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Back to the 70s	By : Wicked_Chocolate Category: S through Z > That 70's Show Views: 5729 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own That '70s Show, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Back to the 70s
Pairings: Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde (main), Donna Pinciotti/Erik Forman, Fez/Nina Bartell, Michael Kelso/Brooke Rockwell
Rating: M / X / NC-17 for future chapters for swearing, violence, blood and sexual content.
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘That ‘70s Show’ or any of its characters. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED!
A/N: Here’s the sixth chapter. No episode rewrite or quotes. This chapter is longer again and I typed all day, so you didn’t have to wait so long after the sudden cut last chapter. XD Well and … drama alert I guess lol
Please leave a comment; even if it is criticism, I’m striving to get better after all. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Help
Point Place, Wisconsin
December 3, 1977
Location:
The Hangout Bar
It started like any other Saturday and she was working her shift at the bar. Her friends weren’t there, but she doubted they would have been able to find a seat anyway. The place was packed. Every idiot who was old enough to drink seemed to be there, and a few who weren’t, but it wasn’t Jackie’s place to point that out.
It was so stressful, that they actually needed her and the other waitress Tammy working together, just as Bud had to come in to help Mike out at the bar, normally one of them was enough, the place wasn’t that big after all. Well at least she made massive tips that evening.
The later it got, the rowdier got the people. It was mostly middle-aged men, a little rough around the edges just like the Hangout itself, but she knew most of them. They came here often and were pretty harmless. They looked their fill and flirted, some even made lewd jokes, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.
There were some new patrons too, guys she had never seen before. They couldn’t be much older than she was, most likely they just turned 18, and from what she learned as the evening progressed, they were just passing through Point Place with their motorcycles. They were a crude bunch, not only jeering and flirting with them, but one of them actually slapped Tammy’s ass when she walked by them. It was infuriating, but they were drinking a lot, practically throwing their money out, and they both needed the tips.
It was shortly before closing time and Jackie had never been gladder, when Mike and Bud declared the last round for the night. Tammy and she began cashing up the remaining tables and the bar began to clear, except for one table. Of course it was the bikers. They had paid for their last round already, but they weren’t leaving. Tammy was already cleaning up the empty tables and Mike and Bud were organising and restocking the bar for the next day, so she walked up to the table.
“I’m sorry fellas, but we’re closing. It’s time to go home.” She said, mustering up all her patience to smile and be friendly with them. She couldn’t quite forget all the lewd comments they made about her appearance, but then again, that was the risk she took, by putting on sexy clothes to get more tips from idiots like them. It was a risky game. Today she was wearing a black, low cut top and a short black skirt with high heeled boots. They had a riot dropping things and making her pick them up earlier.
“Oh but we’re not ready to end the evening yet sweetheart.” Jack said. He had told her all of their names much earlier, he was the self-proclaimed leader of his little group of misfits.
“I’m really sorry, but the bar is closed already. You’ll have to get your drinks somewhere else.”
“I guess … what a drag. But hey … maybe you could sweeten the deal for us? I mean, you look like you could give a guy a good time.” He grinned perversely and put his hand on her ass.
She pushed her hand against his shoulder to loosen his grip. “Stop it. I’m not interested and I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate it.” Her voice was raising a little, hoping it would alert Bud or Mike, so she wouldn’t have to deal with these guys alone. She wouldn’t be able to throw them all out by herself.
Jack only snorted. “Please, any guy who lets his girl walk around like that in front of other men obviously doesn’t know what to do with her. Or maybe … you’re just a little tease? Strutting your stuff around us like that and then you won’t follow through? Come on sweetheart, I’ll show you what a real man can do with a woman.” With these words his other hand wandered up her leg and slipped under her skirt.
She tried to jerk away, but his other hand was still gripping her behind, holding her secure in place. She let out a little shriek and kicked him against the shin. He cursed, but his hands stayed where they were. But she had been loud enough to alert the others, as she could see in her peripheral vision, Bud and Mike noticed what was going on and were advancing, maybe this would go over quietly after all…
“Get your damn hands off her asshole!” Or not.
She could barely register that it was Steven who shouted these words, before he jerked Jack out of his chair, effectively freeing her out of his grip, and punched him in the face.
It reminded her a little of his dispute with Chip, only Steven looked much more enraged and Jack was definitely more dangerous. He also didn’t drop to the ground unconscious.
He held his bleeding nose and cursed, but straightened up way too fast.
“Is this your little boyfriend? Oh sweetheart, you really need a real man. My sister could punch harder than that one.” He taunted.
Steven wasn’t in the mood to be teased though. “Your nose tells another story bastard.” He threw another punch, but this time Jack was able to block it and landed his own fist in Steven’s face.
Stumbling back he held his jaw, but instead of backing down he just took off his glasses. “You’ll regret that buddy.”
