A/N: This chapter kinda got away from me; the Eric/Donna scene turned out longer than I'd expected, so I had to push back the Chicago stuff till next chapter, which means that this story might run into 11 chapters. However, I have a few different ideas for an ending, and I'm not sure which one I'll go with, so it's possible the next chapter will be the last. Anyway, I've never really written E/D, so forgive me if they're OOC. I tried! A tremendous amount of gratitude to each and every person who has reviewed this story thus far. I am immensely grateful for all the support and the encouragement! You guys are all awesome!

Chapter Nine – About Time

Eric's breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her. If possible, she looked more beautiful than when he'd left. He realized she was staring at him, mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers, and he set his bags down gently on her kitchen floor and tentatively came further into the room. He opened his mouth, intending to speak, to tell her how much he'd missed her and how much he loved her, but all that came out was a tiny squeak. His cheeks flushed crimson at the noise, and Donna blinked, the spell broken.

"Eric, what are you doing here?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat, clearing his airway so he could again attempt to speak. "I…I came back," was all he could come up with, and mentally he kicked himself for sounding so incredibly lame.

Donna's brow quirked up mockingly. "I can see that. I guess what I should have said was why are you here?"

Eric winced at the tone of her voice. He couldn't really blame her for being upset, but all the way home, through the seemingly endless flight and the agonizingly slow cab ride from the airport, all he had thought about was seeing her again. He had envisioned appearing at her door and being received with an enormous smile and an enveloping hug. He had thought, naively, she would be happy to see him. He had forgotten how well his Donna could hold a grudge.

"Donna, I missed you," he said softly, hoping to convey with his voice how sorry he was.

Donna wasn't budging. Her arms were folded across her chest, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "Explanation," was all she said, her tone even.

He sighed heavily. "I wanted to call you so many times, but it just hurt so much to talk to you and never be able to see you. We've lived next door to each other like our entire lives, and any time I wanted to see you, all I had to do was walk ten feet and I was at your house. Every time I talked to you over the phone, it just reminded me that we weren't living next door anymore, that I couldn't see you at all. And the whole reason I left was to make things better for us. I wanted to be able to pay for my college and be the man you needed, but once I was there, I realized how selfish it was of me to expect you to wait for me. You have so much potential, and I know if you put your mind to it, you could do anything you wanted; hell, you could even break the barrier and become the CEO of a company someday instead of a lousy secretary." He looked up hopefully for a glint of amusement in Donna's eyes or the faint twitching of a smirk at her lips, and his heart sank as he saw neither.

"Look, Donna, I just didn't want to hold you back. I mean, you stayed here for me when you could've gone to college; you put your life on hold to wait for me, and you have no idea how guilty I felt for not stopping you then. I just couldn't live with myself if I made you do that again."

"So all of this was for me?" Donna asked.

Eric's gaze snapped to hers, a hopeful look on his face. "Yes. Donna, I never meant to hurt you, I just did what I thought was best for you."

Donna nodded, but when she spoke, her voice was infused with sarcasm. "Well, Eric, you did a great job. I wanted to spend my life with you, so I sacrificed things that were important to me to be with you, and then you run halfway across the globe to go be something you thought I needed, and then to top it all off, you decided it was best for me if we broke up, and the least hurtful way you could think of was in a letter." She glared at him. "So I guess what was best for me was for you to break my heart over and over again."

Eric's eyes were wide with shock. He had no idea he'd hurt her this much. It had been incredibly hard for him to make that decision, but in his heart he'd felt he was doing the right thing. Forcing her to put off her own life so he could catch up to her was selfish and unfair, and that was truly the only thing he'd thought about when he'd put pen to paper and written that infamous letter.

"Donna, I swear, I never wanted to hurt you," he pleaded. "Writing that letter was the hardest thing I've ever done, and you're right, it was stupid and cruel, but I couldn't…I couldn't bear to hear your voice. I wanted to be strong, for you, and I knew if I heard your voice…I'd crumble."

She shook her head. "You honestly thought the best thing for me was for you to break up with me?"

"I thought the best thing for you was to just…move on with your life." His gaze slipped to the floor, his voice almost inaudible as he continued, "Donna, I've never been good enough for you. Ever since we started dating, all I've ever heard is 'How the hell did you get her?' or 'She's your cousin, right?' No one ever thought I was good enough for you, and I finally understand that now. You could do so much better, and I felt that if you stayed with me, you'd be missing out on all those bigger opportunities. But I'm a coward, Donna, and the only way I could force myself to do what I thought was right was by writing that letter."

"So why did you come back?" she asked quietly.

Eric wavered, uncertain as to what to say. He knew his answer would only hurt her more, and since he'd already done his fair share of that for one lifetime, he was hesitant to add to her pain. He looked up into her eyes, and the only thing he could think to say was, "I love you."

Donna scowled at him. "You love me? After all that, the only thing you can say is that you love me? Eric, you put me through hell for a year, and now you come back here and expect me to forget everything because you still love me?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Yes?"

Rolling her eyes, Donna placed her hands on her hips. "You're gonna have to do better than that," she said, but her voice had lost most of its rancor.

Eric sighed, but he could sense Donna was caving. Still, he owed her this explanation. "Teaching those kids was amazing," he began, watching her closely, "but it wasn't what I thought it would be, and I realized that was because of you. The highlight of my day was calling you and telling you everything that had happened, and listening to you talk about things back here, and when I sent that letter, I didn't have that anymore. I didn't have anything to look forward to at the end of the day. I realized how much I missed you and how much you really meant to me, and I decided to hell with what everybody else thinks. You were willing to put off your life to let me decide what I wanted to do with mine, and now that I know, there's nothing more that I want than to spend that life with you."

