A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for the great reviews. They brighten up my life. I have a question that perhaps you could answer: what color eyes does Jackie have? I know that Mila Kunis is dichromatic, but I'm not exactly sure what color eyes she had on the show. This information will be relevant for later. Thank you!
After receiving a key and doing other things routine to checking in, Eric and Donna settled into their room.
"Wow, this is pretty nice for a roadside hotel," Donna commented.
"Yeah," Eric nodded. "Oh god, being in a hotel room brings back a lot of weird memories."
"You mean like prom?" Donna inquired.
"Yep, and that time when my parents showed up in the room next to us. We also can't forget about my days as a hotel waiter." Eric said.
"Oh yeah. Did you ever hear about what happened to that Roy guy?" Donna asked.
"He's probably still working in that hotel for all I know. Man, he was a good guy." Eric smiled, thinking about the past. "Anyways, I'm glad that we're staying at a Holiday Inn. The time where I was working at one was a big turning point in my life. Well, the job itself wasn't very revolutionary, but it was the time where I truly grew up, became more independent."
"Oh, you mean when you stayed up late dicking around and had your mom bring you a sandwich and a comic book every afternoon?" Donna asked smugly.
"Well, aside from that, I did learn a lot about myself during that time in my life. I knew that I wanted to do something great with my life so I starting saving my money, hoping to use it for something important. I realized that my true calling was to be a teacher, which is something that I haven't stopped enjoying. And one thing that I was certain of was that I love you with all my heart. I knew that we would end up together somewhere along the line, and that there was no need to rush things." Eric explained.
"Oh Eric, that was so sweet," Donna pulled him in for a kiss. There was a huge smile on her face as their lips locked.
"Thanks," he grinned back, putting an arm around her waist.
Shortly after, the couple began to unpack their things and settle down for the night. They ordered mostly dessert items from room service as their dinner. Donna's sweet tooth had gotten bigger in the last stage of her pregnancy.
Donna leaned against the headboard of the bed while Eric fed her spoonfuls of cheesecake. She didn't want to admit it, but she enjoyed being pampered like this. She had worked so hard to be seen as a headstrong, independent woman, and revealing that she liked being taken care of would go against many of the things she believed in. However, she was eight months pregnant, and she figured that was a good enough excuse for this type of behavior.
"You know, you're not going to be able to get away with this much longer," Eric stated, as if he knew exactly what Donna had been thinking about.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But it's not like I'm ever going to get to do this again." Donna reasoned.
"That's a fair point." Eric nodded. "So, if I may ask, what exactly does it feel like to be pregnant? I mean, you've told me a little bit about it, but I haven't gotten an elaborate response."
"Well, it's a mixture of good and bad. There's a lot of aches, especially in the back and stomach, and there have been plenty of time when I've been either so tired or overheated that nothing else was on my mind. But the feeling I get when I feel the baby move is almost indescribable. There's a certain euphoria associated with giving life. Overall, I'm glad that we did this. I don't know how easy the next part will be, but there's no one else that I would rather do it with." Donna answered.
"Aww, that was sweet. Thanks for explaining that to me." Eric fed Donna the last bite of cake and lay down next to her.
"No problem," Donna placed one of her hands on her stomach and laced her other one with Eric's. "So, now I have a question for you."
Eric nodded. "Okay, ask away,"
"You know how in the car we were talking about speaking to the baby? Are you actually going to do that tonight?" Donna asked.
Eric sprung up a little. "Hell yeah I am! Even if I say something stupid, it'll be an interesting experience."
"Alright honey. You can do that as soon as I fall asleep." Donna said.
"I'll be sure to," Eric smiled.
After lounging around for another hour, the couple decided to go asleep. Eric waited for about half an hour after the lights were turned off to begin his speech. He framed his hands around Donna's belly and spoke softly.
"Hey sweetie. I am your father. I'll say that a lot if you're a boy, because no matter what your mother says, I will name you Luke. I made half of you. Perhaps you remember me from the time that you spent in my testicles." Eric took one of his hands and slapped himself on the forehead. "God, I am awful. That's the first thing you should know about me. I say awkward things a lot. But I can be funny sometimes, so that makes up for it."
Eric paused and took a deep breath. "I bet that you're going to be really nice looking. I mean, I'm not too shabby, but your mother is gorgeous. But before you're a beautiful teenager, you'll be an adorable kid. I wonder who you'll take after. People are always like 'he has his father's eyes' or 'she's a miniature version of her mother'. I have a feeling that you'll be a really nice mix of the two of us."
