Eric caressed Donna's hand and wept. He couldn't imagine a life without her. She was always the strong one, the independent soul who was able to fix everything and now she was lying in a hospital bed broken. He could see the bruises on her face below the gauze that had been placed around her head. His hand tightened on hers and he cleared his throat.
"Donna, please…" He said between sobs. "I can't do this without you; I can't raise our little girl alone. You have to get through this."
Eric wiped his eyes and struggled for breath. He let his mind wander over everything that had happened over the last few months. He had thought when he found out what she did that his life was over, he hadn't realized how wrong he had been. The horror and fear he had felt then was kid stuff in comparison to the emotions that were swirling around him now. Eric tore his eyes away from his wife's prone form and sighed at the memory of that day.
It had been an ordinary day, just like every other that he had shared with Donna and Annie. They both went to work, he at the local high school and she at the radio station where she was a producer for the drive time disk jockey. He had come home that day to find dinner on the table which was a little out of the ordinary as Donna wasn't the best cook and had finally come to realize it after her own meals made her sick one too many times.
He set his briefcase on the coffee table and was undoing his tie when Donna walked into the room. She was fidgeting with her dress and stopped short at the sight of him.
"Eric! Well, you're home…I…" She stopped abruptly and licked her lips.
Eric walked over to her and embraced her softly. "Hmm…you smell great, is that a new perfume?" he asked as he slowly released her. "Dinner smells good…umm what did you make?" He asked hesitantly hoping that there was antacid in the house.
"Oh I…I didn't make dinner I ordered it from Chez Ruben" Donna said as she turned away.
He knew at that moment that something was wrong. Donna was acting odd and there really was no reason for the expensive dinner. They had discussed saving money a few months ago and Donna had been very diligent about it.
"Donna? What's with the expensive meal?" Eric asked apprehensively.
Donna turned back around and brushed her hand across her forehead. "Look Eric, we need to talk." She grabbed his hand and led him to the couch. Eric followed with a heavy heart hoping that this wasn't the conversation that he had been dreading. His worst nightmare was to wake up one day and have Donna finally realize that she could do better than him and this humdrum life in Point Place.
They sat down and Donna released his hand. She sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. She turned to him and he could see the torment in her eyes. He placed his hand against her cheek "Donna, whatever it is we can work through it together. We always have and we always will." Eric whispered.
A tear slipped down her cheek and landed on his hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Eric, I don't know how to tell you this, I don't even no where to begin…"
"How about at the beginning?" He prodded gently.
She nodded her head and bit her lower lip. His eyes followed her action as fear overtook him. She placed her hand against his on her cheek, softly pushed his hand away and stood up. She paced the room for what seemed to Eric like hours.
"Donna, please…I can't stand this" He exclaimed. He just needed what ever this was to be out in the open.
Donna stopped pacing and stood in front of him. "Okay, do you remember a week ago when I stayed late for work?"
Eric nodded his head. "Sure I remember you had to do some commercial spots right?"
"Right, well…I was doing them and then something happened. I made the stupidest mistake of my life. There's a new station manager there and he's…"
The fear Eric had felt was quickly being overtaken by anger. He balled his fists and looked up at Donna. "When you say stupidest mistake of your life you don't mean you dubbed the wrong commercial right?" He said, hoping that maybe just maybe he was wrong.
Donna sighed and sat down next to him on the couch. "No, we started talking and one thing led to another and…" She stopped short and dropped her head into her hands.
Eric leapt off the couch and paced around the room trying to form some meaning from the jumbled words that were ringing in his ears. He couldn't believe that she had done this. She of the many principles and standards had had a cheap affair with her boss? He stopped in front of her. "Are you serious? Are you telling me that you slept with your boss? Is that what you're saying Donna?" He shouted.
She nodded her head and looked up at him. He looked into her eyes and saw everything that he had worked so hard for disintegrate around him. She reached her hand up pleadingly "Eric, please it was a mistake. Nothing I say can justify…"
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "You're right Donna. Nothing you say can justify or make right what you did….
Eric shook his head and cleared the memory away. That evening seemed like a lifetime ago. He had left the house and stayed with his parents for a while. The calls from Donna had come regularly for the first few weeks but they slowly petered off. He hadn't taken any of them, what could he have said? That is was okay that she had betrayed him, and that they could just pick up their normal suburban life and move on like nothing had happened? That wasn't the case. He had loved her and even then had still loved her but he wasn't willing to be second fiddle to whatever her whims at the moment were.
Then the day came where everything was put into perspective. He had just finished a class when he was served with divorce papers. He signed for them numbly and opened the envelope. When he saw the words Petition for Divorce in bold black print something in him had snapped. He had grabbed his keys and driven to the house he had shared with Donna. He had found her in the kitchen doing dishes. He had yelled, she had cried, then she yelled and he cried. Once they finally got two months of anger and pent up emotions out they calmed down and talked. He didn't think he would ever get over what she had done but they had at least made a small mend in the tear that was their relationship. He believed her when she said how much she still loved him and that she had only filed the papers so he could move on with his life.
So much had happened since then. They had gotten back together and although it wasn't still perfect it was getting there. He was healing and the second honeymoon they had taken had really helped. Eric looked over at Donna again and wished that the worst thing that had ever happened to him had been his wife's confession.
"Hey, are you alright?" Hyde asked Jackie as he motioned Kelso out of his chair. Jackie quirked an eyebrow. "Steven, I couldn't be better. I've been waiting five years for what I just saw. If I had known getting her to punch me would have worked I would have done it years ago."
Hyde rolled his eyes and hesitantly brushed his fingertips against her face. Jackie winced and he quickly drew his hand away. He leaned back in the chair and rubbed his temples. "I'll tell you what Jacks, that was a liberating experience. I've known about her for years but I didn't care. You know? She stayed away and wasn't a bother so I just tucked the information away in case I needed it someday." He looked over at Jackie and smirked. "You know, that was pretty impressive grasshopper."
Jackie smiled. "Well thank you, it wasn't the outcome I was looking for but it worked so…" She shrugged her shoulders and wrinkled her nose. "Steven, it's been what two, three days since either one of us bathed?"
Hyde raised his eyebrows "Why, Miss Burkhardt is that an invitation?"
Jackie heard the fire in his voice and shivered. "Ste…"
Jackie was interrupted by a commotion in the hallway. She saw Eric trying to wheel himself into the waiting room and a stampede of doctors and nurses rush into Donna's room. Jackie and Hyde both jumped up at the same time. Jackie covered her mouth and steered herself for the bad news.
Mrs. Foreman rushed over to Eric "Oh my poor baby, how did you get out of your room! You need to…"
"Mom, Mom…stop it, I'm fine" Eric said shooing her hands away. He looked around the room at his friends and smiled. "It's Donna, she's awake."
A/N: Okay well don't hate me for the subplot and let's just forget that it took like six months for an update ;)