Chapter Twelve

Jackie felt exultant and exhilarated. Exultant because she had accomplished something that many in the industry had long thought to be near elusive. Exhilrated because it had been a very long time since she'd come up against a tough negotiator like Elena.

The back and forth between the two women had been fierce and brutal, but, in the end, Jackie and Elena were finally able to come to terms on an agreement. Elena had even pulled Gio out of the kitchen to get his signature on the document as well to make the momentous event even more significant.

It was mid-afternoon when she finally left the restaurant and took a cab back to the apartment. Not too sure what time Eric was returning from Point Place, Jackie found herself nervous about seeing Red and Kitty again. While she knew she shouldn't be, Jackie also knew that the feelings and the emotional connection that she and Eric had developed for one another could cause a few issues.

Having always been Red's favorite out of the circle of friends, Jackie knew that Kitty would be the one to win over. Though she got along with Eric's mother, Jackie was also well aware of what the Forman matriarch had thought of her over the , she hadn't made too good an impression herself during her younger years, but she was glad that she was nowhere near as bad as what her parents had been and still were. Her mother Pamela was still somewhere south of the border, trying to use what was left of her fading looks to ensnare righ men to live off of. Her father Jack, after completing his jail sentence for the crimes he'd committed while in office, had died not long after after being released. While fully rehabilitated, the years in prison had taken a toll on his health. While making amends to those he'd wronged when he'd been in politics, Jack Burkhart had suffered a major coronary a few days after he and Jackie had caught up for dinner one night.

To say that she saddened by her father's passing was putting it mildly. After he'd been laid to rest, Jackie had endeavored to complete the list that her father had started by ensuring that every person who he'd wronged while alive was compensated in some form. It had taken her a long while, but she'd eventually completed her father's list. That sense of accomplishment had spurred her onward to free herself of the past and move forward into the future.

Arriving back at the apartment, Jackie paid the driver and headed on up to the top floor. Stepping off the elevator, Jackie walked down to her apartment and let herself in. What she walked into was the last thing that she ever expected to see. It was like a painting from her dreams: Red, Eric and Michael were sitting on the couch having a beer and watching the game while talking shop while Brooke and Kitty were at the dining table having a glass of wine while talking about motherhood and other such things.

It was something that Jackie had always wanted to come home to for so many years, but she'd always thought that she was destined to never have that one thing in life; her very own unicorn. Now, as she took what she saw, Jackie felt a calming peace sweep through her as if to say that all was right with the world.

"Jackie! You're back!" Eric exclaimed. Getting up, he strode over and greeted her properly with a kiss and a warm embrace. Surprised at the unexpected display of affection, Jackie relaxed; as if this was something that they had been doing for years as a couple, not only for a few days. Red noticed Kitty's eyes go wide as she suddenly realized that there was more here going on than she had thought. A quick shake of her husband's head told her that now was not the time to start prying and to leave it for later when things were quieter.

The kiss only lasted a moment, but then Eric's kisses always left Jackie wanting more. "Hey," she said as she leaned her head on his chest and let herself be enveloped by the warmth of his arms.

Kissing the top of her head, Eric answered, "Hey back. How did the meeting go?"

Eric felt Jackie grin. "I signed the deal," she told him quietly. "When I go back to work on Monday, I'll have an advantage over everyone else and be one step closer to my goal."

'I assume that you're going to make the announcement tonight at dinner?"

Jackie nodded. "Elena even promised to drag Gio out of the kitchen for it like she did to get him to sign his name on the agreement." Eric tried not laugh. Gio had never been one for getting involved in the mundane side of the business. As he'd once told Eric, his business was the kitchen and that's all there was to it. For Elena to interfere with the natural order obviously meant that this was going to have a major impact on the business going forward.

"I'd better let you go and say hello before your mother starts asking questions that we don't have the answers to yet." Kissing the top of her head, Eric released her from his arms. Jackie walked over and greeted Red with a kiss on the cheek and a hug for her adopted father. She then went over to Kitty and gave her adopted mother a kiss on the cheek and a hug as well before going into the bedroom to change.

Rejoining his father and Kelso, Eric could feel his mother's glare on the back of his head. "Do you think Mom will forgive me for not telling her sooner about my plans?" he asked his father quietly.

Red smiled. "Son, your mother is a very complicated woman, but when it comes to all her children, the only thing that she has in her heart for you all is love, kindness and forgiveness. She may get upset with you for not telling her, but she will understand."