Eric stopped and smiled, envisioning what his kid would look like. "Man, I can't wait to meet you. But enough about looks, let's get to personality! You're probably going to be a nerd. With me as your dad, there's no way around that. I'm going to make you watch Star Wars and read comic books. But you'll be plenty smart too. Your mother will make sure of that. We've only got one shot at this, so we're going to raise the most extraordinary person that we can. Society doesn't need another stupid person. We will nurture you to be kind, intellectual, and compassionate. And oh, it'll be required for you to have good taste in music. If your mother ever sees you bringing home a pop record, you'll be dead."
Eric chuckled at himself. "Now, here comes the cheesy part. No matter what happens in life, no matter how you act or how smart you are or what clique you're in, I will love you unconditionally. You are my child, my flesh and blood. You are a precious gift from the universe, and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to know you." he finished his sermon by kissing Donna's stomach, directly on her protruded belly button.
"That was really nice, honey," Donna whispered to him.
"What!? You're awake?" Eric yelled with a hushed tone.
"Well, you're not the exactly the quietest person in the world. I swear that I didn't hear that much. But it's true what you said: if our kid likes anything other than rock, I'll be ashamed." Donna confirmed.
Eric laughed. "In all honesty, I would too. I'm surprised that I didn't get kicked in the face while doing that."
"Well, babies do begin to have a somewhat routine sleeping pattern in the latter stages of development. Maybe he or she is asleep right now." Donna suggested.
"God, you know so much more that I do about this. But, we should get some sleep ourselves. We've got an exciting day tomorrow." Eric said.
"I agree with that. Goodnight Eric." Donna kissed him.
The next morning, Eric and Donna woke up in different moods. Eric felt optimistic about the day, and was beyond excited about seeing his family. On the other hand, Donna was feeling grouchy and achy. She figured that she has slept funny or something like that.
"Ugh, I do not feel like sitting in a car today," Donna groaned.
"Well, our trip will be shorter today. I'm sure that you'll be okay." Eric affirmed.
"I suppose," Donna sighed. "I just feel really uncomfortable right now."
Eric put his arm around her. "I'm sorry. I wish I could take that feeling away from you. Just remember where we're going to be later. Despite the discomforts, I think I'm safe to say that this trip will be worth it."
"I believe so too. Thank you honey." She kissed him on the cheek.
After eating a quick breakfast, the couple re-loaded the car. Donna was resenting traveling in the front seat, but Eric encouraged her to give it a try.
Donna sat down and fastened her seatbelt. She immediately felt flustered and cramped. "Yeah, I can't do this," She unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to the second row of the car. "I'm just going to lie down back here. I trust that you won't make any sudden stops or sharp turns."
"Well, I'm glad that you tried. I'll be sure to take it slow." Eric said.
The second leg of the trip was fairly mundane. Donna fell asleep shortly after they were on the road, so there wasn't much talking done between the couple. This gave Eric a lot of time to think.
'Man, I'm going to see my parents in less than four hours. That's almost unbelievable. My mom is definitely going to freak out when she sees Donna. And well, I hope that Bob doesn't make any stupid jokes about it. But is he even coming to Thanksgiving? I mean, he lives in Florida now. However, it is a family-oriented holiday, so maybe he'll be there.' he glanced at the back seat and observed a sleeping Donna. 'I just realized how weird nature is. Most of the organisms on earth reproduce by performing a sloppy dance and then carrying a mess of genes inside the body for a period of time. Wow man that sound like a thought I would've had in The Circle. Maybe we'll have another one of those this weekend.'
Donna woke up soon after Eric had crossed into the Wisconsin border. "Are we there yet?"
"We're pretty close. We've only got about 20 minutes until we get there." Eric informed.
"That's good! I'm excited. Thanks for being a safe driver." She sat up and kissed Eric on the cheek.
"You're welcome," Eric grinned. "I am ecstatic about this too. I finally get to see my mommy again."
"I know. I just hope that she doesn't squish me too much." Donna said.
The couple conversed about small things for a while. Soon enough, their home town came into sight. After all these years, the sign still read "Welcome to Point Place. Don't date Kelso."
Eric drove past blocks of houses and passed his old high school before rounding the corner into the extremely familiar street. He pulled into the driveway of perhaps the most beloved place in his life and quickly turned off his car.
"Honey," he grinned. "We're home."
