Disclaimer: That '70s Show and it's characters aren't mine.

A/N: I know the last chapter might have seemed a bit weird, but I felt I needed it to move quickly to get the ball rolling, and also because it was supposed to be an impulse decision that wasn't properly thought through. Thanks for sticking with the story, I appreciate it (:

"Spoilt brat," Eric muttered as Jackie slammed the bathroom door shut. They couldn't have been in the new apartment for more than an hour. Things weren't going very well.
But it was okay. They had just spent hours cooped up in the car and were irritated, that was all. Jackie was mad at him anyway, and he understood that, she just showed it more because she was tired.
They only had enough sheets with them for the double bed, and really didn't feel like sharing. Eric thought he deserved the bed because he had done all the driving, and Jackie just thought she deserved it. Full stop. It was stupid, but right then, it was enough. Some petty remarks were thrown back and forth. She eventually decided she wanted to take a bath and stormed off.

Eric hit the bed hard with his fist, threw a pillow over his shoulder and sauntered out into the living room. The couch would be his stop for the night. Or day. He wasn't really sure what time, or even what day of the week it was anymore. The sky was weird shades of purple and orange, with white streaks though it. It was either sunrise or sunset.. but he didn't really care anyway.
He tried to get comfortable on the squishy blue sofa, but to no avail. His mind was wearily racing, and he had drank too much coffee. Eric pushed the pillow aside and sat up, surveying the living room. He hadn't taken time to do that yet. The walls were painted a plain cream colour, with the blue sofa and curtains being the most vibrant colours in the place. They clashed with the rest of the room in a strange way. The floors were wooden and there were side tables at either end of the sofa with lamps on them, which had been turned on. There was a television in one corner and a cupboard for hanging coats in another. There wasn't much to it, but it'd do. The bedrooms were much the same, cream with something blue in them. A strangely minimalist theme.
The bathroom was tiled; white and clean-looking, with a door out into the living room and a door leading into the main bedroom, and as for the kitchen.. he hadn't seen the kitchen yet. Jackie had put away the food when the arrived. But he hadn't the energy to see it now, he was completely drained. So he stayed put, waiting for sleep.

He was lying-sitting-up at one end of the couch when Jackie came out of the bedroom in her pyjamas carrying a quilt. She silently slipped through the room and curled up on the opposite end, spreading the cover over both of them. She faced away. Angry words still rang in the silent air. It was just like any other fight either of them had been in. Just a tiff. But the silence spread out over almost an hour.
"Even though you were just in the other room, I still couldn't be by myself.." She sniffed, edging over to his side. Tears were now slowly streaming from her eyes as she buried her head in his shoulder. "Am I making a huge mistake..?"
He didn't answer her. How could he when he was asking himself the same question?
He absentmindedly reached up a hand to stroke her hair and listened as her breathing slowed, and she finally gave in to sleep.

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Eric got up and stretched, enjoying the first couple of seconds before he everything came back to him, and he remembered what he was doing in this unfamiliar room. A noise in the kitchen brought him right back to where he should be. He poked his head through the kitchen door.

"Morning," Jackie smiled cheerfully. "You've been asleep for hours,"

"What time is it?" Eric rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, looking around him for a clock.

"Noon," Jackie opened various cupboards, gesturing to the contents of them. "I got up early, and went for a walk. I found a store down the street, so I came back and got some money and bought in some stuff. Do you want something to eat?"

Eric stood quietly, observing her as she flew around the kitchen, putting the last few things away. She was drinking something from a glass. "Is that.. Are you drinking chocolate milk?"

"No," She said dryly. "This's vodka. I just added a splash of chocolate milk, you know, for variety." Her straight face broke and she laughed. "Yes weirdo, it's chocolate milk. You want some?"

Eric ignored her question. She was trying to seem happy, but he saw straight through her. He took a few steps towards her. "It's okay, you know, if you aren't.. I mean, we just got here, give yourself some time to adjust. Besides, nobody said it would be easy,"

Jackie turned away and busied herself at a cupboard. "Yeah?" She laughed, but not very convincingly. "Well no-one ever said it'd be this hard either,"

"This is just the beginning. You'll settle into it soon." Eric stood behind her and put his arms around her waist. "It'll be great, you've just.. gotta be patient."

