A/N - Hey guys, I'm back after a long break. Sorry. My hours at work have been extended until they hire someone else for mornings, so I'm working quite a bit right now. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, this chapter's a bit different than the other ones and it's a bit Hyde centric. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

It had been three weeks since Laurie had baby Audrey. In those three weeks Eric has dragged Hyde and Jackie across town to see her. He adored her, and she adored him right back. He could get her to smile in nothing flat. As soon as she saw his face, she was beaming a gummy smile. Jackie thought it was cute how well the two got along, she knew Eric would play a huge part in that little girl's life.

Jackie adored Audrey, too, as well as Hyde. Jackie's already been telling the infant all the wonderful things she was going to buy her to spoil her, and Hyde swore when the child was older he was going to teach her everything he possibly could. With Hyde around the baby, they sort of figured she'd turn into a tomboy once she was older. But who really knew who she'd turn out to be?

Hyde was happy right now, mostly because his friends were happy. Eric seemed happier now that he had a little niece, she brought a little light into his life. A light he desperately needed. Jackie's been slowly getting over her mother, or trying to anyway. As long as she was trying, that was a sign that she was getting better in Hyde's eyes. Eric and Jackie really helped each other though, they understood each other. Not the situations the others had been in, but the feelings that they felt. They shared the sadness and depression, and all of the anxiety. They knew how it felt to be at your lowest point, and being able to relate to one another like that seemed to help somehow. They were always smiling in each other's presence, and Hyde often wondered how the two weren't together yet. Well, of course he knew their was something going on between them, he was just curious as to why they're keeping it a secret. Maybe they didn't want to admit to themselves that they liked each other? Maybe they were just nervous what everyone else would think? Who knows. Those two have always been a mystery to him.

Hyde was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Some game show was on and Hyde always though people on game shows were stupid. The answers were so obvious. If you had a high school education and a good knowledge of popular culture, these things were easy, but the idiotic contestants always seemed to mess up and guess wrong, which always made Hyde scoff and call them inappropriate things under his breath.

As he was sitting there, watching TV, there was a knock on the door, which made him quirk an eyebrow. Nobody ever came over. Well, except their neighbor Jillian, and it was usually because she was being paranoid over something ridiculous. Hyde was pretty sure she was a pot head. Not a pot head like he was, a pot head who was literally stoned all the time.

The knocking repeated and Hyde looked over to the door this time and looked at for a moment. He didn't want to deal with their neighbor today, but knowing her persistency, she'd never leave unless he answered the door. So Hyde stood up, setting the bag of chips he was eating from on the cheap coffee table in between him and the television set, and then he stepped over to the door.

Hyde stopped in front of it and peered out the peephole. He quirked an eyebrow when he didn't recognize the person there. It was a man and he looked rather annoyed at this point. Hyde flinched a bit when the man quickly knocked on the door again and said, "Hey, is anybody home?"

Hyde sighed and unlocked the door, finally opening it and peering down at the shorter man, "What do you want?"

"Hey, is there a Jackie Burkhart that lives here?" He asked curiously, his eyebrows furrowed as he peered up at Hyde, stuffing his hands into his deep coat pockets, almost nervously.

Hyde examined this man, unsure of him. He seemed twitchy, and not an Eric kind of twitchy, no, this guy was almost crazy looking it seemed. His bright blue eyes looked wide, but that could just be because of how bright they were. He was short in stature and quite thin, his brown hair was shaggy and greasy and sticking out all over the place, and his facial hair was scratchy. He looked like a homeless man besides the attire he wore, which were baggy jeans and a red leather jacket over a yellow t-shirt with a hole in the neck.

"Hello?" The man said, waving a hand in front of Hyde's face as he zoned out.

"Yeah, she lives here. How'd you know that?" Hyde asked, blanking.

"Um... I looked her up in the phone book," The man said, looking at Hyde quizzically, "Are you stoned right now?"

Hyde then glared at the man, "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm here to see Jackie, obviously," The man said, trying to look over Hyde's shoulder, but Hyde blocked his view by taking a protective stance in the doorway.

"Why?" Hyde asked, not trusting this very peculiar man.

