A/N – Sorry it's been a couple of days since I've posted a new chapter, I got a hint of writer's block. This is more of a filler than a full on chapter, so stick with me here, it'll get interesting soon, I promise. This chapter is basically Eric telling Jackie about his past and what he did in New York when he first got there. Enjoy!

Disclaimer – You know it.

March 10, 2001

Eric cracked his eyes open the next morning once he felt the heat from the sun peering through the blinds. His eyes caught sight of the coffee table in the middle of the living room, but he couldn't remember laying on the couch last night to sleep. Did somebody put him here? Eric knew if he didn't remember anything after he woke up he must've had a seizure. Eric furrowed his eyebrows when he realized he was laying on something soft, and he knew the couch wasn't soft. Eric looked up to see what it was and was shocked to find out it was a sleeping Jackie Burkhart. He felt his face heat up when he realized his head was lying on her chest.

Eric gulped nervously as he looked around the room and he blushed harder when realized he was also laying between her legs. One of her legs was wrapped around the back of his and her arms were thrown over his shoulders, her hands gripping the back of his shirt softly.

Eric needed to get up before Jackie did, or this would get a whole lot more awkward than it already was. Especially if Donna or Hyde walked in right now.

Eric slowly started with removing Jackie's hands from his back. When that proved to be a success Eric was able to move her leg from around him and sit up fully without waking her. As he sat down and she moved onto her side and curled into the fetal position, and Eric watched her.

Eric had only admitted once that she was hot, but now that he was an adult and more mature, he knew she was beautiful.

Her brown hair was fanned across the red throw pillow perfectly, he tiny hands pushed underneath her head as her legs curled underneath her. She was mumbling incoherently in her sleep and she smiled a little bit. Eric wished he could see what she was dreaming about.

Eric smiled as she giggled softly in her sleep before he was suddenly met with a thump on the side of his head.

"Good morning, lover boy," Callie said as she walked past him into the kitchen.

Eric furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over at Callie who was now opening the fridge and pulling out the milk, "What?" Eric asked as she opened the milk and sniffed it, making sure it wasn't the old milk.

Callie crinkled at the milk, realizing it was old before she answered Eric's question, "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I saw you two all cuddled up on the couch last night."

Eric blushed a little and looked down at his hands, "It's not… We're just… I don't even know how I got there."

Callie rolled her eyes and smiled deviously, "Sure… And you don't how you've been spending so much time with her lately either, do you?"

Eric blushed a little harder and cleared his throat, "It's nothing…"

Callie nodded and raised her eyebrows, "Sure."

Eric stood suddenly and smoothed the wrinkles in his shirt before he turning to look at Callie, "Kind of like you and Chris hang out all the time?"

It was now Callie's turn to blush, "Yeah, so?"

Eric smiled and crossed his arms, "I see the way you guys are around each other. Don't try and hide it."

Callie glared at Eric, "You don't know anything. Chris is just my friend."

"Really?" Eric smiled as he stepped over to the counter, his arms still crossed, "Then why are you blushing so hard?"

That made Callie blush harder, "Shut up."

She then slammed the fridge door and stormed off, a little embarrassed, but she knew Eric was right. She did sort of like Chris in that way, but her Mom didn't let her 'be with' boys yet, she said she was too young, so there was no use in trying.

Eric smiled as he went around the counter and into the kitchen to find something for breakfast. Eric pulled out a bowl and set in on the counter before he started his search for cereal. He wasn't really in the mood for Lucky Charms or Frosted Mini Wheats… Ah-ha! Captain Crunch, his favorite.

He ported the cereal into the bowl before he went to the fridge and looked for the new good milk. After a moment of scavenging he found it behind the eggs.

As he poured the milk into the bowl, he heard a groggy voice speak from behind him, "Good morning," The voice yawned.

Eric turned around and smiled when he saw Jackie stumbling into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Good morning," Eric smiled as he put the cap back on the milk, "How'd you sleep?"

Jackie shrugged, "Pretty good actually."

Eric smiled at that as she continued, "How're you feeling this morning?"

Eric shrugged, "Good, I guess. I'm guessing I had a seizure last night?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, you nearly broke a glass."

Eric winced, "Was it bad?"

Jackie shrugged, "What would bad look like?"

"If it lasted longer than a couple of minutes, I bit my tongue, and/or I lost control of my bladder," Eric said, taking a bite of his cereal.

Jackie shook her head, "None of the above."

Eric nodded, "Then I'd say that was an average seizure," He said with a mouthful of food as he flashed a smile her way, making her giggle, "By the way, you're a pretty comfortable pillow."

Jackie blushed and looked down at her feet, "Thanks?"

Eric chuckled, "You're welcome."

Jackie pulled out a stool and sat down on it, fiddling with her fingers, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, me and Donna are going to go look for some apartments today."

Eric furrowed his brow, "Leaving so soon? I thought you guys liked living in this charming environment."

