Author Note: I know New Year's was weeks ago, but I had written this in December. Note: many of you have been wondering where Donna is...read on. :D

Chapter 09 – Rocking New Year

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Eric had sat through the movie twice just so he could see the trailer of Cómo Puede no Amarme?, Jackie's new movie. She was breathtaking in only the way a beautiful woman could be on a 45 foot movie screen. The way she walked was fluid, the wave of her fingers were like a butterfly's flutter….her voice was warm and in Spanish but Eric didn't care nor understand. She would look at the camera and it seemed like she was looking only at him. Of course Eric knew that every guy in the audience probably thought the same thing. It was….Jackie Magic.

Wrapping his jacket tight around his body, Eric trudged through the parking lot looking for his car. The snow had started to fall again but it was quiet and peaceful and it eased his mind. There was no need to hurry home. He could go have a cup of coffee if he wanted.

He could do anything he wanted.

It was liberating.

This must be how Donna wanted to feel all the time but her husband had been holding her back.

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Jackie

She flung open both her closet doors and stepped inside the huge room full of racks of beautiful clothes. It was only a one night gig but the ramifications to her future were prosperous if this went well. Not everyone was asked for such an assignment! She could feel a happy bubble welling in her tummy and it burst as a giggle.

"Mel! Red or black?" She hollered from the room she called a closet.

Mel was reclining on the California King mattress thumbing through the latest issue of Cosmo. "Silver."

Jackie tapped her chin thoughtfully as her gaze landed on an off-shoulder Dior that perfectly matched her sequined heels. Though the fabric was a little thin and it would be freezing….she could wear a faux fox stole….she would look fabulous!

Mel interrupted the musings with, "Don't think about heels darling. Boots. Boots or we'll have to cut off your frozen tootsies."

Jackie looked at her boot selection. On the bottom row was a pair of black ankle boots with silver hoops…that would perfectly match her earrings! She hollered out, "What time does the plane leave?"

"You need to be at the Burbank airport by 4:30." Mel replied and then added, "You'll be landing once for fuel and then you'll be at La Guardia by 10:00. I'm so excited to see you on TV."

Jackie smiled – she was excited too! "I'm packing and I'll see you next year!"

Mel only replied, "I love you too darling."

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Fez finished taping the last box and sighed happily. "Such beautiful gifts for her fans. Jackie is a special superstar."

Eric was standing in the door that opened between the garage and the kitchen as he drank a cup of hot cocoa. "So, does she do this every year and why don't you have a regular job?"

Fez grinned, "Oh Eric…..you make me laugh. Jackie pays me enough to run the fan club that I don't need a job. I have made friends with every mailman, UPS driver or delivery service…they all know me by one name. Fez. I mean to say that if Fez calls….I get service!"

Eric wasn't so sure that Fez was as famous as he thought but this was New Year's Eve and there was going to be no bubble bursting this evening. "So buddy…what are you doing for the night?"

Fez shrugged his shoulders and said, "Probably go to the disco and drink champagne with the drunken women….you can get pretty lucky you know." Wink. Wink.

Eric laughed, "Well good luck with that. I'm just hoping Donna calls so I can talk to her."

Fez raised a brow, "Are you going to give her a Happy New Year?"

It was Eric's turn to shrug. "I think I'm gonna sign the papers. I want her to be free to do what she wants. If she wants me…well, here I am. If she wants to go explore life….I'm not going to be the speed bump she runs over on her way."

Fez nodded his head, "That's a good decision. You need to start your life and you both deserve to be happy." The foreign born friend packed his belongings into a JBB Enterprises duffel bag and smiled. "See you next year!"

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Eric dropped the telephone receiver and stood there in shock. The request/order was out of the blue and something he couldn't quite comprehend. Fez had left an hour ago and while Eric was making a little something for dinner when the telephone rang. Eric figured it was New Year's Eve so it must be Donna calling him for that three sentence version of Happy New Year Dear.

Boy was he mistaken!

"Eric, this is Jackie. Don't ask questions. Just dress warm and be at Milwaukee's MKE airport at 8:00 p.m. DO NOT BE LATE. It should take you just about 40 minutes to get there. Meet me in the back at the private airport. I'll be in Hangar 11." Then the telephone call was dropped.

Eric weighed his options. He could sit in a lonely house on a holiday and wait for Donna to call or….he could drive out to the airport hangar and find out what Jackie was doing in Milwaukee.

Eric Forman made it to MKE in 35 minutes flat.

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A light snow began to fall and the tarmac was damp. Bright lights blinked intermittently down the runway as Eric's fingers drummed a nameless melody on the top of his steering wheel. He wished he had worn a thicker coat or perhaps an extra shirt – it was freezing and he was shivering in the wintry weather.

Finally, the Hangar 11 door opened and revealed a small jet. Not some turboprop aircraft like he would have expected – this was the real deal. He started his car and slowly rolled into the well maintained airplane hangar. The smartly dressed pilot was conferring with a maintenance man while a larger fellow was fueling the engine.

Suddenly a brunette head popped out of the small jet-craft door and shouted, "You're here! C'mon…we're rolling in ten minutes."

Eric looked at the snow falling outside the hangar door and then looked at Jackie like she was seriously off her rocker. "Are you kidding?"

She smiled, "Get your ass in here, Dick Clark isn't going to hold New Year's waiting for you!"

