Eric and Izzy stood at the counter of the Hub alongside their mother, waiting for their food to be ready after they had spent all day at the dentist's office for Eric. Izzy had convinced Kitty to take her out of school with Eric by saying, "Mr. Hamond said it was fine for me to miss class, cause, y'know, I'm already getting an A."

Eric chuckled. "Just as you suspected, Mom, Izzy is better than everybody!"

Kitty smiled at the twins "All I know is that my little boy was very brave at the dentist's today. Wasn't he?" She pinched his cheek. "Yes he was, my little snickelfritz!"

Izzy laughed and watched as Eric swatted Kitty's hand away. "Okay, Mom? When a man reaches a certain age, the baby voice no longer comforts him. It urges him to kill."

The bell over the front door jingled, and the three of them looked over to see Donna and Casey entering the Hub. Donna was clearly drunk, stumbling all over the place. She managed to walk into a chair, knock it to the ground, and then shushed it as though it was sentient.

Casey chuckled and repositioned the chair. "Let's get you some coffee. Nobody pukes in the Trans-Am."

"Mrs. Forman!" Donna said, noticing Kitty. "Uh oh, you look mad. What did Eric do? Bad Eric!"

Kitty furrowed her brow. "Donna, why aren't you in school?"

"No worries," Casey said, waving her off. "I called her in sick. Told them lady troubles, no questions asked."

Donna laughed and stumbled, nearly falling, but Eric rushed over and propped her up. "Hey. Easy there, Wobbles."

Izzy walked up to Donna, holding her steady by placing a hand on each shoulder. "Donna... you drunk?"

"I hope so! Cause if not, this whole place is a-spinning!" She whirled her finger around and laughed. "Hang on boys, it's a twister!"

-

"So we were at the Hub earlier getting ice cream with our mom," Eric told the others whilst sitting in the circle. "And we caught Donna with Casey skipping school. And she was drunk!

Izzy gestured wildly with her hands, laughing. "In the middle of the afternoon! It was like Sue Ellen on Dallas!"

Hyde laughed and looked between the twins. "You went to the Hub for ice cream with your mommy? Now Forman, why would you tell me that?"

Fez scowled. "Hyde, the point is he went for ice cream. Without us! You cannot pick up a phone?"

"You know who can't pick up a phone?" Kelso asked. "Jackie! I broke up with her, and she never calls to even say hi or offer me sad--but hot--break up sex! I mean, that's just selfish!"

Eric shook his head. "Guys, my mom's over at the Pinciotti's right now telling Bob about Donna being drunk. You can't do that kind of stuff in the middle of the afternoon."

Izzy nodded, wide-eyes. "It'll mess with your... your... your thinking thing! Y'know? And that's not good!"

"Iz, you were drunk for, like, a week after Nick dumped you."

"Shut the hell up, Eric!"

"Oh, you're right. It wasn't because of Nick, it was because of-"

"I said, shut the hell up!"

Hyde slung an arm across Izzy's shoulder. "Yeah, you gotta stay sharp, man. That's why I keep myself pure 'til 3 o' clock..." He looked at his wrist. "Two o'clock. That's why I keep myself pure until two o'clock." He looked down at his wrist again, then giggled and held it up for the others to see. "I'm not even wearing a watch!"

-

Later on, Izzy was sitting on the hood of the Cruiser, watching as Eric and Kelso played basketball.

"Hey, you know what?" Eric asked. "Donna getting busted is actually great for me, cause now she's gotta realize what a jackass Casey is! And when she dumps him, I'll be standing right here with open arms and a gentle I told you so." He huffed, a determined look on his face. "Oh yeah, that could happen. After all, I made that girl a woman."

"I made Jackie a woman. Like a thousand times."

Izzy scrunched up her nose. "I hate men. Where's my boyfriend?"

Just then, Hyde and Fez came running up. Fez held up a bag with a wide grin on his face. "We stole dead fish!"

