A/N – There is a reason this chapter is so late. There's actually two. First of all, my dog has been sick this week and we've been taking her to the vet. We took her twice, because the first time she had a bad reaction to her medication and we had to get some different kind. She's doing better now, thankfully. She's back to her good 'ol annoying, hyper self. Two, I almost had this chapter posted a couple of days ago, but my computer crashed and it half of it was deleted. It was alright, because I wrote it again and then my computer decided it'd be funny to crash again and then a good portion of this chapter was deleted once more. I finally have it written and here it is for you. Sorry it's been a few days.
One more thing, when I finish this story, I'm going to be writing a different one. It'll be around this timeline probably but it's going to be about the adventures of the groups children. Maybe it'll be a bit more humorous than this sometimes gloomy one. Maybe you'll read it, maybe you won't, who knows.
Anyway, here's the new chapter, finally. I hope you enjoy.
P.S. – I hate this chapter, I kind of rushed the ending. Sorry about that, hopefully the next one will be better.
Oh, and thanks for the reviews, I love them. Ambient Space Noise, they actually made me smile. I don't think I've ever smiled so big at a review before. Thank you so much for your kind reviews, I always look forward to them.
Disclaimer – I don't own ze' story!
April 7, 2001
It was almost a month later that Jackie and Donna had found a place to stay, as a matter of fact, they were out signing the papers on an apartment right now. Chris had taken Callie to the park looking over the twin towers about an hour ago. Donna didn't want Callie out on her own in the city, but Eric knew Chris wouldn't let anything happen to her. Besides, he went to that park almost every day and Callie was getting really determined to tag along with him. So when Donna and Jackie left, Eric gave Callie permission, as long as they returned home at 3:00 sharp, not a minute after.
Eric should be home by then. Today was the day he was going to go see his old friend Sadie for the first time in years. He was excited and nervous at the same time. He wanted to know what she had been up to lately and how she had been doing, he also wanted to know about all his old friends and if she had heard from them at all since they all parted ways. He doubted she knew where all of them were, but he was just hoping for the best.
Eric looked at himself in the mirror, making sure he looked halfway decent. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a red logo of some Chinese restaurant he used to eat at all the time, black pants, and grey sneakers. Eric though he looked alright, and he was sure Sadie couldn't give a crap about how he looked. This was New York City, not a fancy French restaurant. Eric shrugged and grabbed his purple hat off the counter and slapped it on his head before he went to the door, grabbing his orange skateboard on the way out.
Eric arrived at Sadie's place about half an hour later. She still lived right outside Greenwich Village, the same exact apartment Eric had lived in for all those years. Apparently she has some new people living there now, Eric was actually kind of excited to meet them. Sadie always had the coolest friends. Eric swallowed nervously before he opened the door and started the exhausting climb to the thirteenth floor. There was no elevator in this building, as it was very old, it was probably constructed in the 1930's.
After several minutes of climbing, Eric finally made it to the thirteenth floor and stood right outside Sadie's door. Room 1304. Eric smiled as he looked down the door, inappropriate drawings from the early eighties sketched onto it. Eric remembers himself and Max getting yelled at by the landlord for it.
Good times.
Eric heard some voices on the other side of the door and inhaled sharply. Once Eric had called this is home, but now he felt like a stranger. Eric slowly lifted his hand and knocked softly on the door. He then stepped back a little and waited for it to be answered.
A moment later, the door squeaked open and there in front of Eric was a child, maybe eleven or twelve. He had dark hair and brown eyes, he had tan colored skin, but not like a sun tan, more like he was mixed race.
Eric smiled, "Hi, is Sadie here?"
The boy turned around and yellowed out into the room, "Mom! That man is here!"
Eric's eyes widened when he called her Mom. This must be—"Eric!" Sadie's voice suddenly broke through his thoughts as she came up behind her son. Eric looked up at her. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her. She didn't even looked like she had aged at all.
"Hi Sadie," Eric smiled as Sadie pushed past her son and wrapped Eric into a big hug.
Eric chuckled and hugged her back, patting her back awkwardly. After a moment of hugging, Sadie pulled away and looked Eric up and down, "Wow… You haven't changed a bit."
Eric shrugged, "You know, besides the graying hair."
Sadie flapped her hand to brush it off, "No, it suits you."
Eric raised an eyebrow, "Thanks?"
Sadie giggled before stepping out of the way so Eric could come inside. After he was in the apartment, Sadie closed the door and turned back to him, her young son still standing next to her, looking up at Eric in curiosity.
