Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's note: It's been way too long since I started this. But I have my reasons as to why I didn't update this, which kind of go into personal reasons. Nonetheless, here is the next chapter. Like I said, it's been a while since I updated. And to be perfectly honest, I really don't want to turn this story into the cliché of two people finding each other then just going from there. There's going to be recovery first, then comes the connection. With that being said, I hope this chapter satisfies everyone.

Point Place, Wisconsin

Laurie's room

The next morning...

She wasn't sure why she was in the Forman house. The only thing that Jackie Burkhart knew was that for some reason, she was in Laurie's old room, where she was watching a scene play out that had caused her heartache but she had never seen before. She stood there watching as Kelso and Laurie made out on the older girl's bed. She wanted so hard to scream and rage at the scene playing out before her, but she realized that any anger she felted ebbed away as quickly as it rose.

"It's because you understand what your relationship was," she heard a male voice call out.

Jackie turned around to see Eric standing next to her. However, he wasn't dressed in his usual manner of long sleeve shirts. Instead, he seemed to be wearing a nice suit and tie ensemble, but dressed strangely in all white.

"Eric, what are you doing here? And why are you dressed so nicely? That jacket really brings out your shoulders!" she said

'Eric' turned to her and said, "That's not the point. What is the point is what you see here and what you feel now. Most girls your age...well, let's just say that they know better but refuse to do so. You have a chance to be better than that. So tell me, what do you see?"

It took Jackie a great deal of effort for her to look at the scene before her as she replied, "This is...this is when Michael was cheating on me with Laurie. And it wasn't the first time he did it either. He had been sleeping with Laurie behind my back, and this was just after Pam Macy."

The Eric look-alike looked over and asked with a level voice, "How did that make you feel?"

Jackie turned to her friend's double and looked at him with a mix of rage and disbelief. "How the hell do you think I felt?! I was with him for a long time, and he turns around and betrays me, not once, but twice! Just to get off with some sluts! I had my doubts about whether or not he loved me and he just made it clear how he really felt! Even when I gave myself to him after our breakup...it just wasn't enough."

The Burkhart girl came close to tears as she thought back to all of the heartbreak that the relationship had caused. She knew she wasn't perfect. And she had no right to chastise Michael given her brief fling with her former boss selling cheese (which she never really felt so comfortable with given his infatuation). But then how else was she supposed to feel when she had been betrayed more than once.

The image before her than switched to someone else that she knew all too well, given how different they were. She watched as the image before her formed into Steven Hyde. She remembered the day that this happened. She wanted a partner to compete in the roller disco. Hyde had naturally thought the idea to be stupid and Michael was as clumsy as ever. Fez had been ready and willing to show off and do anything for her, but she had readily accepted him the minute she saw that he could give her what she wanted.

She wasn't entirely sure how to handle seeing that. She had felt like she was clinging from one thing to the next. She had heard from the other rich girls at school about how their parents would split and then their mothers would take half of their fathers' money and leave while the father did their hardest to re-earn affection.

The saddest part was that she had been hearing her parents arguing as of late. Thinking about her current situation with her family, combined with her recent break-up, and being reminded of her choices threatened to overwhelm her. Until she saw the hand of the Eric look-alike reach out to her.

Jackie looked at it with a bit of trepidation before she addressed him, "Why are you doing this?"

The man, if he really was one, simply smiled before he replied, "I'm simply one person trying to help. For those like yourself, we just help, no matter who you are. Sometimes, with a word, sometimes with a nudge, and other times we use both. But in the end, you have to make the choice to move forward, but not backward."

Jackie looked up at him. She looked into his eyes which reminded her of Eric, but she knew for sure that it wasn't the same person. Much as she didn't care much for the Forman boy in the past, she could see something in his eyes that she didn't with Michael or Steven.

Jackie took his hand and became enveloped in a bright light.

Point Place, Wisconsin

Eric's room

The next morning...

Eric stood in front of his bed where watched a scene play out that he had practically forgotten. There sitting on his bed in just a t-shirt and underwear playing with his action figures. He turned to find his younger self standing there bidding her good night before she offers him to sit with her and talk. As Eric watched himself talking with Kate, he was reminded of the intense kiss they shared, which had caused a great argument between him and Donna.

