Donna sat at her kitchen table staring down into a cup of tea.

Of course something like this would happen to her. Think of the confluence of events that would need to happen to have the universe burn her like this. A tribal uprising in Africa would have to happen at exactly the right time. The US Embassy would have to evacuate Eric at what seemed to her to be lightning speed. Eric would then have to find a way back from the airport without calling his parents or Hyde or Fez to come and pick him up.

And, of course, Eric would have to walk in just at the moment when she was kissing Randy. There's no way those events could happen in exactly that order to anyone but her.

She didn't want to be sitting here alone. To be totally honest she wanted to scream. Who the hell was Eric to be angry? He broke up with her. He left her behind in Point Place while traipsing off halfway across the world. Did he think she was going to become a damn nun? And who the hell was Red to lecture her? He was the one who supported sending his dumbass son off to Africa. It had been Kitty who had helped her try to get Eric to stay.

But he was probably right, if Kitty had caught them she would have made a more awkward scene - if that's possible – than Eric did. Kitty had a way with guilt whereas Eric would just brood. She wondered where he was now, but only for a second. She didn't want to dwell on it too long. Not for the first time in the last couple years, it seemed like everything was falling apart again.

Donna couldn't help but hope that Jackie would walk into the kitchen. Even Hyde or Fez would be a welcomed presence right now. The door to the house opened behind her and she was greeted by her father's black afro, slightly hunched over as he stuffed his keys back into his pocket. "Hey kitten." Bob grinned warmly at Donna as he dropped a bag of groceries on to the counter. "Why so glum, sugarplum?"

"Dad," Donna took a deep breath. "Eric came home early and he…he walked in on Randy and I kissing." Bob nodded once and it was barely noticeable. He pulled a chair out at the kitchen table and sat across from Donna.

"Donna, before we start talking about this, is this one of those conversations where I'm going to wish I had a Tom Collins?" Bob had a slight pleading look in his eyes undercut with his usual playfulness. Donna couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Get yourself a drink, Dad." Donna waved at him and Bob got back to his feet.

"You keep talkin', kitten. I'll be done in no time." Bob headed over to the counter and started pulling ingredients out of the cupboards.

"I'm upset." Donna figured she's start off with the simplest declaration. "He broke up with me. But when I saw him today, it was like that kiss broke his heart. Like our break up wasn't real for him until that moment. How did you ever deal with Mom seeing other guys when you guys were separated?"

"I didn't." Bob was blunt. "I always hated watchin' guys take your mom out. It always tore me up inside. Probably still would."

"But you guys aren't together." Donna started to sound even more frustrated. "If you love somebody that much, how can you stand to let them go?"

"Sometimes, honey, ya just don't have a choice." Bob popped a cherry into his glass and a mini umbrella before settling back down at the table. "Listen, you know I haven't exactly been Eric's biggest fan since he left you at the altar."

"Dad, you haven't been Eric's biggest fan since you ran into him at the pharmacy that one time when you ended up picking up my birth control pills." Donna couldn't help but crack a smile. Sure, her friends made fun of her father from time to time for being a little goofy or a little cheesy but no one she knew wore their heart on their sleeve the way Bob did.

Bob allowed himself a small laugh. "We'll call that a hunch." He sipped his drink. "I don't know what Eric wants from you. I don't think he knows. But I think you're too smart to be sticking around waiting for him to try and figure it out. You've done a lot of that already, kitten."

Donna started to nod slowly. "Are you saying that I should just pretend like nothing happened today?"

"Ho-ho-hold on there. I didn't say that." Bob put his hands up in front of him. "Whatever happened today has you as upset as him. All I'm saying is that you're not sixteen any more. There's a big world out there outside of Point Place. Maybe the man of your dreams isn't the boy across the driveway. Maybe it's Randy. Maybe it's someone you've never met yet. Whatever decision you make, just know I'm proud of you, kid."

A warm feeling filled Donna's chest and brought a smile to her face. "What would I ever do without my Daddy?" She leaned across the table and hugged Bob.

"You're the greatest thing I ever did, Donna." He gave her a squeeze. "I know you'll be okay."

A knock came at the door to the kitchen and the creak of the door followed it. Randy Pearson's flowing locks drooped as he peaked around the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, kid." Bob nodded and picked up his drink. "You two probably have some talking to do anyway." With a wink at Donna, Bob turned and headed into the den. M*A*S*H would be on in a few minutes. He always loved seeing what crazy schemes Klinger was up to.

"I wasn't sure whether to give you time or try and talk to you." Randy took the seat Bob had been in. "But you always want to talk about things, so…"

"Yeah." Donna let her head bob slowly. "I don't even know what to make of what the hell happened today."

"You literally went from talking about Eric; to kissing me; to having Eric walk in on you kissing me." Randy sighed a little. "I think a lot kind of happened at once there. Would he have actually hit me?"

"It's possible." Donna's lower lip jutted out. "He's taken swings at guys who were interested in me before."

"I think I could have taken him." Randy tried to elbow her playfully but Donna wasn't having it. "This whole thing seems to have kind of screwed everything up for everyone, huh?"

"All the things I've been feeling, the stuff that I was trying to explain to you, it just seemed so much easier to deal with when he was on the other side of the world." Donna strained as the anger she was feeling before her Dad came home started to bubble up again. "But then he shows up and it just all becomes about him again."

