A/N: Thank you so much for all the follow/favorites! And reviews! You guys are why I keep going and I hope that you'll show me more love as I continue.

MiaR: I'm glad that you like Eric and Tina's dynamic. That actually makes me really happy. As for the Donna question, I actually do have a whole backstory for them that will come along later after all the craziness settles down.

RomanLizzy: No dirty dreams this chapter but lemons are on their way, I assure you!

Guest: I'm so happy that you liked it!

TieDyeJackson: I completely agree with you. Donna was always a wild card in my book. There would be some really awesome moments that would have me on her side but then she would irritate me. Last chapter was hard for me to write, actually without a full blown air strike on Donna. However! I am glad that you like my story and the character interactions!

Chapter Thirteen: Sleeping Beauty Wakes

Kitty Forman had fallen asleep at the kitchen table again. Her white, nurse's hat was tipped precariously over one ear, her blonde hair streaked through with gray and held in place with hairspray was barely able to keep it in place. A thin strip of her leggings was frayed ran all the way up her legs.

"Mom," Tina whispered, crouching down beside her mother and placing a gentle hand on her back. Something twisted in the auburn haired girl's heart painfully as her mother let out a muttered breath, her shoulders shivering in her nurse's uniform. It was hard to see her mother like this.

It made her heart hurt. And - she gulped, blinking away tears as she pressed her lips together. It made her feel like an ungrateful, spoiled brat for not helping her. Would it destroy Tina's entire world to make breakfast? Or vaccum her room? Clean the bathrooms? Suddenly all the stuff in Tina's room seemed unnecessary. She thought about her new, soft comforter and it suddenly transformed into a noose that was tightening around her parent's bank account. Guilt clogged her throat, tightening around her lunges until it was painful to draw in a breath.

"Tina?" Quickly and discreetly, the auburn haired girl wiped away the tears that were blurring her eyes and forced a smile to her lips as she met her mother's groggy stare.

"You fell asleep in the kitchen again," Tina croaked, wincing at the rasp in her voice. Luckily, Kitty didn't even hear it. Her mind was on other things like bills - money. It crowded in on her until it made every single waking moment anxiety. She looked around at this kitchen and all she saw were ways to keep the food in the cupboards. Her mind raced with it. "Mom?"

Kitty let out a laugh, patting her daughter's cheek like she always did. Bags hung heavily beneath her eyes but she forced a smile. Tina gulped, still crouched beside her mother with a hand to her leg.

"Well, woopsy!" Kitty laughed again, the sparkle in her eyes clicking back into place as if the wind had suddenly changed once more in the Forman family direction. "A healthy breakfast is a happy start to the day!"

Desperately, Tina shook her head as she forced her mother to stay seated. "I'll make it today. I've been meaning to… You go rest in the living room. I got this."

Kitty stared at her daughter like she had just told her that she asked her if she could give Laurie a good punch - apprehension with a mix of deliberation. And beneath all of that a base-line urge to say no.

"Honey…" Kitty winced as she thought back to a Christmas when Tina had thrown a cake at Donna for calling her brother a poopy head. Her kitchen had been completely destroyed. Sure, Tina had got down on her hands and knees (in her brand new Christmas dress which was equally as horrifying to Kitty as the mess) and cleaned it alongside her mother; however the shock and despair felt that holiday had reverberated inside Kitty for years. There were also other less savory occasions that popped into mind along with the first:

1. When Eric and Tina had gone through the phase of holding hands everywhere to really enforce the fact that they were twins. Kelso had made fun of them to the point that Tina had slammed the refrigerator door into his face. Leaving the handle and her floors smeared with blood.

2. When Eric and Tina had finally gotten out of that phase and Eric went around school telling all of the kids that it had been Tina that had initiated the idea because she was "clingy and a giant wussy-wusserson." She had baked him a pie that had sent him to the E.R. with food poisoning.

3. When Hyde had pulled on her hair to get her attention and she had shoved him into a tray of hot cookies. That one actually still made Kitty laugh.

There were many others but those were at the surface just waiting to be drawn out of the waters. Giving her daughter a strained smile, she laughed uncomfortably.

"That's...so sweet of you, Tina." Tina didn't think that her mother sounded happy. And she knew that iffy voice. She wasn't going to let her.