Jack laughed: “Yeah sure. Bring it on boy.”
And Steven did. He charged at Jack like a madman and soon enough they were a blur of flying fists and swift kicks.
She screamed out, trying to get closer to stop them, but Tammy hold her back with a nod to Jacks buddies, who were standing up as if to help their leader. Luckily they were stopped by Bud and Mike, who grabbed them and dragged them to the door, blatantly throwing them out.
Staring back at the two fighting, it appeared like Steven was finally gaining the upper hand. Jack may thought he was a hard guy, but Steven has fought guys bigger than him for all his life and he knew how to hit where it would do the most damage. After another punch, Jack fell down and Steven delivered another kick to his rips.
“Steven, I think that is enough. Are you alright?” Bud came up to him and Steven turned to him to nod.
That was the moment she saw Jack move on the ground, he was pulling something shiny out of this pocket, a knife! He was getting up, evidently planning to stab Steven in the back like a coward.
Without thinking, she grabbed the first thing in her vicinity— an empty beer bottle— and smashed it on his head hard enough to break the bottle and take Jack down to the ground again.
“Stay down in the dirt where you belong, you creep!” she screamed at him.
Steven pulled her back before she could kick the guy. Now that he also saw the knife, he tried to get her away from Jack as far as possible.
“You crazy bitch! Tom, Eddie! Call the police!” he shouted to his boys outside.
“Good idea, we can tell them you trashed my property, harassed my employees and tried to attack an unarmed person with a weapon. Sexual Harassment and attempted murder could get you locked up for quite a while.” A new voice said.
Her boss John was standing on the steps that led up to his little office above the bar, with his gun in his hand, aiming at Jack.
“So, why don’t you drop your little toy while we wait for them? Or better yet: Keep it and give me a reason to shoot. I have enough witnesses for self-defence here.”
Cursing Jack dropped the knife. “Damn it! You are all crazy, this whole town is a madhouse.”
“Well, then I would get my little buddies out there and leave as fast as I could and if I were you, I would never set a foot into Point Place again.” John said calmly, but his face was grim.
Swearing even louder Jack pulled himself up and stumbled out of the bar, where his friends were waiting. Within minutes you could hear the loud roaring of their machines, indicating their quick departure.
Taking down his gun, John let out a wary sigh. “Well, so far so good. I don’t know about you guys, but I want to get home as soon as possible. Tammy finish cleaning up, Mike count the money and Bud start closing everything up. I’ll call the police department and warn them, just in case those boys try to cause any more trouble on their way out of here and Jackie … get in the back and get your boyfriend some ice.” After making sure everyone knew what to do, he went upstairs to call the police.
Jackie carefully took Stevens hand and led him with her to the backrooms. Making him sit down in a chair, she rummaged through the freezer to find some ice packages for Stevens’ face. After she handed him those, she went to get the first aid kit, before standing in front of him and looking at the damage.
God, she had been so scared for him tonight … and rightly so. His jaw was turning a brilliant shade of blue and his left eye didn’t look any better. Unlike Jack he protected his nose and his rips though, so at least there was nothing broken. His stomach area seemed to be tender, it would probably turn blue soon, but worst of all were his hands. He really put some force behind his hits, because his knuckles were bloody and not all of it was Jack’s. His skin was split open and she carefully cleaned and disinfected it, before putting bandages around them.
At least for tonight he let her do it, he probably would take them off first thing tomorrow, but for now he sat there in total silence and let her fuss over him. All the while he was cooling his face with the ice packages, holding them in the hand she wasn’t working on at the moment.
When she was finished, she couldn’t hold onto her calm façade anymore. Shuddering a little, she carefully sat down on his lap and stroked through his hair. He still didn’t say a word, but he put an arm around her. Frantically, she began to pepper all the unblemished places on his face with kisses, whispering in a frightened tone the whole time.
“My brave,” kiss “brave” kiss “hero.” Kiss “So, so” kiss “scared” kiss “for you.” Kiss “Thank you” kiss “so much,” kiss “but please,” kiss “PLEASE” kiss “don’t ever” kiss “do something” kiss “like that” kiss “again.”
Finally he broke his silence: “’afraid I can’t promise that doll.”
She stopped kissing him, but she knew he was right. Steven wasn’t one for useless fighting, but he was always the guy who protected others and he wouldn’t make a promise to her, if he knew he couldn’t keep it.
“Well … I’m pretty sure your display of strength and John’s gun made sure those guys won’t be coming back here anytime soon.”
“Yeah … and neither will you.”
“Wha— Excuse me?”
Now he was looking at her with barely restrained anger, but what really got her was the serious look in his eyes. Eyes she could clearly see, because he hadn’t put his shades back on yet.
