A/N – Hey guys, we're getting close to the end of this story. But like I said before, there will be a sequel. Be warned, this chapter is probably the most depressing one yet. It may start all warm and happy, but Donna's nosey self sort of ruins it all.
I'd get into depth about the reviews and how much I love them, but I'm so tired. I just got back from Ohio yesterday and the hotel we were staying at sucked, so our beds were crappy and my back hurts and I have a headache, so just know that I loved your reviews as always.
Have a good day and enjoy the next chapter.
July 20, 2001
"Three pounds, Eric!" Jackie beamed as she peeled her eyes away from the scale that read 124, "You gained weight!" She beamed as she suddenly jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm so proud of you!"
Then she kissed him on the mouth quickly before she pulled away, her arm still around his shoulders as she looked back down at the scale. Eric hasn't thrown up in three weeks and Jackie's stayed over at his place for three weeks. It was all because she was there to help him through it.
Eric was now able to eat a full basket of fries and small sandwich from the local deli and not feel sick to his stomach. He still ate light, but he ate enough to have gain this much weight.
Jackie looked down at Eric's shirtless torso and examined him, "You look a little thicker, too," She smiled, poking him the side, causing him to chuckle, "I like it."
Jackie was happy that Eric was happy. He seemed to do a little better every day. Every day he smiled more and every day he laughed more. He was getting close to being the old Eric again, but he still had a little ways to go.
Jackie sighed contently before she looked down at her watch, "Oh, I've got to go," She said, pulling away from Eric and adjusting her pony tail, "I want to get going before it gets too hot."
Jackie went on a run every morning, it's become her routine of the last month. She went before eight and got back with just enough time to shower and get ready for work.
"I'll see you later," She smiled before standing on her toes and pecking him on the lips before she turned and went out of the bathroom door.
Eric watched her go and waited for the front door to slam before he turned and put his shirt back on. Unlike almost a month ago Eric actually wanted to be better.
Last month he'd basically given up on life and hope and decided he'd rather just wallow in bed for hours on end and mope around all day hating the world, but in the past few weeks Eric's made a serious effort to get better. He still had stomach pains sometimes and he still felt as if he had to throw up, but he never let it happen. Or Jackie never let it happen.
Eric had stopped debating whether or not he should go back to cutting himself, he's also stopped silently judging himself in the mirror, and he hasn't cried himself to sleep in a while. He also had lesser and lesser frequent thoughts of killing himself as time went on. He's starting to think he's actually getting better.
Eric turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He was still pale, but not like before. He had a little natural color coming back to his skin, he was more 1980's David Bowie rather than 1970's David Bowie.
Eric used to look in this mirror and tell himself he was hideous, worthless, and good for nothing. He used to pick apart everything he found wrong with himself. Sometimes people used to tell him he looked sickly, that was back when his seizures were really bad. Sickly they wanted then sickly they'll get. He started forcing himself to be sick every week, then twice a week, then every other day, then every day. He did it so much he was almost hospitalized. He started working through his problems for his parents, for his son, for his friends, for Jackie. He didn't want her to watch him slowly wither away.
So he finally pulled himself together and started doing all of this for her, and maybe even for himself.
Eric looked back into the mirror and gazed at himself for a moment and for once, Eric actually smiled.
0-0-0-0-0
Eric came home from his meeting at around six that evening. He was tired and just wanted to go to bed. He was tired of dealing with people today, they all seemed to want to annoy him. And his day started out so well, too.
Eric sighed tiredly, or was it irritably? He pulled his keys out of his pocket and searched for the right one that opened his door. He finally found it and was about ready to put in the keyhole when he heard some slightly louder music coming from the other side of the door followed by laughter.
Eric raised an eyebrow and twisted the doorknob, letting the door gently swing open. He curiously entered the apartment and quietly latched the door behind him as he tiptoed into the living room eagerly.
When he came into the living room he smiled at the scene before him.
Apparently Callie or Chris, probably Callie, had put on some music and decided to have a dance off. Eric didn't know the song but Callie, Chris and Jackie seemed to be enjoying it.
Eric was actually a little surprised because Chris was actually dancing, and he seemed to be having a good time, which was even more surprising. The things Callie could talk him into.
Callie and Chris were dancing together, their hands joined in front of them as the both giggled happily. Jackie just stood back and tapped her foot and bobbed her head back and forth as she watched the two, a smile on her face as well.
