CH.5 Kennedy

Jackie pulled Colette's wrist, pulling her outside the Forman kitchen and onto the driveway. Colette had just enough time to close the sliding door before yanking her wrist out of Jackie's clutches, yelping, "Jackie! Yer hurting me!"

"I don't even have a strong grip, so pipe down." Jackie snapped.

Colette rubbed her wrist, grumbling, "Your nails were digging into my skin." She then looked up at the brunette who just kept pacing the driveway and running a hand through her hair. Colette stepped toward her, "Jackie? Are you nervous?"

Jackie waved a finger at her, faming confidence, "Jackie S. Burkhart is never nervous! Especially over some old flame who clearly hasn't changed a thing since we broke up!"

"Then why is your voice really high?"

She paused, rubbing her shoulders, "Stop analyzing me, Little Jackie. It's getting annoying."

Colette walked over to the parked station wagon in the center of the driveway, leaning on it, "Sorry. It's just that you-" Colette stopped in the middle of her sentence, her eyes glazing over the olive green station wagon. Jackie was too busy facing the Forman kitchen to notice Colette's suspicious eyes on the vehicle. After a moment of empty silence Colette turned away, chuckling a little, "Eric and Donna must be getting to me. I could've sworn this old jalopy dipped for a second. But, maybe it was just my body weight."

Colette stood straight up, facing the vehicle with an amused face, "Maybe ghosts are in our mist, eh?" When she didn't hear a reply, she turned back to the ex-cheerleader, "Jackie?"

Without turning around, the brunette said, "I'm just thinking, Little Jackie." She sighed, "When I was a kid, I was so sure I would be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader."

And then the station wagon definitely sprang by itself, and Colette could feel a chill go down her spine as she was positive it couldn't be blamed on her body weight this time. She stepped back, saying in a shaky voice, "Uh….Jackie? Something weird is going on over here."

The brunette ex-photographer looked up at the sky, not paying attention to what was happening behind her, "It's so strange how fast the time goes by. One moment you're four, the next fourteen, and before you know it you're hitting twenty-four."

The station wagon was silent for a moment, but suddenly Colette found herself growing very suspicious that her and Jackie were not the only two there in the driveway.

With a rush of adrenaline Colette dove toward the vehicle, diving inside the open window in the driver's side. With her legs sticking out, she was forced to pick herself up using her arms. She crammed her neck to see someone, just one person, climb out of the hatch from the back end of the Cruiser.

Jackie kept going on, "If this were the 1800s I'd be considered an old maid."

Colette kicked her way back out the window of the car, plopping on the hard cement on her rear end. But she didn't waste any time grumbling about it but shot up like an arrow just in time to see the lone occupant from the station wagon run into the open garage.

Hearing all the commotion had Jackie squint her eyes, turning around, "Little Jackie? What are you doing? Are you even paying attention?! My story has a moral at the end!"

Colette ran inside the garage after the person. Whoever they were they paused for a minute, the sunlight from the backdoor of the garage leaking out and illuminating the figure but darkening their face in the process. Colette didn't move an inch and tried her best to memorize every detail about this person- this woman.

But as soon as Jackie's clacking heels were heard entering the garage, the woman darted away. Jackie's screeching voice could be heard overhead, "What are you doing?!" The brunette placed her hands on her hips and pointed at the open hatchback of the station wagon, "Playing games, I see?"

Colette ran after woman but was discouraged when she realized the backdoor in the garage led to an empty alleyway. She heard Jackie's irritated voice, "Little Jackie, enough. Mr. and Mrs. Forman don't appreciate people just rummaging through their garage."

Colette jogged back to Jackie, panting, "Someone was here!"

Jackie nodded as she closed the hatchback, "Yeah, you and me."

With adrenaline coursing through her Colette shook her head, holding in a thundering scream, "Jackie! Listen to me! Someone, somebody, a woman, was here! She-she was in the station wagon! I think she was hiding! And, she was trying to get away; she did get away!"