"Dead fish?" Kelso asked. "What are you gonna do with dead fish?"

"You're missin' the point, man! We stole dead fish!" Hyde said excitedly.

"Steven, why would you guys even want that stuff around? It reeks."

Fez shook his head. "Oh Izzy, you just don't get it."

Jackie walked up to the driveway, hugging her jacket around herself. She pulled Kelso aside, and Hyde took Izzy's hand and led her over to the porch chairs with Fez.

Izzy sighed. "Please explain to me why you'd ever want a dead fish."

"Because it is stinky!" Fez said. He sniffed the bag, then made a face. "So stinky. What are we gonna do with the stinky?"

Hyde grinned. "We're gonna find a place to hide the stinky and ruin someone's day. Now, question is: Where, how, and who?" He tossed the basketball towards Kelso's van, and the three of them watched as it hit the wheel, knocking the hubcap off. "The answer is there, that and Kelso!"

Izzy laughed "It's like a little bowl."

"A bowl for the stinky." Fez said in agreement. "And we will put it there and he'll never find it and it will smell forever!"

"Steven, that's kind of... mean. To put that in Kelso's wheel." Izzy said slowly.

"Izzy Bee, come on! It's just a stupid prank, it's harmless."

Izzy thought for a moment. She thought back to the way she was feeling the day of the barbecue. She wanted to know that she could be brave all on her own. Make her own choices, be the one deciding what to do and where to go.

Make her own choices.

"I'm not doing that, Steven." She said quietly, standing up. "I- I'm going inside."

-

Izzy entered the kitchen to see Bob talking with her parents and Eric. "And then I told Donna she was grounded, and she said no!"

"She said no?" Kitty asked.

Eric paused. "Can you do that?"

"No!" Red said.

Izzy sat in one of the barstools. "What are we talking about?"

Bob turned to her and sighed. "My Bambi." Izzy gave him a confused look. "I need your guys' help getting Donna away from that guy!"

"Oh. Oh. Well, I'm down."

Bob turned back to Red. "Red, please. I need your help."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "Oh, Dad, you know what's good? Threaten her with the ole' foot in the ass."

Kitty huffed. "How could such a bad influence live in such a handsome package?" The others turned to her, sharing a "did she just say what I think she said?" type of look. "Bad people should have a... a big scar, and an eye patch! So you could recognize them!"

Bob sighed. "The problem is, you know, there's a point where your kids just realize you can't do nothin' to control them."

"There is?" Eric asked.

"No!" Red said. "Now stop listening! Bob, I don't wanna get involved. I've got enough problems with the fourteen kids who think they live here now."

Izzy sat at the counter, her chin resting in her hand. Her mind started to wander from the conversation.

There's a point where your kids just realize you can't do nothin' to control them.

-

"Why do I have to hold the fish?" Fez asked, kneeling beside the hubcap.

"Cause that's what the little buddy does!" Hyde said, standing over him. He heard footsteps, and his head perked up. "Oh, oh! Someone's coming."

The two of them ducked to hide behind the van, and up walked Casey and Donna.

"So this guy comes over and says his Z-28 is the same car as my Trans-Am, except for the decals."

Donna laughed. "How can people be so ignorant?"

Bob came rushing out of the Formans' kitchen. "I see you Donna! I see you!"

"Dad!"

"Don't you Dad me. You're not going anywhere. Not with this guy. You're grounded again!"

All at the same time, Kelso and Jackie joined the group, Red, Kitty, Eric and Izzy came out of the kitchen, and Hyde and Fez emerged from behind the van.

"How much did we miss?" Kelso asked.

Hyde waved his hand. "Shh, just started!"

Donna sighed and turned to Bob. "Dad, I'm gonna do whatever I want, with whoever I want, whenever I wanna do it!"

Bob shook his head, holding his ground. "We have to have a talk right now, Donna."

