A/N - Thanks to AmbientSpaceNoise and TieDyeJackson for your reviews. I'm sorry it took a little longer for an update, I had a half a chapter written and then my computer crashed and it was deleted, but I think it was sign, because I like the way this one turned out better. This was one's a little more mature than the previous chapter's, and I wrote a smutty scene in this one. It's my first time writing anything like that, so go easy on me. It's not super graphic or anything though, I don't think I'm capable of writing anything like that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's my favorite one so far.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

February 1, 1985

Eric got home from work at around four o'clock that afternoon. His new job had been going really well, the kids all really liked him. They always tell him they look forward to his class the most every day, which always makes him smile.

After Eric walked in the door that afternoon, he was met with constant chattering everywhere. He raised an eyebrow as he went into the living room, but the noise seemed to be coming from the tiny kitchen. So Eric went over to the small area and was surprised that everyone had managed to fit in there.

Andrea and Ayrton were sitting at the table, Andrea looking over the paper and Ayrton eating from a bowl of some kind of party mix as he watched the others in the room. David and Jackie were chattering over something, Peyton was trying to get her two cents in, Bruno was tugging on Jackie's shirt sleeve as Jackie herself held a babbling Leo in her arms.

"Hey guys!" Eric had to yell over the loudness of the room and suddenly everybody's attention was him.

Bruno smiled and ran over to Eric, practically jumping onto him, "Eric! You're home!"

The wind was knocked out of Eric when Bruno slammed into his middle, his skinny arms wrapping around him, "Hey buddy."

"Eric, thank God you're home," Jackie said, walking over to him and handing Leo to him, "These kids have been… All over the place today. I need some help."

Eric furrowed his brow as he adjusted Leo on his hip, the two year old now smiling at him, "Andrea's been here all day, hasn't he been helping?"

"I was cleaning up the bar, thank you very much," Andrea snapped, gazing hard at the younger man, "It is a Friday, so it will be crazy tonight."

"Well, what about Ayrton?" Eric asked, looking over to the teenager who still sat at the table.

"I hurt my ankle chasing Bruno around this morning," Ayrton said, shrugging, "I've been down all day."

Eric looked over to Leo and smiled at the boy, "Well, I'm sure I can take it from here."

"Thank you," Jackie said, sighing in relief before she glared at David, "Somebody told me they were going to help out when they got home, but somebody had different plans."

David threw his hands up, "Maya's throwing a party. I have to be there!"

"Really? You have to?" Jackie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on, guys, calm down," Eric eased, "I'm here now, everything's fine. I'll help out. David can go to his party, Andrea can go run his bar, and Ayrton can go rest his leg. It's all good."

Everybody eventually seemed to agree to that statement and went about doing their own thing, but somebody had to watch the kids for just a few minutes, because Eric had something important to give to Jackie and he wasn't quite sure how she would take it.

"Ayrton, can you hold him for a second?" Eric asked, going to hand the toddler to the teen, "I need to talk to Jackie for a second."

Ayrton nodded, taking Leo from Eric and sitting the boy in his lap, "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you," Eric smiled gratefully, "Bruno, Peyton. Just sit down for a minute and don't cause Andrea any problems, okay? I'll be right back."

The two children nodded and shared the chips with Ayrton as Eric grabbed Jackie's hand and dragged her out of the kitchen, Jackie having no idea what was going on.

"Eric, is everything okay?" Jackie asked as Eric dragged her into his room and closed the door behind them.

"Everything's fine," Eric said, going over to his dresser and opening a drawer, rifling through its contents, "There's something I've got to show you."

Jackie furrowed her brow and crossed her arms, "What is it?"

Eric finally pulled an envelope out of the drawer and held it up as he turned around, "This."

Jackie slumped her shoulders and gazed at the envelope for a second, "What's that?"

Eric sighed and looked down at the letter, ignoring Jackie's question, "I was going to this to you the other day, but… You were a little upset about the person who sent this to you."

Jackie thought for a moment, trying to figure who she would've been mad at… Oh, it's her mother, "It's from my mother?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I know things have been tough between you two lately and I wasn't sure how you would've handled this at the time so…"

"Did you open it?" Jackie asked, looking at the letter, her gaze hardening.

