Disclaimer: i own nothing, seriously. wish i did, but i don't. no copyright infringement was intended.

JACQUELINE BURKHART.

"Really, Mrs. Forman, you don't have to do this. It's no big deal," I said quickly, trying to dig my heels into the floor and stop the blonde woman from shoving me into the living room. "I'm only here for a week or two."

"Nonsense, sweetheart! We haven't seen you since you got married! Everyone will be just thrilled," she coaxed, pushing her hands against my lower back almost roughly and with such force that I was surprised – she always seemed so… tame, to say the least. And weak. But, might I say now, Kitty Forman is not weak.

"Jackie!" Donna said, extending her arms towards me and enveloping me in a tight hug, and I found myself hugging her back just as tightly. I didn't realize until now how much I'd missed her; sure, we talked on the phone and wrote back and forth, but it wasn't the same as actually being here. I stifled a laugh as I caught a glimpse of an excited Fez bouncing up and down behind Donna, extending his arms wide.

"Gimme," he said, wiggling his fingers in a most amusing manner before I laughed and stepped into his open arms. "I have missed you, my little goddess," he told me with a matter-of-fact nod, looking down at me. He'd grown since I'd last seen him, which was about a year ago at the wedding. His pants weren't nearly as tight as I remembered either, and I couldn't help but be slightly relieved. It was always awkward to have a conversation with him when you knew that, as soon as you looked down, you'd be looking right at his package, accentuated in a pair of too-tight trousers.

Michael stood off to the side, holding Betsy in his arms even though she was getting too big for it. Brooke was beside him, and quickly made her way over to hug me gingerly after Fez finally let go. Even Red came over and, with a gruff cough, gave me a quick, stiff hug before Kitty once again pounced on me. I took this as an opportunity to glance around the room, noticing that nothing had changed. The same puke colors, the same small television set, even the same smell. But I noticed that Steven was not around, nor was Eric. Part of the reason I'd reasoned myself into going to Point Place was so that I could see Steven – more for… closure, I kept telling myself. I could tell him I was married, explain that I was over him, and that would be that. As for Eric – ehh, I wouldn't lie and say I was disappointed that he wasn't there, because I wasn't. We'd never been close, ever.

I was yanked from my reverie by the cry from Kitty, who finally untangled herself from me, giving me a chance to sit delicately on the edge of the couch. I didn't want the utter ugliness of the couch to taint the Chanel. I finally allowed myself to glance up at who she'd darted for after making sure my hair was still perfect (of course it was – when was it not perfect?), making eye contact with the last person I'd expected to see. He hadn't changed much, not really. He was still tall and gangly, but there was something… different at the same time. His forearms held a bit more muscle, his hair was shaggier, and he had a hint of facial hair on him – it was nice to know he'd finally hit puberty. I smiled at him, getting up and walking over to him, still not accustomed to the way my high heels didn't click on carpet (we had hard wood floors in practically the entire house back in Chicago) and gently wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Hi, Eric."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ERIC FORMAN.

She was more beautiful than I remembered. Absolutely, all-consuming-ly radiant. She was tanner than she was in high school, and her chest had… well, it had come in extremely nicely, to say the least. She looked more like a Barbie doll now, and I supposed it was because of that rich husband of hers – giving her anything she asked so she'd stay with him, because why else would a twenty-five year old stay with someone twice her age if there wasn't money? I was, however, pleasantly surprised when I felt her almost sickeningly thin arms wrap around my waist, and glanced down at her for a minute before gently and briefly wrapping my arms around her in return. "Uhh, hey, Jackie," was all I could think of, because what else do you say to someone you haven't seen for near six years?

She glanced up at me, flashed a dazzling smile, and quickly trotted back over to Donna, giggling as the two of them retreated back into the kitchen. I found myself staring after her, almost confused, and reaching up to scratch the back of my neck before I felt someone clap me on the back roughly.

"Nice to see you came out of that hell hole," Red said gruffly, slamming my back once more as I gasped, coughing quietly and trying to straighten.

"Yeah, well, Mom threatened me," I replied simply, glancing at my mother, who was perched on the edge of that puke-colored couch as though she was a queen, talking in that fast voice of hers to Kelso and Brooke. Brooke was pregnant again, and it was still a mystery to just about all of us as to why she'd willingly have sex with him again.