"If you don't let me cook breakfast, I'll go get daddy," she said immediately, unblinking as she stared into the startled eyes of Kitty. Red knew how hard his wife worked. Most days he was as exhausted as her between working the little hours that he got from various small time jobs and also from constantly looking for employment. If anyone could force Kitty out of the kitchen (even if it would most likely be by physical means) it would be him.

"Fine," Kitty finally said, the words seeming to be dragged from her throat and her eyes already clouded over with worry. Slowly, stiffly she got to her feet and made her way tiredly to the kitchen door. "Use butter in the skillet. Oh and don't bring out the fancy plates-"

"I know, mom," Tina muttered as she went to work getting out some oatmeal. Her siblings would simply have to deal with that. Her parents would get the eggs and toast.

"You know that you can't use sugar in the batter-" Kitty was stalling now, her eyes crinkled with anxiety as she hovered in the doorway. Tina's eyes flicked to her and she sighed as she got out the milk and eggs.

"I'll be fine, mom."

"And for the love of God, do not press down on the spatula when you flip-"

"DAD!"

"I'm going. I'm going." A nervous, high laugh was the last thing that Tina heard as her mother hurried up the steps.

Someone was making noise downstairs. Groaning, Tina rolled over and then blinked groggily into the darkness of her room. She wanted to go back to sleep. Her mind ached for it. Working at the Hub plus school plus picking up all the breakfasts and chores around the house had left her exhausted both mentally and physically.

But Jackie Burkhart's voice demanded to be heard - through walls and plaster and layers of carpet and wood.

Cussing, Tina rolled out of bed, not caring that all she had on were a tank top and flannel bottoms. Not caring that her hair felt like a poof of wild snakes hissing all over the place. She felt about as thrilled to see the gang camping out in her living room as Medusa would have felt to find Perseus wandering through her collection of petrified men-statues.

"Well, look who decided to join us." Tina shot a glare at the redhead so arctic that Donna winced, pressing her lips together. She had learned long ago that Tina Forman could be very violent when she wanted to be. And although the tomboy could hold her own, she didn't particularly want to go down that path at this moment.

"What the hell are you doing in my living room?" Not the best way to open a conversation but all courtesy flew out the window. Her feet hurt. Her back hurt and she could barely keep her eyes open, her lids were so heavy. The time on the clock over the TV read that it was three in the morning. A dull buzz started in the back of Tina's skull as irritation made the normal restraint on her words slip.

"Kelso was pushed off the water tower," Jackie snapped, her eyes flicking to Hyde who had taken up the big, green comfy chair that her father always liked. Tina's eyes narrowed. She didn't like that look.

Donna gave the brunette a dubious look as Jackie smoothed a hand over Kelso's shoulder in comfort.

"What are you talking about, Jackie? He fell." Donna's eyes met Tina's as she gave her a small smile. The girl's had never particularly been close but the redhead held a certain kind of protectiveness over the auburn haired girl. It was a distant loyalty that they both honored and upheld - no matter how at odds the two girls were. "We put a pot leaf on the water tower."

Tina's eyes drifted toward Hyde who had been staring at her with the same predatory expression on his face since she had come down the stairs. Unconsciously, her feet dragged her to him. It was like she was a fish simply following the flow of the stream. Her eyes met his as she neared him. "Let me guess - your idea?"

There was something wrong. Her mind swirled incoherently. Something -

"You get a cookie, doll," he praised with a slow smile, his eyes glittering behind his shades. Something wasn't right but he was looking away. Maybe it was just in her mind.

Yawning, she didn't answer as he reached out and gently took her hand, drawing her onto his lap. The amount of luck that he had that he had caught her when she was too tired to protest would have shocked the Pope. His smile grew as she curled into him, one hand resting over his chest as wound an arm around her waist and let one of his hands drift to her thigh.

"You could get arrested for that," Tina mumbled out, exhale a short breath of relief as she nuzzled into the side of his neck. He was warm and...her mind drifted, her hands wandering to press into his heart where she could feel it pulse beneath his shirt.

"Mm," he rumbled out, the words vibrating through him and into her as he dragged a slow line up and down her thigh.

