Yes. It's been forever. My computer crashed, real life needed a lot of attention, and my muse packed and left me for a younger, more motivated author. I know. But we worked out our differences and I hope the product of our reconciliation is to your liking. It is a bit short, I know, but I promose the next ones will be better... Please help me stay on track and review, will you? You have no idea how much that means to me :D

This song is from led Zeppelin, "Over The Hills And Far Away", look it up on youtube. This time it's not in the chapter itself, but it's an awesome song worth checking out if you don't know it already. Try new things ;)

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Over The Hills And Far Away

Many times I've lied
Many times I've listened
Many times I've wondered
How much there is to know.

Many dreams come true
And some have silver linings
I live for my dream
And a pocketful of gold.

November 2007

Jackie's basement

They had slept a few hours and had breakfast, all the while not talking much. Both Donna and Steven wanted Jackie to rest so she could continue her story afterwards.

Jackie meanwhile was lost in thoughts. She had spent the last night on a beach in L.A., with her young husband. At that time not even boyfriend. She had relived that Christmas, had watched her younger self talk and laugh with him, had felt the wind in her hair and the sand under her feet. But every time she had tried to reach out and touch him she had touched a cold, smooth surface. At first she had wondered why but after a while she had noticed the quality of her dream.

Waking up she remembered.

"Tell me again why we are in the basement?"

"My son, you will now experience the wonder of home videos."

Giggling she pulled the protection of their old projector and rummaged in a file cabinet full of old videos. One of the first things Hyde had done upon their arrival, when they were walking around to explore their quarters, was buy a camera in one of the many pawn shops. She remembered laughing at him because it was old but he had that look of determination, telling her he had always wanted one exactly like this and she had let it go.

"There! This is the first one we ever made..."

With a sad smile she opened the box-and found another note.

I knew you would get sidetracked! But keep your eyes on the prize baby-you know you make me...

In the back of her head she could hear him snicker from a few months back. He had read her like a book, had known exactly what she would do. He had known she would look for the video they had made on their first vacation together. After one last glance she handed the note over to Donna, who couldn't do anything but gasp.

"This is starting to freak me out! It's like he just placed it there. How could he know?"

Jackie turned off the lights and turned the projector on. She didn't know. But if there was one thing she had learned in her time with Steven J. Hyde it was to expect the unexpected...

The picture was flickering, waving and then Jackie came into view. It was tinted slightly yellow and a little blurry and shaky at first but after a few more seconds the camera focused. She was wearing a thin red sweater, she remembered it being pretty warm, and blue jeans. Her hair fell down in soft waves and she was hardly wearing any makeup.

"Steven, quit it already!"

She scolded him, but she was smiling.

"Come on, I am looking forward to torture Forman with this when we come back. This is what he gets for making us look at his pictures from Africa for three fucking hours!"

Jackie felt her heart sink when she heard his voice. Seconds later she felt Donna's hand on hers and she took it, grateful for the gesture.

On the screen she saw herself walking down a street, checking out different vendors, holding up a hideous dress, putting on a silly straw hat and ugly sunglasses. She remembered being so relieved to be away from everything. Her new job, New York, Point Place...

"Let's go to the beach!"

"Steven, it's not that warm. I'm not going to swim so cancel all plans to film me in a bikini!"

She remembered seeing him pout at that.

A chuckle became audible over the speakers and she felt the urge to see him, just for a few seconds. To touch him. And now she knew why he felt cold when she tried to touch him in her dreams. She had touched the wall he was projected on.

"Come oooon. It's so nice today. I bet we have the beach to ourselves. We can bring some food."

She clutched her heart theatrically and grinned.

"Aw Steven, do you want us to have a picnic?"

A low growling sound was audible and the camera waved for a bit before it steadied itself again.

"Don't push it, Jackie."

She laughed, mocking Hyde behind the camera and he zoomed in on her face while she was making faces at him. Jackie remembered how she had felt like they were just two friends goofing around and how natural it had come to her. There were still other feelings for him, but she was able to just be herself and enjoy the moment without being tense, without waiting for something to happen. To this day she wasn't sure why she had suddenly felt this way.

There was a short break in the film and then all that was visible was sand and the ocean. The camera wobbled a bit and Hyde cursed under his breath. Then Jackie walked into view, barefoot, her jeans up to her knees. She turned around and waved before she continued her walk down the water, wind in her hair. Barely audible over the wind and the waves was Hyde's voice when he whispered.

"Damn, you're beautiful..."

A few seconds later the camera jerked once more, two boots were flying and Hyde was running up to Jackie, his jeans up to his knees, too. He scooped her up like she weighed nothing and carried her towards the water. She was screaming and fighting but even from that distance it was clear that she was laughing. He was running into the water until it almost reached his knees and then set her down, carefully. They were standing there, facing each other for a while, just looking at each other. His hands were on her hips, steadying her against the waves rolling ashore around them, she was holding on to his sweater with both hands. He said something to her, she smiled. Then they walked back out of the water, towards the camera, holding hands.

Another break in the film and Jackie was lying on a motel bed, reading the newspaper. She was twisting a strand of her hair around her left index finger while holding a half eaten pretzel in the other. She was wearing a bright yellow shirt and black pants. After a while of complete silence she threw the pretzel towards the camera without even looking.

"This thing is too loud for you to try and be sneaky, Steven."

There is another brief blackness before the room returns. This time it is darker outside, there is only one lamp lit on the nightstand next to the bed. Jackie is wrapped into a sheet and sulking.

"Steven, leave that damn thing alone already. I spend enough time in front of cameras."

"But I bet never like this."

His voice is saturated with a satisfaction only known to cats that have just eaten the canary and men who just had incredibly good sex. And even though there are some feathers on the bed it is pretty obvious what just happened here.

"Come back here!" she purrs and pats the bed right next to her.

"Just a moment..."

Now she pouts.

"Pweeease!"

The camera is turned off and the film ends. For a minute or two it is completely silent in the basement, except for the rattling of the projector. Jackie is trying to get a grip on her emotions. Even though she is eternally sad the memories of those few days in L.A. make her smile. Yes, she had slept with him. Numerous times. But they had never talked about their relationship or what was going to happen when they came back. And at that time, it had been fine with her. They had saved the trouble for later and had just been happy for a while. Without feeling like they had to fit a certain mold, to play their destined role in a group of people. And she knew this was why they never really returned to Point Place, even though they kept talking and dreaming, of their children growing up in that small town they both loved dearly. But it was also the place where everyone expected them to fail, again. By not returning they tried to beat the odds. And, surprisingly to everyone but them, they had succeeded.

Jackie got up and turned the light back on. Donna was crying and her son was still staring at the now blank wall, blinking against the sudden brightness. They had both never seen those videos before, and Jackie knew there were lots more where this came from. Hyde had made sure to film pretty much everything, first with that small old camera that was replaced a few times over the years with more modern models.

"What now?" Donna wiped her eyes with a paper tissue, wisely brought downstairs by Jackie when she led them here. "Where does the next clue lead you?"

Reaching for the paper Jackie smiled again.

"You make me real. That's the word we have to look for. It's a song by The doors, actually. They played it at our wedding, too. Along with some other songs... so I'm not sure if I should look for the album or for our wedding pictures or the video... But I think I'll check the album first."

With that she went back to all the records and thanks to Hyde's obsession with keeping them in a certain order she didn't need to search long. Holding out the record with both hands she walked back to the couch and sat down. Reluctantly she turned it around and around, fearing that the next memories would take her to places she didn't want to go. But of course she already knew what was waiting along the way, the memories tied to that one special song...

"I need some fresh air before I can go on, anybody care for a little walk?"