Eric smiled down at the boy before looking up at Sadie, who was an inch taller than Eric, "Is this…?"
Sadie smiled, "Yes, this is Bobby."
Eric smiled down at the boy, "How old are you now, Bobby?"
"Twelve," He replied, his frown never fading, "Who are you?"
"Oh yeah, you probably don't remember me all that much," Eric replied, "I'm Eric, I used to live here a long time ago. I was actually there when you were born."
Bobby's eyes brightened suddenly as he smiled a tad, "Eric Forman? The guy my Mom talks about all the time?"
Eric smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I guess that'd be me."
"Oh yeah!" Bobby smiled, "You're pictures on the fridge! I just didn't recognize you because you're older."
Eric smiled at the kid's sudden excitement, "My pictures on the fridge?"
Bobby nodded, "Yeah! It's a picture of you holding me when I was a baby! Mom told me you're my Godfather!"
Eric smiled as the boy grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen, Sadie following them. Eric remembers when Sadie asked Eric if he wanted to be Bobby's Godfather. It was after Sadie was released from the hospital and was able to take Bobby home.
It was one of the greatest days of Eric's life.
Eric was skid to a stop when he and the boy came into the kitchen in front of the fridge. The twelve year old pointed to the picture on the refrigerator door and smiled, "See, there we are!"
Eric smiled as he looked at the photo. It was taken maybe a week or so after the boy's birth in the September of 1988.
The boy then pointed to the photo next to it, "These are Mom's old roommates, but she doesn't talk about them much."
Eric looked over at where the boy was pointing. It was the group in 1983, but that was just a rough estimate, it could be a little later. Eric was in the photo sitting squished between Joe and Max.
"There's my Dad," Bobby said, pointing to the dark skinned man in the photo before smiling up at Eric, "But I'm sure you already knew that."
Eric smiled and nodded as Sadie suddenly pushed between the two, "Okay, Bobby. Let me and Eric talk for a few minutes."
"Okay," Bobby said as Sadie started leading Eric to the small dining room, Bobby following.
Sadie looked down at her son and smiled smugly, "By ourselves."
Bobby frowned, "Damn! I almost had ye'!"
Sadie frowned at her son as he dashed out of the room, "Watch your language!"
"Sorry!" He called back as he disappeared in the living room.
Eric chuckled as Sadie led him to the table. He sat down and watched as Sadie sat next to him, a friendly smile on her face, "You look great, Eric," She said, looking him up and down.
Eric smiled back at her, "You too, Sadie. You haven't aged a day."
Sadie rolled her eyes, "Yeah right…" She giggled before looking Eric in the eye, "How have you been?"
Eric shrugged, "Good… As of late, a few friends reappeared in my life."
Sadie raised her eyebrows and leaned forward, "I'm listening."
Eric then went into the story of how Jackie, Donna and Hyde came storming back into his life and how things seem awkward between him and his old flame, but that he gets along well with Hyde and Jackie now, and that his adopted son and Callie are getting… Together? If you could really call it that.
Sadie seemed intrigued by this whole thing, and she really paid attention to the way he talked about this Jackie woman. He seemed to be into talking about her more than anyone else.
After Eric finished talking about his life in the past or so, Sadie smiled at him smugly, "It seems as if your life's been a little busy lately."
Eric nodded, leaning forward on his elbows, "Yeah, it's a mess… But a good one," He smiled at that.
Sadie smiled back and leaned her cheek in her hand, "Tell me more about this Jackie woman, you seem to really dig her."
Eric blushed a little, "Was it that obvious?"
Sadie tilted her head a little, "Honey, you were practically screaming it."
Eric blushed harder and averted Sadie's gaze, "Maybe… Maybe I like her a little."
Sadie sat up and smiled, "But…?"
"But, there's Donna!" Eric said, sitting up suddenly, "She'd be furious over this whole thing!"
Sadie furrowed her brow and leaned forward a little, putting a gentle hand on Eric's forearm, "But it's not about what Donna wants. It's about what you want."
Eric shook his head, "It's more complicated than that… Donna and I went out for years and we almost got married at a time! I don't think I could stand her reaction if me and Jackie went out, it would crush me!"
Sadie pursed her lips and gazed at Eric sweetly, "You and Donna have been apart for 22 years. She's been married, she has a kid with this other man. Is it really her place to tell you who you can and can't go out with?"