Eric decided to make his presence known now. He slowly stepped into the living room and walked over to Jackie, but he looked down at Callie.
"I thought you were grounded," He said to Callie.
She wasn't supposed to leave her apartment unless it was to go somewhere with her mother. She was allowed to talk to Chris, but only on the phone. Chris wasn't grounded for sneaking out though, it was kind of hard to ground him. The only thing he really enjoyed was hanging out with Callie, drawing and taking photographs. You couldn't take away his art or photography, they were his escape. He used those things to calm himself down if he felt a panic attack coming on or if he was just having a bad day, and Callie was the only person who really made him smile, so you couldn't tell he couldn't hang out with his best friend. So Eric took away his Gameboy and Pokémon games and that was that.
Callie and Chris both stopped dancing and looked up at Eric, both a little nervous as Callie started to speak, "I'm sorry, please don't tell—"
"Relax," Eric cut her off, "I'm not going to tell you mother."
Callie furrowed her brow and gazed up at Eric on confusion, "Really? Why not?"
Eric shrugged, "I'm feeling edgy today."
Jackie rolled her eyes as Callie and Chris both smiled, giggling a little, "Thanks Eric," Callie said.
Eric waved his hand about, "No problem."
Chris and Callie went back to dancing as Jackie grabbed Eric's hand and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, "How was the meeting?"
Eric frowned, "Ugh. Long and unnecessary."
Jackie giggled as she followed Eric into the kitchen, "That bad, huh?"
Eric nodded as he went to the fridge to look for a beer, "Geoff is a pain in the ass. He thinks he knows everything. And he's always talking about this weird diet he's on."
Jackie pursed her lips as she pulled herself up to sit on the counter, "Is he still eating that crunchy oatmeal?"
Eric nodded, "He eats it at lunch all the damn time. And I think he ate a garlic clove for breakfast this morning because his breath smelled awful."
Jackie smiled and watched Eric pop the top on a beer, "My day wasn't much better. I had this older lady come in and she wanted a perm. I was trying to get out of work early and she came in and wanted a PERM. Do you know how long it takes to do those?"
Eric furrowed his brow, "Why'd you have to do it? Couldn't someone else have a go?"
Jackie shook her head, "It was busy today and I was the only hairdresser open. And she was annoying too. She had this New Jersey accent and she kept on talking about her 'dead-beat, good for nothing, lazy ass husband.'"
Eric snickered at that, "Is that exactly how she worded it?"
Jackie nodded, "Yep."
"Sounds rough," Eric smirked, taking a sip from his beer.
Jackie shrugged, "I tried my best."
Then the two just sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. That's what Eric liked about Jackie, things never seemed awkward with her. They could just be together and not say a single word and things were fine and comfortable.
They'd been on two dates since they got back from Wisconsin and both of them had gone very well. They went out to dinner on the first one and to the movies on the second one. Eric had been happier and happier every day since they started going out.
"You think Chris will be okay by himself tonight?" Jackie asked, causing Eric to raise an eyebrow.
"Yeah, probably… Why?" He asked curiously.
Jackie smirked in a weird way, she was feigning an emotion and Eric couldn't figure out what it was, "Because… I've got something to show you."
Eric raised an eyebrow and smiled nervously, "Okay…"
The two then sat in silence for the rest of the afternoon, deciding to watch Chris and Callie dance and have a good time from afar, Jackie smiling happily the whole time and Eric watching her curiously.
0-0-0-0-0
July 21, 2001
"Callie, would you quit being a pain in the ass," Donna snapped at her daughter who was just trying to annoy her.
"But it's the only thing I'm good at," Callie whined sarcastically, faking a pout.
She kept grabbing her mother's hand and skipping along beside her, singing a song like a small child, "Callie, you're not five," Her mother would say, snatching her hand out of her daughter's.
"But I want to be," Callie remarked, grabbing her mom's hand again.
"Callie, would you stop it?" Donna snapped, getting close to just losing it.
"Mom, it's for safety!" Callie cried, "What if a man just ran down the street and snatched me up? Then you'd be thinking twice about holding my hand, wouldn't you?"
"Callie, we're getting in an elevator, let go," Donna ordered.
Callie sighed, "Fine," She finally dropped her hand by her side and looked down at the floor longingly.
