Hey! Sorry I haven't updated any of my other fan fics! I promise I'll get to them soon, but this story has been bugging me for way too long. I have to get it out. I mean, That '70s Show and Gilmore Girls together makes total sense in my head. There are so many parallels. And honestly, even if no one likes this story, I'm still going to write it because I like it. I took some liberties with the timing. I know Rory was born in 1984-5, but I'm changing that to winter of 1979 for my own purposes, which means Lorelei was born in 1963. She's three years younger than Jackie in this fic. Mia never owned the Independence Inn. Mostly everything else is the same. Hope you guys like it! Reviews are always appreciated! Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or That '70s Show. That would be way too much awesomeness for one person to possess.
Point Place, WI- Jan. 1, 1980- 9:00 AM
Jackie Burkhart woke up on New Years Day with a pounding headache and a deep sense of disappointment. Disappointment over her relationship with Fez and just the general direction of her life. He tiny brunette didn't know what had happened to her. She used to have plans, goals, a purpose. She used to be that ambitious cheerleader who did her homework on Saturday nights. Then Steven Hyde came along and made her only desire be him. And then, once he had her heart, the bastard ran off like a coward and married a stripper. Now Jackie was stuck. Her purpose was gone. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she had to do something soon. The former cheerleader was drowning the small town she had grown up in.
And that was the moment when Jackie realized what her New Years resolution was. Every year, she picked something stupid she never did like giving out more compliments or losing five pounds. But not this year. She was going to move on with her life and show those so-called friends of hers what she could do. Jackie was sick of being the group's spoiled, shallow princess. She could be more than that. Hell, she had proved she was more than that. The once rich girl was ready to take care of herself for once.
The first part of Jackie's resolution was to break up with Fez. She knew in her heart that she didn't really love Fez, and it was wrong to lead the poor guy on. If she was being completely honest with herself, the loud midget would admit that she was still in love with Steven. Despite that fact, Jackie had no desire to get back together with the curly-haired delinquent at the moment. She was tired of being the girl who was always in a relationship. For once, Jackie wanted to be alone.
Which was why, after taking a long, steamy shower and getting dressed, the dark-haired devil made her way to the kitchen. Fez was sitting at the table, happily munching on a piece of toast. "Good morning, my goddess," he greeted in between bites. She grimaced at the half-chewed food in his mouth.
Jackie hesitated. "Fez, I need to talk to you…" she started saying, trying to let him down easy.
"You're breaking up with me," he guessed calmly without batting an eyelash. Jackie looked at him in surprise.
"How'd you know?" Jackie asked curiously. She thought she had done a good job of hiding her thoughts. It had been a necessity recently. Self-preservation was the key to surviving the basement at the moment. The pint-sized princess laughed to herself. Steven would've been proud if her knew how much Zen she had been using lately.
Fez shrugged. "I knew you only got together with me to get over Hyde."
Jackie felt a wave of guilt hit her. She never wanted to hurt Fez. He was the only real friend she had right now. The rest had taken Steven's side, but Fez had comforted many a night with reassuring words and candy. "Then why did you want to get together with me in the first place?"
The creepy foreigner smiled. "You are still a goddess, Jackie. I figured that I'd never get another opportunity.
Jackie squealed in delight. "Oh, Fezzie! That's so sweet! And you know any girl would be lucky to have you." She gave her friend a tight hug (but not tight enough that she gave him needs) and pulled away. Jackie looked him straight in the eye. "Are we still friends?" she asked worriedly.
Fez huffed, looking hurt. "Why? Do you not want to be my friend anymore?"
Jackie laughed. "Of course I still want to be your friend, you doofus! I was just asking because I thought you were mad at me."
Fez glared at her. "First, you say you don't want to be my friend, and now you call me a doofus. I have had enough your insults. Good day!" Jackie laughed as he stomped out of the apartment. Fez's hissy fits could always get her laughing.
The second part of Jackie's resolution was getting her life back on track. First, she decided to purge herself of everything from the past that was holding her back. She started by taking baby steps: getting rid of all the things that reminded her of Steven. Clothes were thrown out, pictures were placed in boxes to be forgotten, and so on. The mismatched-eyed beauty hesitated when she found his Led Zeppelin shirt. Despite everything bad that had happened in her relationship with Steven, there was a lot of good, and that's what that shirt reminded her of. It reminded her of crying on his shoulder and having his strong arms wrapped around her tiny frame. Those memories made Jackie fold the shirt and place it in the bottom of her pajama drawer. She tried her best to forget the shirt was even there.