By Jackie's face one could easily tell she wasn't buying the story, "You weren't spiking Mrs. Forman's orange juice by any chance?"

"I'm not making this up! You saw it, you had to have!" Colette told her, pointing at the backdoor of the garage, "She was real!"

Jackie waved her hands in the air, "The only thing I saw was you running around the garage like a lunatic."

Colette opened her mouth to say something but Jackie cut in again, "And no, I did not see a mystery woman."

Struggling with the urge to scream, Colette threw up her arms, desperate for Jackie to believe her, "She was right there! I saw her! I could've chased her down if your shrill screaming hadn't scared her away!"

Jackie shook her head, motioning for the impulsive teenager to follow her, "I told you we need to go to the mall to get our minds off of Steven."

The twenty-three year old headed for her car, a powder blue Mustang, calling out for Colette, "Let's go." But Colette kept staring at the driveway with a baffled expression on her face. How could Jackie not believe her? She had to have seen her. And the teenager's overactive mind began to wonder if Jackie herself was somehow involved. Colette pointed at Jackie, examining her with distrusting eyes, "How do I know you didn't see her? Maybe you did. Maybe you knew she was there all along!"

Jackie was already irritated by Colette playing detective and placed her hands on her hips, cocking her head to one side angrily, "Uh-huh, you're crazy. I want to go to the mall so we can spend quality sisterhood bonding, not inspect the Forman's driveway for some goon who doesn't exist."

Colette shook her head, not trusting a word that came out of Jackie's mouth, "How can I tell if you're telling the truth? Maybe you're covering for her!"

Jackie was holding back a terrible scream. If this were seven years back and Colette was Michael Kelso, she'd drag her by the ear until it turned purple. If this were six years ago and the sneaker wearing teen was a rebellious, curly haired stoner, she would've kicked his shins and demanded that he listened to her. And if this were five years ago and Fez was the problem in front of her, she'd twist his nipples and tell him that's what he got for opposing her. But none of those boys were in front of her today. Colette was.

Jackie couldn't take it any longer and shouted, "I don't even know how you're illusion looked like!"

Colette said almost immediately, "I think she had blond hair-"

Jackie cut in sharply, "Oh, so you're not even sure, Laura Holt?! Would you like to consult with Remington Steele?"

With much more confidence than before Colette said loudly, "I know she had blond hair!"

Jackie rolled her eyes, waving her hand at the girl, "Oh, so now you know when before you thought."

Colette tried not to let Jackie get to her as she continued, "And she had broad shoulders!"

When Colette said the last sentence Jackie paused for a second, saying out loud and to herself, "Donna?"

As soon as Colette heard Jackie say the name she jumped up, "Ah ha! So you admit it was Donna!"

Jackie shook her head, dismissing everything, "The only thing I admit is that you have lost it. I don't know what you're talking about and if Donna came back to Point Place, the first thing she would do is contact me."

"So she contacted you?"

Jackie turned around, groaning, "Gah! You are worse than Michael and Fez combined!"

Jackie began walking away from her and started toward her car, parked in front of the Forman's house. But Colette refused to be left behind twice and was right on her heels, asking questions that annoyed Jackie to no end.

As soon as the pair made it to the front of the house, they went directly to a baby blue mustang with two white racing stripes sliding along from the trunk to the hood. It was the same one Jackie's father had given her for a birthday gift all those years ago, and it was kept in amazing condition. The tires had shiny new rims, and not one was flat. The paint job was impeccable, not a chip or scratch on it. The interior had newly upholstered white leather in addition to glossy pink dashboard and steering wheel. The glass from the windows had been shined, prepped, and tinted. Everything about it was beautiful, except the yellow ticket on the windshield wiper.

Colette kept rambling on, "I think you knew Donna was coming back! 'Cause as you said, if she were coming back she'd contact you first! Maybe she was supposed to be meeting Eric at that station wagon! I don't know why there instead of another location, but maybe they were meeting there!"

Jackie pulled out the ticket and quickly scanned it.

