Chapter 2

Jackie Was Tired

Pennsylvania

Jackie was tired.

She knew that Eric would probably be wanting a response ASAP over the wedding invitation styles that he sent

her, but he was just going to have to wait, because the youngest one of the group of six kids who were

friends, foes, lovers, haters, and everything else in-between, in the '70s was tired. All she wanted to do was to

partake in a hot bath and cuddle with her husband in bed. Jackie's tiredness was mixed with that of another

emotion, frustration. Not at the kids. She loved Megan as if she were her own daughter and Hunter was such a

wonderful son. She was frustrated at Donna. Her relationship with Megan was strained for years, it only

snowballed into Donna disowning (!) her, when she caught Megan and Hunter making love with one another,

Megan announcing her engagement, and coming to the breaking point of wishing her dead. It broke Jackie's

heart that Donna wanted absolutely nothing to do with her daughter. Jackie's tea was cold, and all that was

left of the banana bread were a few crumbs on her delicate white china.

She wanted to know when did they all become their parents ages?

It wasn't about getting older, Jackie certainly didn't look her age, (thanks to great genes and a ridiculously

expensive skin care regime from France), it was about what kind of world would they be leaving the kids?

Weddings were supposed to be a happy time. Hunter and Megan deserved all of the happiness in the world.

Jackie looked at her desk calendar, the next Saturday had a big red circle around it in felt tip Sharpie. Megan

was going to come to Pennsylvania (because she told Jackie, while crying on the phone, that she couldn't do it

in Point Place) to try on wedding dresses. She couldn't risk what her mother would do, or what she wouldn't do.

Megan didn't have to work on that particular Saturday so it was a perfect time, except Jackie thought, isn't a

mother supposed to help her daughter pick out her wedding dress?

Jackie reached for her phone twice, and twice she put it down. Steven wasn't home and he'd tell her to keep

doing what she had been fighting with for the longest time.

Don't get involved.

Not getting involved was easy, what was difficult, was trying to keep neutral when you knew your friend was

being a world-class dillhole.

Megan should be trying on wedding dresses with Donna. It's not that Jackie didnt want to spend time with her,

she loved her very much, and of course, she would help her with decide on the perfect dress for her wedding,

but this feud was going on for far too long. It wasn't like when Eric had to face up to almost killing Hyde in a

drug induced rage, this was more simpler, more organic in terms. Megan was Donna's daughter, she had

physical limitations, and it wasn't like her mother was dead or off on some old man's yacht, she was alive, but

choosing not to be there. When Tiffany was rebelling over Hyde and her conflicted feelings over her deceased

biological father they let her stay with Eric, and in Tiffanys choice-of-words, 'Sgt. Donna', it was a mistake. Not

only because she was away from Steven and therefore it took longer for them to heal, but also that Donna's

version of parenting was not about to win her any awards. Sure, the toughlove approach might have worked, if

you had a child who was addicted to drugs or who was a threat to society. But not with these wonderful kids.

Yeah, they weren't sunshine and roses all the time, but, that was normal and par for the course of being a

parent.

Was she making-up for Eric's softness that she felt she had to be the stricter parent?

Jackie turned off her computer and headed upstairs. She wanted her husband to come home, but instead of

going into the bathroom and turning the water on full hot blast, she was staring at her phone and knew that

something had to be done.

Hello. This is Donna's voice mail leave a message at the beep.

"Donna, it's me, and I'm not asking, I'm telling you that I'm coming to Point Place tomorrow. And you are going

to listen to what I have to say."

Jackie didn't feel that a burden was lifted off her shoulders or that she even felt better, but she felt that she

couldn't leave it alone.

"You couldn't leave it alone." Although, he admired her, for waiting this long before trying to do something

about the situation.

"Steven!" Jackie must have jumped 10 feet into the air, "You scared me! When did you come home?"

"Five minutes ago."

Jackie fell into her husband's arms.

"Would you fill up the bathtub for me?"

"Sure, Doll."

"You aren't disappointed in me?" She whispered into his shoulder.

"Why would I be? Besides, I have tell you, Forman might have had his moments, but man, what happened to

Donna? Megan's a sweetheart, who doesn't deserve this bullshit. Go to Point Place tomorrow and try and knock

some sense into that 'old lady's' head." He replied matter-of-factly.

"Remember when everyone thought Donna and Eric were soulmates who completed each other?"

Jackie sat on the nicely made bed with its powder blue sheets and comforters (and too many decorative pillows

that the male half tossed on the floor) to take off her clothes as Hyde turned on the bath water, at the

temperature that she liked while stealing glances at his beautiful wife in her natural state.

"Not me."

Of course, there was a time when Steven Hyde hated Jackie Burkhart's guts. It was all relative to ones

point-of-view.

Jackie tried to block it out of her mind that Steven used to fancy Donna and even worse, that Lumberjack had

an affair with him while married to Eric the first time. Jackie wasn't even in any of their lives then. She was in

New York City trying to be a wife to a man that she really didn't love, but that did produce one of her beautiful

children that she really couldn't regret any of her life choices too much.

It brought her to here, with her Steven, where she belonged.

"You were too busy hiding behind walls and being Zen."

He held her hand, captivated by her very being. It wasn't just what was on the outside, but what made Jackie

beautiful was what was on the inside. She was the kind of mother who was involved in her kids school

activities, and was always there to put band-aids on boo-boos or to make trays of homeade cookies for when

their friends came over. (That was mostly for Tiffany and Hannah) She missed that part of her life before they all

started to grow up on her.

It was a shame that Donna wasn't beautiful where it really counted.

"I put in a few drops of your favorite bath oil."

Jackie kissed her husband on the cheek, "Thank you, Steven. Did anyone ever tell you that you are the world's

best husband?"

All that he could do was smile. He was grateful to have been given a second chance with Jackie.

The true love of his life.

It wasn't about Eric and Donna and Hyde and Jackie. Not anymore. Their drama was over. It was about the

children. Their children. Two of whom were about to be married. It was their turn to shine and Jackie wanted to

make sure that it happened that way.