Title: Forward Progress (8/18)
Author: Romantique
Email:
Classification: Eric/Tami Drama/Angst
Rating: This chapter is rated M for some language and some suggestive yet non-graphic sexual content between two, married adults.
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS from Season 4. Tami and Eric have been put through the ringer this season. Wouldn't you love to see them smile? At least for awhile? This fic takes place at the end of Season 4 before Season 4 airs on NBC.
Disclaimer: MAJOR SPOILERS from Season 4.
Legal: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just a fan and have not made a dime. Please email me to obtain permission to post.
December 29th, Tuesday After Christmas ...
Missy Aubrey phoned Eric around 10:00 a.m. to let him know the escrow was all closed out, and she had the key to the house, ready for him to pick up. She asked if he could come over before noon, as she was working holiday hours so that she could be with her family over the Winter Break. He told her he would be right over.
After picking up the key from the realtor, Eric drove straight to the lake house to drop off the first load of boxes. He couldn't help but smile, as he opened the front door to the spacious, empty house. Missy had a large 'Welcome Home' basket of wine, stemware, and assorted delicacies beautifully wrapped and placed on the hearth of the fireplace, along with a large, red Poinsettia for the holidays. The house was immaculately clean and smelled wonderful. He knew Tami was going to be so happy to see it. It was turn-key ready for her to decorate and make it their home.
Eric went back to his rig and began to retrieve boxes. He carried them into the room designated on the side of each box and neatly stacked them where they would be out of the way for tomorrow's moving effort. The boxes in this first load were for the kitchen and the bathrooms. Eric took care of a few more things, such as setting the thermostat, as it was a bit chilly inside. Ready to head back for another load, he turned on some inside lights and walked outside the front door. Perusing the front garden and their gorgeous view of the lake, it was utterly picturesque, even on a cloudy day. After drinking in his new view for a few moments of quiet solitude, he locked the door and began the drive back to their 'old' house.
About an hour later, Eric arrived at the 'old' house to find Tami finishing up some packing in their bedroom. Earlier that morning, Tami had dropped off Gracie at daycare so that she would not be underfoot. Julie had returned back to the grind at Applebees. For tomorrow, Eric rented a U-Haul, and the guys would be over to help Eric move their bedroom furniture into the new house. Tami decided to donate most of their living and dining room furniture, as she wanted new furniture in their new home.
"Hey, Babe," Eric said, bounding through the front door. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes," Tami said with a smile. "The next load of boxes is stacked in the garage nearest to the garage door."
"Alright," he said. "I'll load 'em in, now." Slightly winded, he returned a few minutes later.
The two, dressed in jeans and black, Panther sweatshirts, climbed into Eric's rig and headed for their new home. The weather was cool and overcast which suited Eric just fine. He only hoped it would not rain tomorrow. He hated moving in the rain.
Once they arrived, Eric drove the up onto the driveway. He exited the car and circled around to the passenger side. He took his smiling wife by the hand and said, "C'mere." He led her to the front door. Then, he opened the door with their new key, and turned to scoop her up in his arms and carry her over the threshold. Tami giggled with delight. Once inside, as he slowly lowered her tall, thin frame down to the floor, she placed her arms around Eric's neck. Her smiling eyes met his. She leaned in to kiss him as he enveloped her with his strong, muscular arms. He reached over and pushed the door shut.
"Welcome home, Babe," he whispered near her ear and proceeded to nuzzle down her neck.
Tami closed her eyes. Succumbing to his touch, she let out a sigh from deep in her throat. Once again, Eric reached down, picked her up, and carried her into their new bedroom. She smiled when she saw what her husband had been up to that morning. In the middle of the room was an inflated air mattress made with sheets, pillows, and quilts. Next to the bed were a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.
Eric lowered his beautiful wife onto the mattress and stretched himself out over her. He then steadied himself on his knees while pulling off his sweatshirt and t-shirt in one motion, over his head. Tami followed suit and kicked off her shoes. In another minute, jeans and shoes came off and both of the Taylors were underneath the warm, soft quilts. Eric leaned over and fell into a kiss that slowly built into passionate touching and in turn, ignited into explosions of pent up desire.
"Oh, my God," Eric gasped. Spent, he collapsed next to his wife.
Tami tightly held onto him until their shaking bodies stilled. She kissed his shoulder. "This is the best 'welcome home' ever."
Eric gently kissed the top of her head. "You know, it's strange," Eric whispered, winded and lost in thought. "This place feels like home. It did the first time I came here."
He extended his arm out, as Tami snuggled against his chest with the timing of a couple who had been together for a long, long time.
"I think this is the last threshold I'll be carryin' you over," he said, closing his eyes and nuzzling into her fragrant hair. It smelled of lavender. "We're home ... feels good."
"It does feel good," Tami answered. "I love it here ... can't believe it's ours."
After a few moments of silence, Tami broke it. "Hon, is that wine I see over there?"
Eric finally stirred. "Yeah. Would you like some?" he offered.