"You know, I couldn't even tell you exactly what it is that's making me feel like this. I just feel like.. I've forgotten something. Something important. It feels like.. Like I left my blow-dryer in Point Place. Only I know I've got it here, so I don't know why I'm missing it, or why I'm so worried. Except I don't know what I think I've forgotten.." Jackie sighed "I don't know why I'm telling you this. You probably feel the same. And if you don't, then I don't want to discourage you from enjoying all this new stuff." She turned around in his arms and smiled. "But you're right. It'll get better,"

"Yeah.." Eric pulled her to him and held her tight, so that she couldn't see his face. Great. She was in denial, she was kidding herself that she didn't know what was irking her. And once again, Jackie had hit the nail on the head; no-one ever said it would be this hard.

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"Hi, Dad," Eric played with the cord of the phone. He heard a sharp intake of breath at the other end of the line.

"Dumbass!" Eric rolled his eyes. Red would never change. "Your mother has been worried sick about you.. taking off in the middle of the night like that.. I'm so angry that I can't even talk to you right now. If I had your address I'd be over there this second to put my foot-"

"In my ass, I know." Eric interrupted. "Which is precisely why I'm giving my address to Mom, not you." He heard voices in the background, and the phone changing hands.

"Eric?" It was Kitty. She sounded upset, her voice slightly strained. "Eric, honey, where are you?"

"In Minneapolis Mom, like I said in the note. I just called to tell you that everything's fine, and to give you my phone number and address." He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, but something told him that'd be difficult.

"Fine?! How could you be fine, you're all alone in a strange city!" Kitty sounded on the verge of tears.

"Alone..? No, I'm not alone. I'm with Jackie," He said this quickly, and waited for Kitty's response.

"..Jackie?" There was a frustrated sigh. "Did she put you up to this?"

"Um, no. No one put anyone up to anything,"

There was silence for a moment, and Eric could almost hear his mother's brain working around the situation. She gasped. "But, but you and.. you and.. What about Donna? You two were together again, you.. I saw you, you talked everything out on the hood of the car, I was watching you, I-I always.."

"Mom, Donna and I aren't meant for each other, not like we used to be," Eric reasoned, trying not to lose his head.

"How could you do this to her? Hmm? How could you just go like that, take such a drastic move forward in your life without her?" Kitty tutted.

"What? She did that to me first! She took off to Florida, and come September she's going to Madison. She never intended on taking me with her. You might have seen us on the hood of the car, but you didn't hear what she said to me.." Eric decided he'd had enough for now. He didn't need his mother questioning his decisions like that when he was still doubting them a little bit himself. "Look, I've gotta go now, I'll call you again soon,"

As he was slamming down the phone, he faintly heard Kitty saying something about his phone number. He'd give it to her another time; if he gave it to her now he wouldn't be able to get her off the phone.

"How'd it go?" Jackie came into the room and sat next to him.

"Crappy. Couldn't really expect anything else, I guess." Eric sighed, taking Jackie's hand. "So what d'you want to do today? I should probably head down to Pricemart though, and apply for a job. I figure I could get them to call someone at the Point Place branch as a reference. Working there will do for now anyway, if I combine it with the money I got from last year,"

"Do you have to do that today? I thought we could have some fun, take a look around, do nothing for a little while. I mean, we'll have to go back on the road in a few days anyway, to get the rest of our stuff. We might as well have fun while we've got time," Jackie swung her legs up onto the couch and lay down across Eric's lap.

He smiled down at her. "Yeah, sounds good. Pricemart can wait. So, what did you have in mind?"

"Oh," Jackie leaned up and put her arms around Eric's neck, giving him a sly look. "You know, stuff."

Eric chuckled softly as he positioned her more comfortably on his lap. He looked into her soft brown eyes. "Someone told me you were beautiful once, but I didn't believe them. I wish I'd looked closer then,"

"Hmm. Is that a compliment? Because if it is, I'm gonna have to teach you how to give the kind of compliment Burkhart women are used to. Well, no-one ever told me you were hot, but I guess I kinda see it now. Sort of." She threw back her head and laughed at the face he made.

"Is that so, Miss Burkhart?" he teased, and, raising an eyebrow, he lifted her closer and captured her in a kiss.

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