“Jackie, I’m serious. You’re quitting this job. I was there tonight, but I can’t always be there. We could handle those idiots, but don’t you think there are more dangerous people out there who frequent bars like this? Do you think your boss has that gun for his own amusement?”
“No, of course not, but Steven … all this time I was working here nothing like that happened and Tammy has been working here for years and she told me the worst they ever had were bar brawls, where they had to keep drunk idiots from falling down their own chairs. This was a fluke, it won’t happen again.”
He was getting more agitated by the minute and throwing his icepack away, he said:” Jackie you don’t know that. Damn it! I knew something like that would happen. I never wanted you to work here, but I didn’t say anything. Well, see where it got us, I definitely won’t shut up about it anymore.”
“Steven … I can’t quit, okay? There are no other jobs at the moment and … there’s always something that could happen. If I worked in a store, I could get robbed, because they want the money in the register.” She tried to reason with him.
“Damn it Jackie! Why are you so stubborn?! I bet if you told your parents about this, they would throw their money back at you. They may want to teach you a lesson, but I bet they don’t want you to get hurt. It will probably shock them enough, that you’ll never have to work again in your life. They’re rich for Gods sake!” he made her stand up from his lap, so he could stand up and pace around the room.
“No! I won’t tell them Steven and I won’t quit. You can’t tell me what to do.” She didn’t want to lash out at him, but she was scared, everything was falling apart and she didn’t know how to stop it. She only knew that she couldn’t take her parents money.
“What the fuck! Why the hell not?!” he exclaimed, but at least he stopped pacing. Running a hand through his hair, he put his aviators back on. That wasn’t good. He was pulling away from her, hiding behind his Zen, because he didn’t know how to handle the situation.
And she couldn’t answer him, she couldn’t think of one good reason that would explain her behaviour. Sure she could rave about him not being her boss again, or that she was her own woman and made her on decisions, but that were only excuses and he would know it. Just as he knew, that she had been keeping something from him all this time, it probably only made the situation worse.
When she didn’t say anything, he got angry again. She could see it in the way his whole body tensed, but he kept on a cool mask, while he did what he always did when he felt hurt and cornered, he lashed out on her in a cold and calculated way.
“You like it, don’t you?” he asked in a false, calm tone.
She knew she was playing into his hands, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking: “What?”
He gritted his teeth. “The way they stare at you, flirt with you. You like it when those assholes pay you attention. Maybe you even liked it when he touched you?”
She gasped. God, Steven always knew where to hit so it would hurt. “No! Steven! How can you say that?”
He shrugged, acting like this wasn’t even concerning him. “What am I supposed to think Jackie? This job is gritty on a good day. Today you got molested, I got into a fight and you still want to do it? Even though we both know you would just have to tell your parents about it and they would give you money again. So what else could it be?”
“Steven, please. I don’t like it, how could I? I don’t want anybody but you to touch me like this and I definitely don’t care about these guys. For heavens sake! I kicked him and I broke a bottle on his head!” her voice was raising, she was panicking now. She couldn’t lose Steven over this.
“Then why? Just tell me why!” now Steven sounded a little desperate himself.
Nothing. She had absolutely nothing. He was right, if it had been the truth that her father had cut her off to teach her a lesson, she would only have to go to him and tell him what happened and he would shower her with money to keep her safe. Burkhart’s don’t get involved in places like this. But it had been a lie, a lie she couldn’t back up anymore.
Her silence was fatal, his face shuttered close again and he shrugged. “You know what? I don’t care. I’m outta here. Do what you want Jackie, but do it without me. I won’t back up your little ego trip here.”
“Are you … are you breaking up with me?” she could hardly force the words out, couldn’t believe this was happening. Again.
Tears gathered in her eyes when he just said: “Whatever” and turned around to leave. No! She couldn’t let him go.
“No … please. Wait! Steven! I lied, okay? I lied about the money. My father didn’t cut me off, I just … I can’t take his money anymore.” She said through her tears, her mind was fogging, god she would have to tell him the truth, at least part of it. What would he think of her then?
At least it got him to stop, but he looked wary as he faced her again. “Why?”
Such a simple question, but nearly impossible to answer. Not here. She looked around, afraid someone could hear them, furiously brushing her tears away. They would do her no good now.
She apparently took too long to answer, because he was beginning to turn around again. Rushing towards him she grabbed his arm. “Wait. Please. I’ll tell you. I swear! Only… not here. I can’t tell you here, Steven. We have to go somewhere else. Nobody else can know about this and you have to promise me … please you can’t ever tell anyone else what I’m going to tell you.” She was begging now and the tears just didn’t want to stop.
Nevertheless it made and impact, Steven was still there and he was listening to her. “Fine. We’ll go somewhere else.” He was debating for another moment before declaring: “I promise, but Jackie. I want the truth, or I’ll leave.”
