Author Note: This was longer than usual but I wanted to give it the fun and gaiety it fully deserved.

Chapter 14 – Holi-Daze

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Harold and Cindy Betz were tangled like soft pretzels in the overstuffed chair as they shared a pair of headphones. Nadine and Doug were dancing to some Frank Sinatra Holiday soundtrack while Eric and Jackie were perched on chairs at the bar. She was swirling a baby carrot in the ranch dressing and Eric found that to be fascinating. But even more intriguing was the fact that all this time Laurie Forman had been in town and no one knew but Jackie.

"….and so the last time I saw her, they were both sleeping in a storage locker. Michael was in a bad way and I tried to help him but…..your sister was always leading him by the nose." Realizing what she inferred, Jackie was quick to explain, "I mean Laurie always had some kind of dope on her that he wanted and he'd fall back on his recovery."

Eric was trying to think of the last time he saw his sister and would he even recognize her today? The idea that she was sleeping in a storage locker was horrible when the old Forman house was empty and she could find safety there. Jackie touched Eric's arm. "I know what you're thinking and don't. Both Michael and your sister will take all your belongings and hawk them at some pawn shop."

Eric realized then, that Jackie didn't know there was no Forman family in Point Place. Could he trust her? Was she really telling the truth about Laurie? And then again, what did she have to gain by making this up. Man, she had a beautiful face.

"So…tomorrow?" Jackie asked a second time.

"What?" he asked, unaware that she had been speaking. Jackie sighed slowly, "Tomorrow. Saturday. You'll go with me to find Michael?"

"And my sister?" Eric tentatively agreed.

Jackie shrugged, "If they are together…sure…but Laurie is pretty resourceful so they might be split up. Let's try anyway okay?"

Eric liked the idea of finding his sister because it might help his mom remember…..but it could also possibly make her worse. Perhaps the best part was that he would be spending the day with a beautiful lady. Holding out his hand, Jackie shook his to confirm the agreement. A field trip to find an old friend and a runaway sister was better than the original Saturday he had planned anyways.

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By the time the ham was picked over and the punch bowl was nearly dry, it was evident that Cindy Betz had finally found her soul mate in Harold. She was wrapped around him like an egg roll wrapper. Eric breathed a sigh of relief. Jackie's friend Nadine was having a lively conversation with Doug the custodian and Taylor was nowhere to be seen.

Jackie looked around and couldn't see Lydia. She turned to Eric, "You don't think they're out freezing on the walkway….do you?"

Eric didn't know. "Let's have a look…shall we?" Jackie reached for her soft cape only to find that Eric was already holding it and she merely had to slip her arms inside. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Eric pulled on a worn suede jacket over his blazer and ushered his favorite guest to the door. "It might be a good idea to split up, but it's cold and I don't want to lose you in the snow."

Jackie smiled and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, "I'm not getting lost, so don't worry."

Eric grabbed the door knob and twisted when suddenly two flailing bodies fell into the living room. Lydia was trying to pull her skirt down with one hand, smoothing her tangled hair with the other, while Taylor was buttoning his shirt as he adjusted his belt. With a hang dog face he muttered, "Awww shit…okay… you caught us…. but seriously Forman, you need a make out closet in here or something!"

Jackie smiled behind the back of her hand and Lydia wiped the snowflakes from her flushed cheeks. "We were…..talking!" Lydia tried to cover up what they were really doing, but Jackie and Eric just laughed. He smacked Taylor on the back and replied, "Dude, seriously? Don't you remember I have that peeping Tom on the third floor? You probably gave him the best show in months!"

Lydia and Jackie both uttered a collective, "Ewww!" But Lydia looked at Taylor and giggled. "Eric….I think I need your friend to drive me home….I may have had a little too much to drink."

Nadine piped up, "But Lyds! You're my ride!"

Jackie waved her hand, "I'll make sure you get home Nadine. Go back to your conversation. I think I need to talk to Lydia before she leaves."

Eric took the hint and pulled Taylor into the kitchen. The taller man brushed Eric's hand from his sleeve. "Hey, it's just innocent. Quit acting like an old man when you have a gorgeous brunette out there."

Eric rolled his eyes, "But you barely know Lydia and I can't have you screwing up what I have started with Jackie."

