Author Note: ….learning a little something new everyday….

T7S

Chapter 25 – Jack in the Box

T7S

Eric was lying on the lumpy sofa listening to the tick tick tick of the clock. Pawn was sleeping his feet making those little puppy snores in the blackness of the living room. Intermittently, the dog would whimper and "woof" in his sleep or his little paws would move like he was running in a dream. Oh…to be a dog.

Eric must have dozed a little when he felt a soft kiss on his lips. He smiled. Warm puffs of breath were moist against his cheek. "Jackie…" He murmured. His ear was nuzzled and it tickled. "Cut it out." He chuckled.

A wet tongue slurped over his nose and Eric's eyes flew open when he realized he was almost tongue kissed by the dog! He sat up and Pawn started barking. Eric stood up and ran to Jackie's bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Sleepily, she said, "Eric, what are you doing?"

"Your dog tried to french me." He said wiping his mouth.

She laughed softly. "He likes you. Come lay with me. It's too early to get up." Eric didn't need to be told twice! He crossed the room and slid in between the sheets. "No funny stuff….we're taking this slow." She reminded him.

Eric wrapped his arm over her waist and replied, "Whatever you say dear." Then promptly fell asleep.

T7S

Eric was still half asleep when he heard the shower running. The bed was softer than he remembered and he wondered if his mom bought a new mattress. He turned his face into the down filled pillow and breathed in the scent of lilacs. Wait a sec. This wasn't his bed or his pillow! He was in Jackie's bed! Hot damn, it wasn't a dream. Eric could hear her in the shower, the water splashing against the tile and he could only imagine all that skin and soft curves covered in foamy soap. She would probably be shampooing her beautiful hair with the rinse water swirling at her perfectly pedicured feet. Damn, when did he become such a horn dog…or had the relationship with Donna been something like a libido killer?

The bathroom door opened with a rush of hot moist air and Jackie's flushed face was smiling. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and she had a terry cloth bathrobe tied at her waist. "Good morning." She said cheerfully. "Do you drink coffee?"

Eric propped himself up on his elbows. "I do now." He replied with a smile that made her blush. "I'm just going to take a quick shower. Towels?"

She pulled the one off her wet hair and the damp locks fell around her shoulder. Eric could smell the fresh scent of lilac again. "I'll take a fresh one thank you." He quipped.

Jackie laughed and walked to a cupboard and handed him a towel and wash cloth. "There's a razor but don't leave whiskers in my sink." Eric rubbed his stubbled chin, "I may not shave and just let this grow out."

"Oh! Have you have had a mustache before?"

"I tried once but it was kind of a wash out. What would you think about a beard?"

Jackie ran her smooth palm over his whiskered chin. "It might be nice….I'd have to kiss you to find out."

"Well then, I'm definitely not shaving!" Eric grinned and headed straight for the bathroom.

T7S

Eric had never been to a prison before. Jackie drove the Nova all the way to Milwaukee and now she was nervous. They had started the trip making jokes and small talk, but the closer they came to the city, Eric noticed she started withdrawing into herself.

"Belle." He called her by her alias and she smiled. "Turkey Club." She replied back. "What?"

"You're awfully quiet. Did you change your mind about this?"

She looked over and answered, "No. Jack Charles Burkhart had a part in bringing me into this world and I need to see if he can tell me anything that will help me remember."

"What happens if he says something you don't like?" Eric ventured to ask. Jackie squeezed his hand. "If my father says it, it must be true. I'll just have to see how I feel about it."

Eric was thinking that if everything Red Forman said was true, then he was either a dumbass or a certified ass-hat! But that was the Forman equivalent of a compliment so it would be interesting to see what a Burkhart compliment was.

"Well, I hope it's a good meeting Jackie. Really."

"I know Eric and I'm glad you're with me. Really." She turned on the blinker as they neared the freeway exit for Milwaukee and she took a deep breath. She was going to see her convict of a father….what could possibly go wrong?

-o-

The prison looked like one big cold gray cinder-block surrounded by razor wire and a guard tower. Jackie parked in a visitor slot and waited for Eric to come around to the sidewalk. He felt like someone was staring at him and it was unnerving. They signed in at the Admin office and waited while a prison guard checked them for weapons and contraband. They were cleared and escorted to a small cafeteria type room.

The on duty guard indicated that they would sit on the north side of the picnic table and there would be no physical contact between prisoners and guests. Jackie looked around at the harried housewives holding screaming babies and the grandmothers who were probably there for the grandchildren. It was a dismal place.

