DISCLAIMER: I don't own That 70's Show or anything related to it. I wish I did cause then I could make Jackie and Hyde be together. Humph… Oh well. The last season never happened. Sorry that I haven't been writing. I've been busy and I forgot. Also, this chapter is really short but I couldn't think of anything. I need to get back into the swing of things.

Summary: Takes place in the 8th Season, during and after Fun It. Jackie and Hyde bottle up their feelings because they can't stand getting hurt again by each other. The final season leads them through tragedy and self-discovery. But will it lead them together again?

Chapter 9: Seasons of Wither

Ooh woe is me I feel so badly for you

Ooh woe is me I feel so sadly for you

In time bound to lose your mind

Live on borrowed time

Take the wind right out of your sail

-Aerosmith

Kitty watched Red sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. "How can you just sit there and read when your son could be getting eaten by a lion!" she yelled at him.

"Kitty," he said sternly. "Eric won't get eaten by a lion. He's too lean."

"Red" she cried before glancing around the room quickly and storming out of the room.

"Dammit." Red folded up his paper and set it down on the table. "Even in Africa that dumbass can ruin my day"

In the bedroom that they had shared for many decades, Kitty cried, like she had ever since he'd left. Even she didn't think that his leaving was going to hurt her so badly. When Laurie left home, Kitty was generally okay. So, Laurie wasn't her favorite. Even as a slutty, good for nothingdaughter, Laurie was her daughter and she loved, whether or not she admitted it. And sure, Eric was her baby, had been since the moment she found out she was pregnant. She even gave up drinking when she was pregnant with him, because she loved him so much. It was expected that after he left, she drank way more than she ever had. She drank to pass the time; she drank to get away from the pain and the loneliness; she drank because she didn't know what else to do. Without him, there really wasn't much of a her, she'd come to find out. For over 18 years, she made it her duty to protec t him and love him and take care of him. Even with Donna around, she still had to do it. Now that he was taking care of children and their education in Africa, she didn't know what else she was supposed to do. She had heard that when people retired from jobs that they've had all their lives they didn't know where they were left in the world. She always had thought they just needed to pick up a hobby. And that's what she did. It was just that her hobby burned going down and made her happy when she really wasn't.

Author's Note: Yeah, I realize that this is the shortest chapter in history but I honestly couldn't think of anything else at the moment. Kitty is really hard to write for when she's not comic relief or a moral center. Oh well. I just wanted to add that chapter to let everyone know what she was dealing with, but I will add more to her inner story later. Expect a breakdown very soon. Anyway, there will by more JH goodness (well, there will be some JH goodness because my story doesn't really have any yet) in the next chapter. No big Fez story yet... you'll see. Review please. And, just a side note, the sequel to The Leaving Song is coming. Yay!