Jackie rolled her eyes, "We just feel like we're intruding. So after Hyde leaves we're going to go out. You don't mind keeping an eye on Callie do you?"

Eric shook his head, "No, I can watch her for a couple of hours. Besides, I'm sure she'd love to spend some more time with Chris."

Jackie smiled, "They do get along quite well don't they?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I made Callie blush earlier because of it."

Jackie giggled, "Remember Chris's face yesterday?"

Eric nodded, raising his eyebrows, "Yeah, I've never seen him like that before."

Jackie giggled and looked down at her hands again, the room falling silent. After a moment in silence, Jackie looked up to Eric. He was quietly eating his breakfast, his gaze cast downwards. Jackie took this time to really take him in.

He was wearing a green shirt that was a size too large, or maybe it was his size, he was always so skinny, nothing ever fit him properly. He looked like the same old Eric, but at the same time, he didn't. He had that aged look in his eye, but he still looked youthful all the same.

It was then that Jackie noticed something on his arm that was hiding underneath his sleeve. It was dark, but she couldn't tell what it was.

"What's that on your arm there?" Jackie suddenly asked, pointing to his right arm.

Eric looked up and looked at where she was pointing. He smiled as he swallowed his food and set the near empty bowl on the counter as he lifted his sleeve, revealing a tattoo. It was just a black band that wrapped all the way around his bicep, "I got this when I was getting treatment for my epilepsy. My friend Max has the same one. He got it when I did, like a signal of support for what I was going through."

Jackie smiled, "That's sweet."

Eric smiled as he dropped his sleeve, "Max was the first person I lived with. It was him and a few other people. I lived with them between 81 and 92…" Eric's face suddenly changed, as if he were sad now, "I haven't seen him since then…"

Jackie furrowed her eyebrows, "Why not?"

Eric adjusted his shoulders and sighed, "Well, before I started taking pictures of people around New York, I took pictures of people around the world. I gave that all up to come live with Chris and his mother, and Max thought I was throwing my life away for two people that I barely even knew, so he got mad and he stopped talking to me and I haven't heard from him since then."

Jackie pursed her lips in confusion, "That's kind of weird."

Eric shrugged and looked down at his feet, "Well, in a way, I kind of gave up Max too."

Jackie sat up straighter and leaned forward a tad on the counter, "What do you mean?"

Eric grabbed his cereal bowl and stepped across the kitchen to the sink, pouring the remnants of his cereal into the garbage disposal and set the bowl in the sink before looking up at Jackie, "Max did get that tattoo for me. He actually got it before I did and I decided to get one after that, to show support for him… Max had cerebral palsy and could barely walk, and I used to be one of the only people who viewed him as a real person and not just a disability, and he did the same for me… We were best friends, so I guess when I left he was upset… I guess he thought I was abandoning him…"

Jackie furrowed her eyebrows as Eric continued, "Sometimes I wish I had never left."

"Why did you?" Jackie asked in general curiosity.

Eric shrugged, "When I met Chris's mother, she was getting beat up by a boyfriend on the street outside a bar. I helped her out and drove her home and that's where I met Chris," Eric smiled at the memory of seeing Chris for the first time, "He was about six years old, still about as shy as he is now. But he liked me and that surprised his mother. She told me Chris never liked a lot of the boyfriends and hopefuls she brought home and she had to break up with them. She always wanted to make Chris happy, and I made Chris happy so after a couple of visits with them, Barbara asked me out."

"Wait. You and Barbara went out?" Jackie asked, in complete shock.

Eric nodded, "Yeah. We went on about three or four dates when we realized it wasn't going to work, but she still wanted to be friends and she asked if I wanted to move in with them. I was hesitant at first, thinking I couldn't just up and leave my other friends, but on the other hand, Barbara was short on money, child protective services were threatening to take Chris away because of that, Barbara had a terrible job, and I figured I made decent money with taking pictures, so after thinking it over I decided to move in. And now here I am."

Jackie nodded, "That's very sweet of you. I think you did the right thing."

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I just wish Max and I were still buddies."

Jackie noticed Eric's sad expression, so she tried to cheer him up, "Well, while we're on the subject, why don't you tell me about your life when you first got here."

Eric smiled before spewing into a long and winding story about his crazy adventures as a 21 year old in NYC.

About two hours later, Eric and Jackie were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, hunched over the coffee table looking at pictures Eric had just brought out.

Eric had told Jackie about everything from when he first moved in. He told her about all his antics as a young man in the city with an odd group of friends. He told her about the time he spent the night in jail for breaking into a car, but luckily his friends bailed him out. He also told her his reaction to the news of John Lennon's assassination in 1980, right after he moved to New York. He apparently used to do a lot of acid, but stopped after he was diagnosed with epilepsy. He told her about the time one of his friends got mugged and had his wallet stolen. He told her other things too, like, how he got into a fight with one of his best friends one drunken night and how they both woke up the next morning beaten and sore, and about the time he went to a hippie Central Park sit in just for fun, and about the other time when he was beaten up by a violent protester.

