Something Around the Corner
Blue Days

When Jackie reached the Forman's, she was soaked through, and the house was dark. She crept quickly around the side of the house to the basement door, which always seemed to be unlocked. It was, and she slipped through to the slightly warmer temperatures, kicking off her shoes quietly and setting her suitcase down. After listening at Hyde's door for the heavy, even breathing that meant he was asleep, she peeled off her shirt and skirt and raided a basket of clean laundry. She found Eric's plaid pajama shirt and pulled it on. It fell halfway down her thighs.

Bone weary, Jackie pulled out the extra blanket she knew was kept in the basement closet and then promptly fell asleep.

The next day she woke at noon. She only just barely made it up the basement stairs to the closest bathroom, where she emptied the contents of her stomach, which weren't much. The house was empty. Red and Kitty would be at work and Eric and Hyde at school. She wondered if Hyde had noticed her on the couch, but she doubted it. He would never have passed up an opportunity like that to play some trick on her.

The thought made her check the bathroom mirror quickly for pen marks or anything else just as immature. All that stared back at her was her own face, framed by a nightmare of frizzy hair. Sighing, she picked up a brush and began to work the knots out of her hair.

She stopped halfway through, realizing how hopeless it was. She left and sat in the living room and had a good cry for almost a half an hour. Afterwards, she felt a lot better, as only a good cry could make you feel. The day looked a little brighter, and she noticed the healthy rumbling in her stomach and made herself a sandwich, which she ate while watching Perry Mason in the living room.

With a full stomach and at least two hours of a house to herself, Jackie found herself with nothing to do. She didn't want to go downtown incase her father had people looking for her. So, for the first half hour she set about doing little chores, which was unlike her, but she was restless and running on a decent number of hours sleep. She folded the clothes downstairs and scrubbed the counters in the kitchen and bathroom until they shone. Then, knowing that Mrs. Forman had changed the vacuuming day to Tuesday, she took the liberty of doing it for her, though she noticed that she did a poor job. She had never vacuumed before, after all.

She flopped down on the couch after she was done. Mrs. Forman was good at housekeeping and Jackie still had two hours to burn. She tried watching TV again, but there was nothing good on. Then she tried reading, but all she could find were books about wars, or books about pirates with a lot of dirty innuendo, or all of Eric's books about Star Wars.

Whilst rummaging through Eric's room for any decent pastime, she came across some paper, and an idea struck her. She grabbed the pile and a pencil and headed back down to the basement.

Taking the pencil, she thought for a moment, then began to write.

If Eric hadn't decided to use the basement door to enter the house, it might have been hours before he discovered Jackie laying fast asleep on a pile of papers. When he pulled them gently out from beneath her, he noticed writing on them, but he didn't read, in respect for Jackie's privacy. He set them neatly on top of the dryer, then laid a blanket over the top of her and allowed himself to sigh in relief. He had been worried when he hadn't seen her at school.

Without thinking, he reached down and brushed a lock of hair off her face.

God, she's beautiful…

What! No, no, no! We talked about this! You do not have feeling for Jackie!

Who said I had feelings for Jackie? And stop referring to yourself as 'we', that's probably how crazy people think.

Yeah, probably. But that's not the point! The point is that you … we… you! should stop thinking things like that about Jackie. You're dating Donna. You love Donna.

Uh huh. And Kelso would kill me, too…

Yes, that too.

But it's only looking! It's not like we're doing anything. Hell knows she'd never be caught dead with someone like me, no matter the circumstances.

That's not the point, either! No thinking, no looking, no nothing! Just, no Jackie, okay!

Okay.

Okay. God, I really need to stop talking to myself…

Then Eric saw the badly folded clothes on top of the dryer. He turned to look back down at her, wondering briefly how long she'd been there if she'd been desperate enough to clean. Then he saw the suitcase leaning against the wall. Before he could think what to make of it, the door opened and Hyde walked in, dropping his books onto the floor.

"Oh, she's still sleeping?" he asked, motioning toward Jackie.

"Still?" Eric repeated.

"Yeah, man, she was here this morning," he explained, "She looked pretty bad, so I left her alone. You know what she's doing here?"

Eric looked down at her again, "Yeah, I think so. Look, could you just let her sleep? Don't bug her or anything?"

Hyde loathed to let an opportunity as golden as this one pass by, especially as she was looking so much better now, but he agreed, if only because Eric looked so serious about it.

It was only a moment after the boys left that the basement door opened again. This time Donna walked through, and, not at first seeing Jackie, she assumed the room was empty. Walking around behind the couch, her eye caught sight of the papers on the dryer. Curiosity getting the better of her, she picked up a page and read a line.

…I know this won't be easy for us, having to sneak around behind their backs, but I just want you to know, I love you, and I always will…

Donna stopped reading quickly and set the paper back down, her heart thumping hard in her chest. What was that about? Her fingers itched to pick the paper up again and read again, but she was too afraid to. That sounded like… someone was having a secret relationship in the group?