Eric shook his head, "No… Jackie, if—"

"Let me see it," Jackie suddenly said, holding out her hand.

Eric was quiet for a minute, but he eventually handed the envelope to the annoyed woman. Jackie looked down at the letter, at first thinking this was going to be a postcard from her mother's latest adventure in Brazil or something, but this was different. It didn't feel like a postcard was inside, it was lighter, it felt like it might be a letter.

Jackie quickly opened the envelope, pulling the letter out a moment letter and reading over it. It was only one page and as she read it, Eric noticed that she didn't seem very happy about the contents of the letter.

"Jackie?" Eric tried, taking one gentle step forward, but Jackie threw her arms down, a look of anger on her face.

"She moved back home," Jackie snapped, shaking her head.

Eric seemed confused. Why was she angry about that, "What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that?!" Jackie cried, making Eric flinch, but she continued, "My entire childhood she spent in foreign countries, never wanting to take me with her. Never wanting to stay home and raise me. I lived without a mother most of the time, I lived with your girlfriend for Christ's sake! And now she wants to move back home and she wants me to come live with her!"

Eric was nervous. He didn't know how to approach this. He knew how Jackie was when she got angry, it was hard to calm her down and sometimes, depending on the situation, she seemed to throw other people's feelings out the window. This was a flash of the old Jackie, a flash of the old Jackie that she thought she'd gotten rid of.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Eric asked, but he didn't know the whole story, and he probably never would.

"No, it's not a good thing!" Jackie cried, the letter crinkling in her hand as she clenched her fists, "She wants me to come home now? After all this time of me asking her to come home, begging her to come home and she never once dropped everything to come and see her little girl! She thinks because she asks me to come home that I'll just drop everything and come see her, everything forgiven? I don't think so. I just got a job, I'm living with some amazing people, some great friends, and now I'm helping raise three orphaned children who love me very much. I am not dropping any of that to go and see her."

She got the job? Eric was happy for her, but right now wasn't really the time to bring that up, Jackie was fuming.

Jackie sighed and ran a hand across her face, "I mean, it's easy for you. You're parents are supportive, they never tried dragging you back home. You can go and see them whenever you want, I never had that luxury."

Eric flinched at that as Jackie seemed to forget for that split second that Eric couldn't go see his parents whenever he wanted, she seemed to forget they just went to his father's funeral just weeks ago. And in the other half of that split second, Jackie remembered that and her expression changed.

"Eric, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that," Jackie tried apologizing, and Eric just shrugged.

"That's okay," Eric said, though his voice was a little strained, "You were saying?"

What Jackie said wasn't actually all that bad, but Eric still hadn't fully recovered from his father's death, and he never would, but because it was so recent, it was harder to talk about, even just to mention. Every time somebody mentioned his father he always remembered that he'd never see him again.

Eric didn't want to make this about him though, this was for Jackie to be upset about. She was allowed to be upset. Eric would deal with himself later.

Jackie sighed again and dropped her head, "I wish I had normal parents."

Eric nodded, "I know."

"Should I write her back?" Jackie asked, looking up at Eric.

Eric shrugged, smiling a little, "Do you want to tell her how you really feel?"

Jackie nodded, "Badly."

Eric then nodded, "Then yeah, you should write her back."

Jackie then smiled at Eric, appreciating that she had such a great and understanding friend like him.

0-0-0-0-0

Later that night at around 11 o'clock, everything in the apartment was quiet. Andrea was downstairs working, David was at his girlfriend's party, Ayrton was sleeping on the pull out couch, and the kids were now all sleeping.

Eric was in his room, writing something down in his notebook when Jackie walked by, stopping in his doorway and leaning against the wall, "The kids are finally in bed."

Eric smiled at Jackie, "It's about time… Remind me to never give Bruno more than one jolly rancher."

"Or just don't give him the whole bag," Jackie smiled, "I'm surprised he didn't get sick."

Eric shrugged and looked back down at his notepad as Jackie stepped into his room, curiously watching him.

"What're writing?" Jackie asked curiously, her arms crossed over her chest.

"A song," Eric replied nonchalantly.

"A song?" Jackie asked, a little impressed.

