Previously on "Reelin' In The Years..." "I don' know what I was thinking…" He said shaking his head.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I don't know what I was thinking when I stood you up at our wedding."
Donna's heart rate sped up and she looked at Eric. "Eric what are you-?"
"But I promise I won't make that mistake again…I mean…if you'll have me." He whispered standing up from his place on the Vista Cruiser.
"Eric what are you doing?" She said, a small smile building on her face.
"Donna Pinciotti…will you marry me?"
Donna sat stunned on the hood of the Vista Cruiser staring at her boyfriend in disbelief. Was this really happening? He had just come home and he was already asking her to marry him. And they had been in this position before…he had promised to marry her and then he didn't show up for the wedding. So were they ready now? They were older…he had matured since he had been away in Africa. And she hadn't stopped loving him…
"Yes." She whispered.
Eric raised an eyebrow at her not sure if he had heard her or not. "Yes?" He asked again.
She nodded through tears. "Yes. Yes, Eric. I'll marry you!"
His smile widened. "Oh my god…you said yes!"
"I said yes!"
They both stood there just staring at each other in total shock of what had jus happened. Donna launched herself into Eric's arms causing him to fall over onto the hard pavement of his driveway. She looked down at him worried she had hurt him.
"Oww…" He said laughing and rubbing his head.
"Oh god…Eric are you ok?" She asked.
He smiled and cupped her face in his hands kissing him. "Yeah I'm fine…"
"I forget how strong I am sometimes…" She said rubbing the back of his head.
"I'll get you a ring later…I promise." He whispered.
"I don't need a ring…just promise you'll show up to this one." She said teasing him.
He laughed. "I promise. I won't make that mistake again."
"Good…now…let's go celebrate our new engagement." She said wiggling her eyebrows at him.
He smirked. "Your place or mine?"
"Yours." She jumped up and ran to his room with Eric hot on her heels.
Hyde had been standing in the garage watching the scene unfold before him. He watched the happy couple run off to Eric's room to celebrate their engagement. He sighed and walked down to the basement, went into his room and opened the bottom drawer of his dresser. Right in the middle of all his cloths laid a small black velvet box. He knelt down picking it up and he sat down on his bed and flipped it open. Inside laid a large diamond ring that sparked in the light. He picked up the tiny ring that would fit perfectly on Jackie's finger and read the inscription. "Forever your Puddin Pop" . He sighed and shook his head realizing he had missed his only chance of marrying Jackie. He went out to the basement and picked up the phone beside the couch and dialed Jackie and Fez's number.
"Hello?" He heard a happy foregin voice.
"Hey man…its Hyde." He sounded tired and sad on the phone.
"Oh hey Hyde…how are you?"
"Been better…" He looked down at the ring again and then took a deep breathe. "Is Jackie asleep?"
"Yep. I went in to check on her and she was fast asleep clutching fluffy cakes and listening to Fleetwood Mac."
"Just make sure she stays there man…we don't want her running off again."
"I know…it's a good thing you found her. Where was she?" He asked.
"Up in the woods…where we had our first date. She saw me and was running through the bushes to try and avoid me. I think she must have tripped over a branch or something and that's how she sprained her ankle." Hyde said.
"Oh…the swelling looks to have gone down…I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow if she lets me." He said.
"Yeah…she's pretty pissed." Hyde whispered.
"Yep…she has every right to be though Hyde…I didn't realize how rough we were on her." Fez said sadly.
"I was the worst man…" He whispered.
"Well duh Hyde…you did marry a stripper after you told her that you couldn't see a future with her. I mean…that's gotta sting." Fez pointed out.
"Thanks for that…" He sighed. "Look…I'm not proud of my actions ok? But I can't take them back now…" He whispered.
"Well…" Fez was silent for a moment thinking of what to say. "Well why did you do it in the first place?" He asked.
"What marry Sam?" He asked.
"No…I know why you did that…you were drunk and stupid." He said honestly.
Hyde sighed. "Yeah…no kidding."
"I meant why did you stay with her when she showed up? Why didn't you just break it off with her and work things out with Jackie?" He asked curiously.
Hyde took a moment to think about his answer. "Well…I just thought it would be easier that way."
Fez sighed. "For who? You? Or Jackie?"
"For both of us…" He whispered.
