A/N: Hi guys! I'm here with a new story. I hope you like it, and PLEASE REVIEW!! It's early season 8, and Jackie has reached her limits with Hyde and Donna's betrayal. Eric comes back early to find how much things have changed, and he has a hard time dealing with it as well. Will he form an unlikely bond with the tiny brunette, and what will happen with their relationships with Hyde and Donna? Read and find out!! Here is chapter one of The Road to Redemption!!

I wish I owned That 70s Show. That way Jackie and Hyde would have ended up together! Bastards!

Chapter 1: Breaking Away

Betrayal. That was a word Jackie Burkhart had come to know well over her short lifetime. It seemed like everyone she cared most for in the world had betrayed her at one time or another. Her parents abandoned her, Michael cheated on her constantly, and then there was Steven Hyde. Jackie had never given so much of her self to another person. She would have walked through fire for her Steven. The thought of hurting him, even now, was unbearable to her. But it seemed that these feelings were not mutual. Every since Hyde's stripper wife had shown up announcing their marriage, he had been flaunting their "relationship" in Jackie's face, as if to deliberately cause her pain. As if giving to another woman the one thing he refused to give her, wasn't bad enough, she had to watch them together every day and pretend to be fine. Not that anyone would actually worry about her. Donna sure didn't.

As Jackie walked down the familiar sidewalks of Point Place, she thought about Donna. Despite their obvious differences and the fact that Donna was a lumberjack, Jackie had always believed that they were best friends. That Donna might have been the one person to always remain loyal. Now it was clear that this was not the case. Jackie had overheard a revealing conversation the night before. Donna had Sam over for a little slumber party. As if it wasn't bad enough that her so-called best friend decided to become best buddies with her loathed enemy, but she couldn't come up with one reason why she was friends with Jackie. Instead of defending her, Donna laughed at her with the woman who was responsible for ruining her life. Jackie supposed she was wrong in ever thinking that Donna cared about her, or that any of them cared about her for that matter. Jackie stepped into the basement for what she thought might be the last time. She had to break free of this place and all the sorrow that dwell within it. As she took a seat on the couch she heard footsteps on the stairs. She didn't need to look up. She knew those feet.

Hyde eyed Jackie curiously as he took a seat in his chair. "Why are you here? Isn't there some kind of sale at the mall?" he asked condescendingly.

Jackie simply sighed and shook her head. She didn't want to fight with him anymore.

"What? No witty comeback?" He asked smugly.

"Sorry puddin' pop." She spoke sadly.

Puddin' pop? Why the hell is she calling me that now? Hyde thought to himself.

"Ugh don't call me that." He spoke with disdain, but internally, he felt the joy that always came along with her muttering those words.

As Jackie looked at the curly haired man in front of her, she felt her heart shatter all over again. She had lost him forever, and now she was leaving the basement. He'd probably end up spending his life with that whore, having babies and doing all the things with her that he was supposed to be doing with Jackie. Jackie knew that no one could ever or would ever love him the way she loved him, but they could never be together again. She had always liked the tragic love stories like Romeo and Juliet, but she never thought she would be living one.

She laughed sadly "God Steven, how did this happen to us?"

Hyde was baffled. What had gotten into her? He had been treating her like utter crap the past weeks. Now all of a sudden she wanted to dredge up their relationship. As he opened his mouth to speak, Sam came down the basement stairs and sneered at Jackie.

"What are you doing here, midget?" She asked placing her hand on Hyde's shoulder possessively.

Jackie shrugged casually "Just talking to Steven."

"Yeah, well Hyde doesn't want to hear anything you have to say. He's with me now." She spoke haughtily.

"Yeah. He sure met his destiny there." Jackie said sarcastically.

Hyde misinterpreted her words. He took it as Jackie finally saying that he was just like his parents. That he was no good, and didn't deserve anything better than a pseudo marriage to a whore. What Jackie meant was that she, herself was his destiny, and Sam was just a mistake. But that was always their problem, they could not communicate. Hyde pulled Sam onto his lap and kissed her fiercely, eyeing Jackie through his shades the whole time.

Jackie watched the gentility he showed to Sam. It ripped her to shreds, and then Hyde placed the final nail in her coffin.

"I love you baby." He said sweetly to Sam. He didn't mean it in the slightest, but he wanted to hurt Jackie, and he knew that would do the job.

Tears began to flow from Jackie's eyes at the sound of those words from his lips, directed towards another woman. That was it. It was time to leave. Hyde eyed Jackie with a vicious smirk upon his face. She looked deep into his shaded eyes as the tears poured from hers. It broke Hyde's heart to see her cry, but he refused to show it. Jackie stood up and uttered five words before turning her back on the basement and on Hyde.

