What I Wrote to You

AN: Ack I didn't have much time to write this week or next week for that matter. Despite barely able to walk I'm working 50hrs this week and about 40 something next cause I'll be in vacation for a few weeks after! Thank god my part times are sit down jobs or I'd be bleeding through my shoes! I might be able to get a chapter out sometime next week but after that should be a great since I'll be on vacation. Anyways thanks again to everyone that reviewed along with all those new followers to this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own That 70's Show

Chapter 13: Family

She wouldn't say that it had been awkward but there was definitely an underlining something going on. Despite having been in her apartment many times before, Eric had been fidgety and more like the twitchy boy he used to be. He practically ran away from her after getting Michaels number and didn't even let her give him a ride back.

The whole ordeal had been a complete head scratcher to Jackie and she had no idea what could have caused such a reaction from her friend. It was very unlike the confident and playful man that she had gotten to know all over again. He had never shown any ounce of discomfort with her before and the way he seemed to stray away was too similar to how she had at first acted around him.

Frankly she did feel a little annoyed that he had been the calm one in that situation. Jackie was supposed to be the confident self-assured of the pair. Yet Eric had been as cool as a cucumber and even charming enough to get her to relax. This little spastic episode though was reminiscent of how she had acted, and how he used to act.

She hoped that he didn't act like that when they got together again. The times they had spent together had been wonderfully comforting. It just seemed so natural to have someone to talk to about her day and just have someone be there and not be alone. Yet it was different because she had that in Brooke as well. It wasn't something that could easily be put into words but Eric provided her with something more, something that she just couldn't fully describe yet.

She had a pair of eyes and a decent brain up there and you didn't need both to be conscious of how attractive Eric had become. It went beyond attraction Jackie knew that yet whatever beyond entailed she didn't really know. Still none of that really answered the question on what had caused his jitteriness.

Jackie sighed loudly in her empty home and knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere with her thoughts running in circles. She grabbed her phone and dialed a number she knew like the back of her hand having called the number many times before.

"What do you want Jackie?" A tired voice asked from the phone speaker.

"Brooke I need advice that only an older woman can provide."

Yes she lied about not knowing the Kelso's number. She only wanted to spend a little more time with him but if she had known that the night would end on such a weird note then she would have just trashed that idea in that moment.

"You called me in the middle of the night just to tell me I'm old?" There was a pause and what sounded like Brooke's voice in the background saying 'not now Michael' before she spoke again. "I'm only four years older than you. I'm still young and hot."

Jackie heard Michael's voice yell out 'damn right you are' in the background causing her to giggle in amusement. "I said older Brooke not old." A little smirk formed on her lips and added, "Though I did see hints of wrinkles forming last time I saw you."

"You did not," Brooke gasped. "I'm still young and— Michael stop that! I'm on the phone."

"Brooke put Michael on the phone," Jackie said getting a little annoyed with these interruptions. She heard some ruffling going on before Michael was put on the other line. "Michael you can maul your fiancée after I'm done talking to her, you got that?"

"Damn Jackie! You're cutting into our doing it time."

"Just be a little patient. I don't know but, why don't you think about puppies or something while you wait for the adults to finish their conversation."

"Fine," she heard him say affronted. "But I'm thinking about puppies because I want to not because you told me to."

"Yes Michael," she said rolling her eyes. "Now put Brooke back on."

Jackie waited a few seconds before Brooke's voice came back on, "You know he's going to want a puppy now."

She shrugged even though she knew that Brooke couldn't see her. "At least Betsy will have a little playmate while you two work on a second one."

"S-so what did you call me for anyways," Jackie could practically picture the blush on her face as she tried to change subjects not so subtly.

"I just need someone to talk to about something."

"Well honey you know you can always talk to me about anything but you kind of called at a bad time."

"Am I cutting into doing it time," she asked teasingly.

"Well yes," Brooke said with a little giggle. "And I don't think the thoughts of puppies are going to distract Michael for long."

"You probably have a good five minutes before the distraction wears off."

"Not with what I'm wearing right now."

Jackie gasped, "You're wearing that?"

"Yes, I'm wearing that." Brooke said giggling. "And it looks like Michael is done thinking about puppies."

