A/N – I hadn't included any disclaimers when I put up the first 2 chapters, my bad! Here goes – I don't own anything in relation to 'That 70's Show' or the Styx song 'Babe'. I have referenced the lyrics from this song in both chapter titles and elsewhere multiple times in the story.

Oh and also, I am not affiliated in anyway with the British Red Cross or any other Non-Government charity organisation. I have never been to Africa, so though I have tried to research as much as I could while writing this, please excuse any factual errors relating to the above.

Also, starting this story with the date September 2nd is my tribute to my favourite author Ayn Rand. This date is pivotal in her book 'Atlas Shrugged'. As heroic as the men she writes about are, Eric Forman will always be my John Galt!

My inspiration to commence writing this Fic which had been in my head for a while, was reading MistyMountainHop's 'Hyde's long way home' which encouraged me to write an original story on Eric's own journey.

Chapter 3 – Please believe me

September 5th 1979, 10 am

BRC offices, Nairobi, Kenya

They were assembled again into the meeting rooms they had been in the previous day after a familiar breakfast of imported cereal.

Eric was at a table with the rest of the group who were going to be based at the same coastal town as him. One of the guys, a curly haired boy, had introduced himself to Eric the previous night at dinner.

Mathew was a prominent surgeon's son from Louisiana, taking a year out in Africa to help with BRC's medical camps. He hoped the year would help him decide if he really wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a doctor. For him, it was also a good way to get away for a while from his parents and their constant expectations.

'Dude, how hard do you think it's going to be for us to get a local contact here, you know, for when we feel like getting baked?

These were Matt's first words to him.

The other two people at the table, a blond haired young man and a shy looking girl with who was also a blonde, were a lot more restrained. They had hardly spoken but were listening to Matt ramble on about what he had heard about Mombasa from friends who had toured Africa after graduation.

'Hi, I'm Sara' they all turned to see who had spoken to them in what could only be described as a melodious voice.

Sara was a very slim, almost thin, girl of average height with dark brown eyes. Her hair was almost jet black and her skin was a light olive colour. Her accent when she spoke sounded faintly British but had an American twang as well.

'I've been with the BRC in Kenya for more than a year now and I'm here to take you guys down to Mombasa.'

She sat at the table and started giving them an outline of the living arrangements there.

Eric couldn't help noticing that she was an attractive girl. Man, if Kelso and Fez were here right now, they would have been all over her already.

'Are you from here?' asked the shy looking blonde whose name was Cindy.

Sara gave a slight smile. 'I'm sorry but I don't have a simple answer to that question. My mother was British, and she and dad met when she was here on work. She's a photojournalist. I was born in London. Dad lived here his whole life, but he wasn't really a native. His grandparents came over from India, like a 100 years ago, and settled here as part of a growing Indian community who were East India trading Co employees here during the British rule. '

'And I had my entire schooling at a boarding school in Boston because my cousins all went there. So, sometimes I'm American, sometimes I'm British but I'm also Indian and I have an African passport as well. …..Hey, come on, that's gotta be a good ice breaker right? She smiled as they all looked at her.

September 5th 1979, 11am

Point Place, Wisconsin

Jackie sat on the hood of the Cruiser watching Fez and Kelso bounce a basketball around the driveway.

Donna came walking across from her house. Eric had called her the previous day and reassured her that his first few days there were going smoothly. The rest of the conversation had been mostly about Jackie and Hyde.

'Donna, I'm so sorry. When I left, I thought those two would be all sunshine and joy at their new engagement, and cheering you up. I had no idea all this was going to happen. I hope Hyde comes back soon and they work things out.'

'Eric, come on, none of this was your fault. Oh wait a minute; if only you'd taken Kelso with you, none of this would have happened. Damn you, Forman.'

They could make each other laugh even on a long distance call.

Donna sat down next to Jackie.

'Jackie, I've spoken to my mom about us taking the bus there tomorrow. She's happy for us to spend as long as we like over there, she says they're expecting a nice fall this year, so we should be able to hang by the beach. I also called up the bus station to find out about buses tomorrow night'

Kelso butted in 'You gals really want to take a bus rather than have me drive you there?'

Donna replied quickly 'Yes! The last thing we need right now is Hyde coming back to find out that you and Jackie both came with me to California. Together.'

'Fine, we probably don't have the time right now anyway to come with you guys, right Fez?

Fez had got a job offer at an upscale hair salon in Chicago. He had been interviewed a few weeks ago when he had been there visiting Kelso, who was now officially a cop.

'Yes, we need to find a new apartment before I start work in a couple of weeks' time'

They were planning to share a bachelor pad, somewhere not too far from where Brooke and Betsy lived.

'Guys' said Jackie sounding a bit chirpier than she had the past couple of days. 'We promise once things are sorted out between Steven and me, we'll all come to visit you guys and hang out in Chicago'

Kelso and Donna exchanged a quick glance but neither said anything. It seemed very unlikely right now that Hyde would come back home ready to forgive and forget everything immediately and want to hang out in Chicago at Kelso's pad.

'We'll still be down here most weekends, Jackie' He promised. No matter what, he would never stop being there for Jackie, as a friend.

September 6th, 1979. 7 am

Highway from Nairobi to East Coast, Kenya

Eric was in the back seat of the car with Cindy and Matt.

Chris, the guy with the blond hair who seemed as shy as Cindy, was seated next to Sara who was behind the wheel of the small car that was taking them to Mombasa. The drive would take 5 hours and they had left very early in the morning.