"I think I would," she smiled.
"It's from the realtor. I figured we'd open it up and toast our good fortune." He sat up and reached over for the bottle and the corkscrew. Methodically, he removed the packaging around the cork and turned and turned the corkscrew, finally releasing the cork. "Hmmmm," he said smelling the cork. "I think this is a good wine," he said, surprised and impressed.
Then, he handed one glass to Tami, then the other. He carefully filled the glasses.
Putting the bottle down, Tami handed him one of the glasses. Carefully raising the fill glass in the air, Eric said, "To many, many happy years in our new home."
"Here, here," Tami smiled and clinked her glass to his. "Hmmmmm. This is good," Tami remarked upon tasting the first sip of the Chardonnay. "Did I ever thank you for finding this house? It never occurred to me to look over in this area. I just wrote the lake off as something we could never afford."
Taking a swallow of the wine, Eric smiled at his wife. "If you hadn't taken me to the lake that day, that memorable day, I wouldn't have thought to look here, either. I think the timin' was just right." He then topped off their glasses.
"It was meant to be, Hon," Tami looked at her husband, propped up on her elbow, taking another sip. "Are you really going to grill for the guys tomorrow?" There was so much to do the next day. She always thought her husband bit off a little more than he could chew when it came to gauging large projects.
Eric gave a little laugh. "Naw. I'm thinkin' it's gonna be pizzas ... with a rain check for a cookout in the Spring," he nodded. "That back yard is gonna be like cookin' out in the middle of nature. I can't wait for Spring." He looked over at his wife with a boyish grin on his face. "You wanna know why I can't wait for Spring?"
Tami smiled, as she already knew the answer to the question. "Because Spring is that much closer to football season?" she playfully responded. As a coach's wife, she had better know the answer to his question.
Carefully placing her now empty glass of the floor, she turned to her husband and gave him a slow, soulful kiss. As her tongue touched his, the taste of the wine swirled in their mouths. She drew herself closer to him, as he took her into his arms.
"Go for two?" Eric whispered lustfully between kisses. "Before we have to pick up Gracie?"
"Yes," Tami answered, as Eric's mouth kissed her sensuously down her neck and into her cleavage, "let's." Closing her eyes, her body instantly responded to her husband's passionate proposition.
Early the next morning ...
The weather cooperated on moving day. Although overcast, it was dry and cool. Returning with a U-Haul moving truck, Eric skillfully backed it into his driveway. He was met by Vince Howard, Dallas Tinker, and Coach Traub who were waiting in the front yard.
"Hey, guys," Eric acknowledged them as he stepped out of the truck. "Is this it? Anyone else comin'?"
"Luke said he'd try and be here this afternoon," Tinker said.
"With any luck, we'll be done by noon," Eric said, walking towards them. "Thanks for bein' here on time. He extended his hand to each.
"Coach, your wife told me to tell you that she's taking your baby to daycare," Vince offered.
"Yeah, thanks," Eric nodded. It was best that Gracie not be in the middle of this move. "Alright," he shifted gears. "My wife has everything all organized and labeled, but I just want to make sure we've got beds to sleep in tonight," he explained. "So, let's start in Gracie's room, and we'll take it from there."
Eric led the guys into Gracie's room and handed them his tool box. "Don't scratch this stuff, okay?" Eric raised his eyebrows, referring to the furniture. "Tami's already got us buyin' some furniture, and I don't want to add this stuff to her ever growin' list," he explained.
Tinker decided he would be most useful staying on the truck and steEricg each item up the ramp and then, placing it in the order it needed to be unloaded. He quickly loaded Gracie's small grouping of furniture near the front of the front of the truck and off to the side, so that it would be part the first load off the truck.
Next, Eric directed Vince and Coach Traub to Julie's bedroom.
"Where is your daughter?" Coach Traub asked.
"Well, she worked late last night at Applebee's. So, she decided to spend the night at her friend, Devon's. She'd better be over at the new house by noon," he explained.
The guys then started by taking the mirror off Julie's dresser and then loading it into the truck, followed by her bed and headboard. Next, it was time to load up Eric and Tami's room. Eric's cell phone rang. "Hey," Eric answered, seeing that it was Tami.
"Where are you?" she asked. "I don't have a key."
"Are you at the lake?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm here waiting for you and the truck," she said. Clearly, there had been a miscommunication.
"Well, Babe, we're about another 30 minutes from leavin' here," he said. "I know I have the only key. Do you want to go and get yourself some coffee or somethin' until we can get there?"
"Yeah," she said. "I can do that. I'll see you in awhile, Honey. Bye," she said with a lilt in her voice.
Disconnecting the call, Eric turned to Vince and good the other end of their dresser. "We gotta get a move on it," he warned. "My wife is at the other house without a key."
Vince looked down. "Um, yeah. I just remembered I was supposed to tell you she was heading over to the other house."
Eric looked at his QB1. "Don't worry 'bout it. Let's just get this truck loaded," he said. "I appreciate you comin' over here today."