Eric shook his head, "Well, no, but—"
"But nothing, sweetie," Sadie cut him off, "The heart wants what the heart wants, and your heart is sending you a message."
Eric smiled at how corny that sounded, but ignored the sarcastic remark his brain tried getting him to say, "I don't think Jackie likes me that way anyway. She'd probably laugh at me and call me a dork."
"You guys aren't kids anymore, Eric," Sadie said, leaning back in her chair, "She won't laugh at you. The worst thing she could say is no."
Eric nodded, "You're right… But, I don't think now is the right time."
Sadie raised one eyebrow, "Why not?"
Eric smirked, "Because Jackie and Donna literally just signed the papers on their new apartment. Together."
Sadie hissed between her teeth and smiled, "Ooh, yeah, that'd be a little awkward. Maybe… Maybe wait a little while longer, at least until Jackie thinks she should get out of Donna's hair or something. She'll want a place to herself eventually."
Eric nodded, "Maybe…" Eric sighed before looking up at Sadie, "But enough about me, how have you been?"
Sadie then told Eric how she's been in the last few years. She currently has some other people living with her, but they're all out working. There's Jack and Evan, who are currently dating each other. Jack is an artist and Evan is a journalist. And then there's John, he's a cabbie. Teresa is also living here with her girlfriend Quinta, they both work at the theater, only Teresa's an actress and Quinta's a set designer.
Sadie then told Eric about their old friends.
Wendy was married now to a man called Fred. They've been married for five years and have two adopted kids. A boy and girl named Rivers and Clare. Rivers is eight and Clara is nine.
Dyke was married and he had a son named William, or Bill, as he lovingly called him. Bill would be six this May and he played little league flag football. Dyke was a pediatrician like he had always wanted to be and was apparently very happy.
And then there was Max. Sadie said she hadn't spoken to Max in over a year, but the last she heard from him he sounded well. He wasn't depressed anymore and he still worked at NYU. At least she thought he did. Eric would have to go visit him some time. He was the one he wanted to see the most. He just wanted to make amends and be friends again, he missed his old best friend.
After a few more minutes of talking, Sadie decided to get up and go get drinks for the two. She was only gone for a few seconds when Eric started feeling weird. He started feeling some tingling in his toes, and then his fingers and these pins and needles seemed to climb up his body. Eric knew exactly what was about to happen and needed to find somewhere to lay that was safe before it started.
Eric got to his feet and stumbled out of his chair, suddenly feeling weak and lightheaded.
"Eric? Are you okay?" Sadie called, hearing the chair scoot across the tile floor loudly.
Eric swallowed thickly, his mouth feeling dry. He tried calling out for Sadie to come help him before he fell or something, but nothing came out and Eric soon found himself falling as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The last thing he remembers is a sharp pain in his head before he hit the ground.
0-0-0-0-0
Eric woke to the sound of beeping and people's muffled voices. He slowly cracked open his eyes and groaned a little bit. His vision was blurred and all he saw was white. The ceiling possibly? Eric shook his head a little and immediately regretted that decision when he was met with a sharp searing pain in his brain. He groaned and brought his hand to his head and as he opened his eyes he saw several beeping machines next to him. Great. He was in a hospital.
He hasn't been here like this in a while.
"He's awake!" He heard a familiar voice say, his vision and hearing returning to its normal state.
He was suddenly met with a loud, worried voice intruding his ears, "Eric? Can you hear me?"
Eric groaned and put a hand to his ear, a little annoyed at the shrill sound, "Yes… Yes, I can hear you."
His voice sounded groggy, it was almost scratchy and unrecognizable. Eric looked around the room for something to drink, "Water?" He asked.
This was when he noticed the girl fretting over him was none other than Jackie Burkhart. His breath hitched in his throat which caused him to cough violently. Jackie gasped and grabbed the glass of slightly cold water from the table next to the bed and handed it to him, "Here!"
Eric took the glass from Jackie and took slow, small gulps. He put the glass back on the table and looked up at his friend, "Jackie? What are you doing here?"
Jackie put her purse down in the chair next to her and sat on the edge of Eric's bed, "Your friend called me. She told me you fell and hit your head."
"Hit my head?" Eric questioned, but Jackie ignored him and went on.
"It's pretty bad, the doctor's think you may have a concussion," Jackie said as she brought her hand up to Eric's head and pushed his hair back.
Eric swallowed nervously at the movement, his face turning a little red when he realized just how close Jackie was. She kept fiddling with his hair, which he liked, but at the same time, didn't.