Randy leaned forward, his elbows digging into his knees. "It doesn't have to be." There was a temptation on his part here to reach for her hand, but he thought better of it. "I mean, I thought we were starting something pretty good here."

"I thought so, too." Donna admitted limply. "But this whole thing is just so screwed up."

Eric grabbed a hamburger and some fries from the counter at The Hub. WFPP was playing behind the counter for the staff working in the kitchen. That was one thing that he missed over in Africa, the greasy burgers and over salted fries of The Hub. He crashed in their usual booth against the wall next to the restrooms and just started poking idly at the fries.

He had no idea what he expected from Donna when he got back. He hasn't given it any thought. Until a couple days ago, he was supposed to have four more months in Africa. He was hoping to use that time to sort it out. So much for that idea. The last time that he felt this alone, he'd been thirteen and Red had caught him with a copy of National Geographic.

The Hub was fairly empty tonight. That was probably to be expected for a Monday in the middle of November. He was trying to ignore the dim background rhythm of radio that seemed to be trying to pervade the whole of The Hub. Of course, when he'd get in the car the first DJ he heard would be playing heartbreak songs.

There were just certain things in your life that you couldn't envision life without. For him, Donna was just one of those things. There weren't too many of them in his life. He figured that learning to do without those things was sort of like the trials that Jedi Padawan learners were put through. He'd spent the last seven-plus months doing without his family. But he always knew they'd be there when he got home. His mom never let him forget that one.

His friends would be here when he got back. His mom had written him about Kelso moving to Chicago to work security at the Playboy Club. When we was behind the wheel of the Cruiser just now he had thought about heading down the 94 to Chicago to see if he could crash with Kelso for a few days. But he didn't have the cash for any kind of stay in Chicago. Lucky for him, the food at The Hub was not only a guilty pleasure, but damn cheap.

"Hey there, all you Dairy Staters." The radio chimed in once again. "It's Vanessa and the Vixen Hour once again invading your ears and playing on your fears as we do our salute to heartbreak tonight. This next track is hot. It's burning up our charts here at WFPP since it debuted in July. Let's play one for all you lonesome losers out there."

This was the first time he'd really listened to Top 40 radio since he left last spring. He had no idea what the new hit songs were but when he heard that first harmony, it caused him to roll his eyes. Oh man, not the Little River Band. Even at their best they were terrible. There was nothing he wanted more right now than to find a way not to end up listening to a breakup song by the Little River Band.

Have you heard about the Lonesome Loser?
Beaten by the Queen of Hearts every time.
Have you heard about the Lonesome Loser?
He's a loser but he still keeps on trying.

This really isn't helping, Eric thought. It wasn't like he wanted to feel sorry for himself. He could go to school now. He could become a teacher. He wouldn't be able to enroll at UW until the fall. So, whatever was going on right now had a definite end date.

Sit down, take a look at yourself
Don't you want to be somebody?
Someday somebody's gonna see inside
You have to face up, you can't run and hide.

Okay, this can really stop now. He didn't need the constant radio reminders of the parts of his life that felt like they were falling apart.

The chimes rang above the door of The Hub and always slightly rumpled figure of his best friend coming over to sit with him. "Did my mom send you to come bring me home?"

"Nah, man." Hyde pulled out a chair to sit across from Eric. "I just figured nobody needs to see their girlfriend making out with a man pretty enough to be a chick as the first thing they see when they get home."

"How long has this been going on, man?" Eric wanted to cut right to the point. There was a feeling of betrayal hanging around in his head.

"A while." Hyde shrugged. "Felt like they were circling each other for a while before that. Like a couple of dogs in the park. I don't know what the heck I'm going to do with the record store, man. I can't look at the kid every day."

"He works for you?!" Eric wanted to bolt to his feet. "Is there any part of my life this guy didn't try to take?"

"It's okay." he smiles and says
But this loneliness is driving him crazy.
He don't show what goes on in his head
But if you watch very close you'll see it all

"I couldn't just leave the store to Leo." Hyde laughed to himself. "I did that for a weekend once this year, I came back to a Hare Krishna circle on my floor and sitar music."

Eric couldn't help laughing at that image. To be sure, it was classic Leo. "But, you're my best friend, man. How could you?"

"Needed the help." Hyde tipped the chair just slightly on to its back legs. "Also Leo managed to get us some pretty good stuff and I think I hired him in the circle."

"Well, that explains it then." Eric dug into his hamburger. "Hyde, man, what am I gonna do about Donna?"

"Forman, I don't know if there's anything you can do." Hyde brought the chair back down. "This place has changed since you left, man. Just wanting Donna back doesn't mean you're gonna get her. She might have moved on. This kid ain't Casey Kelso."

Have you heard about the Lonesome Loser?
Now tell me have you heard about the Lonesome Loser?

"I suppose you're gonna tell me that my mom would like me to come home pretty soon?" Eric sounded a little resigned.

"She did say something as I was heading out." Hyde grinned a little bit. "I also can't say no to your mom."

There was a heavy pause that hung up between them. Eric had had enough of thinking about this for the night and badly wanted to talk about anything else.

"So, what's it like being married to a stripper?" Eric let out a soft laugh and the smile on Hyde's face grew wider.