Colette continued, "Maybe she didn't want us to know about it! I mean, think about it, everybody knows that the Pinciotti house has been empty since the Hollister's moved out over a year ago! Maybe she's secretly living in there like a hermit!"

Jackie finally lost it and snapped, "Will you shut up?! I've got a ticket here!"

"For what?"

Jackie read it, saying lowly, "I don't know…wait. It says I…parked near a hydrant?" She resisted the urge to rip up the ticket and looked around the sidewalk by her car, "What hydrant?!"

Colette pointed at the green one by the rear tire, "That one."

Jackie saw it and angrily professed, "That's a hydrant?! Come on! It's green! Hydrants should be painted red, everyone knows that! I thought it was a small garbage can! They can't give me a ticket for something this stupid!"

"Yes. We can."

Jackie spun around to see a dark, middle aged man with a heavy mustache, reflective aviators, and wearing the sharpest police officer's uniform in the county. And even though his silver nametag on the right side of his pressed, blue, buttoned down shirt said his name, Jackie needed no introduction.

"Officer Kennedy." She grumbled, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

The man smiled cynically, "Well, well, well…if it isn't Miss Jaqueline Beulah Burkhart? You're back in town again, huh?"

Colette was confused, "Beulah? But I thought your middle initial was an 'S'?"

Kennedy laughed much to Jackie's irritation, "Still with that same story, huh?" He then looked passed Jackie to tell Colette, "This one was so ashamed of her middle name she printed up so many shirts announcing false initials that read JSB. She tells everyone that that's her name."

He then looked down on Jackie, "When are you going to grow up?"

Jackie did her best to act casually, looking up and smiling likeably, "Still upset that Michael burnt down the Police Academy, huh?"

At the sound of Kelso's name, Kennedy shivered, "Don't you dare bring up that disgrace of the badge!" His eyes suddenly darted around as he mumbled, "He's not back in town, right? I'd have to warn the volunteer fire department to start taking double shifts again."

Jackie's temporary amusement faded when she sighed, "No, he's not here." She then turned her attention to the ticket, "And about this- I should get let off with a warning or something."

Kennedy laughed right in her face, "Warning? You used all your warnings up! You were part of a tiny band of juveniles who tormented the town every chance you could get! You vandalized the water tower, toilet paper tee-peed Mr. Wilkinson (the music teacher's) house and you threw a keg party in an empty pool that belonged to the house your mother was showing for her real-estate office! Do you know how many bribes my office took from your father to keep your tiny butt out of jail! And I don't even want to think of all those misdemeanors we let slide. But now guess what; daddy's out of the picture. And now there is nothing holding back the strong arm of the law from taking you in. And since you're an average, ordinary citizen now-" Officer Kennedy smiled like a fat cat, "-you are treated like an average, ordinary, citizen."

Jackie narrowed her eyes, "You can't prove I did any of those things."

Kennedy asked quickly, leaning forward, "Is that a dare?"

Colette quickly got between the two, using her body as a buffer, "Okay, so how about them Packers? Looks like it's gonna be a winning season!"

Kennedy straightened up, Colette's face familiar to him, "And who are you supposed to be?"

Colette tried unsurely, "Uh…a close family friend?"

Kennedy made a face, as if deciding whether or not Colette was a threat before fixing his badge and belt, "You look like a young lady who has had a few run-ins with the law herself. And I wouldn't be surprised if you were, hanging around with that one." He gestured toward Jackie with his head quickly before saying arrogantly, "But remember Bobby Fuller, ladies. He fought the law, and the law won. And in Point Place, Wisconsin- I am the fearless law."

As he was about to leave, he pointed at the ticket Jackie still held tightly in her hands, "You can show up to court if you want to fight it, but I don't think it'll work since Judge Jenkins is the brother of the same judge who sentenced your daddy to ten years in the pen. You should probably just pay the money." His smile grew smugly, "Think of it as another donation to the force just like daddy would've done for you back in the day."