And finally about the time he and his friends went to a massive music festival sort of like Woodstock and apparently he met a lot of cool people there.

"Okay, so this is Sadie," Eric pointed to a picture of a tall good looking woman standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a glass in her hand, "She wasn't afraid of anything. She told it like it was. She was a groupie. She used to travel with some pretty cool bands, like Pink Floyd and Queen."

Jackie smiled as she watched Eric get excited talking about all his old friends. He pointed to the picture of a dark skinned man playing a guitar in a red leather chair, "This is Joe. He used to write a lot. He was always talking about how he was going to publish his stories someday…"

Jackie looked at the picture as Eric searched for another one, "This here is Sadie and Joe's son Bobby. He was five last I saw him. His Dad used to teach him how to play guitar and they used to play soccer at the park all the time…" Eric handed that picture to Jackie before grabbing another picture of a shorter man with dark hair and charming brown eyes, but he was wearing make-up and a dress, "This is Glenn, he's Sadie's brother. He started going by the name Wendy in 1985… She was a catch."

Jackie smiled at how Eric went from calling Wendy a he to a she as Eric grabbed another photograph, "This is Dyke," Eric showed Jackie a picture of a young man in nurse's uniform, "He always wanted to save people and he had been attending med school for about six years before I left. He should of gotten his degree in 94 or 95. Maybe he's a pediatrician like he always wanted to be now?"

Jackie looked at the photo of the young man. He was pale with dark hair and pretty brown eyes, he also had a charming smile.

"And last but not least, Max," Eric showed Jackie a picture of his former best friend. He was a handsome young man. He had shoulder length brown hair and big sad brown doe eyes. In the photo he was standing next to Eric. He was a couple of inches shorter than Eric if he stood straight, but because he was leaning on crutches in the photo, he was a good four to five inches shorter than Eric, "Max was a good man. He worked with computers for a while, but eventually he decided to become a professor at NYU. He teaches Chemistry there now, or at least he did…" Eric looked all the pictures laid out in front of him, "I wonder what they're all up to these days?"

Jackie looked over at Eric's sad expression before speaking, "Have you ever tried locating them?"

Eric looked over at Jackie briefly and nodded as he looked back down at the picture of him and Max, "Yeah, once. Back in 1995 I called Sadie up to see what everyone was up to, I wanted to know if I could come and see them. She told me it wasn't the right time to come visit, apparently things weren't going well between everyone."

Jackie leaned forward and rested her chin in her palm, gazing at Eric intently, "What happened?"

Eric's eyes suddenly looked glassy, as if he were about to cry, "Sadie told me over the phone that Joe was had died a few months after I had left… He got shot by a police officer after a struggle. She told me her son had to go through life without having a father now, he hadn't even started school when it had happened… She also told me that Wendy had moved in with her boyfriend and they didn't speak much anymore since Sadie didn't like Wendy's boyfriend. Apparently he was a dick. She told me Dyke was always stressed with his work and his new girlfriend and that they were expecting a baby soon, and Max… She said Max was depressed and had threatened suicide several times," Eric's voice cracked at that, "I really hope he never went through with it."

Jackie gently put a hand on Eric's arm, not really knowing what to say, "Well… When's the last time you tried looking for them?"

Eric sniffled and shrugged, "A few years ago. But they never picked up a phone, knowing it was probably me."

"Well… You have stopped trying to call these last few years. Maybe you should try calling them again?" Jacki suggested, rubbing Eric's shoulder soothingly.

Eric shrugged, "They probably don't even live together anymore, or even keep in touch. They might of even moved to a different place."

Jackie shrugged, "It doesn't hurt to try."

Eric looked up at Jackie and smiled. What the hell. She was right.

Eric looked down at the coffee table and smiled, "Bring me the phone."

Jackie squealed in excitement and rushed over to the cell phone lying on the counter charging before bringing it back over to Eric.

Eric sighed shakily, a little nervous as to what he would say if anybody picked up, which he wasn't really expecting. Eric slowly dialed the number from memory, since he had dialed it so many times. It started to ring and Eric brought the phone up to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up the home phone.

The other line clicked and there was a scratchy male voice that answered, "Hello?"

Eric sighed, "Hello, this is Eric Forman. Is there a Sadie Harris there?"

It was quiet on the other line for a moment before the man said, "Yeah, hang on a minute," He took the phone away from his ear before Eric heard him shout, "Sadie! There's someone on the phone for you!"

Eric waited patiently as he turned to Jackie. He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment to tell her, "I think she still lives there."

Jackie smiled giddily as Eric put the phone back to his ear before he heard the familiar voice of Sadie Harris on the other end, her voice sounding just as laid back as it always had, "This is Sadie."

Eric swallowed hard before he nervously spoke, "Hi Sadie, its Eric Forman."