"Where is the doctor, exactly?" Eric asked, his voice cracking a lot as he spoke.
Jackie just shook it off as his throat being dry and shrugged, "He should be here any minute. Sadie went to go get him when you woke up," Jackie then smiled, "She's just wonderful, I can't believe you used to live with her! She's so funny and careless, I've never met a woman like her before!"
Eric gulped again as he looked over Jackie's shoulder for the doctor so he could be filled in on exactly what was going on.
Jackie grabbed Eric's hand, garnering his attention. He looked up at her and into her hazel eyes. They were so pretty, "Are you okay though? Sadie said you hit your head pretty hard."
Eric nodded nervously, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
"Does it hurt," Jackie asked as she pushed her hand through his hair again and fixed the bandage wrapped around his head, "The doctor's said it was a wonder you didn't crack your skull."
Eric shrugged uncomfortably and shook his head slightly, "No, it doesn't hurt too bad…" That was a massive lie. It hurt like hell, but she was distracting him, which was good.
"Mr. Forman," A gruff male voice suddenly spoke. Eric turned his attention to the doctor holding a clipboard as he approached the younger man, "You took quite the spill."
Eric smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yeah, I have epilepsy, you see. I guess I was getting ready to have a seizure and I guess when I passed out I fell…"
"And you hit your hand on my nice hand crafted table," Sadie said as she stood behind the doctor, her arms crossed, "Now there's blood on it."
Eric smiled and put his hands up, "Sorry?"
Sadie shook her head, but she couldn't hide the small smug smile, "You better be, it took Joe six weeks to finish that."
Jackie looked between Eric and Sadie in shock and confusion. She doesn't know how they can just joke about Eric's disease like it's nothing, because Jackie thought Eric's seizures were the scariest things ever.
"Well, Mr. Forman, you do have a mild traumatic brain injury," The doctor said, "You lost consciousness, so that would make this a grade three concussion. Can you tell me any symptoms you are experiencing now?"
Eric winced and thought for a moment before he spoke, "Um, I got a headache, I'm feeling a little dizzy… The lights seem a little bright."
The doctor nodded as he looked up from his note pad, "Those are all normal symptoms. You also probably don't remember much of what happened before you passed out."
Eric shook his head and looked down at himself. It was then that he realized he was still in his street clothes and he actually didn't have anything hooked to him. What a relief. Maybe he wouldn't have to stay overnight.
"Can he come home tonight?" Jackie asked.
The doctor nodded, "Yes, he can. It's just a mild brain injury, but when you take your husband home he might be a bit loopy. So don't alarmed if he babbles nonsense or anything like that."
Jackie and Eric both froze when he referred to Eric as her husband, but Jackie did nothing to correct him, she just nodded hesitantly and said, "Okay, thank you."
The doctor nodded, "I'll just go get this sorted out and you can have him discharged."
Jackie nodded as the doctor left the room, "Okay. Thanks again."
"No problem," He called from the hall and disappeared from sight.
0-0-0-0-0
Jackie helped Eric into his apartment that night after they bid Sadie farewell. Sadie and Jackie exchanged numbers and went on with their night. When Jackie opened the door she was immediately met with yelling. Great.
Eric winced as he Jackie stormed inside the apartment, trying to see what the hell was going on. Donna was yelling at her daughter for something as Chris sat on the couch with his ears covered as he hummed loudly, as if he was trying to block out the more alarming sound.
"What the hell is going on?" Jackie yelled and Donna and Callie immediately stopped bickering and turned to look at Jackie.
Callie crossed her arms and looked at Jackie, "Mom's being unfair!"
"I'm being perfectly fair! You don't just go running off like that and not tell anybody where you're going!" Donna yelled back.
"I did tell somebody! I told Eric!" Callie said.
Donna then turned her attention to Eric and raised an eyebrow, "You knew about this?"
Eric covered his ears and winced, "Knew about what?"
"Callie going to the park with Chris!" Donna spat.
Eric nodded and rubbed the side of his head in pain, "Yes, I told them to be back by three. And were you back by three, Chris?"
Chris kept humming to himself and rocking back and forth, causing Eric to repeat himself, "Chris!"
Chris jerked out of his little world and looked up at Eric, his eyes wide behind his glasses, "What?"
"You were back by three, right?" Eric asked again, quietly this time but with an obvious twinge of annoyance in his voice.
Chris nodded, "You know I'm never late."
Eric nodded and turned to Donna, "So what's the big deal?"