"Mr. Pinciotti, sir?" Casey said with a crooked smile. "Let me just say, you're makin' a lot of sense here. And I think that when I bring Donna home tonight after the party, you two ought to sit down and really hammer this thing out."

Bob thought for a moment. "Okay, that sounds fair..."

In unison, everyone watching went, "Ooh!"

"Wh- You're just gonna let her go off with him?" Eric asked.

"What else can I do?"

"Oh, good god! That's it!" Red yelled, quieting everyone down quickly. "Everybody in the living room. Now!"

Everyone started to file into the house, but Red blocked the way for Jackie, Kelso, Hyde, Izzy and Fez. Bob stopped behind the group as Red said sternly, "Not you! Isabelle, keep them outside."

Red went into the house, leaving Bob out there with the kids. Slowly, Fez offered Bob some candy. Bob took a piece, and then Red came back out. "Bob! Get in here!"

So, naturally, Izzy led the others up to the kitchen door, where they listened in on the conversation. They heard everything.

They heard Casey ask Kitty for a rum and coke.

They heard Eric yelling at Casey.

And they heard Casey break up with Donna in front of everyone.

-

Izzy stayed the rest of the evening with Donna next door, consoling her. Donna kept talking about one thing, though.

"I need to get Eric back."

Izzy paused. "What?" She watched as Donna jumped up from her bed, grabbing her coat. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Izzy! I was the happiest I had ever been with Eric, and he... we screwed it up. We both did. And we were too stupid to admit that to each other." She turned to Izzy, her eyes wide. "Really! I just... I have to be brave all on my own, take matters into my own hands, a- and then we can be happy again!"

Izzy opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"I'm gonna head over there right now."

Izzy watched as Donna climbed out her window in an attempt to avoid Bob. She sat on Donna's bed, looking around the empty room, her head pounding.

I have to be brave all on my own.

-

Izzy opened the front door to her house, quietly so as not to disturb anyone. Noticing that the living room was empty, she headed for the kitchen to bake her intrusive thoughts away. Right before she opened the door, though, she heard her name being said from the other side.

"And what about Isabelle?"

Izzy stopped. She knew what she was about to do was amoral, but...

"What about Isabelle, Kitty?"

"Do you think this art... thing will pan out?"

Izzy pressed her ear up against the door. The voices belonged to her parents.

"What do you mean pan out?"

Kitty sighed. "I just walked Donna down into the basement. When she and Eric get back together-" Red opened his mouth to protest, but Kitty held up a finger. "And I know they will! His life will be back on track. He'll go to college, he'll move out..." She paused. "But what about Isabelle?"

"She'll go to school, too! Hell, she's a better student than Eric, she might even get a scholarship."

Kitty shook her head. "I'm not worried about the grades, Red. She wants to be an artist-"

"She wants to get her master's degree. That's very respectable!"

"Well, once she has her masters, what's she going to do with it?"

Red paused. "Oh, I don't know, Kitty. Teach?"

"Okay, where?"

He couldn't think of a place. He shook his head slightly. "If she wants to be an artist-"

"Oh, Red. We both know that is such an unlikely career! I mean, I went to nursing school. That was a safe and normal career choice-"

"Well, we both know Isabelle's not either of those things!" Red said, laughing.

Kitty paused. Her voice dropped and, weakly, she said, "I don't want her to turn out like Laurie when she gets to college."

Red sighed and set a hand over Kitty's. "She won't turn out like Laurie. Isabelle knows how to... be the one deciding what to do and where to go-"

Izzy pulled her head away from the door, her brow furrowed.

Be the one deciding what to do and where to go.

She turned her head, listening to see if Donna was still in the basement. After a moment, she decided fuck it, and went downstairs to find Eric sitting on the couch, completely alone.

"Eric?" She asked quietly.

He looked behind his shoulder. "Oh." He sighed. "Hey, hippie artist chick."