"Because friends like to hang out. Is there a problem here, buddy?" The man asked, smiling, but he seemed annoyed as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, there is a problem, 'buddy,'" Hyde said, using his fingers to quote the younger man, "I don't know who you think you are, but-"

"Gordon?" Jackie's voice suddenly cut off Hyde's, making him flinch and turn to face her.

'Gordon' smiled and wiggled his finger's at Jackie as she beamed and came over to the door, Hyde moving out of her way so she could greet the man. Hyde watched as Jackie wrapped his arms around him and said, "Oh my God, it's good to see you. How've you been?"

They pulled away from each other and Gordon smiled, "Pretty good, I just got out of prison three days ago."

Jackie rolled her eyes at his term for the mental hospital, but she still smiled, "Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Gordon smiled at her as he looked past Jackie at Hyde, almost nervously.

Jackie looked back at Hyde when she noticed the awkward tension in the air and then she smiled and said, "Oh, Steven, this is Gordon. He was Eric's roommate back at the hospital. He was one of my best friend's there, I credit him with getting me through the day some days."

"Please Jackie, you're embarrassing me," Gordon said sarcastically, making Jackie smack him gently on the arm.

"Nice to meet you," Hyde said, though he didn't seem enthusiastic about this guy. Not at all, but he still said, "Sorry for being so defensive. I'm kind of cautious with people these days."

Gordon just shrugged it off and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, "Eh, it's no big deal. I understand," Hyde nodded curtly as Gordon looked back to Jackie, "Speaking of Eric, where is he? You guys still hang out?"

Jackie smiled, "As a matter of fact, we do. We actually live here together."

"Hot," Gordon joked, and Jackie smacked him again, just like she used to back at the hospital when he'd say something stupid. Gordon just chuckled and said, "Well, can we go and see him? I haven't seen him in forever."

"Of course. Come on in," Jackie said, and Hyde moved out of there way to let them in.

He watched as they went into his apartment, keeping his eyes on Gordon. The kid was weird, he didn't like him. There was something off about him, he just didn't know what. He ignored his ill feeling towards the snarky young man for the sake of his two friends and he closed the door, locking it back up.

He stepped over to where the two had stopped in the beginning of the hallway, looking towards the door at the end of the hall. Hyde didn't want to intrude on their little conversation, so he stepped into the kitchen, but he could still hear them from where he was.

"How's he holding up after the trial and everything? Has he been doing okay?" He heard Gordon ask Jackie, his tone serious now.

Jackie nodded, "He had some anxiety problems at first and he still does, and he's had some nightmares, but... He's been doing a lot better, actually. He's got a niece now, and he absolutely adores her."

Gordon smiled, "Oh, well that's great."

Jackie nodded and smiled, "Yeah, he's doing pretty good, actually."

"Good," Gordon said, looking towards the door again, "Well, I guess I should go make my grand entry."

Jackie giggled and rolled her eyes again, "Well, come on then."

The two friends went down the hall to Eric's bedroom door and Jackie knocked quickly and then she heard a, "Come in," So she opened the door and saw Eric sitting on his bed, putting a new tape in his Walkman. He looked up at her and smiled, "Hey Jackie, did you see what Laurie gave me?"

Jackie shook her head and kept that warm smile on her face, "No, what'd she give you?"

"She gave me the new Styx album, it sounds great on this thing," Eric said with a wide smile. Jackie smiled at him, but she rolled her eyes at his taste in music.

"Well, guess what?" Jackie asked giddily.

"What?" Eric asked, gazing up at Jackie curiously.

"There's somebody here to see you," Jackie said with excitement.

"To see me?" Eric asked, furrowing his brow in curiosity now, "Who?"

"Maybe you should get up and find out?" Jackie suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

Eric, who's brow was still furrowed, took the headphones off his ears and set them down on his bed before he stood and came over to the door where Jackie was. She was smiling excitedly, which made him smile a little bit, then he peered out the door and saw Gordon standing there with a smile on his face as well.

Eric beamed then and said, "Gordon!"

Gordon and Eric hugged and Jackie stood back and let them reunite. They pulled apart a moment later and Gordon asked, "Hey man, how're you doing?"

Eric smiled, "I'm good. What about you?"

"I'm out of the hospital, so fantastic," Gordon replied.

Eric chuckled at that, as did Jackie. Jackie then mentioned, "You got a haircut."

Gordon self-consciously ran a hand through his hair then, "Yeah, I thought I needed one."