Jackie also started attending therapy sessions. Her new therapist, Dr. Houser, traced her problems back to her crummy childhood. Jackie hated that was where everything seemed to go back to. The midget didn't want to devolve any further into her childhood; she knew what had happened and felt no need to relive it. "Due to the lack of love and consistency in your childhood, you are pushy and demanding. You cling onto guys in hope that they'll give you the love you need," Dr. Houser diagnosed. He also said that Jackie masked her many insecurities by insulting others which only pushed them away. Jackie was amazed at how much he seemed to know about her after only a couple sessions. At the end of their last session, Dr. Houser had turned to her. "In order for other people to like you, you have to like yourself. I've spent enough time with you to know that you are a likeable person. Stop letting other people define you, Jackie. Start defining yourself instead," he advised. His words had really hit home to her. After that session, Jackie quit her job and started looking at colleges.
The gang started to notice the small changes in Jackie. She was quieter than usual, which surprised everyone, and passed up many good burn opportunities to the shock of Kelso. It seemed like their favorite midget's whole nature had been mellowed down. Her voice was softer, her laugh quieter, and her smile tighter. The thing that worried Hyde the most was the lack of energy in her eyes. It was as if Jackie had lost the passion that was her spark. He loved that passion. Hyde tried to burn her, but there was never any response. His ex-girlfriend simply shrugged like she didn't care. Eric commented that the girl he referred to as the devil had only called him a skinny geek a handful of times since he got back from back Africa, and you could tell she was just going through the motions. Donna mentioned that Jackie hadn't even insulted her newly red hair. To top it all off, they barely saw her in the basement anymore. The gang turned to Fez for answers since he was the only one still on good terms with the loud girl. Unfortunately, he didn't know much. The perverted foreigner told them she had quit her job at the salon. That was all he knew.
Point Place, WI- Jan. 12, 1980- 2:00 PM
Jackie sat at the kitchen table of Fez and hers apartment filling out college applications. The schools she was considering were scattered all over the country. Not a single one of them were in Wisconsin or in any of its bordering states. Jackie made sure of that. She wanted as much distance between this place and herself as possible. She wanted, no, needed a clean break. There could be no reason for her to ever revisit Point Place. As much as the idea pained her, she had to leave without anyone knowing. They'd all just try to convince her to stay, and she needed to go. The small ex-cheerleader needed to figure out who she was.
Jackie, finished with her applications for the day, started to sort through her mail. Most of it was junk. She spotted a postcard from her mother and threw it out on site. She had cut off all contact with Pam sometime that fall. The woman was so selfish it was almost unbelievable. She had actually had the nerve to ask Jackie for money. The petite ex-cheerleader had said when hell freezes over, and that was that.
The last piece of mail she stumbled upon caught her eye. Jackie looked at the return address and saw that it was from some attorney in Connecticut. Curious, she carefully opened the envelope and unfolded the letter, reading it slowly. Jackie's jaw dropped as she read on. Her great-aunt Mandy had died and left her an inn in her will! She remembered spending a family reunion there once; it was in small town Connecticut. Jackie had been enamored with the inn. To her, it was the most magical place in the world. Everything was pretty and sparkled, just like a fairytale. Her great aunt had taken notice of her interest and asked, "Do you like my inn?"
Jackie had replied, "Yes! It's the most perfect place I've ever seen!" Mandy had smiled at the young girl's genuine enthusiasm.
"Then it will be yours one day," she promised her great-niece. Jackie had been over the moon at hearing this. Of course, she hadn't really believed her great-aunt at the time. And as Jackie grew up and got older, she forgot about the little inn she had loved so much.
But, apparently Mandy hadn't forgotten her promise. The loud midget reread the letter. The lawyer did give her two options: she could sell the inn and keep the money set aside to restore it, or she could restore it and run it. The rational part of Jackie's mind told her to sell the inn and use the money for school. At the same time, another tiny voice in the back of her head was telling her that running an inn would be a good thing to do on her own. After all, she hadn't even decided what she wanted to go to school for yet. Jackie had a feeling she could run an inn. She was loud, bossy, and able to get things done. Before the former cheerleader could register what she was doing, she called the lawyer and told him she would be restoring the inn. They set up a meeting to talk about the details four days later at four o'clock. Jackie packed up all her stuff and flirted with the guys downstairs to get them to load her boxes into the Lincoln. She started to write a letter to Fez but stopped. Clean break, the loud midget reminded herself. Jackie put a note on the fridge that said Goodbye with her name at the bottom. She got in her car and started to drive. Jackie didn't allow herself to look back until she was sure she was out of Point Place. A new chapter of her life was starting now, and she was leaving the rest behind.