When Jackie emerged from the bedroom twenty minutes later, she found the guys still watching the game. Walking into the kitchen, Jackie grabbed a wine glass and sat down next to the woman who was potentially her future mother-in-law. Pouring a glass for herself, Brooke and Kitty, Jackie joined in the conversation that they had been having.

Forty minutes would pass before Eric looked at the time on his watch. "Alright, folks," he told everyone, "Let's get everything together, shall we, and make a move." While Kitty helped Red, everyone got their gear together and headed out the door. Making sure that his parents kept up with everyone else, as they all got onto the elevator, Jackie quietly whispered to Eric, "Hey, how are we going to get to the restaurant? We can't all fit in the Mustang." Eric said nothing as he leaned over, placed a soft kiss on Jackie's forehead and smiled. It was a night for surprises and he had no intention of spoiling anything at all.

Walking out of the lobby, the group was greeted to the sight of a stretch Rolls-Royce limousine waiting for them. Catching sight of Eric at the back, the driver stepped forward. 'Mr Forman?" Eric nodded. "Sir, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Monroe and I'll be your driver this evening." Opening the back passenger door, he continued, "If everyone would like to get in, we'll begin this evening's journey."

Stepping into the spacious and luxurious vehicle, nearly everyone was stunned by the sheer opulence that greeted them: the leather interior and seats, the Persian carpeting, the fully stocked mini-bar and all the other bells and whistles that made the vehicle one of the most unbelievable that they had ever seen. In fact, the story that would be told later was that, if they hadn't seen with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed such a vehicle existed either.

As he was the last one to get in, Eric shut the door behind and sat down next to Jackie. Smiling when he saw that Red and Kelso had already sorted things out by making sure everyone already had a drink in hand, Eric called out, "Monroe?"

"Yes, Mr Foreman?"

"Let's get going, please."

"Of course, Mr Foreman." The engine starting with a purr, the enormous vehicle pulled out of the parking lot and began its journey. Once they were on the main road leading into Kenosha, Eric made himself a drink, sat back and relaxed while Jackie snuggled into him while holding a glass of champagne.

Red once again warned Kitty off with a slight shake of his head, noticing his wife's eyes going wide as the itch to start asking questions bit at her once more. Very perceptive as always Brooke chose that moment to break the growing tension. "So, Eric," she asked, "what's with all the glitz and glamour this evening? I thought this was just about family and friends coming together again after so long apart."

"And that's part of what this is, Brooke." Eric smiled as he drank a mouthful of scotch. "I've spent the last five years of my life writing and traveling. Going places and seeing the world while I create stories for all to enjoy. But, now, it's time to relax and enjoy some of the fruits of my labor. After seeing my bank balance recently, I think I can afford to pay for a limousine and a two night stay in a five star hotel for all of us."

The silence was so deafening that you could have heard a pin drop and listen to it bounce several times over. Even Kelso was shocked. After another moment, Brooke was able to clear the fog from her brain and asked, "A five star hotel? Which one?"

"The Hilton." Everyone's eyes widened. The Hilton was the latest hotel to be built in Kenosha, part of the ever growing family-owned chain. Critically acclaimed the world over, it was a first class establishment where only the elite stayed. An elite that Eric was now apparently now a part of.

"Well," Red said, breaking the spell, "if my son wants to pay for us to all to enjoy dinner and spend a couple of nights in a fancy hotel, I say let him." The rest of the group echoed the same sentiment, Eric grinning as he watched everyone visibly relax. Red's approval wasn't easy to come by and the fact that he had spoken up in his son's defense told Jackie that their relationship had improved a lot since since the last time that she'd seen them together.

Once they were on the road, everyone settled in and began to fully enjoy the comforts being provided. On their way to their destination, the limousine made one detour. Jackie and Eric smiled at one another while the rest of the group wondered what was happening. Whispering in Eric's ear, he nodded to her before she proceeded to open the sunroof and stand up through it.

"My goodness!" a familiar voice exclaimed. Red felt his chest tighten at the sound of the man who gave him a heart attack all those years ago when he married his daughter, Laurie. Kitty smiled in sympathy as she squeezed her husband's hand for support.

Jackie climbed back into the limousine and opened the door for Fez and his wife Rhonda. "Fez!" Kelso exclaimed, always happy to see his partner in crime.

"Kelso!" The two men hugged each other as if they were long lost brothers finding each other for the first time. Jackie and Brooke giggled at the sight while Eric grinned and received a kiss and a thank you from Rhonda for being invited to join in the evening's festivities. After being growled at by Red to stop being a couple of dumbasses or each receive a foot in the ass, Kelso and Fez sat down next their wives with massive grins on their faces.