"I will always love you." and with that she was gone.

For a skinny nerd from Point Place, Wisconsin, Africa was a terrifying place. Eric had spent a few months there, only to realize that teaching was not his destiny. Though he wasn't quite sure what was his true destiny. His first week in the small impoverished village, he discovered a mentor. His mentor came in the form of a wealthy older man, who volunteered for United Nations, named Robert Spaceman. Yes, his actual name was Spaceman. Not even Michael Kelso could have made that up. The older man took Eric under his wing, showing him the ropes of this new exotic place. Eric grew to worship the man and his extensive knowledge of comic books. As Eric sat on the plane heading home, he found himself devastated. Robert Spaceman had passed away from a heart attack a week prior. He had been the one link to sanity for Eric in the insane new world, and he was gone.

The only reason Eric was returning to America early was because of his devotion to Robert. After his death, Eric was contacted by his attorney. The attorney informed him that his presence was required in his offices in Chicago. Apparently there was some paperwork regarding Mr. Spaceman's death that he needed to help with. Eric had grown so close to the man that he felt obligated to do whatever he could to help. Not to mention, he wanted to be there for the funeral. After his plane touched down, Eric gathered his bags and called a cab. He hadn't told his family that he would be returning, and he hadn't told a certain former redhead either. In a fit of depression and self loathing, Eric had written a dear John letter to his love. He thought he was doing the right thing, but with time he was realizing that he was wrong. He thought that if he surprised Donna, maybe she might forgive him and take him back. He could only hope. As Eric entered the basement, he was shocked at the sight before him. On the couch, were two naked people, a blonde woman straddling a man with interesting hair.

"Oh baby you fill me so good!" The woman shouted in ecstasy.

"Oh Donna." Randy groaned.

Eric had no words left, as he watched the only woman he had ever loved being fucked by another man. It had only been a few weeks since he sent the letter, and she was already moving on with her life, as if their relationship meant nothing to her. Not only that, but she was screwing her new boyfriend in his house. What was wrong with this picture?

"Donna…" Eric managed to choke out.

Donna jumped in shock, turning to see her ex-boyfriend. She quickly got off Randy and covered herself up.

"Eric! What are you doing back?" She squeaked.

Eric watched as she and her pretty boy boyfriend awkwardly fumbled around, dressing quickly. His heart had just shattered into a thousand pieces.

"I…uh…It's a long story." was all he could manage to say.

"Oh. Well…this is Randy. Randy this is my ex, Eric." Donna muttered a half ass introduction.

"Uh nice to meet you" Randy spoke uncomfortably.

Eric simply nodded, unable to make eye contact with either one of them.

"So I should let my parents know I'm back." He made his way to the stairs, not before giving one last look to Donna. She could see the pain and sorrow on his face, but she wouldn't allow herself to care. He had left her and broke her heart. He deserved what he got. At least that is what she tried to tell herself.

The next day, Eric woke in his old bed and made his way down to the basement. He wasn't sure how to handle the Donna situation, but the basement had always been home to him, and he had to try to get back to normal. As he descended the stairs, he took in the view of the place that had once been his sanctuary, his refuge away from the madness of the world. In an instant it was clear to him that that place no longer existed. Taking a seat on the deep freeze, he watched as Hyde sat with a tall, rather skanky blonde on his lap, in place of a tiny, annoying brunette. He watched as the love of his life sat next to another man running her hands through his feathered hair, not giving a thought to Eric's presence. Most of all, he felt the incredible emptiness. There was no Michael Kelso, shouting out "Burn!" every five minutes, and there was no loud, piercing, nagging of the one and only Jackie Burkhart.

"Hey so where's Jackie?" He addressed the room.

"Haha the midget? She hasn't been around in weeks. Thank God!" Sam laughed with glee.

Hyde remained silent and stone-faced. Donna laughed at Sam's words.

Eric looked confused "Wait, Donna, have you seen her lately?"

"No, and my life has been nice and quiet." She replied with a smirk.

"But Donna, she's your best friend." Eric spoke confusedly. What had happened in the short amount of time he was gone?

"No I'm Donna's best friend!" Sam spoke haughtily.

Donna smiled "Yeah, all Jackie ever did was bitch about every stupid little thing. It's been kind of nice around here lately."

Eric stood up and eyed his friends with disdain "What do you think, Hyde?"

"I agree. Jackie's gone and we're finally free." He wouldn't admit that his heart was broken over the loss.