Donna threw her arms down and glared at Eric like he was a moron, "What's the big deal? You could've at least told me where they went!"
Eric shook his head, "No, you would've never allowed her to go if I did."
Donna nodded, "You're right, I wouldn't have. Because Callie is too young to be going around the city by herself."
Eric shook his head again and messed with ear that was ringing, "They weren't going around the city, they went to the park. That's it."
Donna glared at Eric, "How do you know, were you there?"
Eric winced at Donna's sharp tone and snapped back in annoyance, "It's called trusting your kids, Donna."
Donna was taken aback by his words. Why was he being so cold? "I do trust Callie, I was just worried about her getting hurt is all."
Callie rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to get hurt, Mom. I was with Chris."
Donna looked down at Callie, "Chris isn't much bigger than you."
Callie glared back at her mother, "He's strong, he wouldn't have let anything happen to me."
Chris nodded in agreement, "That's true. I wouldn't have. She's safe with me, Miss."
Donna looked down at Chris and rolled her eyes, "Would you quit calling me that?"
Chris looked down at his feet in embarrassment as Callie looked over at Eric, "What happened to you?"
Eric rubbed his sore temple and winced once more, "I fell."
"Do you have stitches?" Callie asked, smiling suddenly, "Cool!"
"Yeah, and my head hurt's like a bitch and I'd like to go to bed now," Eric snapped irritably, but felt bad once he said it, "Sorry I'm being so whiny, I just don't really feel good."
Jackie grabbed Eric's arm as he took a step and stumbled, "Here, I'll help you to your room."
Eric smiled a fake smile, "Thanks Jackie."
Jackie slowly walked around the three people in the living room and towards the hall, leaving them all in the living room to sort through their problems themselves.
Jackie looked up at Eric as she walked him down the hall, his eyes had dark rings under them as sleep began to overtake him.
"Just a few more steps Eric," Jackie said, "And I still need to give you your medication."
Eric flapped his hand, "I don't need it."
"The doctor said it would help with the pain and that it might help you sleep," Jackie said as she opened Eric's door and helped him inside, "I doubt you'll be able to sleep with that pounding headache of yours."
Eric yawned as Jackie pushed him towards his bed, his eyes watering because of it, "Alright, where are they then?"
Jackie pulled the canister out of her purse as Eric sat down on his bed and wiped his eyes of sleep. Jackie opened the canister and pulled out a pill and handed it to Eric, "The doctor said it would take just a few minutes for it to kick in, so you get into something comfortable while I go try to calm down this mess out here."
Eric nodded and swallowed the pill as Jackie turned around and left the room to go back to the living room, where she could still hear the three arguing, but they were quieter this time.
"Have we solved the problem yet?" Jackie asked, walking into the living room and crossing her arms.
All three of them turned and looked at Jackie. Donna raised an eyebrow, "Is Eric asleep already?"
Jackie shook her head, "He's waiting for his loopy pills to kick in. Now answer my question. Are you three still bitching?"
Donna glared at Jackie and then looked back at the two teens behind her, "We're trying to work it out."
Callie rolled her eyes, "There's nothing to work out. Me and Chris went to the park, we're here now, everything' fine. End of story."
Donna looked back to her daughter and snapped back, "Not end of story. You still disobeyed me and went somewhere without telling me. You're in loads of trouble."
"What?!" Callie cried, "But we just went to the park! It's not even that far from here!"
"We'll talk about this in the morning," Donna snapped, rubbing a hand across her eyes, "Just go to bed."
Callie dropped her arms by her sides and gave her mother an unbelieving look, "But—"
"Go!" Donna snapped, pointing a finger towards the hall.
Callie gasped at her mother irritable and angry tone before she hardened her gaze and stormed around her mother, "You wouldn't have cared if I went with somebody besides Chris."
Donna's look suddenly shifted to that of a sadder looking one, "That's not true—"
"But it is!" Callie snapped, spinning around and glaring up at her mother, "Just admit it, you never liked me hanging out with Chris, and I don't know why, but it really pisses me off!"
Donna was too shocked to scold Callie for her language, so she just let her continue, "Maybe one day you'll be happy with me being with who I want to be with, but until then, I guess I'll just have to continue making you upset! Because guess what, Mom?! I'm happy here with Chris, and for some reason you can't understand that!"
Callie then stormed down the hall, but not before calling, "Come on, Chris!"
Chris flinched and looked up at the two adults in the room. Donna looked upset and Jackie held a sympathetic look.
