A/N: Hello! This is my first That 70's Show fanfiction and I'm super hyped! This takes place after the disaster of season 8, like about a year and a half later. Jackie and Fez broke up after about 6 months of being together, and just keep in mind that after the whole experience of being without money and her break ups have like, sort of humbled her. She's learned from it. I also want to say that I have not actually watched season 8 (idk if my heart could take it) so I'm just going off of what I've heard happens, but let me know if I get anything wrong!

Point Place, Wisconsin

1981

Jackie Burkhart used to believe in fairytales, in true love, in happy endings. She used to believe in finding her Prince Charming, the love of her life. And if they ever broke up, if something ever came between them, they would always find their way back to each other. Somehow, some way.

But not anymore.

Her first doubts in true love came from her parents when, even from a fairly young age, she could tell that they did more for themselves than they ever did for each other. When she grew older, the reality was even more harsh: her parents cheated on each other. Weren't married couples supposed to be faithful to one another and love each other no matter what? They took a vow to love each other forever, so when did that get lost?

But despite seeing her parents' marriage fall apart, she had held onto the belief of true love. She had to. Had to believe that there was something better, something real out there for her.

The next doubts were because of Michael, the boy she had loved since she was just a child. She had thought he loved her too, but then she found out about Laurie. And Pam Macy. And however many others there were that he had cheated on her with. She thought their love, if it had ever existed at all, was dead. But Michael and her had managed to get past everything and get back together. Desperate to prove that their love was true and that Michael would never choose anyone over her again, she decided that they would get married. And he left. Just got up and drove halfway across the country with Donna, without a note or anything. Not that she would have cared what he would have written anyway. He didn't want to commit to her, never had and never would.

Then there was Steven. After everything her relationship with Michael had done to her, everything it had destroyed, Steven made her believe in true love again. She thought what they had was real, the realest thing she had ever known. He loved her, and she loved him. They were both genuinely happy, which, for them, was saying something. But then in a repeat offense, she decided that he had to marry her, to choose her, or they couldn't be together anymore. She had a life to make for herself and she needed to know that he would be willing to spend it with her. And when he hesitated, she bolted. She couldn't go through that rejection again, so she left first, before he could say those terrible words to her. Instead, she found herself once again comforted by Michael.

But she had been wrong. So very, very wrong. Because Steven had been going to ask her to marry him, but by then it was too late. He had seen her with Michael and gone off and married a random stripper. In the following months she had hoped and prayed that he would forgive her and they would find their way back to each other, because they had loved each other. And she wanted to believe that love doesn't die, but Michael and her parents had shown her otherwise. Now...now he hated her. Like he used to before they had even been friends.

And most recently, there was Fez. Oh, sweet Fez. Jackie had thought she'd finally found her prince, that the guy she had been looking for was right under her nose the whole time. She thought he was the perfect guy for her all along and she just hadn't realized it. And shortly after getting together with Fez, Jackie's career with modeling finally took off. She had it all; a loving boyfriend, fame, success. But despite all that, she still wasn't happy. Despite all the traits that, on paper, made Fez seem to be the perfect guy for her, he just wasn't it. Jackie had thought she was over Hyde and tried to make it work with Fez. She wanted to love him like that, tried to love him like that, but she couldn't. And he could tell. She'd even call out Hyde's name in her sleep sometimes.

"Jackie," Fez had confronted her, "I am your boyfriend. Me . But you still want Hyde to be your boyfriend. I want to be with you, but I cannot if you'd rather be with someone else. I told you already, I will not be your rebound."

"I'm so sorry," Jackie had replied, her words coming out in a broken voice because she really was sorry. She never wanted to hurt him.

But she had hurt him. And now their friendship, while still intact, was suffering because of it.