Eric shook his head sadly. This place was no longer home. These people were no longer the friends he knew. That chapter was now closed. He smiled sadly as he walked out the door. He made his way to the hub and ordered some food. He then took his food up to the water tower, and was surprised to find someone else there.

"Oh my god! What are you doing here?" Jackie shouted in surprise at the sight of Eric Forman.

"Oh I got back yesterday. It was kind of a surprise." He replied, taking a seat next to her.

She nodded slowly "Oh." She paused nervously "Have you seen Donna?"

"Yeah, I walked in on her having sex with that Randy guy on the basement couch." He spoke sadly.

"Oh Eric, I'm so sorry." She began sobbing and lunged at him.

Eric was taken off guard as he wrapped his arms around the crying girl "Uh it's okay Jackie." He reassured her with confusion.

She pulled away and looked up at him with her huge doe eyes. How had he not noticed they were different colors before?

"No it's not okay. None of this is." She dried her eyes.

"Yeah I saw Hyde's…" He didn't want to say wife. Not just because it would hurt Jackie, but because it was just plain wrong.

She nodded "Yeah, isn't she a gem?" She added sarcastically.

"Yeah, a real class act." He smiled at Jackie.

"Oh yeah, she's a regular Jackie O." Jackie jibed.

Eric wasn't sure why these words crossed his lips, but he meant them "Look Jackie, if anyone was Jackie O. in this scenario, it's you. She's just the Monroe to his idiot Kennedy. You were the first lady. The one with class and grace. Don't forget that."

The honest tone of his voice touched Jackie. "I thought you said I was the Devil?"

He chuckled "Oh I still think you're the devil, just a classy, graceful devil."

Jackie laughed for the first time in months, and it felt really nice.

"Thanks Eric." She smiled up at him.

He smiled back "For what?"

"For cheering me up. The past couple months have been hard for me. I've been all alone."

He nodded "Well, you're welcome, Devil. You want to share my food? There's plenty."

She thought for a moment "Sure. I am kind of hungry. So tell me what happened in Africa. Why'd you come back so early?"

As they ate, Eric told her of Mr. Spaceman's death.

"Oh I'm sorry for your loss." She spoke sincerely.

"Thanks. The funeral is tomorrow in Chicago. I was going to ask Donna to go with me, but…" He trailed off.

"Yeah I know." He didn't have to say anything. She understood his pain.

"I'm kind of nervous to go alone."

"Do you want me to go with you?" She asked with concern.

Eric was thrown by this. He and Jackie had never really been close. "Uh…really? You would come with me?" He asked, surprised.

"Of course!" She replied emphatically.

"Oh. Huh. Well, I'd like that. Thanks."

"What are friends for?" She replied simply.

"So we're friends now?" He asked confusedly.

She laughed bitterly "I think you're the only friend I've got."

Eric pondered this for a moment "You know, I think you might be the only friend I've got too."

It was true. None of the gang had been very warm to him since he arrived back home. It seemed that Jackie was the only one who was genuinely happy to see him. Who would have thought?

"So, the funeral is in the afternoon. I'll pick you up at nine?" He asked.

She smiled "Sure thing."

The next day as they made the drive to Chicago, Eric was surprised at how comfortable he was with Jackie. They hadn't said much, but it was a nice silence, an easy, relaxed one.

"So what have you been doing the past couple months?" He asked her curiously.

"I've been working as a secretary in an interior design company and taking design classes at the community college." She answered casually.

Eric was taken off guard "Wow. Really? That's great!"

She smiled widely "Really? You think so?" He was the first person she had told, and she was glad to have the support.

"Yeah I do. I think it's awesome." He said sincerely.

The rest of the drive was completely pleasant. At the church, Eric and Jackie took their seats as the funeral began. The priest spoke of Mr. Spaceman, and a few friends and associates of his gave eulogies. The words were beginning to get to Eric. He hung his head low and could feel the tears in the back of his eyes. Just then he felt a small hand on his, tiny fingers entwined with his own. He looked over at Jackie. She had tears in her eyes and a small, sad smile on her face. Eric was surprised at his shudder at the contact between them, and the tingly feeling in his chest as he looked into her eyes. What was that about?

After the funeral, Eric and Jackie made their way to the Vista Cruiser to head to Brooke and Kelso's house, where they planned to stay the night. As they walked to the car, Jackie never let go of his hand. Neither one of them understood the bond that was forming between them, but they knew it was definitely something.

To be continued….

A/N: Okay, never fear, I am an avid Zennie!! I do love good angst though, and I think this story will be riddled with it! I hope you like it so far. Please review!!