Once Fez and Rhonda were settled in with drinks in their hands, Eric called out, "Monroe, let's keep moving forward."

When the limousine finally arrived at the restaurant, the first thing that they all noticed was the huge line of people waiting to go in. Seeing the worried look on his mother's face, Eric told her, "Don't worry, mom. Everything's all sorted." Once they'd come to a complete stop, Monroe left the driver's seat and made his way to the passenger door closest to him. Opening it, Kelso, Brooke, Fez and Rhonda stepped out, not realizing or ready for what they were stepping out into.

By the time Kitty, Red, Jackie and Eric joined them, none of the rest of the group had any idea as to what was going on except for Eric and Jackie: Eric because of his experiences in New York Los Angeles and all the other places where he had attended conventions over the last five years and Jackie because her work.

"Honey, what's happening? Why is there so many people taking photos?" Kitty asked her son as she started to become nervous and unsure.

"One of the joys of being a celebrity, mom," Eric answered as he waved to his fans. "It doesn't matter who it is, but if there's a chance to meet them, they'll jump at the opportunity." Seeing a few fans with books in hand, Eric grinned as he took out a pen and wandered over with a pen in hand. He also took Jackie over with him, his hand in hers as he went to greet his followers.

This moment did not go unnoticed by anyone. Paparazzi shouted questions and snapped shots of them and everyone else while fans suddenly began clamoring to know exactly who Jackie was. While his family and friends posed for the cameras, Eric signed a number of books and he and Jackie posed for numerous photos with fans.

Eventually, after several minutes, it reached a point where the others had gone into the restaurant and Eric and Jackie remained. Realizing this, Jackie tapped Eric on the shoulder and whispered, "We'd better head in before things start to go sideways."

Eric nodded, signing one last autograph before telling the fans that he had to go. While many were disappointed, others were just happy that they had gotten to meet him in the first place. As they made their way into the restaurant, a local reporter managed to make her way past the police presence with a cameraman in tow.

"Excuse me, Mr Forman? Debra Wyatt for WISN Channel 12 News," she said, microphone in hand. "Mr Forman, being a world famous author and a son of Wisconsin, how does it feel to be home after so long away?"

Smiling, Eric stopped and turned to face the reporter and the camera. "It always feels great to come back home to see friends and family," Eric told the reporter, "and I'm just as happy to see fans wherever I go. Knowing that my books are being read by someone who enjoys them is a real pleasure."

"So tonight is just a just an evening out with family and friends then?"

Eric nodded. "And with my girlfriend." Jackie's face kept the smile on, but inside her heart thundered a mile a second. 'Girlfriend?' She thought. 'What the hell, Eric?! We haven't even got to talking about that yet!'

'"Now, if you'll excuse me, we're off join the rest of our party and I think the police are about to have a word with you," Eric told the reporter, pointing behind her. "Enjoy the rest of your evening." As they left, Jackie marveled at how deftly he had handled the reporter and how nice he was to her when ending the impromptu interview, but they were still going to have words over him telling the reporter and all of Wisconsin that she was his girlfriend. Men! Grr!

Entering the restaurant, the couple found Elena waiting there to greet them. "Eric, Jackie, I am so sorry about all this," she apologized, clearly distraught.

Eric kissed Elena's cheek. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "Just think of it as free publicity and as long as the police are there to handle crowd control, everything else should be okay."

Turning her attention to Jackie, Elena hugged the tiny brunette, who hugged her back. "Come," she told them, kissing Jackie on both cheeks before letting go. "Gio is already serving up the food. Eric, your father is already anxious to dig in and your mother is fretting that you're not going to make it in. Jackie, your friends are starting to feel overwhelmed and could use some support."

The couple grinned as Jackie said, "I'll sort them out, Elena. They're just not used to paparazzi the way that Eric and I are."

As they started making their way over, Eric said with a grin, "Besides, you should be more concerned with cleaning up all the blood from Jackie murdering me for calling her my girlfriend on live television." Jackie could only give Eric a dirty look, the knowledge that he'd purposely done it leaving her unsure if it was serious or a major burn, as he entered the private dining room laughing with Elena following in behind them with a stunned look on her face.

Dinner was a success. Gio greeted everyone he knew and didn't know with his usual bombastic nature. Once Eric had made all the introductions necessary, everyone took their seats and listened to Gio give a more simplified speech about the dishes and how it had all been inspired by Jackie.

