Chapter Seven
When Jackie awoke the next morning, it was to the smell of bacon, eggs and fresh coffee. Getting up, she threw on her robe and walked out into the main area of the apartment to find Eric standing in the small kitchen, wearing only jeans, while making breakfast.
The whole scene only further deepened the feelings that Jackie had discovered since that night all those months ago, having long since realised that the moment Eric had taken her to dinner that night was those feelings had begun and only grown stronger since then. Their weekly talks had re-established a long forgotten connection that Jackie had never realised that she'd lost to begin with.
Smiling, Jackie said, "You're a man of many mysteries and hidden talents, Eric Forman." Eric turned and tried not to let his jaw drop as he cast his gaze on a vision of beauty and wonder. Even though she was only wearing her robe and her nightie underneath, Eric finally got why Giovanni thought she looked like a goddess.
The way her hair fell around her face. How her skin seemed to glow under the rays of the morning sun. Her eyes sparkling with laughter and mischieviousness. The way her lips seemed to invite him in... Eric quickly brought his mind back to the present and grinned.
"You can thank my mom and Gio for my current level of cooking skills," Eric told her as he served the food onto the plates. "Mom taught me the basics, but it was Gio who helped me to understand the finer points." Picking up the plates and cutlery, he brought them over into the lounge room. Jackie sat down on the sofa as he placed the plates on the coffee table and quickly returned with a hot pot of coffee, cutlery and other incedentals.
Joining her, Eric handed her a plate and picked one up as well. Grabbing cutlery, the pair dug into the food. While she'd had bacon, eggs and toast before, Jackie found that she liked the Eric Forman touch. Breakfast vanished very quickly, Eric cleaning up once they were finished. After putting it all the sink to be washed later, Eric rejoined Jackie back on the couch, who was on her third cup of coffee. "So, what's the plan for today?" he asked.
The left eyebrow rising, Jackie looked at Eric with that classic Queen Jackie look he'd come to know and love. How he'd hated it as a teenager, he couldn't quite remember why, now. "You do remember promising to help me unpack my apartment?" she replied. Eric grinned and laughed. He loved teasing Jackie. If nothing else, the imperious look she was giving him just made him love her even more.
"What I meant, devil, is where did you want to start once we're ready to do so?" he asked, using the pet nickname that had become a term of endearment between them.
Jackie smiled wickedly as she answered, "Well, nerd, I figured that we could start here in the lounge room and also sort out the kitchen and the dining room at the same time." Eric looked around the studio apartment and realised that Jackie planned to get as much done as possible during his stay. He only hoped that there was enough time to get it all done and still be able to spend some quality time with the sexy brunette sitting in front of him.
Seeing the look of worry on his face, Jackie smiled as she placed a hand on his leg to reassure him. "Don't worry, I've invited Brooke and Michael over to help out as well. Betsy's staying with her grandmother in Chicago for the next few days and I thought it would be the perfect way for you to start that reconnecting you've been talking about."
As Eric sighed in relief, he suddenly how accident prone Kelso had been when they'd been growing up together. Looking at Jackie, he said, "Are sure about that idea? Kelso and hard work hasn't usually worked out well in the past."
"Oh Eric!" Jackie giggled. "You're thinking of the past. Kelso may still act like an idiot at times, but Brooke's worked hard to scrub away a lot of the idiocy from back then. When it comes right to it, a lot that stupidity and lunacy came from all the stunts we all convinced him to pull. Since he and Brooke got married, Michael's done a lot growing up. The good guy that we always knew was there was just waiting for Brooke to bring it out."
Thinking about this, Eric remembered that he hadn't seen any of the gang properly in the last ten years. Reconnecting with Kelso and getting to know Brooke properly was probably a good place to start. Nodding, he told Jackie, "Okay, then, sounds like a plan."
Jackie grinned. "Great. They'll be here in about an hour, so let's get dressed and ready, shall we?"
When Michael and Brooke arrived, they were greeted by Jackie, who was dressed ready to work. As they entered the apartment, Brooke whispered to Jackie, "You didn't mention that Eric had filled out quite nicely in the right places, Jacqueline Burkhart."
Grinning as she blushed, Jackie called, "Hey Eric, the cavalry's arrived." Eric looked up from his notebook and smiled. He stopped writing, closed the notebook and put it away in his bag.
"Hey, guys. It's great to see you." Eric got up and gave Brooke a hug and kiss on the cheek before turning to Kelso and give his old friend a long overdue brotherly hug. Kelso was embarrassed for a moment before hugging Eric back.