She nodded hastily. “Yes, whatever you want.” She quickly retrieved her coat and purse, afraid that he could change his mind and leave her, but when she came back he was still there. They left via the backdoor, she really didn’t want to deal with her colleagues right now, even more so because she still couldn’t stop crying.
She would be driving this time and Steven climbed into the passenger seat without complaint. They were both silent on the drive. It was grating on her nerves, but it also gave her time to sort out her muddled thoughts and to finally stop the tears.
When they reached her driveway, Steven threw her a confused look, but she ignored it and got out of the car.
“Come on.” She said, grabbing her keys and heading for the door.
“Jackie. What about your parents?” Steven was still standing next to the car, not sure how to act.
“They’re not here.” She said, opening the door.
That got him going, within seconds he was next to her on the doorstep. “What do you mean they’re not here? Are they coming home that late?”
“They won’t be home for another week. Maybe they’ll even take until Christmas.” She said, putting on the lights and hanging her coat up. She pulled Steven inside and closed the door behind him.
“Christmas? Jackie, what the hell is going on?”
She took in a deep breath. “That’s a long story. The living room is over there. Why don’t you sit down on the couch, while I get us something to drink? We’ll need it.”
To her surprise he actually took her word for it and did what she told him to do, without hesitation. He probably sensed that this was much bigger than just the job. Going to the kitchen, she grabbed two beers for them and took another cleansing breath. This wouldn’t be pleasant, but if she lost Steven this whole thing would have been for nothing, she didn’t really have a choice. She went into the living room and sat down next to Steven on the couch. She left a little space between them though, at least for the moment. Giving him his beer, she took a big gulp of her own to calm her nerves.
Opening his can he followed suit. After that he sent her a look and nodded. “Okay, we’re here. We’re alone. Talk.”
He wouldn’t make this easy on her, but she didn’t expect him to. “Yes … like I said it’s a long story and a little complicated … this isn’t easy for me Steven so … maybe … just don’t interrupt me until I’m finished, I don’t know if I could muster up the courage to tell you again.”
He agreed and she began talking. She started with the easier topic: her parent’s absence.
She told him how they were only at home for short periods of time, to keep up appearances. How this whole happily married thing and the great family life was just a scam, a lie to keep up the popular image of the Burkhart’s and how, for a very long time, she had played along. That she took their money and their gifts, as reward for being the perfect little daughter at parties and meetings. After all, she was raised to believe that material things and the family name were the only things that counted.
She told him about her father’s business trips and how he took a new young and sexy secretary with him every single time and how her mother took all the money she could get, to party with her friends in other countries and had a string of lovers there, while they left their daughter at home alone with nannies. When she was old enough, the nannies disappeared and she was just at home alone, with her pricy toys and clothes, with only the maids and the gardener to keep her company.
To be abandoned by the own parents was something Steven could relate to, even if their circumstances were quite different. His whole demeanour softened, but there was something sharp in his features, that reminded her that this wasn’t an explanation for her to keep the job as a waitress. Her parents obviously didn’t cut her off. She drank more of her beer and started to explain the real problem: her father’s crimes and her mother’s knowledge and total disregard of it.
She had to put some white lies into it, she couldn’t exactly tell him the truth how she knew about it. If she started talking about angels and time travel, he would think she was crazy.
So she told him that she heard her father make a phone call that tipped her off instead, and that she searched through his office as soon as she was home alone again. She described the documents and what they entailed.
Starting with her trust fund and how her father practically stole the money that was meant for her, by cashing it out when she turned 16. She went through the bribery and the thefts she found, but it was hard to tell him about how deep everything went. She finished her beer before she could actually talk about the fact that her father’s dealings were responsible for Red and Bob losing their jobs. She could see it affect him right away, she knew it would hurt him. He loved the Forman’s and the Pinciotti’s, not to mention how this also affected Eric and Donna, who were his best friends.
Her voice wavered but she kept on, telling him that she hadn’t wanted her parents to use her money to commit even more crimes or to party abroad. She had to tell another little lie here, that she knew the combination for the hidden safe, because she followed her mother down there once and saw her looking at the money. It wasn’t a lie when she told him that she took it so her mother wouldn’t. She even confessed that she hid it at the Forman’s so her parents would never be able to find it here in the house, if they ever noticed it missing.
She proceeded to tell him how she cleaned out her bank account, hiding this money in her room for if she ever needed it and that she closed everything down, actually opening a new account in the smaller bank in the outskirts of Point Place when she got the job as a waitress, because she thought one of the bankers of her old bank was in on her father’s crimes.
“I just didn’t know what else to do. I only knew I couldn’t take any money from my parents anymore. I took what was already there on my bank account, I couldn’t change where it came from, but I hid it in my room because I only want to use it for emergencies. I hid the trust fund money for the future, I don’t want to touch any of it yet. That’s why I got the job … my parents haven’t even noticed yet that my allowance just goes back to their account because mine is closed, or if they did, they don’t care.”
