Chapter Nine



Author's Note: I'm sure you have all noticed that, like EricandDonnaForever said, Donna is acting slightly out of character. As a matter of fact, so is Hyde. I just wanted to let you know that I am very aware of that and I wanted to be like that. There is a reason for this, one that you will discover later in the story.



Fez's POV



I watched the events leading up to the confrontation and it was almost hard to believe everything had went so well. Back at the hotel, Donna had seduced Eric, then told him she wouldn't do anything with him unless he divorced Jackie. She had managed to time all this so that they got to the club just in time Jackie and Hyde dancing. Hyde had called Jackie and asked her to meet him at my club at seven and to tell Eric that she had to go do some work for Laurie as a cover up. I had gotten Kelso to turn the song on at exactly seven-thirty, since the club was only a three minute drive from the hotel. And now it had all worked out perfectly. Jackie and Eric would get into a big fight and before you knew it, they would be divorced. But for the time being, there was nothing I wanted to do more than sit back and watch the fireworks.



"Funny, I could have sworn you told me you had work to do." Eric's emotionless voice came from behind Jackie, "I never would have thought you considered doing Hyde a chore. Especially since now I realize why you came back from my parent's house with such an improved frame of mind. Didn't even start bitching at me, just crashed on the couch."

Jackie turned around to face her husband and did a double take when she saw Donna standing next to him, her hand clasped tightly in his, "Look who's talking. You said you were staying home to do your taxes."

"So what?" Eric shot back. He had never been too smooth with comebacks, "You... whore!"

"You screwed Donna before I even touched Hyde, so don't you even try that." Jackie yelled. Both she and Eric were oblivious to the large group of people that had clustered around them. This group included Laurie, Fez and Kelso.

"You're pathetic you know that?" Eric growled, "You sat around for the longest time, waiting for Hyde to come back. You never realized that he didn't want to marry you. And neither did Kelso. I took you off their hands."

Jackie felt rage boil inside her and she slapped him hard across the face, "Well, obviously Donna didn't want to marry you either. She chose a one-way ticket out of Point Place over you. And you even brought her an engagement ring."

"Kelso cheated on you two many times to count," Eric retorted, "Even Hyde cheated on you. So don't tell me I'm the one that can't hold one to the ones I care about."

That was it. Jackie lost control and before she realized what she was saying, she smirked at him and said shouted, "You stupid bastard. I am taking Tory, and I am leaving you! It's not like she's yours anyway."

Eric lurched backward, a stricken look on his face. He turned to the dismayed looks of the people that knew him and felt an incredible sense of loss. If Jackie was serious about taking Tory away from him, he would lose one of the best things in his life. And he didn't know how he would be able to take that.

Hyde stepped out of the crowd, shocked that Jackie would publicly announce such a thing and humiliate her husband in front of so many people. It wasn't like her. She had changed. He had changed, Eric had changed and Donna had changed. Nothing was forever, nothing stayed the same, not since he and Donna left Point Place. They had thrown life off balance, shaken things up and some changes were permanent.

Hyde watched as Eric ran out of the club with Donna tearing after him. Jackie seemed frozen in place, not even noticing the glares and disgusted looks several people were throwing her. Hyde led her out of the club and helped her into his car. She spent the first part of the trip staring blankly into space. Then she started sobbing.

"I cannot believe I just did that." she bawled, "I can't believe I just told the whole world that I'm a whore. And poor Eric. God, what is wrong with me. I never act like that. Never."

As if remembering Hyde was in the car, she turned to look at him accusingly, "You. You made me do this. I haven't been thinking clearly ever since you got back. Why do you have to screw up my life like this?"

"That wasn't what I came back to do." Hyde protested, but he didn't get any further.

"I don't want to hear it." Jackie waved his words away with her hand, "Please, Steven, just take me home."

Not knowing what else to do, Hyde drove her back to her home. She got out of the car and left him without saying good-bye. He sighed and wondered if she was really worth it. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself that she wasn't, the vast majority of him was still saying, hell yeah. So there was nothing to do but keep trying to make her believe that he wanted her back for keeps.



Eric crumpled onto the cold cement in the deserted lot behind the alley, sucking back tears. He remembered the first day he had held Tory in his arms. Her baby blue, luminous eyes were staring back at him and he fell in love with her right then and there. He remembered the first time she had said 'dadda' and the first time she managed to walk all the way across the room to him without falling onto the floor. No matter how much he missed Donna, no matter how much he was regretting the way his life turned out, Tory was always there, a ray of sunshine he could always count on. This was wrong. It was unfair.

"Eric, I'm sorry about what happened back there." Donna said softly, kneeling down beside him. She put his arm around him and remained silent as his tears fell.

"I just want so badly for her to be mine." Eric blurted out, "It tears me up that I'm not Tory's biological father. And now Hyde's back and he's going to take Jackie and Tory away from me."

"I wish this didn't have to hurt everyone so much." Donna murmured.

Eric looked up at Donna and managed a weak smile, "Remember all the dreams we had? We were going to get a big house and have a dozen kids. I can still picture how it would have turned out. Little red-headed girls and brown-haired boys. We would have made the cutest kids." he stopped when he saw that Donna was now crying.

"Donna, what's wrong?" he asked with concern, his own troubles temporarily forgotten.

"I just wish I would have done so many things different." she sobbed, falling into his arms. He stroked her hair.

"It's more than isn't it?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer was yes, "There's something more to all this. A missing piece. What is it, Donna? What have you been hiding all along?"

"I haven't been hiding anything." she sniffled, "Why would you think that?"

"We're soul mates, Donna, I can tell. You are hiding something, whether or not you're willing to admit it." Eric replied.

"Maybe I am," Donna said in a near whisper, "But I can't tell you what it is."

Eric felt like she had just slapped him, "What do you mean you can't tell me? It can't be that bad."

Donna burst into a fresh batch of tears, "If only you know." she wept bitterly.

"You wanted me to forgive you." Eric said, his voice hoarse, "You wanted us to all move on from what happened five years ago. But how can you expect me to do that when you don't trust me enough to open up and tell me the truth about your past."

"Maybe I shouldn't have come back." she said, having second thoughts about her return for the first time since she arrived, "Maybe this was all just a big mistake."

"Of course it was." Eric stood up, "I'm going to go find Jackie and apologize. I should have never tried to be with you again. What a stupid thing to do."

He walked away, leaving Donna on the ground to cry alone. She wanted to tell him the truth about what happened, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It had changed everything she had known- herself, Hyde, Jackie, Eric...... and there was no way she could ever undo it.



Author's Note: Don't worry, you will find out Donna's secret very soon, as long as you keep your wonderful reviews coming. And Hyde will FINALLY meet his daughter in chapter ten, so I'll update as soon as I can.