Colette folded her arms across her chest, muttering, "What a jerk."

Kennedy turned around, catching her slip, "What did you say, young lady?"

Colette coughed, "I said…whatever."

Kennedy marched back to the two girls, his full wrath now zeroed in on Colette, "Are you giving me lip?"

Colette held up her hands defensively, squeaking, "I was in the middle of my sentence- I swear!"

Kennedy stopped, demanding her to say the rest of her sentence right then and there so he could hear it better.

Colette turned toward Jackie for help, but the brunette was drawing blanks like her.

Colette stuttered, "Uh, well, I, er, um, ugh…"

Kennedy folded his arms impatiently, "Well…?"

Colette licked her lips nervously, "Whatever, whatever, whatever, whatever-" Her mind was desperate to think of something, and then her mouth did it for her, "Whatever happened to Eric and Donna?"

Both Jackie and Officer Kennedy stared at her in surprise. Kennedy then took in a breath, thinking about what she said, "Eric and Donna who?"

Colette quickly explained in a shaky voice, "Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti! The two kids who used to live here. Well, Eric did. Donna, she lived next door and stuff."

Kennedy shrugged, taking off his officer's cap, to quickly wipe some sweat off his brow, "Oh, those two kids? I don't know. But I can say they seemed in an awful hurry to grow up. My brother Dan met them, said they wanted to get married but didn't even know why. Now who the hell doesn't know why they would want to get married? And then they lied to him about having sex. Said they never consummated their relationship and were as pure as saints. What a load of crap."

Colette and Jackie exchanged looks.

Kennedy continued, "They were just rushing everything. Accelerating it, if you will. But the problem with taking things fast is that even if you get to the fun parts first, you run the risk of using up all the time you have. And then you have nothing but a broken heart and some memories."

Colette asked slowly, "So you think they're separated?"

Kennedy said gruffly, placing a hand on his hip, "I'll tell you what I think…"

Officer Kennedy's Thoughts

It had been very sudden, like a twist a fate. Eric had gone back to Africa to finish up his term and had promptly came home. Or at least that was the plan until the plane he was on was forced to land in New Jersey. There was some engine trouble or something, and he found that he was relieved that the plane didn't explode in midair. However, he didn't want to step foot on another plane to head the rest of the way back home. So, he started taking the Greyhound buses and got as far as Michigan. He was tired of sleeping on buses and waking up to crying babies and with a pounding headache, so he decided to take up a small motel room in a desolate Michigan town and call his mother in the morning.

He had been thankful to sleep on an actual bed for the night. He had a TV and pondered flipping through the channels to see what could be on. But before long his growling stomach had him pull back on his trousers and jacket and fish around the town for a diner that would welcome a lonely traveler on his way home.

He found a small on called "Luke's". What attracted him was the name, as if the universe had been steering him there all along. So he took up a booth right by a window, eagerly flipping through the menu until deciding on a burger. He had been away at Africa for so long, he almost thought he'd forgotten how good a hamburger tastes.

So he sat at that booth, rubbing his greasy fingers from the French fries when someone came in from behind him. He didn't really get a good look on whoever it was, but it was a woman with long blond hair and a black coat that cut off on the back of her knees. She took her place in a neighboring booth a table away from him. The back of her head was to him the entire time, but he just couldn't stop staring at her, wondering if it could be Donna.

Unfortunately she must've felt his eyeballs on her because she turned around.

It wasn't Donna.

He then asked for his check, paying everything in full. He hadn't really been paying attention to the waitress until he looked up at her to hand her a tip. She had the brightest red hair he had ever seen- but it still wasn't Donna.

As he walked back to his motel, he knew it was wrong of him to pine for her so much. After all, they could've married but he left. And she stayed back from school for him, and he still left. All he did was keep leaving and breaking her heart. He hated himself for it and knew it was wrong to keep wanting her, to keep from holding her back.

As he passed the desk of the motel he was staying, he saw the manager arguing with someone. He didn't pay any attention to their screaming though. All he could focus on was Donna, and how he let her go.

