Breaking Free

By: Ereye

Summary: Along the same lines as the current popular trend of "Jackie leaves and comes back years later," only I don't want them to have to wait so long. And she won't be pregnant. But there's heartache, growing up, angst and, eventually, mushiness. What more can people want?

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Chapter Two: New beginnings

The door to the Foreman's basement swung open with unnatural force as Fez stormed in.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Hyde asked.

"What's up? What's up! I will tell you what's up!" Fez crossed his arms and huffed some air out.

"Jackie is gone."

"What!" Donna asked, sitting up straighter.

"She left today. She just left a note, didn't even say where she was going."

"I don't believe this."

Fez pulled the note out of his pocket and read to Donna and Hyde what Jackie told him to tell them. He didn't read the whole note, sure that most of it was for his eyes only.

Donna and Fez spent the next couple of minutes discussing where Jackie could have gone. They didn't even realize how quietly Hyde sat, only noticing him when he stood and walked into his bedroom.

The two shared a glance, both knowing that things wouldn't be alright in Point Place for quite a while.

She can't really be gone. She can't be. He knew she would never be his again, but he figured he'd at least be able to see her.

Hyde sat on his bed, numb, staring at the ground. The clothes hanging in his closet, the bra draped over the chair, the sickly sweet perfume that was so different from Jackie's light breath of a scent – it all nauseated him now.

He knew the items – and their owner – had to go as soon as possible. Even if he could never be with Jackie, it was the least he could do to send Sam packing.

At that moment, she walked in. He stood, closed the door and turned to her. She may have been a stupid stripper, but she knew what he was going to say when she saw the expression on his face. She was packed and gone by the end of the day.

The thing was, her leaving made Hyde feel better, happier than he had in a long time. Yet, with Jackie gone, he was more depressed and lost than he ever felt. The conflict in emotions made his heart ache something fierce.

Jackie Burkhart had never been so nervous. What many people – except Hyde, whispered a traitorous voice in her head – didn't know is she is not as full of herself as she acts. Maybe at one point, she really did believe her beauty would get her everything she wanted, but not anymore. Now, she had to earn it. She wanted to earn it.

Today was her first day at her new job with a TV affiliate in Minneapolis. She'd be doing research and background for news stories, but she hoped to work herself up to being a TV reporter, even an anchor.

Part of her wished she could call Donna or Fez – or Steven – and share her news with them. But she decided while driving to Minneapolis that she couldn't let her longing for her friends get in the way of moving on with her new life.

In fact, she would force herself not to call anyone in Point Place for at least three months and then, to reward herself, she'd call Red. She was so proud that he actually kind of liked her, and truthfully she loved him for being the strong father figure for their whole group. She hoped she was successful enough by then for him to be proud of her.

Pulling into the parking lot, Jackie turned off her engine, smoother her skirt and took a couple deep breaths. She let the "Jackie" mask fall over her, smiled and exited the car.

The three months had gone by quicker than she could have imagined.

There were times when she still cried herself to sleep, times she longed for Steven to be there to wrap her in his arms.

For the most part, though, she thought she was getting over him. Three months ago, she wouldn't have that it possible, that she'd never get over him.

But life here was … OK. The job was going good, they were talking about letting her do some stories.

She was even making friends with a couple co-workers.

But now, when she was planning to call the Foremans, some of the old pain reared its ugly head. She tried to calm herself down enough to dial, hoping that Red would be the one to answer.

Finally, she gathered the courage. The phone rang twice before clicking into life on the other end.

"Hello?" Jackie smiled at hearing Red's voice.

"Hello, Mr. Foreman. It's Jackie."

In Wisconsin, Red felt a rush of relief. He had been worried about the girl – never admitting it, of course.

He glanced over at the kitchen table, where Hyde and Donna sat eating pie Kitty had made that morning. He pulled the phone cord into the living room.

"Hello. How are you doing?"

"I'm really good. I – I'm sorry for not calling before."

"Just as long as you're OK. Where are you?"

"Minneapolis. I have a job with the ABC affiliate. They're going to let me do some news reports next week.

"That's great. I'm happy for you."

Jackie smiled and blushed. "Thank you. Uh, I miss you Mr. Foreman."

"Well, we all miss you here, too. Donna and Steven are here if you want to talk to them."

"No!" The negative came out so quickly and vehemently it surprised both of them. Jackie tried to calm down again. "Mr. Foreman, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody I called."

"What?"

"I… I have a new life now. I don't want to make things harder for everybody. I just wanted to let you know I'm OK. I'll call again."

She hung up before he could get a word in edgewise. Then, she burst out crying.