Chapter Three



Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter two. Just to let you know, this will end up being five chapters but you don't really need to read chapter five. It's more for people who actually watch Days of our Lives but if you want to read then I'd like you to. Just to let you know, it looks like I reviewed my chapter two of this story but that wasn't me. My friend was over and I got her to review it but she forgot to log out of my account before reviewing. Because as much as I love reviews, I'm not that desperate, lol.



"Who do you want to go see first?" Cassie asked him.

"I don't know." Kelso returned dumbly, not sure he even wanted to see how much better his friend's lives were without him around.

Cassie ran one hand through her hair impatiently, "Fine. Then I'll just take you to see your dad first."

"Why?" Kelso asked. He could tell Cassie was getting sick of him so he decided to shut up after that.

He blinked and when he opened his eyes, he was in a bar he had never been in before. He looked around and his eyes finally rested on his father. He was sitting hunched over on a bar stool, a mug of beer sitting in front of him. He approached his father and saw him take another drink of his beer. The bartender was staring at him sympathetically.

"Won't your family be upset that you're down here on Christmas Eve?" the bartender asked him.

Kelso's father turned his heavy-lidded gaze to the bartender and laughed bitterly, "What family?" he brought the cup to his lips once more and Kelso focussed on his bare hand. The wedding ring that had been on his finger was gone.

Kelso turned back to Cassie, "What happened to him? Where's my mom?"

"I'll show you." she told him, taking his hand. She took him to the Kelso's home and Kelso saw his mother sitting inside. She was sitting at a large desk in the corner and writing on a piece of paper. There was no Christmas tree or decorations up.

"Ever since you're father left, your mother became a workaholic. Work is all she has now." Cassie informed him.

"But they weren't supposed to divorce!" Kelso felt his chest tighten.

Cassie shook her head, "Your mother might not have Bud's child, but she still had an affair with him. Your father found out through a friend that found out and he walked out on her. If your mother had gotten pregnant with you, she would have confessed to your father what happened and he would have ended up forgiving her. Then he would have raised you like you were his own son. You were the only thing that kept your parents together."

"I don't believe it." Kelso shook his head emphatically, "My not existing was not the reason they divorced. And what about Casey, how did he take them divorcing?" Kelso thought of his older brother and wondered how his life had turned out.

"He didn't." Cassie said softly. Suddenly, they were in a graveyard. The wind was whipping wildly around them but Kelso couldn't feel a thing. He stared straight ahead, at his brother's grave.

"What happened?" Kelso asked hoarsely.

"Your brother was so shaken up over his parents divorcing because of your mother's affair, he ended up on the road to self-destruction. You thought he had a drinking problem but this was much worse. He ended up getting involved with heavy drugs. And he never got together with Donna. So, on the night he was supposed to take Donna to that motel, he overdosed. He's dead, Kelso."

Kelso blinked back tears and tried to think positively, "If Donna never got together with Casey, then she and Eric must have ended up better off. They probably never even broke up."

"They still broke up, they just didn't break up for as long." Cassie countered, "And since you weren't around, Fez and Jackie never became part of the basement gang. It was just Eric, Hyde and Donna. And since Donna and Eric were so wrapped up in each other, they didn't...... treat Hyde very well sometimes. Then, on the night you and Donna were supposed to go to California, they-"

"What are you trying to tell me?" Kelso asked, "Have they gotten married yet? Did they have a kid?"

"Come with me." Kelso closed his eyes and expected to be taken to a new place. Instead, Cassie pulled on his arm and led him to another grave.

"Not Donna too!" Kelso stood dumbstruck at the sight of another familiar name on a tombstone.

"On the night you and Donna were supposed to go to California together, she and Eric were out driving. They got into a horrible car accident and Donna died."

"What about Eric?" Kelso asked.

Cassie sighed and in they ended up in front of a small, run-down house. Kelso looked inside the dingy front window and saw Eric sitting, reading a book. After a minute, he put the book down and wheeled into another room.

"He's paralysed from the waist down." Cassie told him, "He's never going to walk again. He lives in this house with Red now. Red was so upset about this happening to Eric, he spent all his money trying to get Eric's legs fixed. But nothing worked and they had to sell their house because Red had spent so much money."

"This is stupid!" Kelso exclaimed, "They were supposed to be better of without me. Not all of them have shitty lives. I bet Jackie and Hyde are off happy together somewhere."

"I'll show you where they are now," Kelso ended in a small apartment. He watched as Jackie carried a small baby over to a playpen. She kissed the baby on the top of it's head before carefully placing him in the playpen.

