Christmas Eve, 1980
"Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse-" Bang.
Red Forman was slower than usual that day, and the song had already begun by the time he slammed the door. "Damn carolers." he muttered.
The Forman living room was warm and festive, littered with decorations, cookies and eggnog, and a carefully-selected and lovingly-decorated evergreen tree in the corner. Friends and family lounged around the room: Kitty and Red Forman, their son Eric, and his friends Steven Hyde, Jackie Burkhart, and Fez.
"Red!" Kitty moaned. "Do you have to slam the door on them?"
"Kitty!" Red protested, "You want to go stand outside and listen to a bunch of dumbasses sing off-key Christmas songs, then go ahead. But close the door, 'cause I'm not paying to heat the whole damn neighborhood!"
"There's the Christmas spirit, Dad." Eric had just returned last month from his year-and-a-half long stay in Africa with a teaching program to earn money for college.
The group outside was still singing, and strains of the chorus could be heard through the door. "Damn." Hyde said, listening. "I really hate the persistent ones. Listen to 'em- they're not gonna leave until they finish the whole song!"
Jackie smiled up at her boyfriend and rubbed his chest reassuringly. "Don't worry, Steven. Nobody knows the second verse of "Jingle Bells"."
Fez stood up from the couch, scattering cookie crumbs all over. "A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride, and soon Miss Fanny Bright, was seated by my-" he sang.
"Shut up!" everyone said in unison.
"...honey." Kitty added with a laugh.
Red sat in his chair and reached for a cookie, shooting Fez a dirty look. "You know, Kitty, we could have spent Christmas Eve alone. Why do the kids always have to be here?"
Kitty patted Fez on the shoulder with one hand and gave Eric a one-armed hug with the other. "You know I love to have my babies home for the holidays!" she giggled.
"Plus," Hyde added. "We needed a place to get the gang together and now that Bob's moved to Florida, you can't just send us over there."
Red nodded nostalgically. "Yeah... Bob was a sucker all right."
"Never made us leave." Hyde shrugged.
The phone rang and Hyde picked it up. "Hello?"
"Merry Christmas." the person on the other end grumbled petulantly.
Hyde recognized the voice immediately. "Hey, Kelso! Where are ya, man?"
"In Chicago." Kelso said gloomily. He had moved there two years ago to train at the Chicago Police Academy, and shared an apartment there with his longtime girlfriend Brooke and illegitimate daughter Betsy. "Brooke won't let me come 'cause of the stupid blizzard." his tone was sullen, and Hyde could practically see his pout.
"Blizzard?" Hyde repeated. He glanced out the window and saw snowflakes beginning to gently wind their ways to the ground. "Dude, this isn't even a flurry."
Kelso sighed loudly. "I know, but Brooke says its gonna be bad and she doesn't want to get stuck there, or in an accident, or something like that. Chicks, right?"
"Whatever, man. Since when do you listen to reason?" Hyde asked, rolling his eyes.
Kelso made a noise that could only be described as a giggle. "Since Brooke will totally cut me off if I don't do what she says."
"You are so whipped." Hyde snorted.
"Am not!" Kelso retorted. A feminine voice called to him in the background. "Coming!" he yelled to her. He turned back to his conversation with Hyde. "...Yeah, I totally am." he admitted, his goofy grin coming through his voice. "I gotta go."
"Alright, man. Merry Christmas." Hyde said before hanging up. He turned to the rest of the room. "Kelso's not coming."
"Is he lost?" Jackie questioned sympathetically.
Eric shook his head. "Ten bucks says he licked another frozen pole."
Kitty groaned. "You'd think he would learn after the first four..."
"And those are only the ones you know about!" Fez told her.
"Nah." Hyde corrected. "He said he can't come because there's supposed to be a blizzard or something."
"It would be extremely dangerous to drive in a blizzard..." Fez observed. "But since when has that stopped Kelso?"
Hyde laughed. "Since Brooke 'pulled rank' on him, if you know what I mean." he made an obscene gesture to accentuate his words.
Kitty laughed although the double entendre clearly had gone right over her head. "Good for her! Its about time that boy learned who wears the pants..."
The young people broke up in laughter and Kitty looked confused.
Red rolled his eyes to the ceiling in disgust. "Kitty..." With a sigh he reached for the clicker and turned on the TV.
"The greater Kenosha area is expected to receive thirty-two to fifty inches of snow in the biggest blizzard to hit Wisconsin in ten years..." the announcer was saying.
"Thirty-two to fifty inches!" Eric repeated. "Oh my god- I'll be shoveling till I die."
"Well you were always kind of a runt so you probably don't have that long anyways." Jackie said off-handedly.
Eric glared at the five foot one brunette. "Look who's talking, Shrimp."