She heard a groan from the other line making her feel very uncomfortable. "Ew Brooke stop having sex while I'm on the phone with you!"

"We're not having sex," the woman said throatily with the underlining yet implied. "Unless you want to be the distant third in this I suggest you just come over tomorrow and we can talk about whatever it is you called me for."

"Ugh you two are like rabbits. I can't believe there isn't another little Kelso running around."

"We're working on it," Brooke said in short breaths.

That was more than enough for Jackie as she confirmed meeting tomorrow and quickly hung up. The act of her friends having sex was not something she wanted to picture let alone listen to over the phone. The thought somehow made her think of Eric and what he would be like in bed but she quickly shook the idea out of her mind. He was her friend! God what the hell was she thinking about.

For the first time in a long time Eric actually had a full schedule for the day. He had to be at his parents' house in the morning for breakfast and see the car that his dad had found for him. After that he had plans to finally hang out with his long time buddy Kelso and have dinner with his family. It didn't seem like much but considering his day planning usually consisted of just doing things on a whim this was actually the most he's planned out in a while.

He had dropped off Greta at her store since he had full privileges to drive the Pinto until he found a car for himself after winning that bet. Yet winning had brought on a whole set of problems that he was trying to keep out of his mind. This upcoming date he had with Katy later on in the week, while it still sounded appealing, lost a little bit of its luster after Greta's Jedi mind trick on him.

How she managed to somehow make him open his eyes and see Jackie as a woman instead of his friend was downright evil. He knew that his abrupt leaving and awkward behavior was not lost on the girl. He only hoped that she didn't think too much on it and that they could somehow get back to that comfortable friendship they had after he gets those thoughts of her out of his mind.

He didn't have time to ponder all this though because once he arrived at his parents' house he was abruptly sat down by his mom and given a plate full of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash. It was a typical Kitty Forman big breakfast along with multiply flavors of syrup.

"There are seconds if you want Eric. You're getting to be so big now and my little growing boy can have as much as he wants ahahahaha!"

He could only smile wryly at the amount given to him. While his appetite had increased he usually had a light breakfast to start the day than what was placed on his plate. "I think this should be more than enough mom. A little coffee would be nice though."

"Of course honey," she said happily and placed a kiss on the top of his head before pouring him a cup. "Steven is joining us when he finally wakes up. Oh my two little boys are home together again!"

"Hyde's here?"

"Still here Forman," a tired voice said coming up from the basement. Hyde still looked the same for the most part but his beard had grown even scruffier almost borderline hippy-ish— as his dad would call it— and a bit of a protruding belly. "Damn man you're not skinny anymore."

Eric had a small smile forming at the nostalgic zen like demeanor Hyde was exuding. "I could say the same to you man."

He smirked when Hyde actually winced, "I guess you've gotten better with those burns as well."

"No you've just become a bigger target." Eric couldn't hold in the laughter anymore after Hyde smacked him a good one on the shoulder.

"Eric, honey, that's not nice. Steven is only a little fat now. He's just going through a phase."

"Thanks Mrs. Forman," Hyde couldn't really say anything since he knew that the woman was just trying to defend him. Even if she had gone about it all wrong.

"Ahahaha anytime Steven! Now why don't you take a seat and I'll have breakfast out for you as well."

He perked up at the mention of food, "Can I have an extra strip of bacon?"

"Of course honey but don't tell Red or else he'll want an extra piece as well ahahaha!"

Happy that he would get more bacon Hyde sat smiling and turned his attention to Eric. "So you doing alright Forman?"

"Not too bad," he said with a shrug. "How about you?"

"Eh same," he said in pretty much the same manner. "So you're upgrading from the Vista Cruiser I hear."

"That's right I found you a beauty of a car son," Red said entering the kitchen. "A 1976 Chevy Corvette. Now it's not in mint condition but damn is that baby absolutely gorgeous."

"Didn't you always want a Corvette sir?"

"Yeah," he said as he took his seat on the table. "I promised myself I would buy myself one when I came back from the war."

"Then why didn't you get one Red?"

"I ended up with two mouths to feed," he said glaring.

"And then it became three." Hyde said with a smirk.