Taylor looked out over the kitchen counter to see a similar conversation occurring with Lydia and her boss. He glanced at Eric. "Man, I wouldn't be worrying about me when you have boss lady to charm. I think she likes you dude and if you don't blow it this time….it could turn into a date and hey, I'm taking cutie pie home and if it turns into coffee….or a nightcap….I'll tell you about it later."

Taylor bumped his shoulder against Eric's and went to rescue Lydia who smiled happily when she saw him walking toward her. Lydia brushed her hair back from her face and quickly hugged her friend whispering in her ear, "Jackie…this may be my true Walter….just go with it."

Jackie set her friend apart and scrutinized her with the most skeptical of looks. "Not like old Walter….right?"

Lydia grinned, "God no!" She whispered, "I might even say he's a ….Walt….Waltz right into my heart. Seriously, I'll see you Monday!" She kissed Jackie's cheek and reached for Taylor's hand. "Bye Eric Forman! This was the nicest party I've been to all year."

Jackie and Eric stood quietly and watched the two lovebirds fly down the steps and towards Taylor's truck. Eric leaned an elbow on Jackie's shoulder and commented, "They grow so fast….don't they?"

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Nadine watched the door close and sighed, "So what are we going to do now?" Cindy Betz looked over in awe because she was almost going to say the exact same thing!

Eric grinned and clapped his hands. "Okay, I have two games in mind and I'll let all of you choose."

Jackie frowned as she thought about what kinds of games you play besides Christmas Bingo. This better not suck!

Eric smiled at her and announced, "We can play the "Who Am I" card game or drunken Twister."

It was a tie. Doug, Harold and Eric wanted drunken Twister while the girls voted for "Who Am I?" After much debates about the merits of "fun" each game could be, Jackie demanded a coin toss. The girls won. Eric cleared off the coffee table and pushed it into the middle of his living room and threw some pillows on the floor. He passed around some index cards and a black marker. "So people, the object of the game is to write the name of a famous Christmas character on your card. They can be from TV or a book, don't care and it doesn't matter. You could write *The Gingerbread Man* or one of Santa's reindeer but you CANNOT put down Uncle Wheezer or something like that."

Cindy giggled while Nadine rolled her eyes. Eric continued. "When you finish, put the card face down on the coffee table and pass it to the person on your right and you take the card from the person on your left. Pick up the card and don't look at it…..Jackie please don't say 'eww' here….lick the back of it and stick it to your forehead."

Jackie contained her "Ew" factor and asked what happens after sticking the card to her head.

Harold shouted "I know this game!" He grinned and continued. "You get to ask the group yes or no questions and try to figure out what the card says. If you guess right, then we all have to take a drink. BUT….if you guess wrong, YOU have to finish your drink alone. I'm dying to see boss lady get drunk."

Eric held up his hand. "Wait. We're not boozing up this game. I have more punch."

Cindy sighed, "Well, can my punch have some liquor in it?"

Nadine waved her hand, "Me too!"

Jackie shook her head, "I'd rather stay semi-sober please."

Doug shrugged, "I just want to play. I've got some characters in my head already!"

Eric passed around the blank index cards. "Game on it is!"

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Laurie tossed a couple of sticks into the soot covered barrel. The thin beam from the flashlight was dwindling. If she didn't get this fire started, both of them would freeze. Kelso's groggy coughing was getting worse! She struck the kitchen match against the side of the box and it caught…but barely. The tired worn blonde pressed the small flame to some crumbled newspaper and prayed it would catch. As small embers burned, she softly blew at the fire to give it some oxygen since it already had the fuel.

Damn it must be about 40 degrees in the rental garage. If the pair of them hadn't found that old futon in the trash, they would have been sleeping on boxes again. Laurie rubbed her hip where she still had concrete bruises. The fire caught onto the kindling and sparked higher. She dropped the worthless flashlight and rubbed her hands over the warmth. "Kelso. Get up."

"Swamve meh awone." The sick man uttered and coughed up a handful of green phlegm.

Laurie leaned down and hooked his arm around her shoulder, "Get up and get warm."

There was heat coming from his body but Michael Kelso was shivering like he was in the North Pole. Still, as sick as he was, the flames from the trash can beckoned him with its heat.

"I brought you some soup from that old Chinese place on Broadmoor. I think it's still warm."