Tears began forming in Donna's eyes as she stared at him. His voice was completely sincere, and she could see the truth in his eyes. Her resolve to stay mad at him began to crumble, and she didn't even recoil when he took a step towards her.

"I'm sorry…for everything," he said, reaching out a hand and gently tracing the curve of her cheek with his fingers.

"God, Eric, you're such a dumbass," Donna breathed, all traces of anger in her voice gone.

Eric smirked. "Yeah, I guess Red was right all along." Then his lips were against hers, and Donna found herself clinging to him, kissing him back fervently, pouring every bit of emotion she had in her into the kiss.

Pulling away slightly, Eric gazed into her eyes. "Donna, I really missed you, and God, I just love you so much."

She nodded frantically, not really hearing a word he was saying. "Uh-huh," she replied absently, pushing him backwards. "And I'm going to love hearing all about how sorry you are and what a stupid dillhole you've been after."

"After?" he asked, and then uttered a startled cry as he hit the kitchen table.

"Yes, after," Donna repeated, and pushed him onto the table, climbing on top of him and sealing her mouth over his, silencing any other questions he might have.

Eric plopped down in his usual seat, grinning like an idiot at his three friends. "Man, it is so good to be home," he said and giggled.

"Donna gave you welcome-home-sex, didn't she?" Kelso correctly guessed, smirking at Eric from across the circle.

Trying to remain modest, Eric said, "No, she…okay, yeah, she totally did!"

Kelso grinned. "Welcome-home-sex is the best, man. Oh, except for make-up-sex. Oh, and going-away-sex. And can-I-have-a-pretzel-sex."

Hyde frowned. "Can-I-have-a-pretzel-sex?"

"Yeah, see, this one time I was in the park and that hot pretzel lady was working, so I asked if I could have a pretzel, and next thing I know, we're going at it behind the pretzel cart!" Kelso cried proudly.

"You are such a whore," Eric laughed.

"Oh, Eric, it is so good to have you home," Fez said as he popped a Tootsie Roll into his mouth.

"Yeah, man, things just weren't the same without you," Hyde agreed and clapped Eric on the shoulder.

Eric smiled. "Yeah, so I hear. What's this about you being married?"

Hyde's muscles tensed, and Kelso and Fez grinned at him. "He's a little sensitive about that," Kelso said, patting Hyde on the back.

"He was married to a whore," Fez added, and inhaled another piece of candy.

"She wasn't a whore, Fez, she was a stripper," Kelso corrected, and dodged a punch from Hyde.

Fez shrugged. "Eh, same difference."

"Wait, wait, you married a stripper?" Eric asked, barely controlling his laughter. "Oh, man, Donna didn't tell me that part!"

Hyde scowled. "I was drunk okay?"

Eric smiled knowingly. "Yeah, the last time I remember seeing you drunk, you almost married Jackie." Then it dawned on him. "Holy crap, Hyde, you'll marry just about anyone when you're drunk!"

"Burn!" Kelso shouted, and deftly ducked another blow from Hyde.

"I will not marry just about anyone," Hyde snapped, irritated. "It just so happens that one time when I was drunk I almost married someone, and then another time when I was drunk I actually did. But that doesn't mean anything."

"Hmm, I think I see a pattern here," Fez sing-songed.

Hyde glared at him briefly and then turned back to Eric. "Whatever, man, it doesn't matter anymore because we're getting divorced. I went to the courthouse today and picked up the papers. I've already signed them, so all I have to do now is send them to Sam and then forward them on to the lawyer."

"And then what're you gonna do?" Eric asked, his eyebrows raised suggestively, as if he already knew the answer to his own question.

Donna appeared then, and Hyde was thankful that Eric's attention immediately shifted to her as she sat down next to him and kissed him heartily on the mouth. The others groaned loudly, voicing their disgust at the display of affection, but Donna just tossed her head and said, "Oh, shut up," as she snuggled against her boyfriend's side.

"So, Donna, when do we leave for Chicago?" Eric asked as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Wait, Chicago?" Hyde interrupted, looking back and forth between the two. "You guys are going to Chicago? To see Jackie?"

Nervously clearing her throat, Donna said, "Yeah, she called me the other day. She's found an apartment, and I suggested we all godown there to help her move."

"So now you're all going?" Hyde said, his voice accusing.

"We would've invited you, buddy," Eric placated.

"But Jackie doesn't want you there," Fez stated bluntly.

Donna and Eric glared at him, but he ignored them, unwrapping another Tootsie Roll and shoving it into his mouth.

Hyde frowned. "She said that?"

Donna glanced at him sympathetically. "Well, she didn't say those words exactly…"

"But she doesn't want me to come," Hyde said, finishing her thought.

"Look, man, I'll stay here with you," Eric offered. "I don't really like her that much." Donna hit him in the shoulder, and he looked over at her, offended. "I was just trying to help."

Hyde shook his head. "Nah, man, you don't have to stay."

"Are you sure you'll be okay here all by yourself?" Donna asked, watching him carefully.

"I'm not staying here," Hyde replied firmly, as if daring anyone to question him.

Eric glanced at his friend warily. "Hyde, man, I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

Reaching into his pocket, Hyde pulled out a tiny velvet box and set it down on the table. "Forman, I've had that ring for months because for months, I've been too stupid to go after Jackie and fight for her. I'm not gonna give up another opportunity."

Eric looked at Donna for help, but she was smiling appreciatively at Hyde. "Well, it's about damn time."