She sighed and looked away from Steven. “There were no other jobs Steven and I can’t afford to quit this one. I don’t want to lose you, but I can’t take my parents money with a clear conscience anymore…”
“Why didn’t you say something before?”
“And tell you what? That my parents aren’t only selfish people who neglect me and leave me alone all the time, but that they are real criminals? That their whole life is paved on the misery of others … that they even stole the money of their own daughter? How do you tell people something like that? I was ashamed Steven … ashamed and afraid. I didn’t know what to do. I resented myself for keeping quiet, it just gives my parents time to hide evidence, but I also couldn’t tip off the police on my own parents … it’s weak and I hate myself for it but … it’s the truth. And you wanted the truth, right?” by now she was crying again. She felt like a baby, but she couldn’t help it. All the hurt and desperation welled up again and she could only let it out with tears and sobs.
“Shit! Jackie…” she could feel Steven’s arms around her and cried even harder. She had been so scared he would just leave her now that he knew everything, knew what her parents did to the people they both loved, that her whole life was only possible because others had to suffer.
“I’m so sorry Steven.” She cried. “I didn’t want to be part of it, but … I didn’t know what to do. Please don’t leave me. Please …” her fingers clutched at his shirt, as if she could force him to stay like that.
“Fuck!” she heard him curse. “I won’t leave you Jackie. Please stop crying, it’s not your fault.” His fingers were stroking through her hair.
“You … you aren’t angry with me anymore?” she asked, trying to calm down her own sobs.
“No! Damn it! Argh … Jackie I’m angry at your stupid parents. It’s bad enough what they did to you, but this bribery stuff … it’s such a mess! I wouldn’t have known what to do either and I hate that they put you in that position.” He he really did, she could hear him curse her parents under his breath with words, that she would never be able to repeat without blushing.
“I … I want to do something about it … really … I don’t want anyone else to suffer, just so my parents have more money to rise to even higher social circles. I’m so angry with them. My father did all those dealings, but my mother knows all about it and throws that money out of the window like it didn’t come from other people. Sometimes I even hate them for it … why is it still so hard to put an end to this? I should just rat them out to the police or something, but I couldn’t do it.”
Steven sighed, pulling her into his lap now. She hid her face in his arms, she didn’t want him to see her face right now, she couldn’t look at him. She was too upset.
“They’re still your parents, of course it’s hard for you. You know the right thing would be to turn them in, but they’re your family and you don’t want any harm to come to them. It’s normal. I wouldn’t know what to do either.” He assured her, hell this wasn’t even his family and he was totally confused.
She finally managed to calm down and she wiped at her face again, getting rid of the remaining tears. Timidly she looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I lied to you and I know you noticed … and I’m sorry I got you in trouble today, but … I really need this job. I may don’t know what to do about my parents, but I do know that I couldn’t live with myself, if I was taking their money again. I’m sorry, I know you don’t want me to work there and I don’t want to lose you, it’s just … god, everything’s so terrible.”
She panicked for a moment when Stevens’ arms left her, but he only took his shades off and rubbed his eyes tiredly, careful about his wounded one. Looking at her for a moment he finally nodded.
“I know … I don’t like it, but … I get it. I know the bar isn’t normally that dangerous, Bud would have told me if it was. It’s just … Jackie he touched you. He had his hands all over you and under your skirt and he had his friends to back him up, that was really dangerous. I guess I just lost it.” He looked ashamed.
“I understand Steven. I know you were only protecting me. This isn’t fair to you either. I was hiding all of this from you and you knew something was wrong, today was just the last drop. I’m sorry, I never wanted to deceive you.”
“Stop apologizing. I wouldn’t want to talk about this either if I were you. Shit … I was horrible to you. It’s just … you were acting weird all this time and then after that guy … you were still lying to me. He could have really hurt you and you were still lying into my face. I was so angry … I didn’t mean it. What I said about you liking it. I knew it was total bullshit, I watched you often enough and I could always see it in your eyes, how you hated playing nice with those assholes. I just…”
“You wanted to hurt me, because I hurt you.” It was a good summary for all their problems. Every time Steven thought she had wronged him somehow, he lashed out and hurt her back, it was his way of dealing with things. You hit him, he hits back. She never said it out loud before, but she had realized it a long time ago, of course it wasn’t different this time around.
“I … yeah … I guess I did. I’m sorry Jackie.” He was obviously uncomfortable, talking about feelings and apologizing weren’t exactly his strong suits, but at least he cared enough to do it. The situation was very complicated, but he tried to handle it somehow instead of running away and that was enough her.
“It’s okay … it hurt, but … I know I hurt you with all my secrets too. I know you didn’t mean it … let’s not talk about it anymore.”