"I don't want you to get arrested." A smug smile curled the curly haired boys lips at the soft words, the feeling only reinforced by the bewildered and astonished glances of the teens around them.

Tina hadn't even known that she had said anything. Her mind was solidly set on the thing that had been alluding her most nights. The familiar scent of bonfires and whisky filled her senses. Tina could go to sleep like this. Her eyes fluttered shut. She wanted to go to sleep like-

"Okay. Let's go!" Tina jerked, straightening quickly in Hyde's lap as he cussed softly, his hands tightening around her waist to keep her balanced. Blurrily, she stared up at her twin brother as he raced down the stairs. "Everybody hop into the car and let's go now."

Her mind felt like it was trying to swim through a swamp. There was something wrong about the way that her brother was talking. He seemed all jittery and weird but she couldn't - Mumbling out a breath of consternation, she sunk back into Hyde's chest, relaxing as she felt the familiar muscles in his chest roll beneath her hand.

"Where's your mom?"

"SHUT UP! DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER!" Tina nearly leapt out of her skin at the hoarse scream, stumbling to her feet and slamming her shin into the table. Donna blinked, staring between the two twins in obvious concern. Tina had barely been around lately and when she was, the brunette was barely conscious. Eric had been talking her ear off about job openings and now he was acting like a psychopath. The twins were slowly losing their minds.

"Woah!" Strong arms wound around her waist as Tina went tipping to the right at a very precarious angle, her head and leg throbbing painfully. Staring at her brother as Hyde righted her, the brunette give him a quizzical stare which he deflected by letting go of Kelso's shirt and going to open the front door.

Something was definitely wrong with him but Tina had no will power to find out exactly what had shaken her brother. In fact, she was thinking about dragging her worn carcass back to the warmth of her bed. Her eyes wandered involuntarily to meet Hyde's as the rest of the group shuffled out the door, Jackie still cooing over Michael. Was the brunette actually thinking about asking Hyde to come upstairs with her? That was a loaded question. One that involved a lot more than sleeping to most guys.

But there was something tugging at the back of Tina's mind as her fingers slipped through his much bigger ones, turning to stare up into his cool eyes which had taken on a guardedly predatory look. Steven Hyde was no stranger to things that good girl's like Tina Forman shouldn't be thinking about doing with bad boys like himself. He knew the look in her stormy, blue eyes and loved every minute of basking in the heated questions rolling around in her head. He wanted her, body and soul. There was no doubt about that.

And as the petite brunette swayed closer to him all he wanted to do was kiss her.

"Come on," Hyde whispered, feeling the watchful eye of Tina's older brother on his skull as he tugged the brunette towards the door. She had been gone more often lately than he liked. For a minute or two, he wanted to be completely selfish. He wanted to take her from her bed and keep her up past the decent time that good, Christian families went to sleep.

Behind Hyde, dragging her feet but still following along, Tina mumbled out a weak protest.

"I don't have shoes on. And I'm tired."

"Easy fix, princess," Hyde dismissed, crouching down as they neared the open door. Eric looked like he was going green.

Dubiously, Tina stared at Hyde's broad back. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

"Get on, knucklehead." Tina's nose twitched at the obvious insult btu she shuffled onto his back with little thought, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his throat. But nipping his neck in reprimand for the comment. "If you want to start biting than I'm sure we can take this to the bedroom sooner rather than later."

Heat flared across her face at the statement. Before she had been wondering if he had known what she had been considering and now, to her embarrassment it was confirmed. Hyde smiled smugly as Eric gagged, clapping his hands in an insistent way.

"OKAY!" The twin strained out, blanching as Hyde sent him a smirk and a wink.

"I'll only touch her a little while you're driving, Forman." Heat pumped through her entire body as his hands tightened around her thighs, guilty excitement rolling over her.

"You're such a dick," Tina mumbled, turning her head into his neck and breathing in his familiar scent as he walked them out to the car. It was stupid but his open claim made her feel cherished. She liked his brash ways and strong hold on her. Her lips curved up, brushing the band of the hemp necklace that wound around his throat. She liked him.

