The Choice of a Lifetime

Choice Two – Naperville, Illinois – Not So Sweet

It's a year and a half later. Jackie and Kelso have become a well-established, contented, and as both of them would proudly point out, very good looking couple. Eric and Donna have forged an uneasy truce; neither of them wanting to buckle first, but both of them desperately longing to be together. And that's why they convince the others, except Jackie, to go to a weekend concert in Chicago. Jackie wants to go, but can't, because of a cheerleading obligation.

And that suits Kelso just fine…

Donna stood in front of Kelso's green VW van, glaring and pointing at Hyde and Eric. She could hardly breathe, and the words she wanted to scream at them until their ears bled sat on her tongue unuttered.

Eric sighed and nodded. "Yes, okay? Yes, we knew Kelso was fooling around with my sister."

Hyde frogged Eric's arm and treated him to a nasty glare. "What the hell, Forman?"

Eric shrugged. "She knows, anyway." Hyde rolled his eyes.

Donna shook her head, and slowly recovered her power of speech. "Someone has to tell Jackie."

"Tell Jackie what?"

The unmistakable sound of Jackie's voice widened Donna's eyes to saucers for a moment. Eric and Hyde looked away as the beaming Jackie bounced to her best friend's side.

"What are you doing here, Jackie?"

Jackie raised an eyebrow, obviously suspicious of the way Donna was fidgeting. "My cheerleading lock in was canceled, so I thought I'd surprise Michael and come with you guys to Chicago." She clapped her hands, grinning in excitement, but stopped when she noticed the three pairs of eyes on her that were decidedly less enthusiastic. "Look, I don't care if you don't have a ticket for me. I just wanna spend time with Michael."

Donna exchanged glances with Hyde and Eric, and smiled uncomfortably. "But…I mean, Jackie, there's gonna be a bunch of cheese heads from Wisconsin there. And you know you don't do well around all those…well…cheese heads."

As Donna continued to stammer off reasons that Jackie should leave, Hyde rolled his eyes and shook his head. His fists clenched at his sides.

Love leaned forward, her stomach a mass of tensely tied knots. "Is he going to tell her?"

"Why don't you surprise him right now, Jackie?" Hyde said, smirking, but in a somewhat muted manner. "He's in the van."

Jackie grinned and again clapped her hands. "Good idea!"

But when she opened the door of the fan, and found her boyfriend on top of Eric's slutty sister Laurie, his hand on one of her exposed breasts, her smile fell. Her face paled, and she stumbled backwards a foot or two. "Oh…god…" She looked at the others, who avoided her gaze.

"Jackie! Oh…god, just wait. This isn't what…I was just…I was doing CPR on her! She was choking!"

Love glared at Paul. "Is he serious? He can't be serious. He can't believe that she'll believe THAT!" Her cheeks felt flushed, and she raised her hands to them. They were indeed hot. "God, poor Jackie!"

Paul nodded. "I know. This isn't exactly pleasant to watch, but we have to."

Jackie held up a warning hand to Michael, and it shook visibly. It shook hard. "No, just don't! Just…don't!" The tiny brunette turned on her heels and ran, dropping her bag in the process, not bothering to notice. Kelso followed, but tripped on the bag she'd dropped.

Hyde smiled at that.

Donna glared at Hyde. "What the hell, Hyde?"

"You just said someone should tell her," Eric pointed out quietly.

She hit him in the shoulder. "I didn't mean she should be led to it like a lamb to the slaughter, dillhole!" She dropped her face into a hand. "Oh, god, that stupid ass!"

Hyde shrugged, his smile falling, his eyes trailing after Jackie's flight path. "I was just sick of his shit, you know?" He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Just sick of it."

Love clutched the collar of her gown in a tight fist. "That…he…I can't believe…" She turned an angry gaze to Paul. "She doesn't take him back, does she? I mean, I know Fez was creepy in the last choice, but this is…I mean, Michael's actually doing…that with someone else! That's worse! I think. Isn't it?"

Paul shrugged. "To some it is. To others it isn't."

Love shook her head. "Nothing is cut and dry, is it?"

"Not on earth. Come, Love."

Love followed his lead, but glanced back at Hyde.

A few days later, Jackie is sitting in her room. A vase full of red roses sits on the dresser across the room from her bed, and she's glaring at them, though she's proud of herself for not talking to Michael despite his multiple attempts to see her.

"Jackie," Pam Burkhart said, knocking on the door while opening it and taking a step inside at the same time. "Honey, Michael brought you some more flowers." She smiled and dipped her nose into the blooms. "Lilies, this time."

Jackie rolled her eyes and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rested her chin on them and closed her eyes, not wanting to see Michael's latest apology. Flowers, even the most beautiful flowers, wouldn't change the fact that he'd been doing…that with Laurie Forman. And probably other girls, too.

Pam placed the bouquet of white lilies next to the roses on her daughter's dresser, than looked at her daughter with sympathy. "Sweetheart," she began, in her softest, most motherly tone of voice. She walked to the bed and sat down, tentatively putting a hand on Jackie's leg. "Sweetheart, I know Michael hurt you. I know he did. But honey, people make mistakes, and he's genuinely sorry."