She closed her eyes tightly for a split second, trying to push the nickname out of her head for the time being. "Um... is Steven down here?"

He chuckled dryly. "No. Why, you avoiding him again?"

She stopped.

"No." She whispered, turning on her heels and heading back up the stairs. She climbed the second set of stairs and went straight into her bedroom, grabbing a coat and some loose dollar bills.

She went back downstairs and, making sure Red and Kitty were still in the kitchen, left through the front door.

She walked down the street, trying to remember what party Casey was talking about taking Donna to that night. Donna told her the address when they were in her room... Take a left at the end of the street, then a right, then another left.

Before she knew it, Izzy was alone at Casey's friend's party.

-

Hyde stood in the driveway, shooting hoops alone. He had been out there all night, since he saw Izzy had gone out and still wasn't back. He wanted--no, he needed--to make sure she was home safe, since all he was thinking about while making basket after basket was what he could have done wrong to warrant her going out without telling anyone.

He didn't know when she left, where she had gone to, or when she would be back, so he stayed out. Waiting for his girlfriend to come home.

"Steven?"

He looked over to see Izzy walking down the sidewalk, her steps staggered. He dropped the basketball without a second thought and jogged over to her.

"You're drunk." He mumbled, checking her for bruises or any sign of harm.

"Stop, 'm fine."

He looked up at her. "No, you're not." He took her hand in his. "Come on, we're gonna sit over there, on the Cruiser, and you're gonna tell me what's got you so upset this week."

"No, Steven."

He tugged on her hand gently. "Iz, come on. It's okay."

"No!" She pulled her hand away. "No, 'm not okay, Steven. 'M just... not okay." He sighed and searched for the right words to say, but he couldn't find any.

He pulled her in for a hug, but she pulled away just as quickly. "I'm tired, Steven."

He noticed how much her words were slurring together. "Jesus, how much did you drink tonight? Where were you?"

"I'm tired. A- And 'm weak."

His eyes softened. "What?"

She didn't reply.

"Hey, hey," He put his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, okay? You're not weak-"

"I am. I'm tired and I'm-"

"You can be tired, that's fine, but you are not fucking weak, you hear me, Izzy Bee? You're the strongest-"

"I'm tired of me, Steven." She shut her eyes tightly for a second, and he watched as tears fell down her cheeks. "I had my whole life planned out until... until this."

"Until this? Until what?"

"Until us!" She took a step back, as though she was frightened by her own words. "I had everything planned out, but now? I- My parents don't believe in me, Eric thinks I'm a fuckup... everything was perfect until you and I..." His gaze dropped to the floor. "God, Steven, I had everything figured out until you."

"Yeah? Well I had nothing figured out until you, Izzy Bee! You turned my life upside down i- in the best possible way-"

"I'm tired." She whispered, trying to walk past him and head inside, but he kept her in place by wrapping his hands around her upper arms. "Steven, let me go."

"I'm not letting you go until you agree with me on something."

She paused. "What?"

"You're spending the night with me tonight. In my room. I- I'll even take the couch if you don't want me in there with you, but I need to keep an eye on you."

She wanted to know that she could be brave all on her own. Make her own choices, be the one deciding what to do and where to go.

"Okay." She said.

"Okay? You- You'll let me-"

"Okay." She pulled out of his grip "I'm just... gonna go get changed."

She turned and went inside, rushing upstairs as fast as she could, trying her best not to stumble much on the way up. She grabbed a backpack and rummaged through her closet, stuffing random articles of clothing into it. She opened her bedside drawer and got her sketchbook, then got out her piggy bank and emptied it out.

Be the one deciding what to do and where to go.

She opened her window and climbed down the tree, being as careful as she could not to fall. From there, she made sure Hyde wasn't in the driveway before going around to Donna's window, knocking on it quietly.

After a few seconds, Donna pulled the window open. "Izzy? What are you doing?"

Be the one deciding what to do and where to go.

"Does your mom still live in California?"