"It doesn't really go away, does it?" came a voice all too familiar. He turned to see Jackie Burkhart standing next to him. She turned to him and continued, "You can't always turn away. Sometimes you have to face these things and push forward."

"Okay, who are you and what did you do with Jackie?" Eric said in his usual manner.

The Jackie look-alike turned to him with a smile on her face. "I know you're being rhetorical, but she's fine. Technically, we're not seeing this. Not really."

"I'm dreaming. Sort of. Good thing I read about this in comic books," Eric said once he realized what was happening.

"That's right. And there's a reason we're seeing this," she said to him.

"Wait, are you an angel? Because I did this whole wonderful life deal and it wasn't fun," Eric shouted.

The female simply shook her head. "No. This isn't another trip like that. You've learned the first time that you needed to move forward and not let heartbreak define your life. However, this is a different thing."

Eric looked back at himself kissing Kate before she broke it off. He remembered what happened the next day when he confessed to Donna. The truth was they weren't together yet a part of him wanted the older girl even though his heart belonged to Donna. He wasn't sure how to understand what it was he was feeling. What he knew, however, was that his heart wouldn't let him wallow in a so-called victory that most boys his age would brag about.

"How did you feel when you kissed Kate?" the Jackie look-alike asked him. Eric simply turned back to 'her' and replied, "I was so ready to just give into her until I remembered who I really wanted. Kate had pushed me away, and I snapped back. The kiss felt great...but it wasn't real. It wasn't anything like Donna and I had."

'Jackie looked at him as he answered before she spoke, "Past tense. Interesting. Most people would've used present first. But you didn't. I can tell you still love her."

"Of course I still love her!" Eric shouted. He turned back to the image of his bed where scenes of the various times he and Donna spent played out before him. He could feel his eyes stinging with tears, but he refused to let them fall.

"But you didn't go after her after she left earlier tonight," the brunette girl said matter-of-factly.

Eric felt himself get angry as he thought back to what happened earlier. Before he could say anything, the scene changed to the basement, at the moment Donna came crying to him and telling him how they should be together. But he couldn't take her back at that moment.

Eric turned to the Jackie look-alike and said, "If you know that then you know why I couldn't just take her back."

"Of course," the being replied. "I mean how could she come back to the guy she really loves and beg for his affection."

"I couldn't damn well take her back after she got dumped by that asshole! I'm not some damn comfort blanket! She...she came right back to me after she found out what kind of guy he is, even after she heard the rumors. I wasn't going to let myself get hurt again, and I couldn't let her hurt herself again after what she went through."

'Jackie' tilted her head as she looked at the Forman son as she said, "Noble and selfish at the same time. Do you really think you can be both? These things always go wrong for you."

"I don't need to explain myself to you. What's done is done," Eric said.

"That it is, Eric. But before this ends, I just want to make sure of something: how do you feel now?" 'Jackie' asked.

Eric looked back at her as he thought on her question. He looked down as he came to a conclusion, one he found difficult to really come to but he found to be true.

"Donna still means a lot to me. But everything that led to our break up, plenty of which I messed up myself. I thought I was good enough for Donna. Now here I am, alone and just hurt. But I'd rather be this way instead of hurt again later. I just hope Donna can heal from this."

"Well said Eric," the Jackie look-alike said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, only to be engulfed by a white light.

Forman Basement

Eric and Jackie woke up and saw that they were still in the basement. When they registered the position they were in, they jumped with Jackie having moved to the other end of the couch. They had never been physically close very much except for when Jackie came to him for any comfort.

"Um...guess we fell asleep," Eric said dumbly.

"Yeah. Yeah we did," Jackie replied in kind.

"Eric," Red called from the stairs as he was coming down. Eric was surprised by how calmly his father called him.

"Yeah Dad?" Eric replied. However, he noticed that Red was in his pajamas.

"What time is it?" Eric asked. Red looked at him funny before he replied, "It's morning. You two have been asleep down here all night. Jackie, your dad called. He was worried since you never came home but I told him you were safe."

Eric and Jackie looked mildly surprised as they realized they slept all night next to each other. They nearly looked to each other but stopped themselves as they felt enough was going on.

"Jackie, you can have breakfast with us. Eric can drive you home after," Eric said as he went back up the stairs.