Jackie shook her head, her eyes tracing the roses on her bedspread, but quickly becoming fogged with tears. "What good does his being sorry do, Mom? I still know that Michael kissed and did…whatever…with another girl. All the roses and lilies in the world won't change that."

Pam nodded. "True, but if I hadn't forgiven your father, you wouldn't be here right now, Jackie."

Jackie's head shot up, and she stared at her mother. "What? Daddy…he…he did this too?"

Her mother nodded sadly, stroking Jackie's leg with light fingertips. "Before we were married. It took me a long time to get over, and maybe you'll need to spend some time apart. But I think you should at least talk to him. Find out what happened, why he did what he did."

Jackie nodded, and again looked down. "Find out what I did wrong."

Love frowned. "She thinks it's her fault? No. It wasn't her fault." She looked at Paul. "Was it?"

Paul arched an eyebrow. "I certainly don't think so."

"Don't tell me her mom does."

"Watch."

Pam lifted a shoulder. "Maybe." She smiled patiently when given a glare from her daughter. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that maybe your relationship with Michael will be stronger because of this."

Jackie wiped her eyes. "But how do I make sure he doesn't ever do this again? And how do I make him pay? Because, Mom, I can't just take him back like nothing ever happened."

Pam nodded, smiling conspiratorially. "I'll tell you how, sweetie. You make him buy you anything and everything until he gets so tired of it, he breaks down and swears on a stack of Bibles that you are his one and only." She took her daughter's hand. "And you can use it against him in the future, too. When your father began proposed, he bought me a ring. Oh, it was pretty, but not what I had in mind." Pam tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "So I mentioned his…well, his mistake. And low and behold, a few days later, he brought me a ring twice the size as the first one."

Jackie smiled and leaned to her mother for a hug.

Love frowned. "That sounds like what Point Place Jackie's mom would say. This mom was supposed to be better!" She turned accusing eyes at Paul. "I think you're mixing things up."

Paul shook his head. "No. Remember, I told you that some things would be the same in both choices."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. Just…I can't believe that Jackie's mom would encourage her to take Kelso back just for presents." She shook her head. "She was giving good advice up till then."

"Nobody's perfect, Love. You'll learn that quickly when you're on earth. Now come along."

The next day, Jackie has finally allowed Michael in her presence. He's come to her room bearing not only flowers, but a ring. A promise ring.

Kelso kneeled in front of her bed, in between her legs, and held the ring towards her. He looked nervous, repeatedly swallowing and blinking, and his voice sounded strained. "Jackie, I uh…I got you this ring…it's a promise ring."

Jackie looked at the ring. It was lovely; a thin gold band supporting a small, pink stone. The gold was obviously real, and the stone of high quality, though not a diamond. She smiled slightly. It was perfect. She lifted her eyes, and the look on Michael's face, despite herself, made her heart beat faster. He looked like a puppy, a lost puppy who missed his leash and the person who guided him. He looked sorry. His brown eyes were soft and downcast. "What are you promising?" she asked quietly.

He took her right hand and slowly slid the ring over the finger a ring belonged on. "I'm promising that I'll never cheat on you again. I'm promising to be a better boyfriend. And I'm promising…" His voice cracked with emotion. "And most of all, Jackie, this ring is my promise to you that I will always…love you."

Love raised a hand to her chest, her eyes misting. "Oh, that's so…" She raised an eyebrow, and her hand fell to her side. "Wait, why doesn't she look more…I don't know…more…"

"Moved? Bowled over?" Paul said, with slight amusement.

Love nodded. "Yes." She furrowed her brow. "Why isn't she swooning or something?"

"I'm not really sure."

She looked at Paul, and she knew he knew why but wasn't going to tell her. "Fine. I'll just keep watching." She pouted. Some guide. He was keeping things from her.

Jackie's smile was tight. "Oh, Michael." And her voice was equally so. "That's…do you mean it?"

Kelso nodded. "Will you take me back?"

She paused, and glanced over her right shoulder towards her desk.

"What is she looking at? That t-shirt hanging over the chair?"

Paul nodded. "But don't ask me to explain it to you, or who gave it to her, because I'm not going to."

Love stared at him and chewed on her lower lip. She smiled slightly. "It's from Steven, isn't it?"

Paul lifted one shoulder and didn't look at her. "I'm not saying a word."

Love nodded. "Okay." She turned back to Jackie, who was still staring at the shirt. "She's missing him."

"Watch."

"Jackie?"

She cleared her throat and with a tiny shake of her head, set her eyes on Michael again. "Sorry, I just…" She took a deep breath. "If you promise to never cheat on me again, Michael, and if you're willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to me…"

"Oh, I am, Jackie, I am. I mean, I love it when you get all bossy with me, so feel free." His eager grin faded. "Just as long as you'll be with me again."

She nodded and smiled, looking tired. "Okay."

Her voice was so small.

"Really?"

And his was so large.

"Really."

"God, thank you, Jackie!"