Donna pushed the button to go to the fifth floor and waited for the elevator doors to shut. Donna found Jackie's 'lucky' hairbrush the other day and she decided to return it, she was in town anyway.
"You know that feeling when the elevator starting working?" Callie asked, "You know, the one that makes you feel kind of sick? Like car sick?"
Donna sighed and looked down at her daughter, nodding, "Yeah, what about it."
Callie just smirked and shrugged, "I kind of like it."
Donna rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile a little at her daughter's oddness. She got that from her father.
The two girls waited about twenty seconds before the elevator hit the fifth floor and the doors slid open. Donna and Callie both walked out and started down the hall, looking for Jackie's room.
Callie thought for a moment, remembering something from the night before. Didn't Eric and Jackie leave together last—Oh… Callie smiled to herself. This should be good. Callie lived for drama as long as it didn't involve her.
Donna and Callie suddenly stopped in front of Jackie's apartment door, Donna knocking on it loudly and waiting for her friend to come and answer the door. She started riffling around in her purse, looking for the brush that Jackie had left at her place before she moved out.
Callie heard footsteps on the other side of the door and felt her heart speed up a little in excitement. This was it.
Callie waited and watched as the door opened and revealed Jackie, by herself, standing before them, wearing a large button up shirt that nearly went to her knees, wearing nothing but underwear underneath it.
"Donna," Jackie almost shrieked as she froze in the doorway, her hand on the door as she stared wide eyed at her old roommate.
"Hey Jackie, I finally found your hair—" Donna stopped talking when she saw what Jackie was wearing, then she smirked knowingly, "Do you have a guy over?"
"Um…" Jackie's mouth felt like cotton. What was she supposed to say? "No…"
Donna raised an eyebrow, smile still present, "Then whose shirt is that?"
Jackie looked down at herself and then back up at Donna quickly, "It's mine."
Donna slumped her shoulders and crossed her arms, "Come on, Jackie. Who is it?"
"No o—" She was cut off though when another voice spoke.
"Who was it?" The voice asked, obviously not paying enough attention to Jackie to see she was still at the door.
Donna suddenly frowned, immediately recognizing the voice. Soon enough, Eric came around the corner, buckling the belt on his pants before he looked up and caught eyes with Donna and he made the same face Jackie made.
"Oh… Hi Donna," He said, smiling awkwardly and waving his hand nervously.
"Eric?!" Donna cried, shocked.
"Oh yeah," Callie suddenly snickered, "I forgot to tell you," She said, garnering her mother's attention, "Eric and Jackie are going out."
Donna looked back at her two old friends, "It looks like they're doing more than going out."
"Keep your voice down, I don't want all the neighbors knowing about this," Jackie hissed, glaring at Donna.
"Oh, they know, honey," A man said as he walked by, putting his keys in his pocket, "They know."
Jackie flushed red and looked down in embarrassment, Eric had turned a shade of pink as well. Callie almost laughed out loud, but kept it to a small giggle, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Please, come in," Jackie said, stepping aside so Donna and Callie could come in.
The two girls entered the room and Jackie closed the door firmly behind her and waited a moment before she turned around, trying to get over her embarrassment.
"So you two…?" Donna trailed off, as if she didn't want to say it.
Eric raised an eyebrow, "Why? Does it disgust you?"
Donna looked over at Eric as he wrapped his arms around himself, as if he were trying to cover his body from Donna's wandering eyes. Donna nodded, "Yes!"
Eric tilted his head and nodded, "Then yes. We did."
Eric was suddenly met with a light thud in the stomach as Jackie smacked at him, sending him a glare at the same time, "Eric!"
Eric shrugged, "What? We did."
"This is weird," Donna said, placing her hands on the sides of her head.
"How is this weird?" Jackie suddenly asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Because… It just is!" Donna cried, her eyes still wide as she looked over at Eric. His hair was disheveled and he was unshaven, Donna was too shocked to admit to herself that it looked good on him, "You two? Together? You guys hate each other!"
"We did," Eric said, his arms still wrapped around himself as he looked around nervously, "…About twenty years ago."
"It's still unnatural!" Donna cried, running her hands through her long red hair, "When did you two start… You know… Hooking up?"
Jackie raised an eyebrow, "Hooking up? We're not 'hooking up' we're going out, there's a difference. Who do you think we are?"
Donna shook her head, "That's not what I meant, I'm sorry, I'm just a little shocked."