"Hyde I don't understand…you love Jackie…and she loves you? How would it make it easier?" He asked confused by Hyde's answer.
"I just figured we always ended up hurting each other. Mostly me hurting her…and if I stayed with Sam I just thought that eventually she would move on. It's not that I want her to be with someone else…I just didn't want to cause her pain anymore. It killed me. This is killing me…I hate knowing all this pain she is feeling is my fault."
"So you were doing it to try and protect her…" He whispered.
"Yep. I'm not good enough for her Fez…but now I realize that we can't move on from each other…were stuck with each other ya know? We love each other…" He whispered.
"So now you want to get her back?" He asked.
"Yeah man…if I can find a way to get her to forgive me…or just give me another chance…I'll do it. I just need to fix this…I need to make her better." He said with so much passion and honesty in his voice it shocked Fez.
"Well…it's going to take a lot of groveling. Which is something you aren't so good at…" Fez pointed out.
"Yeah I know…but I'm willing to do whatever it takes."
Fez smiled on the other end of the phone. "Good." It was silent for a moment. "Hey Hyde?" He asked.
"Yeah man?"
"Were you going to ask her to marry her…ya know when you went to see her in Chicago?" He asked.
Hyde took a deep breathe and glanced down at the engagement ring in his hand. "Yeah man…I was."
Fez was shocked. "Wow…you really do love her."
Hyde smiled. "Yeah…I really do Fez…" There was a pause. "But don't go spreading that around alright? I don't want to ruin my rep."
Fez shook his head. "Ok see the thing is…if you want to get Jackie back…you're going to have to let go of the pride thing Hyde…you can't avoid telling her how you feel. Not this time…that's what got you into this mess."
Hyde listened to Fez's words and realized he was right. "Yeah…your right. Alright…I'll talk to you later man. Keep an eye on Jackie ok?"
"She's safe with me. Night."
"Night."
Hyde hung up the phone and got up and was walking to his room when he heard someone on the steps. He looked up and saw Kitty walking down to him. He smiled at her.
"Hey Mrs. Foreman. You're still up?" He asked.
"Yep. Did you just get home?" She said placing the laundry on the dryer.
"Yeah…I was at Fez and Jackie's apartment." He said sliding the ring into his back pocket to hide from her.
"Oh yes." She looked up concerned at him. "Did you guys find Jackie?"
Hyde nodded. "Yeah she's safe and sound back at the apartment."
She smiled and sighed with relief. "Oh good…I was so worried about her. She's so little and vulnerable."
Hyde nodded. "Yep…she sure is."
Kitty noticed the sad look on Hyde's face and took a step towards him, placing a motherly hand on his arm she said. "Are you ok Steven?"
Hyde looked up at the woman he considered to be his mother and faked a smile. "Oh yeah. I'm fine." He lied.
"Are you sure? Because I mean…Sam left…and it would be natural for you to be upset about your marriage not working out." She whispered.
"Mrs. Foreman…trust me. I'm not upset about the fact that Sam is gone. In fact I'm quite happy she is gone." He laughed bitterly.
She smiled at him happy he didn't miss Sam…to be honest she hated the girl. "Oh…so let me guess…is this about Jackie?" She asked smiling at him.
"Aww geez…" He said turning away from her.
"No, no. Don't walk away Steven…its ok. We can talk about this." She said rushing back over to him.
"Mrs. Foreman…you know I don't like talk about my…"feelings" or whatever." He said but then remembered what Fez had said and he looked at Kitty and realized she wasn't leaving until he talked. "Alright…yeah…this is about Jackie."
Kitty clapped happily. "Oh yay! You do still love her!"
Hyde laughed. "Yeah…I do."
"Of course you do. You've always loved Jackie. Like at the Veteran's Day Barbecue when you wouldn't admit that you liked her and you asked me to shoot you if you did and went "POW!"" She giggled. "You loved her then. You love her now. You'll always love her." She said giddily.
"I suppose I will…" He whispered. He looked down and then he felt her hand smack him across the head. "Ow! What was the for?" He asked.
Kitty pointed an accusing finger at the boy she called her second son. "What were you thinking marrying that stripper and breaking Jackie's poor little heart?"
