Author Note: ….plot driven….I liked being a little devious…

T7S

Chapter 14 – Rusty Tears

T7S

"Hey, Eric. Do you mind walking back to the house with me? I thought we could talk for a bit." Donna asked hopefully.

Jackie was scraping plates for Kitty and pretended to ignore Donna. She knew the big lumberjack was staring at her all through dinner. She could smell the Juicy Fruit gum on her breath when she looked Jackie's way.

"Yeah, I guess." Eric replied. Bob was saying goodnight to Red and Kitty and kissed Jackie on the temple. "I'll see you later Jackie!"

"Good night Bob." Jackie heard three sets of feet walk towards the patio doors and the door slid open and then closed. She sighed. It was just like Donna to fly in, wreck everything and run off when it suited her.

Kitty smiled. "Jackie honey, what's all this gloom about?" Jackie put the plate in the sink. "Could it have hurt Donna to call me after all these weeks? I thought we were good friends and here she is doing all those stupid "lets see if she's really blind' tricks. I don't know."

"Donna was always an independent young woman. That's why I could never really see Eric being married to her. Still, she should have respected your privacy. That was just rude."

"Yeah. I felt like I was on display or something. I think I'm going to watch TV with Mr. Forman if you don't mind."

"Go ahead sweetie, I'll get the dishes."

The moon was full and illuminated the driveway and the old basketball hoop. Donna smiled when she remembered all the games they used to play here. Her dad walked into the house and Donna held back so she could talk to Eric privately.

She jumped onto the dusty hood of the Vista Cruiser, just like the old days. "Eric, why didn't you tell me Jackie was blind?" Eric slid up on the hood of his car. "I did. I called you at your dorm and said there's a good chance she's never going to see again. She got sprayed in the face with an acid."

"Well God, Eric you could have been a little more descriptive."

"How much more descriptive can I be than that? Did you want to know about the chemical burns on her face? The special drops she has to take every night that gave her pain? You were supposed to be her good friend. You could have called one time."

Donna didn't have a good answer. "I was busy."

"Yeah, with school…so you said. Donna, listen. If you want to come over and visit Jackie, do it because you want to. She can tell by the tone of your voice or some vibe you put off when you're not sincere. Don't disrespect her because of this handicap. She's still the same girl she was before – she just can't look at your face."

This was more than Donna wanted to deal with her first day back. "You know, it was a long drive. I'm gonna turn in. I'll see you later."

Eric watched his ex-girlfriend….the girl he thought was THE ONE….slide off the car and not even look back. Then he smiled when he thought of the THE ONE that was waiting for him in the house. The girl that was always glad to "see" him or talk to him. His disposition changed from sour to pleasant in the blink of an eye. It seemed like Donna and Hyde were cut from the same cloth and he was just now discovering it!

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Red laughed, "That knucklehead with the blond hair crashed into a bush."

"Jon? Officer Jon Baker?" Jackie asked. "Is Ponch okay?"

Red chuckled, "Yeah, he's giving the eye to a blonde in a halter top." Red cleared his throat. "Kitty doesn't need to know I saw that."

Jackie laughed. "Mum's the word. But did they recover the stolen money?"

Red looked back at the television. "Yeah, that new blonde lady officer put it in the police car. Oh jeez, there they go disco-dancing again!" Red stood up and gave the remote to Jackie who was bopping along with the music. "Come on Mr. Forman, cut a rug with me." She teased.

Red snorted. "I'm going to call it a night. Turn that off before you go to bed."

She was still laughing. "Yes sir. The next time you want to boogie-woogie, call me!" Jackie heard Red grumble something about "kids" as he trod up the stairs. Suddenly, she felt two hands on her shoulders as Eric whispered in her ear, "Is the old man gone?" His low voice made her shiver despite herself. She nodded.

Eric hopped over the back of the sofa and sat next to her. "Oh, you made him watch CHiP's. No wonder he went to bed."

Jackie chuckled and leaned against his arm. "How's Donna?"

Eric sighed, "She wanted to think you were faking this. She doesn't want to deal with it."

"I don't want to deal with it! Was she nice to you?"

Eric smiled. Jackie was always thinking of him. "She was okay. No, I didn't kiss her if that's what you're wondering." She pulled her legs up on the sofa cushion until she was kneeling next to him. "I know you didn't."

A caress of her hand across his chest left his heart pounding. He reached for her hands. "And you know this….how?" Jackie straddled one of his thighs and moved close to his face. Close enough for them to breath in sync with each other as she whispered, "I would smell it if you had."

He lowered his eyes to her mouth and those sweet pouty lips and he bit back a groan. He wanted to kiss her so bad. His hands were resting on her hips and he licked his lips. "Your mom's in the basement and your dad's in bed. Kiss me now."

Eric needed no other invitation. His lips met with her soft pink lips and she coaxed him into a delicious kiss. Gently, he lowered her to the sofa cushions, never breaking this fantastic kiss. Her dark hair splayed over the couch and onto the floor. His lips sought the warm silken skin of her throat and he found the pulse point that gave his lips the evidence that she liked this just as much as he did. She wrapped her arms around his neck twisting his hair, rubbing his shoulders feeling him relax to her touch.

Eric's hands were exploring – leaving slight tingling sensations everywhere his fingers had roamed. Jackie could feel herself bend instinctively to his touch and she kissed him harder. Her little mouth opened to the rhythm of his breathing as she pulled him tightly against her on the sofa. The length of his body was a welcome weight and she wanted to be naked with him.