Of course, Hyde was thrilled to see Jackie miserable again. He probably just wanted to see her be as miserable as he was. He took Fez's side of course, but Jackie knows Fez never told him the real reason they broke up. She'd made him promise not to, it would be too embarrassing for Hyde to know she's still hung up on him. The only thing he knows is that she broke Fez's heart too, and it didn't sit right with him that she not only broke his heart but also his friend's heart.

"Trust me, you made the right decision breaking up with her, man," Hyde would say to Fez in front of her, "She's a real bitch."

No matter how many times she heard those words from him, they still stung like a slap in the face.

But Jackie Burkhart was not weak, and she learned to live with that sting.

And even though her romantic relationships were in shambles, she still had Donna. Jackie smiles at the thought of her best friend as she heads toward the entrance of The Hub to meet said best friend. Despite the gang no longer being teenagers, The Hub continues to be a hang out place for them. Jackie and Donna try to meet there regularly for some girl time.

As Jackie enters The Hub, her eyes scan the room for Donna but are instead greeted with the sight of Eric, Fez, and Hyde.

Great.

She takes a deep breath and puts on her classic Jackie Burkhart smile and approaches the group.

"Hey, guys!" She greets, briefly making eye contact with each of her friends, but her gaze fixes on Eric. She figures he's the safest bet since he's the only one who she doesn't have a history with.

"Watch out, Forman, or she'll latch onto you next to appease her thirst for emotional destruction," the bitter words come from Hyde.

"Really, man? It's too early for this. Chill," Eric chides and Jackie gives him a small appreciative smile. In the aftermath of her breakups with Hyde and Fez, Jackie has grown closer to Eric. He quickly grew annoyed of Hyde's attitude toward Jackie and was surprised to find himself feeling somewhat sympathetic. He ended up apologizing for his best friend's behavior, explaining that "he's just hurting. He's mad he lost you and he doesn't know what to do with those feelings. He doesn't want to blame himself so he blames you."

"Hey man, you can't talk when you're the only one out of the three of us here who hasn't been stepped on by her-"

"Listen Steven," Jackie cuts in, "I'm not here to get into this right now. I'm just here to meet Donna."

"We haven't seen her," Eric answers before Hyde can make a snide remark, "Actually I haven't heard from her all day, I just got off work."

Jackie frowns, "Huh. I'm just surprised is all. She's always here first. You see, I'm usually late and-"

Hyde snorts, "Yeah what else is new."

Jackie rolls her eyes and turns to Hyde, "Okay, you're clearly in more of a bad mood than usual today, so I just need to to shut up while I talk to my two friends here."

"Friends? Fez, do you still consider Jackie to be your friend?"

Fez's hands shoot up in a defensive manner, "Oh no, I'm not getting involved in this."

"Well you should, she needs to learn that she can't just go around playing with people's emotions like they're toys as she tries to fill the empty void in her life. Which is never gonna happen by the way," Hyde comments, and Jackie flinches.

"O-kay, how about I go get us all some fries?" Eric tries to break the tension but is ignored. All he and Fez can do is watch from the sidelines.

"If we're gonna get into this now, why don't we talk about how you treated me?" Jackie responds to Hyde.

"Oh, here we go-"

Hyde's response is cut short by a familiar redhead rushing up to the group in a frantic voice, "Guys! Come on we gotta go!"

Immediately upon seeing the distraught look on her face, the four friends can tell that something is wrong, their petty argument immediately forgotten.

Eric is the first to react, scared for his girlfriend, "Donna, are you alright? What happened?"

She reaches for her boyfriend's hand and gestures for them to follow her, shaking her head, "It's Kelso and Brooke. They were in an accident. The baby too."

Jackie's mouth goes dry, unable to respond.

"What?!" Hyde's reaction is immediate, concern for his friend evident in his body language as he jumps up, needing to take action.

"Yeah, whoa. Tell us what happened," Eric tries to be calm about the matter, not allowing his girlfriend to pull him out of the restaurant until he gets the facts.

"Is Kelso going to be alright?" The question comes from Fez, always concerned for his best friend.