"We've been 'hooking up,'" Eric said, using air quotes, "For about a month."
"Only a month and you guys have already had sex?!" Donna cried incredulously.
"Ew, I don't ever want to hear you say that word again," Callie winced, scrunching her shoulders in disgust.
"We've only been going out for a month, but there's been something between us for much longer than that," Eric said, shrugging his frail shoulders.
"What does that even mean?" Donna asked, throwing her hands up in confusion.
"I'm not going to explain it to you, Donna, it's private," Eric said. It was now that Donna noticed he was still covering his torso from her view with his arms.
"Eric, I've seen you shirtless before, you don't need to hide," Donna said in frustration.
Eric then went pale, which concerned both Donna and Jackie. Jackie went to stand beside Eric and put a gentle hand on his arm and looked over at Donna, "Donna, now's not the time—"
Donna was now confused, "Not the time for what? Why's he so embarrassed?"
Jackie shook her head, "He's not, he's just—"
"Eric?" Donna interrupted again, her voice calmer now, "What's wrong?"
Eric shook his head and swallowed thickly, averting everything gaze, "N-nothings wrong, I'm just going through some personal things right now."
"And Jackie's the only one who knows about them?" Donna asked, trying to stay calm, noting how vulnerable Eric was right now, "Eric… I'm your friend, too. You can talk to me."
Eric shook his head, his eyes still staring at the ground as he furrowed his brow, "It's not that easy, Donna."
It was then that Callie saw what Eric was hiding. She saw a cut down at his waist and realized what he did. She then thought back a couple months ago when she heard her mother arguing with Eric and Jackie, that's the day after she found out Chris used to cut himself too, "Yeah Mom, maybe we should just let him tell you in his own time."
Everybody looked at Callie, a little curiously as Donna spoke, "How bad could it be? Eric?"
Eric was getting a little frustrated now. Callie knew, somehow. Maybe he should just tell her.
"Eric?" Donna repeated, taking a small step closer.
Eric sighed irritably and threw his arms out, glaring at Donna, "I used to cut myself, okay?! You happy now?!"
They all heard his voice break at the last sentence, but he carried on. He was tired of hiding, maybe finally letting everything out would make him feel better.
"I used to cut myself every day thinking maybe it'd help me cope with being depressed and hating myself! I could never understand why I hated myself and was always sad and alone so to comfort myself and help myself get through that, I started forcing myself to throw up every day! That's why I used to only weigh 118 pounds! To cover up how sickly I was I layered clothes and sweat my ass off all the time, that probably didn't help with my weight because it made me even skinnier!
"I used to exhaust myself just walking into town to get fucking groceries! Groceries I ate and threw up three hours later because I was trying to kill myself! I've never told anyone this, not even you Jackie!" He cried as he pointed at Jackie, "But about a month before any of you got here I overdosed on my medication. I got drunk and mixed the alcohol with about fifteen pills. Thank God Chris got home from school early, because if he showed up about an hour later he would have found the body of his father lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of his own blood! Oh yeah, did I mention I cut my wrists too, thinking to myself, if the pills don't work, maybe I'll bleed out instead?
"Turns out God doesn't want me dead! He wants me to suffer!" Eric cried, crying his eyes out, abandoning the idea of holding his emotions in, "You happy now, Donna? You know my secret!"
Everybody was quiet as Eric grabbed his coat he brought the night previous and threw it on over his shoulders and zipped it up before he grabbed his keys and wallet and went to the door to leave, but not before looking back and glaring around the room, "Fuck all of you," Then he swung open the door, let himself out, and slammed it shut behind him.
Donna was crying, Jackie was crying, even Callie was crying. Jackie knew he didn't mean what he said, the last part anyway. He was just upset. Jackie suddenly ran back into the hall and left Donna and Callie by themselves in the living room.
Jackie quickly pulled on a pair of pants and some shoes, not bothering with makeup, hair or even putting on socks, she just grabbed her keys and ran back into the living room where Donna and Callie were still standing in complete shock.
"Guys, come on let's go! We can't leave him alone right now, there's no telling what he might do!" Jackie snapped, trying to keep herself calm so she could concentrate on finding Eric, "Come on, let's go!"
And with that, the three girls left the apartment, Jackie not even bothering to lock the door behind her.
0-0-0-0-0
Eric stormed back into his apartment about twenty minutes later. He ran all the way here, not in the mood for the bus or anything like that right now, he just wanted to be alone.
