Disclaimer: I do not own That '70s Show or any of it's characters. I do not own any other songs, characters, or TV shows that may be mentioned in this story. I own nothing.
Author's Note: Hello everyone, how are you? Hope you're doing well, it's been a while huh? Sorry about that, life gets busy sometimes. Today I have for you a short, pure fluff and filler oneshot that I wrote a few months back. Finally decided to share it because last week was Nurse's Appreciation Week and we all know Kitty was a nurse in the show so I had sort of a theme week over on my RK blog. This fic is based off a shirt that we see Kitty wearing in the season 7 episode, 'Gimme Shelter.' It's a shirt we've never seen her wear before and it's quite different from the types of shirts we usually see her wearing, so I decided to make this little backstory to go with it. Hope you like it! Thanks so very much once again for stopping by to read, don't forget to review if you can, I hope you like and as always, please, Enjoy!
Printed on a Shirt
Kitty Forman used her free hand to pull open the glass sliding door for herself and young Jackie Burkhart. They were returning from an afternoon of shopping and were in such good spirits, laughing and smiling as they carried their bags in that they almost didn't see Red sitting in his usual seat at the kitchen table.
"Oh, hi, honey," Kitty greeted when she finally saw him.
Jackie smiled back at the frown he was sending their way. "Hi, Mr. Forman."
"Hi?" Red repeated, sounding less friendly and more like an integration questioner with the way his brow was wrinkled. "You two have been gone for who knows how long and all you have to say for yourself is 'Hi?'"
"Aw, Mr. Forman, did you miss us?" the younger woman placed her hand over her chest, clearly touched by the thought.
"I missed lunch, that's what I missed," he glowered at Jackie before turning to his wife, his tone softening just slightly. "Kitty, this morning you told me I should come home for lunch today. I thought you were planning something special, so I came home, closed up the shop early and I've been sitting here since."
Guilt filled Kitty at the thought of keeping her husband away from the new job he loved so much. However, she told him to come home for lunch not to close the muffler shop early, that was all his doing. And yet, her hopelessly romantic heart swelled at the idea of her husband planning to spend the rest of his day with her.
"Oh Red, I'm sorry. I forgot all about our lunch plans. Jackie and I went on a spur of the moment shopping trip, I guess we just sort of lost track of time!"
While Kitty laughed nervously, Jackie nodded beside her. "Yeah, but if it makes you feel any better Mr. Forman, we bought a lot of stuff!"
"All at very reasonable prices!" Kitty jumped in with another bout of nervous laughter when she spotted the deepened scowl on Red's forehead.
"Right, right," the younger woman bobbed her head up and down, looking from one Forman to the other. "Mrs. Forman is teaching me how to shop within a budget."
This seemed to impress Red and he leaned back in his seat. "She is, huh? Well good, that's a good skill a girl should have."
Jackie puffed out her chest a little more. It felt really nice to have someone be proud of her, maybe even better than feeling she got when she saw how much money she had saved at the bottom of her receipt.
"You know what's another good for skill a girl to have?" he asked but didn't wait for any guesses. "Making a sandwich. That's one you should teach her, Kitty. Hell, why don't you do it now and I'll even help out by eating the sandwich you two make."
The idea didn't appear to be welcomed by the ladies in the room. Jackie's shoulders slumped, and Kitty didn't look nearly as excited as Red, who was looking up at her, wearing a big hopeful grin.
"Now, Red, I think knowing how to make a sandwich might a good skill for husbands to learn too." She stated with a pointed look. "If you like I could teach both you and Jackie…"
"Yeah, right," Red scoffed with amusement until he spotted the glare his wife was sending his way. "I mean, yeah right, it would, it would. But it wouldn't be a skill I'd use much of. I mean not when I have the prettiest wife who makes the best tasting sandwiches in all of Wisconsin."
Though she tried really hard to maintain her straight face, a bashful smile broke out onto Kitty's lips. "Oh, fine, you win, you old sweet talker."
Red couldn't help but chuckle at Kitty's response and as she walked away he continued to smile. He'd won, gotten Kitty to admit it with a smile, and he was getting one of her famous sandwiches; Red was in a good mood. Such a good mood that he didn't even seem to mind when Jackie made herself comfortable in the kitchen seat beside his.
"Well Jackie, what do you say? Are you up to a quick cooking lesson?" Kitty offered, hoping her smile didn't appear too strained.
As much as she enjoyed spending time with the young girl, spending time with her in her kitchen wasn't exactly Kitty's favorite way to bond with Jackie. Last time she tried to teach the girl how to warm up soup from a can, Jackie had managed to set the pot of soup on fire. Making a sandwich might not involve any use of the stove, but Kitty continued make her approach with caution; she couldn't afford to lose another kitchen appliance.
"No thanks, Mrs. Forman," Jackie shook her head. "I think the shopping on a budget is a skill I'm better off knowing. If I want a sandwich, I'll just do like Mr. Forman does and ask Steven to make me one."
Shaking her head, Kitty stepped away from the table to begin preparing her husband meal. Meanwhile, another amused laugh escaped Red's smirking lips; he knew he liked this kid.