Her eyes were wide. What if it was Eric, a little voice in the back of her head challenged. What if he's cheating on you? Eric had been acting strangely at school that day, almost like he was hiding something from her. She could always tell when Eric was lying.

She pushed the thought out of her head. Yeah, right. Who would Eric cheat on her with, anyway? Right.

She turned and practically jumped out of her skin at the sight of Jackie laying, asleep on the couch. According to Hyde, she and Kelso had just had a pretty nasty breakup, only last week. Why would Jackie be here if she wasn't dating Kelso anymore?

Thoughts flooded her head. The letter. Jackie, here. Eric hiding something from her.

Donna took a deep breath and calmed herself. She'd just read the rest of the letter, and then she'd know, right? But just as she started reading again, she heard a noise from upstairs. She panicked and put the paper back before exiting the way she had come.

The last thing she had read on the paper made her heart ache.

…Donna, and especially Michael, don't know…

The door clicked behind her.

Eric came down later that night with a plate of food. Jackie was awake and had the papers in front of her again. She looked up when he came in and grinned.

"Oh, food!" She said, taking the plate from him, "I'm starving, thanks."

He sat and watched her eat for a few minutes, before asking, "So, were you gonna tell me what's going on?"

She slowed and looked down for a second, then raised her eyes to his, "My dad wants me to get an abortion. Because of the election."

Eric gaped at her. He couldn't imagine parents who'd push for an abortion.

"So, I left."

"Wow, Jackie…" he knew, for Jackie, the spoiled, sheltered cheerleader, that couldn't have been easy, "That was really brave of you."

"I didn't really have much of a choice, you know?" Her eyes filled with tears, "I couldn't let something like that happen. I only need to stay until I find a place of my own. I'll just sleep on the couch down here and stay out of your way, okay?"

"No, no way," Eric shook his head frantically, "We'll talk to my parents, okay? Laurie's hardly ever home, you can stay in her room."

Tears spilled out of the corners of her eyes, "Really?" She squeaked.

"Well, yeah," he assured her quietly.

She leaped at him suddenly and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank you…"

Eric, unsure of what to do, patted her clumsily on the head.

She moved away after a minute and they sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

"I noticed you kept yourself busy today," Eric teased, "Imagine, Jackie Burkhart doing chores."

"I was bored," Jackie defended.

"I figured. What's that you're writing?"

"You want to read it?"

"Uh, sure," Eric accepted the papers from her.

Dear Troy or Rhiannon,

He arched a brow at her, but she hushed him and he continued reading,

Hi. I guess I'm your mommy. I just wanted to let you know a few things, before the big day comes. I figure someday when you're older you'll read this and we can laugh, or cry about it together. First I want to tell you about me.

My name is Jacqueline Buela Burkhart. I'd appreciate it if you didn't repeat my middle name to anyone. My father is Mayor of Point Place, Wisconsin, and, as you can imagine, I grew up well 'privileged'. Some people might say I've been spoiled. I think that's pretty much over, now, though.

Your father, Michael Kelso, is a very handsome man. And he means well, even if he's not very bright or sensitive. I don't know how much he's going to be around for you, but it's important that you know that about him. Deep down, he's a good guy.

Your grandparents… you might not see much of them, either. You see, because I'm so young, they don't want me to keep you. I'm sorry to say that in a different time, perhaps if I'd been more responsible, they would have loved you and spoiled you just like they spoiled me.

I don't have any brothers or sisters, but I'm happy to say that you'll have plenty of uncles, and an aunt, too. Your Uncle Hyde is mean, but I bet you'll learn some fun pranks from him. Uncle Fez might be a little strange, but he'll probably always have candy for you, even if he's not happy to give it up. Your Uncle Eric will probably still be a big dork, but I bet you can always count on him to be there for you, just like I always have. Your Aunt Donna will be a good friend if you're Rhiannon, or a very good influence if you're Troy. She's the person to go to when you need to talk about me behind my back, which I'm sure you never will, or at least never so that I find out about it.

For the next nine months, I know this won't be easy for us, having to sneak around behind their backs, but I just wanted you to know, I love you and I always will.

Yes, at the moment, Fez, Hyde, Donna and Especially Michael, don't know about you. Your Uncle Eric, does, though, and he's been so nice about it. Your grandparents haven't been so kind, but time may change that.

I'm sorry I had to bring you into my life at a time like this, when it's going to be so hard for both of us, but we have good people on our side, and I think we're going to make it.

Please be patient with me,
Your loving mother,
Jackie Burkhart

Eric looked at Jackie in what seemed to be a new light. He had never known that she could be nice, and sensitive before.

"Jackie, that was… it was beautiful. And thank you, for what you said about me."

"It… it wasn't too short? I'm not very good at writing letters," she said, tugging at her hair in nervous embarrassment.

Eric smiled sincerely, "It was perfect."

She smiled back and hugged him, and this time he returned it. Just at that moment, the door burst open and Donna and Kelso barged in, catching the two in each other's arms.