A/N going a little off canon with the Water tower incident.

Chapter 23

Jackie was confused when Eric came with them to close the store, she figured it was going to be just the two of them again. Steven seemed off ever since she came back from shopping with Angie. They ate dinner at the Foreman's and he seemed quiet, even telling them that he and WB had put an offer on a house and it was accepted, if everything went smoothly they would be able to move in after the first. But there was no emotion in his words, Jackie began to get scared again, was he already regretting the house and moving in together? She had finished the books for the night and just sat at the desk wondering what was going on with Steven. Great she could feel her stress levels begin to rise, just as soon as her numbers had went down.

Steven walked in the office and saw Jackie in a worried state, "Doll what is wrong?"

"You are not already regretting the house already and moving in together?" She figured the best thing for her would be just be direct.

He walked over to her and pulled her up into his arms, "no babe, I just been distracted by something that happened in the past and I need to talk to you and Eric about it, and I figure it is best if I talked to you both alone, no distractions" he grabbed her hand and led her to the couch in the listening pit, music that was normally blaring this time of night was off, it was eerie to be in the store in the silence. They both sat down, but Steven sat at a distance from Jackie he couldn't hold her while he told her what he had to say, Eric was sitting in the chair waiting.

"OK, I had promised myself I would never tell anyone this, especially you two, and I don't want this to be a secret anymore. I am going to ask you to first know Eric you are like a brother to me, and Jackie I love you more than anything, both of you remember that. And you both know I don't like to talk like this so no interruptions" Jackie and Eric both sat there looking at Steven and nodded in agreement.

"It started when Donna asked me to meet her at the water tower with a six pack I didn't think anything about it, Donna had been one of my oldest friends and she really needed a friend that night. I thought Michael and Fez would be joining us, I knew Jackie was busy with her mom…"

FLASHBACK THE NIGHT ON THE WATER TOWER

Steven climbed the water tower to find Donna alone "Where's Kelso and Fez?"

Donna looked over at him and motioned for him to sit next to her, "I guess they are running late, more beer for us" she never mentioned she never asked the guys to join them as she motioned for him to give her a beer.

As they both sat there drinking looking out over the small town, "Look Foreman didn't want you to tie yourself down to this town that is why he bolted like he did"

"I know, I should have brushed him off years ago when you was hitting on me" at this Donna had put her free hand on Hyde's thigh. He was getting very uncomfortable with being up here with her alone.

"Look you are still wearing my best friend, no brother's ring and I am dating your best friend" He moved her hand off his thigh.

Donna looked down at the ring, why was she still wearing it? She took the ring off and threw it to the ground below. "Remember when you kissed me in Jackie's cabin? I am sorry I didn't kiss you back that night, we are a better fit than me and Eric or even you and Jackie" This time she had her hand stroking his sideburns, he grabbed her wrist and held it away, "Remember learning to dance so you could dance with me at that disco?"

"Donna I am with Jackie and I know no one understands us, but we work we are good together, I care for her in a way I never have anyone before, not even you"

"I want to kiss you now" Donna said quoting Steven that night of the disco, before he could say anything else she leaned in to kiss him but he held her back. She got pissed, first Eric had run off on her and now Hyde that had a crush on her years ago. She took and pushed him and that is when he fell.

END FLASHBACK

"She called Kelso and Fez from the hospital and of course they rushed over, I think Kitty called you Jackie when she realized Donna hadn't called you. Before anyone got there I was pretty pissed more so for what happened before I was pushed off the water tower, I didn't want either one of you hurt. I told Donna we would never speak of it and it wouldn't happen again."

"Noticed Donna looking at you strange the night we went up there to look for that ring" Eric said

"I am sorry I never told either of you about that night, I tried to get Donna to come clean with Eric, I felt by then she was just stringing him along"

"I don't know why it took me till leaving for Africa and a few letters from Jackie before I ended it for good with Donna. But Steven know I don't hold anything against you for not telling me"

"Doll what about you?"

"Well I knew something happened, the night before I moved out of Bob's Donna and I got into it and she kindly threw it in my face. I knew she was glossing over parts of it, but I didn't want Eric hurt either or for it to break apart the group, and I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want it to come between the two of you.