"Well I'm a giver son. All I do is give, even to an orphan like you." He said smirking back.

"Dad Hyde's not an orphan," Eric said before smirking along with them. "His mom just abandoned him. Clear difference."

"Stop it all of you. This is not proper breakfast talk!"

Eric couldn't help the swell of happiness at the familiar conversation. Having breakfast with his family was such a simple yet fulfilling time. He almost wanted it to continue even after they had all finished their meal.

Jackie cooed happily at the little girl in her arms as little Betsy Kelso counted off to show off her new profound counting skills. She still had some trouble counting past twenty but for a five year old it was pretty impressive, especially since her last name was Kelso.

"I can do my ABC's too Aunt Jackie!"

Jackie smiled brightly at the little girl and spoke with wide eyes, "Wow did your mommy teach you already?"

"No my daddy did!" Jackie turned to Brooke and mouthed 'really' which caused the mom to nod.

"Betsy baby why don't you go draw your Aunt Jackie a picture while we drink some tea."

The little scrunched her face at the mention of tea. She had it before but she preferred apple juice over it. She didn't know why her mommy liked it so much but drawing sounded like a fun idea.

"Can I use markers?"

"Do you promise not to draw on the walls?" Brooke said with narrowed eyes knowing how her daughter's mind worked.

"God mommy you're no fun!"

"Elizabeth Victoria Kelso do not use that kind of language!"

"Why," the little girl asked tilting her head cutely in a way only a child could. "Daddy says that to you all the time."

Jackie giggled at the pair. Having a Michael as a father and Brooke as a mother must be a confusing ordeal for the child.

"Don't question me young lady."

The little girl just pouted and took off.

"I swear I can't leave Michael alone with that child. One second he's teaching her how to count and I look away for a moment and they're both covered in peanut butter."

"Peanut butter?" Jackie asked with an amused look. "Do I even want to know?"

Brooke shook her head exasperated. "So what was it that you needed to talk to me about that you had to call me in the middle of the night?"

"Did Michael like the lingerie I helped pick out for you?" Jackie bit her lip trying to hold off on the conversation for at least a moment.

Brooke would have none of that though, "Yes he liked it and if you had stayed on the phone you would have known just how much he liked it." She laughed seeing the disgusted looked on the younger girls face. "Now stop trying to dodge the question. You were the one that wanted to talk, now spill."

"Fine," she sighed dramatically before speaking. "Well you know how I've kept in contact with Eric Forman."

"Yeah there was never a day when you didn't at least bring up that name."

"I didn't talk about him that much," Jackie said sounding scandalous. "His travels just sounded more exciting than telling you about how we ran out of onions or how rude a customer was. It was just better conversation."

"Uh-huh," Brooke said none too convinced. "Well what about this Eric Forman?"

"Well he's back in Point Place now and we've been hanging out a lot."

"That actually makes sense," Brooke looked at her like a piece of puzzle that finally lined up. "I've only heard from you a few times in the past few weeks. I actually thought you found yourself a boyfriend or something."

"Eric is not my boyfriend!"

"I didn't say he was," Brooke said with narrowed eyes. Jackie gulped at the look she was getting from the other woman. "Did I tell you that Eric's coming over later?"

"What!?"

Brooke smiled at the reaction, "Yeah he called late last night— thankfully after we were done doing it— and Michael invited him over for dinner."

"Brooke what time is it?"

She looked over to the clock hanging on the wall and smiled teasingly at the younger girl. "It's a quarter past five so Michael should be coming home soon with some pies. I think Eric's supposed to be here around 5:30."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner!"

"Is there something I should know Jackie?"

The girl flushed prettily and fidgeted in her seat. "I-well I might find Eric a little attractive."

Brooke gasped and squealed at the proclamation having not had many girl talks like this with Jackie in the spotlight. "Oh my gosh like how attractive?"

"As in Indiana Jones lasso me up attractive." Brooke squealed even more causing Jackie to quickly follow up. "But that has nothing to do with anything! Eric is just my friend, a very handsome and charming friend but still, just a friend."

"Oh Jackie you don't have to be nervous because you're attracted to Eric."