"Well, yeah," Vince answered his coach. "You help me ... I help you."
The two loaded the large dresser up the ramp, and with Dallas' help, it was placed at the rear of truck. As Vince and Eric walked back towards the house to grab the headboard, Eric thoughtfully said, "You know, we're not takin' our livin' room and dinin' room set. There's nothin' wrong with it, but you know women ... it doesn't fit in the new house." he make air quotes for the word "fit." "If you and your mom could use any or all of it, you're welcome to it. Wanna take a look at it?"
Surprised, Vince looked at Eric and said, "Yeah. Let's take a look."
The two walked into the living area. "Yeah, the sofa, tables, entertainment center, recliner ... and then this table and chairs over here ... none of this stuff is allowed in the new place." Eric seemed irritated about his recliner. Tami promised to get him a new one.
"This is good stuff!" Vince was delighted. "So, you're sayin' I can take all this to my house?"
"Well, only if you think your mom would be okay with it," Eric said sheepishly.
Vince smiled. "Uh, yeah. She'd be very happy to have some new stuff. I would have to move some of our ol' mismatched stuff out ... but I'm sure someone in the building would be glad to take on our stuff."
"I tell you what," Eric looked over at Vince. "Before I take the truck back tomorrow mornin', you and I'll load up these two rooms and take 'em over to your place. Alright?"
"Okay," Vince smiled. "Thank you, Coach." Vince still couldn't believe his good fortune.
"You're welcome," Eric said. "Now, let's get this first load movin'."
About an hour later, the moving truck rolled up into the driveway of the new house. It was just shy of 10:00 a.m. Dallas rode in the truck with Eric, while Coach Traub followed in his car with Vince. Eric didn't see Tami's car there. She must have taken his suggestion.
All the guys commented on how nice it was being at the lake. They, too, could just see team parties taking place here and gave their approval.
Eric unlocked the front door and showed the guys whose bedroom was whose. Unloading the truck went a lot faster than loading. Eric and Dallas reassembled the beds ... taking care of Eric's number one priority. The way Eric saw it was simple: If he was going to work himself into being dog tired, he was going to have a bed to sleep in that night.
Just as they unloaded the last item off the truck, Tami arrived. After greeting and thanking the guys for their help, Eric gave her their only key and explained they were going back for the next load of boxes.
"I'll go and have keys made while you're gone, okay?" she asked, seeing that there was no unpacking for her to do.
At about 11:20, the truck arrived with its second load. The four guys unloaded the boxes very quickly using the handcart. They stacked each one in the appropriate room as designated on the box.
After a time, Eric rubbed his fingers through his sweaty hair and announced to Tami, "Well, that's it."
Even with boxes stacked in every room, it was amazing how much more room they had in this house.
"I'm gonna order the pizzas," he said, asking the guys what they liked on their pies.
"Don't forget to order a half vegetarian," Tami reminded her husband for their oldest daughter. "And I went ahead and picked up some cold drinks when I had the keys made. They're in the fridge." She also had some plastic cups and paper plates and napkins sitting out on the counter.
"Where is Julie, anyway?" Eric asked.
"She called a few minutes ago. She's on her way," Tami explained. She could tell Eric was irritated that Julie was arriving after the hardest part of the move was over. "Hon, don't forget that she worked late last night, and she has to work late again tonight. She'll help with the unpacking this afternoon and tomorrow."
"Yeah," Eric shook his head. His wife was right.
The guys asked if they could go out and explore the lake until the pizzas arrived. Eric told Coach Traub he would call him on his cell when they did. The shrieks of joy coming from Vince and Tinker sounded more like they came from little boys than from high school students.
Tami smiled. "Better get used to those shrieks of joy," she said to her husband as she continued unpacking a box in their new kitchen. "That's going to be the sound of Spring and Summer around here."
"I could very easily get used to that sound," Eric said, getting himself a cold drink. "Hey, Babe. I offered our old livin' and dinin' room set to Vince and his mom. I know you wanted to donate it to charity ... but frankly, I don't know anyone who is more in need than Vince and his mom."
"That's a wonderful idea," she said, as she came up behind him and wrapped her long arms around his sweaty torso.
He placed his cola on the counter and took his wife in his arms. "I'll get it over to his house before I take the truck back," he smiled, and then, he leaned down to give his wife a kiss.
About that time, Julie bounded into the house, interrupting her parents.
"Hey, Honey," Tami smiled. "Welcome to your new home!"
"Yeah, welcome home," Eric smiled. "I just ordered pizzas. We got you a Vegetarian Delight."
"Thank you, Daddy," Julie smiled. "So, where do I start?" she asked.
"Would you help me unpack the kitchen, Sweetie?" Tami asked.
"Sure," Julie answered, taking off her coat. She couldn't help but think that while this new house felt like a vacation house ... it certainly did not feel as if it was her home, not anymore. With her plans for leaving to work for Habitat for Humanity, the feeling suited her just fine.