Hyde set her down, opening up the back hatch of the Vista Cruiser to help her slide in. Jackie, Kelso and Fez had taken up the backseat and Donna and Eric the front. Hyde grinned, his long legs taking up a good portion of the back as he crooked a finger for Tina to come in. And for a moment, Tina hesitated, her mind finally warming up and kicking into gear like a video game finally booting up. This would look really bad. People that weren't dating wouldn't do this.

At this point in time, it was more than appropriate for everyone including Hyde and Tina to know that the secret (if it ever was a secret to begin with) was out. Jackie was the first to know and Fez the last and the only reason that the foreigner hadn't picked up on it sooner was because of a dense belief that Tina's gaze would turn to him. No one was fooled - not from the moment that they had nearly kissed in the basement all the way back to the moment that Hyde had started to steal Tina's tootsie rolls at lunch.

However, desperation rarely leads to rational thought process. Tina Forman didn't want this to be real. She didn't want to like the boy that had pulled her hair and called her a batfish for a good portion of her life. More than that, she didn't want to break anymore of the fragile reality that was keeping her life sane. She wanted it to be like it used to be. She wanted her parents to be fine and the house to be safe and the carefree worries of her childhood to come back to her. Hyde was all too real. He made things too real for her.

"I NEED TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL!" Kelso screamed and Tina jerked out of her frantic thoughts. "I AM HURT!"

"Shut up, moron," Hyde snapped, slapping the back of his head and sending him squeaking forward. His eyes flicked back to Tina and he gestured her forward like he was trying to sooth a scared animal into come to him. "Come on, bunny."

"Haven't you hurt him enough?!" Jackie demanded from the front seat before going back to cooing Michael into gentle blubbering only, earning her a perplexed glance from all of the teens. Was she talking to Hyde?

Tina's mind stalled out, her head feeling overheated and dull as she begrudgingly, hauling the back hatch shut before settling into the comforting expanse of Hyde's chest. It was too late and she was too exhausted to think about these things. If anyone asked she would play it off by pleading the fifth. And maybe a lapse of partial insanity from sleep deprivation.

"NO TOUCHING!" Eric screamed from the front seat, turning around with a wild look in his eyes as he jabbed a finger at all the people in his backseat. "DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU HEATHENS?!"

"No touching?" Fez whispered like someone had just told him that he couldn't eat for the rest of the year, his eyes wide and watery as he glanced around. "But physical contact comforts me."

"No. Touching." With that, Eric whirled to face forward and started the car, jumping away as Donna reached out a hand to trying and get his attention. "NO TOUCHING!"

"Your brother's gone over the deep, doll," Hyde murmured, readjusting her slightly as he pressed more comfortably into the corner, moving her legs over his as she nuzzled into his neck.

"Mm," Tina muttered out, her mind already drifting as she settled herself into the curve of his body. How was it that he seemed to fit so perfectly to her? It was irritating. It made her… She was asleep.

Steven Hyde wasn't a good guy. He had groped more girls in the back of their daddy's cars than he would ever tell Tina. It wasn't any big secret that he liked girls - liked the way they felt, liked the way they smelled, liked the way they moaned. He wasn't gushy enough to ever make the statement that Tina Forman was special. Maybe in a year or a month or - fuck, a week he would find out that she wasn't.

But Tina Forman made him feel good.

She made him feel like he was sitting under a tree in summer. She was the cool breeze that rolled over him when the heat finally decided that it wanted to roast his curly ass. His hands drifted over her waist, his fingers playing along the soft skin that had appeared when she had curled into him like a kitten making her home. Maybe feeling this good was wrong. Sometimes, in the back of his mind, he got this weird tickling sensation - like it was all a lie. Restlessly, he pushed the unruly mess of Tina's hair away from her forehead, his other hand splayed wide on her waist as the car jostled. In her sleep, her nose wrinkled, the barely there freckles decorating it popping for a moment as her cheeks went red.

Damn. He wanted her to need him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he leaned his head back and gulped. The worst part was that he wanted her to say it, to whisper it in his ear over and over again as she went crazy underneath him. Wanted to taste her. Wanted to -

Bad thoughts. He blinked, running a hand down her arm and twining them together with his. He stared down at the girl. If he wanted to, Hyde knew that he could break her. He had made more than one girl cry. But - His fingers brushed along the area beneath her eyes. Tina Forman would never let him see her cry. Not from any sort of pain that he inflicted on her. Hyde knew that she would sooner lock herself in her room than let him see her hurt by him.