He pulled her into his arms, and Jackie rested her chin on his shoulders, her hands limply placed on his back. She tried to smile, but it faltered. Her eyes shined with tears, and quickly released one.

Love watched the droplet train slowly and unevenly down Jackie's perfectly made-up face. She wanted to be happy, because she did believe Michael's apology. Yet, Jackie seemed so conflicted. Trapped.

Trapped.

Love had the oddest sensation, like she'd been here before, like Jackie had been here before. She looked at Paul.

"It's called déjà vu. The feeling of having experienced something before."

"But when have I experienced this before?"

He smiled, an enigmatic one that was quickly getting on Love's nerves. " You'll remember when you need to. Now, we must be off. One more thing to see."

Love clenched her hands into fists. She liked Paul, but was getting rather sick of all the mystery. "Fine," she spat at him irritably.

A year later, Jackie and Kelso have been going strong, or at least, that's what she and everyone else thought. And then one day a very lovely young woman, Brooke, comes to the basement with news. She's pregnant with Kelso's child.

Love gasped. "What? But…but he promised…he…."

Paul patted her hand. "I know. Just keep listening and watching."

As I was saying, she's pregnant with Kelso's child. To make it worse for Kelso, she announces this in front of the entire gang (except Jackie, who'd gone upstairs for cookies). To make it even more worse for Kelso, just as she announces her pregnancy, Jackie comes down the stairs. Jackie runs away, and who do you think follows her out the door?

Hyde drove her to the same spot they'd had their first "date". She'd cried the entire way, and was still crying. He shifted nervously on his seat. All he could think of to do was reach over and pick up her small hand.

She lifted her head, her stormy eyes meeting his. "Steven," she whispered. Her entire body was still. Her tears, her sobs, even her breathing stopped. And then like an unexpected strike of lightning, she scrambled over the El Camino's front seat to Hyde. She climbed onto his lap, disregarding his gasp of surprise, ignoring the steering wheel pressing into her back. "Steven," she said, the two syllables breaking. Her hands circled his neck. "Get me pregnant, Steven."

Love's eyes nearly burst, and she stepped forward. She watched as Jackie buried her face in Steven's neck, kissing him noisily and wildly. "What is she doing? She can't…I mean, she doesn't really want…"

"Watch."

"Jackie, wh…I mean, just…oh, god…" Hyde struggled, tried to push her away, but couldn't. His eyes closed, and his head fell back to the headrest. His tongue worked over his lips; his lips parted, and his breathing seemed labored. But finally, he managed to push her away from him. "Jackie, you don't know what you're saying. You don't want me to…" His eyes darted away from her downturned face. "Get you pregnant."

"Yes I do! I want…I want you, Steven…now."

She tried to kiss his lips, but he avoided her. "No, you don't! You'd only be doing it to get back at Kelso!"

The flushed and still teary eyed Jackie stared at him. "So what? Why does that matter?"

Hyde grimaced and looked away.

Love shook her head and looked down. Jackie could never see how Steven felt about her; that much was clear. And what else was clear was that Steven loved her. Jackie had missed the hurt in Steven's shaded eyes, but she hadn't.

"Nothing to say?"

Love scuffled her foot against the clouds below her. "No."

She felt odd. Angry. Sad. Longing. Like there was something in front of her, something she dreamed about, but she simply couldn't reach it.

"Okay, well, keep watching."

Jackie took a deep breath, put her hand on Steven's cheek and turned him back to her. She took his glasses off, and gently hooked them on his shirt the way he so often did. "I just wanna feel better, Steven," she said, her voice little and shy. "You…I don't know why, but you're the one who makes me feel the best."

They stared into one another's eyes, seeming to speak to one another all sorts of things that neither could actually voice, or, for that matter, admit to themselves.

Love covered her mouth with a fist, her fingers squeezing tightly. Would he give in? Did he feel so much for her that even though he knew Jackie was basically using him, he'd give in? And was she really using him? It seemed so, and yet, it also seemed not so. Something in her eyes as they joined with his. Something in the way her fingers trailed his sideburns, his stubbly cheeks.

He lunged up and took his lips with his.

Love's toes curled as the couple's kiss deepened and sped. They pressed so close and tight against each other she shivered. A weird and tingling, slightly aching pleasure built in her middle. And then the scene disappeared into a cloud of misty black. She turned to Paul with a glare. "Paul, what the hel…heck?"

Paul gave her an amused smile. "We can't watch what happens next, although I'm sure you can guess."

She pouted. Sex had been whispered about at home by the UBS's. V had been particularly interested in it. She couldn't help it. She was curious. "What if I want to watch, huh?"

"No. It's something you should experience rather than watch," Paul said.

"Unless you're Fez in Choice One," Love pointed out.

"Exactly. Now, my sweet Love, lets go. There's just a few more things to see in Choice Two."

Love sighed. She supposed she'd have to wait to see what sex was like. Unless…She glanced at Paul. He wasn't bad looking at all. And, as he began to walk away from her, she noticed that his backside was rather nice.

"I know what you're thinking, and while I'm flattered, no."

Love rolled her eyes. Figured.