Eric came into the apartment and knew exactly what he was going to do, he was just tired of everything and everybody.
Eric went to the kitchen, threw his keys and wallet on the counter and grabbed the notepad by the coffee machine and pen and started writing everything he wanted to say. To his parents, his sister, his friends, Chris, Jackie. Everybody that was important to him.
He wrote it quickly, it was sloppy, but it was readable. So he tore the paper off the pad and folded it in half and wrote his name on the front of it before throwing the pen on the counter and walking across the room and into the living room and placing the paper on the coffee table.
The apartment was quiet, which meant Chris was still sleeping and his mother Barbara was passed out somewhere, probably in her bedroom.
Eric walked down the hall and found Barbara's room and opened the already cracked open door. He walked in, not bothering with being quiet. He saw the heroin needle nearby Barbara, meaning she's used it recently, so she wouldn't wake up for anything.
He strode across the room and looked across Barbara's dresser top for a key. He was trying to remember where she put it. He suddenly stuck his hand in a coffee cup that held pencils and tore them out of it, throwing them onto the floor and grabbing the key out of the bottom of the cup and grabbing the box that sat next to it.
He quickly unlocked it and threw the key down, grabbing what was inside the box. A gun. He saw several bullets laying in the box as well and he took them and shoved them in his pocket before he tucked the gun in his waist band and left Barbara's room.
He went down the hall, to the bathroom, and closed the door, locking it behind him. He then paced for several minutes, trying to reason with himself, but it wasn't working. He couldn't bring himself to realize he had so much to live for.
He had a good job, a whole city to work it in, a beautiful city he lived in, a son, his friends, his family, Jackie. For some reason none of that mattered right now. He was thinking of them, he was thinking of himself and that he just wanted to close his eyes and never wake up.
He had finally hit his breaking point.
So Eric pulled the gun out of his waist band, pulled the bullets out of his pocket, loaded the gun, and sat down in the middle of the bathroom floor, pressing the cool barrel of the gun into his temple.
He breathed shallowly, trying to work up the nerve to pull the trigger and just end it all. His finger was on the trigger, and he had a little pressure on it. Come on, Eric. Just do it.
So Eric just sat there, stuck in his mind.
And nothing kills a man faster than his own head.
0-0-0-0-0
Donna, Jackie and Callie stormed into Eric's apartment twenty-five minutes later. The door was open, which worried Jackie. He was being sloppy and that wasn't good.
When she entered the room she looked around. His wallet and keys were on the counter, where he usually put them. Okay, what else?
"I found something," Callie suddenly spoke.
Jackie whipped her head around and saw Callie holding a piece of paper in her hand. Oh no.
Jackie quickly stepped over and grabbed the paper out of Callie's hands. It had Eric's name on it. She quickly unfolded it and read his handwriting, which was kind of hard to read.
I hate the world. I hate everyone. I hate myself. I'm sorry it had to be this way, but I feel like I don't have any other choice. I love you, Chris, and I hope you get into NYU like you always dreamed, I know you'll do great things. I love you, Dad. I know we were never on the same page but you taught me some pretty valuable life lessons, so thank you for that. I love you, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye one last time but just know you've always been with me wherever I went even if you weren't. Steven, you were the greatest friend anyone could ever have and I know you'll be pissed when you hear the news, sorry about that. I love you, man. Michael, you're a good man with a good heart. I hope you have a nice life, love you. Fez. I hope you find your dream lady someday, until then, keep up with the charming attitude, it's hard to dislike you. Love you. Donna. I've always loved you and probably always will, just not in the way you had hoped. Just know you're always in my heart and tell your daughter I love her and I love what she's doing for Chris. They're wonderful together. Jackie. I love you so much. Recently I've been thinking about us a lot. I thought maybe one day we could get married, have a family and grow old together. Looks like there's been a change of plans. I'm so sorry for what I said and I hope you can forgive me. I love you, so much and always have. With love, Eric.
"Jackie!" She heard Donna cry and she peeled her eyes away from the note Eric left, tears in her own eyes, "I heard a gun load, I think Eric's trying to kill himself."
Jackie let the note go and let it fall to the ground as she rushed down the hallway and stopped in front of the closed bathroom door.
"Eric?!" She called, knocking on the door rapidly, "Eric, it's me, Jackie. Please don't do this, you have so much to live for."