"Mr. Forman, I really am sorry that you missed your lunch because we were out shopping." The apology Jackie gave was very heartfelt. She really did feel bad thinking about Red sitting at the table hungry and alone—especially when his laugh reminded her of how much he liked her. "We would've been back a lot sooner but, on our way out of the mall we saw this new t-shirt store. It has such cute stuff, I can't wait to take Steven. It's just his kind of store!"
Red's brow furrowed once more. "T-shirts? Don't tell me you bought him some. The last thing that boy needs is another raggedy undershirt with some Halloween character printed on it."
"I know!" Jackie's eyes were big; she was surprised to have found someone who agreed that Steven could do with less t-shirts and more button ups. Her expression softened though when a new realization dawned on her. "But to be fair, getting Steven to stop wearing his concert t-shirts would be like getting you to stop wearing those farmer shirts."
He frowned down at his shirt that the loud one was currently waving her hand at and then shifted his frown back at her. "These are not farmer shirts. They're work shirts. And there's nothing wrong with them. They're," he paused for a moment, thinking of the right word. "They're classic."
The bridge of Jackie's nose wrinkled upwards. "Classic is just another word for old, Mr. Forman."
Clearly unamused by her words, Red stared back at her. "Are you gonna show me what crap you bought or am I gonna have to show you to the door?"
Again, Jackie was shocked that someone actually wanted to see what things she had bought, he'd even asked to see what she'd brought—in his own way. Knowing she had to act fast before he changed his mind, Jackie shot up from her seat and grabbed her shopping bags to place back in her spot.
Jackie turned away from her bags and back to face Red, her hands waving about as she spoke. "Now, like I said I bought a lot of stuff, but since I know you'll probably get bored and annoyed after a while I'll just show you the things I bought from the t-shirt store I was telling you about."
"Well, thank you, Jackie. I appreciate that," his tone while shocked was also very sincere.
Returning his comment with a smile, Jackie wanted to make sure Mr. Forman knew that she had appreciated him giving her the opportunity to show off the things she had bought. It was one of her favorite parts about shopping!
Once again, the young woman turned her back to Red as she rooted inside one of her many shopping bags. It took just a few moments before she emerged, spun around, and revealed the first t-shirt in her hands. This first shirt was made of a bright pink colored material, it had a cartoon picture of a smiling cupcake jumping in the air filled with fluffy clouds and rainbows.
"I bought this shirt because it's cute and sweet," explained a beaming Jackie, "Just like me!"
Red just nodded and gave a faint smile that flipped into a confused frown the moment Jackie went to put the t-shirt back and grab another.
"And this is the shirt that I'll wear whenever I want Steven or someone to take me shopping," she informed this time holding against her a dark purple shirt with the text 'Take Me Shopping' printed on in in bold white letters. Soon Jackie folded that top back up, placed it in the bag and grabbed her next purchase. "Oh and this one is my favorite!"
Jackie spun around and held up against her chest, as if modeling what it would look like when she wore it, was a white t-shirt that had printed on it a photo that nearly took up the whole middle of the shirt. The contents of the shirt's oversized photo? A smiling Jackie Burkhart.
"Ta-da!"
"That's you," Red pointed out the obvious, a frown furrowing on his forehead.
"I know! Isn't it great?" Jackie was beaming even brighter than she was in the photo of her on the shirt, practically bouncing in place. "It just further proves that my face makes everything look better!"
Unable to help his curiosity, Red asked, "How'd you get it on a t-shirt?"
"They do it there at the new t-shirt place," explained Jackie, showing off her personalized shirt once more before starting to fold it up and put it away. She didn't exactly want to put her new purchase away but always thought her explanations were better understood when she used her hands to gesture about as she spoke
"See first they take a picture of you, or in my case several pictures because let's face it, the camera loves me," she flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled as if there were a camera in front of her at that very moment. "Then they print it on some special paper and use a machine to iron it onto the shirt. I had our maid Martina make me one a few years back, but she just used our regular iron and the picture ended up falling off after a few washes. This one is supposed to last much longer."
"Huh," was all Red could say; he really wasn't sure what to think of this picture t-shirt machine.
Luckily, Jackie Burkhart was never one to be at loss for words. "This is why I can't wait to take Steven to this new store. I want the two of us to take a picture together and have it printed on matching t-shirts, so that we can wear them whenever we're apart. That way we'll be able to show the world how in love we are even when we're not in the same room. Doesn't that sound cute?"
"Adorable."
"Oh my God," she said but her tone made it clear that she'd missed the sarcasm in Red's own tone. "If you think it's a good idea that means Steven will too, because you're both so much alike."
Red's scowl sunk into a deeper wrinkle. "We're not that much alike…"
"I have to go tell Steven that we need to go shopping," Jackie ignored whatever Mr. Forman was saying and scooped up her bags as she headed for the basement.
"You just got back from shopping," reminded Red.
Stopping just in front of the basement door, Jackie turned on her heel and gave her own reminder. "But not with Steven."