Hyde sighed. "I don't know Mrs. Foreman…I know it was stupi-"
"Yes it was stupid! So what are you going to do about it?" She asked standing with her hands on her hips.
"I'm going to be on my hands and knees groveling and begging for forgiveness." He said.
"That's not going to be enough Steven…" She whispered.
"What can I do Mrs. Foreman? What can I do to fix this?" He asked sadly.
"Well…start with getting on her good side again. Ya know…be nice to her." He said.
"How can I do that when all she does is tear me apart when I open my mouth?"
"Well you deserve it damn it!" She yelled.
"Touché." He said bowing his head to her.
"Just try your hardest to be nice to her even when she can seem like she's being jerk…she's just sad and hurt. And then once you start to re-build a relationship lay your feelings on the line for her…let her know what you want. And then give her the time she needs to figure out what she wants…you just have to be patient Steven…this is going to take a lot of time and effort on your part. But if you love her…this is what you have to do." She said kindly to him.
He nodded his head. "Well I do love her…so I guess I have no other choice than to do what you said."
"Good boy." She reached up and kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly. "It will be ok Steven…I promise."
"Thank you Mrs. Foreman."
She smiled and pulled away from him patting his cheek. "Night."
She put the laundry in the dryer and then walked up stairs and Hyde smiled as she left. "Night Mom…" He whispered before going to bed to sleep.
The next morning, Jackie woke in her bed and tried to get up. She groaned when she felt the sting of pain in her ankle, it hurt less today but it still hurt. She sat up slowly and reached the bed stand standing up and then falling over. Fez heard the rumble of things falling off her night stand while he was in the kitchen and he ran into her room.
"You're up." He said kneeling down in front of her.
She looked up at him and glared. "Really? I didn't notice."
Fez sighed. "Jackie…I'm just trying to help."
"Well I wish you would all stop…nothing you can say or do is going to fix all of this." She said to him.
"Can't you at least give us all a chance?" He asked helping her off the ground.
"Do I really have a choice?" She asked.
"No. Were not going away…" He whispered.
She sighed. "I figured as much…"
"I'm going to take you to the hospital today so they can take a look at your ankle." He said.
"Do you think I sprained it or broke it?" She asked nervously.
"No…I'm sure you just twisted it. They'll probably wrap it up and tell you to keep your weight off it for a few days…maybe give you crutches for awhile."
She sighed. "Great."
He smiled sympathetically at her. "Alright. Come on…I'll buy you a coffee on the way there. And t hen we'll head over to the Foreman's for their party." He said.
"Party? What party?" She asked.
"I guess its kind of a homecoming party for Eric. He called this morning and said to be there at two."
"Well he's lucky it's for him. He's the only one I don't currently hate." She said punctuating the word hate.
Fez nodded his head. "Yes. Lucky us."
Fez was about to walk away when Jackie groaned and called out to him. "Fez?" She asked.
He turned and stared at her. "Yeah?"
"I don' think I can get dressed myself…" She whispered referring to walking to the closet.
Fez smirked. "Oh happy day!" He said giddily walking to her.
"Watch your hands buddy!" She said poking his chest.
Hyde was sitting in Red's chair sipping a beer glaring at Eric and Donna's blissful embrace on the couch. He would never admit it…but he was jealous. Part of him had always been jealous of Eric. He had a great family, a great home, and like the perfect relationship with Donna. And sure…Eric's parents had taken him in and he felt like their adopted son but it still wasn't the same. And he had had a good relationship with Jackie…but he wasn't like Eric. He couldn't seem to keep her happy the way Eric made Donna happy. Their relationship was just less complicated and Hyde wished he could have that with Jackie. Hell…he wished he could have any sort of relationship with Jackie again. He knew that this little 'party' was for Eric and Donna to announce their engagement. He just wondered how everyone was going to react this time around. He kept glancing at the door hoping for Jackie and Fez to walk in at any moment. He just needed to see her right now…going a day without seeing her face was a day wasted in his mind. Finally, the door opened and Jackie and Fez waltzed in…or rather Jackie hobbled in on her crutches. Kitty immediately rushed to her side.
"Oh are you alright sweetie?" She asked concerned.
"Yeah…the doctor said I just twisted it bad. He said it will be fine to walk on in a few days as long as I I stay off my feet to rest it." She explained.
