Hi! This is my first ever fanfic, inspired by the song When You Were Young, by the Killers. Hope you enjoy!

I have zero ownership. No T7S, no Killers, no nothin. Even my muse doesn't listen to me.

And sometimes you close your eyes

And see the place where you used to live

When you were young…

January 1991

Jackie closed her eyes and sighed. When she left Point Place over a decade ago, she swore she'd never come back. That town held nothing for her but bitter memories, and she was done remembering.

You sit there in your heartache

Waiting on some beautiful boy to

To save you from your old ways

"Now approaching Kenosha Metro Station. Please remain seated until the train comes to a complete stop. We hope you enjoyed your ride today, and will come back and see us at Metro."

When she got the phone call from the hospital in Point Place telling her that her mother had been in a car accident and was in critical care, she almost hung up the phone. When she left her old life behind, she also left behind everyone that was a part of that life. That included her apathetic and often clueless parents. She had told no one where she was going, nor had she contacted anyone she left since then. Jackie wasn't sure how the hospital had found her contact information, but she thought she had a pretty good idea. Pamela must have asked her lawyer to find her, though not because she cared. No, Pam would want to know what Jackie was up to, and make sure she wasn't trying to convince her father, still in prison, to give her control of his estate. Though near ruin when she left, some of his stocks had gone up, way up, once again making Jack worth millions, and it's no wonder her mom thought she might try for it. It's what Pam would certainly have done in Jackie's position.

Not that Jackie had any interest in his estate. For all she cared, her mom could keep the damn money. Jackie was finally her own woman, and she didn't want anything to do with a single penny she hadn't earned herself.

She had to smile at the memory of the girl she used to be. Who would have thought that Jacqueline Burkhart, spoiled princess of Point Place, who honestly felt she was entitled to anything and everything she wanted, would one day refuse to be taken care of by someone else? But Jackie knew, now as she knew then, that taking money from her parents also meant giving up her freedom to live her life however she chose.

She always knew her father thought of her as a pet to be spoiled and shown off, and not as a thinking, feeling human being. She also knew that the second she hit puberty her mother stopped seeing her daughter, and started seeing competition for Jack Burkhart's attention. Not an entirely rational thought, but alcoholic sluts like her mom were rarely rational. She suspected that was why her mother made it a primary goal to get Jackie married off as soon as possible, and spun fairy tales of castles and a Prince Charming who would carry her off into the sunset to pamper her for the rest of her life. All Jackie had to do was be the princess he was looking for, and sooner or later he'd find her and she would live happily ever after.

Jackie had been an impressionable child, and took her mother's advice to heart. She became the pretty, brainless doll her parents wanted her to be, totally devoid of independent spirit. For a long time it was all she knew how to be. Until he came into her life…

Abruptly she wrenched her wandering mind back into the present. No, not yet, she wasn't quite ready to revisit THAT particular set of memories. As the train slowly halted, she gathered up her purse and small suitcase, and stepped on to the platform. She wove her way through the crowd in her high heeled boots, and quickly hailed a relatively clean cab. The cab smelled like cigarette ash and cheap freshener, but it was a lot better than some of the cabs she had ridden in San Francisco. She gave the driver directions and settled back into her original line of thought.
She wouldn't stay long; she'd wait just long enough to see if her mother would live or die. She supposed she would have to stay a bit longer if the latter occurred, arrangements would have to be made for the body to be buried, and an obituary would have to be sent out. The thought was a bit macabre, but damn it, Jackie did NOT want to be here, of all places, after New Year, of all times. She was terrified that the memories that threatened to flood her brain would overwhelm her completely and cause all her careful control to crumble.

Against her will she felt her treacherous neck turn her head toward the smudged window, and her eyes cautiously raised themselves up and focused on the world she had left behind so long ago speeding outside her temporary sanctuary.

Like her, Point Place had changed, grown with time into something barely recognizable. The buildings had become taller, and more numerous, while the trees were shorter and fewer. Even the kids hanging out on the street corners were somehow older, their eyes more jaded.

The cab let her out in front of the hospital; she paid the driver and asked him to come back in an hour or so and take her to her hotel. She looked at the building in front of her, took a deep breath, and resolutely walked inside. She took the elevator to the intensive care unit, and approached the receptionist.

"Pamela Burkhart's room please."

"Pamela Burkhart…I'm sorry, but I'll have to page her doctor before you can go in and see her. You would be her…?"

She sighed impatiently. "I'm her daughter. I was called and asked to come here by a Dr. Rothstein."

The receptionist looked at her strangely, and did a double take.

"Oh my god… Jackie? You're Jackie Burkhart?"

"Beg your pardon, have we met?" Jackie didn't think so. She didn't recognize the rather dumpy, middle aged woman that was looking at her like she was some long lost sister.

"Jackie, it's me! I'm Pam! Don't you remember? Pam Macy? Well, Pam Kelso, now."

She certainly did remember Pam Macy, although she was still having a hard time seeing her inside this completely different person. The Pam Macy she remembered was a sparkling blonde with a great figure, even if she did use it for her own slutty ends. This person had dull mousy hair, crows feet from too much tanning, and could stand to lose about thirty pounds. Jackie had to fight not to snicker. Huh, I never knew she was a bottle blonde.