“It’s not that easy Jackie.” He sighed. “Look I am sorry and I don’t want to argue with you, hell I even understand why you can’t give that job up, but … there could always be another drunken idiot there to hit on you and frankly, I hate it. I also don’t like it, that you’re alone here all the time. It’s not safe, especially with the business your father keeps. He could’ve made some enemies along the way.”
She looked down, biting her own lip nervously. She knew that, but she didn’t know what to do. His fingers under her chin surprised her. Gently, he forced her to look up into his face again.
“Hey. Don’t worry. We’ll find a solution, I just … I have to think about this Jackie. I need some time to sort this all out.”
She couldn’t do anything else but nod. She knew the feeling. She had weeks to come to terms with things and they still overwhelmed her sometimes. Hesitantly she came closer and kissed him. It was short, their lips were barely touching, but the uncertainty was still wearing her down.
He picked up where she left and kissed her for real, but he kept it light and sweet.
“It’s going to be okay.” He promised.
Looking at him, she could nearly believe it. Maybe together they could find a way to handle this. Alone she hadn’t done so well. “Yes.” She agreed.
Somehow they would make it work. As long as Steven would stand by her side, she could do anything. She tried a careful smile and leaned her head against his shoulder. It had been a long and hard day, she was feeling pretty drained. She only wanted to close her eyes for a moment, but before she knew it, she fell asleep.

Hyde woke up to a shrill female voice which was spouting curses at him and to hits on his head and arms.
“OUCH! Shit!” He tried to get away from the source of the blows, but he was entangled in Jackie, who was also just waking up from the loud voices around her. Sadly, her flailing around next to him, only made it harder for him to get away from the other woman, who was screaming at him in Spanish, and was hitting him with a … rolled newspaper? What the hell?!
In the end, he didn’t so much escape her, as he simply fell of the couch and out of her reach. He quickly stood up and put some distance between them. She looked like she wanted to follow him, but Jackie intervened quickly.
“Rosa, stop! Él es mi novio!“
The woman— Rosa— finally stopped charging him and looked at Jackie.
“You’re boyfriend? Io siento señorita Burkhart … but even so … it isn’t proper.” She said, but she put the newspaper away.
Jackie smiled at the other woman, trying to calm her down. He could only assume that she was one of the maids. Well … that stupid newspaper hurt, but unlike Jackie’s parents she was at least looking out for her young charge.
“Rosa, nothing happened. We were on the couch, not in my bedroom and we’re still fully clothed. Look, we still have our shoes on! It was just late yesterday and … we must have fallen asleep while we were talking.” the tiny brunette explained.
Right. He remembered now. The whole evening had been a clusterfuck. First that Jack guy and then his fight with Jackie … He still couldn’t quite grasp what Jackie revealed to him, but her pain while talking about it had been more than real and no one would invent such an incriminating story.
Afterwards, she had fallen asleep in his arms. He had tried to lie her down on the couch, but she was still clutching his shirt. Even in her sleep, she had been afraid he would leave her. He didn’t have the heart to do it.
Instead he had just lain down with her in his arms, while he thought about their situation. He must have fallen asleep too and that’s how Rosa found them together on the couch. He probably didn’t look very trustworthy, with all his bruises and the bandages around his hands … yeah those definitely had to go.
“I see. I apologize señor …“ she trailed of, obviously at a loss.
“Hyde. Rosa, please meet Steven Hyde, my boyfriend. Steven, this is Rosa Ramirez. She’s one of our maids.”
“Pleased to meet you, señor Hyde.” She greeted him a little embarrassed.
He felt the same way, the whole situation was so bizarre. Putting his shades back on, he felt a little bit better. “Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too. Sorry about all that.” His hand waved towards the couch.
“Oh, no. It was my fault.” She assured him.
“It was just a misunderstanding.” Jackie finally said. “Rosa, why don’t you just start your day? I know my mother always leaves you guys a long list of chores to do. We don’t want to keep you.”
“Of course señorita Burkhart. Just call me when you need anything.” With that she left them alone.
Jackie looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry, Steven. Did she hurt you?”
He shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine.”
Smiling again, she came up to him and gave him a short peck. “Good morning.”
He had to grin at that. “’morning.” He had never woken up with a girl in his arms, actually he had never slept next to a girl at all. He mostly just left after the sex, or they left him.
Not that he had a chance to enjoy it this morning, with Rosa hitting him with the newspaper and all, but he had slept well with Jackie in his arms.
Now she stood before him, smiling, her hair tousled from sleep, her clothes crinkled and her make up smudged from all the crying … how could she still look so beautiful? God he was in trouble…
“How about some coffee? We could eat some sandwiches. Fiona, our cook, made some yesterday, before she left.”
Right. Jackie was horrible in the kitchen, but with all these servants around, it wasn’t really a surprise. It was tempting to spend the morning with her, it was Sunday and they had nowhere to be, but after all the revelations yesterday he had to think. Things had to change, because he wasn’t in the mood to worry about her all the time.
