Lane never got walked in on by everybody they know while doing it on a kitchen table" he pouts.
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"Don't worry honey, we'll find our own 'Fortress of Solitude' this evening" she says while trying hard not to use a mocking tone. If she's going to get laid tonight, she realizes it helps to speak to her man in his own language.
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He puts his hand over his chest. "You still get me" he smiles and kisses her.
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Jackie stands up and wipes her mouth off. "Come on" she says as she picks up her dress.
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"What about you?" he wonders, reaching for her fruitlessly.
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"We have to take pictures and Brooke's probably waiting for us. You can show me how grateful you are to have all this back in your life later tonight" she smirks, gesturing to her body.
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He leans her up against the wall again. "How about I give you a little taste?" he asks while running his hand up her inner thigh.
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Flashing back to the events of the prior night, Jackie pulls his hand away before he makes it past the underwear barrier. "No time, Puddin'. We have to go look pretty for Brooke and Michael" she says as she tries to do up his bow tie for him.
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He starts kissing her neck. "I don't wanna".
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She pulls away. "Come on. If this were our wedding we'd be super pissed if our friends were making love in the coat closet instead of posing for pictures. Well, I would at least."
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Suddenly, it hits her what she just said and her eyes look frightened. "I didn't mean-"
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He kisses her softly on the lips. "It's okay. I don't want you to be afraid to say shit in front of me anymore, okay? I'm not going anywhere."
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Her eyes dance with affection for him. "Yay! We're getting married!" she cheers.
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He turns white. "What?"
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"Gotcha!" she laughs pointing at him with both index fingers.
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He smirks. "You're going to pay for that later".
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"I look forward to it, Mr. Hyde. You can zip me up now." she says as she turns around.
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The whole gang is sitting at a table, having just finished eating dinner.
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"Did you write a speech?" Jackie asks.
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"You know I did" he responds.
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"Is it any good?" she wonders.
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"No Jackie, I made sure to make it horrible" he grumbles.
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"Are you going to-?" she starts to ask another question but is cut off by him kissing her.
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"What was that for" she asks.
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"It was to stop me from saying something mean." he says, frankly.
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She pouts. "I'm not that annoying" she says. "All I was asking was-"
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He cuts her off again with another kiss. "I'm about to have you gagged if you don't stop." he warns her. "Otherwise my lips are gonna fall off from having to constantly shut you up."
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A light goes off in her head. "Aww, you're nervous about the speech, aren't you?" she suggests sweetly as his lips descend on hers once again to keep her quiet.
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Hyde is called up to the microphone to give his speech. He pulls out a crumpled up piece of paper from his jacket pocket and removes his sunglasses.
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"So, um, as many of you know, giving speeches isn't really my bag" he starts. "But I've known Kelso since before his voice dropped, so I'm making an exception this time." he says as the guests laugh.
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"As anybody who knows me will tell you, I'm kind of skeptical about marriage and the whole happily ever after thing. My parents weren't exactly a shining example of wedded bliss. So when Kelso told me he was getting married, my first thought was 'poor guy'," he smirks as Kelso gives him a head nod.
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"But seeing how happy Brooke makes him, and how peaceful they both looked after the ceremony, I may be rethinking my whole position on this thing".
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Jackie's mouth drops open and she covers it quickly with her hands.
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Eric glances at Donna who grabs his arm.
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"You and Brooke make me think that maybe this whole marriage deal isn't so bad after all. Kelso, you are a lucky bastard. Do not screw this up!" he shouts.
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"I won't!" Kelso yells back.
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"Brooke, you can probably do a lot better, but you can definitely do a lot worse" he laughs, triggering some chuckles in the crowd. "To Michael and Brooke Kelso!" he says, raising his glass.
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"To Michael and Brooke!" the guests scream in unison as they drink their champagne.
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Hyde returns to the table feeling energized, a huge weight finally lifted off of his shoulders.
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Jackie gazes up at him knowingly.
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"Let me just stop you right there" he says, raising his hand.
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"I didn't say anything!" she yells, exasperated.
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He leans over to kiss her and whispers in her ear "You can do a lot better too, but I sure am glad you settled."
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Her face softens. "You don't really think I'm settling, do you?"
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He shrugs and takes a gulp of champagne.
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She slips her arm around his waist and pulls herself into him. "It's not settling when I never wanted anything else, Steven".
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Overcome by the sentiment, he kisses her forehead and finds an excuse to take a walk. "I'm gonna get another drink. You want something?"
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She hold up her empty champagne glass and he takes it from her.
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Across the room, a dashing figure in a black tux approaches the table.
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"Looking good, Burkhart" Casey drawls in a taunting tone, clearly inebriated.
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She looks down. "What do you want Casey?" she asks flatly.
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"I thought we might finish what we started last night" he quietly murmurs in her direction.
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"I'm here with Steven" she says firmly, refusing to make eye contact with him.
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"Hey, that didn't seem to make much of a different last night when I was knuckle deep between your legs" he laughs while invading her personal space.
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From the bar, Hyde notices Casey chatting Jackie up and heads over with tight fists.
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Noticing him arrive, a broad smirk spreads across the older man's face. "Hey Hyde, we were just talking about you" he says, pretending to be happy to see him.
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"Outside. Now." he orders, his eyes sparking with rage.
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"What's your problem, man? Jackie and I were just talking about old times. Like last night, when I shoved my hand up her—" before Casey can finish the sentence, Hyde knocks him out.
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Jackie buries her face in her hands and runs out of the building completely embarrassed.
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Hyde turns to Kelso and Brooke apologetically. "I'm sorry man, he was bothering Jackie".
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Kelso laughs. "It's not a wedding until somebody gets punched out!"
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Brooke looks less thrilled but understanding. "She ran outside".
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He nods and runs out of the building after his girl.
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Jackie is sitting on a bench all alone, practically meditating.
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Hyde sits down next to her and takes her hand. He expected to find her out here crying, but she seems almost...serene.
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"Are you mad at me?" she asks him.
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He exhales, bemused. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."
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She turns to him, shivering from the night air. "Why would I be mad at you? You were just defending my honor. I'm the whore who brought this on us in the first place."
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He takes off his jacket and wraps it around her shoulders. "You're not a whore, and I thought we agreed not to mention last night again."
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She smiles and softly kisses his lips. "How could you possibly think I'm settling by being with you. Look how cute you are," she says, stroking his face.
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"I'm not cute, I'm rugged" he corrects.
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"And so brave too" she purrs "as well as good with your hands".
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He shrugs. "I'm agile".
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She scoots forward until she is straddling his lap, then folds her legs around his waist and brings him in for a big kiss. "I don't want you touching anybody else with these agile hands" she informs him as she brings his punching hand to her lips and kisses his raw knuckles. "Only me. They're mine now." she declares.
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He smiles in that goofy way he always used to make fun of other people for and holds her face. "You got it, doll. All yours".
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"Does that mean...?" she asks hopefully.
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He rolls his eyes. "Yeah. I guess I'm your boyfriend." he says nonchalantly.
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"Oh, well, I guess that as your girlfriend, I have certain privileges, right?" she whispers softly into his neck.
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"I think we've pretty much established you're running this thing now, Jackie" he winks at her.
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She smiles and melts into his arms.
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A/N- Happy now? Can you see where this is headed? Just a little hint for you, the story will wrap up when it's time for Jackie to leave for Chicago again. Not much longer now. Hopefully history will not repeat itself twice...YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO - PLEASE REVIEW! Oh, and if you're enjoying this story, please click "favorite" so more people will be tempted to read it ; )