"Great to see you too, man." Kelso could feel himself getting all teary from the moment. He hadn't seen much of his friend over the last few years and when Brooke had told him that they were going to be spending the next couple of days helping Eric and Jackie set up Jackie's new apartment, Kelso had jumped at the chance to spend some time catching up with one of his best friends.
Stepping back, Eric looked at his old friend. "You're looking good, Kelso. Running your own security company really agrees with you." Jackie had filled him in on a few other details about the couple he'd missed during the last few years that he'd been gone. "Brooke, I hear you've been promoted to Assistant Chief Librarian in Kenosha. Congratulations." Brooke preened at the praise. She'd always enjoyed what she did and now she'd finally been given an opportunity to take a more active role in helping shape the future of libraries in Kenosha and the suburbs that were linked to it.
"You're looking good yourself, man," Kelso said as he and Brooke took off their jackets. "I thought writers were supposed be old and frumpy, not looking awesome like us." Eric grinned. He'd missed this about Kelso: the misguided honesty that came straight from the heart.
Brooke tried hard not to laugh as she told her husband, "Michael! Be nice! We haven't seen Eric in ages." Of her husband's old circle of friends, Eric was the one that had seemed to be that one person that had held everyone else together. While she'd gotten to know everyone else in the group, Eric had left for Africa to help himself become a teacher. Over the years since then, Brooke had always had the sense that things may have turned out differently and for the better if he hadn't done that.
When Jackie had called last night, inviting them over, Brooke had jumped at the chance. Her husband had never been the same after Hyde's downward spiral into mental illness and Fez wasn't greatest influence on Michael even at the best of times. Perhaps having Eric back in their lives would do everyone some good. It would give Brooke a chance to get to know Eric better after all the stories she'd heard over the years and finally give Michael something he'd been missing from his life of late: a true friend.
"It's great to see you again, Eric," Brooke told him. "We're just glad that we have this chance to catch up and hang out without some of the others around for a change." Throwing a look at her husband, Kelso at least had the dignity to look ashamed while trying to hide a grin at the same time.
Eric had always liked Brooke, even if he hadn't had the opportunity to get to know her that well after he'd returned from Africa. He'd stopped in a few times to see the Kelsos when they'd lived in Chicago for a few years before they'd made the move back to Kenosha, but he'd mainly hung out with Kelso and Betsy when he had visited.
"Same here, Brooke. I was just saying to Jackie, last night actually, that after I finish my new book, I might take some time off and spend it reconnecting with everyone important to me." Eric smiled at the memory as he looked at Jackie. "I might even have somewhere to come back to if I play my cards right."
Blushing a bright pink, Jackie took control of the conversation to get things back on track. "Alright, people, let's not forget why we're here. Brooke, you and I are tackling that mess in the spare bedroom. Eric, you and Michael are setting up all the furniture. Okay, everyone, let get busy!"
As soon as they were in the spare bedroom and the door was closed, Brooke turned to Jackie and demanded," Tell me everything. Now."
With a shy grin on her face, Jackie thought about the last couple of days and how Eric had completely turned her world upside down. "So, I might've forgotten to mention that Eric and I have been talking on the phone once a week for the last six months since that convention in Kenosha he and I were both at."
Brooke's eyes widened as she realised that her long time friend had been holding out on her. "Jackie, I love and adore you, but if you ever withold anything like that from me ever any again, we are going to have some serious words." Jackie quickly realised that her friend was hurt. Brooke had supported her through everything that had happened with Steven, and to not tell her about what was happening between her and Eric, Jackie resolved to be more open with Brooke in the future.
"I'm sorry, Brooke," she said, slightly ashamed. She could tell Brooke was surprised by the apology. "After the torment that Steven put me through, I never expected to even think about any of those things that I'd always wanted. Whatever this is between Eric and I, it's new and different and exciting. And, if I'm being honest, I also wanted to keep it just mine for as long as I could."
Quickly Brooke realised that she had overeacted. "I'm sorry, too, Jackie. I know that it's been some time for you with all of what's happened over the last few years going on. I just meant that I thought you would've talked with me about what's been going on."
Jackie smiled. "It's all good, Brooke. To be perfectly honest, I always knew where this was headed, but, even now, it still scares me that I can still feel like this."
"Does he know about what happened between you and Steven?" Brooke asked.
Shrugging her shoulders, Jackie answered, "I honestly don't know. Part of me wants to ask, but another part wants to let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak."
Brooke saw that Jackie was starting to get upset and decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. With a sly grin on her face, Brooke asked Jackie, "So, is it only kissing that you've done so far, or have you been up to all sorts of mischief?"