“Maybe next time. I better get home, Bud’s cool ‘n’ all, but after the fight yesterday I better make an appearance to show him I’m still alive.”
Her eyes widened and she had that worried look again. Shit, he made her feel guilty again.
Great.
“Of course. Maybe I’ll see you later at Eric’s?” she asked.
He shook his head, he had to figure things out and he really didn’t need the comments of his friends when they saw his bruises right now.
“Why don’t you come over to Bud’s later? He has a shift at the bar today. We’d have the whole apartment for ourselves.”
She squirmed under his watch, but finally admitted: “I have a shift too. It starts on six p.m. But only until eleven, because we have school tomorrow.”
He had to count slowly from ten backwards in his head to calm down. Snapping at her wouldn’t do any good. “Of course you do.” He groaned.
“I know we … we still have to talk about that, but … Tammy really needs the day off, she has two daughters and Sunday is the only day when the whole family is together.”
“It’s okay” he finally said, he would play nice for now. “Just pick me up on your way there.”
Startled, she looked up. “What?”
“Jackie, until I find a better solution, I’m going with you again. I won’t argue about this.” His tone was final and she realized it.
“Yes. I'll be by your place about five-thirty, if that's all right?” she agreed, but she still acted so unsure, so unlike her bossy and outspoken nature, he had to do something about it.
“That’s cool. I’ll be going then.” He pulled her into his arms to kiss her, but when he tried to deepen the kiss, she shied away from him.
When he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, she blushed.
“I have morning breath.” She mumbled.
Now he had to roll his eyes, as if he cared. “So do I.” he simply told her and pulled her in again. This time she didn’t stop him, when he kissed her deeply and he didn’t stop until they were out of breath.
“We’re okay doll.” He promised her. And they were, he just had to make sure it stayed that way.
She nodded, licking her own lips and he had to force himself to look away. Now was not the time.
“I’ll see you later.” with that he was out of the door, walking home.
He walked this way so often in the last weeks, he could find his way from Jackie’s house to Bud’s apartment blindfolded. That left his mind free to run crazy at first, but the cool air outside also helped him to calm down a little.
So, Jackie wouldn’t take her parent’s money, understandable if you knew where it came from. She had to earn her own and if there had been another job, she would have taken it. She couldn’t quit, but if she kept working there like nothing happened, he would probably end up killing someone.
He wasn’t proud of his behaviour and intellectually he knew Mike and Bud had already been on their way to help her, when he came in and snapped, but that didn’t make him feel much better.
Her parents’ leaving her alone most nights wasn’t good either and he wasn’t even scratching at the surface here. He wanted nothing more than let the police lock them up, but what would happen to Jackie then? It really was a mess.
When he arrived at home, he wasn’t any closer to a solution. Frustrated he went inside, only to be greeted by Bud who was standing in the kitchen.
“Finally made it home?”
Great, he didn’t need stupid questions right now. “Yeah. I brought Jackie home and stayed over. She was pretty upset.”
Bud looked like he wasn’t comfortable with that, but he didn’t say anything about his little sleepover. “Is she alright?”
“Yes. I managed to calm her down.” He let himself fall on the couch, wincing a little when the movement pulled on his stomach. That guy really got him good there.
Bud must have noticed it. “Are you okay? I must say we never had such a fight at the bar. Normally it’s just some drunken idiots. That guy was vicious.”
“I’m okay.” He remained silent for a moment. Well it wouldn’t hurt to say it, would it? “Bud. I don’t like it. Jackie working with those creeps, she’s only 16, man.”
Bud sighed and sat down next to him. “I know. Look she handled herself well and we got her covered, but I have to admit, people seemed to get more dangerous every year. John actually talked to me and Mike about it yesterday. We can pull punches and take some hits but the girls … Tammy had been shocked too. She has two kids at home and she can’t afford to get hurt.”
This surprised Hyde, after all the Hangout wasn’t exactly a rule abiding place, then again John was a business man, he couldn’t be happy about his place getting trashed like this. “What did he say?”
“Well, like I said nothing like this happened before, but he was getting tired of the small drunken bar brawls we do have already. He had already been talking to two security guards. Greg and Todd, hell, they make Mike look like a school girl.” Bud laughed and he had to admit, Mike was already pretty build, if they were bigger and stronger … he couldn’t quite imagine it.
“Last night was the final straw and he called them today to make arrangements. They will be the new bouncers. Nothing like in those fancy places, they will just keep those out who already had too much to drink and keep the guys inside under control.”
Translation: Fake identification and illegal stuff wouldn’t be stopped, they would just control the violence. Well, he could live with that.
