DISCLAIMER: It comes to an end I still don't own anything.

Ch42…Mercy May…

***

She hadn't exactly welcomed the voices back with open arms, there was the little evil one who had prevailed over the others for those months she was falling apart, there was the loud, obnoxious one from before everything had gone to hell and now there was this new one who sounded eerily like Mina. All three together had been screaming at her through the night, pretty much from the second she had returned home and found that seemingly innocent white envelope with her name printed on it.

The envelope had stared back at her from the bedside table for approximately five minutes before she thrust it in the drawer. Another five minutes and she held it back in her hands. Sometime later, the exact time lost as she stared more and more at the envelope she finally succumbed to her curiosity and tore it open, a single sheet of paper falling onto her lap.

Steven thought she was suffering some kind of brain tumour, his concern would have been sweet is hadn't insisted on checking her head for bumps ruining her curls. She had grumbled for an hour pulling her hair back into a tight braid, which brushed against her back. Two steps and she would be close enough to knock the tacky doorknocker shaped like a peace sign; she'd hated it when she lived here and she hated it now.

"You don't have to do this you know."

Jackie all but jumped out of her skin whipping around with her fist swinging. Hyde inwardly yelped at the pain of her fist colliding with his face cursing his decision to teach her how to throw a punch after that catfight with Laurie.

"Steven! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Hyde's eye throbbed. "And you have me a black eye I'd say we're even." Glancing at his reflection in the window he groaned, Jackie's ring had left a star shaped bruise just under his eye; just great. He looked like Ziggy Stardust and that was just a look he could not rock, hell he wasn't even sure Bowie pulled it off.

"What are you doing here? I told you that I wanted to do this alone."

She wasn't all that mad really but arguing with him gave her more time to figure out how exactly to respond to Donna's letter.

"Jackie you've been staring at that door for nearly an hour. You're lucky no one called the cops and reported a lurker."

"I used to live here Steven and the only neighbour nosy enough to do that is Mrs. Forman." Jackie countered with a smirk.

"Damn right they know you used to live here." Steven replied remembering all too well the yelling of Red after he discovered Jackie sleeping in the basement even after she had moved in with Bob. The whole street had been privy to Red's lecture on not letting Jackie sneak out. How he had kept a straight face considering Red's daughter was Laurie still remains one of life's great mysteries.

"That was a long time ago." Jackie whispered trying not to let the sadness show.

"In a galaxy far, far away."

Jackie and Hyde both flinched at the third voice to enter their conversation. Dressed in what Hyde sincerely hoped was Donna's fluffy wardrobe though he somehow knew it was Bob's, Eric leaned against the door jamb and stared at the bickering couple.

"God Eric, eavesdrop much?" Jackie snapped craning her neck to make sure Donna wasn't hiding behind her twig of a boyfriend.

"It's not my fault you two were arguing so loud I could hear it from Donna's room. Lucky for you she sleeps like the dead." Eric glanced over his shoulder. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Jackie's voice abandoned her and she chewed on her lip willing the words to come to her.

"She wants to talk to Donna about that letter you smuggled into the house, you're lucky Red didn't find out. He'd probably strip search you each time you come home if he did." Hyde's eyes took on a wicked glint that his glasses did little to cover. "Hmm, I wonder if he's up yet."

Eric was thankfully too focused on the first part of Hyde's comment to notice the other part.

"You want to talk to Donna?" He asked needing to hear it from the pint size girl. "Not say you want to talk but then really axe murder her or poison her coffee or-"

"Thanks for the tips Eric you've just made me feel so much more comfortable about sharing a house with you." Jackie said with a shudder. "And to answer your question no I'm not here to kill Donna, I just need to talk to her about this." She held up the crumpled letter.

"And you thought first thing in the morning was the best time for this?" Eric whistled, Donna was scary in the morning; Jackie was braver than he thought or maybe she was as dumb as he'd first thought. It was a close call.

"Just get her down here." She ordered resisting the urge to snap her fingers instead making shooing gestures. "And try a man's robe next time!" She yelled as he retreated inwards.

"That's not Bob's robe?" Hyde asked in surprise.