Fez's eyes widened in a panic. "Do we have enough food to survive a blizzard?"
"Maybe..." Hyde said dryly. "If we start rationing the cookies."
Fez looked down at the half-empty plate of Christmas cookies he'd been munching. "Ai..."
"Don't worry, Fez, if we get desperate we can always kill Eric and eat him." Jackie said meanly. "Oh, wait, he's probably too skinny and stringy to get any decent meat!"
Fez shot her a death glare. "Cannibalism is not a joke, Jackie. In my village-"
"Uh oh." Kitty was still listening to the forecast. "Oh dear. If the roads are as treacherous as they say they are, we should call Donna and tell her not to come."
Eric's head spun towards his mother so fast he almost got whiplash. "Donna?" The story of Eric and his first love and ex-fiancée Donna Pinciotti was a long and sad one that had culminated with him not even seeing her since he left for Africa. "She's coming?" Once upon a time, he and Donna had planned on going to college together, but things had changed and last January she had moved to Madison to attend college by herself.
Kitty was already dialing the phone. "I hope she hasn't left yet..." she murmured. "I thought it would be a nice surprise for you to see her, Eric, but if she's outside in the storm she could get killed!" She let out a sigh of relief when someone picked up on the other end, but was dismayed to realize it was only Donna's roommate. After a short, tense conversation, Kitty hung up the phone. "Her roommate says she left about an hour ago." she said softly.
The room fell silent- everyone was worried about Donna.
Hyde broke the silence. "Donna's a smart girl. If she thinks she can't drive she'll pull over."
Scenarios were racing through Eric's head. Even if Donna did pull over, she could be trapped in a snowdrift... It could be days before she gets rescued. She could freeze or starve or get hit by another driver as she sat on the shoulder... alone. Even though she'd never admit it, she'd be scared... Eric shook himself out of his reverie. What was the matter with him? He hadn't seen this girl in two years! He and Donna weren't even on good terms, and he could feel himself becoming sick with worry over something he couldn't control... He stared out the window.
Outside, the snow was coming down faster and faster.
Two hours later, there was an urgent knock on the door and everyone rushed to answer it. Eric reached the door first and yanked it open, revealing Donna, looking frozen but inexplicably beautiful amidst the swirling snow and wind that swept through the doorway. He stood still for a second and could have sworn she quirked a lip up to smile at him in the moment before Kitty grabbed the cold, wet girl in a hug and pulled her inside. "Donna! Thank god!"
Donna was seated on the couch and everyone gathered around her, Fez leaving for a second only to return with blankets to tuck around her. Jackie stood behind her, brushing rapidly-melting snow from her shoulders and long red hair.
Donna clutched the blanket around her. "Thank you guys. I'm okay now." Nobody moved. "Merry Christmas!"
The group seemed to get the idea, backing off and sitting down. Kitty, however, wouldn't stop fussing. "Oh, sweetie. Can I get you anything? Eggnog? I can make soup... You poor thing!"
"Mrs. Forman!" Donna laughed weakly. "I'm fine, thanks. Come on, sit down."
Eric was standing back, watching her from a distance. She was just as he remembered- except that she'd let her bottle blonde hair grow back to its original red. He couldn't say he didn't like it. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed the red. How much he'd missed her.
"Eric? Are you on dope?" Red's voice cut through his thoughts.
There was a silence in the room and Eric realized that as he'd been staring, Donna had been greeting the family and she had finally come to him. Her eyes rested on him expectantly and he was unsure what to do for a moment before she held out her arms. He sat next to her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her, pulling the slightly damp girl- no, woman- to his chest. "I missed you Eric." she whispered, and her breath tickled his ear.
"Me too." he answered, suddenly hoarse.
She pulled away and stroked a few icy fingers down his cheek. "You look great." she said with a little smile.
"God, you too." he answered, taking her hands and warming them in his own without even a thought.
"He's still as coherent as ever, eh Donna?" Hyde mocked.
Eric was startled. He'd practically forgotten that anyone else was here. "Shut up Hyde."
Donna laughed and his insides writhed again. He had to be crazy... but it was so good to see her.
"Tell me about Africa." Donna requested, at the same time as Eric said,
"Tell me about Madison." Eric ducked his head- was Donna blushing?
Mrs. Forman laughed in that slightly obnoxious way of hers. "Well, well, well, you two."
"Mom." Eric said sternly.
Mrs. Forman shook her head. "Oh, I'm sorry... Who wants a cookie?"
"No!" Fez cried. "Save the cookies!"
Hyde, deliberately ignoring him, reached for the plate.
It was late in the evening, about 4 am, and Red and Kitty had long ago gone to bed. The power had gone out over an hour ago, and several thick, bright candles provided their only light. The group was sitting together, just talking about anything and everything... Kelso was conspicuously absent.