Donna tries to keep her face emotionless, but her wavering voice betrays her when she responds, "I don't know. I think it's pretty bad. We just need to get to the hospital in Chicago ASAP."

A stunned silence falls across the group.

Jackie feels her heart drop to her stomach. This can't be happening. She'd give anything to be back to fighting with Hyde again, yelling bitter words at each other. Anything but this.

"Alright, let's go," Hyde orders, his voice tight with anxiety.

The group of five piles into the car and they begin the long, tense drive to Chicago.

No words are spoken aloud, but a string of silent prayers is silently said throughout the whole ride there.

When they arrive, the five young adults rush into the hospital entrance immediately seeking any information about their friend.

"Hey! You there!" Hyde yells at the first person wearing scrubs he catches sight of, "Michael Kelso, where is he? How is he?"

The nurse shakes his head and gestures to the reception desk beginning to answer, "I don't know but if you-"

Hyde doesn't wait to hear the rest of the man's response and charges toward the desk, his friends close behind him.

"Michael Kelso. I need to know how he's doing. And if you don't know then you sure as hell better find someone who does," Hyde demands the receptionist.

"Hyde," Donna lays a warning but comforting hand on his arm before turning to the receptionist herself, "Sorry. Please just let us know anything you can find out. He was brought in with his wife Brooke and their daughter. They were involved in a car accident."

"Yes of course. I'll find a doctor to speak with you, please take a seat while you wait," the woman assures and gestures to the waiting room.

"Great, more waiting," Hyde mutters as they make their way to the chairs arranged in the waiting room.

Jackie isn't about to say it, but she shares Hyde's frustrations just as strongly. She needs to know how Kelso and Brooke are now , she doesn't know how much longer she can take the tension and anxiety of waiting and wondering.

"Oh, I can't take this!" Fez complains, "What if he's in a coma and I'll never see his beautiful brown eyes again or hear his beautiful voice or-"

"Oh my God, could you shut up about your weird crush on Kelso and be serious for once? He could die, man!" Hyde's words are harsh, but they carry the unspoken fear that had been weighing on all of their minds.

Fez shrinks back into himself.

"Hyde," Eric chastises him.

"What? I'm just saying what we're all thinking. Or what we should be all thinking."

Eric just glares at him.

"Fez," Jackie says quietly, rubbing his back as he sniffles, "I'm sure he's gonna be fine."

Hyde lets out a frustrated, strangled noise at this and gets up to pace the room.

Outwardly, her focus is on Fez, but her thoughts are with Hyde. His attitude might not be helping, but she knows he's just hurting and scared. Just like she is. Just like they all are.

Jackie doesn't know how much time has passed, but it feels like they've been sitting in tense silence for hours when a doctor finally approaches the group.

The five friends immediately stand up.

"Are you here for the Kelsos?" the dark skinned man asks.

"Yes, how are they?" Eric insists.

"Well, the child is currently in the ICU. She's not out of the woods yet, but we're fairly confident she'll make a full recovery," the doctor informs them, "We'll know for sure in a few hours when she wakes up."

Hyde swears and Jackie gasps.

"At such a young and fragile age, it's a miracle she survived. Let alone be in as good of condition as she currently is," the doctor adds.

"Oh my God. And Michael and Brooke?" Donna desperately asks.

Please be okay , Jackie prays.

His gaze falters, "They both didn't make it. I'm sorry."

Didn't make it.

I'm sorry.

At those few words, Jackie's world spins out of focus.

She sways on her feet, managing to grasp the back of a chair before she can fall.

Her vision blurs and her hearing fades. As though from a distance, she can hear Donna's sobs and Hyde yelling "No, he can't be dead!"

In a daze, Jackie sees Eric, shocked into silence, allowing Donna to desperately wrap her arms around him in need of support.

She barely registers Fez pulling her to him as he wails for his lost best friend.

And as numbness takes her over, Jackie's last thought is there are no happy endings.