Tony Orlando's, Tie a Yellow Ribbon was being whistled in the kitchen and Eric groaned. His mom was back. He rolled off the sofa and onto the floor. Jackie giggled, "Really, we have to find a good make out spot."

"No kidding." He said slapping his forehead.

"Ahahahahah hey you two. Don't forget to turn the TV off. Jackie, I'll take care of your drops in a few minutes." Kitty continued whistling as she climbed the stairs with a basket of clean towels.

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Jackie pushed her wallet and checkbook across the table. "I don't know how much I have, but I want you and Mrs. Forman to have it."

Red was confused. "Jackie, what are you talking about?" Kitty carried over two mugs of coffee. "Sweetie…why are you giving us your checkbook?"

"I know the hospital bills are expensive and all the medicines I'm taking aren't free. I don't have a job, but I do have some money in savings. I want to help. I can't expect you to take care of me for free. This costs money and I want to contribute."

Red sighed. He reached across the table and patted her hand. "Jackie, let me tell you what's happening and it might answer some questions for you." He pushed her wallet back across the table.

"The insurance on my garage paid for your hospital bill and the medicines. My attorney has filed a lawsuit against the company that made those bad batteries and we have a case filed that goes to court in a couple of weeks. You will either be asked to testify or give a deposition about what happened that day." He paused to sip some coffee and continued.

"The outcome we are trying to get is pain and suffering for you, enough money to take care of you for the rest of your life. I want to be compensated for my injuries and the income I lost while my shop was ruined. I want that company to replace all the bad batteries with a good name brand product so this never happens again."

"But I thought the doctors said this blindness was temporary until my eyes healed."

Kitty could feel her throat get tight. "Honey," she reached across the table and gripped Jackie's hand. "Dr. Johnson was only seeing you because the insurance was paying. He should have referred you to an eye specialist. Because he didn't, there is a real danger that this could be permanent."

Jackie's eyes filled with tears and she choked back a strangled sob.

Kitty continued. "Dr. Johnson wanted us to send you to a home for the blind in Illinois. He had given up on you but honey, we haven't! The Forman's are going to do everything we can to save your vision okay?"

"Oh-okay but I thought the drops were helping." She said quietly.

"They were only helping the pain. I found a new doctor and we have an appointment on Monday. Let's get someone fresh out of school that knows all the new technology to check you out."

"I don't want to go to a school. If I have to, I can learn Braille here. Don't kick me out." she looked towards Red. "Please?"

Red had a tear in his eye as he gathered Jackie in a big Forman hug. "Sweetie, we're not kicking you out. You're staying here for as long as you want."

Eric had opened the kitchen door to see his dad in a tearful hug. That was something he had never seen before!

"Dumbass, give this girl a hug. The….the garage needs me." Red pushed away from the table and hurried outside. Eric sat down in his dad's chair and wheeled Jackie over beside him. "Mom what happened?"

"We told her about the school." Now his mom was crying!

"And you told her she doesn't have to go. Right?"

Kitty wiped her eyes. "Yes, we're going to take care of her here. All of us."

Jackie wrapped her arms around Eric's waist and pressed her face against his tee shirt. He rubbed her back and murmured softly in her ear. "You're gonna get better. Hey, you made my dad cry. I can't even do that."

She snuffled a laugh, "Quit it."

"You got rusty Forman tears. How did you manage that?" he joked in a low voice. Jackie swatted his arm. "Don't make me laugh."

Kitty smiled and wiped her eyes again. "You two keep talking. I'm gonna make some lunch and tomorrow we'll see that new doctor."

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The bell tinkled above the door as Donna pushed her way in. Hyde looked up, "Hey Big Red. Good to see you!" Donna smiled as Hyde walked around to give her a hug.

"How's stuff up in Madison? You're dad says you're an excellent student."

Donna laughed, "Dad will say anything. Hey, I wanted to find out why you're living in the store."

He blew out an exasperated breath. "Mrs. Forman banished me until I could quote" treat Jackie like a real person" unquote. Then she told me to get my head out of my ass."

Donna laughed, "Oh my god, you pissed off Kitty. Apparently, the golden son did bad. Ha ha – that's wonderful. Tell me why you can't treat Jackie like a real person."

Hyde rubbed the bridge of his nose. "At first it was the thought of her all burnt up in the hospital. I mean I wanted to remember her like I last saw her, you know, all pissed at me and beautiful. Then when they said she lost her sight, I couldn't handle it. I called her Helen Keller."

"Oh, that's bad." Donna admonished.

"Tell me about it. Then a while ago, she comes walking into my store just as gorgeous as I remember and we're having a conversation and I couldn't tell. I thought she was healed – until I saw that cane. I blew it. I lost any chance I had with her."

"Yeah, I couldn't tell she was blind either. She hides it well. What are you going to do about it?"

"What can I do? I think I've done enough damage. I'm just going to back out gracefully and be the asshole for the rest of my life."

"Well, okay then, asshole, "Donna said with a smile, "I'm having a party at my house tonight. Fez and Kelso are coming for it and I'd like you to be there. You may see Jackie. I invited her but don't expect any miracles."

"Pinciotti, I may take you up on that invite just so I can squeeze in a real shower. I'm getting pretty ripe."

Donna laughed, "You pig. Come early, help decorate and you can clean up.'

"Okay, but this better be a good party."

She smiled. "Oh, it will be."

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