"Well, more like a composition," Eric said, shrugging, "It's for the piano. A sort of love song if you will."

Jackie smiled and looked down at the notepad. It was sheet music, so she didn't really understand it too well, "You'll have to play it for me sometime."

Eric smiled sweetly, "I will."

Eric and Jackie haven't really talked all that much since the funeral. Since they got back, Eric's sort of shut down and he refuses to talk about what happened with anybody, even his mother. Jackie can tell he's still upset about what happened, but he plays it off as if he's already moved on and nothing's wrong. But Jackie's smarter than that, and Eric knows it.

"Move over," Jackie sat, gently pushing on Eric's shoulder to get him to make her some room.

Eric gazed at her curiously as she down on his bed next to him. After she made herself comfortable, she looked over at him and sighed.

"What's all this about?" Eric asked, a bit anxiously. Jackie could tell because his voice was a little higher than usual.

"We haven't really talked in a while," Jackie said, shrugging, "I just want to know how you're doing."

"Jackie, we talk all the time," Eric replied, but he knew what she was talking about.

"No, I mean really, really talk," Jackie said, and she decided she'd go ahead and get into what was really bothering her, "Eric, you haven't said really anything since your dad died. You've got to feel something."

Eric averted her gaze and smiled, trying to ignore the feelings that were trying to emerge, "I have talked about it. Remember? After the funeral I talked to you."

"Yeah, but since we got back home you won't say anything," Jackie said, as she looked around his room, spotting an empty beer bottle on his nightstand, "And you've been drinking more than you used to. It's starting to bug me… Eric, you need to talk about this, that's the only way you'll feel better, you can't keep stuff like this bottled up."

Eric shook his head and clenched his jaw, trying to stay strong, "Jackie, I'm fine."

Jackie shook her head, "Eric, when I told you how I felt about my mother earlier, it… It felt amazing. It's feels great to get all of that out. I've never felt better. You have to let all of that baggage out, you can't carry it around with you forever, because eventually it will break you down."

Eric was quiet, he didn't want to say anything, because if he opened his mouth, she'd know just how much was on his shoulders, and he didn't want her to know that he's not the happy boy she always saw. Yeah, he was happy. He wasn't depressed or anything like that, but he still had his problems and… And maybe she was right. Maybe he did need to talk about them. He didn't want to though. He was too scared.

Jackie watched as Eric continued to write, but she noticed that he was baring down on the pencil too hard, prompting her to grab his arm gently, "Eric."

Eric stopped immediately and Jackie noticed the emotion in his face, even though he was trying his hardest to hide it.

"Just talk to me," Jackie said quietly.

What happened next really surprised her. Eric sighed and set his pencil down, finally looking up at Jackie. He didn't know where to start, so he just sort of rambled.

"You want to know what's bothering me?" Eric asked, looking Jackie in the eyes, "Fine. I don't talk to my friends back home as much as I tell everybody. Just like you, I don't really know them that well anymore. Fez having a kid? I just found out about that a few weeks before you did through my mother. Hyde has a girlfriend. I didn't know about that for months. I don't talk to them anymore. I barely talk to my mother, even less now that my dad died. I used to not want to call her because I was a loser, I graduated college and mooched off of my friends. I couldn't find a job.

"I don't call her now because I don't want to cry in front of all of you. I barely talk to her for three minutes on the phone, that's pretty shitty. Her own son doesn't even want to talk to her," Eric went on and on, getting more emotional as he vented, "I can't see my dad anymore. It's not like he ever really showed me love more than twice a year or anything, but I still miss him and it really hurts. I never really knew my grandparents all too well, so their deaths never really hit me too hard. But my dad's… I don't know how to deal with it!

"And even worse, I've got this problem with my eye that I'm so embarrassed about and I don't know why! I mean, look at it, is it really that bad?!" Eric asked, tearing his sunglasses off and finally showing Jackie what he's been afraid to for so long.

They both went quiet, Eric realizing what he'd just done. He didn't know what to say, he seemed embarrassed about it. Jackie looked at him for a moment before she remembered she'd left the door open. She was sure he didn't want the whole apartment seeing him like this, so she stood up and went to go and close the door. When she came back, Eric was looking down at his sunglasses, his face pale in shock. Had he really just done that?

