Eric's heart belonged in the heart of NYC, giving as much of it as he could to the half-filled hearts of the homeless orphans. It did his own heart good to serve as a role model and a father figure to the children who did not have one. When he was with the orphans, he felt as he did when he was with Tommy, and to him, that was one of the greatest feelings in the world.
In the day, he stayed with them, helping them through their schoolwork and being a playmate to them during their free time. Not a day passed in which they didn't beg Eric to push them as high as they could go, or asking them to tell him another of his crazy stories from growing up in Philadelphia as they sat snuggled underneath their bedcovers at night.
"Eric!" came the sweet, high-pitched voice of a young boy as Eric pulled the bedsheets over him. "Tell the story again of when you and that friend dressed up as a girl!"
"No, tell us another story about crazy teacher-Feeny!" another would beg.
Feeny was not only an object of laughter to the children, however. Much of what he learned from Mr. Feeny, Eric applied to the children, encouraging them when an interview with a family hadn't ended how they had hoped it would, or when they're feeling especially sad one day after after thinking that they'll never be adopted into a family.
"You know," Eric would say, plopping a tearful child into his lap. "A wise teacher of mine once said, 'You don't have to be blood to be family.' So, just because you're not with your blood family anymore, doesn't mean that you don't already have a number of people who love you. We are a family, because even though we don't share the same blood, we all love each other like we do."
Eric was at home with all the children there, and everyone who knew him could safely say that the children felt like they had a home when they were with him as well.
On the evening in which Jack and Rachel were supposed to arrive, Eric was busy pinning a pile of screeching children on the ground, tickling them as they choked out pleads for mercy in between their laughs.
"Eric-Eric, stop! Stop it!" one managed to say, trying to catch his breath as he laughed continuously and squirm away from Eric's dangerous fingers.
Eric only continued to laugh tauntingly, his fingers flying across every ticklish part of the children's bodies as he watched their faces scrunch up and turn to a shade of flushed red. "I've finally got you right where I want you! No amount of begging will change my mind now! Mwuahahaha!"
He almost didn't hear the ringing of the phone in the midst of the squealing laughter, but he was able to catch the last few rings before they ended.
"Whoa, hold on, guys." Eric said, standing up and leaving the breathless group of children to finally take a breath. "I'm getting' a phone call, but don't move-I'm not done torturing you yet."
Eric sinisterly glared over his shoulder with a silly grin on his face as he headed for the phone, laughing as he turned away and heard the kids scattering and screaming.
Picking up the phone, Eric cleared his throat and answered, "Y'ello?"
"Hey, Eric." Cory's voice came from the other line. "We're getting ready to leave to come pick you up, okay?"
"Yeah, alright." Eric said. "Hey, what time are Jack and Rachel coming in again? I need to see if I can get someone to come in earlier tonight and watch the kids so I can spend more time with you guys. It's a Friday, though, so I'm gonna have to leave a little earlier to come back here."
Most nights, Eric went back to his apartment when it was time to sleep, but on the weekends, he slept over with the kids, making sure to treat them with lots of movies and popcorn.
"Alright. We'll be over in about 10 minutes, so make sure you're ready by then."
"Okay, gotcha. Bye."
Hanging up, Eric turned back to the kids, who were busy trying to hide themselves from him. They were doing so pretty unsuccessfully, however, as giggles came from beneath beds and visible heads were quickly withdrawn behind couches and chairs.
"Hey, where did you guys go?" Eric said, pretending that their amateur and unpolished hiding techniques were invisible. "I was just over there for a second and-this is ridiculous!"
Continuing to pretend to search around the room for them, Eric bent down and began to quickly crawl across the floor, continuing uncontained-and rather noticeable-giggles from the children.
"Huh! I'm starting to get worried!" Eric said, sitting up on his knees like a squirrel as he peered over the sofas and beds. "I think I'll have to call the police and report them missing if I can't find them soon!"
This definitely made the children laugh. This time, however, Eric didn't pretend that they were unheard; pouncing onto his feet, he leapt onto the couch and leaned over the top of it, causing those hiding behind it to scream and slide across the hardwood floors while trying to escape.
"Ahhhh!" Eric yelled, chasing them and snatching an unfortunately slow crawler, lifting him up high and shaking him, causing his screams and giggles to vibrate in a humourous manner.
Eric slammed him onto the soft cushions of the couch, tickling him as his legs kicked violently and his hands tried to pry Eric's off of his stomach.
"Alright, guys." Eric said, finally showing mercy to the kid and plopping down beside him. "Seriously, though, I have to leave for a few hours now. My friends that I've told you silly stories about are coming, and I want to hang with them for a few hours tonight."
"Awe!" came to unison wails from the children.
"Will you be back to sleep with us tonight?" one asked in an innocent tone.
"You bet I will!" Eric said. "I wouldn't miss movie and popcorn night for the world!"
This brought many smiles from the kids; Friday night was as much their favorite night of the week as it was Eric's.
"Alright, get on off to the dining hall, they're probably about to serve dinner by now." Eric said, glancing at his watch and shooing them off.
As they all raced each other out of the room, Eric headed his bed in the midst of all the children's beds, grabbing his stuff and beginning to make his way outside. Just as he reached the lobby of the building, however, he spotted a young woman sitting in a chair a few paces away.
She was cradling a baby carrier in her lap, rocking it slightly as she worriedly peered inside it, most likely trying to calm the cries of the baby strapped in it. By taking one look at her face, Eric could tell a lot about this woman; while she looked very young, her eyes were anxious and weary, like she had experienced years of hurt and struggle. She would not stop shushing the baby and seemed upset by the fact that her attempts to quiet her were unsuccessful, which gave Eric a hunch that she was most likely dealing with her first child.
Her blonde hair was messily resting on her shoulders, which were slouched forward, and her clothes-tattered jeans and a shirt that had obviously been used to do dirty work in the past-showed that she was probably struggling to provide for her family.
As much as Eric hated to realize it, it seemed he was about to deal with a woman who was considering putting her child up for adoption.
As soon as Eric began to approach her, she glanced up and painfully smiled. "Hi."
"Hi." Eric replied, smiling back as kindly as he could. "Can I help you?"
The woman seemed to be hesitant, diverting her attention back to the fussy baby before forcing herself to look up and respond. "Yes, you can. I'm-I'm considering putting my daughter up for adoption. Who would I address for that?"
"That would be me, actually." Eric said, sitting next to her and straining his head to get a glance of the baby.
Though her cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes were red and puffy as a result of crying, she was a beautiful baby. Her thin strands of hair, now long enough to stretch behind her ears a little, was beginning to take on a color similar to her mom's, and her chubby cheeks appeared smooth and soft. She began to stop crying as she noticed Eric, becoming interested in the fact that there was now a stranger sitting close to her.
"What's her name?" Eric asked, smiling at this women's adorable daughter as he awaited an answer.
"Come again?" The young woman looked up, previously too occupied in the baby to hear Eric's question.
Before Eric could ask again, he heard a honk coming from outside, and looking out the window behind him, he saw Cory and Topanga waving from the front seat.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I have to go now." Eric said, standing up and gathering his things. "Why don't you come back tomorrow morning, and I'll sit down to discuss this with you then."
"Will you be here around 11:00?" she asked, standing up with him.
"Yes, I should be there around then." Eric said, reaching out to shake her hand. "What's your name?"
Again, she was too preoccupied with caring for her baby to hear his question, and with Cory continuing to honk the horn, Eric said one more goodbye and ran out.