"See, I told you!" Kelso said triumphantly, "She and Hyde are happy together!"

"You haven't seen everything yet." Cassie protested gently. After a few minutes of silence, the door to the apartment opened.

"Jackie, I'm home." a voice called and Kelso frowned. That wasn't Hyde's voice.

Jackie hurried over to the tall, dark man and embraced him, "I'm so happy you're back, Chris." her voice seemed to lack enthusiasm.

"Is dinner ready?" Chris asked, turning in the direction of the kitchen.

Jackie's plastered on smile faded, "I've been so busy. It's Christmas Ever and I completely lost track of time. I'll get something ready right now." she tried to walk away, but he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her back.

He shoved her against the wall, glaring into her eyes, "I just got back from work and I expect dinner to be ready."

"I'm sorry." Jackie said in a small voice, wincing at the sight of one of his clenched fists, "It won't happen again."

"I'll make sure it doesn't." at his words, he slammed one fist into the side of her face and she yelped in pain. The baby started cry and Chris stalked out of the room. Jackie collapsed onto the ground, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"Hyde and Jackie never met. They never went out and Jackie ended up getting pregnant with Chris' child. She had to quit school and they got married. Chris hits her almost every night, he's completely out of control."

"Well, if she's here and Eric's living with Red, then where's Hyde?" Kelso asked in confusion. He wished he could go up and comfort Jackie, but he knew that she wouldn't be able to see him or feel his touch even if he tried.

"Do you really want to know?" Cassie's eyes bore into Kelso's gravely and he felt his heart sink.

"Yes." he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was in a dimly lit prison cell. Hyde was stretched out on the cot, his eyes closed. Kelso's mouth dropped open in shock when he saw Hyde in the prison cell. He hadn't known what to expect, but he hadn't expected this.

"Why is he here?" Kelso questioned.

"For murder. Four different murders." Cassie added, "I told you that Donna and Eric weren't very nice to him. He was like a third wheel, they didn't pay very much attention to his feelings. Eric and Donna needed you, Jackie and Fez there to balance things out. Eric didn't even bat an eye when Hyde told him Edna walked out. Hyde had to live in that house all alone. I guess it makes you go crazy after a while. But it gets worse. You knew all of his victims."

Hyde rolled over and clutched his pillow, groaning loudly, "Merry fucking Christmas." he mumbled to himself.

"I don't want to know who he killed." Kelso screamed, finally losing it, "I don't want to know anything else. Just leave me alone!"

"But I have to show you." Cassie took him back to the graveyard they had been in earlier that night. Four graves were lined up next to each other. Kelso couldn't help reading their names.

"Laurie was his first victim. Then Kitty. Then Pam Macy. And you remember how crazy Caroline was stalking Fez? Well, Fez wasn't around to stalk, so she was stalking Hyde. She found out about the murders. Before she could go to the police, Hyde killed her. The police finally managed to track Hyde down. He's never coming out of jail." Cassie sighed unhappily, "I feel so bad for Hyde. He needed Jackie so that he could know that someone really loved him. Because you decided not to exist, he never found her and they're both going to spend the rest of their lives suffering."

"God!" Kelso glared at Cassie, "Why are you showing me all this? You're sick, you know that?"

"I'm showing you this because you need to see it." Cassie responded, gripping his hand tightly in hers, "And there's one more person you need to see. The last person in the basement gang."

"Fez." Kelso said his name slowly and softly, almost under his breath. Cassie brought them into a completely different setting. It was daytime now and the sun was shining brightly. There were olive-skinned people walking around everywhere. He spotted his old friend and flinched. Fez was staggering along the sand. He wore no shirt and his pants were torn and dirty. His shoeless feet were dry and blistered and there were deep, red lines along his back.

"What happened to him?" Kelso watched as Fez went over to pick up a large chunk of wood.

"Well, since Hyde killed Laurie, he couldn't marry her, so he got deported. Then, these people caught him and sold him into one of these places that still has slaves. He has to stay here. The people here beat the slaves when they collapse. They can't rest, they have to keep building this houses with their bare hands.

"That's sick!" Kelso wrinkled his nose in horror, "This is all a joke right? None of this would actually happen if I didn't exist, would it?"

They were back in his bedroom and Cassie smiled sadly at him, "Everything happens for a reason, Kelso. God made you for a reason. Without you, all your friends lives would fall apart. So, are you sure you want to give up on living? Or do you want to give your life another chance?"