The next four hours were a memory that Eric would treasure forever. It had taken him twelve months, but he was on his way to bringing back together everyone who mattered in his life. That even included his sister Laurie. A private investigator was currently in the process of tracking down his wayward sibling, but it was his hope that he would be able to bring Laurie home soon, hopefully in time for either Red or Kitty's birthday or some event where he could surprise them.

As Eric continued to muse away, his thoughts were interrupted by Brooke sitting down next to him and laying her head on his shoulder. "So, how was dinner?" he asked with a relaxed smile on his face.

Brooke closed her eyes, opened them again and patted Eric's chest. "You're a good man, Eric. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."

"Thanks, Brooke, I appreciate it." Looking over at the tiny brunette who had captured his heart, Eric sighed. "That being said, Jackie may kill me when we get to the hotel and into our rooms."

"Huh? Why? What did you do?" Brooke didn't know what could've changed in the time between arriving at the restaurant and them sitting down for dinner, but whatever it was, she was sure it could be worked out.

A very wry smile appeared on Eric's face. "As we were about to come in, a reporter managed to get past the police presence with a cameraman in tow and put a microphone in my face. During the two minutes that she had to interview me, I believe that the last thing I said before signing off and heading inside was to refer to Jackie as my girlfriend."

Instead of giggling, as much as she wanted to as she knew how pissed off Jackie would be with Eric for doing such a thing without discussing it with her, Brooke instinctively also knew that Eric having called Jackie his girlfriend was a huge moment for the pair and she wanted to encourage the momentum as much as possible. "And is that how you see her?"

Eric nodded. "Did you know that we've been talking on a weekly basis for the last six months?" Brooke was completely caught off-guard. Jackie had mentioned running into Eric at the convention six months ago, but never had a word been said about them speaking to one another on a regular basis. "We've also managed to catch up at two other conventions when our schedules happened to coincide. But, it wasn't until we shared that midnight kiss on New Year's Eve at my parents' house that I finally realized that Jackie was the One that I've been looking for all my life. I just hope that what I said hasn't scared her away."

Staring at her husband's best friend for a moment, Brooke leaned over and gently kissed Eric on the cheek as she hugged him and whispered in his ear, "It will all work out in the end. Just be good to her, no matter what." Eric smiled and nodded. It was then at that moment that he noticed that the evening was beginning to wind up and that he and Jackie still had announcements to make.

"Hey, before we wrap things up here," Eric called, "I just want to say something." Everyone's attention focused on Eric. "First off, I want to say thank you to everyone for coming out tonight. It's been some time since we've all gotten together and, while it's been a long road to get to here, I, for one, am glad that everyone that I wanted to be here, could be here. But, with the night coming to an end, there are a couple of announcements that need to be made. Jackie, did you want to start?"

Slightly startled, Jackie shook her head clear. "Thanks, Eric," she said, gathering her thoughts. Pausing for a moment, she finally spoke, "So, as some of you know, I've been working in the events game for some time now and have been planning on making a move toward owning my own business. That goal moved one step closer to reality as of today when Elena, Gio and I, after a very spirited meeting between Elena and myself, signed an exclusive agreement this afternoon."

Eric grinned as everyone congratulated Jackie on her achievement. Hugs and kisses went around, glasses were raised and toasts were made celebrating the accomplishment. Eric simply hugged the tiny woman and pressed a kiss to her forehead as she settled into his embrace. After the celebrations had died down, Eric saw the looks of joy on everyone's faces and decided that it was time to share his news.

"So, now that Jackie's shared her news, I guess that it's now time to share mine." All eyes turned once more to Eric. "The last five years of my life have been nothing like I ever imagined they would be. Places that I went, people that I met; it was a discovery of the first order that I would not trade for anything in the world."

"But, if my time away has taught me anything, it's that home is where the heart is. The last twelve months have opened my my eyes to the fact that something has been missing from my life, something I didn't even realize was gone. That's why, when I return from my research trip in six weeks time, I'll be moving permanently back to Wisconsin."

With the exception of Red, Gio and Elena, there was a stunned look on everyone in the room and a deafening silence that you could could've heard a pin drop on the floor several times over. The spell was broken when Kitty suddenly screamed, "My baby boy's coming home!"

Jackie smiled and Eric grinned as everyone celebrated the news. Jackie smiled closed her eyes and rested her head on Eric's chest. As Eric wrapped his arms around her, the tiny brunette felt something that she hadn't felt in a very long time: peace.