"You think," Jackie said, thinking back to Gordon's long hair back a few months ago, "It looks good."

"Thanks," Gordon smiled, then he looked down at his watch, "You guys want to get out of here? Go out to eat or something?"

Jackie looked at Eric and then said, "We'd love to, but... Steven's a bit strict. He doesn't like us going out alone."

"Really?" Gordon scoffed, "What is he, your mother?"

Jackie rolled her eyes again and smirked, "No, he's just protective, is all."

"You think?" Gordon asked, looking over his shoulder and down the hall, "I thought he was going to scalp me at the door."

"That's just Steven, you'll get used to him," Jackie said, shrugging, "I'll go ask him about going out, but he'll probably end up coming with us."

Gordon shrugged, "Fine by me, as long he keeps his hands to himself."

"I'll make sure to tell him," Jackie said sarcastically before she left the room to go and ask Hyde about going out.

Gordon looked back to Eric and asked, "So, really, how've you been?"
0-0-0-0-0
An hour later the group were out eating at an Italian restaurant downtown. It had pretty good food, it had to since everybody ate every scrap on their plate. Eric, Jackie, and Gordon all caught up on everything. Eric told Gordon about his niece, Jackie told him about her progress with her mother, and Gordon told them all about how he's been doing without them.

"So, is Josie still in there?" Jackie finally asked.

Gordon frowned and nodded, "Yeah... She's not doing so hot. She's been real paranoid lately, I think that schizophrenia's getting worse."

Jackie and Eric both frowned at that, "Well... I hope she gets better some day so she can get the hell out of there," Jackie said.

"Yeah, me too," Eric said, "She was always real nice."

"Yeah, fuck all this mental illness bullshit," Gordon said loudly, making Jackie send him a scolding glare.

"Gordon, would you lower your voice? People are staring," Jackie told him.

"Let 'em stare," Gordon said, not seeming bothered, "They should all have the same opinion. Let mental illness be fucked."

Hyde sighed irritably and shook his head before he said, "Alright, trust exercise. I've got to go to the bathroom. Stay right here, I'll be right back."

Hyde then stood and went off to the restroom, just wanting to get away from Gordon. Gordon watched after Hyde as he disappeared into the bathroom, then he said, "Trust exercise? Jesus, am I still in the hospital?"

Eric rolled his eyes, "Gordon, would you lay off the guy?"

"Why? He acts like your guys' mother," Gordon said in annoyance.

"Well, you have to remember, Gordon. Me and Eric did try and kill ourselves," Jackie reminded the boy, "We're not like you. We had-"

"What? Serious problems?" Gordon scoffed.

Jackie shook her head, "That's not what I meant."

"Whatever," Gordon said, looking out the window.

Eric and Jackie shared a concerned look and then looked back at Gordon, Eric asking, "Are you okay?"

He looked back at Eric with a sharp gaze, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Eric shrugged, avoiding eye contact now, a bit nervous, "Well, because... You've been kind of snappy tonight."

Gordon shook his head, "I'm fine, Eric."

Jackie gazed at him curiously, "Gordon, have you been taking your meds?"

"Yes," Gordon snapped almost instantly.

Jackie watched him carefully. He was very jittery tonight, and he always was, but this was different. Jackie didn't know that much about bipolar disorder, so she didn't really know for sure if these were symptoms at first, but the way he reacted to her asking if he's been taking his meds made her think he was lying to her. This irritability was a symptom of his disorder.

"Gordon, you need to calm down," Jackie said, noticing his leg bouncing up and down and how he kept sporadically scratching at his head.

"I am calm," Gordon said, looking around the restaurant anxiously.

Jackie looked over at Eric nervously, and he looked just as nervous as she was. They both looked back to Gordon, trying to get him to notice their concern for him.

"You want to step outside?" Jackie asked Gordon after a moment and he finally looked at her with annoyance in his eyes, but there was something else there. Pleading.

"Sure," He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Jackie and Eric looked at each other and thank God Hyde came back out at that moment, he was about to sit back down when Jackie looked at him and said, "We need to get out of here."

Hyde looked down at her curiously, "Why?"

"Just trust me, we do," Jackie said to him, and he looked into her eyes and knew she was trying to tell him something. Hyde looked over at Eric, and he seemed nervous and he was looking at Gordon. Hyde looked over at their friend who he decided he didn't like right from the beginning and he saw how anxious and fidgety the boy seemed.