"Oh no it is, he stole it off my mum." Jackie replied shuddering once more. "I hope he's washed it. I walked in on them having sex on that thing." Hyde was both grossed out and entertained by that piece of information. "You can tell him that while I talk to Donna if you want. It can be like a signal. I'll twirl my hair and you tell Eric and while Donna chases after her screaming and most likely naked boyfriend after he rips the robe off we can make our getaway."

Hyde wrapped his arms around Jackie pulling her close to him. "Did I ever mention how much I love your diabolical mind?"

Jackie pretended to consider it smiling to herself. "Not in the last few hours."

"Oh ew, lucky I haven't eaten breakfast yet." Eric exclaimed announcing his presence once more, Hyde groaned while Jackie whispered assurances in his ear. Just you wait Forman.

"Hey Jackie."

The voice of Hot Donna was no longer full and confident but rather sullen and croaky like she hadn't really used it in days. Her skin was pale and blotchy the red matching her hair. She sat down on the front stoop waiting for Jackie to join her like she used to while the boys entered the house not even trying to be subtle as they settled at the window the curtains rustling loudly.

"I just need to say this and I really need you to tell me the truth." Jackie began playing with her fingers. "Did you mean it?"

There were other questions, some better worded, others simpler but this was the one that mattered the most.

"Every word." She replied her voice coming out clearly sounding completely to her voice just seconds ago. "I'm not going to apologize again because it wont do any good, it wont change anything."

"It wont." Jackie agreed pulling the letter from her pocket; its words now blotted with tears. "But I don't want to be the kind of person who is bitter."

Donna held onto her breath trying not to let the smallest of hope ignite a spark.

"I don't want to be living my life ten years from now and have regrets." Jackie paused glancing at the window where she knew Steven was watching her. "I forgive you Donna, I do. I get that you made a mistake and I know that you're sorry. I'm not sure I'll ever really forget what happened or how I felt but I don't think I should. To forget the past is to forfeit the future. And I like who I am now."

She could get through this, she could. It was necessary.

"I'm not saying I don't hate what happened cause I really do." She really, really did. But she wasn't angry anymore; she was hurt but even that lessened everyday. "But I realized, I don't hate you Donna. I never did." One last deep breath and she would be finished. "I was upset at how easily you could replace me, how little you thought of my feelings, how little you thought of me. And I think I know why it hurt so much."

"Because I'm a bitch?" Donna asked only half joking.

"No." Jackie answered with a ghost of a smile. "Because you were my family. You were my sister Donna, and I thought that our friendship meant something to you. Meant more to you than some trashy blonde in a trans am." Okay so maybe there was still a little residual anger. "I think I was punishing you because out of all of my family you were the only one who came back, you were the only who showed they cared and were sorry."

She placed her hand on Donna's and squeezed lightly. "Only family can you drive so crazy, look at Eric and Mr. Forman. Most days I think he'd like to throttle him but he loves him. I guess that's just the way it goes huh?"

"I guess." Donna echoed, not really sure what this meant for them. Jackie pulled her hand back and settled it in her lap.

"I'm not ready to trust you like I did." Jackie said avoiding the eyes she could feel on her. All three sets of them. "But I think I'd like to try. We can start small, just hang out in the basement all six of us?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Donna agreed suppressing the voice inside her head that told her to let loose with a happy dance. Stupid Fezric. (It sounded like a combination of her boyfriend and their foreign friend. She wisely chose never to mention this to either boy.)

Jackie smiled, a real smile pulling on her braid twirling it around her finger absently. It was only seconds later when she heard the impressively girlie scream and felt the barely one hundred pound weight of one Eric Forman falling over her legs did she remember about the signal with Hyde.

The fluffy robe was tossed onto the garden and Eric was scratching at his body, which was now on sure for the whole neighbourhood. Donna cursed under her breath and took off after her boyfriend unwisely grabbing the robe to attempt to wrap him in.

"Betcha somebody calls the cops now." Jackie laughed turning to look at her boyfriend. "Steven?"

Stepping into the house she glanced into the lounge letting out another louder laugh at her boyfriend standing over the phone with what she could only describe as a shit-eating grin.

"Yeah, is this the police department? There's some crazy guy running down Hawker street naked."

The voices in her head faded away and all that was left was her own.

"You're evil."

"You love it."

They didn't deny either claim, why would they?

***

So is this the end for our fair basement gang? Let me know…or else!