Author Note:...without delay, here's the next promised chapter.

Chapter 28 – Where's Pepe?

T7S

Eric breathed out a long heavy sigh. This had to be the worst day ever. Three scratches from a pregnant feral cat and an 80 lb Mastiff had stepped on his foot…was that pinky toe broken or just crushed? It didn't matter; the little surprise at home would either blow up in his face or be met with enthusiasm.

He prayed for enthusiasm.

Eric stopped at the Cruiser and set his package down beside the car as he looked for the key to the tailgate. From the corner of his eye, he recognized a bright manila envelope sitting on the driver's seat of his car. This was something from his job because it had his name on the Inter-Departmental mailing label. He quickly opened the car door and sat down praying this wasn't how they terminated employees!

He unwound the bright red thread from the button closure and dumped out the paperwork into the palm of his hand. It was something written with the City of Point Place letterhead.

Dear Eric

I wanted to say thanks for your note this morning. Yeah, I was worried about Mr. Price and I did think about him all night and your words this morning game me courage.

All that stuff about us being friends? I think it's good. I wasn't friends like this with Donna – she never really understood me. I'm pretty sure I just annoyed her mostly and with the other guys I'm sure I was just a conquest – I mean, that's how I feel. I'll love each of them forever because in their own ways, they made me the woman I am now…but you are a friend. (underlined three times)

It must seem like I'm jabbering but I didn't know how late I would be working so I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you thinking about me.

Always,

Jackie

Eric rubbed his chin and utter, "…huh…." This wasn't something he ever expected from the midget renter – she was actually being nice. Okay, Eric – that's not fair, since she moved in, she has always been nice. He supposed he was shocked by her confession-like letter.

Conquest? She felt like a conquest? Well, maybe to Kelso but then every woman with two legs and boobs was fair game. And then Hyde pretty much played hard to get and when he got, he didn't know what he had, because if he did…he wouldn't have lost her.

Fez was just horny and had always had a crush on Jackie…and Donna…and his mother….Eric shook his head after that thought "Ugh" Still, Eric Forman was spending way too much time thinking about Jackie Burkhart. It was time to get home and surprise his mom or if that failed get that promised kick in the kiester! He tucked the note back in the city envelope and ran the package back to the tailgate and loaded it in.

Ready or not – Eric Forman was playing Santa Claus!

T7S

Jackie was flipping through an old issue of Cosmo when she happened upon an article about mystics and palm reading. The hairs on her arm stood up and when the phone rang she yelped. "Suicide Hotline – can I save you?" She looked up at the stucco covered ceiling and tried to control her racing heart.

A familiar voice came over the line. "Hello dear. I wanted to thank you."

Hesitantly she replied, "Mr. Price? Are you okay?" Jackie moved the telephone receiver to her other ear so she could take notes if needed. "I didn't think you'd call back so soon."

There was a strangled sounding laugh as Mr. Price continued. "Little girl, I'm an old old man and without my missus…I'm a lonely old man. Talking to you has been the highlight of my day sometimes. The police….they gave me the name of group I can talk to about dying and taking care of myself so I don't want you to worry about me that way anymore."

Jackie wasn't sure if Mr. Price was being truthful or just saying what he thought she wanted to hear so she replied, "Okay, but I want you to call me after you attend these meetings and tell me what you talked about….okay Mr. Price?"

His more familiar chuckle came over the line, "I promise and today I want to talk about weeds in the sidewalk that trip old men with canes…."

Relief filled her senses as the topic changed to something more mundane than suicide prevention. She could continue to look at the pictures in her magazine as she multi-tasked the phone and reading. After all, this was a common trait among all Cosmos readers!

T7S

Eric sat on the edge of the yellow sofa for 45 minutes before his parents decided to return home from wherever they were at. At first, he nearly panicked because why would his mom be out of the house at 4:30 in the evening unless it was to go to the hospital? Did she hurt her back again? Did dad have something wrong with his heart?

After seeing the pair walking hand in hand through the swinging kitchen door, Eric felt a sense of relief that was beyond measure of anything he could ever remember. Kitty Forman was smiling like she did four Christmases ago when she wasn't so stressed but happy. Red wasn't frowning so that was good!

Kitty stopped at the sofa when she saw a large box sitting on some kind of pedestal. The bow on the top was a dead giveaway. "Eric? Sweetie? You got me a present?"

