AN: Thanks to everyone for the excellent reviews. They were so amazing and thoughtful. You guys are the best reviewers out there.

A little more information about everyone's past is going to be revealed in this chapter. I know that Jackie hasn't even gotten to Point Place yet, but don't worry. Her reunion with everyone is coming very soon.

Warning: A lot of foul language in this one. So if you are a person who doesn't like people dropping f-bombs, just pretend they are saying "fudge" : p.


Chapter 4: Forgive and Regret

Jackie stood outside of the hotel, waiting for Donna to pull up. Her insides twisted and turned. She felt so exposed and vulnerable. Her conversation with Donna the night before had eased her nerves about meeting her friend again, but she still felt sick to her stomach. Everything was so surreal; she wasn't quite sure whether she was dreaming or not. When a dark green suburban with a red head at the wheel pulled up in front of her, Jackie's heart pounded like a drum. Then, Donna smiled at her.

"Get in." She called out of the rolled down passenger window.

Jackie put her things in the back and climbed into the passenger seat. The two women stared at each other for a few seconds and squealed. They hugged each other as tight as they could, both tearing up from the reunion.

"Look how beautiful you look!" Donna exclaimed pulling away from the brunette. "You've hardly aged at all."

"You look great too." Jackie cooed.

"So tell me everything. Where have you even been all these years?" Donna pulled out of the hotel parking lot and headed to the interstate.

"Well," Jackie began. "I headed to Boston because I had some family there on my dad's side. When I was there I worked at this really high standing restaurant as a waitress where I met my husband. He was about to graduate law school. We hit it off from there and got married with in three months." Jackie grew a little sad while remembering but shrugged it off to continue her story. "After three years I had my son, Robert, who I call Bobby." Jackie tried to think of something else to say but found herself blank.

"Did you have a career?" Donna asked still keeping her eyes on the road.

"Um, no. Dennis, my husband, he didn't want me to work. I was pretty much a housewife for a while except for the few years in the beginning of my marriage when I worked as a secretary in Dennis's law firm. After that I just took care of Bobby until we sent him to private school."

Silence fell between the two. Jackie knew what question was coming next.

"So why did you leave all of that Jackie?" Donna's voice was calm and cautious, testing out the waters.

"Um.." Jackie stuttered on her words. She knew Donna would want answers, but that still didn't make it any easier to explain. "I just wasn't happy. Dennis began cheating, and Bobby and I grew distant after he went off to school. I… I just had to get away."

"I understand. It sounds like to me that you didn't have much to live for there."

Jackie soaked in Donna's words. She really didn't have much to live for in Boston. No job, no son, no husband. Jackie wondered how she dealt with the loneliness for so many years.

"So," Jackie broke the tension. "Tell me all about what you have been up to."

"Well, Eric and I got married about two years after you left. I had my son, Josh, 9 months later. He's eighteen now. Then Cindy came later. She is fourteen. I'm a novelist and Eric is a freshman science teacher at the Point Place High. We live in his parent's house now. They actually ended up moving to Florida around the same time that we graduated."

"That's wonderful Donna. I'm so happy for you." Her voice fell. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for the wedding."

Donna reached over and gripped her friend's knee. "It's okay Jackie. All that matters is you are here with us now."

Jackie silently nodded. "Well, how's everyone else? What is Micheal up to?"

"Kelso ended up marrying Brooke and they had two more kids after Betsy. He's still a cop, she's still a librarian, and they still live in Chicago. Fez moved out there with them and opened up a hair salon that he is doing very well with. He married this Korean girl named Lizzy about ten years ago."

"Well that's great too." It sounded like everyone's life was great. It saddened Jackie that she couldn't have spent the past twenty years enjoying it with her friends.

"And Steven?"

Jackie noticed Donna's demeanor changed. She shifted in her seat and kept her eyes on the road. "Uh, Hyde's good. He still owns Grooves and it has expanded into 4 more stores. His father ended up selling him the stores, so he is the sole owner of them." Donna stopped a second, but continued. "He has a kid too."

"Really?" Jackie asked. She really just wanted Donna to tell her every little detail. She hated that she was dancing around the subject.

"Yeah, his name is Zach and he's seventeen. He's practically one of our kids, he comes over so much. He and Josh are best friends, practically brothers."

"Hmm." Jackie thought out loud. "Sounds like Steven and Eric."

"Yeah, they really do remind me of those two a lot."

Jackie really wanted to ask if Steven was married. She figured if Donna was willing to tell her that he had a son, then she would be willing to tell her that he had a wife. If a wife wasn't in the picture, then where had Zach's mother gone to?

Finally Jackie got the courage to ask, "What about Zach's mother? You didn't mention her?"

Jackie watched as Donna bit her lip and sighed. "Well," hesitation dripped from her voice. "Around the time Eric and I got married… Sam came back to town."

Jackie felt her heart constrict. Now she saw why Donna didn't want to say anything. Anybody in the world but Sam would have music to Jackie's ears. Well, perhaps not that lovely, but it wouldn't feel like Jackie had stepped into hell on earth.