Jackie put a hand on Chris's shoulder and gently pushed him past her, "Go on to bed Chris, I'll see you in the morning."
As Chris passed her she planted a kiss on the side of his head before he ventured down the hallway after Callie. After he disappeared from view and earshot, Jackie shot a glance towards Donna as she crossed her arms.
"What the hell was that all about?" Jackie asked a guilty looking Donna, "Is it true? You don't like Callie hanging out with Chris?"
Donna shook her head, "No, that's not true. I just don't like Callie going anywhere… With him."
Jackie raised an eyebrow as she for some reason took offense to that, "Why not?"
Donna shrugged and avoided Jackie's gaze, "Because… I don't… I don't really trust Chris…"
"Why?" Jackie was generally confused, because Chris was such a nice kid.
Donna threw her hands up, "Because he can barely even socialize properly, much less protect Callie if anything ever happened."
Jackie rolled her eyes, "Please, he threw a vase at his mother when she made him angry. Chris cares a lot about Callie, if anybody ever tried to hurt her, he'd protect her. Trust me."
Donna shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't know…"
Jackie rolled her eyes and was about to retort when she heard, "Jackie!"
She looked over Donna's shoulder and saw Eric stumbling around in the hallway, his shirt partially over his head and his arms sticking up in the arm through the sleeves. Jackie had to suppress a giggle.
"I think the meds kicked in," Jackie smiled, putting a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Donna turned around to look at Eric as he called out, "I can't get my shirt on."
Jackie rolled her eyes once more before she stepped over to Eric, "You're such a dork," She said as she grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it down. The shirt went over his head and revealed his very tired looking face.
Eric looked down at himself and smiled, "Yay!"
Jackie giggled as he turned around and stumbled back towards his room, calling out to Jackie, "Come tuck me in!"
Jackie smiled and nodded, "I'll be there in a minute!"
As he went back into his room, Jackie turned back around to face Donna, who didn't look very pleased. Jackie suddenly frowned and gave her a questioning look, "What?"
"You two sure have become very close lately," Donna said, "Anything you want to tell me?"
Jackie took that the wrong way, "What are you implying?"
Donna glared at Jackie, "You used to hate Eric and now all the sudden you're all kissy-kissy with him."
Jackie huffed irritably, "You need to go to bed, because you're being a total bitch."
Donna gaped as Jackie spun around on her heel, definitely not in the mood to argue about something else with her tonight.
"Goodnight Donna, hope you feel better in the morning," Jackie snapped as she went to Eric's room.
After leaving Donna by herself in the living room, she found Eric sitting on his bed, counting his fingers. He looked up at her in total amazement and held his hands up, "Jackie, I have ten fingers!"
Jackie snickered and nodded as she went over to Eric and helped him stand. Jackie pulled Eric's blankets back so he could get into bed as he stood behind her, watching her intently, "Jackie, you wanna know a secret?"
Jackie looked over at Eric briefly as she fixed his bedsheets, "Sure Eric."
Eric nodded and grabbed Jackie's shoulders and spun her around to face him, "I think you're very, very pretty."
Jackie blushed when he said that, she almost didn't know what to say. Might as well hit him with some good old fashioned sarcasm, "Thanks Eric. You're very pretty, too."
Eric smiled, his eyes starting to fall closed, "Thank you."
Jackie patted his arm and helped him sit down on his bed as he mumbled something incoherent under his breath.
"Come on, under the covers we go," Jackie said, pulling the blankets up to Eric's chest.
Eric smiled as Jackie smoothed the blankets over his body before she looked back up at Eric, "Comfortable?"
Eric nodded with a smile. Jackie giggled. He looked like a little kid.
"I meant what I said, Jackie," Eric yawned, rolling over a little, "I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world."
Jackie blushed again and just had to ask, "Even prettier than Donna?"
Eric nodded as he closed his eyes, "Even prettier than Donna."
Jackie smiled and blushed harder. She kind of liked Eric when he was high on pain killers. That sounded weird.
Eric yawned again and slowly drifted off to sleep, but not before he mumbled, "I love you, Jackie…"
Jackie smiled sweetly as Eric slowly drifted off into sleep. She was sure he meant that in a friendship type away. And he was high, after all. But she couldn't help but feel there was some type of truth behind those words.
Jackie gazed at him a moment longer before she stood and went to the door, but not before she looked back at Eric and smiled sweetly, "I love you, too, Eric," She said as she turned off the light.