He was quiet, but Jackie could hear his rapid but shallow breathing, so she continued, maybe it would coax him out from behind the closed door, "Eric, please. This isn't how your life it supposed to end. You were supposed to grow and get really old and die peacefully in your sleep, not to a gunshot wound to the head, self-inflicted.
"Chris can't live without you, Eric. You can't just leave him behind," Jackie pleaded with him, praying to God desperately that Eric would have second thoughts about this.
Just then, Chris came out of his bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eye, "What's going on?"
Callie rushed over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Jackie. They had decided to let Jackie deal with this. Too many people might overwhelm Eric like before and send him over the edge. And the edge this time was much steeper than before.
"Eric," Jackie said quieter, trying to be calm for him, "You can't leave him behind. You can't leave you family behind… You can't leave me behind. I love you, so much. I want to spend my life with you. I want to go on more dates, I want kiss you and hug you, I want to wrap my arms around you when you're feeling down about yourself and tell you everything will be okay.
"I want to make love to you again, and I want to get married. I want to have a family of our own and watch them grow and have families of their own. I want to grow old together and watch our grandchildren play and laugh and love. I want to tell you I love you because I do. I love you so much, Eric Forman. And I can't live without you… So please… Open this door and let me see you…"
It was quiet for a moment and Jackie heard a quiet click. She looked down at the doorknob and quickly reached her hand down and twisted it. It was unlocked. Jackie quickly twisted it and let the door swing open. She looked down at the ground and was relieved with what she saw.
Eric sat in the middle of the floor, his whole body trembling as he held the gun in his hand, his finger removed from over the trigger as he slowly started to put it down. He was crying as he slowly moved his head up to meet eyes with Jackie.
"Eric…" Jackie whispered, standing still in her place, feeling her body shake as well.
Eric finally met Jackie's eyes and opened his mouth to speak, "Did you really mean what you said?"
Jackie let the tears fall now as she nodded her head, "Of course I did."
She stepped into the bathroom and slowly kneeled down in front of Eric, reaching down the gun in his hand. He followed her hand to where she was reaching and he let her take the weapon out of hand, his loose grasp letting it free.
Jackie took the gun and placed it on the counter, away from Eric, the gun facing the bathroom mirror.
She looked back down at Eric and saw him looking back at her, his eyes full of unshed tears, "Y-you don't hate me, d-do you?"
Jackie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she gazed at him, but before she could speak he started again, "I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry," He then grabbed at the sleeves of her shirt, or rather his shirt, as he started to cry, "Please don't hate me."
Jackie quickly wrapped her arms around Eric and let him cry into her chest as she held him tight, "Eric… I could never hate you. I love you."
Jackie felt his arms move around to her back and his fingers clenched the fabric of her shirt as he sobbed uncontrollably, mumbling over and over again, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"It's okay…" Jackie whimpered as tears fell from her eyes as well. She tightened her arms around Eric and kissed the side of his head, pushing one hand into his hair, trying to calm him, "It's okay…"
Behind Jackie in the hallway stood Donna, Chris and Callie, all watching the scene unfold before them. Donna was crying, as was Callie and Chris felt tears in his eyes as well. He had showed up at the scene late but got here in time to realize what was going on.
"I'm so stupid…" Eric mumbled into Jackie's shirt, his arms still wound tightly around her.
Jackie shook her head and gripped his shoulders, "No you're not."
Eric nodded his head, strongly disagreeing with her, "Then why would I try something like this? I can't just leave you guys like this… It's not fair…"
"Eric," Jackie said, her voice suddenly stern as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from her. He was nearly dead weight in her arms, his whole body tired. This whole thing must have really wore him out, "You're in a rough place and no one here can even begin to understand how you feel. But we're all here for you. Everybody here wants you to get better and we'll help you get there no matter what it takes."
Eric then attacked her with a hug again, his arms feeling tighter around her than before. As he sit there in her arms, his tears soaking her shirt, Jackie made a vow to him that she really was going to help him get better, no matter what it took. Even if it meant she didn't leave his side, she just wanted him to be his old self again. And she'd held him get there.
No matter what.
A/N – I know, so much angst. I was actually not picturing this chapter going in this direction. It just sort of happened. This should be the last big chapter about Eric's depression. He finally let everything out and had his breakdown, now everyone knows about it and he can have a little more support. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll write some more hopefully soon.