He was still lost in his thoughts as he reached his door. He took out the key, fishing for it in his pocket for a while until finding it. And that was when he heard the manager shout, "How many times do I have to tell you! You can't go in there! It's for lodgers only!"

He turned around to see the person the manager was talking to rush to the laundry area before coming back out and making her way to another area.

For a second he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him as he said the only name he could think of, "Donna?"

He wasn't that near her, but she still heard his voice. Immediately her head perked up, her eyes zeroed in on him and she walked toward him in a very fast pace. The manger nearly had a heart attack from all his screaming at her, but she didn't care. She ran right up to Eric and….and slapped him right across the face.

He toppled to the ground, trying to catch his breath.

The manager pointed a finger at Donna, saying to her, "I'm calling the police on you!"

The young woman with flaming red hair narrowed her eyes at the little man, "Fine. Do it. And see if they're here in time to stop your murder." She then focused her attention on Eric, now in the process of standing up, "And You!" She placed her hands on her hips, shrieking, "Everybody was worried sick about you! We were all waiting at the airport until we found out that your flight was forced to land! You should've seen your mother! She was so upset she downed three margaritas before breakfast! And then we were so sure you'd arrive on another flight- but you never did! Your dad is at your house right now trying to figure out where you disappeared off to so he can kick your ass!"

Eric grabbed his jaw, trying to explain, "I was going to call!"

"When?" She demanded, "Because it's been two weeks since you were supposed to be back in Point Place. Right now we are all scouring Wisconsin for your skinny butt. And I should be in school, Eric. Not in the middle of Michigan, getting into a brawl with a pint-sized manager from small-town USA."

Eric didn't know what to say. H let his jaw hang limply for a second before mumbling, "I…I thought about you."

Her eyes softened for a moment but immediately hardened when she noticed a red stain on shirt.

"Is that lipstick?" She demanded.

Eric looked down, confused about what she was talking about before looking back up, desperately explaining, "No! I- it's ketchup! I-I was at a diner earlier to go grab a bite to eat and I accidently spilled some on me!"

She narrowed her suspicious eyes at him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" He squeaked.

She then pointed at his motel room with her thumb, "Is this your room?"

Eric nodded, afraid to say anything more. She then sighed, "Okay, grab your stuff. I'm taking you home."

Eric blinked awkwardly, "But-But I wanted to sleep in a bed tonight."

She stared at him for a moment before asking, "When was the last time you did?"

"It's been awhile Donna." He moaned, "I just wanted one night…I'm tired of getting passed out in vehicles. My neck still hurts from last night on the bus."

She seemed to be in the middle of an internal struggle before she agreed, "Fine. You can stay here tonight, but tomorrow morning at six sharp, you're coming with me."

And before his mouth knew what it was doing he blurted, "You wanna stay with me?"

She tried to resist the urge of shoving him back in the room and only commented, "Aren't you a little too old to be afraid of the dark?"

Eric smiled, a hand on his bruised jaw, "You need to make it up to me since you punched me."

"I slapped you."

"That was a slap?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. Eric then cleared his voice, "Well, it was a mighty powerful slap."

She then looked back up at him, admitting, "It's a tempting offer Eric,"

Eric looked down, "I sense a 'but'-"

She continued, "But, we just got out of a really long relationship. It wouldn't be fair to either of us we just hook up- even for tonight. And if we did, where would it stop? Next week? Next year? Could either one of us start a meaningful relationship with someone else if we kept just…y'know. Doing 'It'."

In the background they could hear the manager scream about how the phone was disconnected. Donna looked like she was trying hard not to smile about that which had Eric wondering for a second if she did something to the wires, but then he focused on their conversation again, trying not to sound too bitter, "I guess. It's just, it's hard. I wake up sometimes and I have to remember we're not together."

"You are the one who decided that- not me." She reminded coldly.

They both awkwardly stared at the space around one another until Eric let out a breath, "I ruined it, didn't I?"