The two teens came into the kitchen and saw everyone else sitting at the table already eating. They were thankful that plates had been prepared for them and that an extra place was made for Jackie.

"So what's Jackie doing here? You guys 'accidentally' sleep together?" Hyde said with a smirk.

"Not now Hyde. Rough morning," Eric said as they began eating. As everyone dug into their meals, Jackie took a look around as Red and Kitty made conversation with the boys about what they were doing for the day. Jackie took note of how the Forman parents were actually engaging Eric and Steven about their lives. She had expected Red would've said something with his usual hard attitude to the boys but saw that his expression had softened since yesterday during the intervention.

The Burkhart girl also took note of how Kitty seemed not quite as cheery but still attentive to her son. As Jackie watched on, she wished that her parents had given her the same kind of every day attention. She was honestly surprised that her dad had given a damn when she didn't come home.

Red and Kitty had finished their meals and left the kitchen while the three teenagers stayed in the kitchen.

"So what really happened?" Hyde asked them both.

"Nothing Steven. We ate at the hub, we talked, and we came back to wait for Donna and Michael. But they never came back," Jackie answered.

Hyde stiffened as he knew why exactly neither of their former loves had not shown up. But he figured it was best to let sleeping dogs lie. Red and Kitty came back into the kitchen getting ready to head out when Bob and Joanne knocked on the door to the kitchen. Red noticed that his unusually chipper neighbor was unusually somber as Bob frowned heavily.

Red let the Pinciotti patriarch in before he asked, "Hey Bob. Joanne. What can we do for you?"

"Red...it's terrible. Donna left for California," Bob said, as though he was ready to break down into tears. Eric turned to Bob with wide eyes as his mind fell into disbelief. Jackie looked to Eric with Sympathy as she could only imagine what he must've been feeling.

"Why do you think she went there?" Kitty asked. Joanne came forward with a piece of paper and held it up as she responded, "She left a note. She left for California with that dimwit Michael Kelso."

Jackie immediately felt her heart shatter. It was just as Eric said: Michael was not someone whom she could truly count on. The time that they had been together now felt like a complete waste for her. She had wanted to marry him, but she should've known given his behavior to her before they had separated.

"Dammit," Red said as he couldn't believe what he just heard. "Eric. Jackie. You two stay here for the time being. I need to make some calls."

Eric immediately got up and headed for the basement with Jackie following him only seconds later. Hyde watched his two friends took off and felt bad knowing that they were hurt. IN his mind, he truly thought that Donna and Eric would work things out the previous night until he couldn't find Kelso anywhere in town. As for Kelso, he personally couldn't care less about how his failed relationship with Jackie would go. Still, Jackie was still a hopeful girl, looking forward to the day she would be married and have a future. But he couldn't bring himself to hit her with the harsh reality as he saw it. Hyde figured that later, maybe he'd see about doing a circle with the gang later to take the tensions away. If there was one thing he hated dealing with, it was confronting problems like this head on.

Eric sat on the couch in the basement as he thought about the news he had heard. His ex-girlfriend, who was the love of his life, had left before they could have a chance to fix anything. He did his best not to let his feelings get the best of him, but at that moment it didn't matter.

Jackie came down the basement and saw Eric sitting on the couch as if he hadn't moved for minutes. As she slowly approached, she saw a trace of a tear that had run down his face. Jackie sat down next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Eric turned to look at her as he saw that tears were threatening to fall down her face as well. Eric took his arm and put it around Jackie's shoulders and held her in a tight embrace. Jackie accepted and wrapped her arms around his mid-section. The two teens, who at one time hated each other, held each other as they took solace in their shared pain.

"Eric. I'm sorry," Jackie said with sadness in her voice.

Eric rubbed her shoulder as he sensed the sincerity to her words. "I'm sorry too."

The two sat there comforting each other, each thinking of their dream and wondering if they could've done something different.

Author's note: So there is the second chapter. I'd like to say that I apologize for taking so long for producing this chapter for those of you who are interested in this story. Real life has had a tendency of leaving me drained. And this issue of heartbreak for this story is a particularly tough thing for me to think about. Some advice for anyone who is experiencing a terrible heartbreak, my advice is not to dwell much on the pain and not to let the past linger in your mind too much. It can keep you from moving forward. That being said, stick around for the next chapter.