Kelso's head lolled over on Laurie's shoulder. "Meh neh humfry."

Laurie was alarmed but remembered she still had a purse full of cold medicine, some penicillin she swiped from that pharmacist who wanted a little nice-nice kiss and there was leftover cough medicine. Tomorrow she would take him to a clinic. Tomorrow.

She would steal a car if she had to, but she wasn't going to let Kelso die in a rental unit.

Tomorrow.

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Doug sat across from Nadine, who sat beside Jackie and was sandwiched next to Howard. Eric sat on the floor opposite Jackie with Doug on his left and Cindy next to Howard. Each player was hurriedly scribbling their Christmas themed character to pass off leftward.

The pens were capped and tossed back into the middle of the table and the cards were face down. Eric held up a finger. "Forgot to get the punch and before you think we drank it all, there's more in the fridge."

There was a collective groan from the group of five seated guests. Eric laughed to himself and grabbed a fresh pack of Solo plastic cups. The punchbowl was placed in the middle of the table as Eric sat cross-legged on the floor. "Let the games begin!"

Harold looked around the table and grinned. While he didn't know what card was on his forehead, sexy Nadine was wearing Mrs. Claus, the lovely brunette was Frosty the Snowman, cutie-pie Cindy, was Rudolph, her work friend Doug was Ebenezer Scrooge and Eric was the Grinch. This was going to be a great game. Eric looked at Harold and smiled. The Print Masters employee was wearing Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street on his forehead and Eric seriously doubted the man ever saw the movie – this was going to be a great game.

Impatient, Jackie groaned, "So start already!"

Eric closed his eyes and for a brief second was reminded of the old circle time with all his friends, only this time it was his work mates and Jackie's crew. Still…..

Howard sat up a little taller on the sofa and said "I'll go first." He looked at the rest of the group to see if there were any challengers before he began.

HAROLD

"Am I fat?"

The group looked around before answering a resounding, "Yes!" Harold frowned and asked a second question.

HAROLD

"Am I a snowman?"

Three heads shook in the negative and Eric replied, "One question at a time man. Nadine? You're next."

NADINE

"Good. Okay. Am I fat?"

The group said, "Yes." Nadine sighed sadly. Jackie sat up with bright eyes, "I better not be a fatty!

JACKIE

"Okay, my question is… am I cute?"

The group was split. Eric and Cindy said, Sort of" while Nadine and Harold said "not really "and Doug just shrugged his shoulders. Jackie sighed and looked to her left at Eric who smiled. She uttered, "I'm always cute."

ERIC

"Okay, as host of the party, I'm not even going to ask if I'm fat so my question is ….am I everyone's favorite character."

Much laughter ensued and there was a resounding "No!" from the other five players. Eric muttered, "Damn" under his breath and looked at Jackie, wondering what she wrote on the card. The blasted woman only smirked knowingly.

Doug took a deep breath and snagged a Dorito from the bowl of crumbs and chopped on the tip before his asked his question. Did he get a stupid cartoon character or some animal? How to get the answer that would make him a winner of this game.

DOUG

"I don't care if I'm fat or cute. My question is am I a cartoon?"

Eyes looked shocked that Doug asked a really legitimate question. Nadine batted her lashes in a little flirt and said, "Nope. Eric was impressed also and replied, "Good answer man but, no, you are not a cartoon. You could be….but no. Cindy? You're next."

Cindy adjusted her cone shaped boobs and giggled. Doug winked back while she fluffed her hair.

CINDY

"Am I an ornament?"

Harold replied, "Only to me darling. You are a bright shiny Christmas star." Jackie looked at Eric and feigned gagging herself. She whispered, "You have to be kidding me."

Nadine rolled her eyes, "You definitely are not an ornament and not even close. Harold…I think it's your turn next." They went around the table again with disappointing results.

HAROLD (aka Kris Kringle)

"Do I make a lot of money?

NADINE (aka Mrs. Klaus)

"Am I dead?"

JACKIE (Frosty the Snowman)

"Am I successful?

ERIC (aka The Grinch)

"Am I an angel?"

DOUG (aka Ebenezer Scrooge)

"Am I made of ice?"

CINDY (aka Rudolph)

"Are my parents dead?"