"As she damn well should – you need to get your head out of your ass and get over that girl," he told me sternly, clapping me on the back a final time and, with a last withering look, walked off to sit next to Mom, who was still in an animated conversation with Brooke.

I stood by myself for a few minutes, just trying to figure out where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do, when it dawned on me that Red always had beer in the fridge – I could use a beer. I took a detour through the dining room so I didn't have to walk through the wall of people situated in the living room, and nearly plowed into Donna on her way out.

"Sorry," I mumbled, slipping by her and grabbing the beer nearest to the door of the refrigerator. I could feel Donna and Jackie's eyes on me, but I didn't feel like talking to them. Donna knew about everything that had happened with Evelyn, and she knew by now not to bother me about it. I blew up at her the last time she tried to help, and even though I felt terrible about it, it was her own fault for not minding her own business. I did, however, brace myself for the nosy creature that was Jacqueline Burkhart, preparing to come up with a million excuses – anything to avoid talking about Evelyn. Naturally, I was surprised when the two women exchanged quick good-byes before Jackie settled down at the kitchen table.

"Bring me one, will you?"

I hesitated, taking a minute to fully realize that she wanted me to bring her a beer. I shrugged before reaching back into the refrigerator, practically hitting her when I turned around because, apparently, she had crept up behind me – which seems impossible, seeing as she was in sky-high heels and on tile. I extended it towards her casually, walking to lean against the counter. "Why are you back?" I asked her, not altogether pleasant, I decided.

"What, am I not allowed to drop in an visit all the little people?" she asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow as she cracked open the beer and downed a good-sized sip. It was nice to see that despite her looking altogether perfect she didn't hesitate to throw back a beer.

"Not when those 'little people' are in Point Place, Wisconsin, little miss Chicago," I told her, smirking down at my beer as I heard her laugh softly. "Seriously, Jackie."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"I… don't know. I just think I needed to get away. You start to feel suffocated when you're… stuck like I am. Trapped. I had to get out, you know?" she asked, looking over at me, moving to lean against the counter a few inches from me. "So, I hopped on one of his jets and flew out."

"Well, we always knew you'd marry into money," I said with a grin, nudging her in the shoulder as I took another swig of my beer. "But, really, I didn't think you'd come here if you felt trapped. I figured people like you would go to Florida. Or California."

She laughed then, a pretty, bell kind of laugh, and I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, well, I guess I just wanted to feel young again," she told me, downing the rest of her beer in one long drink, setting the bottle down next to her. "But what about you? Weren't you supposed to be going back to Africa?"

"I was," I started, carefully. "But I couldn't do it. Saw too much the last time I was there; I couldn't handle going bad. A bit pathetic, I know, but I didn't think I could stomach any more of it."

"It was that bad?"

She said it so quietly that I had to strain to hear her, and even when I did, I thought I had missed it. She'd never been an exceptionally quiet person before, so I was caught slightly off guard by the tiny, almost meek sound to her usually loud and piercing voice.

"Yeah, it was."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

She glanced over at me, setting her small hand on my forearm gently, offering a pretty smile. "It was nice to see you, Eric," she said softly, using her other hand to brush a bit of hair from her eyes quickly.

"You too, Jackie," I replied, almost at a loss for words. I just watched her for a minute, taking in her big, doe brown eyes and her smooth, tan skin of her face before she blushed and turned. I watched silently as she grabbed her purse off the kitchen table and slowly started to walk out the screen door, and eagerly smiled back when she paused just in the doorway to turn and smile back at me. I watched until she stepped into the backseat of the chauffeured car, and even until the car drove out of the driveway. I watched until I couldn't see it anymore, and when I turned back around and downed the rest of my beer, I couldn't understand why I did it. And frankly, I didn't care to figure out why.

Author's Notes: thank you lots to everyone who's reviewed and favorited the story! i love you all already haha. read&review, please and thank you! i have a question, though! are you more comfortable with written out sex scenes or would you prefer more of an assumed scene? i know some people aren't comfortable with reading about people doing the nasty haha, and i don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. let me know, because these two'll definitely be having some fun later on xD