She kept her snide thoughts to herself, and instead smiled politely.

"Oh, wow, Pam! Hi! Did you say Kelso? When did you and Michael-"

"No no, not Michael! God, could you imagine Michael and me… that was over in what? High school? No, I married Casey."

"Oh… Well, congratulations! When did you get hitched?"

"Gosh, it's been about five years now. He's working over at the Point Place Pre-owned Dealership now. We're doing quite well," she bragged, almost defensively.

"That's great, Pam," said Jackie, smiling. If ever there was a born used car salesman, it was Casey Kelso.

"I'm so sorry about your mom, though. The doctor should be here any minute," Pam was back to being professional, and Jackie was just as glad to drop the false nostalgia.

She soon saw the doctor, a short, bespectacled man with a somber face, emerge from one of the many closed doors in the hallway, and swiftly approach her.

"Miss Burkhart, I presume?" He gave her hand a brisk shake as she replied.

"Yes. Are you Dr. Rothstein?"

"That's me. If you'll follow me, we can discuss your mother's case."

As he led her down the hall, he filled her in on the details of her mother's condition. Pamela had been drinking heavily, and smashed her car into a street light. She had suffered a major head trauma, and had been in a coma for the last six days. It had taken Jackie three days to arrange for time off her job and travel to Wisconsin.

"Why wasn't I called sooner?" she asked indignantly.

"We did not receive your contact information right away. We first tried calling Mr. Burkhart, who was… indisposed."

"You mean in prison."

He coughed in embarrassment. "Ahem, yes. Then we called your mother's insurance agent, who got us in touch with her lawyer, who was able to give us you phone number."

"I see…" Jackie was quiet for a moment, then asked, "What are her chances of recovery, doctor?"

"Well, her condition is stable, but I must be honest with you, Miss Burkhart. Right now, your mother has about a thirty percent chance of fully recovering, and that percentage goes down more each day she remains comatose. Even if she wakes up, there is a good chance that she will sustain some brain damage."

Looking at Jackie's horrified face, he quickly said, "I'm very sorry, Miss Burkhart. Would you like to see her?"

Jackie really didn't want to see her mother in that state, even if she was a manipulative bitch, but she couldn't very well say no when the poor doctor had tried so hard to be gentle, and was letting her in after visiting hours. Numbly she allowed him to lead her to Pam's private room, and then nodded when he quietly excused himself. She stared at the pale woman on the cot without really registering the fact that it was her mother hooked up to all those machines. Finally she forced herself to focus on something else. She looked at the nurse who was checking the IV. When the nurse turned around, Jackie gasped.

"Mrs. Forman?"

Kitty Forman barely recognized Jackie. The soft, delicate child she fed cookies to in her kitchen had changed into a strong, graceful woman gazing wordlessly back at her. Her hair was cut into a trendy, sleek asymmetrical style, which somehow sharpened her features, and made her look less fragile. The sweet unicorn tee shirt and swirly, flowing skirt had been replaced with an impeccably tailored, close cut pantsuit and sharp stiletto boots. Even the way she moved was different. The dramatic flouncing and cheerful skipping was gone, replaced with the artless grace and economy of movement of a crane, or a cat. There was something else, some sense of self possession that was quite different from the self-centered attitude of years ago. The teenaged Jackie Burkhart might have wanted everyone to notice her beauty, but the adult standing in front of her dared anyone to mess with her.

"Well, Jackie! How wonderful to see you again! Though I wish it were under different circumstances; I'm so sorry about your mother, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mrs. Forman. It's good to see you, too." Jackie smiled, and held out her hand. Mrs. Forman waved the hand away and embraced Jackie in a warm hug. Jackie tensed for a moment, and then hugged the motherly woman back.

It was then that Kitty noticed the suitcase by the door. "Jackie, hon, did you just get in?"

"Oh, um, yes, actually, I was just going to check into a hotel after I met with Dr. Rothstein," she said, a bit distractedly. She was looking at Pamela again.

"A hotel? Well, you can just forget about that, missy!" Mrs. Forman laughed delightedly. "You're staying with us! Oh, I'll just bet Red will be so excited to see you again; you know you were always his favorite-"

Jackie whipped her head back towards the happily chattering woman in alarm. "Um, Mrs. Forman, there's really no need-"

Too late. Kitty had someone else to feed again, and she wasn't about to let her go.

"Oh, and you can visit Eric and Donna, they live across town now, and maybe while you're here, they might decide to come over for dinner every once in a while!"

Jackie detected an edge of bitterness at that statement, but decided to keep her mouth shut. There was no escape for her now, so there was no reason to put her (apparent) hostess in a bad mood.

"And we can invite Steven over while we're at it!" Jackie blanched at the name, but Kitty didn't notice. "He hasn't been over in a while; it's really been too long for everyone. Oh, this is so wonderful, like a big family reunion! Oh, Jackie, it's so good to have you back!" She threw her arms around the bewildered woman again. "Welcome home!"

Welcome home, indeed.

Well, what did you think? Should I continue the story? I welcome constructive criticism, so if you took the time to review, I'd be uber grateful! Cheers!