"Look at it coming down." Fez gestured to the window, where snow continued to fall. "I'mmmm dream-ing, of a white... Christmas... Yust like, the ones I used to know..." Donna giggled and poked her friend. Fez tended to become puerile when he was drunk or tired- and right now, he was a little of both.
"Poor Fez..." Jackie laughed from her position on Hyde's lap. "You know, he helped decorate this room?"
"Yeah?" Eric said.
She snickered. "Mr. Forman had to take down all the mistletoe 'cause Fez kept trying to kiss your mom!"
Donna and Hyde chuckled. "Fez... my mom?" Eric protested.
Fez shrugged. "She's a hot mom, my friend." he blinked sleepily.
Eric shuddered. "Eww."
Donna's eyes fell on Eric and rested there. The mention of mistletoe brought back one of her favorite Christmas memories... She considered herself lucky to have been kissed under the mistletoe- after all, these were modern times, and mistletoe was just some old-fashioned romantic notion from the movies.
"This should probably go here." he'd said.
"Mistletoe?"
Just a few feet away, Eric was lost in the same memory.
"Yeah, well, it's really more for decoration."
"Is that a fact, neighbor?" she'd asked him boldly.
"Um... no." he'd smiled shyly and taken a step towards her.
Their faces drifted closer and their eyes fell shut as their lips met, softly, sweetly...
"Guys!" Jackie said insistently, pulling both Donna and Eric out of their memories. "I said, we're gonna turn in." she motioned to herself and Hyde.
"Oh!" Donna said. "Okay. G'night."
"You know it." Hyde said with a grin, scooping Jackie into his arms and carrying her to the basement.
"Merry Christmas!" she called between giggles.
Eric shivered. "Yuck."
"Grow up." Donna laughed, sitting beside him and purposely elbowing him gently.
There was a loud snore from the floor where Fez had fallen asleep.
"We should freeze his bra." Eric joked.
Donna chuckled quietly, getting up briefly to throw a blanket over the dark-skinned boy. "Merry Christmas, Fez." she whispered. She sat back down, had a thought and looked up at Eric. "Where am I sleeping?"
Eric hadn't really thought about it. "You could have my bed." he offered. "I'll stay here and sleep on the couch."
Donna shook her head. "You don't have to do that. I'll take the couch."
"I insist." Eric said with a smile. He had to fight the urge to punctuate the statement with a kiss.
"So chivalrous..." she teased, her eyes sparkling, not looking tired in the least even after her harrowing drive up.
"Anything for milady." he replied automatically. Now that they were alone, he wanted to talk to her, just, tell her he was sorry. He knew he had hurt her when he broke up with her, when he left for Africa, when he ditched her at the wedding... He felt like spending tonight with her, as her friend, was the best gift he could ask for. "I'm so glad you made it." he said finally. "I... I just, when you were out in that storm, I was... afraid."
"Me too." Donna said honestly.
"No, I was..." Eric fumbled for words. "I was afraid I'd never see you again. That I'd never be able to tell you how sorry I am for hurting you... I was afraid I'd never be able to tell you how I feel about you."
Donna was silent. What is he saying? "And... how is that?" she prompted softly.
The candlelight softened the lines of her face and reminded him of the way she looked the night she'd given him his first kiss... young and vibrant and beautiful and tentative all at once. "I... don't know. It's just like, the minute I saw you, it..."
"It all came rushing back." she finished. She felt the same way.
"Everything." he confirmed with a cautious smile.
"After all this time..." Donna mused, barely disguised attraction in her eyes.
After a pause, Eric rubbed the back of his neck. "Awkward..."
Donna laughed and touched his hands- hers were still cold.
Eric took her hands in his once again. "Remind me to buy you gloves." he whispered.
She nodded, a strand of red hair falling into her face. She shook it back with a tilt of her chin and smiled at him. "How many chances do you think we get?"
Eric shrugged. "Well, this is, like, four." He couldn't take any more. "I want to kiss you."
" 'Is that a fact, neighbor?' " Donna smiled coyly.
He laughed and leaned into her, tilting his head to make maximum contact with her lips. One hand buried itself in her hair while the other kept her fingers warm.
Tomorrow, the overabundance of snow would cause problems and accidents and more than one tongue to be frozen to a pole.
But tonight it fell gently and innocently, providing a romantic backdrop for a perfect Christmas Eve.
Now this was the best gift he could ask for.
A/N: Just a fluffy little Christmas E/D one shot for you guys. The flashback lines were taken from episode 1.12- The Best Christmas Ever. I hope you liked it, and please don't forget to review!
Happy Holidays!