JACKIE

I had left Point Place behind exactly six months ago today, so much had changed in those six months that I doubted they would believe the life that I'm living but still I sat here on this motel bed with my hand on the phone arguing back and forth with my heart. Kota had told me once that my heart would tell me when I was ready to talk to them again and it was my hearts fault that I was sitting her picking the phone up and then slamming it back down.

By the second month I had quite counting the days that I was away and moved up to months. I had spent all of months one through five at the freedom school painting and partying with Kota, Amiee, and Jude we did everything together. We all spent every second just living together loving each other. We shared one another and before point place I would have been mortified at the idea but truth was we all loved each other well Kota and Jude loved Amiee and I though as open minded as they were they didn't love each other that way. I loved all three of them equally Kota was the sweet, passive one that knew how to read each of my emotions like they were on a page in a book but Amiee brought out a wild side in me that I didn't know I had. Amiee would have me get high with her or take LSD and we would fall into a fun and dirty haze of dancing and making love. Yes I Jackie Burkhart had sex with a girl and at one time I might have been ashamed of it but who I am now views it as part of a journey I took. And then there was Jude. Jude bought passion out in me I didn't think I would ever feel again; with one look he could set my body on fire almost as much as Steven.

Month four Jude had been offered a spot with an up and coming band and as much as I loved him I didn't see my path leading me down his so I had to let him go, and when he left I felt as though my time at the freedom school was coming to a close and it was time for me to move on. Kota decided to stay but Amiee came with me.

During month five my car had broken down in Colorado and there we met Jeff, Dekko and Summer that had a van like Kelso's and were headed to Washington and asked if we wanted to come with them. Jeff was a lot like Eric he breathed Star Wars and was obsessed with comic books. I automatically connected with Dekko he was a professional skateboarder from LA but had quit because his sponsors had screwed him and his friends over so now he was just skating from place to place, he had long blonde hair and a build like Michael with a cute baby face that made his eyes sparkle and he had a laid back personality like Steven just less angry and Summer was a lot like Donna and the moment Summer started taking about feminist protests was when I realized I missed Donna, and it hit hard. Stupid, Lumberjack.

We got to Washington and we stayed with one of Dekko's friends in a house almost as big as the Burkhart mansion with a few other people that I didn't really spend a lot of time with. I shared a room with Amiee and honestly it was great to be back in a huge house for a while but after a while we got restless trying to find something to do. We would sit on the couch and smoke endless amounts of weed and then we would drain the pool and watch the boys skate in the dry pool.

Week three of month five I was sitting outside on the terrace when Dekko walked up and sat beside me "You know, Sunshine, I don't think I've ever seen such a haunted look in someone's eyes before." He chuckled and then looked over at me seriously. "What's wrong?" He asked so softly

I couldn't help but burst out crying. I told him everything from Pam and Jack to Michael and Steven to Sam and Donna "… and I'm pretty sure I would have given birth sometime this week if I hadn't lost the baby… God I wanted it so bad…" I looked over at him and he pulled me to him and onto his lap holding me while I cried.

The week after Amiee was told about a Commune in Tennessee and she wanted to go and check it out and so Amiee, Dekko, and I took off for Tennessee.

When we hit Minnesota on the 6 month anniversary of me leaving and I asked to get a room, so now here I am at 7 in the morning trying to decide what to do.

HYDE

She had been gone six months and no one had heard from her or knew where she was after I kicked Sam out I had decided to get my shit together in case she came home. I had made huge mistakes and as much as I wanted to I couldn't go looking for her, I had no idea where to look so instead I spent my time trying to get a life ready for her to come back to. No there wasn't a guarantee that she would take me back in a million years but after everything I owed her this. I owed her these things years ago.

I had gotten a house two months ago It wasn't huge but only I knew Jackie didn't actually need a huge house only I knew her dream was to have a middle class life like the Forman's had so I did everything to get her that.

Donna had died her hair back to red and moved into Jackie's room at Fez's with Eric when he came home. Donna took her leaving almost as hard as me but mostly her suffering was out of guilt not that mine wasn't but I could also now admit to being in love with her and even if she never talked to me again I'll wait for her.

And though I had my own house it was still empty, I spent my days at the Forman's it was hard being there without knowing where she was, especially today since she had officially been gone half a year.

Red, Kitty, Eric, Donna, and I were eating breakfast when the phone rings. Kitty got up and pranced over to it. "Hello?" Suddenly her eyes get huge and her mouth drops open and she starts jumping up and down and we all stop eating and stare at her "OH MY GOD JACKIE!" She screamed excitedly and my heart drops.

Four forks drop instantly and were all crowding Mrs. Forman "Oh Jackie! How are you!? Where are you!? Are you-" She gets cut off and she's nodding and laughing "Oh good Jackie I'm so glad you called we've been so worried about you! Are you coming home?" She starts nodding again "Uhhuh" She said laughing "Oh you did!?" She exclaimed. "Wow all those places? Weren't you scared? Wow no you just sound so different. No No You sound so mature." Kitty looks confused for a second and then busts out in her trademark laugh "Oh well I love you and miss you too. Well yes everyone is fine, Eric came home early and Fez was promoted to stylist oh and Brooke and Michael are getting married! I know it's so exciting they would really like for you to be there, we would all love to see you, Jackie. Well its next month on the 25th sure you can bring a few friends with you! As long as you're here I don't care who you bring! Oh YAAAY! I'm SO excited I can't wait to see you! I know! Okay dear well I love you too thank you so so much for calling Jackie! I love you to, dear. Goodbye." Kitty hung up the phone and stayed there with one hand on the phone and then the other over her heart. I felt like I was about to burst I was about to say that too but then Kitty turned around clapping and jumping "My baby is coming home!"

"Kitty please what did she say!?" Red growled with impatients.

"Oh well she said that she was fine and that she had spent the past 6 months traveling around that her and a few friends were headed to Tennessee but she wanted to call and let us know that she was alive but then when I invited her to Michaels wedding she said yes! She said that she'll be here by the 20th! Can you believe it all my babies will be home again?"

Jackie was coming home. My Jackie would be back in three weeks. Fuck I have so much to do! I can't focus on what she had been doing I knew her and she would fill everyone in on her own but now I had no time to waste I had to make everything alright I had to get my girl back.

JACKIE

I hung up the phone half said half excited. I was going home in three weeks and I was actually excited. I wasn't worried about Steven and Sam or Donna. I was past the hurt, yes so I was still in love with Steven but I had come to accept that I always would be a long time ago. Sam didn't scare me anymore. I knew I loved Steven with everything I had and it wasn't enough. If she could make him happy I could be happy for him and my anger at Donna had fizzled out a while ago. We were never truly meant to be best friends and that was okay with me now. Amiee and Dekko were my best friends. I didn't even care that I didn't have any clothes that weren't designer or all of them had a patch, paint splatters or dirt on them. I didn't care that my hair hadn't seen a drop of hair spray in six months or that it was down to my lower back I didn't care if I had a few tattoos and scars from bad trips I was almost hole again. However it was just almost. I didn't understand what the last part was. I had followed my heart every single day of the past six months If it didn't feel right in my heart I didn't do it, but going home felt more than right God I didn't even want to wait three weeks but I had promised Amiee Tennessee.