Eric straddled the picnic bench. "Are you ready for this? He might not look like those pictures you found in the library."

Jackie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I know. But maybe there's something in his face…maybe I look like him….just a little. I want to feel a connection that tells me he's my father."

The shout of a guard and the shuffling sounds of metal chains scraping the floor alerted the guests to the arrival of the convicts. Jack Burkhart wasn't deemed a violent criminal but still the handcuffs at his chained waist were a requirement. The ankle cuffs were spaced just enough apart that he could walk but the attached chain would not let him run.

He looked around to see who his secret guest was and Eric recognized him. Jack was nearly bald and his upper chest was buff from apparent weight lifting. He had a tattoo on his neck of a rose and yet the wrinkles on his face made him look sad.

"Mr. Burkhart." Eric said loudly. Jack turned his head at the sound of his name and vaguely recognized Red Forman's kid. He shuffled towards the picnic table just as Jackie lifted her head.

"Kitten?" He said softly. Eric looked at Jackie's expression and it was blank. Jack Burkhart slid over the bench and sat down. "Kitten, they told me you might be dead."

Jackie couldn't find anything in his face that she recognized. "I read that you're my father but I don't remember you. What kind of father were you?"

Burkhart wasn't prepared for such bluntness. Hell, he'd been told that his only child was probably dead at the bottom of a ravine and now she sat there in front of him like he was some kind of stranger. What was going on?

"Mr. Burkhart? Eric Forman. I – I'm the guy that streaked at the presidential rally….never mind that. Jackie was in a car accident and she has retrograde amnesia. There's parts of her life she can't remember. She wanted to see you…"

"I wanted to see if I remembered you." Jackie laid the library copies on the table. "I knew we were family. What happened?" Her voice was soft but commanded authority.

Burkhart ran a shacked hand over his face. "What happened….your mother is what happened. She was a greedy bit….woman. I was a successful attorney and she wanted more money than I could make. I had to get….creative to satisfy her needs."

"You don't have to defend Pamela; I don't really remember her either." Jackie informed the man who was fifty percent of her DNA. "I just want to know what happened."

Jack sighed. "I had an expensive lifestyle. Cocktail parties where I tried to impress some politicians that could further my career. Your mother only wanted the most expensive clothes and every one of your birthdays was an event. Ponies and pictures, clowns and acrobats….only the best for our little girl." He said sarcastically.

Jackie covered her mouth with her hand. "I remember opening the bedroom door and seeing a clown in bed with a woman….I think I was afraid of clowns after that!"

Jack nodded sadly. "Clowns, the pool boy…college students…you're mother wasn't particular. I wasn't enough for her and look kitten….sometimes a man resorts to desperate measures to take care of his family. Maybe it was wrong for me to bribe and embezzle and look at me, I paying for my crimes. But your mother? Where the fuck is she this in all this?"

Eric raised a finger. "We tried calling the Mexican ambassador and sent some telegrams but she never responded."

Jack looked away in disgust. "She probably found some rich sucker to leech on." There was an uncomfortable silence as Jackie searched her father's face for something familiar. "Did you have dark hair?"

"When I had hair? Yeah. Dark brown."

"Why do I have two colors of eyes?" Jackie persisted. Jack's face softened. "Your grandmamma Burkhart had the same thing. You were born with more melanin in one eye than the other. I wish you could have met her."

"Where is she?" Jackie inquired.

"She died just after you were born. Your mother hated her and burned all the family photos. I was too drunk to care."

Jackie looked at Eric, threading her fingers through his. "I have enough. Let's go."

She turned to Jack. "I thank you for your time. I still don't remember a lot about you but I'm sure that when you're not embezzling or drinking you are a fine person. I'll send you a postcard." Jackie stood up and nodded at Eric who helped her over the picnic bench.

"Kitten? Jacqueline?" Jack said softly. "What ever you think about me, remember that I'm your dad and I never stopped loving you."

Jackie smiled. "Thank you for that Jack." A loud whistle announced visiting hours were over. A gruff guard yanked on the chain around Burkhart's waist and he stumbled over the bench and shuffled back into the chain gang. Before he was ushered out of the room he looked back over his shoulder and smiled.

Jackie smiled back. She had the same smile as her father!

T7S

A/N: Thanks to Carol for the use of ass-hat!