"Eric?" Jackie said gently, approaching the bed slowly and gently.

Eric came back to reality at the sound of her voice, and he dipped his head and rushed to get his glasses back on, hiding the scar once again from sight, "I-I, uh… I… Y-you d-didn't see that, did you?"

Jackie looked down at Eric, not sure what to say to him. He was obviously very embarrassed of everything he just said and did, but he was also very upset.

Eric groaned and dipped his head again, "God… I'm such an idiot."

Jackie shook her head and sat down across from Eric again, "No you're not, Eric."

"Yes I am," Eric insisted, "What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I just pick up the phone and call my friends? Call my mother? Is it really that hard? Why can't I talk about stuff like this? And why am I so ashamed of everything I do?"

Jackie furrowed her brow and looked down at his fidgeting hands. Jackie reached out and grabbed them gently, making Eric freeze for a second. Jackie looked down at his hands and sighed, trying to figure out how to make him feel better. Earlier all he did was tell her to write a letter to her mother and that made her feel better, because she was able to tell her mother how she really felt. She was never going to send the letter, but just writing it down made her feel better. But her mother was the problem, some of Eric's issues didn't have a face.

Jackie looked up at Eric's face now, or tried to at least. He had his head hung low, as if he didn't want to show Jackie his face. He was so ashamed of what he had just done, he didn't want to look at her.

Jackie released one of his heads and brought hers up to his face, making him look up at her. He avoided her gaze, his face red now with embarrassment.

"It's okay, Eric," Jackie tried, not sure how to handle this. She wasn't usually the one trying to make people feel better, it was usually the other way around.

Eric sniffled, trying to keep himself from crying at least, "You did see me, didn't you?"

Jackie was quiet for a minute as Eric finally looked at her, then she nodded. Eric sighed and avoided her gaze again and Jackie had to say something, "Eric, I don't know why you're so ashamed of the way you look."

"I have a scar that takes up half the right side of my face," Eric snapped, looking up at Jackie once again, "It's hard not to be."

Then they were both quiet. Eric felt bad for snapping at Jackie, and Jackie just didn't know how to respond to what he had just said. It took her a moment to recollect her thoughts before she looked up at Eric's face and released his hands, making him look up at her curiously.

"Can I see?" Jackie asked, prepared for him to say no, but she was surprised with his answer.

Eric shrugged, "I guess I had to do this at some point."

So Eric grabbed the sides of his sunglasses and slowly took them off, his pale hands shaking with nervousness. When he finally took them off he avoided Jackie's gaze, but he did look up enough for her to see the scar and what it had done to his appearance.

Jackie examined it for a second and then she smiled, "Eric… Your eyes are beautiful."

Eric shook his head, "Stop trying to make me feel better, Jackie."

Jackie shook her head and kept the smile on her face, "I'm telling the truth, Eric. You may think it's just pity, but I'm being truthful. You, Eric Forman, are the most beautiful person I've ever met."

Eric shook his head, he couldn't believe her, "I don't think so."

"Well, I do," Jackie replied, grabbing his hands again and squeezing them gently, "There's nothing wrong with you, Eric. You're just human."

Eric could feel the tears stinging his eyes. Everything that he just told her… He couldn't believe he'd done that. He actually did kind of feel a little better, but he still felt sad for some reason. Eric squeezed Jackie's hands, a little harder than she had squeezed his, making her furrow her brow curiously.

"Eric?" She said in a concerned way, and then she was taken off guard when Eric wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder.

She wrapped her arms around him a moment later, rubbing his back soothingly as he apologized, "I'm sorry for yelling."

Jackie shook her head, "That's okay."

Eric finally cried and Jackie just held him, rubbing his back and trying to comfort him. This is the second time she's done this now. She eventually brought her hand up to his hair and ran her fingers through it, trying to relax him.

After several minutes of hugging, Eric finally spoke, "Jackie?"

"Yeah?" Jackie responded, and what Eric said next changed Jackie's life.

"I think…" Eric was nervous, but he said it anyway, "I think I love you."

Jackie went quiet. How was she supposed to respond to that? Eric felt nervous now that wasn't responding to what he had just revealed, and he pulled away, anxiously looking into Jackie's pretty hazel eyes.