Red closed his eyes and shook his head, grateful that he wasn't the one about to be dragged out to an overcrowded shopping mall. However, as much as he felt for the impending doom his adopted son had coming for him, Red knew the Burkhart girl was gonna have a difficult time of her in getting Steven not only to the mall but into one of those photo printed t-shirts. "Good luck."
"Oh, I don't need luck. I've got my t-shirt," the brunette reached into her shopping bag, pulled out her dark purple shirt again and reopened it to show off the 'Take Me Shopping' text once again. "And everyone knows, if it's printed on a t-shirt, you have to do it!"
And with that she was gone, disappearing into the basement leaving The Formans with the sound of her dainty footsteps descending down the wooden basement steps.
"That girl is something else," Red comment with a shake of his head.
"She is a sweet girl, isn't she?" Kitty was finishing his sandwich.
"Now, I didn't say that," he argued but his gruffness softened after he gave it some thought. "But she is less of a dumbass than the rest of the bunch, so I'll give her that."
Knowing that in his own way, her husband had just admitted to liking Jackie, Kitty's smile grew and she brought over his lunch to him at the table, "Here's your sandwich, honey."
"Thanks," he replied, taking hold of the sandwich almost instantly and then biting off a chunk. After savoring the mouthful and swallowing, Red turned to his wife and grinned. "Still the best tastin' sandwich in Wisconsin."
Slipping into her seat beside him, Kitty felt her cheeks warm with her blush. "Red Forman, you are being so sweet. I think I should go shopping with Jackie and forget about our lunch dates more often!"
Red's grin drooped back into a flat line and his eyes grew wide with obvious worry. It was an expression that was hard to miss and one that made his wife laugh one of her famous heartfelt giggles. Her laughter eased his worries, he'd been married to her long enough to know her different laughs and what they meant. This one she was laughing now, heartfelt and happy, meant that she had only been kidding—he had nothing to worry about.
"So, did you find anything interesting on your shopping trip?" he asked before taking another chomp out of his lunch.
"Well, the shopping trip was more for Jackie. The poor dear has been so sad lately I thought a little impromptu shopping would cheer her up," Kitty informed while Red nodded along. "But there was something in that new shirt shop that caught my eye."
Suddenly Red's content stomach felt very uneasy. "Oh crap," he groaned. "Don't tell me you want the two of us to get one of those damn couples picture shirts like the loud one's planning to do with Steven. Because I'm telling you now Kitty, I'm not smiling for any photo that's going on any shirt."
"No, no, no, I'm not talking about one of those shirts," replied Kitty, smile remaining intact. "Although I wouldn't object to having one of those made for me for Mother's Day with a photo of all my babies on it."
While Kitty giggled happily at the mere idea of the shirt, Red mentally noted it down and hoped he didn't forget about it before the holiday rolled around. It was his chance to get her something she actually wanted and the best part was he wouldn't even have to be in the damn picture.
Kitty stood to retrieve her shopping bag from where it rested on the orange barstool. "Now, it may not be the most conventional shirt but it's not like I'll be wearing it to work or around town. It's more for days here at the house, maybe a quick run to the store. I thought it was different and cute."
Watching his wife reach into the paper sack, Red was expecting her to pull out the type of t-shirts she or the kids usually bought for her. The kind with a little cartoon animal printed or sewn in front—most usually that animal was a cat. However, this shirt that Kitty held out in front of her was definitely different from her usual t-shirts, there was no animal image in sight!
Instead Kitty held in front of her a navy colored t-shirt with long sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a rainbow patterned text printed in the center that read the words 'Love a Nurse.'
"What do you think?" she asked, holding the top against herself the way she'd seen Jackie do.
As he read the shirt's message, Red's chin rose while his scowl furrowed downwards. Then he got up from his seat and stepped closer towards Kitty, his gaze holding onto the t-shirt as if he were making sure he had read it correctly.
"It's a little young, I know. Jackie pointed it out too," Kitty tittered nervously. The way Red was eyeing the shirt, she was beginning to regret her purchase. "I think it was more the idea of someone my age wearing something with a rainbow. Those kids think we were living some Charlie Chaplin movie before they were born! But I told her how…"
Whatever Kitty had planned to say next was promptly interrupted by Red wrapping his strong arms around her and pressing his lips against hers in a long, sensual, knee weakening kiss. When the embrace was finally brought to an end, Kitty appeared dazed and almost breathless, her train of thought was lost and she nearly forgot about the t-shirt squashed between her and her husband.
"Why, Red Forman," Kitty spoke in awe, still relishing in the moment. "What brought that on?"
"Like the loud one said, if it's printed on a shirt, you gotta do what the shirt says" he reminded with a playful smirk, pulling away just slightly so he could point out the shirt's 'Love a Nurse' printed message. His grin grew again and Red pulled her back towards him. "Especially when it belongs to my favorite nurse."
Another gleeful giggle escaped Kitty's lips before Red covered them with his own, creating another passionate kiss. This t-shirt was quickly becoming her new favorite article of clothing.
The End
Author's Note: So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in review!
Know it was a lot more fluff and filler than actual plot but I kinda liked it and it was mostly fun to write so I wanted to share it. Plus it's been a while since I posted on here but I really hope to change that very soon with some upcoming updates this summer!
Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!
