Title: The Ties That Bind
Type: That '70s Show Fan Fiction
Rating: PG-13 (Sex, Drugs, Language)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of That '70s Show. I do own all my original characters and this story, though. Don't take.
Summary: After years apart, the gang finds themselves connected once again in the '90s.

Writer's Note: I haven't seen a lot of recent episodes of That '70s Show, but basically, this story takes place as if Eric did not go to Africa. Instead, he left to find himself. The rest is easy to pick up on.

ALSO: This story is a bit adult, but not graphic enough to fit into the M category. Be warned that it contains depitions of sex, drugs, language, and possible violence. The rating may be upped, but I'll warn you before that.

Prologue

Summer 1984

The moment they told me that my mother was dead, it felt like a pin pricked me and let all the helium slowly fade as I fell to the floor. I knew I'd have to go back. Most twenty-four year olds know why they left home when they did and what they were going to do with the rest of their lives, but I'm not one of them. In fact, I'd never been more clueless in my entire existence.

I'd left Point Place five years ago to try and "find myself". I was fed up with everything in my life, especially my parents and even my friends. It was easier to pack up and not tell anyone where you're going than to continue living an empty life filled with pot and useless jobs. I found that in the real world, it's the same. I honestly hadn't been laid since I'd left. I was twenty-four and jobless when I, Eric Forman, came back to Point Place.

I'd always referred to my mother as Kitty, until she was dead. Suddenly I regretted this and a million other teenage screw ups and heartaches I'd caused her. The funeral was nice; I even saw Red cry. Laurie wasn't there. I figured she was probably strung out on drugs with her current sex partner. She'd have been close to thirty by then, but I doubt she'd changed. I felt like crying when I thought of how me and Laurie must have abandoned Mom. I thought that if she'd have known of some of the other things I'd done, she probably wouldn't have died happy. They said that she was happy. They said it was an accident. Accident my ass. The driver had left town after realizing he'd killed the best wife and mother in Point Place. Hyde told me that the car was totaled. He told me he wouldn't mind if I cried. I didn't. Not then.

I asked Hyde what ever became of the old gang. He told me that everybody had fizzled out after I left. No one had seen Kelso in three years, though Casey still popped up here and there. Donna moved to California to, like me, find herself after I left. He didn't talk very much about her. Fez disappeared. Hyde told me he thinks he moved back to his home country after things got boring. He mentioned Jackie last, and with a bitter tone. He said she floated and they hadn't talked in two years after a brutal breakup. He said he'd caught her hooking a few miles from the city limits. He said she was an emotional mess. He said he didn't care. I wasn't sure at the time if he was saying that because it was true or because he thought saying it out loud would make it a fact.

I didn't say anything, but Hyde didn't look so good. I figured maybe it was sleep deprivation, as I'd had that often and it had a bad effect on my health. He told me I was still the same old Eric and that he was glad of that because everyone around here changed, including him. I thought about it later and realized he was right. I'd cut my hair and gotten wiser, I'd lost my mother, but I was still Eric. Even though I wasn't sure if that was good or bad, I took comfort in the fact that I hadn't changed.

It was after the funeral that Red cornered me and we had the biggest argument we'd ever had. He told me that she worried about me day and night and that despite being happy on the outside, he knew her and that was she was secretly hating herself for screwing me up, even though he swore that it was my own fault. I told him that I wasn't screwed up, that I'd made mistakes just like everyone had. I told him that he wasn't flawless. He told me that he'd never liked me and that he knew I'd royally mess up and that he'd laughed when I did. He told me that he'd never worried, he'd just watched everyone else weather away. He told me that Donna had become an emotional wreck and that he knew by her face that she'd genuinely loved me even if I didn't love her.

I had nothing to say but that I was sorry and that my life wasn't exactly going the way I wanted it to. I told him I was lost and confused, but he didn't let up. He kept pounding my life to the ground, blaming me for her death. He told me that he wished he never had to see me again and that he didn't care what I did. I told him that he wouldn't, that I'd kill myself. He told me I was too chicken and I knew he was right. That's when the tears came. Everything I'd never cried for came to a head in those next few hours.

I left the funeral in a fit of tears and anger and found myself driving randomly around Point Place. It was almost dark and I still hadn't made any headway on whatever I was thinking about when I saw her. In a short jean skirt and small white t-shirt was Jackie Burkhart, my long lost enemy, standing on the side of the road with her thumb out, waiting to hitch a ride. I pulled over and she saw me. She sat in the front seat beside me and memories flooded back. She looked beautiful and terrible at the same time. Her makeup was caked. Her hair was stringy and fell completely straight. We stared at each other in silence for the longest time before she hugged me. I cried on her shoulder for the longest time, and she on mine.

"Forman," She finally spoke out, "Where have you been?"

"I don't know," I replied, "My mom died. I was just at the funeral. Red wouldn't stop yelling at me. I wanted to kill him." I'm sure my tears were soaking her shirt, but for once, I didn't care.

"I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who left, Jackie. I don't know where my head's been these past five years. I'm sorry if it seems like I just disappeared."

"You really worried everyone. Where did you go?"

"Chicago, but I don't want to talk about that. I just missed everyone so much. What have you been doing these past few years?"

"Floating, as Hyde would say. I was a hooker for three months. I sold more cheese. I moved away. I came back. I have no friends. My family hates me. My boyfriend, George, broke up with me."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I."

"Whatever happened to Donna?"

"You can't ask about her. You broke her heart. You have no right to ask about her. She was so broken up after you left. You were her first love. She really loved you, Forman."

"Please call me Eric."

"All she did was mourn and cry over you. She literally hung around the basement at 4am. She laid on the couch, she sat on the floor. She told me how she missed your touch, your kiss, your kind words. Even though I'd never understood her attraction to you, I couldn't see her like that. I bought her a ticket to California. I told her to make something of herself. I haven't heard from her since. I like to think it's better that way. What do you have to say about that, Forman?"

"Please call me Eric."

"Ok, Eric."

"Jackie, I know stuff is screwed up, but please don't blame it on me."

"Even if it's your fault?"

Our first kiss was more selfish than anything. Urgent, yet sweet. We both needed to feel something real and raw. We held each other the whole night. It felt nice. It felt familiar. We woke up the next morning and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. That's when I first realized that I'd changed.

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Please review! I'm pretty proud of this story so far.. so I'd like some opinions. Thanks in advance.