Hyde sighed and nodded, "I'll go pay the bill."

Hyde quickly paid the bill and came back to the table, the three of them there already standing and ready to go. They left the restaurant briskly, and as soon as they were outside on the street corner, Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes, quickly pulling a cigarette out and lighting it quickly.

The three others watched him nervously as he shakily shoved the pack and lighter back into his pocket and take a puff from his cigarette. Hyde looked at Jackie and Eric in a confused way. He didn't know anything about this kid, so he didn't really know what was going on with him. All he knew was that as the day went on he got more irritable and everyone around him had started to get annoyed.

"Gordon," Jackie quietly said, making him look over to her, "Are you alright?"

"Haven't you already asked me that?" Gordon asked, looking at her with a look of annoyance and slight anger.

Jackie looked at Eric and then at Hyde before she said, "You just seem a bit on edge."

"I'm fine, I told you," Gordon said, breaking eye contact again and taking another puff of his cigarette.

Hyde was annoyed with the guy at this point, but his snappy attitude towards Jackie sent him over the edge. Hyde grabbed Gordon by the shoulder and forced him to look up at him, "Alright kid, I've had enough of you bullshit. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, I'm fine. Weren't you listening?" Gordon snapped, shrugging out of Hyde's grip on his shoulder.

"You're starting to piss me off, you know that?" Hyde asked.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Gordon remarked sarcastically.

"Alright, that's it-" But Jackie cut him off.

"Gordon, what's wrong?" She asked her friend, and for some reason that seemed to send him over the edge.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong!" Gordon snapped, glaring at all three of them, "I was in a hospital for a year and a half and nobody ever came to visit me! Not my friends, my sisters, not even my fucking parents! After I was diagnosed as bipolar, it's like everybody just abandoned me! No one wants to be around a kid who's jumping off the walls 24/7! And not to mention the pills! Their are so many pills! He can't take this one, it makes him cry himself to sleep! He can't take this one, it makes him flip tables! That one makes him sad, this one makes him anxious! Pill after pill after pill! They make me sick, I took so many! And all my friends left me! Eric had to leave because of what happened and you had to go off and help him! Josie's ten miles away and losing her god damn mind! Everybody else either got better or killed themselves! I had to get out of there, man, I just had to! I was going insane in there! It was just-"

Then Gordon just screamed. He threw his cigarette down onto the ground, not bothering with stomping it out and they all watched him kick over a trash bin on the curb. There were people gathering now, watching as he had a breakdown. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. This was a manic episode he was having, but it wasn't like his other ones. From what he explained to Jackie the day she arrived at the hospital, his episodes were never out of anger, he always just had manic highs and he said they made him feel happy. But this was different, this was full of rage and sadness.

Jackie felt the tears in her eyes as she watched her friend throw trash out onto the street. He tore paper, kicked cans, he broke a glass bottle, making shards fly everywhere and making the people around them cry out in fright.

"I'm going to go and call 911," A woman said, and it made Jackie turn to her in alarm.

"No, don't!" Jackie pleaded, grabbing the woman's arm, "Please don't, I got this. I'll calm him down and we'll take him home, just please... Don't call 911. He's fine."

"He doesn't look fine," The woman said, giving the manic boy an almost disgusted look, "What's wrong with him?"

Jackie then glared at the woman, feeling a pang of anger inside of her, "There is nothing wrong with him."

Then Jackie turned away from the woman, releasing her arm as she looked over at her friends. They had to calm Gordon down somehow, Jackie couldn't do it by herself. Hyde sighed and looked down at the anxious girl, "I've got him."

Hyde then approached Gordon as he threw the glass bottle into the vacant street, making the people around them cry out again as Gordon yelled out, "God dammit!"

Hyde walked up to him and grabbed his arm, not being gentle about it. He had to calm down Gordon now, and if he had to do it by force he would. Gordon spun around and tried yanking his arm out of Hyde's grip, but Hyde refused to let go, "Let go of me, you bastard!"

"Calm down, kid!" Hyde ordered, struggling with the wiry boy, "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Let me go!" Gordon cried, still struggling against Hyde who easily had six inches and thirty pounds on him.