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Donna

Donna Pinciotti was sitting on the small balcony sipping espresso in a delicate cup as the sun was rising in the eastern skies of Vienna. It was 1990 and she was living a dream. Anna was still sleeping in the big bed. Lots of spirits and dancing brought in the new decade. She happened to look at the watch Eric had given her and realized that even though it was nearly seven in the morning; it was still 1989 in the States.

Quietly, she slipped inside the bedroom and turned on the television to the only channel in Austria that aired an American station. Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve was still happening in New York. Donna smiled at the ridiculous giant ball that was waiting for the midnight hour to fall.

The famous actor Michael Damian, who she remembered from her mom's favorite soap opera, The Young and the Restless, was dancing to some song and alternately signing autographs. The camera would flash back to Dick Clark and his co-host and in the background Donna could swear she saw a familiar face.

Donna got down on the floor and sat cross-legged in front of the television while Dick was talking to the three beautiful members of the pop group Expose. Yet in the background, her attention was distracted by a stunning profile clad in a silver gown and brunette ringlets. Jackie was smiling and waving at the camera. Hi Donna! I'm here! She seemed to say.

It was at that time that the huge clock announced the countdown and Donna couldn't unglue her eyes as it looked like Eric – her Eric – was standing beside Dick Clark during the ten second countdown. It was impossible! Eric Forman would never leave Point Place and what? He was kissing Jackie Burkhart on television?

Donna fainted.

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The whole experience was surreal. One hour ago, Eric Forman was making dinner in his kitchen and 60 minutes later he was thousands of feet in the air flying at a speed of over 400 mph in some millionaire's personal aircraft.

Jackie passed him a glass of champagne and explained that she had a chance for a guest shot on the Dick Clark show. She was going to be on the ground holding the microphone for people wanting to wish friends and family a "Happy New Year's". Eric pressed her for details about how she got a ride on a personal jet but she shrugged it off as free publicity.

A short time later, he was thrust into a throng of thousands, millions or more happy celebrating New Yorkers. A sequined hat was pushed on his head and Jackie's warm mittens were leading him through the masses of party-goers. The happy noise was as loud a jet engine and the vibrations of excitement and elation thrummed through his body.

He danced.

Eric Forman danced with some dark haired video celebrity named Martika and she flirted with him. Some daytime talk show host kissed him with champagne flavored lips. Some flamboyant rock star gave him a "high five" as Eric followed Jackie's disappearing form through the crowds. A lanyard was slipped over his head and suddenly it was as if he was "Cinder-fella" – he was popular, women looked at him like he was a tall drink of water in a hot desert. Someone pinched his butt and Eric smiled. A screaming teenager was holding a pen and paper for his autograph. Eric grinned and scribbled, Hang in there baby, love Luke.

It was exhausting! All the smiling made his cheeks ache but he couldn't help but revel in the excitement of the evening. Jackie led him through the crowds and would point out famous people and names he had heard of but knew he would forget in the morning and she did it in the tallest boots he had ever scene. Jackie was saying something but he couldn't hear her voice over the crowd. She pointed to the giant clock that indicated there was only three minutes left of 1989. Next she pointed to the grandstand where Dick Clark was beginning the countdown.

Jackie grabbed Eric by his hand and they ran. They ran until there was only 30 seconds left on the clock and the giant ball is ready to drop. They were both panting but full of rosy cheeks and bright eyes. Jackie is smiling and pointing to the cameras as Dick Clark leans over and whispers something in Eric's ear. He grins and nods his head. Jackie gives him a suspicious look but she's still beaming.

Suddenly the camera turned and everyone on the podium with Dick Clark begins waving and shouting. Eric couldn't believe how beautiful Jackie was in those bright lights and softly falling snow and he knows that when she can finally talk to him, he'll feel more like the person he really was.…not this faux celebrity the crowd thinks he is (although it's pretty awesome) – he'll feel like he can finally breathe a real breath.

EIGHT

Jackie takes his hand and she's jumping up and down with excitement. "Can you believe this?" she yells over the uproar. Eric notices that Dick Clark is standing up and remembers what Dick said.

FIVE

The crowd is chanting. The whole city of New York is counting in unison and the thrill is indescribable. Jackie's shivering and her fox stole had slid down her shoulders. Eric pulls her into the warm opening of his jacket as the cold wind brushes between them. Her eyes are bright and his heart is pounding.

Cheater!

THREE

Slender arms wrap around his waist and the cool breeze tangles her brunette hair as Eric's fingers slide through the curls to the back of her head.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As he kisses her, Eric knows that his heart is creating a photograph for the memory that will he will never have to share. The whole world could be watching, but in this moment, in the middle of New York City, he is kissing a beautiful woman and it's not a movie star kiss. This is a real kiss and the minty breath they share is warm and no one is fighting for domination. It's simple and yet it completely shakes him to the core.

Dick Clark had said, "Send off the old year with a kiss and you'll have something sweet for the new one. Give her a kiss boy." So amid the singing of Auld Lang Syne and the falling confetti and the noise of fireworks….Eric felt like he was falling in love again for the first time.

As he kisses her, Eric knows that his heart is creating a picture to keep so when Jackie walks away, as she will, and goes back to her real life – this moment will live forever.

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A/N:...sigh...