Damn, he was falling deep.

Tina blinked, a brief sort of panic worming through her as she realized that she wasn't safe in her bed. That it was dark and there were windows -

"Sleeping Beauty wakes." Tina jerked slightly at the voice, realizing that she was curled around the very impressive body of Steven Hyde. Somehow, they had both sunk to the floor of the Vista Cruiser, Tina's legs tangling through his and her arms winding around his neck. The girl was nearly on top of the boy. But was it her fault when he hadn't resisted? Hyde gave her a cheeky smile, on of his hands moving possessively up and down the curve of her back as she tried to level herself up. "And just when I was about to do the princely thing."

"Kiss me?" Tina whispered, blushing as she felt the hand that wasn't on her back, moving lazily up her thigh to the curve of her ass and then back down.

"Is that what they do?" Hyde mused and Tina mumbled an agreement before rolling so that she was fully on top of him. By the silence of the car, she could tell that all the others had gone into - she assumed - the hospital. Her chest burst with warmth as she felt the press of his chest against hers, the inhale of his breath imprinting the gentle strength of his muscles into hers. Hyde's eyes had gone a stormy blue beneath his shades. Tina's eyes narrowed, her hands moving up to gently move aside the glasses.

"What's this?" Tina whispered, her words nearing an angry, confused hiss as she ran a gentle finger over the bruised skin. His eyes was swollen, blues and purple swirling together to spiderweb across the skin. Her mouth went dry, her stomach twisting sickly. Tina wanted to cry and yell and ask him - "Who did this?"

Hyde's eyes shut slowly as she cupped his face, blocking out the image of her teary eyes, wide and seeking. "Did any of the princes have angry uncles?"

"Stop it," she snapped, her words stiff with unshed tears and anger. "Stop making this a joke. It isn't. How could - Was she-"

"Did my mom watch uncle George knock me around?" The words cut through her. They made her want to curl up in a ball and cry like she used to when she was little. Hyde's eyes met her's once more. "Nah."

"You don't have to go back," Tina whispered, her mind going into a series of calculations.

"Are you going to save me from the wicked witch?"

"You're an ass," Tina hissed, her eyes raging blue infernos as she stared down at him. "We need to tell someone. The police-"

"Do you know what happens when you tell the cops?" The restrained anger in Hyde's voice froze her, sending her mind into overdrive. "You promised me that you would stay with me."

"And I will-"

"Not if we go to the police. Or the guidance counselors. Or anyone else." Hyde's lips curled up in a humourless smile. "It's a black eye, Tina. I can deal with-"

"I don't want you to!" The words were broken, wrenched from her before she could seal her mouth against them. Tears burned the back of her throat, clogging the rest of the angry words from coming out. She was so tired of crying. Why did the world always insist on being so cruel? Shuddering, she curled into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her forehead to his.

Tina didn't even realize that her tears had dribbled onto Hyde's cheeks, his eyes shutting at the slick feel of them. It had been a long time since he had cried. His arms curled around her waist.

"Promise me you'll tell me," she finally whispered. "You won't stay there. I'll leave the backdoor open-"

"So that I can sneak in?" There was a trace of unbelieving humor in his voice. He thought she was lying. Tina pulled away, staring down at into his crystal blue eyes. "So that I can sneak into your room?"

The words slipped from her lips before she could even fully process them. "Yes."

Always yes. Gently, her lips found his.

"That's not very innocent of you, doll," he whispered, the words tracing along her lips as she kept the contact.

"Shut up," she breathed, resting her cheek on his shoulder as she tried to shut out the reality. If she just listened to him breathing - in and out, in and out - than she could narrow the world down to just them.

As always, review. I am a review whore and not afraid to say it so every single word helps feed my addiction. And you all know that I stick around because of you lovely little lions so favorites and follows are always appreciated as well!

So not the five chapters that I took up as a challenge. Although I still feel that my first chapter that I accepted the challenge in should be put into the records. But *bows head* I accept my defeat with no amount of honor and a great deal of personal temper tantrum-ing. I hate to lose. However! I am so excited! Next chapter the lemons begin. *wink wink nudge nudge*