"Jackie?" Eric said, his voice shaking with nervousness.

Jackie finally caught her breath and she brought her hands up and gripped Eric's shaking ones, hers shaking now as well. He looked down at their entwined hands curiously, not sure what to think. He really hoped he didn't just ruin the friendship that they had.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"I love you, too," Jackie finally said.

Now it was Eric's turn to be silent. He tried taking in what he had just heard, surprised actually, "Y-you do?"

Jackie smiled, beamed actually, "Yes, I-I… I love you, and… I think I have for a very long time."

Eric felt a smile trying to make itself present and Jackie's hands slid up to his shoulders, her hands gripping at his shirt. Eric didn't know what to say. Should he say anything at all? He noticed Jackie's eyes kept looking between his eyes and his mouth, he felt his heart beating at a hundred miles per hour. Was she leaning in? He couldn't tell. Jackie's hands gripped his shoulders, her heart pounding.

Before Jackie could stop herself, her hands went to Eric's jaws and she closed the gap between them. Eric hummed against her lips, a little surprised at what she had just done, but he quickly relaxed into the kiss. Jackie felt herself shiver, Eric's hands moving to her arms gently.

She felt weak now, she never knew Eric was such a good kisser. Now she sort of knew what Donna was always raving about. Eric's hands slid down to her hips, pulling her a little closer to him. Jackie tensed a little and slid her hands down to Eric's chest, gripping his shirt tightly as they deepened their kiss. Eric's hands snaked around to her back, puller her even closer. Eric bit her lip gently, but Jackie pulled away then.

"Eric…" She said quietly, they were closer than she realized, she could feel his hot breath on her skin.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked, feeling like he did something wrong.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Eric noticed Jackie was pulling on the chest of his shirt, "Eric, I… I…" She didn't know how to phrase it.

Jackie's hands slid up around his shoulders, her fingers tickling the hairs on the back on his neck. Did she want more? She was asking herself.

Jackie looked into Eric's eyes, his beautiful eyes that he felt self-conscious about. She felt adrenaline shoot through her body as she bit her lip. Eric didn't know what to say, he didn't know what she wanted. Jackie leaned into Eric a little closer, her hand sliding down to his chest again.

Jackie gripped Eric's shirt again before she leaned in again, kissing him softly. Eric's hands went around her waist again as she deepened the kiss, and he was surprised when Jackie gently pushed him back onto his bed. Eric smiled against her lips. He always suspected she'd be on top. Jackie broke the kiss again and looked down into Eric's eyes again, her legs straddling his hips.

It was only a moment before Jackie kissed him again, her hands playing with the hem of his shirt. This kiss was more intense than the previous two, Jackie's hands were adventuring Eric's body. Jackie brought one hand up to Eric's face, their fast paced kiss escalating.

Eric's hands were still on Jackie's hips, but one of his hands slid up and pushed her shirt up, now he could feel Jackie's smooth skin underneath his hand. Their kiss broke again and they locked eyes as Jackie sat up and pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. So this was really going there? Jackie smiled at Eric as he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside like Jackie had done with hers.

Eric and Jackie were so different and Eric had always been self-conscious about the way he looked. Jackie was so beautiful, her body was perfect. Eric was skinny, he always had been, he actually felt a little embarrassed, even though he knew he shouldn't have been.

Jackie noticed how nervous he seemed because of this, and she pushed a strand of messy hair out of his eyes before she told him, "You're beautiful, Eric."

Eric nodded, trying to believe her, but then she kissed him, and his mind went elsewhere. Jackie's hands explored his body and eventually made their way to his pants. She quickly unbuttoned them and he stirred himself out of them as he worked on Jackie's bra.

After several moments of discarding articles of clothing, Jackie pushed Eric's back against the wall and looked down into his eyes. She couldn't believe they were actually doing this. Jackie from five years ago would never believe this, but Jackie from today was very happy with the predicament that she was in. Jackie slid her hands down his chest and pushed her face to his neck, leaving kisses on his flesh. He told her he loved her again quietly as he closed his eyes and rested his hands on Jackie's hips.