"Well then, come over here and sit down. You can rest it on the coffee table."
"Thank you Mrs. Foreman." She said as Kitty helped her over to the couch.
"Can I get you anything?" Kelso asked. "Want a beer?"
"Yeah sure…thanks Michael." She said softly.
Hyde glanced over at her and leaned into her. "Hey Jacks…feeling better?" He asked.
Jackie glanced over at him and then glanced away. "Yeah sure."
"So dumbass." Red said stepping towards his son. "Why did you organize this little party here?" He said looking around the room.
Eric smiled at Donna and stood up taking his glass in his hand. "Well Dad…I'm glad you asked. Because…well first of all…I just wanted to say that I'm really happy to be home. I missed you guys…" He said honestly.
"Oh crap…are you gonna get all emotional now?" Red asked.
Eric looked at his Dad and sighed. "No Dad…but feel free to let your emotions out." He put his hand on his mouth. "I know how much you love me…" He wiped a fake tear away. "Just let it out Dad…let it out."
Donna laughed. "Eric…" She nudged him.
"Shut it dumbass…what's this about?" Red asked again.
Eric took a deep breathe. "Well…this is about…me asking Donna to marry her last night." He said.
"Again?" Red asked.
"Red…" Kitty hit Red on the chest. "Be nice."
"Yes Dad…again." Eric said sighing.
"Well are you going to show up to this one?" He asked. "Because I'm not spending all the money again if you don't show up." He said sternly.
"Dad…Bob paid for the wedding." Eric said getting annoyed.
"Oh yeah…well…Whatever. Are you going to show up this time or not?" HE asked.
Eric looked down at Donna and smiled and she smiled back. "Yes…I'm going to show up this time. I love Donna…and I'm ready to get married now." He said honestly.
Kitty let a few tears escape her eyes. "Oh I know your ready this time sweetie…" She walked over to him and Donna and hugged them both. "Congratulations."
Kelso, Fez and Red all went up to them to congratulate them and Hyde got up last. Eric turned to Jackie. "So what do you think Jackie?" He asked.
"Yeah…congrats." She whispered softly.
"That's all you got?" Kelso asked. "You love weddings!" He yelled.
Jackie groaned and got up wincing in pain as her ankle felt the pressure caused by her body weight. "Correction Michael…I used to love weddings."
"Used to?" Hyde asked.
"Yeah…I mean I used to believe that ya know weddings were supposed to be this magical, happily ever after kind of thing for the perfect couple. But these past few months I realized there's really no such thing as true love." She said.
Hyde's heart twisted in his chest at hearing her words. He knew what everyone else was thinking because he was thinking the same thing…she was turning into him. He made a step towards her but Kitty placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head telling him now wasn't the time.
Eric cleared his throat. "So you don't think Donna and I are meant to be?" He asked.
Jackie looked at Eric and smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure you guys are in love…you just turned out to be the lucky ones." She said shrugging her shoulders.
Donna took a deep breathe and walked over to Jackie. "Look…Jackie. I know that you're really mad at me…and you have every right to be. But the thing is…I want you to be my maid of honor." She said quietly.
Jackie glared at Donna, a tearful lump was growing in her throat and her eyes were stinging with salty tears. "Donna…are you sure you want ME to be your maid of honor?" She asked not believing her.
Donna looked surprised by her answer. "Of course Jackie…you're my best friend." She whispered.
"Yeah right…" She said rolling her eyes.
Eric stepped towards them and put a hand on Donna's shoulder who looked like she was about to cry. "Jackie I know you're mad…but please…if not for Donna…would you do it for me?" He asked.
Jackie rolled her eyes again and nodded her head. "Yeah sure. Whatever."
Donna smiled slightly and pulled Jackie in for a hug but she didn't really return the gesture. "Thank you Jackie…this means a lot to me."
"Sure Donna…" She whispered into her hair.
"Great." Eric said and then turned to Hyde. "And Hyde man…you're like my brother. So I want you to be my best man."
Hyde smiled at his best friend. "Sure man. I'd love to." He smiled at Jackie and said. "I guess we'll be walking down the aisle together Jacks."
Her heart stung at his words wishing they were walking down the aisle together for a different reason. "Great. Just don't trip." She said to him trying to keep her cool.