"Calm down," Hyde said, calmer this time, "You're okay. Calm down."

Gordon struggled still, but he was starting to give in, knowing it was no use. He never had in luck when it came to fighting, he was more of 'all talk, no action' kind of guy.

"God dammit..." Gordon said quieter now, finally giving up, "I hate you. I fucking hate you."

"Yeah, the feelings mutual," Hyde said, but he was surprised then when Gordon started crying.

Hyde didn't know what to do, he was never good with emotional type stuff. Gordon bowed his head and let it rest on Hyde's chest, and now Hyde really didn't know what to do. Just pretend it's Eric, he told himself. But this wasn't Eric, it was some random kid he just met. This kid was annoying and loud, foul mouthed and rude. He sounded like Kitty when he thought stuff like that, but this kid was those things.

Hyde looked to Jackie and Eric for help, and they quickly approached him. Jackie grabbed Gordon's shoulder and gently pulled him away from Hyde, making him look at her.

"Gordon?" Jackie said quietly, looking at him with concern.

"Don't send me back there," Gordon sniffled, shaking his head, "I don't want to go back there."

Jackie shook her head, "You're not going back there, never again. I promise you."

Gordon sniffled again and tried to stop crying, but it was too hard. Jackie squeezed his shoulder supportively, trying to calm him down, "Are you okay?"

Gordon was silent for a moment, but then he shook his head, "No."

Then he was crying again and Jackie wrapped him up in a hug. The people around them had gotten quiet now and just watched the scene unfold. Eric was watching on with sad eyes, feeling bad for his friend. Gordon was always the one to make him and Jackie feel better at the hospital, he was the light in the darkness, the one you could always count on to make things right. Looks like he had his demons, too. Hyde watched Jackie hold her friend with care and affection. He didn't realize how much this kid really meant to the two, he thought he was just some guy they befriended at the hospital and that was all, but they seemed pretty close.

Hyde didn't like the guy, but his friends really wanted him, too. Maybe Hyde could get to know him, maybe he'd warm to him. It looks like he's got some problems, and Hyde's used to dealing with those. His two roommates have some pretty big ones and he's helped them through a lot. Hyde didn't like it, but he couldn't let this kid be alone. He just destroyed the corner in under three minutes.

Hyde sighed, "Come on, guys. Let's get him home."

Gordon shook his head, "I don't want to go home. Ever since I got home, it's been awkward. Everybody there thinks I'm a freak."

"We're not taking you to your home, kid," Hyde started with a small smile that was partially forced, "We're taking you to ours."

Gordon looked up at Hyde with surprise, "Really?"

Hyde nodded, "Yeah, now come on, don't get all sappy on me, let's go."

"I don't get sappy," Gordon defended a moment later.

"Shut up," Hyde said, but it didn't sound rude, "Just get in the car."

Gordon smiled and nodded, sniffling and wiping his face of tears, "Thanks."

Hyde didn't say anything, he just motioned for him to get in the car. Gordon got into the passenger seat of Hyde's car and Jackie and Eric looked over at Hyde with surprise.

"You're going to let him stay with us?" Eric asked.

"Only for a little while. Just until he gets better," Hyde said, "After that, he's out."

Jackie smiled, almost in a teasing way, "Aw... You like him."

"No, I hate him. He's a jackass," Hyde said in annoyance, his face showing a grimace.

"There's a soft spot for him in that black heart of yours," Jackie teased, "You've always had sympathy for guys like him."

"Guys like him?" Hyde questioned.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. Guys who need help. That's why you're helping me and Eric."

"I'm helping you and Eric because I care about you," Hyde snapped in defense.

"Then why are you helping Gordon?" Jackie asked, and when Hyde didn't answer Jackie smiled and said, "Told you so."

"Get in the car. Both of you," Hyde ordered, opening the back door for them to slide in.

Eric and Jackie snickered before they got into the car and closed the door. Hyde sighed and ran a hand down his face before he turned and looked down at the boy in the passenger seat. Gordon had his head bowed and he was still sniffling, his hands were fiddling with the hem of his red leather jacket, his brown hair was hanging in front of his bright eyes that still looked watery.

Hyde sighed again as he looked at the sight of the broken young man. Hyde hated that soft spot in his heart.

He hated it with a passion.

A/N - Hyde subplot. *wink wink*