They hadn't been able to leave the previous day. Sara had needed to stock up on things for them to use when they were on the Coast. She had taken Cindy with her on the shopping trip.

Eric had joined Matt and Chris on their walks around Nairobi city centre to pass the evening, but the humidity had them back in their rooms before long.

Eric looked out of the window and wished Donna could have seen this view. The sun was still rising and the morning air was relatively cool. There was dense foliage on both sides of the tar road and every kind of exotic flower in full bloom.

A sudden image of Donna walking amidst those flowers, dressed in scanty summer attire filled his head and took his breath away. She looked so juicy even in the vision…

September 6th 1979, 9pm

Wisconsin

Donna looked out the window as the bus continued its smooth pace en route to the West. The temperature inside the bus was warm enough, but it was a chilly night outside. She looked up at the moon and the stars and felt a strange peace steal over her.

Ever since graduating High school, she had constantly felt on edge about something. First there had been her and Eric's shared disappointment at putting off Madison for a while, and then the aimlessness that had set in the months after that. They had set the wedding date at a time when both of them had hoped that setting the date would snap them out of the malaise that seemed to have crept into their lives at Point Place, they had expected that marriage, if nothing, would mean moving forward and growing up. The wedding being called off had been anticlimactic at the end. And then almost a year of again, 'just hanging out'.

If someone had told her when she was in her senior year, that she would be turning 20 in a few months without yet having started college, she would have scoffed at the very suggestion.

Maybe Eric had been right. His decision to work in schools in Africa for a year to be able to afford college and the teaching career that he had set his heart on was progress. It was a new beginning.

She looked at Jackie who was fast asleep, her head almost falling onto Donna's shoulder. For the next few weeks, she decided she would make sure the two of them had a pleasant trip. The future could wait until they were back in Wisconsin.

1977

Point Place, Wisconsin

Donna was over at the Forman house in Eric's room. They were supposed to be studying, preparing for a report that was due in, the next day at school.

Usually being each other's study partners worked very well for both of them. They were both intelligent, had good memories and loved challenging each other mentally. Sometimes, it would turn into good natured competitiveness and sometimes it was just them helping each other with their weak spots. Eric was really good at subjects like History and Donna was the better of the two in Math.

But that particular day, it was proving really hard to stay the course.

They had already taken three' study breaks'. Each time they had agreed after that it was time to concentrate on the report. Only to grab each other again after a few minutes. She couldn't remember when they had been this unable to keep their hands off each other. What was wrong with her today? She wondered. All he had to do was turn and look at her and she felt herself getting turned on again.

After the third time, she tried keeping her eyes fixed on their books and not looking at him at all. But then it was the sound of his voice that was turning her on unbearably. He seemed to be fighting hard to control his urges as well this time.

It just took a couple of minutes for them to give in again, and she was lying on the bed, her legs slightly apart, with the weight of his body pressing her down. They were kissing like they had been starved without each other for months.

'Don't get up' he said and proceeded to kiss his way down her body, removing her outer clothes as he went along. He stopped when he reached the juncture between her thighs, veiled by the silky burgundy panties that she was wearing. He started gently using his lips and tongue over the fabric; he could feel her warmth beneath the thin silk.

This is where she always stopped him when he wanted oral action, asking him to come back up and inside her. She had said it made her feel too exposed lying back with her legs apart while he kissed her there.

So he was ready for her softly uttered 'Eric' and tugging of his hair with her fingers to pull him up.

'Donna, I think I know a way that you could enjoy this without feeling shy or embarrassed.' She had never actually admitted to feeling that way and as usual he was spot on with knowing how she felt without her having to say it.

He was pulling her off the bed and toward the closet, and she went along without any resistance.

The second they were inside the closet, it was like being in another dimension in many ways. It was pitch dark inside the closet. She couldn't see him and she knew he couldn't see her, the only sounds were the sounds of their rapid breathing.

She could feel him kissing his way down again, his hands on her hips. Within a few seconds, his mouth had reached its goal, kissing and licking her where she was already wet and aching for him.

He was on his knees, grasping her thighs, his position allowing easy and comfortable access to deepen his kisses. She didn't know if it was the complete darkness, the slightly claustrophobic feeling of being inside the confined space, or just her crazy need for him that day that suddenly made her drop any inhibitions that still remained.

She parted her legs, and he hooked one knee over his shoulder. Making soft sounds that urged him on; she arched her back, and sunk her fingers in to his hair.

When his kissing and licking gave way to a deeper and rhythmic sucking, she came, her fingers holding his head tightly against her.

He wanted to linger there for a while, enjoy gently caressing her as her breathing evened again. But he was literally in agony from holding back this long; he couldn't wait anymore to be inside her.

Getting on to his feet, his hands automatically going to her breasts, he tried slinging one of her legs around his hips to be able to enter her.

But she pushed him slightly away. He thought she was going to leave when she turned, but she turned not toward the door of the closet but the wall, bracing her hands against it and looking over her shoulder at him expectantly.

Ohmigod. They had never done it in this position before, though he had thought about it a few times. He had wanted to wait until she was comfortable with the idea.

He leaned forward, holding her hips for support, & with one smooth stroke he entered her.

It felt different, like he was much deeper inside her. After checking her expression to make sure she wasn't feeling any discomfort, he started sliding in and out of her, leaning forward so he could touch her breasts again, pulling slightly at the nipples that had hardened into small pebbles.

When she turned her head, and looked into his eyes, her aqua eyes shining with all the emotions she was feeling, he couldn't hold back anymore, and went hurtling over the edge, taking her along with him.