"Shouldn't you be the one to watch out for tripping?" Kelso said. "I mean…you did fall over a branch and twist your ankle."
"Shut up Michael!" Jackie yelled.
"What? I was just saying…" He whispered.
"Oh happy day! Eric and Donna are getting married and I saw Jackie's boobs!" He said clapping his hands together.
"Fez!" Jackie yelled hurling a pillow at him.
"Wait. What?" Donna asked. "Jackie why did Fez see your boobs?"
"Because I asked him to get my cloths in my closet because it hurt too much to walk over to them…and I told him to turn around but he peeked when I took my shirt off." She said angrily. "Perv." She hissed.
"If being a perv finally got me a peek of your boobs…I'm ok with that." He said honestly.
Hyde clenched his fist and was fighting the urge to smack Fez for staring at Jackie naked. But he knew he couldn't' do that in front of everyone and especially not in front of Jackie. That would just piss her off. And like Kitty had said…he needed to stay on her good side right now. So he bit his tongue and made it a point to punish Fez later.
"Alright well let's get back to the happy news at hand shall we?" Kitty asked. "Fez go get some more wine in the kitchen ok?"
"Sure Mrs. Foreman." He said walking towards the kitchen.
Hyde followed him. "I'll help you man." He said as they opened the door.
"Thanks amigo!" Fez said just as Hyde's fist came crashing down on his shoulder. "Ai! Hyde what was that for?" He asked rubbing his shoulder.
"For looking at Jackie's boobs!" He said pointing an angry finger in his face.
Fez frowned. "Well ya know what! It's not fair that you AND Kelso got to see them and I never did! It was my time!" He yelled.
"No! Not when you know she's my chick!" He yelled.
Fez laughed. "Hyde…my dear friend…she is far from your chick yet."
"Shut up man." He said feeling the familiar pain of loss in his chest.
Fez saw the sad look in his friend's eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry…I shouldn't have said that."
"It's alright…" Hyde shrugged him off.
"And I shouldn't have peeked at Jackie's boobs…" He said with a perverted smile.
"Yeah…just don't do it again." Hyde said pointing a finger at him again.
"I won't." He smiled again.
"Fez!" He yelled.
"What? I can't help it…they were just so…so…delectable!" He said.
Hyde punched him again. "Perv."
"Ai." He said softly rubbing his shoulder again.
"Alright…no more peeking at her boobs. I need help with getting her back man and you staring at her naked isn't helping."
"Ok…fine. But I mean if I go in to talk to her when she gets out of the shower it would purely just be an accident." He said shrugging his shoulders.
"Fez…don't think I won't kill you." He said sternly. "Because I will…she is my chick. Alright? At least…she will be. Eventually…someday…right?" He asked skeptically.
Fez nodded slowly. "Yes Hyde. Someday…Jackie will be yours again. As long as you don't fuck it up again." He said pointing his own finger at Hyde.
Hyde nodded slowly. "I'm gonna try man."
"Alright…let's get the booze for Mrs. Foreman and then we'll go back to the party ok? Just keep your cool around Jackie for now…we'll figure this all out later. And I am sorry about peeking…" He said guiltily.
Hyde laughed. "It's alright man. Let's go."
They grabbed the wine and beer Kitty wanted and walked back out to the living room. They poured drinks for everyone and Kitty raised a glass to make a speech about love and marriage and Eric and Donna. But Hyde wasn't listening…he watched Jackie as she listening to the speech. She smiled weakly but Hyde could see a deeper pain within her that she was hiding from the rest of the world. She could pretend to be tough and yell and scream and everyone as much as she wanted to. But he knew…he knew that this was her masking her pain. She was using a darker version of the Zen he had taught her all those years ago in order to protect herself from the world and from himself. Over the years she had grown into an amazing woman, she was brilliant, confident, beautiful and so many more things. But she was still afraid…and she had every right to be. No matter what she did in her life or where she went…she always ended up getting hurt. But Hyde made a vow to find a way to not only make up for his own faults but finally give her a way to let go of all her fears. So that she could finally live her life in peace. He owed her that…and so much more...
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! But I would appreciate some more feedback! This is my favorite story that I have written so far because I've worked the hardest on it. I really want to know what people are thinking about it. Thanks! Look for an update soon!
