Title: Say you love me.
Disclaimer: I do not own that 70's show or any recognizable references. This goes for the whole story.
Rating: T for now, if it changes there will be a warning at the beginning of the chapter.
Summary: It has been six years since they all had sat in the same room together. No one thought that the next time they would all see each other would be in a hospital waiting room. When an old friend almost doesn't make it, can they forgive and forget?
Pairings: Jackie and Hyde, Donna and Eric, possible subplots for Kelso or Fez.
Chapter One...
Point Place, Wisconsin
Point Place Hospital
December 1st, 1983
1:24 A.M.
The waiting room was dead silent. No one dared speak as thick tension melted in the air. Eric Forman paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair that was now almost sticking straight up. Phones ringing could be heard in the distance and doctors being paged from room to room. Kitty and Red were sitting together, Red nervously flipping through a newspaper and Kitty eying it over his shoulder. On the other side of Kitty was Hyde who sat still. His glasses were pulled over his eyes and no trace of emotion could be found on his face. Next to Hyde was Jackie who was tapping her boot against the ground anxiously. Then there was Kelso and Fez. Kelso was counting the tiles on the ceiling for the 5th time and Fez kept popping candy into his mouth.
"Eric Forman?" a man in his mid 40's walked into the waiting room. He had dark brown hair with slight gray fading at the front.
"Yes?" Eric looked up immediately to the doctor.
"Donna is going to be okay" he spoke as the whole room practically let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank god" Eric breathed as a smile formed on his face as he let the doctor speak again.
"As you know there were complications during labor," the doctor spoke as he went on to explain the procedures they used. The whole room was listening intently.
"but she is okay, right?" Eric asked, he had dark bags under his eyes from worry and lack of sleep.
"She is going to be just fine, Mr. Forman, don't worry. You'll be able to go see her and your baby boy when she wakes up, although we're sorry to say that only immediate family can visit her due to the present situation" he explained.
"Thank you, Doctor" Eric nodded his head. When the doctor walked back into the other room he flopped down on the closest chair.
"Thank god she's alright" Kitty sighed as she looked across the room to her son.
"Tell me about it" Eric closed his eyes heavily for a moment.
"If that doctor waited any longer to tell us what was going on I'm telling you I would have given him a swift kick in the-"
"Red!" Kitty spoke cutting off her husband who set the newspaper down.
"So, Eric. A baby boy! Congratulations!" Jackie spoke up after a few moments, trying her best to lighten the solemn mood.
"Yeah buddy, Congrats" Hyde smiled at his childhood friend.
"What are you going to name him?" Kelso asked excitedly.
"Not Kelso, I hope" Fez said earning a few chuckles from around the room.
"Donna and I agreed on Christopher for a boy" Eric smiled at his friends who smiled at him from across the room.
"I can't believe I'm a grandmother!" Kitty spoke up, clapping her hands together.
"Since you guys aren't allowed to be in the room if you wanted you can go home, I mean, there is no use sitting around in a waiting room all night. I'll call you as soon as we are coming home so you can meet the baby" Eric explained, letting out a yawn.
"Eric we can stay if-" Jackie began to say.
Eric cut her off, "really, it's okay" he smiled sincerely.
They said their goodbyes and congratulations as they dispersed for the night. After they left, Midge and Bob ran in.
"Eric! Is Donna okay? I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner we drove as fast as we could!" Midge began to explain as she went to give her son-in-law a hug.
"She's fine Mrs.- mom. We can go see her when she wakes up" Eric explained as he went on to talk to Bob and Midge explaining what happened, Kitty and Red chiming in with unspoken details.
Outside, snow was coming down heavier with the passing time as Kelso, Fez, and Jackie fallowed Hyde to his car. They had all met at the Foreman's prior that day before figuring out exactly where they were going to be.
Jackie slid into the front of the car as Hyde started the engine. Fez and Kelso hopped into the back seat as they pulled out of the parking lot, going slowly across the ice.
The drive home was quiet for the most part, awkward silence filling the car as faint Zeppelin was playing in the background.
"I'm glad Donna's okay" Kelso broke the silence that had been eating him.
"We all are" Jackie concurred, gazing out the window, lost in thought.
Hyde's hands clutched the wheel so his knuckles were turning a faint shade of white. Jackie went to turn on the heat before he spoke up.
"It's shot"
"Oh" Jackie quickly pulled her hand away and stuffed it back into her lap, trying to keep herself warm.
"There should be a blanket in the back" Hyde said squinting to see through the snow.
"I'm fine" Jackie said. No one quite knew what to say, it had been so long that conversation didn't quite fall into place like it used to.
"A blanket? Where?" Fez started to look around the back seat before he pulled out a knit tan and brown blanket that Kitty had made for Hyde years ago.
"Hey! Why do you get the blanket?" Kelso protested. Maybe conversation wasn't so hard to find.
After a little while longer of the awkward ride they pulled into the Forman's familiar driveway. They walked downstairs to the basement like they had so many times before. With a few tense goodnights they all found a place to sleep.
Jackie sprawled out on the couch as Fez took the recliner, Hyde walked into the small room he used to call his own and found that the cot was still in place, and Kelso wound up sleeping on the couch in the upstairs living room.
Snow kept falling outside. Fez was snoring on the recliner as Kelso was just falling asleep upstairs. Jackie's eyes were fixated on the clock that was tormenting her. So much had changed over the years, yet it was all still the same. Thoughts clogged her mind as she tried to force herself to sleep, saving dealing with the issues that had remained pushed aside for years in the morning. Hyde looked around the crowded room, most of the Christmas decorations had moved to the upstairs of the house. He stopped to think for a moment before he stood up and walked over to the large pile of boxes. He dug behind most of them before he found what he was looking for, an old wooden box that hadn't been touched in years.
Who knew what the morning would bring.
A.N.
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! Yes, It was a little uneventful and a little dry but I promise it will get better. It had to be in there before I could put in all the good stuff. :)