FLASHBACK DONNA AND JACKIE FIGHT

"Donna I can't believe you just took Eric back so easily" Jackie had came back to the room after spending the night with Steven to find Eric and Donna in her bed. She was thankful they were still dressed.

Bob came in at that time with a bill for Eric for the wedding expenses and left. Eric left to go home.

Jackie turned and looked at Donna in disbelief of what happened.

"Donna you don't go back to a guy that basically left you at the altar, hell you was ready to run too"

Donna hated the truth in the midgets words, she hated her being a year younger and always sticking her nose in her love life. She was taking her mother's advice she loved Eric so she could forgive him.

"well it's not like I could just start screwing Hyde after my fiancee left me like some people, not that I didn't try" she almost had a satisfied smirk seeing the effect of her words on the girl. "that's what you did isn't when your fiancee left you"

"How dare you, you gladly left with Michael, I sent him a letter after he was gone a week and it wasn't till another 2 weeks Steven and I started making out. Not that it is any of your business but we didn't have sex till after that Valentine's day dance. So I didn't start screwing Steven right away."

"Yea right, you expect me to believe Hyde was in a relationship that long and not getting any thing, I know him better than you."

"Donna you may have known him longer but you don't know him better"

"Please if wanted him I could have had him back when me and Eric first started"

"He might have had a crush on you back then, but that was all it was"

"I regret not kissing him back in your parents cabin that night"

"Donna are you really going to sit there and dredge up old history?"

"I guess I can bring up your boyfriend comforting me up on the water tower the other night"

"That's enough"

"What you don't want to know I kissed him, him pushing away caused him to fall, bet he wishes he didn't push me away, bur he cares about Eric too much, I guess more than he did Kelso"

Jackie ran out of the room and out of the house.

END FLASHBACK

"I came over to the house just as Eric was trying to eat breakfast and things were a little chaotic, so I drdropped it, mom and me moved out the next day. I told Donna that I would drop the fight if she would, reminded her that our boyfriends were practically brothers and I didn't want them to know"

Steven reached over pulled Jackie close to him, "your friendship was never the same was it?"

"Not really, but the funny thing is Eric and I got closer"

"We did a better job hiding our friendship than you two did your relationship" Eric smiled

Steven looked at him and smiled, "hey we snuck around for two months before you finally found out, so how long have you too been buddies?"

Jackie took a deep breath, "everything was going great with you and WB, you got the store, and I figured my parents would be impressed that my boyfriend had a successful future ahead of him. So that Friday when you was busy with the store I told mom all about your new family and the store. Thinking she would be impressed with your rich father, yea she didn't like that he's black and after a hige fight I left hoping you would be home, I didn't want to see you in the store with everyone around. Eric was in the basement and I told him about the fight. I didn't want to bother you with mom's racist ideas and bring drama into your new relationship with your dad and sister."

"you was busy with the store and Donna at the radio station and I ended up driving up to see her dad, I was afraid it wasn't going to go over like Jackie thought and didn't want her to go alone, and the mess she was in coming out of there"

"I haven't had any contact with him after that, on the way home Eric told me how I was Red's favorite out of his friends and I could always take Laurie's spot."

"Hey Jackie has been my hero since she hit Laurie in the eye"

"yea, that was a good day"

"When I saw Donna kissing Randy on the Vista Cruiser I knew I had to do what no one did for me, and then Sam showed up, Eric was the only friend I had at the time and I really felt it was time and told him about my fight with Donna."

"I knew something was up with her and I just let it slide, we never talked about what we really wanted for our futures, actually we never talked about our future after I decided to stay and help my parents, away in Africa I was able to reflect on everyone and what I wanted to do with my life."

"So what do you want to do?" Steven asked while noting they should be getting home soon, Jackie looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"Well I still want to teach, but now I have more focus on what I want to teach, high school history. I'll be home in March and looking to start summer classes at UW, I will have some credits from the year in Africa"

"That sounds great man, I think we need to get home, Jackie needs to get in bed."

"I am glad we had this talk you two mean the world to me"

"I am glad you could be such a good friend to Jackie, she never had close friends before"

"A lot of people are missing out on a great friend"

Jackie had fallen asleep and Steven just picked her up and carried her out while Eric got the lights and the door.