Donna shook her head, "You didn't ruin anything, Eric. Our relationship, us, we were spent up anyway. There wasn't much left we could do short of getting married and having kids. And that was where we differed. So, we just kept recycling our feelings because we knew that if we ever talked about it, we would be over. Our common ground would be gone."

"I wouldn't mind getting married and having a few kids. Like, like three or something." He mumbled, hoping she'd share his sentiments. But she smiled sadly at him, "You know that's not what I-" She was about to say "want" but stopped. She took in a long breath, saying instead, "One day I hope you do."

She rented out another motel room, threatening the manager if he refused to rent one out to her. She wasn't that far away from him, but it didn't matter. Because in the morning she was gone. She disappeared, as if she was never there. And Eric almost went crazy tearing the whole town apart to find her.

He never did.

And too this day he's still out there, looking for, refusing to come back home until he found her.

End of Kennedy's Thoughts

Officer Kennedy finished, "She left because she knew that if she didn't, he would always be after her and probably never find happiness because they wanted different things out of life. That's why they broke up. She was giving him a shot to find it with someone else. But what happened was the skinny fool was so obsessed with her that he is still out there, trying to find her. And I just threw in the arresting bit 'cause I would love nothing more than to book the six amigos in for something."

Colette started thinking about it, "So, like I said earlier: they're separated."

Jackie smiled warmly, "You know what should be separated?" She handed the ticket over to Kennedy, "This ticket. Would you do the honors?"

Kennedy began to laugh, "Good try, but no cigar."

Jackie then looked around the empty street, "How did you even get here? I don't even your cop car here to help tip me off to your presence."

Kennedy grumbled, "First off, it's called a police patrol vehicle. Second of all, because of your little friend Kelso, some trouble-making kid played stowaway in my squad car! Now the kid was taken care of as she should've been. A wild little beast that she turned out to be, kicking and screaming and telling us her 'big sister' was going to go after her." Kennedy lifted up his belt, "We were forced to lock her up! Show her how animals are dealt with! And in the end it didn't matter because we found that the kid came from a broken home, with four brothers. She didn't have a sister." Kennedy continued, "Anyway, a few months later, when the town council was told of the embarrassing goof, they told the Chief they wanted something done about me and Kelso. But what happens? Kelso was let go with a warning because he was a rookie! And me? What did they do to me?! They stripped me of my vehicle and made me into a beat cop."

Jackie couldn't believe it, "You locked up a kid?"

Kennedy shook his head, "Not me. That order came from a higher up."

Jackie spewed in disgust, "You talk about Michael being a disgrace to the badge but you…you let a kid get locked up!"

Officer Kennedy grabbed his gut, "Look, don't pin this on me. I am a God fearing man who believes in the good book-"

Jackie narrowed her eyes, looking at his stomach, "The Good Book or a Cook Book?"

Kennedy continued, "The point is- it wasn't my decision! Why would I lock up a kid?"

Jackie yelled at him, "Well, my point is that you let it happen!" She let her hand slap the officer as hard as it could, shouting, "And that's not for the ticket!"

Colette jumped back a little, surprised Jackie stood up for her. But she could only say in shock, "You just assaulted a police officer."

Officer Kennedy rubbed his cheek, letting Jackie walk away as she said over her shoulder to him, "I know daddy isn't around to protect me anymore, but I promise that if you lock me up I'll do more than kick and scream."

Both girls got in the Mustang, Jackie itching to speed away. Soon the ignition was on and they were off on their way to the mall. And from far away Kennedy could see the driver's hand stick out of the window and let something fly out into the air. Eventually a wind picked it up and blew it over to the top of Officer Kennedy's polished shoe.

It was a police ticket.

James Avery was a favorite guest star of mine just because of Fresh Prince. And I also liked it when he kept catching the guys breaking into the Police Academy when Kelso thought he was "The Stooge." Best line ever, from Eric, "How do you keep finding us? I'm wearing ALL black!"