Red snorted and chuckled, "Bet you five bucks you hate it. "

Eric frowned, but his mother only smiled as she replied, "..as I remember, I've received some gifts that were bought at a gas station….do I need to say more?"

Red had the decency to blush but he wasn't going to admit they were crap gifts – they were gifts dammit and you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. "Yeah, well let's see what Mr. Nude here went and bought."

Eric smiled at the old reference to his "sleeping attire". He turned to his mother. "Mom…think of this as a belated Christmas present and I have to warn you that I cannot exchange it."

Kitty was nearly vibrating with excitement. "It's present Eric, let me open it!"

Eric stepped back but held on to the pedestal so his mother wouldn't tip it over. She tore off the makeshift wrapping paper and suddenly screamed. Red glared at his son and wrapped his arms around his wife. "What did you do you dumbass?"

"Dumbass!" Marco repeated from his cage.

Kitty was fanning her face. "Oh Eric…you know I don't do good with birds! What were you thinking bringing me a bird?"

Red cracked a grin. "Did that bird just call you a dumbass?"

"Dumbass!" the bird cawed in kind.

Impressed, Red deposited his wife on the sofa. "What kind of bird is this?"

Eric rocked on his heels. "It's a blue fronted Amazon parrot. Mom, he's got a broken wing and the vet couldn't take him. It was keep him or he was going to be…put down."

Marco hopped pathetically on one leg dragging his bandaged wing across the balsa wood pole. "Here kitty kitty." The bird cooed.

Kitty looked up. "He said my name!" She smiled happily, "Red, he knows me!"

Eric didn't have the heart to tell his mom that Marco was looking for Pepe the cat, but if Kitty Forman thought the bird liked her….this was a win-win situation. "So mom…can you keep him until his wing heals? I mean if you don't like him, a pet store can sell him."

The bird turned his dark green forehead in Eric's direction and woefully muttered, "Dumbass."

Red laughed, "I have to say I like any animal that knows a dumbass when he sees one. What's his name?"

"It's Marco and he was almost ate by a dog. He's pretty smart and I had to cover his cage just to shut him up." Eric admitted.

Kitty stood up and looked in the cage at the poor bandaged wing. As a nurse, even she knew this was a sub par bandaging job. "I'll have to fix this. Right Marco?"

The bird issued a long and low wolf whistle that tickled Kitty to the bone. "He's a flirt too!"

Eric was relieved that everything was working out. "Hey mom? When you're done checking out the bird…could you check out my pinky toe? I smashed it and I think it might be broken."

"Dumbass!" Marco mocked shamefully.

T7S

Jackie quietly opened the sliding glass doors and could smell the seasonings from dinner that were left on the stove. She set her tote, purse and keys on the table and slipped out of her shoes. The house was making settling sounds and she loved this time of the evening. Everyone was in bed or their room and she could just bask in the peace the Forman house brought.

The pot roast was perfect and the little red potatoes and pearl onions were more than she could have wanted. This was going to be great for lunch tomorrow. Jackie rinsed off her plate and gathered her gear to head for Laurie's bedroom. One day, hopefully soon, she would have enough money to get her own place.

Walking past the sofa, Jackie stopped when she heard a crunching chewing kind of noise. She looked around in the darkness and only saw a large shadow. It didn't look like a person or a piece of furniture, so she hesitantly walked up to it and touched a bed sheet. Pulling the sheet aside like a curtain, Jackie came face to face with the most beautiful bird she had ever seen.

She whispered, "Hi gorgeous."

The bird dropped his pellet and looked up with his little beady eyes and repeated, "Hi gorgeous."

Jackie gasped and nearly clapped her hands. "You talk!"

Marco hopped closer to the bars of his cage and poked his beak through the slats. "Hello."

Jackie smiled, "Hello to you too!"

Marco tilted his blue/green head for a scratch wherein the brunette happily complied while the bird cooed appreciatively. "Marco boo boo." He cawed dramatically while trying to lift his broken wing which elicited a sound of compassion that the bird loved. He preened his other wing and strutted up the perch. "Good night!"

Jackie grinned and recovered the cage. "Good night bird."

She wasn't more than three steps towards her room when she heard a muttered, "Dumbass."

T7S

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A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter and hope you enjoyed it -