Her cheeks burned bright pink as Jackie remembered the kisses from the previous day. "Nothing more than kissing so far, Brooke. But, my god, is Eric Forman more muscled and tanned than I possibly could have imagined!" The memory of their makeout session yesterday morning still burned brightly at the forefront of her mind.
"Muscled and tanned?" Brooke's curiousity was now well and truly piqued. "Okay, what else haven't you told me, girlfriend?"
Grinning wickedly, Jackie said, "Let's get started on sorting all this stuff out and then I'll tell you how I spent the first day of the new year with Eric Forman."
Kelso and Eric were halfway through setting up the dining table when Kelso said, "So, dude, you and Jackie."
Eric grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Me and Jackie. Who'd've thought, right?"
Though it didn't happen very often, Michael Kelso turned serious as he looked at his best friend. "Eric, whatever you do, don't hurt her, okay? Jackie's been through a lot over the last few years and I don't want her going through all that pain all over again."
Silent for what seemed like a lifetime, Eric took a deep breath and let it out. "I know about Hyde, Kelso," he finally said. Kelso was stunned. As far as he knew, that information was limited to a very select group of people and Eric wasn't on that particular list.
"I knew something was up when Mom started being cagey if I'd start asking question about Jackie and Hyde," Eric continued. "After a few frustrating conversations, I decided to get some answers for myself. So, on my way to the convention where I ran into Jackie, I made a detour through Milwaukee to see W.B."
Even now, Eric still couldn't believe how bad everything had gotten while he'd been away. "When W.B. filled me in finally," he said, "I was stunned. I knew Hyde had always had issues, but I never dreamed that he'd go that far."
Kelso asked, "Have you seen Hyde since finding out?"
Shaking his head, Eric answered, "Hyde needs help. Seeing me before he's ready will only delay his recovery. Same deal applies to the rest of the gang if anyone else starts asking questions."
"How about Big D? She and Hyde used to be pretty tight."
Eric replied, "W.B. told me that I could tell Donna and Randy whenever I saw them next, which'll be next week, actually. Donna's interviewing me as part of a series of articles that the newspaper she works for is running about authors over the next few weeks."
Completely dumbfounded, Kelso's eyes widened. "Does Jackie know you're seeing your ex?"
Eric nodded. "We talked about it. Jackie thinks that this is karmic justice for all that crap that Donna put me through over the years. I just want the opportunity to put the past behind me and start the new decade fresh and without any bagagge."
Still having trouble adjusting to the fact that his best friend and his ex-girlfriend were in the process of becoming something more, Kelso grinned as he said again, "So, dude, you and Jackie."
Sighing as he knew what was going through Kelso's mind, Eric turned to his friend and told him, "Kelso, if you promise not to burn either Jackie or me, I promise to tell you about all the other celebrities I've met. If you're really good, I might even make it possible for you, Brooke and Betsy to meet a few the next time I'm home for a convention. Okay?"
Kelso immediately nodded. Opportunities like this were once in a lifetime and Kelso had learnt, with Brooke's help, to grab hold when they did. "Okay, then," Eric told him, "let's see how much more we can get done before lunch, shall we?"
It was just after 1pm when Jackie called a halt. Deciding that everyone needed a break, Jackie gave Eric a pointed look and said, "Lunch." Eric simply grinned and placed a call. Once he was finished, Eric sat next to the tiny brunette on the sofa.
"Lunch will be here in about twenty minutes or so," he told everyone as he wrapped his arm around Jackie's shoulders while Jackie snuggled into Eric. These actions did not go unnoticed by either Brooke or Kelso.
The four of them made small talk while they waited; Brooke, Jackie and Kelso filling Eric in on what he'd missed while living the life of a famous writer and Eric responding with tales of the various places he'd visited and people he'd met over the years.
When the phone rang and interrupted their conversation, Eric quickly answered it. After a brief conversation, he hung up the phone and excused himself. He returend to the apartment very shortly afterwards with several bags of food. Setting everything up on the dining table, Eric told them all, "Lunch is served. Dig in before it goes cold."
Each grabbing a chair, the group sat down and, within the space of twenty minutes, quickly devoured the food. While Jackie and Eric had paced themselves, having had similar fare the day before, Brooke and Kelso had never realised that such culinary delights existed that they'd overindulged themselves to the point of the Kelsos having stomachaches.
Eric tried hard not to laugh as Kelso struggled with the decision of eating one more btie or letting his body recover. In the end, his body won as Kelso put the piece of food back on the plate. Brooke fanned herself as she looked at Eric and told him, "I don't know where this food came from, Eric, but you have to tell me so I can at least order it once a month for Michael and myself. I've never felt so full!"