"That's not it," she said frowning. "I don't feel nervous around Eric. I mean I was at first because I hadn't seen him in so long but he made me feel so relaxed I actually felt stupid for the anxiety. It's been great hanging out with him it's like having something to look forward to every day."

"Oh honey," Brooke said smiling at the girl so clearly in denial yet she never once denied her attractions for him. "Then what's the problem? It sounds like you two are getting along great."

"I thought so too but last time I invited him over he practically avoided me and ran when he had the chance."

Seeing the girl look so distraught Brooke closed in and wrapped the girl in a hug. She always suspected that the girl had a bit of a crush on him from the way she would always bring up his letters but now it was clear to her that Jackie had some feelings for Eric but wasn't ready to admit it as something more than just physical interest. She knew how much the girls past relationships had hurt her and was having a tough time admitting that she was ready to take another step in moving on.

Brooke wanted to support her friend's growth but at the same time she didn't really know Eric Forman all that well. She vaguely remembered the gangly teen from the past but the spatter and stories Jackie had told her of him seemed like that of a whole new person. She would support her friend to a degree but if she found him unworthy then she would not hesitate to take action.

"I'm sure it was nothing big Jackie," Brooke rubbed the girl's back soothingly.

"Honey I'm home!" A voice called out cheerfully. "And I've brought pizza!"

A yell of 'daddy' was heard as Michael Kelso appeared carrying Betsy in one arm and a couple boxes of pizza in the other.

"Oh group hug?" He said with a big smile putting the pizza on the table and joining the two girls. "Come here you guys!"

Jackie laughed as she was swallowed up by the Kelso family in a sea of arms and faces. She loved her friends, her family, and having them surround her like this was what made her life so great.

He knew he had made an impulse buy but goddamn was his father right. The Corvette was an absolutely gorgeous car. It was smaller than what he was used to driving since it was a two door vehicle but god did it make him feel like a badass.

It was black with leather interiors and could go from zero to sixty in less than ten seconds! One test drive in and he had already fallen in love. There was nothing that was going to keep him from buying it.

Eric was quick to sign the dotted line and became the proud owner of a Corvette. He still had the Pinto with him so he allowed his dad to drive the Corvette first, knowing it was his dream car, and had him followed him to drop off Greta's car at the store. His dad actually grinned ear to ear and practically ran to get in the vehicle.

Now it seemed like the bet with the old woman was a waste since he wouldn't need the car anymore. Oh well at least he would be getting out of cleaning duty for a week.

That was a couple of hours ago though. Now he was on his way to the Kelso household to see his best friend. He pulled into the drive way of a quaint little house and noticed that Kelso had the exact same car as Jackie, same make and color as well. He honked his horn twice wanting to show off his new car to his friend.

Moments later the front door swung open and Kelso's pretty-man face appeared with that big goofy grin and rushed him with a tackling hug. He felt the air get knocked out of him but laughter mixed with gasps of air as he hugged back just as tightly.

"Damn Eric! You're finally back man! You don't look so small anymore."

He couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's exuberance. "Kelso Jesus you still look the same."

"Yeah well being pretty has its advantages you know." His eyes went wide once he caught a glimpse of the Corvette. "Is this your car?"

"Yeah I just bought her today."

"Bitchin'," he said breathless. "This so beats the Vista Cruiser!"

"Tell me about it," he said laughing at how easy it was to fall back like old times.

"Anyways come inside I bought pizza and Jackie's in there with Brooke and Betsy!"

Eric paused in mid step while Kelso just kept going. "Jackie? As in Jackie Burkhart?"

"Yeah she and Brooke were having girly talks so she's staying for dinner as well. Man it's great to have you back! Wait until I tell Fez about your car."

Eric gulped audibly. This was not how he planned on getting Jackie out of his mind. He calmed himself as they entered the house.

It's not a big deal Forman you've been with Jackie plenty of times. She's just a friend and you have nothing to be worried about. Just act natural and this day will end just as well as the day's been going.

He couldn't continue his little self pep talk though because his eyes became draw to her. His green pair locked with her mismatched eyes and he felt a rush gurgle in his stomach.

"Hi."

"Hi."

AN: Again a little cliffy... damn I don't know why I keep doing this to y'all...