The third round was even worse than the second and the punch was only getting warmer when Eric declared everyone tied and they could look at their cards. Jackie nearly screeched when she found out she was Frosty. "I am fat and a boy? You have to be freaking kidding me!"

Harold looked at his card and declared, "Kris Kringle? Who makes this shit up? That's nobody I've heard of before!" Nadine laughed and replied, "Then you've never watched Miracle on 34th Street?"

"Hell, I don't even know where that is!" Harold declared.

Eric looked at his card and looked at Jackie who only laughed. He lifted a brow, "The Grinch? Really?" She laughed and shrugged, "It was the first thing that came to my mind. Look at me, I got Frosty the Snowman….quit complaining!"

Coats were slipped on and mittens were pulled from pockets. Scarves were wrapped securely around slim necks and folded over to protect from the snow. The party was wrapping up and Harold, Nadine and Cindy decided to take the party to a small dive bar down the street.

Doug offered to help clean up (nifty custodian that he was) but Eric waved him off. "My place, my mess but thanks for the offer."

Doug reached for his jacket and slid one arm into the sleeve. "Well, Miss Print Masters, it was very nice meeting you. Eric here, talks about you all the time." He looked over Jackie's shoulders to see Eric in a panic.

Jackie smiled. "Well it was nice to meet you Doug. Maybe Eric here will throw a New Year's Eve party…." She looked back at Eric who quickly composed himself and leaned a hip against the kitchen counter. "Maybe we can have it in a bigger apartment." She was teasing but felt like Eric knew that.

Doug smiled, "I'd like that and be sure to bring Miss Nadine, I'd like to take her out on a proper date." He shrugged into the other coat sleeve and nodded to Eric, "I'll see you after the holiday man!"

Eric grinned; he loved Christmas vacation -two glorious weeks of no work, no worries and sleeping in. "We'll get together…." He smiled at Jackie as he said this, "….maybe New Year's Eve?"

Doug shook his head, laughing quietly and let himself out of the door. Meanwhile, Jackie walked towards her coat and purse. "Are you going to walk me to my car or make me suffer those slippery steps you got out there?"

He smirked and touched her starched collar. "Did I tell you that you looked very pretty tonight?"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and replied, "Eric, I look pretty EVERY night…you just got to see me in a party outfit."

Eric looked a little too long at those slim legs in red high heels and murmured, "You are absolutely correct."

Jackie tipped his chin, "My eyes are up here."

Laughing, he wrapped his hand around her fingers, "I know. I'm a guy and we like to look. So sue me." He took a deep breath and blew out slowly while his heart thudded. Were the flirting?

She held up her coat. "Are you going to help me with this or do I have to do it myself?" Jackie turned around and lifted locks of brunette hair, while Eric's fingers brushed lightly along the nape of her neck as he set the coat on her shoulders. There was that annoying buzz of electricity again but she liked it.

Turning, Jackie picked up her purse and bent her head towards the door. Eric was daydreaming again. "Oh….OH! Yeah, I'm… walking you to your car." Damn, she was gorgeous!

He quickly opened the door and a small flurry of snow blew in melting before it reached the floor. Jackie held her coat tighter and stepped out into the weather with Eric right behind her. He caught her elbow with his hand and was careful to make sure she didn't slip in those dangerously tall red heels. Thirteen steps later, they were beside the mailboxes and he didn't want to let go.

"My car…..it's right there." She said through chattering teeth.

Eric was shivering. In his haste to do this one good deed, he had forgotten to put on something warmer. Jackie unlocked her passenger door and tossed her purse onto the passenger seat.

She turned her head and smiled as she let her fingertips touch his cheek. "Actually, this was a great party and I want to thank you inviting me….and my friends. They had great time and we'll probably be talking about this for a few days." Eric's heart leapt at the compliment from his old nemesis and felt like a lucky man.

She rose on tip toes and gently kissed his shivering cheek. "Don't forget about tomorrow!"

Eric's mind went blank. Tomorrow? What was tomorrow? He rubbed his hands vigorously over his arms. "I didn't forget."

Jackie skipped around to the driver's side of her car. "Eric Forman. You are an awful liar!" She laughed. "I'll see you in the morning!"

Just knowing that his "Thank You" Christmas party was appreciated, especially by Jackie, warmed him. Eric willingly watched her taillights fading in the snow and he would have waited until he turned into an ice cube just for a chance at another chance..

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