"Actually, Elena's doesn't normally deliver," Eric told Brooke. "In this case, however, a special exception was made." Brooke's attention was completely focused on Eric. Elena's was currently the hottest restaurant in town. With locations across the country, anyone who was anyone would dine there. Reservations normally had to be made months in advance and the wait list was immense, to say the least. Brooke had been twice in the last year as part of work functions and had tried on two seperate occaisions to get a reservation for herself and Michael when they'd had a night off together, but both attempts had ended in failure.
Sensing that there was more to the story than what Jackie had told her, Brooke looked at her tiny friend and saw the evil glint of mischief in her eye. "Oh, I have a feeling I've just been burned," she said as she grabbed a glass of water off the table and drank it down.
Jackie and Eric looked at each other before Eric told Brooke, "Some years ago, during the early days of my career as a writer, I was travelling through Italy when I came across a very pregnant Italian woman stranded on the side of the road in the countryside." Brooke sat there, spellbound as Eric told her the story of how he had met Giovanni and Elena D'Allessandro all those years ago and the special friendship that had come about as a result of that first meeting.
"So," Eric said as he neared the end of the story, "when I arranged it with Elena and Gio to meet them for lunch, I decided to bring Jackie along as a surprise. I knew that Gio had kept on about her to me and had been developing his newest menu based on their one meeting. I also knew that Elena was very interested in meeting the woman who could inspire her beloved to go back into the kitchen and create culinary masterpieces after being away from his domain for so many years. It also allowed me to introduce Jackie to my godchildren Benito and Petra. I couldn't help but take advantage of the situation to the benefit of all."
It was at that moment that Brooke saw the love that existed between Eric and Jackie, even if they didn't know it yet. Both had been damaged by the past, but despite that, they both still wanted the same things in life: a family and someone who they loved and cared for and those feelings returned in kind.
Brooke's train of thought was interrupted by Michael, who chose to let out a massive belch. Jackie giggled while Eric just smiled as he shook his head. Silently cursing her husband, Brooke grinned as she said, "Well, seeing as you've been holding out the gang all these years, Eric, I only think that it's fair for you start making up for it."
Knowing that Brooke was half kidding, he decided to cement the start of the new chapter of his life by celebrating it. "Would dinner at Elena's this Friday suffice?" he asked. Brooke's eyes went wide as Jackie realised what he was doing. "Jackie is meeting with Elena and Gio that day to discuss business. I can easily book us in, plus add my parents and if I can track down Fez as well, add in whoever he plans to bring along and we can really make it official that I've returned to Wisconsin."
Completely gobsmacked, Brooke eventaully found her tongue. "That sounds wonderful," she finally answered with a slight fluster in her voice.
Eric grinned. "Not used to having things happen with the snap of a finger, are you, Brooke?" His best friend's wife shook her head. "Don't worry too much about it," he told her, "I've been famous for the last five years and I'm still not used it."
Feeling a bit sheepish, Brooke smiled as she said, "When you're married to a Kelso, I guess anything can happen."
"Huh, what?" Rousing from his brief bout of slumber, Kelso heard his name mentioned. "You guys talking about me again?"
Both women giggled while Eric chuckled and told his friend, "It's all good, Kelso."
Leaving the rest of the heavy lifting for the next day, Eric, Brooke and Jackie spent the rest of the day sorting several of the larger boxes that sat in the lounge room while Kelso continued his recovery on the sofa.
By the time dinner came around, it was decided that they would go out to celebrate the success of the first day. To save Kelso and Brooke making trips back and forth home all the time, Jackie invited the couple to spend the rest of the week at her place.
Eagerly accepting, the group got themselves ready; Brooke, Eric and Kelso making use of the wardrobe that Jackie had set up in the spare bedroom for when those who she considered family stayed over. Brooke dressed in an off-white dress with heels to match and a thin brown belt around her waist to complete her ensemble. Kelso wore slacks and matching sports coat with a paisley shirt, giving him a Miami Vice look and feel.
Eric, however, went for a look with Brooke's help that the both of them knew would make Jackie go weak at the knees. Putting on a pair of denim jeans that Brooke knew whould make Jackie go wild, Eric completed his outfit with a white, long-sleeved shirt, a black leather jacket and his cowboy boots. Jackie also dressed in a killer look: denim skirt, a short-sleeved blouse and, to tempt Eric just that little bit more, a matching bra and panties from Victoria's Secret.
When they saw each other, Eric had wanted to take Jackie in his arms and kiss her as if there was no tomorrow. Jackie had wanted to rip the clothes off Eric and have her way with right then and there.
Instead, the duo smiled at one another and then looked at Brooke and Kelso as Eric said, "Let's go have some fun, shall we?"