"Well, after a while Hyde took her back, and they were okay… for a little while." The drop in Donna's voice brightened Jackie's spirits a little.

"Sam ended up getting pregnant. A few months after she had the baby, she just left one night and never came back."

The blood drained from Jackie's hands and feet. She just left? Poor Steven. Jackie thought of how devastated Hyde must have been, to have his own child's mother walk out on them. Her heart ached for him.

"Ever since then, Hyde hasn't really dated much."

"That must have really torn him up." Jackie put in.

"Yeah. He didn't really care much for her so much as he really loves Zach. I think the only reason he put up with her for so long was that she was carrying his kid. Once she left, he just didn't trust anybody again."

Jackie couldn't help but feel guilty again. If he was so hurt by Sam leaving, she wondered how he felt when she left. At the time she could care less if Steven Hyde pained about her leaving. In fact, she ate up the idea of him pining over her after he had hurt her so bad. But now she had twenty years and forgiveness between her old self and now. She just hoped Hyde had done the same.

She couldn't help but compare herself to Sam. She had left her son just like that whore had. Even though Bobby was seventeen and barely ever at home, she still couldn't help but think she had abandoned him. She just hoped that he could find it in his heart to forgive her.


Zach's awoke with a brain splitting headache. Bright sunshine filled his room. Oh, how he loathed the sun, especially at this very moment.

"Hangover?" A voice from the sun called to him. It sounded like Josh, but he knew his only best friend would die before disturbing him in such a way. Josh knew from experience how bad a hangover felt.

"I said, HANGOVER?" Zach swung at the annoying presence as soon as its deafening scream tore through his ear canal.

"What the fuck man?" He covered his eyes with his hands and rolled over to meet his abuser. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

Zach heard an evil snicker. If there was anything he hated more, it was when people treated him as if he was stupid. "Have I lost my damn mind?" Josh laughed again. Suddenly his voiced changed from jolly to menacing, "Have you lost your fucking mind Zach?"

Alarmed, Zach dared the sunlight. He peeked one eye open and looked at his friend's angry face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? What the hell was with that stunt you pulled yesterday? You punch some guy for manhandling Kat and then you treat her like a piece of garbage! What the fuck man?"

Zach groaned underneath his hands. He really didn't want to have this conversation. He didn't want to have any conversations anymore. He just wanted people to accept he was an asshole and leave him alone so he could nurse his hangover in peace.

"I don't know man, okay? I just lost it." Zach watched as his friend shook his head disbelievingly. "It must have been the alcohol."

"Bullshit Zach. You know exactly what it is, but you are too much of a chicken shit to admit to it."

Zach and Josh had been in a few fights. Most of the time it ended up being a draw after both of them had the tar beaten out of each other. That had been years ago and Josh was much bigger now. He didn't appear to have inherited his father's skinny stature whatsoever. However, Zach was really thinking about reconsidering their peaceful, unspoken truce.

"There is nothing to admit to Josh." He snarled back. "I just don't want her having those feelings for me, okay?"

"Well you don't have to be such a jerk about it. After I dropped you off last night, she cried the entire ride back to her house. And I'm not talking about a sniffle here and a sniffle there. I mean waterfalls pouring off this girl's face."

Zach closed his eyes again, and rested his head on the pillow. He knew Kat would be upset, but it made him feel like scumbag of the year once someone actually told him just how upset she was. Josh must have noticed the guilt plastered on his face, because his tone softened.

"Look man. I don't like telling you what to do, because it isn't my place. But, I think you need to figure your shit out before something like this happens again. I hate to see our group break apart because of stupid shit like this."

Zach gulped down what little pride he had left. "I know man… I just… I just need a little more time, okay? I'm not feeling so well about things."

Josh's strong hand squeezed Zach's arm. "I know man." He paused for a second. "Look, if you want to talk about anything… well… you know."

Zach really considered Josh's offer. The only thing that stopped him from spilling his soul was the guarantee that he knew once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop. He would just put it off for another time. "Yeah, I've got something to talk about. You think you can shut those blinds and get me an aspirin, because I've got a horrible fucking hangover."

Josh laughed at his friend. He had really hoped he would get somewhere with him today, but it seemed that Zach was going to be stubborn about things just like he always was. "Yeah man."

While standing up and shutting the blinds, Josh remembered another piece of information he wanted Zach to know. "Hey, my mom's having some kind of dinner party thing for an old friend of theirs. She wants you and your dad to come."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know. Just some woman that used to live here and apparently was practically her best friend in high school."

"Where has she been all this time?"

"Don't know. The only thing I know is that when Mom and Dad were talking about it, it seemed pretty serious." Josh walked over to the bedroom door. "I'll get you that aspirin. We can go together in a few hours."

"Alright, Thanks man."

"No problem. Just remember. Next time I have to do this, I'm seriously going to kick your ass."

"Gotcha."


AN2: I hope all of you liked it. Tell me what you thought, even if you didn't.