"J, we need to talk," Eric said somberly one afternoon.

On the other end of the line, Jackie's stomach was tied in knots. She twisted the end of the cord nervously, waiting for the ball to drop on the happy little world they had treated together. "Okay," she murmered.

"What is this?"

"What is what?"

"This, us."

"I don't know," she admitted honestly. He had voiced the very thing she had been trying to voice for weeks. "I don't know, Eric."

"Me neither."

"But, I want to try to find out," she told him.

"Me too."

The conversation went silent as both considered the weight of their confession. "You're so far away, though," she sighed.

"Not forever," he tried. Right now, he could barely make it through the day without hearing her voice. He knew that if he got in any further, he wouldn't be able to make it through the day without seeing her. "I got your package today."

"Did you like it?" she asked.

"More than you know," he replied. She had sent it last week, taking hours to meticulously pick each item she had placed in the box. It contained things that he missed from home, like root beer and peanut butter. She had managed to put in a paperback book from Star Wars and an envelope of photographs of herself. Looking around his dingy room, it suddenly seemed brighter with her image smiling back at him.

"Jackie? Are you here?" she heard Fez calling from the living room.

Jackie rolled her eyes. "I have to go, he's home."

"Okay, call me tomorrow."

"I will," she replied as she hung up the phone. Alone in her room, she allowed her mind to wonder. They would never figure things out with Eric in Africa and her stuck in Point Place. Frustrated, she felt like they were going to end up at an impasse if she didn't do something to change the situation. He couldn't come back yet, his contract wasn't up for a few more months. It seemed hopeless from where she stood.

"Jackie, we're all going to go eat at the Hub, do you want to come?"

"Sure," she grumbled as she threw her purse over her shoulder and followed him to the car.

Once at the restaurant, she found most of the old gang hanging out at their usual table. Hyde, or Steven as she called him, was sitting next to his "wife," going on and on about some random government conspiracy. Looking at him, she couldn't remember why she was ever so hung up on their marriage. She suddenly realized that she was completely over him. What she didn't see was the way that he looked back at her, indicating that he still was not.

"Hey, Jackie," Donna said as she returned to the table with Randy in toe. They sat a plate of French fries on the table, just as Fez sat down. He chewed happily on the stack of fried potatoes as Donna looked on in mock anger. "Fez!"

"Thanks, Donna."

"Jackie, do you want anything?" Hyde asked as he stood up.

She shook her head as the stripper eyed her husband and cleared her throat. "What about me, honey?"

"Oh, do you want something?"

Jackie didn't even pay attention as they started to argue. In fact, she wasn't paying attention to anything around her. It didn't seem to matter anymore, this wasn't her life. Her life was in that conversation, it was the huge part of her heart that lived in Africa. Suddenly, a realization came over her. "I have to go!"

"What?" Donna asked, surprised by her sudden outburst.

"I have to go, I have to go now," she repeated. Her friends watched as she raced out of their hangout and down the street. She didn't stop running until she hit the front door of her apartment. Fumbling with her keys as she pushed the door open with her hip, she ran to her bedroom. Throwing clothes and other necessities into the smallest suitcase she could find, she packed as quickly as she could. She jotted a note to Fez, grabbed her keys and headed downstairs to wait for the taxi she had called as soon as she arrived home.

Fifteen minutes later, she was standing in the line at the airport. Tapping her toe impatiently, she checked the schedule hanging over the ticket counter. Finally, it was her turn.

"I need a one-way ticket to Africa."