“Sounds good.” Actually, it sounded awesome. Like this, Jackie could keep her Job and still be safe and he could still get into the bar himself if he wanted to. Now he only had to do something about her home situation, even though the solutions to that one seemed pretty simple, at least part of it.
He spent the rest of the day thinking about it, but he always came to the same conclusion. When he went to get a shower and change into fresh clothes, he finally got rid of those stupid bandages, but he had to admit, it had been nice when Jackie took care of him like that. It wasn’t something he was used too.
When he came out of the bathroom, Bud had already left for work and he made himself a small snack, before Jackie came to pick him up.
When she did, he was surprised at her appearance. Her coat was open and he could see she was wearing blood red jeans, instead of the skirts she wore most of the time at work nowadays. It was so tight it looked like it was painted on her skin, but still … and she was wearing a band shirt again, The Rolling Stones this time, but it wasn’t cut off like the one she wore on her first day. It was only pulled up in a knot on the front to tighten it around her torso, but it was ending just where her pants began, so you couldn’t actually see much skin.
It was sexy as hell, but it was much more modest than the stuff she normally wore at work. He didn’t know if she was still rattled from yesterday herself, or if she did this for his benefit, but he wasn’t about to ask. At least she kissed him without hesitating and they made their way to her car. On the way to the bar he decided to breach the subject from yesterday.
“Bud told me that John hired two bouncers to keep the bar safer.”
A surprised: “Really?” was the only answer he got for the moment. Nothing else. She was still nervous about the topic.
“Yeah. He actually thought about it before and after yesterday he finalized things. Guess it was the final straw.”
“That’s good … right?” she looked over at him and he nodded to eliminate her fears.
“Yup. They must look like the incredible Hulk or something, so you and Tammy will be safe in the future.”
He saw her relax a little and decided to keep going. “Look Jackie. I won’t show up every day, just sometimes. I’m okay with you working there, as long as the bouncers are there too. I’m not happy about it, but I’ll accept it. Actually I’ll never say anything else about it again, under one condition.”
“What condition?”
“I’ll be staying at your house at night.”
“WHAT?!”
He nearly drove the car into a ditch at her scream, but he controlled it. “Geez Jackie, tone it down, will ya?”
“What do you mean you’ll be staying at my house?” she asked incredulously, but thankfully in a much quieter tone.
“Only at night’s when your parents aren’t there. If at least one of them is home, I won’t bother you, but as long as you’re alone, it’s not safe and I’ll be staying with you.”
“Excuse me? Don’t you think I should have a say in that?”
“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll be sleeping on the couch and I’ll leave in the morning before Rosa can catch me.” That experience hadn’t been pleasant.
He could see that she was getting worked up, she didn’t like it when someone told her what to do, he could relate to that, but he wouldn’t budge on this.
“Maybe I’m not wearing panties and maybe I don’t want you to stay at my house. You think Rosa is scary? I could beat you with my Pompons.”
“So what? You’ll cheer a burglar to death? Jackie I’m serious.” He could feel her gaze on him, as if she was assessing him.
“You actually mean it.” She mumbled, as if to herself.
“Of course I do. Hey, you want to work at the bar? I’m okay with it as long as your boss keeps those bouncers around. I won’t tell you what to do about your parents either, that is your decision and whatever you decide, I’ll back you up, but letting you stay alone in that house nearly every night? Not happening. I’ll stay on your couch or you’ll stay in my room at Bud’s apartment. He won’t say anything. It’s your choice where we stay, but it will happen. I won’t budge on this Jackie!”
She didn’t say anything, just stared out of the window for a moment and he let out a frustrated noise. “Damn it Jackie, it’s not like I’m using this as an excuse to get frisky with you. You’ll be up in your room and I’ll be staying on your couch, or I’ll give you my room at the apartment, while I’ll sleep on Bud’s couch.”
“That’s nonsense.” She said, but before he could protest she continued: “I trust you Steven. When you stay with me you can sleep in my bed. I know you won’t do anything I don’t want and it’s much comfier than the couch. Also … Rosa never comes into my room until I allow it.”
He was glad that she agreed, it really made him feel better and sleeping in the same bed with her … well that didn’t sound bad at all now, did it?
He couldn’t keep himself from grinning at that thought, he meant what he said, he wasn’t doing this to pester her, but he was only a guy after all. “Now, that’s hot.” He joked.
At least it made her smile and she mock punched him in the arm like on their first date. “Don’t get ahead of yourself buddy. I’m only using you as a cheap security system,”
“Yeah, use me baby.” He drawled and now he really got her laughing. It was a free and jubilant sound, and he couldn’t be happier to hear it after everything that had happened.
She finally got a hold of her own giggling again, when she said: “Stop it … but seriously … thank you, Steven. I mean it. I hate to be alone.” Her voice was honest and he knew she really meant it.
He parked in front of the bar and smiled at her: “Anything for you doll.”
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