Eric's heart was racing even faster now, he enjoyed that. Jackie was mumbling Eric's name as she left trails of kisses on his neck before she pulled away and rested her hands on his shoulders now. Jackie moved a lose strand of hair out of Eric's eyes and smiled sweetly at him, silently asking him if he was sure he wanted to do this.

So Eric kissed Jackie quickly, confirming that for her. Jackie kissed him back quickly as well as she situated herself over him, Eric's hands wrapping around Jackie's middle as she lowered herself onto him. Eric moaned Jackie's name into her neck as her fingers dug into his shoulders. They were both relaxed into each other a moment later, making Jackie gasp Eric's name.

Jackie inhaled, her throat feeling tight. Jackie wrapped her arms around Eric's shoulders, kissing him on the side of the head before she started to move. Eric tightened his arms around Jackie at this, his fingers clawing at Jackie's skin now. Jackie softly kissed Eric, her hands on his shoulders before she pulled away and looked into his eyes, giving him a soft smile.

Jackie's heart swelled at the sight of Eric underneath her, he didn't seem to know what to do with himself. Jackie pushed her face into his neck again, tenderly kissing it. Eric's hands finally moved now, his hands traveling up Jackie's back as Jackie started to pick up the pace.

She quietly breathed his name against his neck, her hands sprawled against his back. Jackie's heart was beating rapidly as Eric kissed her chest.

Eric's hands moved to Jackie's chest, pleasuring her as she was pleasuring him. Jackie moaned against Eric's neck as one of her hands pushed into his thick hair. She sunk her teeth into Eric's shoulder as she felt him tense and pull her closer.

Jackie's hands were pulling at Eric's hair now, making him wince, but he didn't seem to care too much. Jackie barked Eric's name as his hands explored her body. They were both on the edge now, and Jackie practically cried his name.

"Eric…" Jackie moaned, her hands making his hair messy.

Eric kissed her on the mouth again, one hand moving up to her face. Jackie and Eric rested their foreheads against each other, Jackie squeezing her eyes shut tight and gasping as they continued to move against each other.

Jackie groaned as she finally felt herself release, Eric gasping as well. She kept her hands glued to the back of Eric's head as he pushed his face into her shoulder, panting heavily. After a moment of pure bliss, Jackie finally slumped into Eric and tried catching her breath.

She closed her eyes against Eric's shoulder, her arms wrapping around him as she softly pet his hair. Jackie, after evening out her breathing, she smiled, "Wow…"

Eric chuckled and pulled away from her so he could see her face, "You're telling me."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, both enjoying just being with each other, then Jackie kissed Eric again, both her hands cupping his jaws. It was quick, but deep kiss, then she pulled away and looked down at the bed. She kissed Eric on the cheek one last time before she gently got off of him, deciding to get underneath the sheets, Eric following her lead a moment later.

Jackie wrapped her arm firmly around Eric and pulled him close to her, resting her head against his. Eric released a content sigh as he relaxed next to Jackie, both their faces were a little red.

"Jackie?" Eric finally spoke.

"Yes?" Jackie hummed, a gentle smile on her face.

"Did… Did you mean what you said?" Eric asked, feeling a little nervous.

"About what?" Jackie asked, looking over at Eric.

"You know that… That you loved me?" Eric asked, his hands fidgeting like they always did when he was nervous.

Jackie smiled, "Eric, if I didn't mean that we wouldn't have done what we just did."

Eric smiled in agreement, "Yeah… I know."

Jackie sighed contently as she held her arm around Eric as he leaned his head against her chest. Jackie's hand smoothed his messy tresses as Eric closed his eyes and listened to the beating of her heart. Jackie gazed down at Eric, watching as he clung to her as if he felt he was going to lose her. Jackie swept one of her hands across Eric's forehead lovingly, pushing a strand of slightly sweat ridden hair out of his face before she planted a kiss to the top of his head.

Jackie smiled as she held Eric close. When she was a teenager she always dreamed of finding a strong man to protect her and love her, but now, as she laid here with Eric, she realized she was the protector and not the other way around, and she didn't mind it. Not one bit.

Eric was fragile, and he needed somebody there for him, but he never let anyone know that. Jackie might be the only one besides his mother that knows this. Jackie eventually fell asleep, not long after Eric, both of them feeling a little bit better than they did yesterday.